TEGAN'S P.O.V
I had mixed feelings about today. We had such a short love story compared to many others. Sometimes, I live in my memories more than in reality. It is one of my many gifts. This one brought me peace. It allowed me to be in my happy place for a moment. Of course, I could only live in my mind for a short time, since reality needed me more. But that short time was what helped keep me so strong, helped me get through all those tough nights. After losing Ezra, all I wanted to do was hide away and grieve alone. But I was the Queen, so I stood tall while I hid my grief from everyone. They say we all mourn differently. I was the silent type of mourner. I had a lifetime of hurt, but I would bear that alone.
How was I supposed to look at the man with the face of my mate? I kept asking myself the same questions. Was he different from the Ezra I knew or was he the exact same as before? I suppose he couldn't be the exact same, considering he was missing what made him who he was, Kingston.
A whimper in my mind pulled me back to reality. I sat there staring at the older version of the girl who first came here. I have come such a long way since then. Only, I was still in some ways that same girl. A part of me always would be.
I lifted my hand to glide across my face while I thought to myself. Would he think this older version was just as beautiful?
What was I even thinking right now? He has a family. A fucking family for crying out loud. This is not my Ezra, he is just a man with my mate's face. That is all.
The vibrations from the door had me jerking my head up. After all these years of being able to hear, it was still not my first sense. I always feel the vibrations before ever hearing the knock.
"Enter." I said as I slipped on the match to the shoe on my foot.
"Hello, Ms. Hendricks." His voice sent a shiver down my spine. "My name is..."
"Ezra." I completed his sentence for him without even thinking.
His face contorted to confusion before I spoke again.
"Sorry, I know that's not your name. You just look so much like him. I apologize." My hand gently rubbed my lips as I thought about what I had just done.
"No worries ma'am. You're not the first to do it. We must really look similar."
"You have no idea," I whispered in response.
"Are you ready then?"
I couldn't help but think of how much harder this was actually going to be. I was so consumed with my thoughts that I almost missed what he had said.
"Ready?" I repeated, a bit dazed.
"Your itinerary says that on Monday you have tea with your girlfriends at noon. Is that correct?"
"Ah, you managed to find your way around easier than I had expected." The voice of Elias echoed out. "Mother, meet Kingston, your new bodyguard and driver."
"Kingston?" I asked, looking up to meet his eyes when I spoke again. "Your name. Where does it originate?"
"Mom."
I looked over at Elias next. I could tell by his tone that he was begging me not to do what I was doing. But how was that just a mere coincidence?
"What, I just want to know?"
"It's not appropriate. He has a right to his privac-"
"It's fine, son. I don't mind. My story is what identifies me."
Son. Oh, how accurate it truly was. I could only imagine what that single word alone meant to Elias. His face told me all that I needed to know. It pulled his heart strings just as much as it did mine.
"I was a John Doe. The name John felt wrong. Actually, everything felt wrong aside from that name. I heard it on television and it just felt like, I don't know..."
"Like a part of you," I said, finishing his sentence again.
His golden eyes looked up to meet mine and I felt my heart clench in my chest. After all these years, they still made me jittery inside. They still made my heart skip beats. How could this not be my mate? How was he someone else entirely?"
"Yeah. Something like that." He responded so calmly.
"MOM! MOM WHERE ARE YOU!?" Irelyn's voice echoed out down the hall.
"MOM!" She yelled again when I didn't respond right away. "Mom, do you know where Zola is? I can't find her and her phone is going straight to voicemail." She asked as she approached. "Her phone is never dead, it's just wei..." She suddenly stopped in her tracks and all that could be heard was her rapid beating heart as she faced the man whom she'd only seen in the photos.
"Irelyn. Meet Kingston. Our Mother's bodyguard."
We both knew by his tone what he was trying to do. He didn't want either of us to draw attention to the fact of what we knew.
"And da-"
"My driver. That would be correct." I spoke up, interrupting what she was about to say. I already knew what she was wanting to say because I too had let my inner thoughts slip out.
She closed her eyes while gathering herself once more before opening them back up to speak again.
"It is nice to meet you, Kingston." She said addressing him before looking back at me. "Now seriously, have you seen, Zo?" She then asked again.
"No, sweetheart." I answered honestly.
"Wait, when was the last time you heard from her?" Elias asked, a little more edge in his voice than normal.
"After the mate- I mean, after the ball. I stayed the night in her room. But when I woke up she was gone. I thought maybe she had something to do."
"That was Saturday," Elias pointed out, to which Irelyn nodded in agreement. "Today is Monday." He then said, to which she also nodded yes too. "Why didn't you bring this to my attention sooner?" He asked with panic mixed in.
"Like I said, I thought she was busy."
"But you haven't talked to her at all, why would you think that was normal?"
"It's not. That is why I came to see if Mom had seen her."
"Have you asked Novalee yet?" I then asked.
"I went to her first. She hadn't seen her either. She left to go check a few of her comfort places. I was told to ask around."
"AGAIN, WHY AM I JUST HEARING OF THIS!?" Elias asked in a fit of rage.
Great, it was Ezra's first day home, and he was already seeing the darkness lurking in our bloodline.
'Pull yourself together before he sees what he cannot.' I quickly mindlink to Elias.
His eyes darted over to look at Ezra's... I mean Kingston's face. To my surprise, he didn't show any fear. Or at least, none that I could sense.
"Okay, we split up. Let's look in every spot that she'd go. If we still come up empty-handed, then we alert the surrounding packs of her disappearance."
I could sense the tension in Elias's behavior. But as it stood, we couldn't talk about it. I only hoped he didn't let Aslan out in one of his fits of rage.
"Kingston, you are obviously coming with me. Tea is canceled. We have a missing girl to find. You two, split up and search."
I walked between my kids, Ezra, on my heels as we exited the house.
"Do girls come up missing often around here?" He asked. When I looked back at him I could tell that he was on high alert, watching our surroundings.
If only he remembered all the dangers this world actually had.
"Not in a very long time," I admitted.
Hopefully those dangers weren't resurfacing. Maybe this was all a mistake and Zola wasn't a missing person. Goddess, I hope she wasn't missing. How would Novalee react? Better yet, how would Elias react?
If we thought keeping our secret was already hard, how would we hold back Aslan when he realized that she was actually missing?