The Latent Sentinel

A DARK SECRET 2

Ethan POV:

I am in the cave before I can contemplate anything else. Laying her down on the bed, I gently covered her up with the blankets and duvets. I grabbed a pair of shorts and covered myself up as fast as possible. I put my clean t-shirt and shorts on her, so she is covered. I don’t want her to freak out when she wakes up. Building a fire, I tried to warm her up. Medicines and a cold pack should help her fever. She is burning up. Throughout the night, Argus paces in my mind while I take care of her. She has cuts and bruises, but they heal really fast. It is strange, she is burning up, but she doesn’t have a fever. It makes no sense. When a shifter has a fever, it's different, their skin turns pale yellow, and chills can be felt in their limbs. She is neither shaking nor shivering and her skin is normal, making me believe she doesn’t have a fever. Her breathing and heart rate are normal. I don’t know what is happening to her. I look into her eyes when they burn bright and start glowing.

“Hello, Mate. Will you let go of my eyes? They hurt if you keep pulling them open like this.” She whispers in a deep voice which sends a shiver down my spine. I panicked when hearing her speak and fell on the floor. She just laughs, giving me her hand.

“My mate,” Argus whispered, getting up and going towards her. I don’t know how others feel about meeting their mates, but the cave is surrounded by some weird energy. As soon as Argus touches her hand, both of them lift in the air and the energy swirls around them. I can feel everything happening around us, but I can’t hear anything. Everything feels different, suddenly my vision is brighter.

“Mate, will you do something for me?” She asks in her deep gentle voice which has a different kind of power to it.

“Anything for you, my love,” Argus whispered, leaning closer to her ears. Argus is trying to be his charming self. He is already entranced by his mate.

“Please don’t tell Ella that we are mates.”

As soon as those words leave her mouth, pain and hurt slam into me. The emotions belong to both of us. Realizing that our mate doesn’t want me, makes Argus whimper in pain. Fate hates me. If my family didn’t want me, then why would my mate want me? I am just someone who no one wants. A lone tear escapes my eyes as I watch her closely waiting for a rejection.

She slowly brings her hand closer to my face and touches me with her soft hands. She wipes the tears away and looks at me, kissing my lips gently.

“Mate, we are not rejecting you. Ella has endured a lot. She doesn’t trust anyone. If you simply tell her that we are mates, she won’t trust you. I want her to trust you and believe in us. Give her time, give us a chance.” She whispers, looking deep inside my soul.

Her words give me hope, but my heart hurts for her. We are both alone, and we have our demons. She looks so innocent, but there is a sense of darkness and pain behind her gentle smile. She is petite and at least a foot shorter compared to me. Her midnight black hair frames her face, making it look even more alluring. Her caramel skin and rosy lips make me stop breathing. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. Her petite figure is so tempting, she is the definition of sin created just for me.

“I promise. I would do as you say.”

She breaks the spell, and I feel sheepish that she caught me staring at her. She just smiles and hugs me. Before I can respond, she falls asleep right in my arms. Time goes faster after that moment. She wakes up again without any memories of our first meeting. She is adorable in her mousy movements. I want to enjoy every moment of our time together with her. Her adorable smile and her gentle manners are mesmerizing. I want to capture her in my memory and my drawings. I want to capture every detail of her kind smile in my notebook. I watch her and sketch her when she is not looking at me. I want to capture every moment in my memory. Our time together is unreal, I feel as if I am living a dream. But every dream comes to an end. That thought tears me apart. Time rushes through my hands like hot sand, and before I know it, my happiness is destroyed before I can capture it.

When those hunters and rogues showed up, I hated leaving her behind, but I wanted to protect her. I would have behaved differently if I knew what this lapse in judgment would cost me. I didn’t know that this moment would lead to my worst nightmare. When Ella screams her rejection at me when the rogue attacks us again, my heart shatters. The pain and agony is too much for me. I wanted to protect her, but I lost her completely.

I lay there in the cave even after she was gone. I lost her. But realizing that she could be attacked again, I abandoned my pain and ran behind her. I followed her from a distance. I found her near the lake. She was crying her eyes out. Knowing that she is doing this for me makes me feel like a failure and the guilt drowns me. I just sat there and waited for her.

Thinking that I was not good enough for my mate made me feel like a failure. Her pain and loneliness are because of me. She couldn’t trust me enough to keep her safe; the failure had hurt Argus. He barely talked to me after that night in the cave. He is growing weaker day by day, as if he has given up on living.

Every day Argus found her at the lake, and I stayed with her till I had to visit the clinic. The pain swallows me like a raging river we saved her from, but there is no one to save me. The hatred and pain have become my new best friend.

When suddenly I can feel the memories slipping away from me, I fight hard. I want to hold on and feel the pain. I try to hold onto them a little longer. Alas, I am left with the darkness and nothingness which is my life.

Flashback ends.