CHAPTER 3

Once the plane was in the air, Saphira decided to try and gather more information about the Matchmaker from Jed.

“Do you work for the Matchmaker?” she asked, curious about how one would get into such a line of work.

“Not exactly,” Jed replied, grabbing another drink. “But I do bits here and there to keep busy.”

“How does that work?” Saphira said, puzzled.

“Well, my brother is currently in there. I’m on standby for him, and instead of just waiting around, they asked me to do some side work. So I agreed,” Jed explained. Saphira wondered if his brother was powerful; the way Jed spoke, she couldn’t imagine him being weak.

"But what if he finds his mate while you're out working, and no one is there to support him?" she asked.

"I doubt that would happen; he's been there the longest out of everyone," Jed replied.

"Oh, why is that?" Saphira inquired.

Jed paused; his expression troubled as he delved deeper into the painful history of his brother. "He hardly ever gets paired; I think they do it to test him because there has never been a perfect match. But equally he can't stand anyone he is paired with, so unfortunately, he has killed them all so far." Jed's voice faltered, revealing the difficulty of recounting these events. "He was forced into it; he wasn't just nominated like usual. He was severely hurt after a fight and they took advantage, drugging him when he was considerably weaker, and took him. You know the rules, you can't just leave." It was evident that Jed was battling emotions, torn between anger and sorrow as he explained the situation.

Jed looked at her, and it was clear there was more he wasn't saying, but Saphira decided not to push him further.

“That is terrible. How can they do that? Surely, it’s against some sort of rules,” she questioned.

“The Matchmaker has no fixed rules. Once they had the opportunity to take him, they would make up as many rules as they wanted to keep him because of who he is. God help those that did this to him when he gets out, I just wish he didn’t have to kill anyone in the process.” He explained, like he was trying to justify their actions.

“Why wouldn’t he just stay with someone for the duration and then part ways, then he would be free?” Saphira asks. It is surely the easiest option.

“I don’t have all the details, but everyone he has been paired with so far have been so scared of being banished they have tried to force a mating with him.” He explains, taking a breath.

"I don’t blame him then, no one should be forced into something they don’t want. Your brother, what’s his name?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I agree, it is a terrible system, one day I am hopeful he will get his revenge. I am sorry, Saphira; I cannot share his name. We have certain rules and even though he is well known, no one outside our family knows his name, it has already landed us in a bad situation," Jed replied.

"Of course, I understand," she said. Saphira understood the reason behind it, knowing that it was common in their world for the most powerful to be nameless. She wondered who or what his brother was.

"Anyway, I have been meaning to ask, what are you?" Jed suddenly asked.

"What?" She was taken aback by his question.

"I’m sorry, it’s just, I picked you up from a wolf pack, but I cannot sense your wolf," he explained.

"Well, you’re not wrong, I don’t have a wolf. All my life I thought I did, until I didn’t shift. My father is a wolf, but I don’t know who my real mother is, so I don’t know if she was even a supernatural being," she explained. He was so easy to talk to; it was the first time she had been able to have a conversation with anyone since Connor died.

"So, you could be half anything. Interesting." He replied in thought. "Anyway, you best get some sleep, it won’t be long until we are there." He added and settled to have a nap himself. That shut the conversation down, and she didn’t get to ask what he was. But she supposed he was right; she needed to get some sleep. She reclined her chair and got comfortable.

Saphira woke suddenly with the plane jolting; she sat up suddenly and looked around.

"We have just landed, don’t worry," Jed said from beside her.

“Now is the perfect time to worry.” she replies quietly. Jed doesn’t reply, he just exhales loudly and nods his head in understanding, they both know what is coming next.

They waited until instructed and then got off the plane, boarding a car for the final ride. The car journey was silent; Jed glanced back at Saphira a few times, but she turned to look out the window. The thought of a conversation now, as nice as it might be, didn’t seem appealing, not now that she was almost at the Matchmaker.

This drive was much shorter, and before long, they pulled up in front of a huge white building. From the outside, it looked mystical and beautiful, but they all knew that appearances could be deceiving.

It had been nice speaking with Jed, and it was a shame she wouldn't ever see him again. But Saphira thanked him for treating her like a normal person for the first time in her life. With a deep breath, she got out of the car and looked up at the building in front of her—a huge white structure with high walls and ornate windows that gleamed in the sunlight. She might as well get this over and done with. Grabbing her case tightly, she started walking towards the entrance, where two men in white coats were waiting, their faces expressionless and their posture rigid, embodying the sterile and foreboding atmosphere of the place.