The Perfect Mate

The Past

❝I was born of an adulterous union", I started. Ingrid and I were settled in the living room of my apartment, both of us sipping on some coffee.

"My dad had me when he was already mated, with a human, and she died while giving birth to me. After that, a lot of people shunned him and I was caught in the crossfire. I was an oddity so nobody wanted anything to do with me. I was bullied by most of the kids and my dad's mate treated me like crap, until she died.

"The bullying got worse when my dad died few weeks after my 14th birthday. At that moment, all I wanted was my mate. I had the foolish hope that he was going to come and save me from everybody else, or at least that the memories made with him were going to wipe out my horrible past"

"It was not a foolish hope. Don't be too hard on yourself. A mate is supposed to protect their other half", Ingrid scolded, interrupting me. I simply smiled. She had no idea just how foolish that thought was.

"The next two years were spent in with that hope. My fantasies got a little strong. I imagined finding my mate and him asking me to run away with him. I was obsessed with that idea.

"Two years later, my dream came to pass. I met my mate, Ethan. He was two years older than me"

"Wait, he left you suffer for two years knowing you guys were mates?!", Ingrid asked incredulously, almost spilling her coffee. I scoffed. The idea of mates here and in my hometown were completely different.

"In my hometown, so long as one of you doesn't know about the bond, the other is free to do as they like", I replied and Ingrid turned her shocked gaze on me and scoffed, showing how much she thought of that theory.

"So he just let you suffer knowing he could do something about it?", she asked. "I really can't digest it."

I smiled and unamused smile. That was just how it was and my own case was even worse.

"What did he say for his defense when you found him?", she asked.

"More like he found me. He was one of my bullies so I was really reluctant to believe anything he said. But finally, he convinced me he loved me and that he spent those two years trying to convince his friends to stop  bullying me.

"He used all the right words. Told me I was beautiful. Nobody had ever told me I was beautiful except my father. I fell for him, convinced we shared the same feelings.

"My bliss didn't last long. I discovered it was nothing but a cruel prank against me and everything went downhill from there.

***

Ethan had told me he was going to hang out with his friends so I decided to take a walk into the woods. It was a peaceful evening and I was sure no one was going to be around the area. Even though the bullying had reduced after Ethan came to me, it had not completely stopped. Some people still bothered me, though not in front of him.

As I was walking, I heard voices. I decided to go away because I wanted to avoid contact with anybody at this point, but hearing my name stopped me.

"I don't think I can continue that thing with Denise", someone said, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ethan's.

I listened curiously. I didn't want to eavesdrop but I think that anybody would want to listen to what others were saying about them.