Chapter 12: Soren Mortimer

Things had played out for far too long, and it was high time Xavier stopped it before things got out of hand.

Xavier didn’t reply, and Tasha took it as a yes. She locked her lips with his and held his head while she kissed him. He allowed her and soon started kissing back.

The class door swung open, and someone stepped in.

****

Sage and Clark were about to step through the double door when she remembered that she had forgotten her history textbook on her desk. Clark couldn’t wait for her since his mother had come to pick him up. They bid themselves goodbye, and Sage headed back to class.

When she arrived, she swung the door open, and before her was a heart-wrenching sight. Both Xavier and Tasha heard the door swing open, but they paid no attention. However, when Xavier sensed who it might have been, he pulled away from the kiss and turned his head towards the class entrance. He was shocked as he looked at Sage standing still with her eyes wide open.

Tasha also turned and saw who it was. “Weirdo! don’t you know what they call privacy?”

Right now, Sage felt as if one of them had ripped out her heart and was squeezing it real hard. “Don’t mind me, keep doing your business,” Sage swallowed hard and walked to her desk. “I just came for my textbook; you can keep making out,” she said, stressing the last part. Before stepping out, she looked at Xavier as he raked his finger through his hair and pinched the skin on his forehead.

“Sage, wait,” Xavier called out to Sage who was now running. He pushed Tasha off his legs and ran after Sage.

‘What is this pang I feel in my heart?’ Sage wondered. She might not have known that she was Xavier’s mate due to her not being in touch with her supernatural energy, but the connection between them both was there. ‘It hurts, it hurts so much.’

“Sage, hold on,” he called out again.

It had started to rain heavily outside; regardless, Sage didn’t hesitate before running out through the double doors and into the rain. The rickety car she drove to school was close by, so she quickly got in and drove off.

“What have I done?” Xavier questioned no one in particular.

“Xia baby! Why are you running after her?” Tasha breathed, trying to catch her breath after running to meet up with Xavier.

As much as Xavier wanted to blame this on Tasha, he knew he was at fault, and he would take responsibility for his actions.

Without giving a reply to Tasha’s question, he threw her a cold gaze and walked out the double doors into the rain. He got into his black SUV and drove toward the direction of his home.

Sage was driving really fast under the rain, which was pouring hard and making it difficult for her to see her view. Her view wasn’t the only thing that was not clear as her thoughts also were cloudy. She didn’t understand her feelings for someone whom she had only met three days ago and barely spoke to. ‘Why do I feel like I should have been the one in his arm and not Tasha?’

Her thoughts were shattered when her car came to a halt without her stepping on the brakes or turning off the ignition.

She tried starting the car several times, but it wouldn’t budge. “Damn! How can I be stranded? I’m still miles away from home.” Without thinking, she got out of the car, opened the hood, and stared at it without a clue of what to do. She had no idea what to fix. Sage closed the hood and went to the trunk. ‘Maybe there’s something I could pull on or hit.’ Again she stared at the almost-empty trunk before taking out a warning triangle and placing it on the road.

Xavier was driving on the same road where Sage was stranded. He kept on reflecting on the events that had played out in school. ‘I need to find a way to fix things with her. Even if she is just a human, it seems she knows what our relationship should be,’ Xavier thought. Initially, when he found out that Sage, his mate, was human, he was sure she wouldn’t feel the connection he felt with her; however, her reaction today might have changed his line of thoughts.

On his way home, Xavier noticed a stranded car; the driver had set up an emergency triangle behind their car and was standing outside the car with a leather hood over their body to prevent getting soaked by the rain and confused on what to do. He was about to drive past the stranded stranger, but the urge to reach out to them and offer help was strong.

“You need a hand?” Xavier offered the stranger after he got down from his car and approached them.

“Yes, my car just broke down,” Sage said, turning to the person who approached her.

“Sage!” It turned out the stranger wasn’t a stranger after all. “Sage I’m… if you’re stranded I could take you.” Xavier was just about apologizing, but he realized that it might not be the best time with both of them being under the rain.

“No worries.”

“I insist.”

“No, I’m wet. I’ll drench your seat.”

“You’d rather get a cold than wet my seat? The seat is not going to be an issue, come on, get in.” Sage didn’t have any excuse to give, and Xavier had made a good point, but really Sage couldn’t remember the last time she fell ill.

“Okay… what about the-“

“You could get it tomorrow when it’s not raining,” Xavier said as he opened the door of his car for Sage.

****

Deep in the woods, there was a castle-like building that had been erected between two mountains. On the other sides of these mountains were four similar buildings. The mountains were slightly taller than the buildings, and this caused little or no sunlight to reach them. The buildings were huge and dark; they looked like a haunted castle that has been in existence for hundreds of years.

In the last castle at the far back of the mountains, seated on a throne was Soren Mortimer. The youngest son of Mortimer, the last ancient vampire to walk the earth.

“Father,” Zayn called out as he walked into the throne room. “What exactly is your plan? You have sent out half of your force into human territory, and they are causing so much havoc. All because of a single being.”

“You know me well enough to understand that I don’t make rash decisions; everything happening is all part of my plan.”

“You don’t make rash decisions? Then tell me why your agents are out there killing innocent kids.”

“Everything is under control,” Soren barked loudly as he rose from his throne.

“Hope it still will be when words reach the others.” With that, Zayn walked out of the throne room.

Zayn wasn’t against his father’s goal in any way; he liked the idea of being strong and unstoppable. What he didn’t like was when others got involved and were hurt in the process. And again, his father had broken a lot of laid-down laws, and if his uncles found out, it could bring an end to what they’d been working so hard for.