"Rose, I reject you as my mate," Jesse Zeklos spat out, a look of contempt present all over his face. I look up at my now former mate, his eyes full of disgust as I feel my heart break in a million pieces. I honestly didn't know if my heart could be put back together. It felt like suddenly I was pulled into a vacuum of space and emotion, devoid of any happiness, my world, my life, shattered by these six words. Tears threaten to spill down my cheeks as a wave of nausea rolls over me, bringing me to my knees. Looking down at me, he shakes his head and begins to walk past me.
"Jesse, wait –" I try to reach for his hand to stop him, desperate that maybe he could change his mind, reverse the break if that was even possible now, but this just seems to anger and revolt him more. He yanks his hand back from me. "Get off me, bitch," he hisses, before spitting down at me. Continuing down the hall, he slams the door shut behind him, leaving me alone on the floor.
I'm overcome by silence as what just happened weighs heavily on my shoulders and on my heart. Rejecting a mate bond is no flippant decision. Every person has one mate. Between a mated pair, once the younger of the two turns seventeen, the bond suddenly becomes active. At that moment, mates can sense each other, feeling when the other is nearby. Once mates accept each other and seal their bond, they connect at a deeper level, able to feel what the other is feeling, able to have an increase sense where they are, know if they are safe or in danger. The bond never dies until death comes for one of the mates, and usually the other mate doesn't live much longer afterwards, wasting away in pure agony with their mate gone.
The Moroi often end up mated with other Moroi, but Dhampirs must mate with Moroi too. This rule ensures the survival of our species, as two Dhampirs cannot bear children together, while a Dhampir and a Moroi can.
A big component of mate bonds is that they only work if both sides accept the bond. If one rejects the other, something that often happens to young Dhampirs when they are mated with a Moroi that comes from a powerful family like one of the royals, the bond breaks, an excruciating and soul crushing experience. One that I just endured and will have to endure for the rest of my life.
I don't know how much time has passed while lying on the hallway floor, minutes, hours, but eventually I get up and carry myself back to my room, which is thankfully not to far away. As I drag my feet, I can't help but think over the events of the day. I had woken up feeling excited, like everyone usually does on their seventeenth birthday, wondering if their mate is already seventeen and able to sense them. I perused my closet, looking for a cute outfit to wear throughout the day, wanting to look presentable and attractive to my mate if I found them. I had decided on a pair of dark blue jeans, a few tears in each knee, combined with a red blouse with a tasteful yet not slutty neckline, showing just enough cleavage to be enticing. I had even applied a little mascara and lip gloss, something I never do, and styled my hair to fall in soft waves down my back.
I had made my way down to the cafeteria, meeting up with Lissa, my best friend and a Moroi, the last surviving member of her royal bloodline, the Dragomirs. I didn't see her, so after grabbing a tray complete with pancakes, bacon, and an apple for good measure, I take a seat at a vacant table, and dig deep into our bond that we share, searching for her whereabouts. The bond between Lissa and I is not the same as a mate bond. In fact, I'm not even sure why we have it. It happened after we were involved in a car crash, the same car crash that killed her parents and brother. We alone had survived the accident, by some miracle. And since then, I've had this one-sided connection to Lissa.
Through it I can feel her emotions and thoughts, as well as see what she sees. Which is why she doesn't scare me as I see her try to sneak up behind me, recognizing my own soft curls that I had meticulously just spent so much time making look presentable. "Happy Birthday," she says, popping spontaneously out of nowhere behind me. I look over my shoulder, an amused look on my face. "Did I scare ya?" she asked, earnestly.
"Not even close, but nice try," I say flippantly, grinning before going back to my pancakes with syrup.
Lissa narrows her eyes at me, hands on her hips. She purses her lips, suspicious of my reaction. "You used the bond didn't you. You knew I was coming," she says definitively, plopping down in the seat next to me.
I put I an expression of mock innocence. "Oh, whatever are you talking about? I was just sitting here enjoying my pancakes when –" I start, batting my eyes at her.
"You know you're the worst liar ever. You suck!" She exclaims, playfully punching my bicep. I laugh a little at her choice of words.
"Yeah, Lissa, I'm pretty sure that between the two of us, it's you who does the sucking," I retort with a devilish grin, "And I don't even mean in the sexual way, though when you find your mate –" I don't get any father before Lissa punches my arm again.
"ROSE, Oh my god! Shut up!" She says, her cheeks beet red in embarrassment at my comment, but she ends up laughing anyways. "I swear one day I will get you. I will scare you so bad. And you won't even see it coming." She threatens. But I stopped listening the moment she punched my arm, because all my senses went on high alert. My heart started pounding in my chest.
"Rose?" Lissa asked, eying my cautiously after taking notice of my change in behavior. I turn to look at her sharply. I take a look around the cafeteria, before figuring out why my senses are as heightened as they are. It all clicked in place the moment I laid my eyes on a certain golden haired Moroi who was starting right back at me. An inner dialog I have never heard before bubbled to the surface, one word taking precedence over all else. Mate. Abruptly I stand up, never taking my eyes off him. But something he does confuses the shit out of me. Instead of walking towards me, while I start to walk towards him, he turns about face and marches off in a hurry in the opposite direction.
I ignore Lissa's call for my attention and march after him, following him down a hallway that connect the main building of the academy to the Training Gym, which isn't to far from the Dhampir dorms.
"Jesse," I call, chasing after him. He was pretty fast for a Moroi, which says a lot because Dhampirs are known for their speed and agility. "Hey wait up!" I call again.
I turn one last corner to find him standing in the hallway an uneasy look on his face. My breath hitches in my throat as I take a deeper look at him. Slowly I bite my lip, feeling a mild heat building inside as my eyes rake over his body. Holy Hell he was attractive as fuck. I mean, I'd always thought he was attractive as a Moroi, but now? Damn.
In the past, he and I had occasionally hooked up in our spare time. Well, not actually hook up since we never had sex, but we definitely did other things. He'd always tease about taking a bite out of me and drinking, which is a huge taboo in our world. It was only not taboo to be bitten and drank from during sex if you were a mated pair. Afterall, that's how the mate bond is sealed after both parties accept the bond. I'd always tell him no, not looking to be known as St. Vladimir's blood whore. I shiver a little as that phrase crosses my mind, but relax a moment later, because now I found my mate, and it wouldn't be taboo anymore. But something about his facial expression still makes me a little worried.
"Where are you off to so quickly?" I ask him, looking deep into his bluish grey eyes. His eyes seemed to want to look everywhere but mine. "Hey, what's the matter?" I try to close the gap between us, my hand reaching up to his chin, trying to get him to look at me.
The slap of my hand away from my face was a shock to me. "Don't fucking touch me."
I stood there, cradling my own hand with my other, an incredulous look on my face. "What was that for?" I ask demandingly.
His hands ball into fists, his knuckles turning white as he slowly looks at my face, his eyes shifting from uneasy to full of pain and another emotion I just couldn't pinpoint. "You can't be my mate," he says slowly, more careful of his words.
I furrow my brows, a confused look on my face as I try to make sense of his words. "Are you saying that whatever higher power that controls mate bonds was wrong?" I asked, my hands resting on my hips, hoping the sliver of humor in my question would ease the tension. If only I was more wrong.
He gives me another look, one with more of that emotion I can't seem to place and another I notice that has joined the party, disgust. I slowly bring my hands away from my hips. This obviously isn't how I expected this to go. "No, you don't seem to get it. This has to be a mistake," he starts, irritation like venom dripping in every word her spoke. "I'm the next in line for the Zeklos bloodline. I'm to be the head, lord, of my house. And I get mated to you? A whorish Dhampir? How is that going to look for my house?" The smile that once sat on my face during breakfast seems so distant now as a look of hurt, worry, and more confusion replaced it. Jesse just stood there, running a quick hand through his hair.
I stay silent as I try to figure out what I would even say to him at this point. Part of me wants to stick up for myself and point out that I'm not a whore, but the other wants to explain that having me as his mate ensures that he will have great protection. Most Dhampir mates of Moroi end up being their personal Guardians, the mate bond being a huge help, and I'm shaping up to be one of the best Guardians of my graduating class. Of course, I've been planning on being Lissa's Guardian for practically my whole life now, my bond with her now being an important factor in that career goal, but I'm sure I can make it work between the two of them.
But he speaks before I even have the chance to defend myself.
"Rose, I reject you as my mate."
Just like that, I've made it back to my room. A steady flow of tears staining my cheeks as I unlock my door. Complete emptiness is all I feel as I shut and lock the door behind me. Fuck going to class today. My life just ended the moment it started. I plop onto my bed, curling my knees to my chest, a little like the fetal position, with my back to door, and continue to ponder over what emotion was in his eyes that I couldn't seem to recognize in that moment. I'm moments from falling asleep, letting the world melt away around me when I finally come up with the answer.
It was guilt. He felt guilty for breaking the mate bond between up. I stifle a sob, and I can't help but wonder if that makes me feel better or worse about the whole situation.
Author's note: New Story! Super excited about this one. Let me know what you think, and don't forget to Fav/Follow! Stay Safe Friends!
Bridget (DearDeathbed)