UNCLAIMED MATE

Chapter 6—The Mate He Let Go

••Diane••

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was warmth, and it felt so unfamiliar that for a moment I thought I was still dreaming, because after the cold that had wrapped around me in the forest, this kind of comfort didn’t make sense.

I stayed still for a few seconds, trying to gather my thoughts as the soft surface beneath me and the faint scent of herbs in the air slowly grounded me in reality. My body still ached, my head still throbbed, but at least I could breathe without feeling like my chest would collapse.

“You’re awake.”

The voice came from across the room, calm but firm, and when I turned my head, I saw an elderly woman standing near a wooden table, carefully arranging leaves and crushed herbs like she had done it a thousand times before.

“Don’t try to move too much,” she added, glancing at me briefly. “Your body is still recovering.”

I swallowed, my throat dry, my voice barely steady. “Where am I?”

“In my home,” she replied simply.

The memories came back immediately after that, not slowly this time, but all at once, hitting me hard enough to make my chest tighten.

I pushed myself up despite the weakness in my body.

“Selene—where is she? She was with me.”

“You were alone when they found you.” Her answer was quick.

“That’s not possible,” I said, shaking my head as I forced myself to sit properly. “She was right there. I heard her, she called my name, she wouldn’t just disappear.”

The old woman didn’t respond immediately, and that silence only made it worse.

“I need to find her,” I continued, my voice rising despite how weak I felt. “She could be hurt, she could be...”

“She is not here,” the woman cut in, her tone calm but final.

Before I could say anything else, the door opened, and three figures stepped inside.

The same voices I had heard before, but now clearer.

“You’re awake,” one of them said, and there was a hint of relief in his tone.

I looked at them properly this time, and it didn’t take long to notice the resemblance. They were the same height, same broad build, and even their facial features were almost identical, sharp jaws and striking eyes that carried a quiet intensity, but the only thing that made it easy to tell them apart was their hair.

One had blonde wavy hair that fell slightly over his forehead, another had short black hair that gave him a more serious look, while the third had longer dark hair that brushed just past his neck, making him stand out the most.

Triplets.

“You found me?” I asked, my voice still unsteady.

The one with the blonde hair nodded. “Near the forest. You collapsed before we got to you.”

“Did you see anyone else?” I asked quickly, my eyes moving between them. “A girl, she was with me, she has to be…”

The black-haired one shook his head this time, his voice quieter. “No. There was no one else.”

Something about the way they said it didn’t sit right with me, but before I could question it, the old woman moved closer.

She brought a bowl filled with the concoction. The smell was not pleasant. She stretched it out for me to take. I reluctantly stretched my hand to collect it. Then her eyes went to my wrist, she immediately held my hand, her entire body went still, like she had just realized something she wished she hadn’t.

Her grip tightened slightly as her eyes locked onto the mark I had for as long as I could remember.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, and this time, her voice wasn’t calm. It was tense.

I frowned, confused. “I didn’t get it anywhere. I was born with it… my mom has the same one.”

The moment I said that, the air in the room shifted.

“What is your mother’s name?” she asked slowly, and there was something in her tone that made my chest tighten.

“Jayne Mansfield.”

The bowl in her hand slipped instantly, shattering against the floor, but no one moved, because her face had already gone pale, her expression filled with something I couldn’t understand.

“You…” she whispered, stepping back slightly. “You shouldn’t be here.”

The triplets exchanged confused looks.

“Grandma?” the one with the longer dark hair said, his voice low and steady, and I recognized it immediately as the same voice that had insisted they carry me that night… the one that somehow sounded calmer than the others, and strangely, the most reassuring.

But she didn’t look at them. Her eyes stayed on me.

“Get out,” she said suddenly.

At first, I thought I heard her wrong. “What?”

“You cannot stay here,” she said, her voice stronger now despite the fear behind it. “If they find you, this place will not survive it.”

“If who finds me?” I asked, my voice rising, but she didn’t answer.

She only pointed to the door.

“Leave. Now.”

No one argued after that. I slowly approached the wooden door and left.

The cold outside hit me harder this time. I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked, my steps slow, even though my body still felt weak.

I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I couldn’t stay. I kept on thinking why the old woman would chase me out like that. She looked kind.

The deeper I moved into the darkness, the stronger that strange feeling became, the same one I had felt before everything went wrong, like something was watching me.

My heartbeat quickened, and then—.

A hand suddenly covered my mouth from behind, and before I could even react, my body went completely rigid as his other arm locked around me, pulling me back against something solid and unmovable.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered, his voice low and dangerously close to my ear.

The tone alone should have filled me with nothing but fear, but instead, something strange happened.

I stilled, not because I wanted to but because my body reacted before my mind could catch up.

His grip was firm, like he knew exactly how much strength to use to keep me in place without hurting me, yet there was something restrained in it, like he was holding himself back from something far worse.

I could feel the heat of his body behind me, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and for some reason, it made my heart race even faster.

Who was he? And why did he feel like this?

Then he inhaled. Slowly, but deeply.

“That scent…” he muttered under his breath, his voice darker now, rougher, like he wasn’t speaking to me anymore but to himself.

My heart began to pound harder in my chest. “What...”

“Quiet.”

This time, the word came out sharper, more commanding, sending a strange shiver down my spine.

I felt something inside me respond, rising slowly, like it recognized him in a way I didn’t understand.

His hand slowly slipped away from my mouth, but he didn’t let me go.

“You…” he said, his voice low, almost like he didn’t believe what he was seeing.

My breath caught as I slowly turned my head, just enough to look at him, and the moment our eyes met, everything inside me froze.

His gaze was dark, intense, and filled with something I couldn’t explain, something that made it clear that this wasn’t just a random stranger who had found me in the forest.

There was power in him, so overwhelming.

He stared at me like he was trying to figure me out. Then his jaw tightened.

“Mate…” he said quietly.

The word hit me harder than it should have. I didn’t understand it, but my body did.

My chest tightened as that same strange feeling inside me grew stronger, spreading through me in a way that made it hard to breathe, hard to think, hard to even look away from him.

“What… does that mean?” I asked, my voice barely steady.

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze dropped briefly, like he was noticing something else…

Slowly… he let go of me. The sudden loss of his grip made me stumble slightly, but I didn’t move away. I couldn’t. My eyes stayed locked on him, my heart still racing, my mind trying to make sense of everything that was happening.

“Wait—” I started, my voice breaking slightly. “You just said—”

“You’re not ready.” His words were quiet.

I frowned, confusion flooding my chest. “Not ready for what?”

He didn’t answer. He took a step back, his expression now completely unreadable, like whatever had just happened meant something to him… but not in a way he was willing to explain.

For a moment, it felt like he was going to say something else, but then—

He turned, and just like that… he was gone.

Only the cold air remained.

I stood there, frozen, my heart still racing, my body still reacting to something I didn’t understand.

“Mate…” I whispered to myself, the word unfamiliar in my tongue.

Nothing about this made sense. I couldn't understand what he said or why my body reacted to him that way.

And the worst part, is that a part of me didn’t want him to leave.

Even though I had no idea who he was…

Or what he had just done to my life.