the connection

Damien’s POV

“The one?” I asked, my eyebrows squeezing together as I stared at the seer. Everyone knew she was strange, but this was pushing it.

“She's come back,” the seer repeated, barely looking at me as she focused on the girl in front of us. The seer's eyes flitted over the human girl's form with frantic intensity, as if she were attempting to devour every detail in a single glance.

Her gaze darted from the human girl's eyes down to the curve of her jaw, all in rapid succession. Each movement seemed urgent, as if she were racing against time to absorb every aspect of the girl's being. There was a sense of desperation in the way her eyes widened with each new observation. She gently touched the girl's hair, taking a big sniff like she was trying to confirm something.

“It's really her,” the seer said, looking up at me with wide eyes.

“Who?” I asked, getting annoyed at her mysterious talk.

“Your mate,” she whispered, and I jerked back. She must be joking. I thought as I scoffed.

“How much have you been drinking?” I snapped. I was losing my patience with each word the seer spoke.

“She's your mate, Alpha, Damien. She's the one meant for you,” the seer insisted, and I let go of the girl, dropping her to the floor as I stepped away in shock.

I could feel something weird in the air as the seer looked around frantically. I had a bad feeling there was more to this.

“What do you mean, Sameen?” I asked, trying to keep my anger in check.

“You can feel it, Alpha. The connection, the signs—it's all there. It drew me here, guided by the spirits,” the seer explained, her eyes darting between me and the girl like she expected her to disappear any second. “The problem is, I was not the only one drawn here, the other alphas, the other wolves can feel it too,” the seer half whispered.

“This is not my mate, Sameen. She died in my arms, and I buried her with our child. I don't know what gibberish you're speaking, but this… this is a human pet brought by the pet hunter,” I scoffed, turning to walk away. I had had enough of the rubbish she was spouting.

“You felt it, Damien. Your mate is dead, but this is a reincarnation of her. The one the moon goddess has given you for a second chance. I don't know why, but she is the one,” the seer insisted, her voice earnest.

I stopped dead in my tracks, the weight of her words sinking in. Turning to face her, I felt the rage rising within me. “I couldn't have waited a century just to be given a human as a mate, Sameen. The moon goddess would not play such a cruel joke on me,” I snapped, my voice growing louder with each syllable.

The bottled-up anger I had kept since the night I buried my beloved mate with our child surged to the surface. The pain I had hidden away resurfaced as memories flooded my mind—of digging the grave, of saying goodbye, of my wolf's mournful silence.

“I could not have waited for a century just to be given a taboo mate,” I added, my voice heavy with emotion.

“Damien, what's today's date?” the seer's voice broke through my thoughts. I furrowed my brow, confused by her question. What did the date have to do with anything?

“What's that got to do with anything?” I replied harshly, stalking towards her. Gripping her shirt, I lifted her against the wall, anger coursing through me.

“It's the 23rd of May, Damien—the day you lost her. If this is not fate, I don't know what is,” the seer forced out, her voice filled with urgency.

My heart dropped to my stomach in realization. My hands released their grip on the seer's shirt as I stepped away in horror, the weight of the date hitting me like a ton of bricks.

I staggered backwards, disbelief, anger, and awakened pain coursing through my veins as I laughed. Nothing was funny, but I clung to the hope that it was all a cruel joke the seer was playing on me. It had to be.

“She's not Rosalia, and she can never be,” I muttered, refusing to accept the seer's words. Nothing would make me believe this. Nothing.

“She's your mate, Damien. Now that fate has brought her to you, you cannot do anything about it,” the seer insisted.

I staggered backwards, my hand outstretched to warn her not to come any closer. “Nothing I can do about it? I reject her, and I would do anything to get rid of her,” I warned, my voice laced with disdain.

“My head hurts,” a voice interrupted us. I turned quickly to see the human girl slowly getting up from the ground, confusion clear on her face. As I stared at her, the uncanny resemblance to my dead mate, Rosalia, made my throat tighten. I hated it. I hated the emotions she stirred inside of me.

I didn't want her, and I was determined to return her to the human world. “You can't return her. I don't know what you would do yet. I have to consult the moon goddess to be sure, but she can't be away from you, Damien,” the seer warned, as if sensing my thoughts.

I turned to her, anger coursing through my veins as I shot daggers at her with my eyes. “I wouldn't return her, Sameen. I would do something even worse,” I declared, an evil smile forming on my lips.

Stalking towards the human girl, who looked bewildered and scared, I drew the sword from my hold. Without a shred of hesitation, I plunged it straight into her chest, the metallic clang echoing through the empty area as the human girl's eyes widened in disbelief. The sickening thud of the seer's bag hitting the ground drowned the gasp that escaped out the human girl's lips, signaling the irreversible horror of my actions.