My Long Lost Mate

I awoke with a soft mattress beneath me and a warm blanket wrapped around me. The sound of chirping birds and the quiet crackling of the fireplace pulled me from my dream, waking me up to a new day.

Ah, did I fall asleep on the way back? 

I sat up and took a glance at my surroundings. Where is this? It appeared that I had returned to the manor, but I was in a room I had never seen before. The other side of the bed felt cold, neat, and free of creases. I must have slept here alone. 

The room was quite big, bigger than my room. The walls were painted dark red, with a lot of dark-colored furniture throughout the room. It was kept simple and neat, leaving a lot of spaces empty. With the windows closed, one or two lamps were not enough to illuminate the room. 

I pulled my legs out of bed, wanting to walk around the room. I walked to the windows, opening the curtains to which I was immediately blinded by the sun seeping in. In front was the same greenfield, exactly as how I remembered it to be—except that now there was a blanket of snow there. I was, in fact, back home. 

The rug beneath my feet allowed me to wander around the room without wearing shoes, and the fireplace kept me warm enough that I didn't need to wear thicker clothing. As I looked around the room, I realized that it belonged to the lord. It was the first time for me to be here, after months of staying in the manor. 

I found a few small portraits, which I ȧssumed to be portraits of Luke as a child. Those brilliant red eyes and dark midnight hair gave it all away. There were a few from his babyhood and then more as he grew older. He went from a cute little boy to a handsome young man.

Seeing his portraits made me smile, as I could see the signs of his cheekiness even as a child. There were no portraits of him sitting still among the ones I found, as though it was a difficult task for him to do as a kid. 

Where did the man from this portrait go, I wonder? He was not in the room when I woke up, not like usual, where I would find him staring at me, waiting for me to wake up. Is he in his office? 

I decided to look for him, fetching my shoes from under the bed and putting them on before heading outside. As I opened the door to the room, I could immediately felt the cold piercing through my bones, prompting me to close the door right after opening it. 

"Gosh, it's cold," I shivered, going back to the room to take a coat by the hanger and wrapping it around my body. Satisfied with the warmer clothing, I opened the door to the room again, finally going out to look for my mate. 

"Weird, did I take a wrong turn?"

I scratched my head, wondering where did it go wrong. I have been going around the manor for so long, but I was yet to find the corridor where it leads to the office building. I must have been away for too long to remember the way around the manor. 

I continued walking, but for the third time, I found myself back at the rose garden. Frustrated, I took a seat by the bench, wanting to take a rest for a moment.

It should be illegal to build a house this big! Is this a maze? I can't seem to find my way to my destination. 

I let out a sigh, knowing that the actual maze was right behind me. The rose garden, as I remembered, was built in the shape of a maze to the secret place Luke brought me to. But why does it feel like this whole building is built like a maze? 

I glanced at the roses behind me, seeing how they were still holding on despite the winter. 

"Life is tough, isn't it?" I huffed, touching the roses gently. I leaned back on the bench and raised my hand to shield my eyes from the bright sun above, gazing up at the sky.

Still, even if I couldn't find my way around here, I was happy to be back.

Being in this place made me feel safe—it felt as if this was a place where I could truly feel at ease. Was it because this was the place where Luke spent the majority of his time? Everything here reminded me of him, and everything about him made me feel at home. 

It would remind me of the warmth I was given, the comfort, and the love. I've been through so many things, be it good ones or bad ones. Whatever the case may be, all of those things led me here—to where I am right now. I could feel it, the change in me. 

Though I couldn't exactly say that I was physically stronger or that the frequent nightmares I had were no longer plaguing me, I was certain that I was happier. And that, for now, was more than enough for me. 

I got to my feet, encouraging myself to find my way to the office once more. Just as I was about to leave the garden, a voice called out to me.

"Violet? Is that you?" 

I turned to the voice, seeing a woman with short ginger hair. When our eyes met, she dropped everything in her hands and ran towards me, arms outstretched. 

"It is you! Oh my gosh, is this a dream?" she asked as she hugged me tightly, not knowing that I've finally returned home. She then proceeded to examine me all over, asking, "Are you okay?!"

"It's not a dream," I chuckled, not surprised to see her with such a reaction after so long being apart. "I'm fine. You don't have to be worried about me," I said, but she didn't seem to believe me. 

"No! What are you talking about?" she cupped my cheeks, frowning, "Look at you! You've turned to a stick! Did those vampires not feed you at all?!"

Meeting her today just made me realize how much I missed this place. I wouldn't find someone as loud as this beta female if not here. I smiled at her, then leaned in for another hug.

"I missed you, Lisa." 

She was the first one who offered to be my friend, and she was also one of the people who always went out of their way to make sure that I would feel welcomed and comfortable living here. I was grateful to have her as my first friend. 

"Oh, Violet," she said as she wrapped her arms around me once again. "I missed you too—we all do. You have no idea how terrified we were when we first heard about what had happened to you. I'm so glad you are back now."

"I'm glad to be back too," I said, a smile forming on my face. 

"This won't do," she broke the hug, shaking her head vigorously. "Wait until Bob sees you. He will definitely freak out and immediately cook up a feast for you," she pulled my hand, saying, "Come on, let's go to Bob. We need to get you plumper." 

She led me to Bob's kitchen, which was located on the second floor of the office building. This worked out well, as I was also on my way to finding Luke's office. With Lisa's help, I could finally find my way there without circling the manor for hours. I will make a quick stop at Bob's kitchen before heading to Luke.

On our way to the kitchen, Lisa couldn't stop rambling about how the vampires didn't feed me well and how Luke allowed me to turn this skinny. She couldn't believe I had gotten as skinny as I was when I first arrived here. It was terrible, as she said. 

After walking for some time, I finally found the building that I've been looking for all morning. It turned out that I kept taking the wrong turn, causing me to circle the manor several times. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief upon arriving. 

Going to the second floor, we made our way to Bob's kitchen to start my journey of getting plumper. I had no objection, as I missed Bob's cooking the most. If I could, I would like to spend the rest of my life eating the food Bob makes. Oh, how I've missed Bob. 

As usual, the aroma of Bob's delectable cooking greeted me as soon as I stepped foot onto the second floor. Smelling it made my stomach growl, feeling even more impatient to taste Bob's food as soon as possible. It had been so long—too long—since we've been apart.

I opened the door to the kitchen, immediately seeing Bob, who was cooking something alone in his kitchen. Bob, noticing someone else's presence in the kitchen, turned to look at the door and gasped almost immediately.

"Miss Violet!!"