Her secret mate

Family breakfast III

I am not sure how long I sat there like that... staring at the cup in front of me trying to process the idea that there are lots of people out there who want me dead. They are so determined to reach that goal that they highered others to do so.

Even now, I'm sure there is someone out there planning the best way to take me out.

All of this is so messed up.

The hopelessness of the situation and frustration got the better of me as I let my face sink into my hands. All of this is so messed up. Never in my life have I imagined that there would be a moment where I have f*****g mercenaries coming after me, for something as stupid as getting mated.

But the more frustrating question was why didn't Darcy say anything about it. He knew that it had been happening for so long now. My father said that he stopped a few attempts himself, but he never mentioned it to me. Not even once did he say that I was in danger, that I should keep an eye for f*****g assassins... he hasn't said anything to me.

Frustration mixed with panic got the better of me as my breaths got shorter and I knew that I had to get out of here before I exploded.

I jumped from my chair and walked out of the room. I was not sure what I was going, but I knew I needed air... fresh air and a moment to put my thoughts into order, to make some sort of a plan of what to do next.

I was walking mindlessly as I crossed the house and walked up the stairs. Somehow, I wandered along the second floor and ended up at my old bedroom door. I guess, subconsciously, I seeked the comfort of something familiar, but I knew that there wouldn't be anything comforting in there right now... but a different idea popped into my mind as I pulled the doors open. The door might have been locked a moment ago... but it was not anymore.

I did not let myself get sentimental or emotional about the bare white wall and empty room that had been filled with all sorts of different knicknacks that symbolized my life the last time I visited. My whole life... my childhood is gone...

No!

I won't go down that road right now.

I forced myself to cross the room and stopped by the window.

I know being outside is not the best idea right now, but I think the roof was a lot safer than any other place outside that could give me the breathing room I craved for.

Slowly, I opened the window and climbed onto the first floor roof that I used to spend a lot of time on when I was younger. It was not the safest place for a kid, but I don't think anyone cared where I was as long as I was out of their way,

The moment I sat down, I heard quiet footsteps getting nearer to me.

Out of complete instinct, I jumped to my feet, ready to fight whoever was here to kill me.

How did they see me so fast?

I just got here.

Is their tracking so good that they saw me already?

"Calm down, before you fall and kill yourself, before any mercenaries even make a real attempt. It's only me."

To my surprise, it was Colin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did you not hear your father just a moment ago? I'm your babysitter for next the week."

I wanted to fight him to argue that I didn't need a babysitter, but there was no point in doing that right now. What he was saying was true. He was here to protect me and the command my father made came into effect that forced me not to say anything.

So I just shook my head and sank back into my place and stared in front of me.

"No snarky comeback?"

I just shook my head and stared into the space in front of me without even seeing anything.

"Why are you so shocked? I already told you that there are people after you."

The concern in his voice surprised me, so, without thinking about it I turned around and found his intense eyes concentrated completely on me.

"You said after me. But I did take it too seriously. I thought that maybe it was one of my father's enemies, who wanted revenge for some stupid shit... that it would die down in a few days, but this has been going on for months now."

"So I take it nobody told you before?""

"Nope. For some reason, everybody just decided to leave me out of the discussion. You know it's only my life on the line. It's only that at any moment now there can be someone trying to kill me, but hey, why should I care about something as silly as that?"

To my surprise, he started laughing at my lame attempt of a joke.

"Well, I'm sure they had their reasons."

I looked at him for one moment, trying to decide if he was trying to be sarcastic or did he truly believe what he was saying. After a moment, I came to the conclusion that he was serious. So I just shook my head and turned away from him. I said nothing, so we both sat there in silence for quite a while. After 10 or 15 minutes of sitting like that, the silence became a bit awkward and so I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Isn't your mate not annoyed that you are looking after some other chick?"

"Mate?"

I turned back to him with one eyebrow raised and stared at him for a moment, trying to understand if he was making fun of me again or was he really confused. After a moment, it looked like he had an idea or, at least, he understood what I meant.

"I guess you mean Alisha. She's not my mate, she's my sister."

I am quite embarrassed and very confused when I admit that I felt relieved when I heard him say that.