Chapter 18: Brutal like a Werewolf

“How?” I inched closer, face more pale and focused. “How?!”

He looked away, licking his lower lip. “Zarion, just… please tell me how! I’m going to do everything just so this mate thing would never happen.”

“The thing is, Cassidy, I don’t know either because…” My breathing stopped for a moment. While looking at his eyes, I knew he wasn’t bluffing. “I never had a mate either. And I want it to stay that way.”

I exhaled, bringing my fingers into a clench. “What—”

But Zarion added before I can resume. “It’s rare to have a human mate. There are a lot of complications. Not to mention the prejudice of other wolves.”

“Has that happened before?”

“Yes, there was a rumor about having a human mate.”

“How did it end?”

“It didn’t end well, Cassidy.”

“Damn it, Zarion. Just tell me how it ended!”

“The human died, of course.” Zarion looked up at me with a stare that I couldn’t fathom whether worried or amusement. His sleepy eyes were giving me so many emotions. Is he really worried about me or is this another game of his? A game of guessing emotions.

I hope not, because if he keeps on contradicting what his mouth would say, I won’t survive this game. His game. “Humans are… vulnerable, Cass. They are weak. They are not as strong as us. If a werewolf is mated to a human, the werewolf will destroy her. If not consume her.”

“Destroy in what aspects?”

“In everything! You’re going to live like his life. And believe me, werewolves and humans have different lives. You have to conform. There are rules and traditions you must follow. Cultures to adapt. It may be alright if you are versatile, but most humans, I believe, couldn’t stay for too long in our lives. What we eat is different from yours. What we do might not make you happy, but you have to endure it every fucking day because you are mated with a werewolf!”

“I don’t care about it as long as I love the person. I’ll spend the rest of my life with him, no matter what.”

I heard Zarion’s sarcastic laugh echoed in the corner of my ears. “Love is not enough, Cassidy.”

“For me, it is.”

“Do you love Brandon that much?”

“What?! No!” Of course not, you idiot!” I shifted at my heel and filled my lungs with enough air. I face him again. “I was talking about you.” I wanted to add more than that, but he looks so pissed and I’m quite enjoying the jealous reaction he was giving me. Grabbing his hand, I massaged his fingers one by one, “I will reject him.”

When silence only whispered back at me and his eyes reflected the same glare I gave him moments ago, I continued. “I don’t want Alpha Brandon, Zarion. And I’m going to undergo the process of rejection no matter what.”

“Who do you want, then?” It was more like a command from him that I must answer, a demand I must obey immediately.

Are you seriously kidding me?!

My mouth waters while looking at the reddish spot in his lips, the way he strokes his hair as he waits for my answer. The warmth radiated by his body as I caressed his arms. I feel thirsty, and I could feel the butterflies hopelessly fluttering in my stomach while we shared a look.

I know he was just being possessive and territorial. If he wants it, then I’ll give him that. “You,” I whispered like how a lover does to her partner, biting my lower lip as I brought my gaze to the floor. “And if the process involves me shifting into a werewolf, then I will do it.”

Immediately, Zarion let go of my hand, turning his back from me. He freaking turned his back at me without so much as a heartache. He washed his face in a basin in the corner, his other hand was his waist. Stressed fills him as if it was just mere water and he’s a fragile glass.

“Zarion?” I asked worriedly because his apparent silence sent my heart racing.

“It’s not that easy, Cassidy.”

“I know. But still, I’m eager to do it just so I could be with you. I left my home for you. I left my grandmother for you. I sacrificed everything I have just to have you and now you’re—”

“What? You want to be a werewolf now, huh?” He aggressively looks at me, relentlessly shaking my shoulders. He closed the distance between us, jaw clenched hard. His rugged breathing would be the death of me.

“What’s wrong with being a werewolf?” I smirked like a feral beast desperate to be awakened.

In a matter of seconds, he snatched my wrist and hurled me at his back. “Let me show it to you then.” We were running towards the peak of the mountain and I do not know how he managed to do this without collapsing. I gasped, my heart beating louder and louder as we inched to the summit that I thought my heart was going to burst out from my chest. My vision blurries. My breathing ragged and slow.

And as I parted my eyes, we were now at the top of the mountain. Zarion, in his wolf form, looked me in the eye while I was trying to catch my breath from that quick traverse. My mouth fell open when I looked below. Adjacent to where we are standing is a huge waterfall. The waterfall looks lovely in its frozen state but dangerous with its sharp fractals.

“Zarion,” I beckoned him to shift and come near me. “What are we doing here?”

Zarion looked me in the eye, “I’m going to show you how lethal we are.” He sprinted before I could blink and a girl’s scream was heard after that.

“Zarion!” No. No. No.

He came back after a couple of seconds in his breath-taking wolf form but—

A man’s head dangled between his ferocious teeth as he sauntered towards me, eyes locking with mine.