Devour my Soul

The subtle electricity of his presence buzzed through my body in a sudden wave of adrenaline. My fingers tingled, itching to run through the luscious hair I’d only dreamed of touching. A small groan, barely audible, escaped my lips and it was then that I knew. He’d found me again. Somehow, despite my efforts, he had yo-yoed right back to me.

“Are you alright, babe?”

Snapping from my trance, I gave my fiancé a small smile, pushing down the guilt that had begun to well inside of me. It was a futile attempt. He could see the awkwardness of my movements as my shaking hands wrapped around my coffee cup. He noticed my eyes as they shifted nervously.

“I’m fine, honey,” I answered reassuringly.

A frown graced Hayden’s face, but he nodded, almost as if trying to convince himself that I was telling the truth. I simply turned my gaze down to the menu, ignoring the tingling still sparking from my fingertips, and hoping that my fiancé would drop it.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Don’t forget, my mother is coming for dinner next week.”

My groan escaped before I could stop it, and I embarrassingly clamped my hand over my mouth. A look of hurt crossed Hayden’s face, though he knew his mother and I didn’t get along. My thoughts had been too distracted to really think about what I was saying. I concentrated too hard on focusing on the menu, and forcing myself from seeking him out in the restaurant.

“Look, I know she can be a little impossible,” Hayden continued, making me snort at his choice of words. “She’s just stressed about the wedding,” he finished.

It was the wrong time to bring his mother up. Combined with the thoughts already fumbling through my brain, it only reminded me that Hayden and I weren’t soul mates. We would never be completely in sync, and though normally I would claim that it was better this way, that it kept us more interesting, I knew I didn’t truly believe it.

I’d met my soul mate. I’d fallen in love instantly. And he was in this restaurant. I wondered if he was feeling exactly how I felt right now. I doubted it. The last time I’d seen him, he had a girl on both arms and a cocky smirk wide of his face. A dangerous excitement sparked in his eyes, hidden beneath his golden blonde hair. No, I may have been his soul mate, but his life was perfect and I couldn’t imagine this man sparing me another thought.

“Hayden, your mother is driving me up the damn wall,” I said bluntly. “I don’t even know half the people coming to our wedding, and you know how much I hate the colour pink.”

Breathing a sigh of distress, Hayden reached across the table, folding my fingers in his own and giving me a small smile. I knew what he was thinking. The past few months had been difficult, especially with Hayden’s mother taking the reins on the wedding. I couldn’t stand her, and she most certainly couldn’t stand me. She’d barely accepted me as her future daughter-in-law, and even then it was only because Hayden had said a few words on the matter.

“We both knew this was going to be hard,” Hayden answered tightly. “We both know what it means to lose our soul mates. But we’re trying aren’t we? We can’t be perfect all the time, but I do love you Ellie, and I want to be with you.”

I nodded, blushing slightly at the intense determination in his eyes and the guilt I felt at having lied to him. He’d told me about Daniella, his soul mate, and the fact that she had passed away a long time ago losing both her life and her baby’s.

The tears in his eyes had torn my heart in two. Such a love that could be broken. His soul mate, and their unborn child gone when her pregnancy had taken a turn for the worst. I had cried then too, both for the sadness I felt for Hayden and the memory of walking away from my one true love. I’d lied then. I’d told him I had lost my soul mate too, and though it was partially true, the guilt was building itself inside of me.

“I want to be with you too,” I whispered, unable to stop thinking about the tingling electricity sparking in my fingertips. He was here. Here. But I didn’t want to be with him. I couldn’t be with him.

Hayden lifted my fingers to his lips; kissing them lightly the way he used to before we started seeing each other. Back when we were just friends. I smiled, holding my free hand to my heart at his sweet gesture.

“Well, isn’t this just charming.”

I froze; my blood running cold as soon as his voice registered in my mind. His proximity was unbearably tempting, and I felt the urge to rip my hand away from Hayden and jump into the warm embrace of the only person in the universe who could complete me. My eyes followed Hayden’s confused gaze, turning to a pair of sea green eyes that watched me intensely. If it were possible, my heart dropped and beat faster, all at the same time.

“Sorry?” Hayden asked. “Can I help you?”

Flashing a wide smile, my soul mate held his hand out, not taking his eyes off of me. “Name is Evan Phillips, and yes, you can,” he answered with a slightly mocking tone. “Mind telling me who you are, and what you think you’re doing with this beautiful young lady?”

My hand clenched into a fist at his tone, narrowing my eyes as I sent a warning glare at him. His smile widened in amusement.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business what I do with my fiancé,” Hayden replied, clearly mistaking Evan’s interest with a common player.

“Oh, fiancé you say?” Evan growled, his eyes hardening, and I nodded defiantly.

“Yes,” I answered haughtily. “Fiancé.”

Hayden, clearing his throat, snapped the little death glare match I’d been holding with my soul mate and I watched with annoyance as Evan then turned to my fiancé with a bright smile.

“My mistake,” he said politely, giving a slight bow before disappearing.

I watched him as he walked away, feeling him take a piece of my heart as he left. Then, just as he reached the exit, he turned. A smirk graced his lips, as he shot me a knowing smile. This wasn’t over. He had found me now, and that could only lead to disaster. Evan Phillips was notoriously dangerous.

He was a Soul Reaper; and he was at the top of the most wanted list.