8 Mating bond 　　 　

Aiden POV 　　It was already time of the night when I arrived home. When I stepped into the castle, I felt that something was off. I went upstairs to Anna’s room, expecting to see her there but she wasn’t there. Walking around the corridor, I wondered if she was in the library so I took my bath first before going to see her. 　　Stepping out of the hot bath, I wore my clothes before going outside to look for Anna in the library. 　　I walked into the library to see that she was not there. Where did she go? It was then I remembered what she told me at the dining table about going to the market to get some stuff. Did something bad happened to her. 　　“You are back. How was the journey?” I heard a voice and turned around to see Simon. 　　“It was good. Have you seen Anna?” I asked, looking at him. 　　“Isn’t she in her room?” Simon looked at the direction of her room. “I haven’t seen her since she ate breakfast. Maybe you should check the garden since she frequents there.” 　　I nodded at his words and walked to the garden but she was not there either. I could only see few servants working on the flowers. It was strange how Anna had not been home since she left the castle this morning. With furrowed eyebrows, I searched everywhere for her but she was not in the castle. 　　Had she gone somewhere else? But she could have taken permission first before going. I waited for a few minutes and when I didn’t see her, the anger in my chest rose. 　　Did she run away after what happened between us last night? No! I doubt she would leave when she had nowhere to go. My face had turned into a darker shade of red upon seeing that she was missing. 　　Going to the yard where the carriages where parked, I saw that there was one carriage missing. Seeing one of the coachman walking by, I stopped him. 　　“Has the white carriage arrive here since morning?” I asked. 　　“N- No.” The man shook his head. 　　I could not perceive her scent as I walked outside the gates of the castle through the quiet road. The thought that something must have happened bad to her made my breathing hitched. I looked around the dark quiet road to search for any signs of her. She was nowhere close to this castle. 　　Using the mating bond I closed my eyes to link myself up with her. I could hear slight noise of her beating heart. Did the coachman try to do anything bad to her? 　　I used the mating bond to connect with her and my eyes opened upon knowing where she is. 　　..... 　　Anna POV 　　I turned around to see nothing there. I wrapped my hands around my shoulders as the cold was becoming intense. My eyes kept darting around to any possible sound I heard. I could only hope I would reach the road side soon. 　　Hours passed and I hadn’t reached the road side, causing nervousness to rise in me. Did I take the wrong path? I looked around, wondering if I was following the right path. I had left the coachman and I didn’t know if he was dead by now. Obviously he would have been dead as his pulse was very weak when I checked. 　　I could hear the crickets chirping making my anxiety rise further. I had never stayed away from home this late at night. As I continued to walk, I began to pray inside me for the moon goddess to bring someone to rescue me. I had walked for more than six hours, leaving the coachman and the carriage behind. 　　As I hadn’t awakened my wolf yet, I was scared. My feet continued to move in the muddy ground and at some point, It would get stuck in it making it hard for me to take another step. 　　Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me and when I turned around I saw nothing. Was it the spirit of the coachman hunting me for leaving him behind? 　　I was tired and exhausted as I didn’t know if I was following the right path. If I was following the right path, I would have reached the road side hours ago. 　　Pressing my lips together, I turned around to follow another part and before an hour I saw a glimpse of the road side from afar. I exhaled loudly, excited that I would finally get help from someone. 　　Before I could take another step, I felt something hard hit my head and I blacked out. 　　When I woke up after sometime, I felt myself being lifted by something hard. 　　“Ouch!” I rubbed my forehead to see that I was bleeding. 　　“Shhh....” When I heard Aiden’s voice, my heart became calm for some odd reasons. 　　I can walk.” I protested and he carefully dropped me to walk on my feet. 　　“I can carry you if you are unable to walk on your feet.” I heard him say. 　　“Yo.... You don’t have to worry.” I continued to rub my head which was still bleeding. 　　“You will be fine. We will get home soon.” He smiled. 　　“How did you find me?” I asked. 　　“You are forgetting something. We are mates and I used the mating bond to search for you when your scent was no longer in the air.” He muttered. “Tell me...... How did you get in the forest?” 　　It was then, I remembered the coachman and I turned around to see we where far from that place. We were already in the road side where carriages was seen passing to and fro. 　　“T.... The coachman? Where is he?” I asked. “We were going to the market when suddenly the carriage shook terribly and it began to move on it’s own into the forest until we got stuck there. The coachman was almost dead when I saw him.” 　　“He is dead already.” He replied and I felt a shiver ran through my back. 　　The man was dead? I didn’t know how I was going to react to the reply he gave me. Hours ago, I was thinking of a way to help him and now he was dead. I bit my bottom lip nervously not knowing if I should put the blame on myself. Maybe if I hadn’t gone to the market, he wouldn’t have died. 　　“I know what you are thinking and it isn’t your fault.” He said. 　　“You read people’s thought?” I frowned, looking up at him and be hummed in reply. 　　I would be more careful from now in what I would be thinking about. 　　“Everything happens for a reason. You might think it is your fault but it is not your fault.” He muttered. 　　“But—” 　　“There are no buts. We should keep walking so we could get to the castle quick and treat your wound.” He turned to see my face. 　　I touched the cloth he had used to wrap my wound to see that it was soaked with blood already. 　　As we continued to walk, I heard the loud growl of thunder and in less than a minute it started to rain. The water was cold and when it touched my skin, it made me shiver. My eyes were becoming dizzy as I walked. 　　I took a step forward, stumbling on my footsteps and almost fell on the ground when King Aiden caught me.