A Fate So Cruel

Chapter 3 - Let's Do This

"You were matched, Noa. You're mated to a Lycan."

The words rang in my ear and all the air was sucked out of the room.

I stumbled back as if his voice had been a punch to the gut, shock rolling through my body. My foot hit a glass on the floor, tipping it over and sending cloudy blue paint water and dirty paintbrushes sprawling across the floor. I barely even noticed.

Mated to a Lycan.

Mated to a monster.

It was a fate that most humans–myself included–considered worse than death.

My knees wobbled underneath me. I grabbed onto the corner of the wooden bed frame, desperate for support.

"How...how do you...?" I shook my head trying to organize all the erratic thoughts bouncing around my skull.

"We had someone hack Centrality records when they stumbled upon it. They were able to pull your results off the registry temporarily, but they won't be able to keep them offline for long."

"Who's 'we'?"

Guilt overtook Boston's feature before being quickly replaced by a mask of calmness.

"The Resistance."

"Jesus Christ, Boston!"

If I was being honest, I wasn't truly surprised. Boston had never been shy about his hatred of the Lycan and his hope that they could be overthrown. Truthfully, most Humans held similar beliefs, myself included. Except most of us were smart enough to keep those beliefs to ourselves. And very few of us were so stupid that we'd do something as reckless as joining the fucking Resistance. It was basically a death sentence.

Boston's confession was enough to send my shaking legs over the edge. I flopped down onto the bed and Boston crouched in front of me. He gently placed his hands on my knees.

"I know this is a lot and I promise that as soon as we get to the safe house I will explain everything to you. But right now we are working on a very tight timeline so I need you to put some shoes on," he said slowly while staring deeply into my eyes.

He grabbed a pair of sneakers that had been haphazardly kicked off earlier in the evening and began to loosen the laces. I watched silently, overcome with shock, as he slipped each shoe on my feet one at a time before double knotting the laces. When he was finished he peered up at me.

For the first time since he arrived, I got a good look at him.

He looked older and more ragged than I remembered from just a few months before, and I had been worried about him even then. He had been less of the lanky boy I had loved so dearly as the areas of his body that used to be lean were now bulging with new muscles. What had concerned me though was the dark circles under his troubled eyes. Stupidly I had pushed my worries aside since he assured me that nothing was wrong.

His eyes were even more clouded with worry now. How many times had I sketched and painted those beautiful brown eyes? How many times had I dreamed of them since leaving home?

Nearly every night, if I was being honest with myself. His eyes were home to me. A promise of warmth and security. They were always at the forefront of my daydreams of what life would be like after I finished University and started a job back in Valmont.

Now what would the future hold?

I shivered at the thought.

"I can't just leave University. They'll expel me. They'll..." I knew how ridiculous the words were as soon as they left my mouth. Of all the problems I had, school was the last one I should be concerned with. But with my life turning upside down it was the only thing I could cling to. A buoy in an infinite black ocean.