Always you...

4. Dinosaur as a mate..

"Are you feeling better now?", Zhan asked Yubin and his friend nodded his head.
"It's just weird. I grew up feeling your heart next to mine, now it feels like there is nothing. I feel odd." Yubin had been living as Zhan's protector for almost thirty years, it was normal for it to feel strange. "You will grow used to it. Pretty soon your senses will go ape-shit crazy worrying about your pup and you won't miss me anymore", he teased and Yubin chuckled. "How is Yibo doing?", Yubin asked and Zhan smiled. "Better than I imagined. He has adjusted to the bond effortlessly. His nagging had reduced a little because he can sense that I am fine. The mating bond between us had eased him a little, the life-bond has made a lot of difference", Zhan answered and Yubin grunted in amusement. "The killer glares he shot my way occasionally have also vanished. If I had known, I would have agreed to this sooner." Zhan laughed at his words but as his laugh subsided, guilt came on his sharp features. "What we have done is extremely selfish, Yubin", Zhan sighed and Yubin patted his shoulder. "From where I see it, when your son grows older he will be understand what you guys have done. No one in the Lan pack was surprised by Yibo's decision, Zhan. Yibo loves you too much. Be honest with me, would you be able to live on if something happens to Yibo?" Zhan's wolf whined at the suggestion and Yubin smiled at his friend. "This isn't selfish, Zhan. This is him showing you how much he loves you. Treasure it."

"What is it?", Zhan asked as soon as he entered the study and a sigh left Yibo. Zhan walked to his mate and Yibo buried his head in Zhan's neck breathing him in and let Zhan's scent take all of his frustrations away. "Another one was found", he muttered filling his lungs with his firecracker's scent. "How bad is it?", Zhan asked frowning and Yibo showed Zhan the pictures telling him what he had found. "The bastard tore the Omega's insides apart. The claw marks were bone deep and the bite on his neck was ugly and jagged. He was raped and like the others left to be found by someone at his own territory. It was Chen Xu's brother. The others were not tortured this bad and Chen Xu is going crazy. Some think the shifter had some feud with the Omega." "This is no way to settle a feud, Yibo. He is forcefully claiming and killing Omegas as if he hates us and with the looks of it, he has no intention of stopping. I just don't get how no one has been able to identify him." Yibo saw the anger in his mate's eyes and his own rage flamed. The bastard was good at hiding. He was choosing the Omegas randomly, taking some from bars, others from their own homes and still no one had come forth with useful information. The one boy who had seen something was so shaken up by his brother's killing that he could barely speak a word. The killer had the Omegas feeling unsafe in their own homes and this was not good. "He attacked an Alpha's brother this time. No matter what he has made a stupid mistake. We will hold a meeting here this week", Yibo informed and Zhan nodded. "The only way we can catch him is if all of us work together. I know how worried you have been over this and I know you will find him." Zhan kissed his cheek and Yibo nodded, feeling better now that Zhan was in his arms. "I talked to my family about this, uncle and brother will come for the meeting. And you need to keep yourself safe. Don't go anywhere alone and I mean anywhere, Zhan. Have Rong Or Guo Cheng accompany you. If I am not around, you stay in one place and you stay safe." Yibo didn't want to take any chances. He had made the mistake of leaving Zhan unprotected once and had almost lost him. No way in hell Yibo was going to let that happen again. "I got it. By the way, your uncle is just looking for reasons to meet me. I am telling you your uncle is obsessed with me, Yibo", Zhan said with a straight face and just like that, a low chuckle left Yibo. It was only Zhan who could cheer him up after the horrible day Yibo had had. "Then maybe I should keep you locked here until the meeting is over. I don't want you uncomfortable", he suggested and Zhan scoffed. "Using your uncle to keep me away from the Alphas who will come for the meeting, did you really think this was going to work?" "It was worth a try", Yibo confessed and Zhan hugged him, smiling. "It's not going to happen. You can't expect me to sit back on a matter like this. I have always attended the pack meetings and if you want me to kick your ass, you can try to leave me behind."
The stern tone told Yibo that his firecracker was not going to budge. Yibo had no idea why he tried. Everytime he suggested that Zhan should stay back or tried to keep his firecracker away from other Alphas, his mate made sure to kick his ass. Yibo knew he couldn't expect Zhan to just sit around. Zhan was an Alpha too. This pack was his as well and he had all the rights to call the shots. But, Yibo still tried and annoyed his mate by asking him to stay back. Sometimes Zhan threatened to hurt him and sometimes Zhan kicked Yibo's ass, literally. Not that Yibo was complaining because he loved it when his firecracker got mad. That sexy scowl always left Yibo hard for hours.

"What's that?", Zhan's hand was already sorting through papers and Yibo stiffened. "You are still looking into my parent's death?", Zhan asked him surprised and Yibo sighed. "I don't want to take any chances. Your uncle had told me once about what happened. No one clearly knows why the cougars decided to hurt your family. I just need to be sure that all the people who caused you pain are punished and that no one is trying to hurt you now." "It's because of the incident at the movie theater, right?" Yibo didn't say "yes" but he knew Zhan had guessed the truth. A month after him and Zhan were officially mated they were out on a date when shifters with masked scents attacked them. Yibo had torn the men apart but he had been surprised that the shifters were cougars and couldn't help but overthink the matter. Yibo did have a lot if enemies and yes, many wanted him dead but Yibo knew for a fact that he had never pissed off a pack of cougars before. The animals were extremely intelligent and held grudges that ran through generations. Yibo had no desire to get involved in their mess but somehow he had. The animals had come knocking on his door and had tried to hurt Zhan, that was enough of a reason for Yibo to prepare their graves. "It might not be them. I can't even be sure that they were cougars. Let's deal with the Omega matter first and then we can think about this, okay?" "I can't take chances where it concerns you and Yuan. I have asked Xize to do some digging. He will find something", Yibo said with a frown and Zhan eased it off with a touch. "Fine." "I saw you talking to Yubin, are you still worried over the bond?", Yibo asked in a soft voice that was only reserved for Zhan and Zhan stared at Yibo's chest, not meeting his eyes. "I was feeling guilty. It's just my Omega instincts. Any sign of mate and my child in pain makes me worried." Yibo knew it did. His firecracker was so protective of their son, Yibo knew Zhan would always put Yuan before himself. "Yuan is my son too, Xiao Zhan. I will never let harm come to him and I will always put his wellbeing before my own but I selfishly admit that I can't live without you. It's not that I don't love Yuan as much as I love you. I do." Yibo took Zhan's hand in his and placed it over his chest as he continued to say, "It's just that this heart beats for you. I am not a perfect man, firecracker. I am not a good person. You have still chosen to spend your life with me and made me this happy. I want to die with the one who has breathed life into me, Xiao Zhan. With you. I want to protect you with everything I can, even my life. Don't worry about this, okay? We will see Yuan get mated and we will see him become a father. We will live this life to the fullest with each other." Zhan hugged him and Yibo smiled. "Yibo", Zhan mumbled against his skin and Yibo held him close. "Hm?" "I love you." Yibo pulled away from their embrace and rested his forehead against Zhan's, smiling like a fool. Those words always...always knocked the air out of Yibo's lungs. "I love you too." He pulled Zhan into a hug again and Zhan smiled against his chest. "I know you do. Let's have dinner and tuck Yuan into bed. He was in a bad mood today." Just like that, Yibo's nostrils flared and his lips curled. "Why?" Anyone who made his son unhappy had to pay. Zhan's shoulders shook and Yibo stared at his mate feeling confused by the happy look on his face. "You told him that story about a dinosaur and his mate. Well, long story short, he wants a dinosaur as his mate. When Xuan explained to him that he was a wolf and dinosaurs no longer existed, let's just say that Xuan and him got into a fight. Yuan isn't talking to him." Zhan told him about the hilarious encounter where Yuan threatened Xuan to take his words back but Xuan refused to. The little Alpha had tried to release his dominant vibes and the fucker Xuan had laughed on his son, calling him a cute puppy. Yuan had scratched Xuan neck in retaliation and that made Yibo proud. "Why were you telling him about mates?", Zhan asked with a raised brow and Yibo bit his lip. "Everyone's been telling him about true mates and love and stuff. I just told him that all those talks about true mates weren't necessarily true. That he could choose whom he wanted to spend his life with just like you had chosen me. I guess that's where he thought he could get a dinosaur as a mate." Zhan laughed at his words and Yibo shrugged a shoulder. "What I said is true", he defended himself and Zhan nodded his head. "Yes, you are right. Now, come up with a solution or your son will pout all day long."