MATED TO MY TWIN'S MATE

FOUND AND LOST

"Ready? Go!"

Rydar dove into the water and began to glide through it with very fast and powerful strokes. His legs were steadily fluttering and kicking beneath the surface of the water, causing ripples around him.

He reached the other end of the lake, made a U-turn, and began swimming back to the bank. Beads of water dripped from his body when he climbed out. Rydar pulled off his swimming cap and ruffled the damp edges of his hair.

"Twenty seconds," he mumbled, staring at the stopwatch being held out in front of him. He wasn't very impressed, as he usually could easily do twelve seconds.

Rydar didn't want to be like some other swimmers who often blamed the water they swam in whenever they fell short, but he did think it was because he was swimming in a lake this time around. He was on a short visit to the area; a rural region with no alternatives such as a pool, so he had to make do with the only lake around for his daily swimming routine.

"I'll do another take," he announced and put his swimming cap back on.

Just as he was preparing to jump in, a sudden tightness seized him in the chest, stopping him. Rydar held his hand to his chest and grunted uneasily as he stepped back.

"What's this feeling?" popped up the question in his head. It wasn't something he'd felt before. It was as though his senses were responding to some sort of magnetic wave, making him feel an indescribable kind of emotion. There was an intense warmth starting to spread around his bones.

An anticipation.

Rydar grabbed the bottle of water being handed to him and took a gulp, staring back at the silent lake. His brows furrowed slightly on seeing something idly floating over the lake from afar off.

He stepped closer to observe; his heart rate was also intensifying.

A large raft was swaying gently in his direction, not only that, there was someone lying over it. It looked like they'd been hanging onto it for their dear life.

Without thinking twice, Rydar jumped into the water the second time and swam his way quickly to the raft. He pulled the girl off the raft and held her close to himself, making his way with her to the bank. It dawned on him as he cradled her that she was the reason for him feeling that way earlier. A knowing in his heart pronounced her as his mate.

"Mate."

But what the hell could have happened to her?

Her unconscious frame was laid on the ground. She lay there motionless, her skin drained of color. There was, however, a barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest, meaning she was still alive.

"What happened to you?" Rydar wondered rhetorically, pushing the wet strands of hair away from her face. He knew that wasn't supposed to be the priority at that time, but Rydar couldn't help acknowledging how beautiful she was. He had never felt intrigued by a woman in the kind of way her aura enthralled him.

"Tell me there's a hospital around here," he said to his assistant who answered that there wasn't any around and that the hospital closest to them was still quite a long distance. There weren't any medical facilities around because there weren't a lot of residents in the area.

"She needs urgent care. Not even a clinic?"

Rydar was scared something worse would happen to her without at least first aid before he made plans to head on a long journey to the hospital.

Rydar saw her eyes suddenly blink open, revealing her hazel irises. He felt an instant flutter of relief and crouched closer to her.

"Hey, hey," he tried to get her attention.

Her gaze, at first, was vacant, then it slowly focused on the man whose face was hovering above hers. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

She knew him...but who was he?

Words started to echo in her ears like hollow sounds from a distance.

"Are you okay?"

"Can you hear me?"

"You can see me, right?"

He was constantly trying to get through to her, but she had no idea how she was supposed to respond to those words. His lips kept moving and saying things to her.

"What's your name?"

Sky.

This single word reverberated in her head, and she didn't know what it was.

Sky.

She didn't know what that was. But whatever the word meant, probably it would answer all those things he'd been saying to her, she thought.

"Sky," she breathed.

Joy danced in Rydar's eyes. She finally uttered a word. A warm smile curved his lips.

"Sky. Your name's Sky?"

"Sky," she repeated.

Everything in front of her sight began to turn into a blur, her consciousness gradually slipping away again. It was as though her body was being coerced into a shutdown.

"Hey, stay with me," Rydar called out, but she'd lost grip on her consciousness again.

His assistant, who'd called the paramedics, announced that they'd be there in approximately four hours by road.

"That's a lot of time to wait. Can't they just book a f*****g flight?" Rydar was clearly worked up. "I'll take her with me," he concluded, whisking her body up in his arms and taking her to his car.

After some hours, they reached the hospital and had her admitted for treatment. Luckily, the doctors were able to keep her stabilized, although she'd reportedly sustained a serious head injury and would take a while coming to.

Like the doctors had predicted, Sky remained unconscious for days. Rydar, despite not being one to be so open with his emotions, desperately couldn't wait to see her open her eyes; to hear her story and get to know who she was.

He longed to see what would become of them after fate had brought her to him...or him to her.

"I hope you'll be up by the time I return," Rydar whispered in Sky's ear a few minutes before returning to the city for a swimming tournament.

It wasn't about coming first place or winning a medal this time around. All Rydar could think of was traveling back to the hospital to see Sky.

But the eager smile on Rydar's face disappeared when he returned to the hospital and met it in ruins. A fire accident had happened while he was away.

Of all the patients accounted for in the hospital, Sky was one of the few who where nowhere to be found.