Chapter 4

Nadine

Biel didn't miss the opportunity to hit me back.

And when I saw the others, they were all serious, as if what I had told them was a sentence. And maybe it was, but it was just a way to protect them, and if I had to be a bitch to do it, I wouldn't hesitate to hurt them if it would keep them alive.

“We don't need to be aggressive here,” said the blonde woman who had introduced us. “I think they need a moment to—”

“We need privacy, Lu,” Biel answered her in a sweet voice. “Go find the high priest, Lion, please.”

The blonde looked at him earnestly, and I could tell there was something longing in her eyes. That bothered me a lot, especially when she complied with Biel's order as if it was nothing.

“Speak up, Nadine; we don't have our whole lives to put up with your tantrums,” Biel said, and I pursed my lips.

“I don't owe you anything,” I replied immediately. “The soulmate test means nothing, so I'm not obligated to get involved with either of you.”

“I'm sorry to be discerning with you, belle,” said the red-haired man I easily identified as Aris. “Just because you don't believe in the soulmate test doesn't mean it's not right.”

“And I'm going to believe it because you say so,” I said defensively.

“Aris and I were there when the test was forged,” said Drago, the blond, and his look narrowly brought me to my knees. “If there's one thing the gods gave us, it was the ability to find someone who fits us in a way that's not just biological but mystical. So the test is a way to facilitate the search. It never lies.”

“Why don't you believe in the test?” asked Connor.

Hearing the voices of the four of them felt like something in my chest had finally clicked.

“Because it's nonsense,” I answered immediately.

“Don't blaspheme about our faith, much less question the system that sustains us,” Biel said, and I remembered who he really was: one of the greatest sorcerers of all time. “That you don't believe in anything to the point of ignoring the blood test is something I can respect, but I won't tolerate you calling centuries of traditions and truthfulness nonsense.”

If I had doubted his animosity before, at that moment I was certain that Biel hated me.

“I see you've already met,” said Lion, who had entered the room quietly. “And from what I see, you have differences about the test.”

“They're not differences,” Connor said with annoyance. “My mate doesn't believe in the test and isn't interested in making a connection with me.”

That was hard to hear, but I stood my ground.

“I beg to differ,” the high priest said and showed the drawing, which caused me to curse through my teeth and immediately Drago took it. “I think she does want to connect with you; she has seen you enough in her visions to feel something. But she has an impediment; may we know what it is?”

The high priest was very smart, so I kept my mouth shut.

Drago detailed the drawing and then looked at me warmly, then handed it to Connor, who looked at it along with Aris, who hadn't stopped studying me since I entered the room.

“That's all of us, and our faces are not only accurate but have very characteristic expressions,” Aris said with raised eyebrows. “You have to explain this to us, belle. Because not to believe the proof, you have an incredible fascination with our features.”

“You draw beautiful,” Connor said with a smile that was devastating to me.

“She's not going to say anything,” Biel said. “And I'm not going to waste my time with someone who doesn't want me in her life. So, if you guys are thinking of begging her, I'm leaving you.”

His words were like a knife stuck in my heart.

I watched him get up, and as he was about to leave, he turned to look at me.

“You can't leave, Biel,” said Lion.

“Sure, I can; as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist,” said the guardian.

“Are you really going to let her go easily?” asked Aris. “I thought a captain of the guardians would be much cooler and more analytical with the situation. She's defensive and scared, and that only happens because of two things: trauma or threats.”

I swallowed saliva and looked to the high priest for help.

The man had the decency to take pity on me, so he put me out of my misery.

“Nadine is the chosen one in a destructive prophecy,” Lion said.

All my mates looked at the priest in surprise.

“You told me the woman was the chosen one in a prophecy about war,” Biel said with confusion. “You didn't say anything about a destructive prophecy.”

I looked at the high priest in bewilderment.

“It's classified to talk about it,” the high priest said. “I was only supposed to notify her and her mates. I'm telling you because you're her mate.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Connor.

“Nadine is an anchor,” Drago said, and I shivered at the word. “She's a supernatural who holds the fate of the world as we know it in her hands.”

“You know about the prophecy?” the high priest asked, and the dragon nodded.

“I was in the temple the day it was sealed. It is an old prophecy dating back some 500 years.”

I clenched my hands and wanted to leave the room immediately; I couldn't listen to what they were saying anymore. I had to get my stuff and get the hell out of there, so I walked to the exit, but Biel stood between me and the door.

“Let me go,” I said earnestly.

“I'm not going to let you leave now that we've been told something so important,” Biel said, and I immediately reacted.

I remembered the moves I had practiced for years, so I threw a kick straight at his balls swiftly, but Biel dodged it expertly, and when I raised my fist to hit him, the wizard conjured up vines of ice. With the vines, he bound my hands and gagged my mouth. He put me inside a sphere of air and sat me on a chair.

If I doubted his abilities before, at that moment I knew I was in serious trouble.

“Let her go; you can't treat her like she's a runaway. Can't you see she's scared?" questioned Aris immediately.

“She's going to listen to everything Lion has to say to her, whether she likes it or not. Her wishes are not above the wishes of others,” Biel said and tightened his grip on the vines.

A warm breeze melted the vines, and I looked at Drago gratefully.

“Nadine needs a respite, not to be subdued,” the dragon said earnestly. “She's afraid of the prophecy; you can tell she knows it.”

Biel turned to look at me with a frown.

“Is that true?” asked the captain of the guardians with his hands ready to conjure something else.

“When the bleeding moon rises over the heavens and the descendant of chaos sets foot on earth, the bonds will be broken and a new age will be formed. Only the power of the soulmates will be able to contain the disaster or unleash eternal darkness,” I recited from memory and watched as the pallor took over Biel's face.

“How do you know the prophecy?” asked Lion.

“A seer recited it by touching me when I was a baby,” I said calmly without telling them about the stigma or the fact that that seer was my own mother.

“Can someone explain to me what the prophecy is about and why my mate is the chosen one?" I don't understand why her and not another,” Connor said, and the priest sighed.

“Centuries ago, the gods dictated a prophecy,” said the high priest. “Then a seer said the girl would appear in visions from the temple and have a stigma of destiny.”

I swallowed saliva, and Connor frowned.

“What do you mean by a stigma of destiny?” The wolf asked with confusion.

“Nadine has a birthmark that is linked with prophecy,” Drago said. “The mark of chaos.”

Biel moved closer to me, and Aris stepped in between the two of us.

“Don't you dare touch her or demand she show you the mark,” the vampire said, very annoyed, and bared his fangs at her. “If you're not capable of sensing how upset she is, I am, and I'm not going to let you bother her anymore.”

Connor eyed me with concern, and Drago stood up.

“You're empathetic,” Biel said.

“Yes, and I know you're very upset, which is why I'm not going to let you near her.”

If I could have kissed Aris, I would have done it without hesitation.

“You must stick together,” the high priest said. “Believe it or not, you are the best protectors Nadine could ever have. That's why we must do more tests and instruct her correctly about the prophecy.”

“I know enough about the prophecy to know that, if I stay here one more minute, it's going to become a damn reality,” I said, annoyed.

“No matter how far you run from fate, you will always face it,” Drago said firmly. “I don't know what you're really hiding, and I know we haven't earned your trust to tell us about it, but as someone who has waited for you for millennia, I'm not going to give up on protecting you.”

If ever I had heard a statement of devotion, it was the one Drago Volterra had made at that moment, and I swallowed hard.

“He's right,” said Aris, who turned to look at me carefully. “If there's anyone who can protect you, it's us. So stay a bit; don't let fear win.”

The vampire was about to make me cry, and Biel moved closer. 

“I think she's a spoiled brat who lost her way when her mother died and—”

I didn't let Biel speak; angrily, I got up from my seat and slapped him.

“Don't even think about talking about my mother again if you don't want me to rip your heart out,” I said angrily, and Biel looked at me with surprise. “You don't know shit, so bite your tongue if you're going to say anything about her.”

“Calm down,” Aris said, and he gently grabbed my shoulders. “Take a deep breath; he's your mate; he's just speaking from ignorance.”

“If you address her like that again, I'm going to rip your throat out,” Connor said, and the high priest stepped closer.

“Let's get out of here for a moment,” Lion said to the captain.

When Biel walked away, I let out a deep sigh and held back the urge to cry.