I'm Dying, Mate.

(4) The Mark

She holds my hand on my good arm with both of hers. She smiles even when she's crying. I couldn't believe Mammie went all the way here to get to me and I was thankful for the familiar face. I didn't know if I can take waking up in an empty room again.

Mammie keeps crying, she wouldn't let go of my hand as if it was the tether holding me here. This is what I'm afraid of, I don't want to make anyone suffer, I don't want anyone to cry that's why I chose to die than to live because living means having to hope. To hope that this disease is going to be cured when that is not going to happen.

Someone knocks and Doctor Frederick pokes his head out of the door, his eyes were serious and yet gentle which could only mean something bad. He looks at me and then to Mammie "Mrs. Blackfield, could I speak to Iona in private?"

Mammie turns to look at him and a gave a single nod "If it's you, doc, then okay." and she reluctantly lets go of my hand and kisses my forehead "Shout, if you need me"

"I will" I promised. I look at Doc and smile "What's up Doc?"

He chuckles "you don't really care if you die or not don't you?"

I purse my lips and sighed "I care, Doc. I'm just doing this as gracious as I can and hope everyone is ready when I leave them."

"Then how about Synthia, you know she hasn't stopped talking about you at home. She wants to see you again, it has been a while. She know's you're pushing her away and it's not going well for the both of you."

I nod. Synthia is Doc's 10 year old daughter that mom saved countless of times and she was his only child. In gratitude, he decided to save me but I can see the guilt of failure on his shoulders when he told me I don't have much time left. "I'm sorry, I'll come by soon"

Synthia was also the reminder of how long I was in the hospital, 10 years of suffering from this pain but I didn't care. Synthia made all the time I spent here in the hospital worthwhile, she gave me the huge teddy bear in my 15th birthday saying that if I miss her and if I'm sad, just hug the teddy bear and remember her.

I'm going to be 19 in a matter of months, they say I'll die on my birthday and will have a so called dramatic scene for everyone but this time I want to spend my birthday quietly.

"So, Doc, what do you really want to talk about?"

Doc sighs "there was another reason why you lost a lot of blood" he says while rubbing his chin

"What is it?" I ask curious. I play with the IV line and felt a twinge of pain when I accidentally touched the needle

"Well, look at your right torso"

I did what he said and I see twonames etched on my skin like a tattoo, the two names were one above the other. Damiano and Drake

My breath hitch at the beautiful sight of the tattoo. "What's this?"

"That is the name of your mates, Iona. When we were operating, the name Damiano was burning indicating he was cheating on you with mating with another female and marking her as his"

I feel a pang of hurt in my chest. My blood ran cold at the mere image of it in my being, my shoulders went slack and I had to lean back on my bed again to feel any semblance of being okay.

The burning in the fields finally made sense, the pain and the suffering I had to go through was immense but for some reason I can't help myself from thinking that it's my fault. If only I wasn't human, maybe he'd given me a chance.

"Wait, Doc! There are two names here... so that means I have two mates?"

Doc nods "It's a rare condition, but based on the werewolf legend. Every two or three hundred years a human will have two mates, and she either chooses one of them or just the both of them. The offspring's are often powerful and great leaders or warriors but I haven't found any living offspring's or the three mates living in this era."

He grins "I told you, you're a one of a kind girl"

"Is it already the end of three hundred years?"

"Actually based on what I studied, it has already been five hundred years and now we have you"

I shake my head, not being able to get my head around the idea of it "Please, Doc, don't tell Uncle or Mammie or my cousins or anyone!"

Doc moves closer and I can see the hand on his side clenches to a fist. "Why?"

"Doc, Damiano already rejected me and you've seen it. I know this Drake guy will too"

"what makes you so sure?"

"it's just that there is really no hope" I whisper "I can't live in this life anymore because a lot of people are just going to get hurt"

"you do know, that your mates can cure you" he scoffs "You'll be able to live Iona! The only reason you're still here is because Drake hasn't rejected you yet and if he does, I don't know what would happen to you"

"But what if I don't want to live anymore?" I whisper, "Maybe I'm tired, Doc."

"So, that's why? You want to die"

"Yes, and I am so incredibly exhausted of hoping. I've lost too much to want to li-ve" my voice broke, feeling the heat in my throat as tears burned my eyes. "I want to go where they are"