19 Her Very Own Safe Place

It was a beautiful summer day, as warm, bright, and unassuming as ever. She decided to take a walk to the meadow as the fresh air made her feel at peace. The fields were a gorgeous shade of lime-green and she could hear the bees murmuring to themselves as they flitted from flower to flower, wavering as though they were drunk as they made their way in between. She took a deep breath and felt herself relaxing as she breathed in the rich smell of the grass as the summer wind blew over her. This was her very own safe place, her special place. The place that she felt most at home in, in nature.

As she lay on the soft, springy grass, she heard a thud, as if someone had collapsed. She hurriedly got up and headed over to where she heard the sound. There she saw a man lying face down. She rolled him over, only to realize that he had passed out from dehydration. She heaved a sigh of relief that it was nothing serious and ran back to where she had lain before to get some water. 

She carefully pried open his mouth and poured a bit of water in. She waited a few moments to make sure that he swallowed it and continued in that fashion until the water was almost depleted. She then took the remainder of the water and threw it on his face to wake him up. 

Cough! Cough! 

He woke up looking dazed for a moment before his eyes landed on her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her tannin-brown hair, hazel eyes, delicate cheekbones, straight nose, and full lips with the sun shining on her made her look like an angel at the time. After staring at her for a few moments, he finally came to and looked away.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Ahhh, she even sounds lovely. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. " 

"Great. Then I'll be off then. Get back safely," she said as she gathered her robes before getting off the ground and walking away. 

"Wait! " He called. "What's your name? It's just that I honestly think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I would like to date you with the intention of marriage. "

He saw her freeze before looking at him with discomfort written all over her face. His heart sank. 

"I am grateful for the intention, but I cannot reciprocate. I already have a mate that I love dearly. I hope you get back safely." She bowed her head slightly and walked away. 

He stood looking at her, walking into the distance. A mate? He thought. As in a fated mate? Aren't they supposed to be rare? How could she have found hers already? In love? Why couldn't she at least give him a chance? She never even looked at him properly. Why? Was he not good enough for her? What made her mate so much better?

The more he thought about it, the more his face darkened, twisting with rage. She will definitely be mine, he thought to himself, running after her to see where she was going. He saw her enter a house and creeped as far as he could without potentially being sensed. He could hear her speaking to her parents. He turned to leave, but stopped as he saw a handsome youth approaching the house. He watched as she ran out to him, smiling in a way she had never smiled at him.

He watched as she reached out shyly to hold his hand and the way she blushed as she did so. That should be for him. All of that should be for him. That b*tch. How dare she! How dare she do this? Didn't he express his intentions to her? Didn't she understand what that meant? He was willing to choose her out of all the women that constantly threw themselves at him. Just who the hell did she think she was? He was bestowing on her an honor that so many women would die for and she brushed him off? 

He clenched his fist, enraged at the thought that someone wanted to take away what was his. Yes, to him, she was already his. He walked back to where he had come from, hatching a plan in his mind to make her belong to him. No matter what he needed to do, she'd be his.

Well, he wouldn't let her. There was never a time that he, Nathan Murrows, didn't get what he wanted, and what he wanted was her. He wanted her and would have her. He would have her, and that son of a b*tch who touched her, well... there was no need to consider it. Dead men don't matter, after all.