Mates Next Door

A Race Against Survival

~ASTRA~

By the end of the week, I had already gone crazy from thinking too much about the events of the past week.

And there was only one person who knew the answer to all of my problems.

My mother.

Which was why I stood in front of my childhood home, knocking on the door and waiting as my mother's footsteps shuffled against the ground.

The door opened and my mother stood wrapped in her tattered apron, bursting into a bright smile before pulling me into a tight hug, further reminding me that she had lost much more weight than the last time I saw her.

"Oh, my princess! It's good to see you back home!" She cried. "I have missed you."

I smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "So have I, mum. Can we go in? You can stare at me as much as you want."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me in. "You have grown so beautiful. Your hair is longer and you are taller!"

But she wasn't getting any better.

It broke my heart to see my mother this way. She was already a shadow of herself. She was never a big woman but as the years went by, she began to dwindle in weight and now looked twice her age. I fought back tears and smiled at her.

"Where's Dad?" I asked once we got to the living room. He was always seated in front of the TV, reading a book but his seat was empty today

Her smile faded slightly. "He paid a visit to The Lupine Brotherhood."

"What?" I exclaimed in shock. "Why?! We were warned never to return!"

She nodded. "Of course, we were. But we have nowhere to run to. The Argents have started to sense odd activities of recent and we are not safe. Your father was almost caught at his workplace. It was a narrow escape."

"We can go somewhere else," I replied in a panicked voice. "Going back to our Pack was a big mistake!"

"It's our only option," Her eyes watered. "We don't belong here and soon enough, we will be hunted like animals."

I slowly took a seat and buried my fingers into my hair, dread overcoming me. Life was already hard enough. Why were we being hunted and how did the Argents find out?

Was it the party I attended yesterday? Maybe someone noticed something off and gave information to them. I was stupid.

"Astra?" I looked up to find my mother looking down at me. "I know you're not here because you want to be. There's barely anything here that would have you returning."

I nodded and sat up. "I discovered something this week and it's been of great disturbance to me."

She nodded and took a seat beside me. "I am listening to you, honey."

My mother sat back and listened while I told her everything, missing out the parts where I attended a party and got into hot make out sessions with them both.

She slowly rose to her feet, covering her hand over her mouth. "You must keep your relationship with them a secret!"

"Why?" I asked in confusion. "Why should it be a secret?"

"You are already seen as an abomination for being a hybrid. Once they find out you have more than one mate, you will be slaughtered. It is a taboo to have more than one mate." She burst into tears and crashed back into her seat. "You've been through a lot! You don't deserve more punishment."

I sat there in a daze, watching as my mother continued to cry over how unfair life was to me.

But I on the other hand believed life was unfair to my parents. They didn't deserve what happened to them. They were good people.

I couldn't sit in this gloom forever. I had to go back to school tonight.

My mother insisted and said it wasn't safe but I assured her I would be safe. My father was yet to return so I decided I was going to give him a call.

"Remember, Astra, they will not hesitate to kill you."

*****

I returned back to campus and rode the evening bus to the apartment I shared with Valerie who had been kind enough to s***h the price by half this month.

She was standing by the door, dressed in a leather jacket and mini leather skirt and a pair of deep red boots.

"Going out for the evening again?" I asked, slowing to a halt when I got to where she stood.

She nodded. "Since I'm not doing anything today, I decided to have my friend drive me down to the racing arena."

"The racing arena?" I was suddenly interested. "Can I come with you?"

"Sure!" She grabbed my arm. "Anything to be with my best friend!"

The racing arena was located at an abandoned airfield. It spanned over several hundred acres of land. Red, green and amber lights flickered, illuminating the night and headlights from cars tore through the air as tyres screeched, revealing specks of dust and smoke.

Several sports cars filled the arena and loud music blared as people spoke at the top of their voices. Valerie and I pushed past sweaty bodies of excited spectators and drivers while making our way to the front.

Fireworks were lit up and the crowd burst into cheers as a black Chevrolet Corvette Z06 cruised into the track. It was soon followed by a sleek red Lamborghini Huracan and the cheers erupted louder than usual.

"This is going to be a hard win."

Valerie turned to look at me. "And how do you know that?"

I smiled and shrugged. It wasn't a story I just told anyone. It was personal to me.

My father used to repair race cars and he taught me everything I needed to know, including racing cars. He never got the opportunity to race as he was trying to keep a low profile.

"Holy heaven! It's Ryder behind the wheel!" Valerie screamed at the top of her voice and I stood beside her, wondering who that was. I barely knew anyone's name so I didn't bother asking.

The cheers soon died off and people began to murmur in displeasure. I used my super hearing abilities to catch a whiff of the conversation they were having.

"Garry is seriously sick and won't be able to race." A worried voice, probably belonging to one of the officials, came.

"And what the f**k are we going to do about that? Isn't there someone else who can take his place?"

"They're going to lose."

"What the hell is happening?" Valerie muttered in frustration.

"I'll be right back," I said to her and pushed forward. Since there was no one who could match him, maybe I could try. The last time I raced was three years ago but it was worth it.

"Hello, what's going on here?" I asked as soon as I got to the racing grounds.

Both men turned, regarding me with nonchalance. "You can go back to the bleachers. You'll have time to kiss Ryder's feet once the race is over."

I glanced at the blond haired guy standing beside him. "So you're Ryder?"

"Obviously."

"I had no idea," I replied casually. "Well, it looks like you're having a problem with the other driver. He isn't here."

"And how is that your problem? How do you even know?"

Ryder gave me a suspicious look but he said nothing. Instead, he decided that starting to make me uncomfortable was his new temporary hobby.

"I want to race him."

They burst into laughter. That attracted other members and as the news of my daring offer spread, it became funnier. I stood there, waiting for them to be done laughing.

"Girls will do anything to be close to you, Ryder. Look how determined she is."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't even know who the f**k he is. The only thing I know here are these cars. A Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and a Lamborghini Huracan Performante? It's going to be a really hard tie."

They stopped laughing immediately and began to ask how I knew about these cars.

I ignored them and turned to Ryder. "Do you want to race or not?"

His lips lifted into a smirk. "There's one of two things tonight. You're either going to die from over speeding or lose this race. I hope it's the latter for you."

He picked the Chevrolet and I was left with the Lamborghini.

I remembered everything. My hands slowly felt the insides of the car and I closed my eyes, remembering every conversation I had with my father concerning cars and driving.

A gunshot rang in the air and I immediately started my car. Ryder zipped forward and disappeared while I remained behind. I shut out the noise and screams before hitting my accelerator and bolting forward.

I won.

The crowd went silent the moment I stepped out of the car. Everyone kept staring at me as I walked towards Ryder, a proud smile on my face.

"I didn't die and I didn't lose," I smiled at him. "How does losing feel to you?"

He ignored me, walked back to his car and returned with a bulky envelope. "You can gloat all you want. You only won because I temporarily failed breaks."

I burst into laughter and nodded. "Finding excuses. And what is that?"

"Your cash price. The other guy would have lost it anyway. Have it."

I took it from his hand and the moment our fingers brushed, a jolt of energy reeled through me, causing me to jump backwards.

Ryder's eyes widened in surprise and just when he opened his mouth to speak, my phone began to ring.

It was a call from my mother. I hurried away from the noisy area into the dark before I picked the call up.

"Hello, mum? Why are you-" My voice died off once I heard her sobs.

"It's your father. He's dead. I found his body at the door.”