My Destiny

7

"Are you sure?" I asked yet again.

"Yes, ma'am. We are booked to capacity, " said the front desk associate.

"Well, thanks for everything," I said, moving away from the desk.

I felt a sense of deja vu as I walked over to Cooper, remembering what happened the last time we were here together.

"We have to share the room. The council probably didn't take my request into consideration at all, I guess," I sighed.

"It's alright, I don't mind," Cooper said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Cooper shrugged her shoulders and started walking towards the elevators. I followed behind her, a small smile playing on my lips as I reminisced about the last time we were here. That was the first time I met Cooper's grandparents.

The elevator door dinged open, and we walked out. "I think I need a nap after that long ride," Cooper commented, opening the door to our room.

"Yeah, I bet you do," I said.

"I will take the couch. You take the bed," she offered.

"No, absolutely not. I will take the couch and you take the bed. "

"No, I insist."

"Cooper, you are the one who is recovering. You take the bed. Otherwise, I will feel very bad, " I said.

"Okay, let's compromise here. We share the bed if you are comfortable with it, " Cooper suggested.

"I am fine with it," I said and turned around, pretending to look for something in my backpack to hide the blush rising on my cheek. The last time we shared the bed, we woke up entangled with each other.

"Go ahead and take your nap, I will wake you up later," I said.

"Thanks," Cooper said, stifling a yawn.

Cooper removed her footwear before climbing in the bed to get some sleep. I decided to do some preps for the evening. I pulled out my dress for the evening and set it inside the dressing room along with my makeup. After freshening up a bit, I set an alarm on my phone. I climbed in the bed slowly, making sure not to make any noise. I put my phone on charging before slowly drifting to sleep.

*******

I groaned before dismissing the alarm. I woke up from my nap, yawning. I stretched my hands only for one of them to land on Cooper's soft hair. I turned on my side to get a view of her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful, breathing deeply and calmly. I carressed her hair. She looked so beautiful. Guilt started forming in my heart, I can never forgive myself for hurting her so much, for driving her away from me. I hate myself for that.

Cooper's expression changed a little bit. Her face displayed some discomfort. What is she dreaming about? Is she having another nightmare?

Trigger warning : graphic scenes of violence

All of a sudden, I had a vision. It looked like a warzone. There was smoke and blood, dead bodies everywhere. Some were soldiers, some seemed like the extremist's bodies while some were civillians. Little children lay on the ground, lifeless, some missing limbs while others had their internal parts just hanging out of their bodies. The scene was just greusome.

In the vision, I walked further. We came across a house, and dead bodies were piled inside and outside this house. Dead soldiers and terrorists lay there. Avoiding the dead bodies, I walked up the stairs, walking in further towards the end of the corridor. A few soldiers were cautiously looking inside each and every room. Two of them rushed inside one particular room, panic on their faces. I rushed behind them. As soon as I saw the sight the room held for me, I dropped down to my knees. The woman lay on the floor, dead, multiple gunshot wounds on her body. The gun had pierced through her armor, and she lay in a pool of her own blood. Eyes still wide open, mouth slightly ajar and her hand still clutching her gun.

The graphic scene ends

A pain errupted in my chest, a pain of longing, hurt, and loneliness. A pain that comes from the death of a loved one. It's a pain that makes you numb. And then, all of a sudden, I was back in the room. I was probably seeing Cooper's dream. I think the dead woman in the dream was the same one, I heard that one time when Cooper and I had the same vision. I don't know if this was a flashback or a dream that Cooper was having, but it was horrible. I felt the pain in my heart, I felt horrible. I looked at Cooper. She seemed to be struggling. She was sweating. I shook her, called her name to wake her up.

Cooper woke up startled and breathed heavily. I rubbed her back to calm her down. When her breathing was back to normal, I handed her a glass of water. Cooper wiped her forehead as she slowly sipped the water. I think Cooper is suffering from PTSD, I need to talk to Dr. Rose about this, maybe she will be able to help Cooper.

"Are you alright? You looked like you were having a nightmare, " I said, as I sat beside her.

"Yeah, I think so, I think that I am fine," Cooper said, a tight-lipped smile on her face.

"Cooper, do you want me to call Dr. Rose, I am sure she can help?"  I asked.

"No, I am fine. It was just a nightmare, "Cooper said.

"Would you like to drink a warm beverage?"I asked.

"Huh?"

"In times of distress or discomfort, I find warm beverages like tea and coffee to be comforting. If you like, I can prepare some tea for you," I said.

"Sure, thanks."

I walked over to the coffee station. I added some water to the  electric kettle and heated it. I took a cup, opened a chamomile tea pack, and placed the bag inside the cup before pouring hot water into it.

"Care for some sugar or honey?"I asked.

"Honey is good,"  came her response.

I added a teaspoon of honey from the jar and stirred. I placed the cup in a saucer and brought it to Cooper. She thanked me as I handed over the cup to her.

"Cooper, I don't know what you have been through when you were in the army and when you were captured by the enemies but I am very sure that it must have been devastating, painful and quite lonely. I am truly sorry that you had to go through all that, I truly am. I want you to know that I am always there for you if you need to talk, if you need someone to just listen to you, or if you just need company while we both sit in silence. I am there for you. I will do everything that I can to be of help to you."

"Thanks, Heather. That is sweet of you, " she said.

I felt guilt in my heart for all the things Cooper had to go through and is still going through. I feel bad for the woman who died. Maybe she was Cooper's mate. Cooper is a Lycan. She can have multiple mates. Maybe she and Cooper were mates. I feel so bad for the woman, too, but it hurts so much. Seeing her lying dead on the ground was so painful. I felt like my heart was being squeezed, I felt an emptiness in me after witnessing that loss. I feel like I lost my mate when I saw her like that. Who was this woman? Was she really Cooper's mate?

Cooper sipped her tea. She looked calmer than before. I just wanted to give Cooper a big hug. I needed a hug after seeing that, I think Cooper needs one, too. I scooted closer to Cooper.

"I want to give you a hug if you are okay with it," I said, calling Cooper's attention.

Cooper set the cup aside, looking at me with a small smile on her face. "I'd appreciate a hug," she opened her arms, and I embraced her. The hug was tight and lasted a few seconds short of a minute but felt like a really long one. It was a hug that we both needed, I felt relieved, and Cooper looked more relaxed. She seemed to have melted into the hug. She broke away with a big smile.

"I needed that," she said. "Me too," I replied. We both smiled at each other, a calmness settling over us. Our silence was also comfortable.