2. His Mate？
Eve
After the incident, Eve couldn't think straight. Her mind and body were a mess. She wrapped her delicate body into the coat her saviour had thrown on her half-naked form earlier and ran back home. Eve did her best to be quiet, sneaking into the house like a criminal, dreading the thought of waking up her parents.
Never, in her whole life, had she taken a shower for so long. At this point, Eve didn't care about the ice-cold water freezing her skin. She kept rubbing and scratching it violently, trying to remove any remains of the disgusting touches she felt on her skin earlier.
When she thought that there were no more tears left to cry- out came more, dragging her consciousness deeper in despair.
Eve felt dirty, violated, broken to the core. She was used to living in a rather peaceful town, even with a higher number of shifters than humans. Up until this day, nobody had ever tried to touch her or hurt in any way, if she followed the law.
A light knock sounded on the bathroom door, startling Eve.
“W-who is there?" Her throat was sore; she wasn't sure if it was the countless hours of crying or ice-cold water dripping over her that was the cause. It didn't matter, not anymore.
"It's mom. Evangeline, has something happened? Could you please step out?" Her mother sounded genuinely worried, making Eve feel even worse. She should have left the bathroom immediately, but just as she picked up the towel, she saw herself in the mirror：this poor young woman's body was covered in numerous scratch marks, deep enough to bleed. Eyes puffy, almost entirely red. Why she ended up in such a situation? What had she done wrong?
Eve lost the courage to leave the bathroom. She needed her mother's comfort and understanding, but on the other hand, she did not want her mother to see her in this terrible, miserable state.
"Evangeline, darling. You've been there for hours; we're worried about you. Please, talk to me," her mother pleaded; her words laced in desperation.
“Sorry, mom…I didn't want you to worry. I'll be out of the shower soon. You can wait for me in the living room.” Her voice was hoarse and badly shaken. This exposed the fact that she had lied.
"What have you done Evangeline?”Asked the mother, impatiently slapping the door. That scared Eve behind the door.“Don't tell me you did anything bad. The ceremony is tomorrow. Come out, Is this your way of announcing that you won't join the ceremony? Are you showing off your rebellion now?”
"Mom, it's not what you think," Eve whispered, her head hung low. She nibbled on her nails, trying to decide whether she would be better off by keeping her mouth shut and letting her mother think whatever she wants, or telling her what happened on her way back home.
“Open the door. Or I'll have your dad get the door.”Mother's voice sounded so chillingly cold.
"Mother, calm down, this really has nothing to do with the ceremony". Eve bit her lip. She was afraid her mother would get angrier, so she unlocked the bathroom door, opening it slightly, hiding behind it.
"I'm so sick of your attitude, young lady!" Mother yelled, slamming the door open, and then she stunned. She bit her lip, barely fighting off the tears. As her eyes kept silently counting the ugly marks on her daughter's body, she felt the anger filling her. She was confused as to why her child acted this way and furious for the consequences that might come.
"Evangeline, are you even in your right mind? Tomorrow is the most important day of your life, and you RUINED your body! I knew you didn't want to go; I knew it, okay! But this-" the mother said, gesturing at her body, "-This is way too far! How could you? The shame! The humiliation!
What will others think? How am I supposed to look in everyone's eyes when you look like this?" Eve's mother didn't hold back anymore. At this point, she was full-on yelling, letting the tears stream down her cheeks. Her body shook in anger.
Anger drives Eve’s angry mother, she raised her hand above her head, and leaned it backward. Her palm collided with Eve’s cheek. The sound of the slap echoed throughout Eve's bedroom; both women stared at each other with wide-eyed expressions. Eve placed a palm over her burning cheek, still in shock, unable to accept that her loving mother had just slapped her across the face.
"Mother..." Eve whispered, averting her gaze.
"You did deserve this, and that's final. Evangeline, you could see this coming after ruining your body the day before the mating ceremony. I'm so disappointed in you. My own child!" She shook her head in disapproval, slowly raised her body from the bed, and made her way to the door.
"I will explain, please don't hate me!" Eve pleaded, desperate for her mother's support. She doesn't want to be misunderstood by her mother, she wants to make things right, and she needed to feel her warm, gentle arms around her.
"Explain what? Are you about to confess that you did this on purpose? Evangeline, it's time to grow up. Everyone goes through the mating ceremony at your age, nobody has died from joining, and I haven't seen even one couple splitting afterward.
It's not as bad as you think. If only you could try and accept things how they are, we wouldn't have such problems," her mother sighed, moving back to the bed and sat down next to her.
Eve sobbed, unable to fight off her tears anymore. It's been too much for her today. She is not strong, and right now- that's okay. Sometimes people break.
"I almost got raped," Eve finally confessed. She squeezed her thighs closer together, almost feeling the dirty touches and men who were positioning themselves between her legs earlier.
“You almost what?!"
"Mother, please…” Eve’s face expressing a mixture of determination and fear. She might be careless by nature, but she wasn't a liar.
"Did... Did he... You know. Did he finish the thing?" Her mother gulped loudly, avoiding any eye contact with her daughter.
"No. It wasn't one person, there were two shifters. They almost did, but someone saved me. I don't know who he was or where he came from, but he saved me just before they did anything other than touching me," Eve broke down crying. For some reason, she felt ashamed.
The girl knew that it wasn't her fault; she wasn't one to dress to impress; she hadn't had any experience with males. Truth to be told- the only male she was allowed to speak to was her father. Eve never had a boyfriend or even a kiss. By the age of twenty-one, Eve was the most boring woman the world has seen.
"Okay, good. No, not good. What if someone finds out? Can you imagine how big of a stain this will leave on your reputation? Oh God, this is a disaster," her mother stood up and walked around the room anxiously, mumbling something under her breath.
“what？”Eve stand in shock. She almost got raped by creatures she could never be able to fight against or run from, and all her mother cared about was her reputation.
“They almost did it, but just because they didn't finish the job- doesn't mean that people won't talk. Who, in their right mind, will choose you as their fiancée now? Evangeline, you have to keep your mouth shut or spend the rest of your life in shame, without any opportunity to find a partner and have family," her mother said, trying to reason with her daughter, thinking that surely the child would understand where she is coming from.
She was hurt, she was in panic, she desperately needed her mother's warm care and support, but her mother just slaped her, worring that her daughter wouldn't find her fiancée at tomorrow's ceremony.
Eve was so miserable that all her thoughts were burned to ashes. She was wrapped in dirty ashes. She pushed her mother away and went into the bedroom.：“I'll try to sleep a little. Please, close the door as you leave."
"Eve..." her mother tried to speak up again.
"Leave me be. I'll attend the ceremony just in time, don't worry about it." With that being said, Eve crawled under her blanket and turned her back to her mother, silently crying herself to sleep.
unknown
The man strode down the road. The smell of blood was still on his fingertips, but it did little to soothe his anger. His wolf growled and reproached him, "Eros, you should tear those dogs to pieces!"
He knew that. But he was more worried about the poor girl. Her tremble, her cry and her bare skin in the cold rain... The luna goddess knew how much he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms, kiss away her tears and wrap her wounds with his warm. But he couldn't.
His silver-haired women was too frightened, and hasty action would only frighten her. The last thing he wanted was her rejection.
The rain soaked him. Through his mask, he stopped and turned to look in the direction where the woman had disappeared. He could see her petite figure clearly in his mind, even though there was nothing but darkness ahead. He's gonna get her, but not today.
His wolf growled wistfully again, and he comforted him. Tomorrow is the mating ceremony. He would have her by his side in a way that everyone would agree with.
His mate.