BETWEEN FATE AND REVENGE
1110 Words
Zenele’s pov
“Please… please,” I begged, my voice shaky as rough fingers tightened around my neck. I turned slowly and froze.
A man in his mid-forties stood behind me, his grip firm and his eyes dark.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“I’m nobody… please spare me,” I whispered, trembling.
His hold tightened, forcing me to stumble forward as he stepped in with me. Shiver raced down my spine.
“You need to run back to wherever you’re coming from. Can you do that?” he asked, voice chillingly calm.
“I… I…” The words stuck in my throat.
He began whispering some kind of chant.
“Please don’t kill me,” I cried, dropping to my knees, hands clasped tightly together, eyes squeezed shut.
“Zenele,” a familiar voice called.
I cracked one eye open and saw Melinda. I felt relieved as I opened both eyes quickly.
“Where have you been?” I gasped, still shaking.
I looked around for the man, but he had vanished.
“There’s someone here! I was begging him to spare my life,” I said breathlessly.
Melinda burst into laughter.
“What’s funny?” I asked, still scanning the hut, my heart pounding.
“I think we need to leave here,” I added nervously.
“Zenele,” Melinda said, laughing harder, “you know we’re entering someone’s territory. It’s dangerous, and we can be attacked at any time. I decided to attack you first… just to see your reaction. But you…”
She doubled over laughing.
“You did that?” I asked, finally allowing relief to wash over me as I sank onto the bed.
“You should’ve seen yourself. ‘I’m nobody, please spare me,’” she mimicked, wiping her eyes.
“It’s not funny,” I muttered, trying to steady my breathing.
“It is! It’s been so long since I laughed this hard,” Melinda said before disappearing through the inner door again.
“Don’t pull that again,” I called after her. “That joke was expensive.”
She nearly made me faint.
Melinda returned with food and handed mine to me. I didn’t touch it.
“You need to eat, Zenele. I did this to show you the kind of challenges you should expect. But learn one thing; never show your fear. Even when you feel it,” she said, patting my back before going to her own bed.
I finally ate my meal, and after dinner, sleep swept me away.
The next morning, after breakfast, we continued our journey.
“What if we don’t achieve our aims before six months?” I asked Melinda as we walked.
She stopped abruptly, freezing me too.
“You wanted this. You must make sure you kill the Alpha,” she warned, her tone firm.
We kept moving deeper until finally, we reached Moonstone territory.
Melinda spoke to the wolves guarding the entrance. They let us through and I knew she had used magic on them.
“Where do we go from here?” I whispered.
“To the pack house. You must first see the Alpha.”
Soon, we arrived at a large hall inside the pack house. I looked around, the place was huge. Chairs lined both sides, but the one at the center stood out; masculine and beautifully carved.
That must be the Alpha’s seat.
“Silly Alpha,” I muttered under my breath.
Suddenly a warm, intoxicating scent drifted into my nose, my body stiffened as heat pulsed under my skin.
Then for the first time in my twenty-one years; my wolf stirred.
Mate! Mate! Mate!
She screamed inside me.
“What do you mean mate? I don’t have a mate. I can’t have one,” I whispered to myself.
A figure stepped into view.
His hair white and long, a chiseled face, sharp nose, intense eyes.
He's tall, broad-shouldered, even in a simple shirt and trousers, his muscles stood out.
My breath caught. Heat rushed through me.
The guard bowed.
Mate! Mate! MATE!
My wolf howled louder.
No, no, this can’t be possible.
He approached us, his gaze fixed on me.
“Alpha, we’re sorry to bother you,” Melinda began, but his eyes never left mine.
I wanted to pull him to me. I wanted his lips on mine.
What was happening to me?
Focus, Zenele.
This is the man you swore to destroy.
The reason you sacrificed your life to Melinda.
“Yes, we…” I tried to speak, but my voice failed.
“We’re from a faraway pack,” Melinda took over. “We were exiled for something we didn’t do. This is my younger sister, Zenele. We have nowhere…”
“You can stay here,” Alpha Varek finally said and this time he looked away from me to face Melinda.
“Thank you, Alpha,” she replied.
A woman suddenly appeared, circling us before stopping beside him.
She must be his Luna.
Mate… mate… my wolf whispered again.
No. He can’t be my mate, he already has one.
Alpha Varek’s eyes returned to me.
“I don’t care where you’re from or what you did. The Moon Goddess brought you here for a reason. I’ve searched a long time for you,” he said, lifting my chin gently.
“What are you doing, Varek?” his Luna snapped, stepping forward, but he ignored her.
“I will let you stay here for one reason,” Varek continued. “Be my mate.”
My eyes flew wide.
Be what?
Never! How could I be mates with the man I hated the most?
“I’m sorry, Alpha. I can’t…”
“You don’t understand who you are to me,” he cut in.
I know exactly what I am; your enemy.
“What do you mean, Alpha?” Melinda asked, confused.
The Luna raised her hand, silencing her.
It obviously she hated us.
“You are my healing mate,” Varek said. “The one I’ve searched for. The one the Moon Goddess sent to break my curse.”
“Healing mate?” I repeated, stunned.
“You alone can free the Alpha from his cursed bond before death,” a male voice added.
We all turned. An elder had stepped forward.
The Luna walked to him immediately.
I stared at them, my heart thundering.
If I refuse, the Alpha will throw us out or worse.
If I accept…
How do I mate with a man I want dead? I sacrificed my life to kill him. If he’s cursed, that helps my revenge.
Why would the Moon Goddess make me his healing mate?
- Writer
