Fated To Be His...

10. What's wrong?

"I know, Zhuocheng...I know that too. Tell Aunt Luo to stop worrying. I will be careful. Tell her I'll drop by sometime..Right now?...Chu-ge's shop. I came to buy some things. Yeah..Okay." Zhan hung up the phone, smiling at Zhuocheng's nagging. The Omega was out to restock some of the supplies for the shelter and had been answering calls every minute, people asking him if he was safe and on his way. Zhan's phone buzzed again and there was a message from Lei asking where he was. He sighed as he answered and arranged the supplies in the backseat. Zhan rounded his car to open the door but stiffened when his nose detected a sour scent. Jackals. "Going somewhere?", came a voice from behind and Zhan found a man standing behind him with a creepy smile on his face.

"Excuse me? Do I know you?", Zhan enquired, his hand delving into his pocket to get his phone and the man noticed his move. "Chill. I am just here to talk. No funny business." Zhan saw the friendly smile on the jackal's face but he knew better than believing the shifter's words. Deception was an art the jackals had mastered. The fuckers couldn't be trusted. "I will keep this short. Chang Xia wants Wei Wei dead, Xiao Zhan. Bring the girl to us and we will keep our nose out of your shelter. The other members can live happily and no one else has to die. Okay?" The callous warning was delivered with such ease that if anyone saw the two of them conversing, they would assume they were talking about the fucking weather or some kitten. Zhan got a whiff of the sour scent and the stench of greed clinging to the jackal made Zhan nauseous. "Tell Chang Xia we won't hand Wei Wei to her. If she wants to fight, tell her we will be ready for her." Zhan didn't the turn his back on the jackal but met the jackals gaze dead on. The jackals might have come to him after they failed to hurt Wang Lei. Zhan was standing in front of the store and the area was surrounded by shifters Zhan knew. All he had to do was holler for help if things went down south. Zhan saw how the smirk dropped from the jackal's face and a sneer replaced it. "You don't know who you are messing with, Xiao Zhan. She has people on her side who wouldn't think twice before ripping your little home apart. Don't fool yourself. You don't stand a chance against her." "Contrary to what you say, I know we have a good chance of winning this. If we didn't, Chang Xia wouldn't have sent you here to scare me off. She is afraid, isn't she?", Zhan mocked clicking his tongue and the jackal took a step forward possibly to scare Zhan when a voice came from behind Zhan.

"Take another step in his direction and you will die a more horrifying death than the one I have already decided to give you." Zhan immediately turned around and found Yibo on the other end of his car, looking menacing and dashing all the same. Recognition flashed in the jackal's eyes,the look on his face changed into fear and he ran away only to get captured by a puma shifter who was waiting for him. The jackal screamed as the man took him away and Zhan stared at Yibo, trying to figure out what the man was thinking. "You shouldn't be alone, Zhan", chided Yibo and Zhan raised a brow. "I don't think I am alone. He is there....he is there...he...and now, you." Zhan pointed out the Wang pack members that were tailing him since he left the shelter and Yibo pursed his lips in irritation. It was funny Yibo thought Zhan wouldn't find out. "I know you were having me followed. I didn't like it at first but after the attack on Lei, I won't fight you about this." Zhan opened the door to his car and was surprised when Yibo got in the car as well. Since that day in Lei's office, Zhan avoided Yibo the best he could and this was possibly going to be the most awkward car ride ever. "Are you going to the shelter?", Zhan questioned looking out from his window and heard a gruff, "Yes." Zhan tried his best not to stare at Yibo and started the car, trying to keep his body from trembling under the Alpha's intense gaze.

The drive back home was frustrating because being confined in the small space of his car with Yibo's scent all over him was messing with Zhan's head. Zhan had initially thought of ignoring Yibo but even that was impossible. Yibo kept asking him questions like, What had Zhan been upto?How Luo Shen Teng was as an Alpha? Was Zhan still planning on pursuing his career in designing? Zhan kept quiet and after the unanswered questions, Yibo went silent. He didn't talk for the rest of the ride and when they reached Hope, only then Zhan heard Yibo speak again. "How long will you stay mad at me?",came Yibo's small voice sounding like Yibo was hurt. His tone was a little off and when Zhan looked over to Yibo, he found the Alpha's eyes filled with despair. For a second, Zhan was speechless and Wang Lei's words from last night echoed in his head. "It isn't easy to see you after all these years", Zhan admitted and Yibo looked surprised that Zhan was willing to talk to him. "I won't lie. The day you left...I really don't know what you were thinking, Wang Yibo." "I just didn't want you to hurt", Yibo interrupted Zhan and their eyes met. "I always wanted to find that man. When I found out about him, my first thought was to take you with me,Zhan. Believe me or not, I wanted to take you with me. But, it was too dangerous. I didn't even know if I would make it out alive and I got scared. I would've been finished if something happened to you, Zhan-Zhan." Zhan took a deep breath and turned to Yibo not hiding his anger any longer.

"I lived in that fear for the last five years, Wang Yibo. I feared that something had happened to you. Lei wouldn't tell me anything and there was no one else who knew anything about you. I tried looking for you. Kept trying, kept hurting and one day, it started hurting too much. So, I stopped. I thought maybe you didn't want me to find you. Hoped that you would come back to me yourself. I wished every night that you were safe. Wished every minute that I could see your face just once more but none of that happened." Zhan's eyes burned with tears but he refused to cry before the Alpha. "You were out there and never in these five years you thought of coming back to me? Did I mean nothing to you, Yibo? Did I overestimate my value in your life? I spent eighteen years of my life loving you and you didn't even let me say goodbye, Wang Yibo. You just drugged me and left me all alone for five fucking years. Do you think you deserve to be a part of my life again?", Zhan found himself crying at the end and he angrily wiped the tears away, opening the door of his car. He saw the Wang pack members eyeing him curiously and Zhan walked faster to the gates breaking into a run as he neared the clearing but before he could get inside the building, Yibo caught up to him.

"You can't get rid of me, Zhan." Zhan was turned around harshly and he fought the grip on him only for it to get tighter. A hand cupped Zhan's cheek forcing his eyes to Yibo's and Zhan found those deep eyes brimming with possession and pain. "In all these years, there hasn't been a day when I didn't miss you, Xiao Zhan. Your tear filled eyes and cries kept haunting me these years and I couldn't sleep at night because I didn't have you beside me. Zhan, I have loved you with every breath I took and I have hated myself for what I did. But, I would do it again. I would never risk you." "You already did when you left me!!!", Zhan yelled in Yibo's arms and the Alpha looked like he had been slapped. "I had no one, Yibo. The only person I trusted was gone and I had no one else. I didn't sleep either because your absence gutted me. Now, you can't just walk back into my life and ask me to forgive you. I won't. An apology won't make this right." Zhan pushed Yibo away and as Yibo's arms fell away from his body, a chill crawled up Zhan's spine. He saw...no, he felt the change in the air as Yibo's eyes turned unnaturally dark and his nostrils flared. A low animalistic growl came from Yibo's mouth and Zhan stood rooted on the spot, clueless.

"W-What's wrong?", he asked Yibo and the man looked away from Zhan, taking deep breaths through his nose. Zhan saw Yibo's form trembling and all of a sudden, cold fear gripped him. He was at Yibo's side the next instant hoping he could ask Yibo what was happening but was pinned to the ground instead. Air knocked out of Zhan's lungs when his back made contact with the ground and Yibo panted over him, his eyes fluctuating between dark brown and bright red. Another growl left Yibo and Zhan heard footsteps coming their way. "Alpha!", yelled the men and Yibo tensed further, the hold on Zhan tightening. "Call Xuan!!", called Feiyu and Zhan looked over to the cougar only for his chin to be grasped harshly. "Don't look away from me", came a voice and Zhan knew it wasn't Yibo but his wolf talking. The rough and deep voice went to Zhan's core and the hand on his chin made its way downward to collar Zhan's throat. The dominant move had Zhan breathing heavier and the air around him clogged with dominant vibes to which Zhan's wolf responded. His neck was bared to the Alpha above him and a whine of submission left Zhan just as Yibo buried his face in Zhan's neck.

Zhan heard the sharp intake of breath by Yibo followed by a sharp nip at his neck and Zhan was about to encircle his arms around Yibo when all of a sudden Yibo's entire weight came down on him. Zhan felt the arms around him go limp and with careful movements Zhan managed to roll Yibo away from him only to see Yibo's eyes closed. "Yibo?...Yibo??..Hey! Yibo?", Zhan patted the Alpha's face, shaking him but Yibo didn't respond. "What's happening? Yibo!!", he cried and saw a man kneel beside him. "He is fine. Just tired. Don't worry." "B-But he fainted!", Zhan stammered caressing Yibo's face and the man beside him pulled his hands away. "He needs rest, Xiao Zhan." Zhan stared at Feiyu and nodded. He tried to pick Yibo up but was stopped again and this time he snarled. "Let us take care of him. He needs to be around people he knows", the man said softly and Zhan froze as if doused with ice water. People he knew? Was Zhan a stranger? "We need to take him back to our territory. We will take good care of him. Don't worry." The man's words were meant to be reassuring but Zhan had a sinking feeling in his gut that refused to go away. "I want to be there-", Zhan insisted only for a woman to come barreling towards them. "Alpha!!", she cried taking Yibo's head in her lap and Zhan stiffened seeing the woman's actions. She touched Yibo's face lovingly and Zhan could sense her worry and attachment to Yibo. It made him sick. "Feiyu! What are you doing there? Help me!!", she yelled and the male came towards her helping her lift Yibo up. Zhan was still on the ground and he saw Yibo's pack members take him away, Zhan's hands suddenly cold just like his heart.