5 - Pure Hell

Ruin

I’m pacing the bedroom that will be mine for the next few months, trying to keep my cool and failing miserably. 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU BLOODY TELL ME?!”

I’m on a call with Ryker right now and I don’t give a shit if he is my superior, he knew what he was setting me up for when he sent me here. He knew this woman was my biggest regret and still he sent me here.

“Can you calm down so I can speak?” he says in a low voice, quelling my anger with his tone alone. “I told you to keep an open mind, didn’t I?”

I scoff. “An open mind? That’s what you call this, mate? You knew what I was walking into and you kept quiet about the entire thing!”

“What does it matter whether I told you or not? You would still have had to go on this fucking mission, Ruin,” he says, bordering on a growl, then he sighs. “Listen, I know this is going to be difficult, but it’s only for six months.”

I sit down on the bed and pinch the bridge of my nose. “No, it’s more complicated than that,” I say, gritting my teeth. “Turns out this woman is … my wolf’s mate, but I’m sure you knew that, too.”

“What did you just say?” 

A frown forms on my face when I hear the hostility in his voice. “The girl, Chloe Jane, she’s my mate,” I answer him.

I never thought I’d be susceptible to the shifter mate bond, to be honest. When we were reincarnated as vampires, none of us met our so-called Fated, so what makes this reincarnation so different from the others?

“Fuck,” Ryker says, blowing out a breath. “I promise you, I didn’t know she was your mate, Ruin. The Fates never showed me this link between you, and you know I am aware of everything that goes on.”

An uneasy feeling ripples up my spine just as he says this, and it feels as if something has shifted in the air. Ryker has the First Sight, he can see things before normal seers even get wind of it. 

So the fact that The Creators didn’t show him the mate bond…

“Wait, why would they not show you this? Do they have something different planned for us this time around?” I say, pacing the floor and for the first time ever, anxiety settles in my bones.

The Creators have never done something like this before, have never kept vital information from Ryker. So what could this mean for all of us? Will we all be … getting mates at this rate?

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out. Give me some time to speak with them and I’ll get back to you,” he says. “Sorry about this, Ruin. If I knew—”

“I know,” I interject. “Just see what’s going on and why they’ve done this. The last thing any of us need is the complication of a bloody mate bond.”

Hanging up without waiting for him to respond and throw my cell phone onto the bed. Meeting Chloe Jane was jarring enough. Now to find out that our bond might be fated? What the fuck are The Creators thinking?!

***

The following morning, things are even more strained; well, for me at least. Being close to her for a few seconds was difficult enough, but now I constantly have to be at her side. 

It would help if she wasn’t endearing or cute as hell. She’s beautifully clumsy, and gets flustered for no apparent reason. But I think I know the reason is me; there’s no way she can’t feel this bond between us.

How fucking cruel must The Creators be to do this to me? Then again, I probably deserve this with the amount of lives I’ve taken since my inception. Now I can do nothing but feel my cursed wolf pine for its mate, and honestly I wish I could bring myself to say the Rejection Vow.

“Ruin,” her sing-song voice calls to me and snaps me out of my thoughts. “Could you please escort me to the back garden?”

I’m standing behind her while she’s reading in the parlor, and only just notice she’s looking straight up at me. Her hearing must be super sensitive if she knows exactly where I’m standing. 

I take her hand and place it on mine. “Just tell me where you need to go,” I say, and she slowly gets to her feet.

Her heart is beating incredibly fast, and she sucks in a breath when she accidentally stumbles into me. Gods, I’m drowning in her sweet peach scent and I swear it’s fucking torture being this close to her and not being able to do anything.

But even as I think about doing anything to her, guilt rears its ugly head. I’m the reason she’s blind; I’m the reason she lost her mother. There’s no way around that, and I deserve whatever fucking punishment this is.

We step outside and a Spring breeze ruffles her dress and causes her hair to fly into my face. I stifle a growl and lead her over to a garden gazebo where I see her lunch has already been set up. 

“Just over there, thank you,” she says and I help her up the three short steps into the gazebo. I pull out a chair for her and she murmurs a thank you, then I step back and leave her. 

This will be my job for the next few months; watching her, keeping an eye on her for whatever reason her father wanted me here. Standing around and doing fuck all while acting like her shadow. 

I get that whatever bill they want to pass is important, but would they really go out of their way to harm her again?

As I’m thinking this, I see Chloe Jane’s sister walking towards us and when she sees me, she gasps. I nod in greeting and she gives me a fake smile before scampering towards her sister.

I tune them out while scanning the grounds. There are plenty of hiding spots here. I’ll need to speak to her father about getting more men out when she decides to be outside in the garden. Fair enough, I can take them, but I’d rather not show my true form in front of these people.

“...marrying him?” Chloe Jane’s voice causes me to frown and when I look at her, I notice her eyes are welling up with tears. “You knew about it, didn’t you? It’s why you were so awkward when they were here. You knew Daddy didn’t just sell me as a bride, but as an incubator as well!”

Woah, what the fuck? I look at Chloe Jane, wiping her tears away and sniffling, while her sister looks as guilty as sin. What the hell is going on here?

“It wasn’t my place to say anything, CJ,” her sister says, and takes her hand. “This was an arrangement between Daddy and Alpha Mason. He should have been the one to tell you, not me.”

Well, if she’s so adamant about it, why isn’t she looking remorseful? I narrow my eyes at the sister, deciding then and there that I don’t bloody trust her. There’s something off about her, and it’s not just the way she’s looking at Chloe Jane as if she can’t stand her.

“I suppose so,” Chloe Jane says, then she gets to her feet and holds out her hand toward me. “Ruin, please take me back to my bedroom.”

Her sister stands up. “I’ll take you—”

“I’d rather you not,” she says as I take her hand and lead her down the steps. One glance back at her sister and I don’t just see contempt, but a flare of anger as well. “Thank you, Ruin.”

“Only doing my job, love,” I say, and nearly fucking kick myself for using that endearment. 

She holds onto my forearm as I lead her up to her bedroom, and only when she closes the door on me, do I realize what she just discussed with her sister. 

My fated mate is being married off to some fucker named Alpha Mason.