CHAPTER - 9

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Zhan POV

After the encounter with Darren and Ziyi, I was in a daze and confusion. I felt a little panic too but I hid immediately. Yibo took me from the hall walking towards the room.

All the way to our room was quiet. Neither Yibo nor I made a sound. The whole night was a total fiasco. Lots of ex-pain in our asses spoiled our mood. Ziyi first, then Darren. I don't understand why I still feel tingling when Darren touches me. I rejected him. Why does it seem like my words were in vain? I could swear we're still mates, but this is pointless. He rejected me, I accepted his rejection. Why do I still feel connected to him?

"Zhan, are you okay?" Yibo asks, looking at me intently.

"I am just upset, Bo. I don't understand why my rejection doesn't seem to have had any effect on Darren. But it does not matter anyway. To me, it's a closed chapter." I told him, looking him in the eye.

"Are you sure? Are you sure it doesn't matter? And are sure that you don't love him?" Yibo asked me with his voice low for the last part.

"I have never been more certain, Bo. Do you know what I have been dreaming about for the last few years and especially for the last year?" I ask him, closing my eyes and leaning on his arm as we walk lightly to our room. "I dreamed of a second mate. I dreamed that I would find someone in this world who would love me as I am. Initially without a wolf, I was weak and vulnerable. Then Suibian appeared inside me as sassy, arrogant and strong."

"I hear you," says Suibian, amused and not at all affected by my words because he knows what I said is true.

"Suibian is the one who taught me that I am strong. Suibian is the one who insists that we have a mission to try and to be the only one to do. That time I didn't believe him and only knew him." I say laughing "Because I have no idea what he's talking about. All I wanted was to be loved and cherished. And by the time I got to the Crescent Moon pack, I had forgotten what it was like to feel that way." I open my eyes and stop walking. I grab yibo's hand and make him turn to me and look at me.

He reaches out to me and gently strokes my cheek, as I feel myself melt into his touch. I don't feel tingling like I did when Darren touched me. I don't feel the earth slipping from under my feet, but I feel like I'm at home next to him. I feel like I want to be by his side and I don't want him to ever leave me. I'm scared. I am terribly afraid that one day he will find his fated mate and leave me and I will be all alone, living only with the memory of what could have been wonderful between us.

"Bo... why do I feel so close to you? We just had to pretend to be mates, lovers. But is it true that we just pretend we're mates?" I ask with a low voice and tears in my eyes.

"Zhan, I don't know why you feel this way, but if we're still here and talking openly, I think I should be honest with you. I am 23 years old and I have not met my mate until now. And till this 23 years old, I never had a problem of not wanting to find her/him, and I always looked for my mate. That's until I met you. When Jiyang came in that day devastated and hurt and told me that a boy had saved him from the rogues and that he was left alone to fight them, I thought he was joking. I immediately ran into the woods with my father, Haikuan and Jiyang. And I just prayed that Jiyang was wrong.

But When I found you and saw the horrible scene you left behind, I said it was unreal. A single boy knocking down five rogues is impossible. In a melee fight I can only hope that I alone will take down 1-2 rogues at once. And I'm one of the strongest werewolves in the world. When I saw you unconscious, wounded, I felt my heart tighten in my chest. I took you in my arms that day, Zhan, I took you in my arms and I swore I would be whatever you need me to be in your life. And I did start to hope that you will accept me as your chosen mate some day."

"Bo..," I say, while he is wrapping my face in my palms.

"No, Zhan ... let me finish. We don't know what tomorrow has in store for us, so let me tell you how I feel today. I admit that the proposal to play the role of next luna and my mate was that of my father who somehow has full confidence in you. He doesn't want Wen Ziyi to join our family. It would be a nightmare for everyone. I'd rather give up the Alpha position than have to endure her for a lifetime. When I heard about this plan, I could only rejoice. For the next two weeks I knew that I would have the opportunity to hold you in my arms, to caress you, to show you that I love you even if I knew that for you it is just a play. The point is, I love you, Zhan. From the first moment I saw you, I forgot that somewhere in this world a fated mate was waiting for me. I want you Zhan and if you accept me too, all this madness ... all this fake mates game and the future luna will become something else. Be mine, Zhan. Be my mate, be my luna. Accept me, Zhan."

I can't believe what I hear. He loves me. He wants me to be with him, he wants us to have a future together. And the thing is, I want the same thing. I want him and only him. When he kissed me tonight I thought I was in paradise. Everything was perfect.

"I haven't known what love is for a long time, Bo. I've been losing faith in people for a long time and I didn't think I'd feel at home somewhere, at least not anytime soon. But the moment you took me with you and let me stay in your pack, my life changed. I wake up in the morning smiling. I wake up in the morning and wonder how to get your attention, how to make you proud of me. I'll be honest too. When you proposed to me to play fake mates, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to cope. I was afraid that I would become so attached to you that you would have to leave me and want to get rid of me. But you are staying here today and you are telling me you love me. The truth is ... the thing is that I love you too, Bo. And I don't want to break up with you anymore."

Yibo leans over and gently strokes my lips with his fingers and then kisses me lightly as if he is touching the most fragile and precious thing in the world. Suddenly he takes me in his arms and carries me in a bridal style to our room. Yes, our room because that was part of the game. We couldn't pretend to be mates and stay in separate rooms. Carrying me in his arms, Bo enters the room and places me in the middle of the bed.

"What am I going to do with you, Zhan?" says Bo, smiling.

"How can I ever reward the joy you have brought into my life?"

"You have a lifetime to figure out how to do this, Bo, my alpha, my chosen mate."


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