The Elemental Mate

Aurora POV

They say when you die, you will see your life flash before your eyes. All of your memories rush through your mind as your final moments grow near.

I had hoped for that when I collapsed into the darkness. I had hoped to relive just one of those moments, preferably a happy one, but just one moment before everything had gone wrong.

But, I wasn’t so lucky.

I didn’t see my past, my memories, any moment that would bring me happiness, or even some peace. I didn’t see anything. But I felt it all.

Pain radiated through my body as time passed. Although, I couldn’t tell how long that was.

But as soon as I felt pain somewhere, it was almost immediately replaced by an electric feeling of warmth and love. The very touch of electricity eradicated some of the pain away. The warmth was inviting as if it was trying to bring me to it like it was trying to bring me back to life.

As, what I can only assume to be time, moved on, the pain started to fade. I could start to feel my own body again. It was a relief in my mind as I realized I might not be dead.

As the pain faded, I could feel myself have more energy. I could feel the mattress laying under me and the blankets I seemed to be tucked into. Pushing with everything I had, I start to peel open my eyelids. After what felt like an hour trying, I finally opened my eyes to be greeted with a dimly lit bedroom.

I could see a setting sun through the window. The light illuminated the room in a soft glow, reflecting off the cream-colored walls. Looking around the room I could see a large desk filled with paperwork and three doors leading to what I can only assume to the bathroom, closet, and hallway.

I could hear some rumbling from the other side of the door, but it sounded far away. I feared to look down at my injuries. I knew the attack was horrible, but I was almost terrified to see the actual damage.

Suck it up, Aurora. You’re a Wytte, not a wimp, my brother’s words echoed through my mind. A ghost of a smile played on my lips as I thought about him.

Sucking up my fear, I slowly lifted my arm and clutched the blanket that was covering me.

“One. Two. Three,” in one swift moment I threw the blanket off my body, but what I saw shocked me far more than I expected. There was no cast on my leg which I was sure I had broken, but only a wrapped bandage. When I lifted the shirt that was currently the only thing covering my body, I saw no bandages or stitches. The site that used to be my wounds now only looked purple and red from bruising.

How did I heal so quickly? I thought to myself.

“It wasn’t quick,” a soft velvet voice spoke out, causing me to turn swiftly to the door.

Did I say that out loud?

A man stood in the doorway, leaning against the wood. I could tell he was extremely tall; definitely over six feet. His haired was tousled around, giving him that boyish look, but I could tell he was certainly in his early twenties. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, which showed off his incredibly well-defined muscles underneath. His beauty astounded me, but what caught my attention the most was his hypnotizingly green eyes. I couldn’t look away from them.

Shaking my head, I tried to focus on what happened, “Where am I?”

He gave me a soft smile as he closed the door and started to walk further in the room. His sudden movements causing me to shift away from him on the bed. As if sensing my discomfort, he stopped moving all together before finally answering me, “You are in Moonstone Pack territory.”

“Pack territory?” I question out loud before I connect the dots, “As in wolf territory,” He only nodded his head, watching for my reaction. I start to tremble slightly as I remember the werewolf that attacked me, the one I had cursed to a slow death.

“Please don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re safe here,” he tells me as he moves closer again and stands near the edge of the bed, but it only causes me to try and move away again. I wince as I move too quickly, causing pain to radiate up my sides and legs.

Before I could even blink, he was in front of me, concern all over his face. He gently touched my side where it hurt, but instead of feeling more pain from the pressure, it was like an electric wire had been pressed against my side. I gasped as warmth radiated through my side, completely overcoming any pain.

He smiled softly before he spoke, “Don’t move, please. You’ll only hurt more; you have to let your body heal.”

“How did I heal so fast?” I ask him, not wanting to ask about the sparks, “How long have I been here?”

“Almost two weeks,” he looked down, as if in shame, “I should have gotten to you sooner. You shouldn’t have been injured at all.”

“Two weeks?” I almost screeched. That’s not possible for me to be this healed in such a short time, not without some serious magic. I was about to ask when the second thing he said stopped me. I moved to pull away from him, so there were at least a few inches between us. He seemed to frown at my movements, “Gotten to me? What do you mean?” I couldn’t shake the slight fear that slipped into my voice.

His green eyes searched my face as if looking for some key insight. He must have found it or given up because he finally spoke, “We were on our way back to the pack when we found you on the side of the road,” he spoke slowly, “You had been seriously injured and-”

“I was attacked,” I state, cutting him off. I watch his jaw clench as his hands clutched themselves into fists. He looked like he was struggling for control over something.

“You were attacked, and you were dying,” he growled out. I watched as his emerald eyes started to darken, just like Cortez’s did. I felt afraid again as I tried to move back, but his arms shot out and gripped my waist, clutching me softly to his chest as he buried his head into my neck.

Sparks of electricity and fire flew through my body. The feeling was extraordinary and thrilling, but the part of my brain that was still afraid wouldn’t allow my body to relax. I started to shake in fear.

As if sensing my distress, the man, who I still had no name of, pulled away from me to look into my eyes. He cupped my face softly in his hands, “Please don’t be afraid of me,” his voice barely above a whisper.

“Why shouldn’t I?” I ask, my voice trembling a little.

His eyes held mine as he spoke his answer, “Because I will never hurt you.”

I don’t know why, but every part of my body wanted to believe him. I was currently in a house I didn’t know the location of, on the side of a bed in the arms of an extremely handsome man, who I had no clue the name of, in the middle of werewolf territory. I had no clue how close the witches were to find me, or if I was in danger of the wolves from this pack. But even with all of my uncertainty and fear, I felt safe. I felt completely safe in a stranger’s arms and I had no idea why.