Unexpected Mate

67

Yeji pov

I wake up and I can hear voices whispering. My eyes feel heavy so I struggle to open them up. I hear machine beeping so I must be in a hospital.

I don't know what's worse, the pain in my body or the pain in my heart. I finally open my eyes and I see Jisu first.

"Alpha, I'm so glad you're awake" she says but I don't respond.

Yuna and Chaeryeong approaches me, giving me a sad smile. It must be true. Ryujin didn't make it if they're looking like that.

I feel tears falling on my face and I can't stop it. My heart feels like it's empty. It's missing something.

"Where's Ryujin's body?" I ask while I continously wipe my tears.

"Uhm that's the thing" Jisu pauses, "We don't know."

"How do you not know? I saw someone take her body before I passed out!" I try to sit up but had to lay back down because of the pain.

"Everything was chaotic at that moment. The wizards lost control of the demons but thankfully when that happens then the demons disappear but they don't go away quickly. They were able to attack Ryujin one last time before completely disappearing" Jisu explains while looking down.

"What about the wizards? How many members did we lose? The witches? Humans?" I ask, still trying to be a good leader but really all I can think about is Ryujin.

"Their leader and the chanters were killed by the demons so I believe right now they're planning to select a new leader. Fortunately, after everything that happened, they don't want to go through that again so they banned summoning demons ever again. The witches lost some but not a lot. As for the humans, they were all able to escape unharm. They don't remember anything so they think that damage in that area was caused by a car accident. We did place some cars there. We didn't lose pack members since Ryujin told everyone to not fight the demons or go near them so they mainly focused on fighting with the wizards. Our only lost is Ryujin" Jisu sighs.

"Send a group out to find her body. I want to give my mate a proper burial" I order.

"Yes, Alpha" Jisu bows before leaving.

"Where's Ryujin's mom?" I ask Yuna.

"She hasn't left her room. She's been crying since getting back here. Sana and Jinyoung are with her though so she's not alone" Chaeryeong is the one to answer.

"I'm sorry" Yuna whispers.

I furrow my brows, "Why?"

"If my dad didn't tell the wizards about Ryujin then they wouldn't have hunted her" she says.

"The wizards still would have attacked and tried to kill everyone. It's not your fault" I say.

"They did bring back his body. They found him so I guess he wasn't dead when I thought he was. Is it bad to call my own father a bastard?" Yuna shakes her head.

"Now he's really dead and I don't feel like grieving anymore. I wish Ryujin is here right now though. I'm sure she would have made an inappropriate comment right about that now" Yuna chuckles.

I laugh a little thinking about it. It is something Ryujin would do. My mate has no filter and it makes her perfect.

"Did Mina and Chaeyoung ever come back?" I ask, remembering the two.

"No, they're in charged of protecting Ryujin and they failed" Chaeryeong comments.

"I'm not sure they really tried to protect her. What if they were working with the wizards instead?" Yuna brings up the topic.

"They wouldn't betray Ryujin like that" I say, refusing to believe it.

"Then how come they were nowhere to be found when Ryujin needed them the most" Yuna questions.

"You should know if she's alive, you've mated" Chaeryeong tells me and I know this.

I start crying again, "All I feel is pain in my heart. Lucy is the same. We can't sense Ryujin anymore. She's really gone."

"I'm sorry" Yuna and Chaeryeong both say.

---

A week has passed and I'm out of the hospital now. They still haven't found Ryujin's body. It's driving me crazy because we don't have a single clue where she could be.

Things are kind of getting back to normal for everyone else. Karina and Winter left to rebuild their clan/pack. The witches are rebuilding a new coven. Yuna decided to step down as Alpha and merge her pack with mine.

The wizards have a new leader and they are definitely more peaceful than the old one. Ryujin's mom is still not doing well. She barely got her daughter back and now she's gone again.

Lucy and I aren't doing well at all. The effect of losing our mate is making our body feel weak.

'I don't know how much longer I can live like this' I say to Lucy.

She doesn't respond to me. She doesn't really talk much anymore ever since we lost Ryujin and Jo. She refused to shift and I just feel her sadness and pain. Her pain and my pain are making things more unbearable for me.

The only reason I'm trying to fight through all this pain is because I need to see Ryujin one last time. I need to give her a proper burial. I can't let go without making sure Ryujin's body is in a peaceful place.

When werewolves lose their mates, they lose the will to live. That's where I'm at now. I don't want to be in this world without Ryujin. She never even got the chance to experience how to be a Luna to my pack. We never got to experience an anniversary. I looked up so many things humans like to do when dating so she could still experience those. I didn't want her to give up her humanity just because she's a werewolf.

I've discussed with Yuna if she's willing to take over the pack when I'm gone. Thankfully, she agreed. My brother still doesn't want to be Alpha so Yuna is the next person I can think of.

"Alpha, please eat. You're really not looking so well" Jisu snaps me back into reality.

I'm sitting in my office and I forget that Jisu is with me.

"What's the point?" I sigh.

"Any news about the search?" I ask.

"I'm sorry" is all Jisu can say.

"How can she disappear like that? Who would take her body?" I question even though I know she doesn't have the answer.

"Yeji. I'm speaking to you as a friend. Please get through this. Don't give up on life. I don't want to lose a friend" She says to me.

"How can I not? Every day I wake up and all I can feel is pain. I wake up, hoping Ryujin will be next to me but she's not. How can I live on when my mate is gone? My other half is literally gone. She took a part of me with her" I cry out.

"Can you make this pain go away?!" I point at my heart.

"Lucy is not talking. How can I let her keep suffering?" I rhetorically ask.

"I'm sorry. That was selfish of me to ask" Jisu apologizes.

"I want to be alone" I say. She bows and leaves right away.

I'm now alone with my thoughts again. I rest my head on my desk. Am I gonna be able to hold out until I find her body? As soon as I think of that, I feel my body get even weaker. My breathing is slowing down too. The pain in my heart has worsen. I never understood why a werewolf would die just because their mate dies but I can understand now. I thought dying of a broken heart is a lie but it's literally what I'm feeling right now.

"I love you, Ryujin" I whisper as I feel my heart beat slow down. I hope you're at peace, is my last thought.