Seraiya stood in disbelief as Zack and the mysterious stranger now stood in front of her. "Everyone is watching you you shouldn't let them see your face in such shock" Zack whispered in her ear. It was then that she knew Zack was not her mate. "Who is this?" Seraiya asked simply. "Derek Price," the man said holding out his hand. Seraiya took his hand and gently shook it. As soon as her skin touched his she felt a zap. Electricity shot up her arm and into her heart. He was definitely her mate and he knew it too. There was no way he didn't know. She thought to herself. After all the moment he entered the room his scent hit her so hard it was almost as if she was punched in the gut. She quickly pulled her hand away from Derek's and gave him a smile.
"I would love the honor for a chance to dance with you Alpha" Zack said to Seraiya as he held out his hand to her. Derek shot Zack a glare, one that went unnoticed by Zack.
"The honor is all mine, Mr Lewis-Sinmons," Seraiya said giving him her hand.
Derek clenched his fists. She was his mate, not Zack, and he knew that she knew it. So why did he disrespect her this way? He wondered. Was she not interested in a mate? Was she going to reject him?
Zack led Seraiya to the dance floor as a new song began to play and they began to dance. "Derek is my mate," Seraiya said simply as she looked into Zack's eyes. "What," he said surprised. "Your friend Derek is my mate," she told him again. Zack let out a slight sigh. "And here I hoped it would be me," he told her. Seraiya was silent "Are you mad?" he asked her. "That I wished I was you mate?" he questioned. "What do I have to be mad about?" she asked moving her eyes away from his.
"I don't know, the fact that the boy you grew up with secretly loved you and wished to be by your side forever?" he questioned. "No I understand," she told him. "It's hard not to wish the person you love is your mate" she added. "Amani was the only person I ever loved I never got the chance to find out if she was my mate or not but I guess now I know the answer," she told him.
Zack was silent for a moment. "Amani was your mate" he suddenly told her. "What?" Seraiya said confused as she stopped dancing. "Before Amani died she told us that you were her mate?" Zack told her. "Why didn't she tell me?" Seraiya asked. "She wanted you to find out yourself when you turned 18," he said honestly. Suddenly Amani's dying words as well as the words in her letter popped into Seraiya's mind.
Seraiya froze. She pushed past Zack and slowly left the ballroom. "Alpha where are you…" Seraiya turned to her beta with orange eyes. A signal to him from her wolf not to follow her.
She walked outside into the cold winter air and the woods. She didn't stop until she got half a mile away from the banquet hall. "And I hope that one day you find a mate you love just as much or more than I love you," Amani's voice echoed through her head as she leaned against a tree trying to keep herself from crying.
And who knows? Maybe she or even he is closer than you think.
The words from the letter Amani wrote for her appeared in her mind. "You knew," Seraiya said. "You knew I was your mate and didn't even tell me as you were dying" she whispered.
"I did" She suddenly heard Amani's voice from behind her and turned to see Amani. "This isn't possible," Seraiya said in shock. "A lot of things aren't possible," Amani told her. "Are you her?" Seraiya said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"You have been thinking about me a lot recently," Amani said. "Anya and Aaron as well" she added. "What do they have to do with any of this?" Seraiya asked. "Nothing," said Amani. "I just want you to know that we're all dead because of you" a man I replied. " I mean I guess Aaron chose his path," Amani told her. "As for myself and Anya, I suppose we did too" Amani added. "After all it was us who chose to stay by your side," she said. "Though I knew I would die I do pity her" she continued. "You pity her?" Seraiya questioned. "I do" Amani replied.
"poor Anya Skillcavitch," said Amani. " her ashes lie in the cold ground next to Aaron's and my own" she continued. "Poor thing," she said. "It was not her fault" Amani added. "But we were three moths drawn to the flame," she told her. "And like our bodies…" she added. "We were burned," she said simply. "No," Seraiya said turning away from Amani.
"It's the truth," Amani told Seraiya "No it's not," Seraiya said. "If it weren't for you all of us would be alive," Amani told her. "You don't know that," Seraiya said. "Don't I?" Amani asked.
"I died saving your brother from you, Anya died Protecting you and Aaron chose to die because he couldn't bare the fact that you were the reason the person he claimed as his mate died," Amani told her. "How many others have to die for you to be happy?" Amani asked Seraiya. "Stop," Seraiya said as she began to cry. The guilt she had buried so deep within her had begun to rise as Seraiya leaned against the tree and fell to her knees.
"Think about it Seraiya," Anya said suddenly appearing next to Amani. "If my family never saved you from the cold of Russia you would have frozen to death that night and my parents wouldn't have lost the only daughter they had," Anya told her. "And just think, they had to adopt me just to have a daughter" Anya added. "Kill yourself Seraiya," Aaron said appearing in front of Seraiya.
Aaron suddenly threw a knife to the ground in front of Seraiya. "If you want the guilt of killing us to go away, this is the only way," he told her. "Do it seraiya" Amani told her "Do it seraiya" Anya said. "Do it" Aaron demanded.
"Seraiyas eyes turned pink as she looked down at the knife.
"Do it"
"Do it"
"Do it"
"Do it"
"Do it"
"Do it"
Their words echoed around her as she slowly reached her hand down towards the knife and picked it up.
Seraiya slowly began to put the knife towards her neck and as the blade touched her skin and blood began to drip down her neck
"SERAIYA NO!" Zack yelled.
TO BE CONTINUED