"What do you mean that mother named you Nikita?" asks Fenris, his confusion being the most prominent emotion in his mind. Sierra is confused and I sense a bit of hopelessness in her mind. Yet, I do not blame her because my situation is somewhat hopeless at this moment.

Dominic on the other hand appears as if he's not listening to us. I feel his rage, confusion and pain but it is not for me. It is because he is thinking of something else. I want to know more and the moment I allow my mind to focus on his, my mind starts working on its own. Diving into Dominic's mind, I am immediately shut out because my presence was not hidden from him.

He threw me out! Hmm!

Knowing that Fenris and Sierra are both looking at me in the hopes of knowing the truth, I focus on them and ignore Dominic for the time being. I need to focus on becoming stronger, for vengeance.

"I am a witch and I remember everything that has happened to me ever since I was born," I whisper causing Sierra to gasp. Fenris's eyes go wide as he listens to my words yet he doesn't react. It feels as if he wasn't aware of this ability and his lack of knowledge on this thing scares me a bit.

What if I am not a normal being? Will I be shunned out?

"Sestra, you forget that I am an empath too. When you get scared or nervous, I come to know. And henceforth, I will always know if you are in trouble so do not ever feel that you are alone. Okay?" he asks, pulling at his hair a bit.

Looking at him, hearing the concern for me, my eyes start tingling.

Is this the beginning of my good luck?

Jerkily, I nod my head, not yet sure how to behave with this couple. They are so accommodating and both of them have gone out of their way to make me feel at home.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Good. Then let me call Nora, she's our aunt. Mom's sister. She'll know things about you much better than any of us," says Fenris but I immediately start shaking my head.

"No!"

"Why?" he asks surprised that I am so vehemently against it. His eyes narrow as if thinking about it.

"I am not ready, yet. Meeting you all is taking a toll on me. I want to be physically stronger first," I answer truthfully and watch as Fenris relaxes in his seat and then nods at Sierra.

"Okay. Then I won't tell anyone that you came here. You can rest, heal and drain the negative magic pushed by Kestrel into your mind," offers Fenris and I nod, feeling really grateful that I found this man.

It may be late but I will forever be grateful for Fenris's and Sierra's help. They are my saviours. I look at Dominic, sensing his troubled mind and agree that he's my saviour too.

"You should sleep, Nikita," says Sierra and oddly it feels really good to be called by the name that mama gave me. Maybe being called by this name will lend me the strength to grow and exact my revenge on Wulfric.

"Yes. Thank you," I whisper not really knowing how to sleep.

I have never slept peacefully before. The constant malnutrition that was forced upon me slowly took away my ability to sleep. I remember sleeping when I was little but when I was young enough to work in the kitchen at Xavier's house, sleep started eluding me. I am still not sure why I am unable to sleep when I feel so exhausted.

I am on the verge of collapsing yet my eyes refuse to go to sleep. My mind refuses to rest.

Am I that afraid?

~~~~

I am lying on the soft cushions that are placed on a wooden plank. It's called a bed I recall Sierra's words. I close my eyes and just listen to the different sounds around me. I can hear human-like voices as well however they are quite faint. They aren't voices, more like sounds, throaty sounds. A growl, perhaps?

Ignoring the voices, sounds or whatever that it is, I divert my mind towards the forest. It's quiet out there but there's a presence there. It's dark yet so very familiar. The presence is shrouded in darkness with so much pain and sadness.

It's a lonely presence, I realize. It's a presence very similar to mine.

It's a male presence that much I can make out from the darkness and pain in his mind. There's also rage and the pattern of his mind is similar to that of Dominic. However, this presence is a lot darker than what I could feel when he was in the same room with us.

After Sierra urged me to rest, I had left the room leaving the three of them to do whatever they do when they are not troubled by my presence.

I assume Dominic, being a cold-blooded blood-drinker has a dark side to him. One that is not quite visible to werewolves like Fenris.

I still remember the imprint of Wulfric's mind when he forced himself on me. His aura was so dark, so violent and so malicious that I had cowered in fear while he abused me.

Dominic's aura is the same, minus the violence. There is rage, there is an edge to his aura but there's no malignancy towards his werewolf friends. Perhaps, Dominic is Fenris's friend.

If that's the case then should I trust them? After all, it is difficult to believe that a vampire can be anyone's friend. Are there good vampires?

Slowly, the darkness of the night is chased away by the sun's rays. The light slowly flickers into my room and I feel the shift in the environment around me. The birds around the house start chirping. I hear good mornings being wished to each other with a lot of giggling sounds.

That's Fenris's family perhaps.

Is it time to get up? Not really knowing anything about daily life, I just sit up in the bed when I feel footsteps vibrating around the house. Walking into the bathroom, I wash myself again and relish the feel of these soft clothes provided to me by my brother and his mate.

Mate?

What is the meaning of it?

I should ask them; I decide while pulling on the clothes and drying my hair. Looking into the wall which shows me myself, a mirror, I finger comb my hair. Looking around, I spot a comb and try it on my hair, trying to comb my hair.

Halfway through combing my hair, the comb gets stuck in the knots causing a stinging pain in my scalp. So shocking is the feel and similar to the time when Xavier had pulled at my hair, I just stare at the comb while breathing deeply.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts and I put the comb down on the table. Walking towards the door, I open it to find Sierra standing on the other side.

"Hey, Nikita. Good morning. Sleep well?" she asks me.

Did I sleep at all? Let alone well?

I envy her now.

"It was comfortable," I reply instead and let her inside. She smiles and then walks inside while spotting the knots in my hair.

"I can help you with that," she whispers while pointing at my hair. I look down at the silver strands looking more like a nest and then sigh. "Don't worry, I'll do it," says Sierra without letting me speak for myself.

She walks inside and then pulls out a chair beside the bed. Surprised at her physical strength, I watch as she pulls the chair in front of the mirror and then looks at me. "Come on, Nikita. Sit here."

Silently, I walk toward her and sit on the chair. For the next few minutes, I let her work on my hair. At first, she just fingers through my hair, slowly releasing the length of it from between the chair and my back.

"You have very good hair, sister," she says and then smiles at me through the mirror all the while I am watching her in confusion. All the while I do not even for a second sense that she's bothered by me. Then why am I feeling so awkward? I feel as though I am a burden.

Meanwhile, Sierra's moving around the room. She moves towards the bathroom and then inside the cupboard, she picks out a bottle with some transparent liquid inside it. Walking back towards me while I am watching her through the mirror, she unscrews the lid of the bottle and squeezes some of the liquid on her hand. Rubbing her hands, a bit, she applies that liquid on my head.

From roots to tips, she applies that liquid and then methodically starts finger-combing my hair, removing the knots one by one.

Is it some magic potion?

"Almost done. Years of neglect have made your hair dry. This is a serum. You can apply it on your hair after washing it. Do it twice a week and your hair will be worth a million. It's so thick. It's a really great length," she whispers, completely amazed at the length of my hair.

Watching through her eyes, I really feel her emotions and allow myself to be a little happy for inheriting mama's hair. I smile at Sierra through the mirror which she returns with hers and then watch as she combs my hair thoroughly and then ties it up in a braid. It's a loose braid, causing a few small strands to escape. It makes me look different.

I look... good.

"There. All done. You look beautiful sister," she compliments me and then squeezes my shoulder a bit. I stiffen a bit but she doesn't realize and I feel grateful for it. She's so happy and radiant. Not at all sad or neglected.

Is this how a woman is treated. She looks like a queen!

"Come on. Breakfast is ready," she says, pulling me out of my thoughts of wonder.

"Yes. Okay."

Walking into the living room and following Sierra into the kitchen, I hear the faint sound of a giggle. Confused now as it is a female sound, I follow Sierra quite hesitantly, not sure whom I will be meeting this morning.

Entering the kitchen, I am surprised to see a small child sitting on Fenris's lap while he coos at her. The child is smiling and patting Fenris's cheeks while he talks to her about something.

As if sensing my presence, he looks up and finds me staring at him. Not at all offended, he smiles at me and then stands up, picking up the child in his arms.

"Good morning, Nikita. Meet my daughter and your niece, Selene," he greets me while walking towards me. I stand there, wonderstruck while watching the child look at me curiously. I watch her too and sense something. She's a replica of Fenris with his hair and his eyes but her will, that's not like Fenris.

She's like me.

"She's a witch!"

Fenris looks at me in surprise, perhaps at my shock filled words and then his lips curve in a huge smile. He hoists up his daughter and then walks closer, letting me have a close look at the witch-child.

"Yes, she is. She is like you, half-witch and half-wolf yet she doesn't have a wolf presence like me."

She looks like Sascha!

That's the first thought that pierces my mind and I take a step back. Feeling immense guilt for forgetting about Sascha, I try to cover up my emotions, not wanting Fenris to misunderstand my regret.

"She's a beautiful baby," I whisper. My voice is soft, not at all loud and for a moment I think that I wasn't audible but when Fenris smiles proudly, I sigh in relief.

"Say thank you, Selene," coos Fenris while holding his daughter's hand. He holds out that hand for me to hold her.

Not quite sure yet wanting to hold her hand at least, I raise my hand.

The moment my hand touches hers, I feel a jolt of pain run through my body. Letting go of her immediately, I take a step back.

"Shit! I am sorry," whispers Fenris and quickly passes on his daughter to Sierra. I watch them through a haze as a glimpse of that week runs through my mind.

Wulfric's face. His hands and his body. Oh no!

I feel nauseous.

"Nikita!"

Fenris shouts on my face and I realize then that I had lost control of my body. Not allowing me to fall he holds on to me and then pulls my body towards the table. Making me sit on the chair and plopping my hands on the table, he hovers above me while I heave in a deep breath.

I close my eyes, letting the pain wash over me. I let the memories roam in my mind for a minute and then gather all my energy to push them out. With all my will, I push the memories out of my consciousness and heave a long breath to lock them out of my mind.

"I am so sorry." Fenris's words bring me out of my traumatic thoughts and I lift my head to look at him. By now Sierra and the baby are nowhere to be seen. Fenris on the other hand has a very guilt-stricken look on his face. That's when I realize that he knew what happened to me.

What was that?

"She's... It happened because of Selene. My daughter has the gift to bring out the long-buried pain from one's mind," explains Fenris and that's when I connect the dots.

Heaving a sigh, I lean back on the chair and calm myself, willing myself to not let Wulfric's torture take over me.

I will not let him win.

"That's okay. This gift is other-worldly," I manage to speak not quite sure about my words. I do not want to hurt his feelings by saying that his daughter has the gift to torture someone.

"It's other-worldly and it's eerie," says Fenris, agreeing to my thoughts. I feel the weight on his shoulders as he thinks about his daughter's abilities. "I just thought that her powers might not work on you as you are a witch too but guess I was wrong. I am very sorry."

Sighing, for the first time, I lift my hand and place it on Fenris's hand on the table. He is shocked but he quickly covers his emotions.

"That is okay."

"Thank you. I felt your pain," he whispers and I can feel that he's desperately controlling himself from asking me the reason behind the pain. However, I remain silent.

"The pain was tremendous," he comments after a while, waiting for me to reply but I don't. I continue to look him in the eyes but do not tell him the reason behind my pain. It's my secret and I will keep it as long as I feel comfortable enough to share it with someone.

After a long moment of staring at me and waiting for me to answer his unasked question, he sighs a long breath and then lets out a humourless chuckle. "You don't want to tell, huh? Guess you are more stubborn than my mate."

Again, the word.

Mate?

Unable to control myself anymore, I ask him the question that has been roaming around in my mind since yesterday.

"What is a mate?"

My question surprises Fenris, perhaps, because he looks at me sceptically and then sighs.

"A mate. How do I tell you, sister?" he sighs and then lets go of my hand. Slowly, a soft smile plays on his lips giving him a younger look. I watch him, mesmerized, recalling papa's face and finding so many similarities between him and my brother. Fenris looks through a haze as if imagining someone else and then looks at me.

"A mate is your soul's other half. It is believed that a soul is broken into half and transported to the male and the female auras. These two parts of a soul when incarnated into a human or supernatural species always seek each other. These two halves of a soul are incomplete without each other and a person harbouring the incomplete piece of the soul will only feel true happiness when he fuses with the other half of his soul. The person harbouring this other half of the soul is called a soul mate, and together they are called soulmates," he explains softly as if explaining it to a child.

I listen to him attentively, trying to connect the dots. "So, Sierra is your soulmate?"

"Yes, she is my soulmate. Like I am hers. Our halves have fused and formed a complete soul," he explains.

"Oh."

"You have a soulmate, too," he adds making me frown. If I have a soulmate then where has he been till now? What was he doing when I was being abused by Wulfric? Did he know?

"When do you meet your soulmate?" I ask.

"You can meet your soulmate anytime in your life. However, you are able to recognize him or her only when you are mature enough. In werewolf terms, the maturity age is 21. In witches, it is 19. In vampires, it is 30."

"So, if I meet someone carrying the other half of my soul, I will recognize him? Just like that?" I ask and at my question, Fenris chuckles.

"Yes, sister. You will know. Just like that. That person will make you curious to know more about him. You will feel attracted to him both physically and emotionally. Your mind will crave to know more about your soulmate's wellbeing. That's what I felt when I met my Sierra."

My Sierra!

He sounds so soft and so caring while recalling his mate and memories. Is this how a male mate treats his female?

Is this how a woman is treated?

Will I be treated that way?

Will my mate love me after knowing how Wulfric defiled me over and over?

Does it hurt when your mate touches you like that? Is it this way with your mates too?

Or am I being too foolish to think that I will have the privilege to call someone mine as Fenris does?

~~~~

Thank you for reading!!!

How's the story so far???

Please vote and comment on the chapter. Your comments will give me an insight into the chapter, in the story as well.. So please comment.

Please vote too...