Some of the shifters would find their mates sooner than the rest, but usually, the mate bond would be formed when both of them reached the age of seventeen.
Even if they met before that, the feeling was not that strong, yet you would know there was something more between the two of you.
At least, that was what happened between Eros and Zuri right now.
Both of them could feel it, there was something between them, something more than just what Zuri knew for certain that this young man with blue eyes was Chaos’ shattered soul.
Eros was only fourteen right at this moment and he was clueless about his feelings. He was confused with his own reaction toward the white haired girl before his eyes.
He thought he was attracted to her because of the color of her hair that was unusual, yet Eros knew himself more than anything. There was no way someone’s hair color could make him react so strongly.
This was weird and had never happened before.
“What is it?” Killian stopped walking and approached Zuri when he realized the girl stopped following him and started acting strangely. He shoved Norbeat away from him, who was still ranting about nonsense and then walked back to her. “Something is wrong?”
On the other hand, Zuri knew there was something definitely wrong with her and she couldn’t say it in words.
.....
They were in the parking lot, with a lot of cars there, but there was no one nearby, it seemed the car owners had already gone to the bar.
“What happened?” Killian followed Zuri’s line of sight and found a young boy staring at Zuri intensely, as if this was his first time seeing a woman. Well, he had to admit, Zuri was hot and gorgeous, but his reaction was overstated, right?
This parking lot was a little dim, thus for the first few seconds, Killian couldn’t make out the color of the young boy’s eyes, only when he inched closer a little, as if he was about to approach Zuri, the dragon shifter could see those familiar blues.
“He...” Zuri found herself stuttering. She wanted to tell Killian that he was a shattered soul, but the man had already made his move. “What are you doing?”
Before Zuri could stop him, the dragon shifter had rushed toward the young boy. He growled at him dangerously and took the initiative to attack first.
Fortunately, the young boy snapped out of his reverie just in time to dodge his first blow. He jumped onto the car next to him, which caused the alarm to start blaring loudly.
Of course, this loud sound would draw people’s attention sooner or later.
“He is Chaos’ shattered soul, right?” Killian asked Zuri, but the way he asked it sounded more like he was only seeking a confirmation, rather than an answer.
Zuri found herself unable to give the answer immediately, there was something that held her back. Perhaps because this shattered soul was too young? That was why Zuri was hesitant for him to be taken away, right? He was too young to die.
That was nonsense.
She had shown Chaos a shattered souls much younger than him and despite her feeling bad for their deaths, but if they lived longer than that, they would cause destruction that would take more lives.
Therefore, Zuri would usually close her eyes, heart and come to terms with her feelings upon that thought.
Yet, this boy in front of her was different. She didn’t want him to die. What was wrong with her?
“ZURI!” Killian growled at her. He was sure that this young boy was Chaos’ shattered soul, especially when it was clear to see that he was not a mere human being, but he didn’t want to kill recklessly in this area.
“Yes, he is.” She gritted her teeth when the answer slipped through her lips.
“What are you doing?” Norbeat pulled Zuri’s hand to get her attention. “Go help Killian and get him!” the little boy shouted at her in frustration, as he watched Killian had started to lock this poor young boy as his target.
But, Zuri couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want him to get caught.
“What’s wrong with you, woman?!” Norbeat screeched and then rushed toward where Killian was chasing the shifter down.
Meanwhile, people started to gather because of the noise that the cars made, as there were several other cars, whose alarms had been set off.
Seeing people start to come to this spot, Zuri walked away from there immediately, avoiding getting caught.
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Emily was trying to call Eros, because he should have called her an hour ago to talk about his day or wish her a simple goodnight.
However, their last chat was left read, but there was no answer from him, even after a few attempts to get through to him.
“Where is he?” Emily mumbled. It was not like Eros to leave her to worry.
Emily was in her bedroom, ready to sleep, yet she was too restless to close her eyes without getting any news from Eros. He was not only a brotherly figure for her, but also someone that would be able to protect her.
Without him, even living in this pack would be a great deal for her. They only let her live in this pack because of Eros and if something happened to him, Emily needed to start worrying about her own life.
Those beasts would hunt her down and do something horrible, as they had talked about it countless times, even when she was still in the same room.
They talked about what they would do to Emily once they got a chance, as if she was not there.
“Eros, where are you?” Emily whimpered, she tried to call him again, but this time, she couldn’t even get through to him. His phone was turned off, something that he had never done before. This only increased her anxiety.
Right at that time, someone knocked on the door, which startled her. It was too late for someone to visit her room, or even for a prank that she usually got...
======================
Darius looked at the bruise on Jasmine’s arm uneasily. He was aware where those bruises came from.
It seemed he had used too much strength when he shoved her that night and now, even after a few days had passed, the bruises were still glaring.
So weak. The human body was so weak. If his mate was not human, she would be able to kill one or two of these nasty werewolves before they brought her down and eventually killed her.
But, it only needed one shifter and she was helpless, just like this human before him. She didn’t seem to take care of the bruises either.
Darius watched Jasmine enter her room and close the door without saying anything.
“Where are you going?” Gill asked him when he saw his partner for tonight patrol walk away from him.
“I will be right back,” Darius said curtly, without giving him any explanation and he indeed returned a few minutes later with a first aid kit.
“What do you want to do with that?’ Gill furrowed his brows. “Are you hurt?” Even though he was hurt, there was no way those things could help him, as shifters could heal themselves.
“No. This is for her.”
Gill raised his brows.
“There is a bruise on her arm.”
“Wow, I didn’t even realize that. You pay more attention to her apparently.” There was a mocking tone in the way he talked.
“The alpha will have our heads if he knew his mate was hurt when he returned.” And at that statement, Gill shut his mouth and Darius entered the room without saying anything more to his fellow guard.
Inside the room, he saw Jasmine sitting on a chair next to a window. She looked at him with a frown when she heard the door being opened.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Jasmine asked, her tone was cold, but there was curiosity in her eyes. She looked a little bit scared of him, a gesture that made Darius feel bad, but good at the same time, because he knew that he had the upper hand in this situation.
Something that every shifter liked.
“Show me your arm,” Darius said, as he put down the first aid kit box.
“You don’t need to do this,” Jasmine said carefully, her voice was very soft and gentle, she lowered her eyes when Darius looked at her.
“I don’t want to get into trouble.” Darius took a chair and then sat down in front of Jasmine, as he took her arm carefully to see the bruises that he caused.
Upon a closer look, they were worse than he expected.
“If what you meant by trouble is encountering Liam’s anger, I will not say anything,” Jasmine said, but Darius simply worked on her bruises and their conversation stopped at that.
==========================
Zuri drove the car to find a playground near a residential area. At this hour, this place was eerily quiet.
But right now, she could see Killian, Chaos’ shattered soul and a strange man, who she didn’t recognize, standing next to the dragon shifter and another man with his back facing her. They seemed to be in a confrontation.
The young boy had been handled, as he knelt down with both of his hands behind his back.
Zuri immediately walked closer, and the man that was confronting Killian, sensed her presence and turned around to face her. Looks of surprise etched on both of their faces.