Chapter 3

*Present day*

“Hey,” Eve was standing outside the training field where I had been all morning, training and trying to take my mind off my worries. “Wanna go out for a walk?” She asked with her usual smile on her face as I walked towards her.

“Sorry Eve, I think I need a little rest.” I flashed her a small smile before walking into the house and headed straight to my room. I shut the door with a sigh, rolling my eyes before plopping down on the bed. The perfect image of my mate made me let out a sigh for the umpteenth time. It would be sad if I didn’t end up with him. I couldn’t bear the thought of ending up with one of these guys around me. My face scrunched in disgust when I remembered the images of the guy that had tried to get to me. None were compared to my mate. Ian? He was almost good, but too clumsy for my liking and very boring, not to mention a nerd. That’s not my kind of guy, never! And the other guys, they had too much ego and loved praising themselves, like they had no mirror to see how Shrek-looking they were.

I buried my face in my pillow, letting out a frustrated cry. I would be going crazy at this moment. The only thought that gave me a little relief was that the goddess wasn’t crazy and would find a way to get us together.

Feeling a throbbing headache, I heaved out a small sigh; I guess I’ve been thinking too much lately. I closed my eyes to take a small nap, a smile spreading on my lips as I thought he might just be thinking about me like I am. I might not be the only one obsessed!

I was awakened by a frantic tapping on my arm fervently, my brows knitted in confusion as my eyes went open, and saw my mom leaning above me with a petrified look. “Valerie, get up!” She urged, gripping my shoulders and pulling me up.

“What-” The words cut in my throat when a blood-curdling scream rang from somewhere around the house.

“What is going on?” I asked, feeling my heart race faster. Mom doesn’t reply, but moves across the room, tossing a pair of shoes at me. I wore the shoes very quickly, trying to come up with an answer to my question since she went silent. When the image of my father rushing into the house earlier today flashed in my head, I knew it had something to do with this. And the short conversation they had in the room, which I was confused about. Mom grabs my arm, pulling me out of my thoughts. She pulled me with her into the hallway. She doesn’t pass down the familiar route to the living room but another secluded corridor next to mine. We walked through a different door, and the screams of people and flesh being torn apart sent shivers down my spine and I hastened my pace, not ready to be torn apart by some flesh-eating monsters. The loud growls and howls made it clear that these were some sort of mindless beasts from the wilds who found our clan.

We arrived at a door that led us to the backyard of the house. I heard Mom let out a cuss as she stared around the yard as if expecting someone. “Valerie, stay right here. Your father was supposed to be waiting for us here. I’ll be right back.” I couldn’t even get a chance to say a word before she scurried off. I paced around nervously for a few seconds before realizing I had to check out for the safety of a certain person. April! I ran towards the building next to ours where Dad’s brother and family stayed. The attackers hadn’t reached the building yet, so I rushed inside, heading straight to her room. April was all alone in her room. Her eyes mirrored fear as the distant screams rang in the air.

The hell! Where are her parents? I was rushing down the stairs, stopping immediately when the door burst open and Eve stepped into the house. “Thank goodness I found you. Hurry, we need to get out of here real fast!” She spoke before I got the chance to worry about how she found out I was here.

I scooped April into my arms, ready to run off the house, but froze when some men stepped into the room, their clothes soaked in blood. I took a step back. Immediately, I noticed they were not vampires. They were our attackers.

“Shit,” I cussed, looking around to see if there was a different door to get out of there. “Stay away!” I screamed as they took a predatory step toward us, their eyes filled with rage. My heart was thumping wild against my chest as I sighted their long claws. My gaze shifted to the door when a figure stepped, and I swore the world stopped around me when the familiar figure I’d been daydreaming about stepped into the room, with stains of blood around his face. As much as I wanted to believe for the moment that he had come to save me, the painful truth slapped that thought from my face.

It couldn’t be, right? My mate could not be the one leading the attack on my clan. Killing my people!

Tears formed in my eyes and I stood rooted to the ground, my eyes fixed on him, unable to put up a fight as the other men dragged April away from my hold. My body felt numb and my heart clenched in anguish, hurt by the betrayal of my supposed mate. I assumed it would be preferable to refer to him as a stranger.

April’s piercing scream rang loudly in my head and I snapped out of my short reverie. Realization dawned on me and I knew they would hurt her if I did not try to protect her. So I took a step to lunge at the man pulling her away, only to be held by another, his claw digging deep into my skin as I thrashed about, trying to free myself and get to April.

I struck him on his nose with the back of my head, causing his grip around me to loosen and I pulled myself away from him, only to come in contact with a punch directly on my nose, sending stars around my eyes. Another hit on my head sends me crashing to the ground, pain surging through my skull. My body went limp and my vision turned blurry. I felt someone kneel next to me, caging my arms behind me and roughly lifting me from the floor and out of the building. April was at my front also being dragged away by these men towards the woods. They walked a few meters inside, stopping at what seemed like a hill, with a good sight of the clan. My heart skipped a beat when I looked around and realized Eve wasn't here with us. Had they killed her?

When they left hold of April, I quickly grabbed her close to me, holding her tightly. "Tyler? What is this?" My voice came out quite shaky than expected, tears stinging my eyes as I stared at my supposed mate.

"I'm not here for some chit chat Valerie, where did your father keep all of his money?" He asked in a cold tone, his face void of emotions.

I scoffed almost immediately, finding it ridiculous he was doing all of this just for money! For power?? I was about to reply but got cut off by the sound of an explosion reverberating through my ears.

"No!" My eyes widened when I turned towards the clan where it came from, flames spreading around and circulating the entire clan.