Destined
We were destined; hopelessly entangled by the red thread of fate. The man turned his back to me and I gave chase.
“Wait,” I desperately called after him but no matter how much I pleaded he never slowed. I sprinted after him, the air burning my lungs as I greedily gulped it down.
“Please,” I tried again, reaching my hand out but I could never make contact.
Finally, he turned around but his face was obscured by a large hood, his voice haunted me with it’s deep timbre, “Goodbye Serena.” He said with finality and vanished into thin air.
XXX
I woke with a start, my heart hammering in my chest. I placed my hands over my heart and willed myself to calm down.
‘That damned dream again,’ I thought to myself. I’d be having the same dream for a week now and no matter how much I tried to think of anything else before bed my thoughts always drifted to the strange man.
My bedroom door was opened with a bang and my best friend waltzed into my room. Her eyes landed on me still in bed and widened with apparent horror.
“Serena!” She gasped dramatically, “Did you just wake up?”
I nodded and then cocked my head to the side, confused by her reaction.
“We’re taking our grad photos today,” She reminded me and then bounded over to my closet and started rummaging through it. Rosemarie Asher, my best friend and the personification of energy itself. Her golden curls bounced as she desperately searched for the perfect thing for me to wear before exclaiming with triumph, “I’ve got it!” before a dark green turtleneck and black pinafore were thrown in my general direction.
I quickly changed into the outfit she picked out and slid into opaque black tights admiring myself in the mirror before Rose returned with my curling iron and makeup bag.
“You do your makeup and I’ll curl your hair, we have to be fast or Mr. Opal will skin us alive if we’re late again.”
I kept my makeup light; a little eye shadow and liner to make my green eyes pop and a hint of cherry gloss. Rose was done with my hair in record time before running her small hands through it to loosen the curls.
“Done,” She said with a smile, “I’ll give you thirty seconds to admire my work and then we have to go.” I looked in the mirror and let a small smile grace my lips, Rose really did know how to bring out someone’s beauty. My long chestnut coloured hair was curled loosely framing my delicate face, the outfit she picked out accentuated my curves but still managed to be modest.
“What would I do without you?” I sighed turning away from the mirror before having a pair of black booties tossed to me.
“Let’s go!” Rose grabbed my hand and dragged me down the stairs, she barely gave me enough time to nod at my brother who was sitting at the breakfast bar laughing at our antics.
I slid into the passenger seat of Rose’s car and bucked myself in, it was always a wild ride when Rose drove. She weaved through the streets to our school before screeching into our usual parking spot right on time.
“I’ve still got it,” She cheered before jumping out of the car. We quickly walked up the steps, Rose was chattering away about our grad photos and the dinner the Alpha was holding tonight in honour of the seniors who would soon shift and find their mates. I was so focused on Rose that I ran right into the hard chest of a man I thought I’d never see again.
“Hello Serena,” His deep voice sent chills through me, I had to stop myself from visibly shuddering and drew upon all the courage I had before looking him dead in the eyes.
“Hello Adrian.” I said politely, trying my best to not stare at his devilishly handsome face. He had eyes as blue as the summer sky and his plump lips were smirking as he caught me admiring him. I tore my gaze away from him and took a step back, Rose grabbed my hand in a show of support, she knew how I felt about him.
“Excuse me Mr. Rivera, we have to get to class.” Rose stammered before pulling on my hand but before I could even take a step Adrian reached out and firmly grasped my other hand. A strange feeling washed over me, his touch was electric and I feared my hand would actually start to burn if I held on for any longer, I yanked my hand with all my might but he held tight.
“You are excused Rosemarie,” He said curtly before leading me out of the school. He didn’t let go of my hand and I struggled to keep up with his fast pace in the heeled booties I wore.
“I shouldn’t have worn heels today,” I muttered to myself. I was so focused on keeping up with him and putting one foot in front of the other that I didn’t even realize where he was taking me. I turned in a circle slowly, taking the beauty of the clearing in. It had been years since I’d stepped foot in the place I’d once considered a sanctuary, the memories were too painful.
“Why did you bring me here?” I questioned him harshly.
“I thought you’d like it,” He answered nonchalantly with a shrug, “I always used to catch you sketching by the river.”
I blushed before furiously shaking my head, “You left,” I hated the way my voice broke, “And I never came back here.”
His eyes widened slightly before he schooled his expression back into a mask of indifference, it happened so fast I was sure I’d imagined seeing any emotion on his face at all.
“I had to leave.” He remarked as if he was discussing the weather with me and not disappearing for over ten years.
“You could have at least told me Adrian…I thought we were friends.” I said in a small voice and looked at my feet. I was strong, one of the top prospects for the Guard and yet he reduced me to acting like a little girl.
“You wouldn’t understand,” A hint of frustration coloured his voice.
“Try me.” I bit back at him.
“Serena Rhys,” He consciously evaded my question and got straight into the reason why he was here, "I'm here to question you regarding the disappearance of Samuel Lopez."
“I should have known,” I lamented, feeling stupid that I thought that he may just have wanted to see me after all these years, “I have no idea where Sam is. The last time I saw him was two days ago, we had breakfast at Dinah’s Diner and then he had to leave for something urgent and I haven’t heard from him since.” I shrugged and felt proud of the indifference I showed. In reality I had rehearsed my little speech last night when my brother told me Sam was ‘missing’ and I wasn’t to let anyone know where he was. I just never imagined in a million years that it would be Adrian questioning me.
“Don’t lie to me, Serena.” He warned me, his blue eyes sparking in anger.
“I’m not,” I said defiantly and took a step towards him, glaring at him and finally letting the hurt and frustration I’d bottled up for years free, my hand seemed to move of it’s own accord and I realized a second too late that I had slapped him. He looked at me incredulously before turning his back to me.
“We will finish this later.”
