You Rejected Me. Remember?

Leo

“Let me take over,” Zoro enunciated through our link and I obliged at once.

It was my second shift and though the shift was a bit rough, it wasn’t as severe as the first one. I gasped as my skull twisted, marking the end of my shift.

By the time Zoro had emerged, Astrea, or conceivably Ash’s new form, was mercilessly ripping through the royal army. Our friends, being regular wolves, stood no chance against her.

A group of rogue wolves who attacked us, held us back.

“Finish them off!” I gritted my teeth.

“With pleasure,” Zoro growled.

He ruthlessly killed any villain who stood in our way. Some of them got burnt, and others got mutilated. Seeing their b***d spill gave me a new kind of satisfaction. Soon, the wolves stepped back and left me alone.

The lycan military was taking care of the remnants of the army of villains while our focus was on one particular bipedal wolf. Our parents’ tireless efforts were protecting Ash and our friends from the rogues who tried to sneak up on us.

By this time, almost all the wolves had transformed into their wolf forms on both sides. I didn’t have time to check out the casualties. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed my mom confronting Ash. Mom was a skilled combatant and experienced at magic. I knew that she was being careful not to hurt her from the way she battled against Ash. Nonetheless, Ash wasn’t showing any tenderness.

I felt like my soul had departed my body when Ash slashed through my mom’s arm and she screamed in agony.

“Mom! No!” I shrieked. Zoro instantly lunged forward to confront Ash.

“Ash! Stop this nonsense!” He growled as he attempted to prevent her from causing more damage.

A mixture of emotions simmered in my chest as I watched her expressionless eyes. They looked like two black pools of an endless abyss. Finally, she succeeded in landing a mean punch on Zoro’s abdomen, making him stagger backwards, coughing.

“She is going to crush us,” Zoro croaked as he struggled to gather himself.

He was right. She doesn’t recognise any of us. Although we were being careful not to hurt her, she wouldn’t counter in the same way.

“Retreat!” Calvin’s voice boomed over the commotion of the battle. I smirked internally. Did he accept defeat so soon?

“She is going to leave!” Zoro exclaimed through our link, panicking. However, when we peeked in her direction, we saw that Rex, Sir Elliot’s lycan, was holding her elbows, restraining her movements.

My lips tugged in a smile. The rogues were retreating one by one. Apparently, we had won this round. Mom also had healed and stood up on her feet. Zoro hastily straightened himself to face her.

“Ash! Look, it’s me,” he exclaimed.

She let out a ferocious roar in response, as she struggled to rid Rex, but to no avail.

The rogues had left and the mayhem had died down. Thankfully, Calvin too was nowhere to be seen. Their scent was slowly diffusing into the atmosphere, which meant they were gone. At least for now.

It was over… finally.

At least that was what I thought. I reckoned we had everything under control when a female warrior advanced towards the restrained bipedal wolf.

Wait… Was that Natasha? What was she doing? My eyes widened when I saw that she was holding a silver dagger.

“Wait! No!” I screamed, yet wasn’t fast enough to thwart her.

Natasha lunged at Ash. Neither our parents nor the Royals expected her to attack Ash and that too, in front of everyone.

“No!” I shrieked as she prepared to plunge the dagger into Ash’s abdomen.

Everything happened in slow motion. Rex’s eyes widened when he realised what was about to happen. He tried his best to shield Ash, while keeping her suppressed.

My mom, who was standing closest to them, started to move to stop Natasha, but a brown wolf who intervened was faster. He intercepted the blow and the silver dagger was buried in his fur. A loud whimper resounded in the air before he collapsed onto the forest floor.

Natasha staggered back, shocked. Sarah and Elena were quick to arrest her. I watched, dismayed, as the injured wolf morphed back into his human form.

“Arnold!” I gasped as Zoro rushed to aid him.

“Hurry! Take him to the infirmary!” Someone shouted. Rafael was already in his wolf form, ready to carry his friend so that he could receive the medical assistance he needed.

“What is the meaning of this, Natasha?” The Queen growled at her as Zoro placed Arnold’s limp body on Rafael’s wolf’s back. He dashed into the darkness as soon as Arnold’s body was positioned.

Please be okay. I thought as I watched him run away.

“I… I thought she was an enemy… she…” Natasha stammered. I scoffed. Why was I having a feeling that she was lying? I sneered as I threw a coarse glance at her. The Queen shifted back to her human form and glared at Natasha, who was now restrained by Elena and Sarah.

“What? I have given specific instructions not to hurt Astrea!” She was undoubtedly infuriated.

“I… I…”

“Shift back, Zoro,” I commanded, and Zoro was quick to oblige.

“You did that on purpose! Didn’t you?” I sneered as soon as I shifted.

“L… Leo?” She stammered. “I… I didn’t know that you shifted…”

“Why did you try to hurt Astrea?” I demanded, ignoring her question. Our parents and the rest of the warriors were now glaring at Natasha, waiting to hear her response.

“Jealousy, I believe!” Sarah ridiculed in between her gritted teeth.

“What?” the Queen was confused.

A grunt that originated from Ash interrupted our conversation.

“We need to take her to the palace and try to reverse whatever they did to her,” Rex was barely able to hold her down.

The Queen stole a quick glance at the restricted bipedal wolf and then at Natasha, who was struggling against Sarah and Elena.

“Lock her up. We need to interrogate her. But we have an urgent matter we need to attend to,” she commanded, and the warriors hastened to carry out her orders.

“She is under a spell,” mom mumbled, studying the untamed wolf.

“I can try to reverse it,” my grandpa announced and stepped forward.

“Help me hold her down,” Rex grumbled. He was visibly struggling to keep her bound.

I quickly let Zoro take over and rushed to aid them. I felt Zoro’s distress as he approached the feral bipedal wolf without any hesitation.

“Ash, snap out of it,” he begged as he held on to one arm while Rex curbed the other. Grandpa approached her and attempted to place his hands on her temples. However, she snapped her jaws at him.

“Dang, she is feral,” Allan, who was now in his human form, mumbled.

“I wonder what could bring her out of it,” luna Calli whispered, worriedly studying Ash’s countenance.

I eyed the place where I noticed the raw mark that seemed to be infected. Even over her fur, the crook of her neck seemed to be swollen.

“Zoro, look! Her neck,” I alerted him.

He squinted at the mark and shifted his foot.

I should líck that.

Zoro’s thoughts stunned me. My whole body went rigid as I hastened to respond before he did anything.

“What the f**k, Zoro! Can’t you think of something else? Everyone is watching!”

“I must…”

He mumbled and before I could protest, he lowered his head to the crook of her neck and started to líck the mark.

Groaning, I covered my face in embarrassment. What would my parents think? And what would her parents feel? I regretted reminding him of the infected mark, yet the damage was done.

“What the…”

I winced when I heard Alpha Miles voice his shock. The chatter among the warriors died down and an eerie silence spread throughout the region. Zoro didn’t seem to care. He continued to líck on her wound, enjoying every bit of it.

Surprisingly, Ash seemed to calm down and slowly, Zoro wrapped his arms around her, as he continued to run his tongue over the crook of her neck, cleaning the mark with his tongue. He held her tightly in his embrace and I noticed that she was slowly leaning against us.

I cringed. Our wolves were putting up a show for everyone to see. However, I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed being close to her. Although we were in our wolf forms, and she was looking a bit different, I loved it. No one was complaining.

The swelling was decreasing and I felt my heart swell with pleasure.

“Zoro! You’re a genius! It’s working!” I exclaimed, overjoyed. Maybe I could tell them that Zoro lícked her wound for healing purposes? I wondered if they would buy that.

I understood that our parents might have gotten the shock of their lives, yet, I believed it was worth it.

Slowly, I started to detect her wonderful scent. Oranges. Perhaps she was coming back. My heart raced and soon I found myself enjoying the moment.

Zoro seemed to be deeply immersed in whatever he was doing. Ash leaned against my torso, craning her neck to the side, giving us better access. I suppose she also liked it. No wonder. The irritation on her neck must be reduced.

What I didn’t realise was that Rex had let go of her and that I was the only one holding her in place. Grandpa was using the opportunity to use his charm on her. He placed his hand on her temple and started to mumble something under his breath.

Minutes ticked by. Yet Zoro didn’t let go of her. While my grandpa’s chant intensified, I felt a small spark erupt. My breathing hitched. What could that mean?

“Zoro?” I called my Lycan, but he wouldn’t stop what he was doing, until the Queen sighed heavily.

“That’s enough, Zoro,” she solemnly mumbled.

Zoro reluctantly stepped back, allowing Ash to turn around. I was glad that he at least heeded the command of the Queen.

My grandpa then took a little bottle from his pocket and sprayed its contents on Ash and stepped back.

I gulped. Was the spell broken?

Ash was still a bipedal wolf, yet, her eyes no longer looked like two pits of extensive chasm. Our gazes met and my heart skipped a beat. I knew everyone was watching us, yet I couldn’t look away. I felt as though I was getting lost in her eyes. It felt… magical.

“Well, this is awkward.”

That sounded like Sir Elliot. Perhaps he shifted back. I couldn’t care less. She was back. My Rea was back.

Shaking her head, “shift back, both of you,” the Queen ordered. “Can you do that, Ash?” She asked.

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“You may all go back. We will soon follow,” the Queen announced, and the soldiers started to leave the area.

Heaving a deep breath, “shift back, Zoro,” I mumbled.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

We shifted. I kept my gaze lowered while Sarah approached Astrea with a spare shirt. I knew our parents were drilling holes in us. I could feel it.

“Nice move, dude,” I mentally grumbled.

“It did bring her back. Thank me later,” Zoro snickered and I held back my urge to roll my eyes. He did have a point. An embarrassing muteness spread in the air.

They just might believe it when I say Zoro did that to heal her.

I pursed my lips.

“No, they won’t believe you,” Zoro uttered, rolling his eyes.

“I think we should go back? We still have a lot of unsolved problems,” it was Sir Elliot who broke the awkward silence.

“Yes, we should,” my mom sounded suspicious. I glanced at her. I was right. She was staring at me as though she wanted to ask a lot of questions.

I cringed internally before stealing a glance at Astrea. As soon as I did, I went rigid. My eyes dilated and my muscles stiffened. The force of attraction I felt towards her was undeniable.

“Mate?” She whispered, her eyes glossing with tears.

My heart skipped a beat.

What?

My lips curled into a smile. Could it be?

“Yup. She is ours,” Zoro confirmed.

A short breath escaped my lips and I held back the urge to rush towards her and claim her then and there.

“Mine!”

My lips moved. My voice sounded gruff, more like a growl. I no longer cared what others thought about us. After realising what we were, I felt that Zoro’s actions were justified. He most probably felt an urge to heal his mate. Perhaps the spell was blocking our connection. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing else was important. Nothing amounted to the fact that she was mine.