My Long Lost Mate

My eyes went wide, my mouth agape when I heard his answer. His answer caught me off-guard. I didn't expect that it would be something so... different. I thought it would be some kind of salve but, maybe I should have known better that there was no salve that could work that fast. I turned my body towards him, staring at him but was at a loss for words. What should I even say?

"Don't look at me like that," he turned my body back towards the mirror, then continued brushing my hair, "I only did it in... appropriate places."

"W-where, exactly?"

"Do you really want to know?" he asked, and I bit back my lips. Would it be better for me to not know about it? I suppose it would be best to not ask any more questions, considering the shocking answer I got from my last one. It was a relief that I was unconscious when he, um, did his thing.

"You shouldn't have done that," I mumbled, "It must be dirty."

"It's not," he chuckled, "I'm sorry for doing that without your consent. I just wanted you to heal faster so you wouldn't be in too much pain when you wake up."

"Why are you sorry?" I stared at him, looking at how gentle he was when handling my hair, "I should be thanking you for caring about me. Thank you."

In this world where people were always so cruel to me, there was someone who showed me kindness, someone who cared. It felt good knowing that even I could have such a person in my life. And it felt even better that he was that person.

"Do all werewolves have that ability to heal someone by ŀɨċkɨnġ them?"

"We all do, but we can only heal our own mate. It won't work if it's someone else," he explained.

"Can I heal you too?" I looked at him expectantly, wondering if I could do the same to him. It would be really cool if I have such an ability too.

"I wish," he laughed, "Sadly, you can't because you are not a werewolf."

I could feel my shoulders drop when I heard it, though it was not an unexpected answer. After all, I was a mere human. I didn't have any special abilities like what the dark creatures have.

"Werewolves only heal each other when they couldn't heal themselves. It was an ability that the Moon Goddess gave us to protect each other when the time is dire," he patted my head, "I have an amazing healing ability, so don't worry about it."

Even after hearing his explanation, I couldn't help but feel disappointed at that fact. I couldn't do something that any other werewolves' mate could do because we were born different.

"Why the long face?" he pinched my cheeks, shaking them back and forth, "Are you disappointed because you don't have any reason to lick me now?"

"It's not that!" I denied, my cheeks turning bright red at his remark, "Why should I even lick you," I grumbled.

"Just say the word, Violet," he winked cheekily, "You don't need any reason if you want to do so."

"I said it's not that!"

He only laughed, then carried me out of the chair to the bed as if it was natural for him to do so. Placing me on the bed softly, he ċȧrėssed my cheeks, "You should rest more, rabbit."

The door made a knocking sound before a woman's voice was heard from outside the room, "Sir, may I come in?"

"It's the doctor," he uttered, "She's a human, by the way."

With that being said, he walked towards the door, opening it for the doctor to come in. Immediately after, a woman with long black hair made her way into the room while carrying a bag in her hand.

"Oh, you are awake," she clasped her hands, "I'm Nancy, the doctor in charge of you," she bowed, kindly introducing herself. I warily looked over to Luke, not feeling comfortable with the new presence in the room.

After my last encounter with a stranger, I was not very open to meeting someone new. It was unknown to me whether this person would do harm to me or not, even though I knew that she was a doctor and a human at that. There was no guarantee that a human couldn't do harm—spoken based on experience.

"She won't hurt you," Luke ȧssured me after feeling my eyes on him, at the same time exposing my wariness to the doctor herself, "I will be here," he crossed his arms over his ċhėst, his feet glued to the floor below him.

"He's right. I won't hurt you," Nancy took no offense and laughed, "I will be doomed if I did such a thing to a werewolf's mate, no?"

"You knew?" I inquired, surprised that she knew the existence of the dark creatures. It was not an unknown fact among humans, but it was also not known to many.

"Of course," she chimed, "I've been called to this manor a few times before, back when there was a human girl who lived among the vampires here. It's such a pity that she is no longer here now," she opened her bag, pulling out the tools she needed, "So, how are you feeling right now?"

"A little weak," I responded to her question for her to nod her head, "I don't have any strength on my legs, I can't even stand."

"That's understandable," she smiled reassuringly, "After the amount of shock your body took in, you will need a few days to recover from it. Rest well, and you will be up and running before you know it."

She took my hand gently, flipping it over to open the bandage wrapped on my hand, "If it's not for the sir right here, I doubt you will feel as fine right now," she took a balm and smeared it on my wounds, "He was so frantic the past few days that he didn't even touch his meals and sleep only when he unconsciously fell asleep. And you know what's worst?" she quizzed.

"He would call me every time he woke up from his accidental slumber, asking me to check on you. There was one time that he called me and I had to come here when my house was one hour away, only to listen to his ramble about why you were still not awake. It was three in the morning."

"I thought I called for a doctor, not a tattletale," Luke cleared his throat, stopping Nancy from saying more. "What do you say, doctor? Do you want to change your occupation and try for something new?"

Hearing that, Nancy shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips, "Of course not."

The doctor then focused solely on treating my wounds and changing my bandages. After she finished tending all of my wounds, she politely bid her farewell to both of us then rushed out of the door in the fear of losing her job.

Luke walked to the fireplace, putting in more logs of wood for the fire to burn as the fire was starting to cease. I stared at the fireplace, reminded of my old room that was not given the luxury of a fireplace. My room was never warm enough for me to sleep in which was the reason I would very often catch a cold when the weather grew cold. The only thing I had with me was an old blanket to help me get through the cold.

I used to sleep in the attic, along with the stuff that was thrown in only to collect dust as they were no longer of use to the people. They must have thought that I was as useless as those things so it was only right for me to be there. The only time I was allowed to head downstairs was when it was night time when people were asleep and none could be seen—or when I was needed in the underground room. In conclusion, for all the time I lived there, I was either on the very top side or the very bottom side of the manor. But I must admit there were a few times where I grew a little rebellious and decided to head downstairs without the people knowing.

Luke made his way to the other side of the bed and casually lifted the covers before he got inside the bed. "You are sleeping here?" I asked the man.

"Yeah, where else?" he was lying on his side, propped up on one of his elbows, hand supporting his head, "There is no other vacant room."

I doubt it. Looking at how big the room we were in right now, I must ȧssume we were staying in a building that was no less in size compared to Luke's manor. But I stayed quiet as I didn't mind his company. It was the only company that I could feel comfortable with at the moment. As it was not the first time we shared a bed, I knew that he wouldn't do anything weird.

"You lied," I pouted at him, "The doctor said you didn't eat and sleep well."

"Don't listen to her," he jabbered, "I did all those things when she was not around."

I sighed and stared at the man before me, wondering how I could meet such a person. He was a little cheeky, but he was mostly kind and gentle. It felt like he was a whole different species. Was it right for me to be with him?

He was someone that was so different than me. He was someone that was way out of my reach. Someone that was so brave and strong, someone that was so full of love and warmth. He was everything that I am not. How could two people that are so different be with each other?

"What is it?" he asked, looking at how I was staring at him, "Am I that handsome that you couldn't take your eyes off me?" he smirked.

"Are you never disappointed... when you found out that your mate is a human?"

The smile on his face soon fell, and the jaunty atmosphere around us turned serious. "No," he answered sternly. "How many times do I have to tell you, Violet? I don't care about what you are. It makes no difference to me whether you are human or werewolves or any other kinds."

"But we are just so... different," I faltered. "I couldn't help but think that it's not my place to be with you. It would be better if... if you met other werewolves."

"Who said that?" he sat up, taking my hand in his, "If it's not you, Violet, whose place will it be? From the moment I was born, I was destined to be with you. You are the only person that could ever fill the spot beside me, the only person to complete me."

"But there is nothing that you could ever gain from being with me," I frowned, "Just look, all I've ever done was being a burden to you."

"You are far from a burden," he shook his head, threading his fingers through my hair, "You are a gift, Violet. I gained my happiness from you, and there is nothing in this whole world that could ever be better than that. No one could tell me otherwise."

How could a person be this kind? No, how could a person be this genuine and loving?

"Truthfully, the only reason I stayed with you is because I don't have anywhere else to go and it was the safest for me to stay," I lowered my eyes, fiddling with my fingers, "I feel bad because it feels like I'm taking advantage of your kindness... your feelings."

"Then tell me, Violet," Luke cupped my cheeks, raising my head so that I could see him in his eyes, "Do you trust me?"

Do I trust him? It was the same question that he asked me when I told him that I will be leaving. That time, my answer was that I didn't trust him. But after the time I spent with him, I came to know that he was different, different than the people that I knew.

"I trust you," I answered, staring deep into his eyes, "More than anyone."

"Then it's enough," he smiled, "I don't care if you are taking advantage of me. You can take whatever you want from me and I will still allow you to."

"Why?" I asked as he pulled me into a hug. For the umpteenth time, I sunk into the warmth of his side. Somehow, his touch made the room warmer and my heart fluttered.

"Because I'm a fool for you."