Word Count: 2330

Chapter Two:

"Jackkkkkkkkkkk" I complained as Jackson started kissing Angelica, "Can you at least wait until I LEAVE the house for you two to start making out?" 

As I was saying goodbye to the happily reunited couple, Angelica and Jackson started a heated make out  session while I was standing in the doorway of their apartment. Awkward would be an understatement.

 All I receive is a grunt in reply, so I slam the door shut and make my trek across the street to my apartment building. 

The air is cooler at this time during the day, springtime is still blossoming around the city, and the chilly evening air is making me shiver. 

After the fall of humanity, and the rise of De Terra around 735 BC, the lives of the people have been thriving. Thousands of years later, we have cars, iPhones, iPads, and a ton of other cool stuff. It is said by the elders that if the humans hadn't died out, they would've created these things too. 

Society is different than what the humans would have created. As a hypothesis, The Elders say humans would have had weird leaders called presidents, and they would have countries instead of states.

The De Terra have one society. One man rules over the earth, he is the king of Aldmist, and his son, The Crowned Prince Of Aldmist, just so happens to be coming to my city, Esterhaven, in three days.

Stepping into the warmth of the front lobby of my apartment building, I let a sigh escape my lips. Most of the people in the apartment complex are mated couples old and young, they're a kind community, always bringing over food, always laughing and hugging and kissing.

Sometimes I wish I would have a mate someday, someone to hold me, someone to love me and kiss me, and forever be mine and only mine, but fate has a different idea for me I guess, and I just have to accept that.

Opening the door to my family and I's apartment, I take in the familiar overpowering scent of lavender.

Mother must be cleaning again.

"I'm home!" I shout out to no one in particular, and silently send a prayer to Fate that my father isn't home.

The sound of boots hitting the ceramic tile comes towards me, "Jade?" Fate just isn't on my side, is he?

"Yes Dad?" I look up at my father carefully, focusing on the middle of his eyebrows rather than his eyes.

My father isn't necessarily a bad man, he's just...not very ethical. He believes very strongly in Fate and Adam and Eve, claiming that everything we do is being watched over by those three. My mother and him are not real mates, my mother never found hers, and my fathers mate refused to be mated to him and died when four months went by, during the Rejection Ceremony. Because he is so strongly driven by our religion - and power-, when he found out his eldest born child was mateless, he was infuriated and named me a "disgrace that should be terminated", which he still believes to this day. Luckily, my brother has an actual tattoo, and will find his mate once he turns eighteen, this subdued my fathers anger slightly. But not entirely.

My fathers dark brown eyes surveyed me, as if counting all of my flaws. It has always been  difficult to tell when my father is angry, because his face always seems twisted in an aggravated way.

"Why were you out so late?" He asked airily, as my eyes glanced at the clock on the microwave, it was five thirty. I shrugged my backpack off of my shoulders and gently rested it on the hook stand behind me, "I was with Angelica, we went to pick up Jackson and then I hung out with them at their place."

The man in front of me nodded, thinking to himself. My fathers chin was decorated with grey stubble - a sign of his old age - and it almost seemed too delicate for his rough personality. Wrinkles creased near his eyebrows and worry lines spread across his forehead, but not a single wrinkle dared near his eyes or the corners of his mouth, which showed that he hadn't done a lot of smiling in his fifty years of life.

Without a word, my father reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper, and roughly shoved it into my hand. "Have these things done before your mother and I get back from our date." He explained lowly, his frown increasing ever-so-slightly. Sometimes it blew me away how unkind my father could be to me, and how my mother still loved him unconditionally. She refused to believe he was anything close to abusive, rather... eccentric. Although Eccentric was only a word my mother could be described as.

"Now Bitch," he snapped, shoving me to the floor, and winced when I landed on my knees.

Welp, I'm going to have some ugly bruises tomorrow.

I sighed, closing my eyes to calm the burning anger inside me which told me  to persuade him with my eyes into forcing him to jump off a roof. "Yes Sir," I mumbled before standing up carefully and making my way into my bedroom.

Tiredly, I carefully unrumpled the paper to reveal a long list of daunting chores. There was no way in hell I was going to finish all of those in time. I quickly changed into some leggings and a t-shirt, before checking the first task I had to complete.

Buy:

-Eggs

-Chips

-Salad

I groaned internally before leaving my bedroom and grabbing my purse, heading for the front door. My younger brother, Edward, stood in the kitchen a bag of marshmallows in one hand and a jar of peanut butter in the other, "Don't judge me!" he giggled playfully before scampering off towards his bedroom, his plaid rope chasing behind him.

Edward was just like my mother, in male form. He had the same dark hair and blue eyes that I, Edward, and my mother shared, sharp pointy features, and a crazy outgoing personality that could get anyone to like him in an instant. Not only did I know that whoever his mate was, would swoon over him, but also that he would treat whoever she is like a princess.

I silently added buying more marshmallows and peanut butter to my list before leaving the apartment and heading towards the local grocery store. It was six pm, and the sun was still out, only more proof that summer was coming fast and quick. The cool wind blew strands of hair out of my face and made me shiver, quietly cursing at myself for not wearing a warm coat.

The evening sun-lit streets were slowly filling up with the buzz of night goers, their eyes filled with excitement, or exhaustion. That was one of the beauties of living in Esterhaven, there were so many people, so many things to do, and so many place to go, you could never go a day feeling bored.

Quiet nights were unheard of, especially closer to the center of the city where rowdy teens and party wanderers alike danced all night and slept all day, it was a rarity if you didn't wake up at least twice to the sound of a drunken shout about socks, or the bark of a frightened dog.

The grocery stores neon sign glowed under the dimming light and I entered it quickly, taking note that I was the only person in the store besides a bored teenage girl behind the register, who was picking at her bright red acrylic nails. It was a quaint little place at the corner of an old street just a couple of blocks from the middle of Esterhaven, which made it a mostly quiet place during the day and a quiet place during the night. Only elderly people, mated men and women with children, and pet owners ever came in, with the occasional teenager looking for some free booze, or buying some candy for them and their friends.

I waved at the girl and gave a gentle smile before walking towards the back of the store where the things I needed to buy would be. The girl nodded her head at me before going back to picking at her nails.

After grabbing all of my requested objects and checking out the bags, I stepped out into the chilly air, the sun had finally gone down, and the streets were calm once again.

Goosebumps raised on my skin as I crossed the road that was illuminated by the orange glow of a couple of street lamps strung together. Music echoed through the alleyways from a club nearby, the muffled beat sounding distant and out of place from everything else. My back was tense as the cold air around me shifted slightly, making the hair on the back of my neck rise slowly.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from one of the alleyways and grabbed me, shoving me into a wall so hard I saw stars for a few seconds. I screamed as loud as I possibly could but was quickly shut up by a kick to the stomach. "Shut up pretty thing." The man snarled, wrapping a calloused hand around my slender neck.

"Shut up ugly thing," I mocked through gritted teeth. I've learned from my father that you should never show a morsel of fear to your opponent, it shows weakness. The man wore sunglasses over his eyes and a hoodie over his head, shielding his looks from me.

"Now, Now, that's not very lady-like is it? Why don't you be a quiet little thing while I do what I need to?" One of the mans hands trailed down to my pants and I shivered in disgust. I looked straight into the mans eyes - or where I assumed they were - and growled out using my persuasion, "Let go of me." the mans hand slowly lifted from my neck before he let out a shout of rage and clenched it around my neck again.

"What the hell did you just do?" He said brusquely, kicking me so hard in my stomach I tasted blood on the back of my tongue.

I was surprised, how did the persuasion not work on him? It works on everyone, even my father!

"Let go of me." I growled lowly, trying to shove him away. My eyes were glowing a deeper brighter purple, that I knew, and I was praying he would be subdued this time. Instead his grip tightened, "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, maybe you should've learned the first time." his hand grabbed the hem of my pants and slowly started pulling them down. I started thrashing harder in his gripped and he only laughed. None of my powers were working on him, so I relied on my only form of seeking help left - shouting as loud as I possibly could and giving this man an ear ulcer.

"HELP!" I screamed, as the man kicked me hard again, mumbling a 'shut up', then roughly slamming me against the wall, "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" my voice cracked at the end as tears started forming in my eyes from the pain he was inflicting on me.

The mans grip around my neck grew tighter and tighter as I started choking for air, "I told you to shut up the first time, maybe I'll just prolong this little moment with you." I heard the buckle of his belt clink, which ignited fear into my chest. I couldn't breathe, I was losing my fight, and this man was about to rape me.

Suddenly, there was another shout, before the man on top of me was slammed off in a blur of black and a flurry of fists and grunts.

I braced myself against the floor and started gasping for air, coughing up blood which splattered on the ground. My groceries sat in a broken heap at the front of the alleyway and I had no intention of picking them up again. All I wanted was to get home and curl up in bed.

The air grew quiet again, the only noise was my coughing fits and the sound of heavy breathing. I still couldn't breathe well, my mouth still opening and closing like a fish out of water, but the heavy breathing wasn't mine, it was my saviors.

"Are you okay? I smell blood." The guy said quietly, the sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine and made my heart beat harder.

"I-I'm fine..th-thank you." I coughed in between words, my hands still keeping my body upright. The persons footsteps neared me, until the shiny black lacquer of his shoes shone under the crescent moon rising above us. I stared at them for a moment, admiring how perfectly polished they were.

"Let me help you home." My savior offered kindly, as I felt hands slowly wrap around my waist and  lift me up into a standing position. The pressure around my waist felt peculiar around my waist, and I suddenly wanted this strangers arms wrapped tighter around mine.   

"No thank you, I can make it home myself. Thanks for rescuing me." I gave a small smile as I slowly looked up at the angel Fate had sent to save me. His face was completely covered by the shadows and a black hood over his head, not even his eyes were visible. I gulped and looked away. The guy was hesitant, but I assumed he nodded, because he slowly retracted his arms from around my waist, which left an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Be careful." He mumbled in a hushed whisper, before in a flash of black, he was gone, and as I watched his retreating figure run of towards the other end of the street, I saw wisps of bright white hair.