Leah's Mate Is Red-eyed

Leah's POV

It was still the first hours of a bright morning, and Aaron and Maggie were at the left side of my bed, holding their hands together.

Maggie's face was going pale at each look at me, turning into a color similar to a faded white cloth. Aaron, her husband, was mostly holding her up, and so, all his focus wasn't on me, even though I was the cause of the paleness on her face.

“Finding a mate would be of some help to her.” Her voice had a crying tone, but she wasn't in tears.

If her voice could take a color, it would be fading the same way her face had done.

She averted her gaze from me to look at Aaron, her head slightly raised to maintain eye contact with him.

“I feel we should give her more time to relax.” He touched the scalp of my head in the form of a soft massage. “She might know something she needs to do.”

“She could not recall the other part of her dream.”

Their voices were faint to my ears as I was just between sleeping and being awake.

Some moments earlier, my head was throbbing, and the pain felt like a headache, or something similar to it. It was worse than that, and could never be compared to any form of pain I had experienced.

In just a small amount of time, I realized the pain wasn't really the issue. It was simply an emotional pain trying to find a physical expression in me. It transformed into bodily pain that my head could not contain.

Those red eyes.

They were gazing at me, and it happened that I began to feel bite marks on my skin. It was strange, anyone who has had the same experience could attest to it.

The horror increased when the eyes lost the face that was holding them in place. It had faded, but the eyes stayed behind, watching to make sure I was the center of attention.

The dream had a dire effect on me.

I had found myself taking a morning stroll at an hour when darkness still had its place. Maggie had claimed it was an unusual kind of training to help sharpen a good hearing ability in me, and I made no objection. She was my mother and also the alpha of our pack, why would I think that she had no experience?

All the members of our pack, the Greymoon pack, knew of her wits.

Our stroll went on for some minutes I could not keep track of, and the only form of sound that came to our ears was that of the wind blowing against the leaves of trees, causing them to take dance steps.

She stopped walking. “Your ears.”

Her usual rounds had started.

“What about them?” I touched my ears.

She turned around in circles, holding my hand. “It's like the sound of a wolf’s pulp.”

Ooh…. Was that it?

I tuned my ears to filter out the sound of the leaves, and with some gradual effort, I heard the same thing.

“Wait for me!”

She left my side to walk in the direction of the sound source. Strangely for me, after she had left, the sound turned into footsteps approaching. 

She was far gone into the dark, and there was no way I could call her.

I turned around to see who was coming closer to me. It was unfortunate that the darkness prevented me from seeing clearly.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Why would anyone be out by that time?

It was a man wearing a black suit with a sword hung at the side of his belt. His dressing wasn't new, but it gave me an ominous feeling. 

As if my question had triggered him, he pulled out his sword and rushed to me.

His sudden action towards me had caused shock to freeze the blood flowing in my legs, making them too heavy to run, and instead, settling for a sluggish movement. Maggie wasn't anywhere close to help me out. It was the start of a dilemma against me.

When the man was three steps away, he focused his red eyes on me, imprinting them into my mind before going for my head with his sword.

Everything had gone blank. A total emptiness.

I could not remember the feeling of pain. My eyes re-opened to see that the gown I had worn was soaked in blood.

It all faded off, and the blood on the floor materialized into my red bedspread. 

That was when I woke up.

Slowly, I managed to stand up from my bed, trying hard to avoid making a sound, it would draw the eyes' attention, I had feared. 

I went into the bathroom to pour water on my head, hoping it would clear me up.

It was my dream, and from the normal experiences from others, I had no hope of escaping it.

Dreaming of future events was my innate ability, and they had always become a reality. I could give a long list of people that had my dreams seal their fate.

When I got outside the bathroom, it was Octavier’s voice I heard.

“Raguel is waiting for you.”

I almost fell to the ground as a result of my head feeling too heavy for my body to carry.

“Good morning.” I mumbled. “I’m coming out.”

Perhaps, she noticed the tone of my voice, and decided to walk inside, instead of standing at the doorstep.

She took a full view of me. “You don’t seem to be in perfect shape.” And then, She touched my head. “You would have to eat before coming out.”

“No, I’m okay.”

Octavier was my friend, one of the gammas’ daughters, and we did train together. Her call was for me to attend training.

“Why not eat?” 

I was used to her asking questions as a way to insist, but I didn't give in. I wasn't used to eating early, especially before training.

“We are waiting for you.” Her voice came out softly, giving a chill to my head.

She took some steps to the door, walked back to me, before finally going out.

I dressed up to meet Raguel in the training hall we had at my home, and as usual, she was dressed in a white outfit, the same one she had always instructed Octavier and me to wear. She was our special trainer.

I bowed my head when she looked at me, and then, she would always come closer to lift my head up.

It became different. 

“Are you okay?” She placed her palm on my face.

The look in her eyes passed an obvious message to me— there was no way I could completely hide my emotions. It was better I had something to cover up.

“It’s a morning headache.”

“A morning headache?” Her brows arched.

“Yes, but I've gone over it.”

I felt it was better I rescued myself from more questions. 

We were about to start the first session, and Maggie and Aaron had come to do what they loved most—to act as spectators. Anything for their daughter.

Octavier and I had started off, but then, the dream started to hunt me. Each swing of Octavier's sword became the red-eyed man bringing out his sword for my head.

I had tried to pretend, but couldn't. Fear had sent me falling to the ground when she got closer to me, and then, everyone got the clue that I had a problem. It wasn't long before I was sitting beside Maggie.

“Tell me.” Her eyes were scrutinizing me, paying close attention to my face.

At that point, I could not keep to myself. Spilling everything about the dream was the only option.

They all stared at me, watching how my face went pale at each second I spoke.

“It isn't complete,” I had said. “I can't remember the other part of it.”

That was when they had carried me to my room, and Maggie and Aaron could not avoid leaving my side as I tried to relax.

“Could we trust a mate?” Aaron asked.

“Her dream says she will die.” She had a pause, it was hard saying “die”. “She needs someone to protect her, and a mate is the best option.”

“We should ask her.” He held her hands the same way couples who had separated would do during a reunion. “It's always her choice.”

“I know.” She sat down at the side of the bed, caressing my jaw with her fingers. “It would be easier for them to come up with a solution as mates.”

“Mates would always love each other.”

That was a point Aaron could not argue, and I thought of going with her idea if it might make a way possible for me. 

I opened my eyes, sat on the bed, and my back rested against the wall. “I would have to find a mate.” 

My voice was weak, and it felt as though my death sentence had started.

“If that would increase the chance of changing my fate, then I have no choice.”

It was that simple.