Chapter 10: Soulmate-Searching

“Zarion!” I paused for a heartbeat to let my voice echo. “Zarion! Zarion!”

But it was no use. I’ve been walking around the woods with an almost frozen body, a coat made of sheep’s skin is the only thing between me and the cold while shouting Zarion’s name.

The snow kept falling, the wind whipping my hair as if it was dragging me back to the castle. It seems Mamita also has power over the wintry weather.

There was a blizzard already shoving its here from the western horizon. I couldn’t find the right path anymore. There was no trace of him, his footprints might have faded with the wind’s harshness. Earlier, I caught his scent, a scent of cinnamon and vanilla, so I followed it. I know his scent is very feminine but I don’t even know where he got that too sweet fragrance. But to my dismay and misfortune, even before I could completely follow, it vanished. Just vanished, with no idea how.

“Zarion, Please…” I prayed, coughing when a snowflake landed on my tongue. I don’t know why I’m uttering his name like an invocation as if he’s my God. “I’m so cold,” I added, hoping he could hear me with his superpowers or something. Rubbing both of my hands to create pressure and heat, I eventually stopped because it was of no use. Any minute from now, my body will collapse on this frozen icy road.

“Zarion!” I bellowed his name before I felt my knees wobble on the ground.

“Where… are you… Zarion?” My body is gravely shaking from the cold; the eyelids of my eyes started fluttering. Still, I forced my eyes open and a familiar big dog was before me. And perhaps ready to bite me. Taken back from my senses, I wrapped my arms around my body, desperate to live. “No! No! No!”

I keep shrieking, even though I wasn’t sure if I’ll be able to attract anyone.

I didn’t know I was more afraid of dogs—wolves—than to be frozen to death. Death is inevitable, I know that. My grandmother used to tell me that, always reminding me every Day of the Dead as we prepare offerings to my parents and Papito. She even joked that maybe in an hour or the next day or the day after tomorrow, she will be dead. I don’t find it funny. She’s the only relative left in my life, and yet…

I left her. My mind whispered. You left her all alone in the castle in the height of winter.

My grandmother’s face flashed as if she was here with me. “Not today.” I kicked, thrashing in the snow. “Not today you freaking dog!”

I can still remember the time when she asked me if I was afraid of death. I didn’t have—gave—an answer… not until now. I was so afraid that I wondered if this would be a slow, painful death or a quick, painless one. A smile split the sadness on my face. Although my body is freezing, I’m still awake and sane.

I hope so.

“What the—What the actual fuck?!” Why did the dog who bit my foot and dragged me across a plain of snow suddenly transformed into a human? Gasping, I willed my sense of sight to focus, and when I did…I found myself staring at the familiar heated gaze of Zarion, who’s now squatting in front of me.

“Was I hallucinating?” Definitely not, I answered my own question silently. Zarion is shirtless. Wait, no. My eyes slid from his face down to his torso. He’s naked. Completely bare and unclothed.

Shit.

Completely terrified, I tried to get away from him while my jaw still fell open. “How did—”

Zarion shook his head.“That’s not important right now.”

“W-What?”

“You're cold. You need to be warm, my warmth.”

“Why did you turn into a human from being a dog?”

“Dog,” he nodded, scoffing. “It’s a wolf, kid. I thought you’re old enough to know the difference?” A smirk bloomed in that irritatingly handsome face of his. “If my pack hears about this, they're going to hate me more.” An unbelievable gorgeous smile replaced the smirk earlier on his brazen face.

I returned his smile.

“I don’t understand, Zarion.”

Zarion sighed and grabbed my coat and boots. I will just let him do whatever he wants to do; I will not shriek or frown or complain. His fingertips stroke the base of my neck, my weak spot. The spot I always want a man to caress when lovemaking, or just even kissing. My body responded to his touch, my head still couldn’t properly function after seeing those dreams—daydreams that I am above him and nightmares that he might leave me. Or worse, kill me. Maybe, it was just a hallucination after all.

Earlier, I nearly died from hypothermia. Earlier, I would have been eaten by a wolf. Earlier…“I might die too soon.”

“You won’t,” Zarion’s baritone voice filled my ears. “Come on, Cassidy. You might be a kid but I know you are braver and more rebellious than those other kids of your age.” It was at this moment that embarrassment slowly crawled out from my body. I wasn’t wearing anything anymore aside from my white plain undergarments. “So, just stay still.” My cheeks might as well be as warm as his cock. Too much skin, too much exposure. Yet Zarion didn’t seem to notice. Maybe I was the only one who found this awkward all along.

“Cassidy,” Zarion once called my name again, grabbing my chin to make me—force me—to look at him. “What’s the matter?” Did I hear that right? Was his tone really genuinely menacing and utterly worried?

“Nothing,” I smiled at him. Both of us snuggled, wrapping my quivering body with his warmth the moment we hugged each other. One moment, my body was shaking from the cold. And in a blink of my eyes, it relaxed when Zarion’s presence shrouded to where I was breathing.

“You’re so warm…” I whispered, before falling asleep in his—which turns out to be the best sleep of my life as Mamita’s snoring can no longer interrupt my sweet dreams.

***

I woke up not inside the cabin, but in a strange bed.

Looking around, it wasn’t the same cabin Zarion and I shared a night with. “Zarion?” I asked, the first thing that came out of my mouth was his name. His fucking glorious name.

I am inside a small wooden hut, the floor is cemented though. I don’t know how but the frigid wind seems incapable of entering despite the light materials. “Was it a dream?” I whispered to myself while fixing my hair. But I’m pretty sure it’s not, the sharp bite of cold in my exposed fingertips tells me that.