Amor Fati Book 1: Aya & Xiyang Qi

Chapter 7: Lifemate Bond

Summary:

Aya has arrived in China and is ready to meet her lifemate, but who will it be. She hoped with all her might that it would Qi but the gods could be tricky and it could be anyone. She was now eighteen the propesy claimed that today she would meet the man she would spend the rest of her life with. The man she would fight The Dark side by side with. Who could it be?

This moment made Aya feel grateful she had a great support system in her life. When her eyes met Qi's, she was on automatic pilot and wanted to rush into his arms and never let go. She picked up her royal garment and was about to run to her lifemate when suddenly she could not move!

She tried to lift her feet to take another step, but her legs did not work. It was as if someone was holding her in place and refused to let her go free. She struggled and tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. She was scared for the first time in her life.

She stared at Nhu and tried to push through the family bond and her distress, but the bond failed her. She was beginning to panic. Did something happen to her? Did The Dark attack her? Were her brothers in the same predicament, which is why they could not help her?

Why were her brothers not freeing her from whatever had attacked her? Aya was becoming desperate and took a deep breath to calm herself. She needed to think rationally. She needed to find her Zen.

Then she felt something she had never felt before. She closed her eyes to focus her thoughts inward and look for what was calling to her inside her mind.

Her body felt unsteady, and her mind reeling. She would have fallen flat on her face if something or someone was not holding her up.

Nhu! Her baby brother, the one that was her light, the bright, the one that could see through all things, was right beside her, and she calmed herself enough to focus on what was going on.

The inner reflection her mother told her about had begun. She had been chosen! She had hoped she would be immune to such a thing while in public, but there was no running away from her own unique ritual, which must be completed to move on to the next phase.

She hoped her brothers would keep her firm and find a way to explain to the humans why they had stopped the procession. One lifemate would experience inner reflection. They alone would become the keepers.

She was concerned because usually, the inner reflection happened during the first sexual encounter or after. Why was hers before she even spoke to her mate? Maybe the gods felt she needed this before her journey with her lifemate began. She would not question how. She needed to let herself go.

She was truly blessed and had one hope that her brother Nu would be the keeper in his future pairing so he could experience this feeling. Even with all the chaos, she could feel her lifemate's heartbeat beating in time with hers. She could almost feel his breath on her neck. It was very erotic.

There was so much to remember; her body began to throb with need. She knew she had to keep her composure. The reflection had only begun. Aya was unaware that her brothers had circled her, and their guard surrounded them. Her eyes had closed, and she was lost in the process.

Each brother and guard looked at the crowd and back at Aya. They searched for a sign showing them which man was her lifemate, but they could not tell. Some had their backs to them, and others' heads were turned away.

"Which one is her lifemate, Luke demanded.

They looked again and prayed that it was Qi, or else Aya's heart would break, hurting her real lifemate if she had fallen in love with someone else, taking something precious that should belong only to her lifemate.