In Zoe's life, nothing ever happened to her. In her eighteen years of life, she had lived a mundane yet dark, secretive life. She had just graduated high school and was looking forward to going to one of the colleges she was accepted to and get far away from her life.
Yet Zoe has learned that things do not always go as they plan.
******
At eight o-clock in the morning, Zoe groaned and rolled out of her warm bed. The air was not cold since it was the first week of summer, but she still missed the comfort the warmth brought her. She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, suffering from another night of dreaming. Ever since she turned fifteen, she had been having the strangest dreams of what she could never tell. All she could remember was a pair of bright storm blue eyes. These dreams often kept her from true sleep and more often than not, she woke up tired.
She grabbed a clean towel out of the closet next to the bathroom, and decided to take a quick shower before her mother woke up. She already knew that her stepfather would not be home until at least noon.
She pulled off the sweat pants and t-shirt she used as her PJ's then turned on the water in the shower, making sure it was the right temperature before taking off her panties and slipping into the warm water.
Zoe had always enjoyed the warmth and feel of the water on her skin. It made her feel clean and alive. She always took a few minutes to just stand there and let the water cascade over her five foot five body, watching it flow past her ample breasts, skipping her flat stomach, and trailing down her lush hips and firm legs. She sighed then closed her brown eyes to let the water hit her short black hair, and stream down her face. She then grabbed her shampoo, after squirting some onto her hand she thoroughly washed her hair, and then rinsed it.
A sound caught her ear and she quickly opened her eyes, which were instantly stung by the soap. "Damn it," She cursed closing her now burning eyes as she opened the stall and searched blindly for the towel. "Stupid towel," She growled, and then something soft was pressed into her hands. "Ah. There you are," She sighed and rubbed her face with it.
"You're welcome," said a rough, and deep voice.
Zoe froze and clung to the towel as she lowered it. Her bloodshot eyes grew wide as she stared at a tall young man about 6' with thick brown curly hair that lay against his neck, and piercing blue eyes. The man just smiled at her with a clean shaven face as her eyes traveled down his naked muscular chest, then lower where a towel was wrapped around his broad waist. "Mind if I join you?" he asked with a grin, as he reached for the knot that kept the towel up. Zoe screamed then, and jumped from the shower, quickly wrapping the towel around her small naked body. She stood there frozen for a moment then let the three years of karate kick in and punched him hard in the stomach then kicked him in the side. The man groaned loudly at the punches he was obviously not expecting, and fell to the ground.
Zoe ran out of the bathroom and saw her mother looking at her like she had three heads. "Mom!" she cried, running to her mother, soap still in her hair and dripping wet. "There is a man in our bathroom! Naked!" she quickly added.
Just then, the man left the bathroom with the towel still tied around his waist.
"You could have informed us that you were arriving, my Lord," Zoe's mother said, bowing her head to the strange man, while Zoe looked at her in confusion.
"Come now Fran, that would not have been very fun," he said with a wide grin.
"Mother what is going on? Who is this man?" Zoe demanded, her eyes darting between her mother and the man.
"Fran you did not tell her?" the man asked with disappointment. "She should have known for some time of her destiny." Zoe's mother stood there her eyes glued to the floor.
The man sighed. "My name is Azriel. I am the sworn protector of your town, and the price of this service was the one thousandth girl that was born would be mine. That girl is you, Zoe,"
Zoe stood there stunned, unable to even breathe. After a few moments, she realized that she was not breathing, and took in a large breath, and looked up at Azriel with unbelieving eyes.
"Your eyes have always been your best feature," he said softly, moving slowly toward her, until he was with in arms reach. "I remember holding you the day you were born, and you looked up at me with those amazing eyes. I wanted to take you that day, but I had to wait until you were out of high school," He smiled gently and extended his hand until it touched her cheek softly, "It has been a long eighteen years Zoe,"
All Zoe could do was look up into those crystal blue eyes in silence. She wanted to scream, kick, something, anything. Yet she could not, she was lost in his eyes.
Azriel leaned forward, and let his lips touch hers lightly. Zoe has never been kissed before; therefore, she stood there like a stone as his lips moved over hers.
Then something snapped in her mind, and she used all her force, and pushed Azriel away from her. "Wait a second there buddy. Don't I get a say in this? What if I do not want to go with you?"
Azriel looked at her for a moment. "Well Zoe, this town falls into darkness, and everyone you know and love will die,"
Zoe's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "Now Zoe you will be very well taken care of. Everything you could want will be given to you. All I ask is your companionship, and in time friendship. Now does that sound all that bad?" he asked with a simple smile.
Zoe bit her bottom lip lightly, and was about to answer when her mother spoke up. "Tell her the rest. She has a right to know everything." her mother said firmly.
"That is a lot coming from a woman who did not tell her anything," Azriel shot back.
"Tell me what?" Zoe asked, looking between them.
Azriel sighed. "You are to be my mate Zoe. Bare my children," he said in a quiet tone, not really being able to look at her as he did.
Zoe shook her head, and pushed past him, and into her room, locking it behind her. She flung herself onto the bed and started to cry hard. She did not like the idea of being used, and bargained away as if she was nothing, bargained away to be used as something's vessel for baring offspring.
******
Hours ticked by before Zoe felt she was calm enough to come out of her room and face the world as a reasonable person again.
She walked into the living room where her mother and Azriel, who had changed into a black dress shirt, and dress pants, were sitting talking quietly over a cup of something warm.
Azriel was the first one to notice her, his bright eyes pierced into hers, and she was forced to look away, lest she be caught in them. Her mother turned around and tried to give her a convincing smile, which did not comfort Zoe, and since her stepfather was not present she assumed he was asleep.
"Come, please join us," Azriel said gesturing to an empty seat between him and her mother. Zoe smiled politely and sat down. She took a breath; it took her a long time to come up with an answer to this situation.
"Even though Mr. Azriel impolitely came into the bathroom while I was taking a shower, I know he assumed that I knew who he was, but I would still like an apology," she said, looking at Azriel firmly, careful to avoid his eyes. Something about them was so familiar; she just could not put her finger on it.
Azriel smiled he was impressed with her calm, and her guts, not many stood up to him. Of course, she did not know what he was. "I am sorry Zoe,"
"Thank you. Now before I agree or disagree to anything, I want to know what you are, and why this town needs your protection,"
Azriel sighed and folded his hands, lacing his long fingers. "Two hundred years ago, an evil sorcerer held this town in his grip because of the magical lines that run through the town. I am a demon, a very powerful demon, that the sorcerer conjured up for some foolish reason. I was too powerful for him to handle, so I killed him.
The townspeople were very grateful for what I did, but fearful that another magical craving lunatic would come and ruin their lives once more. So they contracted me to protect them, and I only asked for one thing,"
Zoe sat there transfixed by his story to the very end. "So why ask for the thousandth girl, why did you not take one then?"
"Well Zoe, I was not mature enough to take a mate then. I figured that a thousand girls would take a lot of time to be born, in a small town. I did not believe that it would take this long. Not that I am sad with the outcome. You are everything that I could ever want in a mate Zoe, bright, fearless, beautiful, funny, fun loving, and patient. I have watched you your whole life Zoe. I have spent the last eighteen years preparing for you,"
Zoe could not help but to smile slightly. He seemed so honest, and warm. "Then I shall honor the contract. I will go with you Azriel,"
Azriel's face lit up happily, but Zoe quickly put up her finger, stopping his reaction completely. "On the condition you give me time before umm..." She hesitated turning a bright red.
"Mating with you" Azriel offered all Zoe could do was nod. "Deal, we will leave when you are ready,"
Zoe nodded and stood up. She did not even look at her mother she just walked away.
******
Within a few hours, Zoe had packed a few bags, and was ready to go. She now stood in the living room with her mom and Azriel.
"Ready?" Azriel asked looking at her; Zoe nodded not trusting her voice. She did not know what lay before her, and was uncertain of the future.
Azriel nodded then waved his hand creating a large, glowing purple, swirling portal in mid-air. Zoe licked her lips and looked uncertainty at it. Azriel smiled at her with encouraging eyes. "After you my dear," he said, gesturing to the portal.
"I guess this is good-bye, mother," Zoe said, looking over at her mother who was barely holding herself together. "Don't cry for me now mother. You never did, why start now? I love you," Zoe said, smiling, and then carried her bags and herself through the portal.
Zoe walked through it as she would a doorway, and found herself in a large, well lit, foyer, with a deep red-carpeted stairway lying before her. There was a door to her right, and two doors to her left, between them was a dark blue vase holding red roses.
Zoe was so entranced by the flowers that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder lightly. She turned to see Azriel smiling childishly at her.
"Welcome to your new home. Come let me show you to your room," he said, taking her bags and led her up the stairs. He took her to the end of the hallway, and opened the second to last door. "This is your room," he said, walking into a lilac colored room, with a large bed covered in a dark purple comforter. There was a small vanity table in a corner, next to a book shelf which was empty but clean. There were two doors on the opposite side, separated by a small table with a CD player on it.
Azriel walked over to the one on the right, and opened it, to reveal a bathroom complete with a shower. Then without a word, he moved and opened the other, which was a closet full of clothes.
"You are welcome to make any changes you wish," he said softly as he watched Zoe move around the room slowly, then her eyes caught the site of a purple rose in a white vase on a nightstand next to the bed. She moved over to it and touched it lightly, then looked at him with emotional eyes.
"Did you know they are my favorite flower?" Azriel nodded. "Same with the color of the room?" He nodded one more.
"I wanted to make you happy," he said softly. Zoe smiled at him then moved over to him carefully, until they were only a few inches apart. She was not used to showing her emotions, it made her very uncomfortable.
"Ummm... Look I am not very good with emotions, and I really do not know how to thank you other than words," she said truthfully, as she played with her fingers.
