Kidnapped from her pack and abused since childhood, when Arden finally wanders free into the arms of her mate, how long until her demons come looking for her?
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"Hey Arden,"
"Hey, Kaden said you needed help with something?" I asked, slipping into the chair beside Lumen at the kitchen island.
"Oh...yeah." She said softly, as if distracted by something, "Arden, there is something I need to tell you..."
I stayed silent, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"I have a mate."
"What?"
"I... have a mate." She repeated, tears pooling in her glacier blue eyes.
"Lumen that's great!" I rambled, "Who is it? Is it someone from the pack?"
A single tear slipped down her cheek,
It was then I realised that I hadn't stopped to think about the possibilities... Where was her mate? How come I had never met them? Had she just recently found them or did she find them previously?
"Lumen..." I hesitated, "Where is your mate?"
That was when she cracked, tears cascading like rivers down her face. I lent forwards and wrapped my arms around her, rubbing small and soothing circles on her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"He's dead." She sobbed, "He's gone."
Tears began to brim in my own eyes at Lumen's sorrow, I couldn't imagine loosing my mate. Kaden was my life line and if I lost him... I wouldn't be nearly as strong as Lumen, I wouldn't be able to live.
The thought strangling me, making it impossible to breathe, pushing tears past the thickness of grief. We both remained silent, just crying in each other's arms, I didn't try to console her, or tell her everything would be alright, because that would be a lie.
Her mate wasn't with her, No matter how many times people would say 'it's okay,' and 'everything will be alright,' wouldn't change the fact that it was a brutal lie.
-No one could be certain enough of the future to say that in the end, everything would turn out alright.
Her mate wasn't with her, and that was wrong. -And everyone that told her otherwise was a liar.
Lumen pulled away from me, wiping at her red rimmed eyes. She was still beautiful, even in a moment like this. Her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulder, Like a waterfall of gold, glistening in the sun that beamed through the large kitchen windows, lighting up her face.
Her tears sparkling against her cheeks in the light.
"What do you mean he's dead?" I asked gently, and Lumen wiped at her slightly swollen eyes once more with her sleeve before answering,
"He died, the very same day I met him," She cried, "In a pack-house fire."
Her statement awoke a monster deep within me, My wolf stirring for the first time in months.
'Monster' She hissed, before cutting off our connection and crawling back into the depths of my mind where she had previously lay dormant.
"What's wrong," Lumen asked, her brows furrowing as a single tear escaped from her eye, weaving its way down her cheek like a river through forest pines.
"My wolf," I murmured, "She said something..."
"What did she say," Lumen muttered, rising from her chair to grasp a box of tissues for herself.
"Monster..." I repeated, causing Lumen to make a noise that sounded like a mixture between a gasp and a hiccup.
"Lumen, I need you to tell me everything that happened that night," I felt a sense of urgency, but I couldn't exactly work out what was urgent...
How did the fire start? Who was Lumen's mate? -Was the fire an accident?
"The first time I saw him, was almost six years ago... Arden he was perfect," She mumbled, "But that night, when Kaden threw a party to celebrate...something went wrong, a fire started by the entrance of the pack-house, blocking the main exit."
She sobbed for a minute, before her blue eyes that were now tinged with red met mine, "He saved me Arden."
"What do you mean?" I asked, careful not to push her over the edge.
"He made sure I got out first, before returning to the fire to help others...except, no one else every came back out again." She cried, "My parents died in that fire, Kaden almost died too, trying to save his pack members."
"He didn't die in vain." I assured her, shocked to find out that there had ever even been a pack fire, every time I had visited the pack-house it had always been in mint condition. Although Lumen said that the fire had occurred almost six years ago, so Kaden had probably had it rebuilt since then. Kaden. He risked his own life to save those of his pack members, Because to Kaden, his pack members weren't just people that were below him in status and power, The were his family.
"How did the fire even start?" It's seems impossible that a fire could just start by it's self, and highly unlikely that it could be an accident. Lumen's body stiffened, her eyes turning cold, a glassy sheen of fresh tears still coating their ocean blue, that darkened slightly.
"Elijah,"
***
Chapter for cat-garoo Sorry this chapter is slightly shorter than usual, and slightly below average in general, but writers block is a bitch. ❤️❤️❤️I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that reads my books, it means the world to me and it never ceases to amaze me how amazing you guys are and how positive all the comments are❤️❤️❤️ Anyways... Don't forget to vote and comment! -🍟
