《My Destined Werewolf Mate》


 Chapter 1 - A Captivating Scent

    Zeus''s Point of view(POV):


    The man in that black hoodie was walking slowly towards his car parked near the basement of the mall. I was dressed up in a full-sleeve black shirt and a pair of trousers with a black mystical hat to match my disguise. I have been tailing him for about 30 minutes.


    The parking area was dark and desolated. The man must have sensed me behind him as he was walking unexpectedly fast. I was enjoying his scaredy-cat nature.


    Suddenly, he stopped walking and turned back to me. "Umm, mister? Do you have something to say? I have been noticing you behind me for some time now." He spoke with a fearful voice while standing all frozen.


    I smirked with a devilish gaze in my eyes and took off my hat. The man was terror-stricken due to a sudden confrontation with me as he rolled his eyes while staring at me.


    "You...You..." He was murmuring anxiously but couldn''t complete his words as he was too scared.


    "Yes, I am the one you had been spying on for the past 2 days. And you thought I wouldn''t sense it? What a dork!" I slowly started walking towards him with a satanic look in my eyes. He gulped nervously and started stepping back.


    "Si-Sir, I am sorry. I didn''t mean to do it, I was paid for my work to collect information about you and your Romano group. I didn''t want to do it, but I was helpless." He started begging for mercy in a crippled voice while folding his hands.


    I felt pity for his ignorance, he is asking for mercy from someone who knows nothing except eradication of his targeted ones.


    "It''s of no use. Besides, I also know that you are working for the Lupo group. And you don''t even have the slightest idea how much I hate that group! They snatched someone who was the most precious person in my life. And now, prepare to embrace your deserving gift!" With a dense expression, I groaned at him fiercely.


    He seemed terrified of my threat and started to look all around him, but the parking area was completely deserted.


    "Please...Please spare me, sir. I have my family. Please!" He started weeping helplessly while asking for forgiveness but I didn''t stop.


    "Have a safe trip to hell, you ignorant human," I grumbled in a dark voice with my eye-ball was changing to a bright red color as I was obtaining my true-alpha form.


    He shivered with the fiery sight and immediately shrieked loudly, "help me! Someone, please save me from this monster!"


    In a fraction of a second, my hefty razor-sharp claws grew from my nails as I was still in human form. With an absolute fast speed, I reached him within the blink of an eye while raising my claws.


    SLLAASSHHHH


    "Goodbye," I mumbled densely while slitting his throat brutally.


    Blood drops splatted all over my black shirt as I eradicated his existence. It was just a matter of seconds to kill this fickle human like him for me.


    "I will destroy the entire existence of the Lupo pack soon," I grumbled fiercely while clenching my wrist and my eyes changed back to black color.


    Before anyone could notice it, slowly I put the hat back on my head and walked out of the area with a proud grin on my face, leaving the man behind lying in a pool of blood.


    ...


    Let me introduce myself first. I am Zeus Romano, the true-alpha of our Romano werewolf pack. As a dominant leader, it''s my prior duty to look after the safety of my pack. I have assassinated countless foes who dared to harm me or my pack.


    Also, we are living among humans with a disguise. For them, I am the most handsome, smart, and billionaire CEO of Romano Business Empire. I am 150 years old and have been leading my pack dominantly for near about 100 years. But for these ignorant humans, I am 30 years old eligible bachelor CEO. Sometimes, their habitats piss me off terribly. But I have to stay too alarmed around them so that my supernatural powers don''t get discovered by them.


    I am extremely brutal and cold-hearted. Along with leading my pack, I have another reason for my life- the extinction of our rival werewolf pack Lupo who snatched my grandmother from me, the only person who cared and loved me in my lonely life.


    I wasn''t born strong. I never wanted to be the leader of my pack rather than enjoying my life as my own, but my entire meaning of life changed drastically when she was murdered before my eyes and I couldn''t do a single thing except crying and begging for their mercy!


    They didn''t harm me with a single scratch but left me all alone with my dead grandma covered in blood and bruises. The painful sight made me realize that I didn''t have any other option left except becoming the strongest alpha.


    Till then, my life has only two motives- protect and attack. There were no emotions left in my life but indeed I had an abyssal void in my frozen heart.


    My mother and father both are alphas of my pack. But sadly, I never received any love from them When my grandma died, I realized my painful loneliness vividly. For them, I have been always just an alpha, not their lovable child.


    My half-brother, Czar, who is a beta and also looks after our business as my partner. He pretends to be loyal to me but I am indeed well aware of his dark intentions towards me...


    My hidden scars never allowed me to search for someone to mend my broken heart. I have encountered countless women (both in humans and werewolves) but none of them could surpass the barriers of my heart.


    I don''t know what has been planned by my destiny!


    As I was walking past the footpath at a slow pace with the hands inside my pocket, a lady passed beside me.


    Immediately I stopped. She had an extremely sweet fragrance on her body which I have never encountered neither in werewolves nor in humans. It was a scent that throbbed my frozen heart!


    As she piqued my curiosity, I turned back to look her at her. She looked divine from behind as she was walking nonchalantly.


    Who is she?

 Chapter 2 - Who Is She?

    Zeus''s POV:


    I was staring intensely at her. Who is she? Why does she smell so uncommon? The scent reminded me of my grandma... She had a unique fragrance on her body too!??


    It''s a myth that werewolves can sense a particularly sweet smell on someone''s body if they are their loved ones. But I don''t even know this lady, why did I sense such a rare scent?


    She piqued my curiosity badly as my eyes were already fixated on her. She was walking with a nonchalant motion along the footpath. Probably she was crying, as she was consistently wiping her tears.


    From behind she looked too lonely! Unknowingly I started following her from behind as my mind was extremely inquisitive.


    Suddenly she stopped walking. I feared that if she had sensed someone tailing her and I stepped back a little. But she didn''t turn behind and turned her left towards the main street. It was around 8 pm here in Rome. The Via Del Corso street was the busiest during this hour as thousands of vehicles were running wild on the road.


    I was a little perplexed with her gesture. Why did she turn towards the road? What she is up to?


    I saw her side face, particularly her eyes, they looked so mournful. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was biting her lips to stop herself from breaking down. Her facial expression was too intense as if she was lost in some deep thoughts.


    I don''t know why but I couldn''t read her mind! As the alpha werewolf, I have my supernatural ability to read someone''s mind, particularly humans. I still haven''t accustomed completely to reading a werewolf''s mind for which I am practicing quite hard.


    But I failed in her case! Huh? Why? Isn''t she a human? But she doesn''t seem to a werewolf too! I deliberately tried again but failed drastically.


    On the spur of the moment, a huge car was driving towards our direction on the street. Suddenly I gazed at her and I was startled.


    She was staring at the car with her dense and intensified eyes and from her body gesture, it appeared to me that she was about to jump before it! Damn! She wants to commit suicide!


    As the car approached the place we were standing at, abruptly she jumped before it.


    I couldn''t waste a single millisecond and opted for my supernatural power without my will.


    With my superhuman speed, I rushed to her and grabbed her forcefully within my strong arms. Immediately I jumped on the opposite side of the road using my superstrong werewolf legs in a fraction of second.


    As I landed on that side I glanced at her once. Her eyes were closed but she appeared to me as divine beauty while lying in my arms. My heart was pounding fast as I was holding her firmly. She was trembling in fear and unknowingly she was clasping my chest with her wobbly hands to seek comfort. Even I wanted to...but I couldn''t let her go from my arms.


    After a few seconds, she slowly opened her eyes and stared at me with her fearful gaze. She was panting fast as she was very terrified.


    I was wearing my black cap to cover my face and unknowingly my eyes were turned red as I used my werewolf superpowers without my will. As she gazed at me, I regained my senses and almost threw her on the ground from my arms. I fixed my cap properly to make sure she didn''t notice my supernatural eyes and started running away from her. I didn''t look behind once.


    "Hey! Wait! Wait!" I heard a loud call behind me from her as I sensed she tried to run after me in order to stop me.


    But how can a mere human like her catch up with a werewolf speed? I smirked at her ignorance while running.


    After reaching a safe distance I stopped and turned behind. She wasn''t visible anymore as I came far enough.


    Phewww! I acted so recklessly today! Why the f*ck I was so stupid today? I almost revealed myself before her! That''s absolutely shameful for an alpha! I need to keep this as a secret from everyone.


    She almost tricked me with her fascinating smell as I unknowingly acted as her pet animal!


    I started to head back towards my home, but my feet stopped. A troubling thought was bothering me consistently.


    What if she tries again to die? I just saved her at that moment but what if she attempts again?


    "Huh? Why am I concerned about her? If she wants to die, let her die! Why the f*ck I am getting so puzzled? I grumbled fiercely while clenching my wrist.


    I got an idea instantly. I tried to use my super wolf sight to know about her.


    But what''s this? Everything was completely black in my vision. Did I fail again? I never failed before to foresight a human. They why can''t I use my powers with her?


    I was totally pissed off as I failed to control my concern for her. I opted for my super wolf invisible-power and started running back to that place again, where I saved her.


    What the f*ck am I doing now?


    As I reached the place I looked all around to find her. Though I stood a bit distant from her as she appeared to be someone really mystical. So, I was dubious to go near her.


    Ahh, there she is! Sitting at the bus-stop and crying again. What''s the matter with her?


    I slowly gathered courage and went near her, but as I opted for my invisibility, she couldn''t see me. She was crying helplessly.


    "Why? Why did you save me? What am I going to do with my life now? Why did you do it?" She was mumbling mournfully while sobbing bitterly. Her cheeks were flustered red as if she had been crying too hard for a long time.


    "I saved her life and instead of being thankful, she is blaming me back? What an idiot! That''s why I dislike humans!" I murmured as I was sulking with her gesture with my eyes fixed at her.

 Chapter 3 - Someone Is Watching Me!

    Eva''s POV:


    I was completely broken today. My hope of living a good life was shattered to pieces. Do you know why???


    I am Eva Ricci, a 26 years old struggling and a complete failure as an adult. I have got only rejections from the companies I applied to work as an intern. I was solely dependent on my brother for survival. I thought life will go easy on me someday.


    But I was wrong, it was totally wrecked today.


    I lost my brother Felix, who was my only family after we lost mom and dad in that dreadful car accident on a cursed night.


    My brother was a proficient ranger officer in the Cansiglio forest.


    But my life turned upside down with the devasted news that I got today. He was killed by a wild animal last night. Even his body was so brutally ravaged that his colleagues couldn''t bring his body back here in Rione Monti. Helplessly they had to cremate him there. With him, my only reason for living in this harsh world was snatched away from me.


    When I finally decided to end this pitiful life, my fate mocked my miseries again by sending someone to save me. Why now? Why did he have to save me today? At least I could have met my family if I had died today!


    As I was sobbing hard, unknowingly I felt someone was gazing at me. I looked around me and there was no one. Why am I perceiving a pair of mystical eyes around me? Is someone secretly watching me?


    .............


    Zeus quietly stood beside her while staring with an intensified gesture. He had been using the superpower of invisibility but Eva was constantly looking around her to find him.


    "How could she feel my perception when I am already using my power? Till now, no human could ever perceive anything whenever I stayed beside them secretively using my powers. Why she is so different?" He thought silently while rolling his eyes at her.


    Suddenly Eva''s stomach growled loudly! Both Eva and Zeus were shocked by the sudden noise!


    She gently put her hand on her belly and tenderly caressed it with a sad expression on her face. "I didn''t have anything from last night, my whole appetite diminished. I thought maybe death will be the best solution for me to avoid all other circumstances, but... Now I am so hungry." She murmured in a low voice with a blank gaze on her eyes.


    "Gosh!" Zeus sighed with her response. "First of all, I saved her life and I was blamed. Now if I bring her food, what if she blames me again?" He murmured quietly with an agitated gaze towards her.


    She was seated helplessly at the bus-stop. Soon, Zeus realized she had no money with her at that time.


    "Uggghhh, why is this bothering me so much? Am I her guardian angel or what? Why am I watching over her silently though? Why is she troubling me hard?" Zeus was too conflicted between his thoughts while he grumbled angrily.


    In the meantime, a food-truck from a bakery was passing by them on the road. Eva looked at the truck with her insatiate eyes and her stomach growled again. She was indeed starving!


    Zeus sighed annoyingly and raised her right arm towards the food-truck. His eyes turned bright red again as he was using his magnetic super-power for her.


    Immediately a big packet of bread was pulled over from the truck and it dropped instantly on Eva''s lap. She startled to see the bread suddenly landing on her from that truck!


    She jolted up from the seat while holding the packet on her arm and looked around deliberately by rolling her eyes. "I...I knew it! There is definitely something mysterious going on here. Someone has been definitely watching over me! Who is this? Hey?" She spoke in a raised voice while looking all around. The situation was too mystical.


    Zeus smirked at her reaction. "Again, instead of being thankful, she is doubting my intentions! She is so weird..." He thought with a cryptic smile on his face.


    "Hey, who are you? Ar-Are you Felix? Is it you, brother? Are you helping me silently? I miss you... I miss..." She couldn''t complete her words as she broke down in tears helplessly while holding the bread packet in her arms. She seemed too helpless and all alone.


    Zeus couldn''t help anything further, except standing quietly and watching over her.


    ...


    It took her just 10 minutes to finish that huge packet of bread. She was indeed withholding her deliberate hunger although. Zeus unknowingly smiled at her as she gobbled up the food quite fast at the bus-stop.


    After satiating herself, a small grin appeared on her sad face. "I don''t know, whoever helped me but thank you very much. The bread was delicious." She spoke with tenderness in her tone and a pleasant face.


    "Pfft! She is so childish! Who will tell she is a complete adult! Gosh, I feel like I am looking after a small kid!" He chuckled mystically while murmuring in a mellow tone. Her thankfulness made him pleased.


    ....


    Soon after she finished her food, Eva stood up from the seat and walked in an opposite direction. Probably, she was going back home at a slow pace. Zeus didn''t follow her anymore as he stood still and watched her leaving slowly.


    But after she strolled a few steps, she turned behind with a curious gaze in her eyes. "Hey, if you are still watching over me, don''t worry. I won''t try to commit suicide again. You can go back and take care. Thank you for helping me, angel." She spoke politely while looking around with a poignant gaze in her eyes.


    Zeus stood all frigid while watching her drifting away from his sight.


    "Angel? Was it a compliment or an insult? But I am an Alpha werewolf, much stronger, and ruthless than an angel. Don''t be mistaken, I just helped as I felt a bit pity for your helplessness and your smell caught my attention. That''s all.


    I won''t care about you anymore." He uttered in an obscure voice while turning back and walking away towards his home.


    ...


    That''s what he thought without even knowing, destiny has already begun its game!

 Chapter 4 - You Cant Avoid Me, Brother!

    It was around 10 pm. Zeus was exhausted enough from all the chaos that happened along in his way till heading back home. He entered the Romano Mansion majestically with a gallant pace while taking off his cryptic cap.


    It was a magnificent mansion located at the center of Rione Monti. The mansion appeared quite dark and desolated from outside but was always guided by loyal guards.??


    The most important thing about the mansion was that all the people who lived there were the members of Zeus'' pack. Everyone served their alpha with the utmost pleasure.


    The housekeepers as well the butlers bowed politely before him. All of them were the werewolves as they strictly prohibited access of any human beings inside the mansion.


    "Welcome back, master." They chanted rhythmically before bowing.


    "Goodness, what a tiresome night!" He spoke in an obscure tone while walking straight to his room.


    .


    .


    "Are you tired, brother?"


    A lively yet vivacious voice called him from behind. Zeus was quite familiar with the voice and he sighed agitatedly. With an annoyed gesture, he turned back.


    A tall, handsome with dark brown shimmering hair properly styled with gel, and a well-groomed gentleman in a black suit ornamented with a golden classic wolf-brooch was standing behind him. He had a cryptic smirk on his face while gasping at Zeus.


    "You...didn''t answer me, brother?" He whined again while walking close to Zeus with a cheeky smile.


    Zeus frowned his eyebrows while gazing at him. "Look, Czar. I am very tired today, I don''t wanna deal with your nonsense. Bother me tomorrow." He answered frigidly while turning back to head back towards his room.


    Immediately Czar jumped higher with his strong and muscular legs and aviated before Zeus. He stood firmly before him to block his way towards his room.


    "You know it very well that you can''t escape from your little brother!" He winked spookily to pester him a furthermore.


    "Czar, don''t act like a kid! You are already 110 years old! I am tired today." Zeus grumbled at him in an angry voice while glaring at him.


    Czar seemed desperate for giving him a hard time. He walked more close to Zeus with a sly grin on his face. "Why are you tired? What did you..." Suddenly he stopped speaking and his face darkened a bit. With scrunched eyebrows, he gasped at Zeus inquisitively.


    "You... You smell a little different, brother Zeus!" He murmured intensely with his eyes fixated on him.


    Zeus was panicked a bit with the unexpected confrontation. Immediately he averted his gaze from Czar as he wanted to avoid his awkward questions.


    "Move from here, I need to take a nap," Zeus answered him in a rugged manner.


    Czar seemed too inquisitive of the smell. He rolled his eyes and brought his face much closer to Zeus''s chest.


    (Sniff Sniff)


    He was sniffing over his shirt to get a complete hold of the unknown fragrance. Abruptly Zeus pushed his face away from his chest.


    "What are you doing? Are you a dog?" Zeus sounded too infuriated as he shrieked in a deep voice.


    Czar raised his left eyebrow and sneered cunningly at him. "I knew it, this is a sweet fragrance of a lady. But humans generally don''t have such a unique smell! So, you were busy with a woman, am I right?" He continued to pester him.


    He was extremely irritated by his behavior. Without giving an answer, he started walking towards his room. Although, Czar was too energetic to continue his nagging as he followed him all the way to his room.


    "Is she a werewolf? Is she pretty? Did you book a room for her in our hotel? Did you use the contraceptives?" Czar was asking him deliberately in a mystical resonance.


    Abruptly Zeus halted and turned back towards him angrily. "Shut the f*ck up!" He groaned at him fiercely in a dense tone.


    "Ahhhh, then why are you avoiding me? You know it very well I won''t stop irritating you till you satisfy my curiosity!" He pouted his face while responding back to him.


    Zeus sighed with his persistent reply. "She was an unknown human, I just happened to save her life." He exclaimed in a mystic gesture while rolling his eyes.


    "Human?" Czar folded his arms and continued to ask him with anticipation, "but humans don''t have this unique smell! Is she really a human?" He continued his dubious interrogation.


    "Yeah, she is a human. Now don''t bother me anymore today." He turned back and was about to leave after responding to him.


    "Wait a minute," Czar immediately grabbed his hand and stopped him to leave. "Why did you help an unknown human? Were you captivated by her smell? Do you like her?" He had an evil smirk on his lips while his eyes were gleaming mischievously.


    Zeus shoved his hand from his grasp and glared at him viciously. "Stop blabbering nonsense, Czar. She is a mere human, we are the polar opposite of each other." He rumbled in a fiery resonance.


    Abruptly Czar gazed at him with a wide grin on his face. "If you don''t like her, can I eat her? It''s been so long I have devoured a human heart, I am craving for it! And she smells really delicious!" He licked his lips with his tongue while speaking with a devilish gaze in his eyes. As if he was already getting impatient for her!


    Zeus unknowingly was fuming in wrath with his deceitful proposal. He walked close to Czar and stared at his eyes intensely. "Stop killing innocent humans for your ridiculous craving! She is already leading a miserable life, don''t harm her. Take it as a warning for you!" He threatened him in a dense voice with his eyes blazing in rage and immediately left towards his room without wasting a further minute.


    Czar stood there momentarily for a few minutes while watching him letting go. He had a malicious smile on his face while staring at him from behind.


    "I know you too well, brother. You won''t help any human without a reason. She was indeed a special lady!


    Now you piqued my curiosity, even more, to find her at any cost! She must be someone really exceptional!" He blurted out in a shrewd voice with his eyes intaking a deep blue coloration.

 Chapter 5 - Devote Yourself To Me

    Czar''s POV:


    Ahhh, the night is so dark and desolated... The dimness, however, relieves me to unveil my wicked side which I can perfectly hide the rest of the time from the world.??


    Though I appear to be fun-loving, and a womanizer witty guy, but deep down inside... I am someone who has a lot of hidden scars, which will haunt me for the rest of my life. Sadly, I can''t leave the memories behind because they are the sole reasons which have made me the malicious beta-werewolf, I am today!


    Yes, I am highly obsessed with my big brother Zeus. Though, we are half-brothers born from different mothers.


    My mother was an innocent omega who was brutally pushed on the verge of death by the proud alpha mother of Zeus, Aelia Romano...She is also someone, I despise the most!


    The reason behind my obsession with Zeus is neither love nor hate. But he is someone whom I have always followed from my childhood as I was instructed. All I was taught was to be as strong as Zeus!


    But, my only reason for living this painful life is to surpass him and become the dominating leader of the Romano pack...


    And I will do whatever it costs to gain the status someday... No matter how much barbaric I need to become for it... I will gladly do it!


    I was walking along the narrow aisles at a slow pace. It was comparatively desolated and I loved the silence. But...


    I was pretty hungry! I had beef steak for dinner but still the smell which I found on Zeus, somehow provoked by hunger maliciously! I am craving some human blood now!


    Suddenly I halted with the perception of a unique, sweet, fragrance that I could sense nearby me. Strangely, I had sniffed the same smell on Zeus at home while I was pestering him. Perplexedly I glanced at my wristwatch and it was around 10.45 pm. How is this smell present here at this late hour?


    I turned around and looked everywhere to witness the human emitting that mystical sweet fragrance. According to Zeus, she was a mere human, but I have never sensed such a strong smell in any human maidens!


    Suddenly, I could feel some timid footsteps as someone was walking towards me from behind. Unknowingly my animal instincts preoccupied my senses and my razor-sharp claws emerged from the nails. I have been always alert of any cryptic animal or human attack from behind, so now my defense powers work on its own.


    But it''s not an attack this time. A tall, elegant, and divinely beautiful lady with shimmering black hair up to the waist, left untied, was walking towards me from behind. She had a glum expression on her eyes and her face appeared a bit tired. She was walking nonchalantly and didn''t even bother to look at me.


    Immediately I hid my claws and stared at her intensely. I was right! The sweet and unique fragrance was indeed emitting from her. Who is this mysterious lady?


    I walked towards her hastily with an evil smirk on my face. This lady indeed has a special aura around her! Damn, I am so curious now!


    As I strolled much closer to her she couldn''t help but noticed me. Immediately she frowned her eyebrows after witnessing my sneer.


    "Hey, why are you blocking my way?" She inquired me pretty sharply with a deep voice. She didn''t even seem a bit scared of an unknown man standing on her way with a devilish grin on his face. How strange! Generally, human maidens are such weaklings! But, she looks tough...


    "Aren''t you scared of me?" I asked her quite inquisitively as my eagerness was already at the edge.


    She gazed at me for a moment and sighed. "Look, I don''t have money. I can even show you my wallet as evidence. So, don''t waste your time on me and go rob some other people." With a disgruntled look on her face, she replied sternly.


    What the f*ck? Did she assume me a burglar?


    I scrunched my eyebrows and gazed at her obscurely. "Hey, don''t you dare insult me like that! I am not any knave!" I raised my voice a bit with an intense expression to scare her a little. As I enjoy it too much when feeble weaklings are being terrified of our supernatural powers.


    But...she didn''t even seem to bother about it and gasped at me with a dubious look on her face.


    "Whatever, I don''t care about who are you! But I am terribly exhausted today, so don''t pester me anymore and leave my way." She sounded quite harsh while answering.


    I was getting agitated with her expression. I am not accustomed to this kind of incompatible behavior from ladies! Almost every maiden I have met till today falls head over heels for me instantly due to my attractive appearance.


    Then who the hell is this lady, treating me like trash?


    Though I admit it was quite dark hours but I was sure my face was visible prominently in the moonlight. So, why isn''t she enamored with my charm? With the gradual passing time, her smell was getting much more intense.


    "Hello? Are you deaf, Mr.?" She again shrieked at me angrily as if she was already getting pissed off with my presence. But I can''t lose so easily from such a mere human!


    I gazed at her intensively and tried of using my hypnotic senses to make her fall for me.


    "Be infatuated with me... Devote yourself to your master! You will be mine from now!" I tried to inject the command within her with the help of my hypnotic senses with my profound stare in her eyes. Till now, no human has been escaped from such a charming attack from a witty werewolf like me!


    She will be completely smitten by me now! I will crush her pride anytime soon, then it will be easy for me to even devour her today.


    That''s what I thought that would likely happen!

 Chapter 6 - My Little Duckling!

    "Hey? Do you want me to punch you?" She howled at Czar agitatedly with a dense look in her eyes.


    Czar was completely shocked by her behavior and took two steps back from her. "F*ck! Didn''t she get hypnotized by me?" He thought while glaring at her.??


    "Why are you staring at me like that? Are you some creepy pervert? But you messed up with the wrong girl, dude! I am a black belt in karate, so leave my way now!" She promptly replied with a cryptic ogle towards him.


    "How is this possible? Why didn''t my power worked on her? Besides, her fragrance is provoking my beastly instincts crazily! It''s too hard to resist the craving for a human organ now!" He was frowning his face while gawking at her with a devilish look in his dark eyes.


    "This guy looks way too creepy! I think I need to use my self-defense techniques!" She was lost in her deep thoughts while looking at his eyes. With an annoyed expression, she clenched her wrist in order to attack him instantly if he dares to harm her somehow!


    But her captivating smell was making Czar lose his mind completely. Suddenly she could hear his stomach was growling quite loudly.


    "Damn! I will devour her now! I don''t care about the rest!" He thought silently with a demonic smile on his face while biting his lips cryptically. He started walking closer towards her with gallant steps. His claws started emerging from his nails as he attempted to slit her throat apart!


    .


    .


    In a flash of the moment, someone grabbed Czar''s shoulder from behind in order to stop him from approaching her. However, he was familiar with that sudden clasp.


    .


    He turned back abruptly and grinned maliciously with the sight. Zeus was standing behind while stopping him from going towards her gallantly. He had an infuriating expression on his face while staring at Czar intensely with his bright-red eyes.


    .


    "I knew it! So, she is the one isn''t it?" He inquired Zeus with a mischievous smirk on his face.


    Zeus seemed too angry with this gesture and grumbled at him fiercely, "stop chasing after innocent lives, Czar! We are not vampires! Stop taking harmless lives for your malicious desires!" He clenched his shoulder tightly proclaiming his threat.


    Czar smiled at his kinesics and slowly unleashed from his grasp. "Don''t avoid my question, big brother! You were so worried about her that you even came looking for her! Woah! But why are you in your invisible state? Why aren''t you appearing before her?" He murmured in a low voice while glaring at Zeus.


    "Hey! You jerk!"


    Both of them flinched with the sudden call and noticed that she had an oblivious look on her face while staring intensely at Czar.


    "Hey? What are you murmuring while turning back? Who are you talking to? Are you some kind of lunatic creep?" She sounded quite infuriated during walking close to him at a slow pace.


    Czar turned back at Zeus once and winked with a foxy smile on his face. He abruptly put his hands inside his pocket and looked at her densely.


    "Nothing much! I was just shocked to witness your ignorance, my dear duckling!" He grinned at her with an obscure resonance.


    She halted with his response and frowned her eyebrows. "What? Duckling? Hey! Are you crazy?" She walked closer to him and yelled ferociously while rolling her eyes in anger.


    Czar seemed to enjoy her unique reaction and sneered mystically.


    "To be honest, you seemed like a charming lady from the outside but has a bad mouth from inside, so I decided to call you with that! I generally like to name people according to my preferences." He grinned and turned back at Zeus to observe his expression while conveying his thoughts to her.


    Zeus was staring at him intensely with his eye color changed to the usual black. He was consistently glancing at both of them from behind.


    "Who are you? And why are you pestering me so much, jerk?" She outraged her frustration towards him being unable to hold it back.


    Czar again turned back again at Zeus and smiled devilishly.


    "I am quite surprised by your assumption about me, but..." While speaking in a coarse voice, Czar stared intensely at her. "I am the one, who saved your life today!" He answered with a mystic smirk leaving behind everyone startled.


    Eva was stunned by his proclamation and gawked at him obscurely. "Wh-What?" She inquired.


    Zeus walked close to Czar and groaned at him with agitation. "Hey, what the hell are you talking about? Don''t mess with me!" He warned him with a dense resonance.


    "What are you talking about? Are you the one who saved me? Who are you?" She was getting impatient with his declaration and was interrogating him persistently.


    Czar gasped at her inquisitively. In the shadowy moonlight, she appeared as the divine Moon Goddesses, standing before him firmly. Her black shimmering hair was constantly waving with the mild night breeze which she was caressing while interrogating him. Her eyebrows frowned but her eyes looked quite profound. Somehow, her gaze looked a bit glum. As if she was deliberately trying to hide her unspeakable pain behind by acting all tough.


    Her compactness and stern attitude piqued Czar''s interest a furthermore. He cryptically glanced at Zeus and brought his face closer to him. "If you are reluctant of taking your credits, I will gladly have it." He whispered to him with a cunning smirk.


    "Well, I couldn''t let you die before my own eyes helplessly. So, I decided to save your life." Czar continued.


    She glared at him intensely for a moment with her fretful face as if she was lost in some deep thoughts. After a while, she sighed heavily and turned her face away from him. "I don'' believe you. I have seen the eyes of the person for a second and his eyes looked so cold... It was definitely not you. I don''t know, why are you stealing the credentials of the person but this trick won''t work on me." She replied to him in a firm voice.


    After answering him, she gallantly started walking away from him towards her home. But after moving a few steps ahead, she halted and looked around her. She was looking for someone as if her heart perceived the presence of someone there.


    Zeus unknowingly smiled at her action, "she is definitely quite mystical." He thought with a small grin.


    "Why does it feels that someone has been watching me silently here, apart from this jerk? Why it makes my heart so restless? She thought with an anxious gaze while heading back again towards her home.


    Czar was watching her from behind as she left slowly. "Eva Ricci... quite interesting," he murmured in a dark voice with a sneer.

 Chapter 7 - Responsible For Your Bitterness

    As soon as Eva left, Zeus glared at Czar intensely with a disgruntled expression. As if he was a bit offended with his naive gestures.


    "We need to talk." Zeus firmly declared while ogling at him.??


    Czar was quite amused to see Zeus getting hyped up about Eva. With a foxy smirk, he nodded his head. "Go ahead," he answered.


    "Why were you pestering her? Why were you dragging her in between our brother''s conflict? She was already enough disturbed today for even taking away her own life! So why were you lying to her about saving--"


    "Did it affect you? Aren''t you too concerned about her?" Czar interrupted him sharply with a frivolous tone. His eyes were fixed on him during replying to him.


    Zeus was getting impatient with his vague response and suddenly grabbed his shoulder before interrogating him further. "Czar, stop making me mad! Don''t always get on my nerves with your stupid games." He sounded quite a menace while answering him.


    Czar casually unleashed himself from his grasp and ogled at him for an instance. "I have never seen you getting hyped up for a woman, is she that special? Or you are just allured by her smell? You know I am quite possessive about my big brother." He winked at him cryptically and remarked.


    Suddenly, Zeus''s facial expression changed into a sad smile as he was gazing at him. "Don''t pretend as if you love me, Czar... Deep down inside, I am well aware of your hatred towards me." He sneered poignantly at him.


    Czar was startled a bit with his unexpected revelation and averted his gaze somewhere else. He desperately wanted to avoid eye contact with him as he was caught off guard. "What an absurd assumption." He replied.


    Zeus stared at him for a moment and turned back with a heavy-hearted sigh. "It''s not your fault though. You have gone through something too deplorable and I am also partly responsible for your miseries. No matter how much malicious you try to act before the world, I know it really well- it''s not your true self, Czar. You were a kind werewolf before..." He responded to him with a glum voice and started heading back away from him.


    "Hey, stop staring precisely at my heart like this! I can''t stand unnecessary kindness from anyone! Don''t you dare of showing empathy towards me, Zeus!" He yelled fiercely at him from behind while watching him leave.


    Zeus didn''t turn back and continued his motion at a slow pace.


    "F*ck! He is accurate enough. From deep down inside, I hate everyone in the Romano pack. I hate myself for being part of the ruthless pack, that couldn''t oppose the assassination of a helpless omega! I... I will never forgive anyone ever... And I will definitely surpass you someday, Zeus." His voice strangled with unbearable pain as he was murmuring in a husky voice. Unknowingly tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared at the sky with a blank gaze.


    ......


    Eva opened the door lock at her house and with a glum posture walked inside. It was too dark and lonely. With a wistful expression, she turned the lights on of the living room and stared at the portrait hung on the wall.


    Four people were smiling happily in the portrait. Eva, her brother Felix along with their mom and dad. They lost their parents 10 years ago. Felix was her only source of happiness and strength for surviving against all odds in this world.


    But today, she was all alone standing all frozen and glancing at the portrait helplessly.


    Her throat choked in agony as she felt a strong urge of crying out aloud while looking at the picture. She lost her balance and fell on the ground while breaking down miserably. "How? How am I gonna live in this world all alone? Why did you all have to leave me all alone? Why didn''t you stay with me, Felix? How--" She couldn''t complete her words as she started weeping bitterly while covering her face with both her arms.


    Her happy world shattered into pieces in a single cursed night again...


    ....


    Romano Mansion:


    After spending quality time all alone outside with a heavy heart, Czar finally decided to head back home.


    But to his surprise, Zeus was waiting for him outside the mansion with a grimaced face. He was agitated to witness his sudden act of kindness.


    Czar hastily walked up to him and groaned ferociously. "What are you doing here? Why are you pretending to be generous with me? Deep down inside I also have known that you never accepted me as your brother, I was just a sympathized child for you!" He sounded too angry while interrogating him.


    Zeus sighed with his response and looked into his eyes intensely. Czar''s eyes were turned blue as he was too infuriated with him, which provoked his beastly instincts to show off.


    "You are right Czar, I never treated you as my brother. But, I have tried my best to protect you from any harm since you were little." He continued in a mellow voice.


    Czar smirked with his response and ogled him with a disgruntled look in his eyes. "Protect? Protecting your pack is the job of an alpha! You were just doing your duty, but you never ever cared for me, Zeus. Ahhggghh, I am so frustrated right now. It''s no use of bickering with you, I am heading inside." He fiercely left inside the mansion leaving Zeus behind. He couldn''t stop him from leaving as he sighed with his response.


    "Sorry, I never got the chance to prove my silent concern for you, Czar. But I won''t stop doing my job, despite knowing you want to surpass my position someday.


    I can fight back with you at that time but I can''t let that happen to what your mom has faced here. I am not a weakling anymore..." He murmured with a sad smile and headed back inside.

 Chapter 8 - My Burning Wrath

    Czar''s POV:


    I rushed inside the mansion hastily as I was fuming in wrath. Usually, I always maintain my calm and composed posture but today, I lost my patience with everything... I can''t stand it when people look down at me with pity, especially Zeus...??


    It forces me to reprimand my impotence when I lost the precious person of my life... The painful memory which I am struggling to obliterate from my mind becomes more vivid!


    ..


    "Where is Zeus?"


    A dark, hoarse, vicious voice halted me from behind as I was walking towards my room. I knew the voice quite well, and it''s the reason for my burden of nightmares that I have been carrying for all these years.


    I turned behind with a blunt expression on my face. It was Zeus''s mom, Aelia, the proud alpha mother. She was the previous Luna of the Romano pack. Tall, elegant, and divinely beautiful Aelia has been always the center of attraction for the Romano pack. Not only her beauty, but she is also immensely powerful as a werewolf. For her overall graciousness, she was chosen as the Luna by our father and the previous, powerful alpha of our pack, Antonio.


    She was ogling at me with an obscure look on her eyes while frowning her eyebrows. My patience was already at the edge and I didn''t want to indulge with her furthermore.


    "He is outside the mansion," I replied in an intense voice and tried to turn back to leave towards my room.


    "Do you have the slightest idea what''s the time now? My son has been roaming outside the mansion and I am pretty sure the reason is obviously you." She groaned at me fiercely while walking a few steps closer to me.


    I had a disgruntled look on my face while ogling at her. I despise her to such a core that even her slightest appearance disgusts me. And, she is well aware of the fact.


    "I didn''t ask your son to follow me outside." With a firm outlook, I replied to her in a hoarse voice.


    She seemed agitated with my answer and growled at me. "What did you just say, you nasty ungrateful--"


    "Mom, stop it!"


    Immediately Zeus intervened while she was approaching me fuming in rage, by standing in front of his mother and holding her right arm with his strong grasp.


    "Zeus? Where the heck have you been?" She shrieked at him fiercely in order to vent out her frustration.


    Zeus turned back and looked at me once. I was gawking at his mother while clenching my fist and he soon understood exasperation towards that lady!


    "From when did you start caring about your son?" He reciprocated her query with a bold interrogation intensely. She seemed a bit offended by his gesture and immediately unleashed her hand from his grasp.


    "A mother always cares about her child, but I always had to act stern to make you the strongest among all! It doesn''t mean that I never cared about you." She sounded quite displeased as she was explaining her facts with a frowned face.


    "Pffftt!" Zeus smirked with his mother''s response and sighed deeply. "Apart from grandma, no one ever tried to love me, mom! I was just, the future protector of our pack! My worth was considered only as of the alpha, never as a small love-seeking child." He sounded a bit glum while bickering with his mother nonchalantly.


    She again glared at me and her eye colour changed to dark red. It was an inherent trait of the alphas of our pack, whenever they are too infuriated or excited, their pupil changes the color abruptly without their own will. Many alphas spend years practicing to master this power as we need to disguise among the human realm. And among living within these humans, it''s too easy to be infuriated with their ignorance.


    "Are you starting to stand out against your own mother? Are you behaving like that nasty beta?" She yelled in a screeching tone while rolling her eyes in anger.


    With her despicable tone, my annoyance crossed the limits. I clenched my wrist with my eyes turning into deep blue while gawking at her. I was preparing myself for defense as I need to face every incoming situation because it''s impossible to trust that lunatic lady''s behavior.


    "Don''t draw him in today. It was my own will to go outside and I don''t give a damn to let others know about my whereabouts. Don''t try to act concerned about me after 150 years of my life." Zeus grumbled at him in a coarse voice with his eye color gradually changing into bright red. He tried to meddle in between the intense situation to calm it down.


    She smirked with his response and averted her stare towards Zeus from me. "No matter how much you try to defend that nasty beta, he will be always an outsider in our family. You and only you will be the legitimate child of your father." She proclaimed in a dark voice with a gaze of impotence towards me.


    "His identity is not any nasty beta, but the son of my father and my half-brother. So, it''s better for you to at least treat him with a bit of courtesy. And that''s the command for you from the present alpha of Romano pack." Zeus strongly opposed her opinion and stood beside me in the horrendous cold war going between us.


    I was startled by his action as I never even expected that he would defend me before his own mother! But... It''s not his love! It''s just the pity and sympathy he has always felt towards me since I was little.


    She hissed at me and abruptly turned back, walking away hastily leaving us behind. Zeus stood still for a moment and then turned back at me.


    "Don''t even think I would fall for your tricks! You are the son of that awful lady... I will never forgive anyone here." I thought silently for a while and walked away hastily towards my room leaving him behind, alone.


    He can''t change my ruthless nature now... No one can transform me ever again...

 Chapter 9 - I Wanna See You

    Next morning...


    It was bright and sunny weather with birds chirping outside. Eva was so tired and glum that she slept on the floor holding the family portrait within her embrace.??


    The ray of sunshine was invading into her living room and it directly focused on her face, causing her to wake up from the sleep.


    Slowly she opened her eyes and found her lying on the hallway all alone, holding the portrait. Her eyes were all soggy as she had been crying out badly the whole night.


    Tenderly, she looked at the portrait and harsh reality stood in front of her again. Her eyes were teary and she slowly rolled her hands over the portrait. Few droplets of her silent tears fell down on the picture.


    ...


    Gradually some time passes by and she firmly stands up from the ground. "That''s all life about... It keeps on going, forever and ever..." She mumbled in a broken voice while fixing the portrait back in the wall.


    In the meantime, her stomach growled again. She touched her abdomen and sighed heavily. "Damn, I completely forgot about breakfast. I also need to find a job as sooner as possible." She was mumbling nonchalantly while heading straight to the kitchen. Suddenly, her eyes were stuck on her mobile kept on the corner table of the living room which was blinking continuously. Perhaps it was due to her careless habit of keeping it in silent mode.


    Hastily she strolled to her phone and picked it up. She flinched while gazing at the notification. There were 250 missed calls and 100 messages unread.


    Most of the calls were from her childhood best friend and worker in a software company, Clara, she trusts the most in this world after her family.


    With a deep sigh, she dialed back her.


    (Phone ringing)


    "Hello?" A perplexed voice immediately answered her call as she was intensely waiting for her call.


    "Clara--"


    "Where the f*ck you have been? Oh Gosh, it''s just been 2 days since I am out of the town for the business tour, but what the f*ck has been happening around you? I was about to die in stress, yesterday." She grumbled fiercely at her over the call.


    Eva was looking outside the window with a blank gaze in her eyes. "Did you hear about Felix?" She inquired.


    Clara was quiet for a moment. With a deep breathe out, she proclaimed, "ye-yes. It was all over the news and also on *Acebook . I am actually spellbound. My heart just shattered into pieces with the news... But where the hell you have been from yesterday? I was worried sick for you!" She complained.


    Eva was awfully numb while staring outside the fenestration. "Everything has been messed up from yesterday. I was so emotionally broken that even I thought of taking away my own life." She quivered.


    "What? What did you do Eva?" She shrieked in anxiety.


    She was silent for a while and breathed out in a huff. "I just thought of death will be the easiest way to cope up with the surreal loss, so I jumped before a huge car with my mind completely blank. But suddenly, someone gripped me tightly by the waist and miraculously saved me from the brink of death just like a divine angel." With a glum voice, she answered.


    Clara was startled by her confrontation. "Who was he? And how did he save you?" She sounded curious.


    Eva frowned her face as she started to recall the bittersweet memories of last night. "It felt like he just took a huge flight on the air and jumped on the opposite side of the huge Del Corso street holding me in his arms. Everything happened in a fraction of a second and it felt like a dream! He had a hideous gesture, but I just took a glance at his eyes... They didn''t seem to be of a normal human..." She was mumbling nonchalantly while gulping down some water. Her face appeared too fretful.


    Clara seemed quite worried about her situation and she sighed deeply.


    "But another strange matter happened to me. While I was heading back home last night, I met another creepy punk who was almost gawking at me cryptically. And the most peculiar part, he was mystically aware that I was about to commit suicide and someone saved me. And that punk tried to steal the credit from my actual savior. It was a bullshit behavior. I was so pissed off n him that I almost threw a punch." Eva continued.


    "Eva, perhaps it was a mere passerby who wanted to harass you. Things are being really awful with you but I think it was indeed an angel who helped you at the last moment. There are indeed mythical creatures living on the earth for a long period but people seem to take them as rumors. But there are many mysterious phenomenons that even scientists fail to explain the reasons behind it. Well, I don''t know who was it but I am eternally thankful for that guy." Her voice sounded quite wistful.


    Eva fidgeted for a moment with her answer and raised up her chin to stare at the sky. "Clara, I still feel that I am just having a terrible nightmare. I can''t accept reality. I just can''t..." Her voice seemed to be choked in pain as she couldn''t utter her complete words.


    "Eva, I am gonna come back to you in 2 days. Please bear with me till then, I will be really back very soon. Please never attempt such horrible deeds again. I know you are really strong, you will survive this battle." She tried to console her in a glum husky voice.


    Eva slightly nodded her head and gave a cold response. Soon after, she disconnected the call and headed back to the kitchen at a slow pace. She seemed quite hungry due to depression.


    "I wish, I could meet you once again... I wanna see you.." She wondered silently with a deep sigh.

 Chapter 10 - Fiendish Cravings!

    Romano Mansion:


    It was 10.30 am. Zeus was already dressed up in a black office suite with a white full sleeve shirt tucked inside. He was radiating a sparkling handsome aura around himself. But the most difficulty he always faces while dressing up was during putting up the necktie. The tie seemed a bit crooked while he was adjusting the knot near the dressing mirror. His black shimmering hair was wet and he flipped it on the upper side to capture the appearance of a badass and dapper CEO.??


    As he finished up, slowly he grabbed the car keys and walked outside the room with gallant steps. While strolling downstairs, he peeked at the breakfast table placed over the dining hall. As usual, all the seats at the table were empty. None of the family members prefer to grab their meal altogether at the dining hall. He has been always habituated to eating alone. A few butler and maids were waiting for Zeus at the breakfast table and as soon as he came, they bowed earnestly.


    With a wistful sneer, he grabbed his seat on the table. He was served with French toast, along with scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and lamb''s liver. Slowly he picked up the crockery and started chomping the liver first.


    "Have you already started eating?"


    An impish and quite familiar voice interrupted his meal. He seemed a bit agitated.


    Czar came walking close to the table and ogled at him with a cryptic sneer. "Good morning, my dear brother." He greeted.


    Zeus didn''t raise his head to look at him and sighed deeply. "Why are you here? What do you want now?" A cold voice from him reverted his greeting.


    Czar seemed a bit offended with his cold response and pouted. "Gosh, I just wanted to join you for the breakfast today." He pulled out a chair beside him and took his seat with a sly grin. Zeus was quite suspicious with his answer and he peeked a glance at him.


    "You are having lamb''s liver? Damn, I am craving for some meat too..." He nagged in a mellow tone and turned his head towards the butler. "Mr. Piero, do you have some fresh raw meat? If not, then bring some lamb liver for me." He directed the butler in a dense voice.


    Zeus gasped at his cryptic behavior while frowning his eyebrows. "You can stop pretending your brotherly love, Czar. Why you are here?" He inquired him again.


    Czar smiled with a spooky expression and rolled his eyes. "Well, I just felt that perhaps I had been extremely rude towards you, last night. So, I wanted to make up for my behavior with a brotherly breakfast. And, I am indeed craving for some raw meat... I guess, the lady we met last night, would have been a delicious one!" He licked his lips with a devilish gaze and conveyed his words to him.


    Immediately Zeus slammed the table loudly surprising everyone present there. Czar smirked with his reaction as he was getting amused.


    "I have already warned you, Czar. Stay away from her... She has nothing to do with your malicious cravings!" His threat sounded quite hoarse as he was frowning his eyebrows while speaking.


    In the meantime, fresh raw beef arrived for Czar and he abruptly chomped on it with his strong canines, which tore a huge chunk of meat into slices. "Ahh, I enjoy your reaction so much, big brother. But, are you her certified bodyguard? Why do you even bother?" He was uttering in an unclear voice.


    Zeus averted his gaze and sighed with agitation. "I don''t bother about that lady but I absolutely don''t want her to be a victim of your fiendish cravings. You have already taken away the lives of countless innocent people. As the alpha of our pack, I can''t let you commit more heinous crimes." He sounded quite stern.


    Czar smirked with his response and continued chewing the raw meat. "But, you too have taken away the lives of several humans including werewolves. So, isn''t it a crime for you too? You get to let away with anything as you are the alpha of the pack?" He instigated the conversation towards a heated argument.


    Zeus chomped some lamb''s liver with a tense expression on his face and was silent for a few minutes. "I have killed every creature whoever has tried to harm our pack, that''s the duty of an alpha. Don''t compare my responsibility with your cheekiness." He grumbled.


    Czar finished off his breakfast and rubbed his lips gently with a silk napkin. "I have another important topic to ask you, we are short in interns for the company. Should we hire some interns?" He was ogling at him with his grey intense eyes during asking.


    Zeus turned his face towards him. "Didn''t we hire 2 new ladies as interns last month?" He reverted back to his question.


    Czar gently stood up from the seat with a spooky grin. "Well, sorry about that, but I slept with one of them at a motel. And due to my mistake, she witnessed some of my supernatural abilities. So, I had no other choice except to kill her. But her flesh was really delicious... And the other one quit the job due to her own personal issues, it was not my fault." He blurted out with an impish expression in his eyes while staring at him.


    Zeus seemed too frustrated with his confession and he snarled at him while standing up from his seat. "You are absolutely lecherous. I am sick of your heinous acts. You are putting our whole existence in danger! Czar, it''s the last time I am giving my permission to recruit new ones. But if you dare to mess with them again, I will take strict measures." He growled at him fiercely and walked outside the hall.


    Czar stood still behind while watching him leaving alone. "Just enjoy your supreme position till I overhaul you, big brother. And I will be the one with the last victory." He mumbled.

 Chapter 11 - I Can Sense Her Smell!

    It was around 11.30 am. The weather was all sunny. Eva was nonchalantly strolling down the sidewalk, beside the Rione Monte Central Bank. She had a wistful expression on the face while holding a cheque in her right arm.


    It''s the money she obtained as the benefactor of some remaining fixed savings of Felix. As his only alive family member, she withdrew the money with a heavy heart. Though, she never wanted to face this helpless day all alone.??


    With tears shimmering at the corner of her eyes she peeked at the cheque once. "I should find a job as early as possible... But I have been rejected so many times that now I don''t even feel the urge to go for an interview. Life totally sucks." She sounded too grievous.


    Suddenly, her eyes stuck at the notice board placed on the sidewalk. Immediately she rushed towards the board and saw a pamphlet fixed there.


    "Looking for hard-working and ambitious interns. Interested applicants can join the Romano Group of Business. Contact- XXX0000XXXX"


    The bulletin written on the pamphlet caught her attention. Abruptly she took a picture of the pamphlet with a pleasant grin.


    "Romano group is one of the most prestigious organizations. If by any chance, I can join here, I won''t need to think of my living expenses from so on. I should stop by the company today only." She mumbled in a mellow tone and rushed towards her home to collect her CV for the interview. With new hopes of coping up with the doomed life, she was moving ahead with bold steps.


    Little did she knew, the storms awaiting to enter her already messed up life.


    ............


    Romano Business Group Main building:


    Zeus finished up with the meeting held with their important sponsors and quietly headed towards his cabinet. Czar didn''t attend the conference and it pissed him off. As Czar holds 20% of the shares in the company, it''s mandatory for him to attend every gathering. But his ignorance made him quite agitated.


    Mr. Pablo, Zeus''s personal assistant was walking beside him at a slow pace. He has been his trustworthy PA for over 7 years and most importantly, he is a human.


    "Why didn''t Czar attend here today?" He inquired in a dubious voice.


    Mr. Pablo flinched with his question and fidgeted for a moment. "Well, I don''t know, sir. Maybe, he is busy somewhere." He answered politely.


    Zeus wasn''t pleased with his answer and he frowned his face. "Yeah, I know, must be busy with some chicks for having fun. I am frustrated with that jerk now." He continued.


    Mr. Pablo moved a bit close to him and twitched his eyebrows. "Umm, sir, some of the candidates have arrived for the interview in the intern''s open position. Should I sent them to you?" He asked.


    Zeus seemed completely uninterested in the activity and stroked his hair upwards while heading towards his room. "I don''t have any patience left to deal with candidates, you can choose the capable ones. Don''t bother me for such irrelevant issues." He mumbled.


    .....


    Suddenly his feet halted with the perception of something unexpected. He sensed the fragrance of that captivating sweet scent of that unknown lady, which was emerging through his office. Restlessly he looked around to seek the source of the scent but the hallway was desolated. The smell was quite alluring for him as he seemed restless with the slightest perception.


    Immediately a thought struck his mind. Sharply, he looked at Mr. Pablo before asking, "where are the new candidates?"


    He was startled with his sudden query and ogled at him cryptically. "Sir, they all are present in the waiting room. Do you want to take a look?" He reverted back to his query.


    Nonchalantly Zeus tilted his head in response. His mind was filled up with curiosities. The sensation of that unique smell provoked his intrusiveness to a high extent. With gallant steps, he boldly headed towards the waiting room.


    As he walked more close to the room, the sensation of that fragrance eventually got stronger. The fragrance seemed to have wholly overtaken his mind which was going benumb. With an undefined longingness, he stopped at the door. But, suddenly he regained his senses and refrained from walking inside. His heart was throbbing unconditionally fast and he seemed too restless. Mr. Pablo was ogling at him inquisitively with his obscure gaze.


    There was a glass windowpane placed on the wooden door. Zeus silently raised his chin up and peeked at the candidates present inside.


    To his shock, that ambiguous lady was sitting inside with a fretful expression prominent on her face. Zeus jolted away from the door and rolled his eyes in surprise. "I... I wasn''t wrong! I can indeed sense her presence! I...I can perceive her smell... But what is she doing here?" He anticipated while gasping aloud. Without uttering a single word, he stood all numb.


    "Sir, should we walk in?" Mr. Pablo suggested.


    He glanced at him once and sighed deeply. "I... I won''t go inside. Mr.Pablo, you can hold the interview and send their applications to me for verification. I will be off to my room." After conveying his words he started strolling swiftly towards his room to hide his clumsy gestures.


    Mr. Pablo gazed at him all the way from behind, while he was walking away. "Why does sir looks so restless today? Is anything wrong here with the candidates?" He mumbled with a heavy breathe out.


    .....


    Zeus almost rushed to his room and hopped on his chair strenuously. His mind was too puzzled and he gulped down some water to calm himself. With a heavy sigh, he stared outside the window.


    "Why? Why I can''t control my instincts around the smell? How can the smell of a mere ignorant human captivate a sturdy beast like me? Why do I keep crossing paths with that weird lady? Did I commit a grave mistake by saving her life last night?" He thought with an anxious gaze.

 Chapter 12 - Captivated Cold-heart

    The interview for the open position of the new intern in the Romano group finally begun. All the candidates were heading one by one according to their scheduled turns to Mr. Pablo''s chamber. Eva was consistently fidgeting while waiting for her turn. Soon her wait was over, and she was summoned.


    With a fretful expression, she walked inside the room. Mr. Pablo greeted her with a warm smile and pointed towards the seat opposite him. She obediently took her place and handed him her CV.??


    "So, you are Miss Eva Ricci." He was gawking at her documents while responding.


    "Yes sir."


    "Why do you want to work here?" He began his interrogation.


    Eva was quiet for a while and averted her gaze downwards. "I...I just want this job, for survival." Her voice seemed morose.


    Mr. Pablo was startled by her answer and ogled at her for a few minutes. "Survival? Do you really need this job that badly?" He inquired.


    Eva silently nodded her head while lowering her chin downwards. "I am almost pushed at the extreme edge now. As I am given a second chance of survival, so I want to make good use of my life, without further regrets. That''s all about my wish now. For that, I need to have a job first. And, working in such a reputed company will be an honor for me." She continued.


    Mr. Pablo sighed with her response and closed her file. "Well, your CV is quite satisfying, but I can''t assure you for your approval, but I hope my boss will take your record into consideration." He replied politely with a small grin.


    Eva stood up from her seat and bowed her head tenderly.


    .........


    Zeus was standing near the huge fenestration of his cabinet, staring outside with a befuddled gaze. His mind was being quite impatient.


    In the meantime, Mr. Pablo approached his cabinet, holding a pile of documents in his hand. "Sir? I just finished up with the interview." He sounded amiable.


    Zeus quickly turned towards him with curious eyes. "How did it go? Did they meet our expectations?" He snapped immediately.


    Mr. Pablo grinned with a clumsy gesture and scrapped his neck awkwardly. "Well, most of the candidates were good enough with excellent track records. But one of the candidates caught my attention."


    Zeus cryptically stared at him for a moment. Mr. Pablo started searching a file among the pile of documents and quickly found the one. "Here, this one." He mumbled while handing over a document to him.


    He took the file from his hand and flinched with the sight. It was the CV of Eva. Even her stamp size small picture was radiating her beautiful appearance. Zeus stared at her picture without winking while gently stroking it with his bigger fingers.


    "Her answer to my question was quite absurd. She replied to me that she wants this job for her survival, as she is being pushed to the extreme edge of life. Also, she told me that after getting a second chance in life, this time she wants to make good use of it. She seemed to be in extremely distressing condition, sir." Mr. Pablo blurted out nonchalantly.


    Zeus was still stroking her picture with a delicate gaze in his eyes and smiled a bit. "Perhaps, the second chance was about yesterday. I did a good job of saving her life." He thought with a kind sneer.


    His mystic simpers appeared quite oblivious to Mr. Pablo. He was ogling at him and couldn''t ask anything further.


    After a while, Zeus firmly grabbed the document in his arm and headed straight towards his seat. "I am approving her as one of our interns. Another candidate, you can choose among the rest of the applicants." He sounded quite frigid.


    Mr. Pablo abruptly smiled widely with his decision. As he seemed to empathize with Eva''s condition. "Thank you, sir." He gently nodded his head and walked straight out of the room.


    With a small grin on his face, he gazed at her picture for a moment. After a moment of anticipation, he scrapped out the picture from the document and put it inside the personal drawer of his table. "I don''t know why I am retaining her picture, but, I don''t want to throw it out... It''s better to keep that with me secretively." He murmured while closing the drawer.


    ........


    Eva was strolling outside the office at a slow pace. She didn''t have any higher hopes of getting the job after countless rejections she faced in her previous interviews. With a heavy-hearted sigh, she continued walking.


    As she inattentively headed towards outside, suddenly she bumped into a strong muscular guy. It was only her fault as she was obviously lacking her concentration.


    "Ahhh, I am really sorry, sir. I hadn''t been paying attention." She bowed earnestly before the guy by lowering her head as an apology.


    "So we meet again, little duckling?"


    A familiar, impish voice startled her and she raised her chin up. Czar was standing in front of her with a wicked grin.


    "Why are you here, little duckling?" He mumbled with a sly resonance.

 Chapter 13 - Little Duckling Working In Our Office?

    Eva had a disgruntled expression on her grimace while glaring at Czar. He was dressed up as a dapper in a light blue suit, with his velvety brown hair shimmering in broad daylight. His fair complexion along with the delicate hair uplifted his handsomeness to a greater extent.


    "Ahh gosh, not you again," Eva rolled her eyes in wonder while exclaiming her displeasure.??


    Czar smirked with her response and ogled for a few seconds. He could easily sense the unique captivating fragrance emitting from her. The smell was attracting him mystically furthermore towards her. He gulped anxiously and tried to act composed before her.


    "What are you doing here, little duckling? I guess it''s the fate that leads us to meet each other." He continued his chattering.


    "You know, I won''t mind kicking your ass off. And yeah, I may appear delicate, but my arms are quite strong for taking down such a creep like you. So, stop calling me with that corny name." She snapped at him with a vicious look in her eyes.


    "Haha!" Czar burst out in laughter with her threatening. "Oh damn, you are so attractive. It makes me want to tease you a bit more. But, I am not a creep, you know I am really popular with ladies." He winked at her while conveying his words.


    Eva smirked at his response with a disgusted expression. "Then probably those ladies are dumbest creatures of the earth. But what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" She snarled.


    Czar seemed to be amused with the bickering and flipped his hair upwards gently, which was barring his forehead. "Well, I should be the one to inquire about it. Were you chasing me little duckling?" He leaned a bit towards her and sniffed apparently to engulf her sweet fragrance from a closer extent. "Did I make you so crazy last night with my charm that you came to surrender yourself to me?" He mumbled in an erotic tone.


    Abruptly Eva stomped on his right foot with her sharp shoe heel to yank him away from her.


    "Eeuukk!" Czar jolted up with the sudden stampede and quivered in pain. "Hey, are you crazy?" He shrieked in anger.


    She smirked with his response and raised her right eyebrow. "Perverts like you must be treated like this. Goodbye." With a bold proclamation, she turned back and walked straight towards the exit.


    Czar appeared a bit irked with her response and glared at her from behind. "She is just like a wild kitten, too arrogant and rude. But damn her smell, it makes me lose my mind..." He mumbled with a dark gaze in his eyes.


    ........


    (Door knocking)


    Zeus was working on his laptop but his concentration was interrupted by the sudden door knock. With a cold voice, he responded, "come in."


    Czar immediately entered the room with a sly grin embedded on his grimace. "Yo, brother!" He raised his right arm with a cheeky response.


    Zeus felt extremely annoyed and he promptly stood up from his seat. "Where have you been since this morning? Why did you miss such an important meeting? What the heck you were plotting again with your stupid brain?" He growled furiously.


    He sneered with a wicked smile and silently sat on the couch in his cabinet. "Well, I wanted to attend it but a chick suddenly wanted to see me, so I went to catch up with her. But don''t fret, I didn''t kill or molested her, we just went on a sweet date." He gulped down some water and continued his blabbering.


    Zeus instantly came before him using his supernatural speed and glared at him. "I don''t have time to deal with your lecherous activities, but if you won''t be serious about the company, I will simply throw you out." With immense agitation, he groaned at him.


    Czar placed the glass over the table placed before him and looked at Zeus with an obscure grin. "Well, I admit my mistake, but you can''t simply throw me out, my angry big bro. Calm down, should I order some chilled beer for you?" He sounded completely relaxed.


    Zeus was fuming in wrath with his causality and clenched his fist. "You really make me want to punch you so hard." He murmured in a dubious voice.


    Immediately Czar sprang up from his seat and beamed with a wide smile. "Wow, just now, even she said to me the same thing. I wonder, am I too engaging that I force others to hit me?" He inquired with a chuckled.


    Zeus frowned his eyebrows in curiosity. "Who? Whom did you meet?"


    He chuckled with his query and gently tapped his shoulder before speaking. "That mysterious lady whom you saved that night like a superhero. She was here at our office, but damn her smell will really make the other werewolves here crazy for her."


    Zeus was startled by the unexpected confrontation and gazed at him for a while. "Even he could easily sense her alluring scent. I never sensed something like that in any human female. Who the hell is she?" He anticipated with a dark gaze in his eyes.


    Czar immediately peeked at his gesture and grew more curious. "So, you knew that she came here. But why?" He interrogated while leaning towards him a bit.


    Zeus regained his senses and glared at him with a frigid display. "She will be one of our interns from now on. So, don''t even dare to harass any of our new interns. It''s a warning for you, Czar." He answered.


    Immediately a malicious sneer overtook Czar''s face and he gawked at him with surprise. "Little duckling will be working in our office now? That''s amazing! I can''t wait for tomorrow now." He uttered.

 Chapter 14 - My Strange Savior

    "Little duckling?" Zeus promptly asked.


    Czar grinned with a spooky expression and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, it''s the nickname I have given to her. Isn''t it so cute?" He inquired.??


    Zeus had a disgusted look on his face and sighed heavily in response. "Czar, I have already warned you. Don''t try to mess up with our new interns or else--"


    "I know I know, you don''t need to threaten me with your orders." Czar interrupted his words with a blunt reply. "But, that lady is really something else. I think something is very mysterious about her, especially her smell. It can really allure any werewolves to a greater extent." He continued.


    Zeus seemed to be a bit anxious with his answer and averted his gaze. Several thoughts were running wild in his mind. Nonchalantly, he was fidgeting.


    Czar observed his expression pretty soon and found it quite amusing. With a wicked grin, he stared at him. "It will be fun to have little duckling in our cave." He thought.


    Zeus soon retrieved his senses and hastily walked towards his seat. "You can leave now, I need to work." He decreed.


    With an impish grin Czar walked out of his room. As soon as he headed out, Zeus sighed again with a fretful gesture. "Czar is right though. Her unique smell can easily attract beasts like us. But, I just wanted to help her dug out of the miseries... Did I commit a grave mistake by approving her?" He anticipated.


    ............


    Eva''s POV:


    Probably a small bliss had appeared in my life after I was battling with my dark days. I didn''t even expect the small glimpse of happiness would find me any time sooner, but it did!


    My job finally got approved by the prestigious Romano Organisation. I still couldn''t believe my ears when Mr. Pablo called me yesterday to inform me about my selection. For a second, I forgot all the despairs I have been facing for a few days...


    Today is my first day at the office. I am overexcited about the new beginnings of my life. My reporting time was around 10.30 am but I already arrived at the office premises within 10.


    With a confident and bold gesture, I walked inside the gigantic building which will be my second address from now on. I was advised to visit the 16th floor. I stood still in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come down so that I can hop in. A middle-aged guy in his 30''s came and stood beside me while waiting for the lift.


    Suddenly I could perceive, that guy was constantly staring at me. I slightly peeked at him and I was stunned. He was gawking at me as if he thought of me as prey for a hawk-like him. His eyes looked tremendously oblivious and wholly fixated.


    "What the f*ck? He is a cheap pervert!" I was anticipating nonchalantly.


    In the meantime, the elevator came down and it was completely vacant. Hurriedly I tried to enter inside it to escape from him. But something unusual happened!


    I quickly ran inside the elevator and pressed the button for closing the door. But, he too followed me abruptly in a second. For an instance, it felt as if his body was wholly transparent and could pass through the walls of the elevator!


    I shuddered in anguish. What''s this? How can a human pass through the metallic walls? I rubbed my eyes to check if all this is been a dream or not, but unfortunately, it was all true!


    He had an absolute malicious look in his eyes. Slowly, he licked his lips with an immoral grin while ogling at me. "You... smell so delicious." He muttered.


    My heart throbbed in fear with hearing such an unethical declaration. I immediately peeked at the buttons and we were only on the 10th floor. And there was no one inside the life except us.


    "I need to head out now. He looks completely lunatic!" I was wondering with a panicked face. But that pervert was standing still by guarding the elevator door. I gulped anxiously and tried to come up with any plan.


    Slowly he started walking towards me. I don''t know why, but the gaze is in his eyes seemed to be beastly! It was not of a normal human. And also, his gestures didn''t seem to be normal either. He was continually licking his lips as if he was too eager to devour me!


    "Don-Don''t come near me, you bastard! I am gonna kill you!" I screamed at him in wrath and immediately opened my bag to take out the pepper spray, which I usually keep with myself for self-defense.


    But something more terrible was yet to happen. I forgot to put the spray inside as I was too excited to come here. I shivered in fear and my legs started trembling as I moved to the extreme end of the lift.


    "Your smell is making me so crazy...," that pervert mumbled again as he reached much closer to me.


    "Don''t! I said don''t!" His bizarre expression made me scared to even look at him. I shrieked helplessly and closed my eyes tightly. It was too horrific.


    ..


    Suddenly to my surprise, the lift stopped! As it stopped immediately the elevator door opened. I peeped my eyes and glanced at the door fearfully. A tall, muscular, handsome yet cold guy was standing at the entrance with a fiery expression in his eyes. He was ogling at the pervert in extreme wrath as if he was ready to kill him at any moment.


    But the most stunning fact was that I found that guy oddly familiar to me, especially his eyes! I felt as if I have seen him somewhere before!


    Abruptly I reminded of the day when I was saved by a mystic person. I could only see his dark cold eyes for a second, then he immediately ran away. Shockingly, the fiery eyes of this guy were strangely familiar with him. And the most peculiar fact is that he too found me at the moment when I was in danger!


    "Get out!" That person shrieked in an intense wrathful voice while glaring at the pervert. He seemed to be burning in rage.


    The pervert resembled a bit shocked to notice him all of a sudden and started fidgeting anxiously. "Si-Sir?" He murmured.


    The man gallantly walked inside the elevator and groaned at him. "I told you to get out!" He yelled.


    Somehow his voice sounded insanely dominant. As if it was almost impossible for any person to disobey his command. Somehow, he looked strangely peculiar with a violent gaze in his eyes.


    After noticing his furiousness, the pervert immediately dashed away from the elevator. I was still benumbed and shocked by all the events that happened around me in these last few minutes.


    The cold person slowly walked a bit closer to me and stared at me intensively for a while. "Are you okay?" He asked.


    I was shivering in fear but strangely felt a little relieved with his arrival. I ogled at him with a frightened gesture. "Wh-Who are y-you?" I murmured.

 Chapter 15 - Are We Turning Into Perverts?

    Eva''s POV:


    That mysterious man ogled at me for a moment and slowly walked closer to me. I was still being hysteric with a chaotic situation. My feet were all frozen as I was standing against the metallic wall of the elevator, at the extreme edge. The elevator door was still open but he continued walking towards me. Surprisingly, I was completely lost in my eyes and didn''t move a bit.??


    He reached utmost closeness and sternly slapped the metallic wall of the elevator with his right arm. I was standing all frigid against the wall being surrounded by him. His other arm was put inside his suit pocket and he was staring at me intensively.


    Slowly he leaned towards my face a bit as he appeared quite taller than me. He brought his face much closer that I could easily feel his breath. His eyes were quite dark and intense.


    Suddenly my heart started pounding loudly with the unexpected closeness. There wasn''t much distance between us, as if we tilt our heads a bit according to our positions, we could easily kiss each other. But suddenly, something strange happened.


    I started perceiving some kind of sweet smell emitting from him. I was absolutely sure that it wasn''t the smell of any deodorant, but rather than the fragrance was quite captivating as well as masculine. My heart was pounding crazily, and several lustrous thoughts started running wild on my mind with the perception of that smell. His eyes looked too passionate while glued on me. He was breathing quite heavily and leaned a bit more towards me. I could perceive he clenched his fist while cornering me against the wall as if he was trying his best to hold back his urges.


    "Are you a human?"


    Suddenly an absurd question from him startled me. I had completely lost my senses being emulsified within his sweet fragrance, but the question flinched me.


    "Huh?" I reacted.


    "I asked that if you are a human?" He continued his weird query.


    "Do I seem like an alien to you?" I replied grumpily as unknowingly I acted a bit offended. The passionate atmosphere was totally spoiled with his blunt question.


    "A human can''t possess such a captivating smell." He interrogated me again while ogling at me intensively.


    "Smell? What do you mean by it?" I asked.


    He sighed heavily as if he wanted to convey something but couldn''t. But somehow, his eyes couldn''t lie...


    "But you either don''t seem human to me. Who are you?" I frowned my eyebrows and reciprocated his inquiry. His strange aura was making me immensely suspicious about him.


    For a while, he didn''t even try to shove his face away, neither did I. Both of us were lost in each other eyes with immense queries submerged in it. After some time, he lifted his head away from me and stepped back a little from me. His ears were flustered red and he tried to avoid eye contact with me. My heart continued beating fast as I could still perceive the strange fragrance from him. I never felt such kind of scent from any man, so it was an unexpected phenomenon for me.


    "You... should be careful around here. I can''t stick along to protect you from everyone." He scrunched his eyebrows and sounded quite coarse. Somehow it appeared as if he wanted to implement some different meaning hidden within his warning, but he couldn''t put up in words.


    I ogled at him being wholly spellbound for an instance. Slowly I started moving closer towards him. "Why don''t you answer, who are you? How did you know that I was in danger?" I asked him being a little impatient. Several questions were running on my mind and his gestures made me more curious.


    He immediately lowered his eyes and turned back and starting heading back from the elevator. He seemed to leave with many dark secrets within his obscure silence.


    "Was it you?" I called him aloud again in a raised voice.


    His motion halted and he partially turned his face towards me. "What do you mean?" He sounded agitated.


    I buckled up my confidence and stared at him intensively. "Was it you who saved my life that night? Are you the one I am searching for?" I reciprocated.


    He seemed totally surprised by my sudden confrontation and abruptly turned his face away from me. "I don''t know what you are talking about. Maybe you should calm down your brain." He sounded too cryptic and rashly walked outside the elevator.


    I looked at all the way he left my sight. As soon as he left, my feet lost their balance and I dropped down on the ground. "Damn, I can''t believe, I was so indecently attracted to his smell just a few moments ago! I was actually allured by a stranger!" I murmured while covering my embarrassed face with both of my hands. I was flustered red and breathing quite heavily.


    Slowly I lifted up my face and stared at the way he just went by. "Why did he ask me such a weird question? Did he sense any special smell from me, just as I did? What''s happening to us? Are we turning into perverts?" I wondered with a curious gaze in my eyes.

 Chapter 16 - You Killed A Werewolf?

    Zeus rushed into his room and slammed the door loudly. He was flustered red and panting very hard. He leaned on his chair with his body being sluggish after such a passionate confrontation with Eva.


    "Damn, why did I react so immodestly? It''s... It''s all due to her smell... She allured me to such an extent that I almost had kissed her red lips, ahh darn it! Stop thinking about her!" He was cursing himself by covering his face with both his arms to hide the embarrassment.??


    But somehow he could feel a strange sensation in his body. His frozen heart, which never beaten for any human or werewolf maiden in all these lonely years, was pounding like crazy. He clenched his chest in order to calm himself down but it was too tough to control the emotions.


    "Her scent is too erogenous for a true blood alpha like me... It will cause a considerable fuss here if she emits it everywhere... I think I committed a huge mistake by letting her work here. I can''t put my pack in danger." He mumbled with a hoarse voice.


    Suddenly, he sprang up from his seat and took out his phone. Anxiously he dialed someone.


    (Phone ringing)


    "Ye-Yes, sir?" A terrified voice responded to him prior.


    Zeus scrunched his eyebrows before speaking, "Meet me at the terrace. We need to talk." He grumbled and quickly disconnected the call.


    ....


    The sky seemed bright and beautiful. Zeus was standing at the terrace of the 45 storeyed building with a malicious gaze in his eyes. His face appeared too infuriated as if an animal was waiting for its prey to lure in the trap.


    Slowly the door opened and a worried, middle-aged man walked up to him. It was the same man who tried to attack Eva inside the elevator. Immediately he turned his face to him and groaned in anger.


    "Do you have the slightest idea that what you tried to do today?" Zeus snapped at him in angst.


    He was trembling in fear while facing his wrath and averted his gaze downwards. "I-I am sorry, master. I don''t even know why did I react so immodestly, but... she was emitting a strange scent! It made me lose my mind and I dared to attack her..." He murmured.


    Zeus furiously rushed to him and grabbed his collar. "If I hadn''t intervened at that time, you could have killed her until now... How dare you to commit such an immoral crime to an innocent human! Do you want to put all of us in danger?" He roared.


    The man burst out in tears as he was extremely terrified. "Please forgive me, master... I won''t dare to commit such a heinous sin ever again. Please give me a last chance." He begged while trying to unleash himself from his grip.


    Zeus smirked with his response. Instantly, his eye color changed into bright red, and razor-sharp huge, fiery claws started to emerge from the nails in his right arm. "You are asking for mercy from a true alpha. How naive of you!" He sneered with a wicked grin.


    The man chickened out and desperately struggled to escape from his grasp. "Don''t kill me, master, you can''t kill your own pack member for a single crime. There are many more werewolves who have committed much more sins than me... Don''t be so harsh on me, please." He was mumbling nonchalantly.


    But Zeus didn''t seem to accept his pleading for a little bit. He seemed farthest infuriated and tightened his grip and muttered, "a beta like you can''t win against me... You will reap what you have sown."


    SLASSSHHHH!


    Immediately in a fraction of a second, he pierced his fiery long claws into his chest and ripped him apart brutally.


    "EEUUKKKK!" The main quivered in pain before falling on the ground of the terrace. His blood splattered everywhere in the floor and he died instantly.


    Zeus was standing still while ogling at him ferociously. The thick hot blood was dripping down from his arms covering the long nails. His suit was stained completely with blood droplets which were quite visible.


    ....


    "Woah, what a sight!"


    Zeus flinched with the sudden call and turned his face fiercely. His eyes were still bright reddened.


    Czar was standing at the door of the terrace with a devilish grin on his face. He seemed pretty amused by the show. Abruptly, he took a huge leap with his robust and powerful legs, landing straight in front of Zeus.


    "You killed your own pack member! I am quite surprised by your behavior, big brother. You are quite ferocious nowadays. Is it that hard to control your beastly instincts?" Czar conveyed with a deep voice.


    Zeus gawked angrily at him for a moment and turned his face away. His eye color returned to normal and his claws disappeared from his arm. He regained his human form and took out a hanky from his suit pocket. Slowly, he wiped the blood smearing his arms with a deep sigh.


    "He tried to attack an intern. Assaulting helpless humans are absolutely forbidden in my dominance." He sounded quite angry.


    "But it''s the first time, you killed a werewolf for a human! That''s too unlikely... Or is it because... he tried to attack your favorite maiden?" He winked with a sly smirk while interrogating him.


    Zeus was puzzled with his response and growled, "I am already agitated enough. Don''t try to provoke me more." He howled in a screeching tone and gallantly headed towards the door. After walking a few steps, he halted and turned back. "And, the forbiddance is implemented on everyone, even on you Czar. I won''t kill you, but I have my own ways to penalize your sin." He snapped at him.


    As soon as Zeus walked out of the premises, a wicked grin appeared on his face while he was looking all the way he left. "A human is shaking up your frozen emotions... It will be such a treat to watch you committing sins for her... Hopefully, I will get enough chances now to defeat your position." He mumbled.

 Chapter 17 - He Is The CEO?

    Zeus promptly stepped out of the elevator after assassinating the werewolf at the terrace. Somehow, he was baffled by Czar''s sudden interrogation. He was fidgeting anxiously with a fretful gesture.


    "Did I really killed him because he tried to attack Eva? Is she shaking up my emotions? What the hell is wrong with me?" He was murmuring.??


    As the door opened, Zeus quickly took off his suit coat. He rolled up his sleeves to hide some blemishes of blood splattered on him during the execution. Zeus seemed too intense.


    "Sir?"


    Suddenly someone called him from behind and he turned back. It was Mr. Pablo, who was walking towards him in a hush.


    "What?" Zeus inquired.


    "Well sir, our new interns have already arrived and as the CEO of our company, you need to greet them. They are waiting inside your cabinet." He muttered. While speaking he cryptically glanced at Zeus''s right arm as he was holding his suit coat. "Sir, why did you take your coat off?" He sounded curious.


    Zeus was extremely agitated and his absurd question triggered him furthermore. "Do I need to inform you about my personal choice?" He grumbled.


    "I am sorry sir," he bowed before him in anguish as he was quite scared of his wrath.


    Slowly Zeus marched forward towards his room with gallant smell. As he reached there, the familiar captivating smell approached him again. Quickly, he frowned his face and entered inside.


    ...


    Eva was waiting inside the room along with two other new interns. As they heard the door opening sound, promptly they rose up from their seats.


    "Hel--"


    Eva was shocked to see Zeus standing in front of them with a sturdy expression. She ran out of her words and gasped at him with her eyes wide open. Zeus ogled at her for a moment and immediately turned his face away.


    Mr. Pablo entered the room after Zeus and smiled at them kindly. "Well, this is your superior and also the CEO of our Romano group, Mr. Zeus Romano. I think it must be the first time you all actually met him." He tried to introduce him to them.


    Eva was still benumbed while gawking at him. "The man... who saved me... is the CEO? I was allured by the CEO?" She anticipated with a perplexed gesture.


    The remaining two interns apart from her bowed before Zeus politely to greet him for the first time. Eva pretty soon regained her senses and bowed her head slightly.


    "Uwu... he is such a dashing boss! I am already getting a crush!" One of the ladies whispered to the other one as they were ogling at lewdly at his strong biceps. Eva somehow eavesdropped at them and sighed frantically.


    Zeus walked a bit closer to them and glanced at her once again before turning his gaze away. "Welcome to our company, I hope you all will have a good time here." He commanded.


    "Huh? Good time, my ass! I was attacked by a pervert on my first day here." Eva frowned her face and wondered silently. Suddenly, she witnessed an unusual sight!


    There were thick blood smears on Zeus''s greyish black shoes. She shuddered in fear to see the sight and immediately looked at him in fear. The blood smear appeared quite fresh, not an old stain.


    "Mmm..." She tried to speak but her voice choked in panic. Zeus turned his face towards her and ogled intensively.


    "Do you want to say anything to me?" He sounded a bit gentle.


    Eva was still fearful but firmly nodded her head. "Si-Sir, you have blood on your shoes." She mumbled.


    Abruptly Zeus lowered his eyes and glanced at the shoes. The two other interns promptly noticed the blood and peeked at each other in fear. Mr. Pablo rolled his eyes up in surprise and rushed closer to him, "oh my God! Sir? Why do you have blood smears on your shoes? Are you hurt somewhere? Are you okay?" He was anxious.


    Zeus scrunched his eyebrows and looked at her with his dark eyes. The captivating smell emitted from her was gradually getting stronger with time and the sedative aroma was making him quite drowsy. "It''s not blood. It''s red vinegar sauce. I dropped it on my shoes in the morning." He tried to come with an excuse to save himself from getting caught.


    ...


    "Is this some kind of greeting ceremony?"


    All of them flinched with the sudden voice and turned their gaze towards the door. Czar was standing there with an impish grin on his face.


    Eva was stunned by the sight and widened her eyes in angst. "What the hell this creep doing here now?" She thought with an annoyed expression.


    Slowly Czar walked towards everyone, emitting a fake charming smile in order to allure the new ladies by his handsomeness. But he was more amused to see Eva''s reaction, as she was almost ready to kill him at any instant.


    He straightly walked towards her with a wicked gaze. "Do you recognize me?" He murmured.


    Eva had a disgruntled look on her face and instantly stared at Zeus. "Is this office filled with perverts?" She wondered.

 Chapter 18 - "Dont Pester Eva!"

    Eva was glaring at Zeus with her fiery eyes. She seemed extremely agitated with all the chaos happening around her since the morning.


    "Hello, new intern, don''t you recognize me? Ahh, and why the atmosphere is so dense here? What''s wrong?" Czar turned his face at Mr. Pablo while inquiring him.??


    "Well, sir has splattered some red vinegar sauce on his shoes and all of us thought it as blood smear. We were a bit anxious." He answered.


    Czar promptly glanced at his shoes and raised up his chin towards Zeus with a cunning smirk. Zeus tried his best to avoid his impish gaze and tried to act sterner.


    "Are you sure, it''s red vinegar sauce, big brother?" He mumbled with a spooky grin.


    All the people present in the room flinched with Czar''s sudden inquiry and stared at Zeus. The atmosphere was getting more intense than ever.


    Eva was deadpanned in surprise. "Big brother? They are brothers?" She rolled her eyes wider while wondering.


    Zeus understood his evil intentions and tried to dodge his question bluntly."Where the hell you have been till now? Why are you late?"


    He quickly understood Zeus''s smart move and sneered a bit. "I was cleaning up the mess that you had left behind. Sorry, it took a while." He conveyed. Silently, he peeked a glance at Eva who was still gawking at them. "But I am quite pleased to meet our beautiful new interns." He complimented them with a wink.


    "Oh my gosh, he is so sweet." The other two interns squeaked among themselves being attracted by him.


    Eva seemed disgusted with their actions and lowered her face. "The environment is already pissing me off." She thought.


    "But I am quite glad to meet you again, Miss Eva Ricci." Swiftly, Czar blurted out.


    Immediatekly Zeus turned his face towards him with a dark expression. Eva raised up her eyes and tried to respond him with a bitter smile.


    "Woah, Miss Eva you already know him? That''s great. He is the executive director of our company and also our CEO''s younger brother." Mr. Pablo tried to introduce Czar formally in front of everyone.


    "What a pain in the ass! First that pervert and now this creep. This office is absolutely weird." She cussed them in her mind with a sigh.


    "Alright, everyone should head back to their works now. Czar, you come with me." Zeus declared in a firm voice and headed straight outside. Mr. Pablo and Czar followed him obediently. While leaving the room, Czar turned his face towards Eva and sneered again with a dense expression.


    ...


    "Did you try to expose me before everyone?"


    Zeus took Czar to their hallway balcony and interrogated him fiercely. His tone sounded quite agitated.


    "Of course not, brother. I was just trying to tease you a little bit." Czar firmly answered.


    Zeus ogled at him for a while and turned his face towards the outside. With a blank gaze in his eyes, he was staring at the clear blue sky. "Czar, if you want to harm me you are always welcome to do so. But if you dare to threaten my whole pack''s existence, you know you can die, right?" He groaned.


    Czar chuckled with his response and glared at him before speaking, "you just killed your own pack member a few moments ago. Don''t f*cking try to pretend as if you care for us! You know it well if dad knows about what you did today, you can be severely punished."


    "I don''t care about anything anymore. But I can''t allow my own members to attack innocent humans and invite risks in our peaceful existence. It took us a long time to blend among the humans, we can''t lose it all." He sounded quite agitated.


    Czar looked at him for a moment and turned his face away. "Do what the f*ck you want to do. I don''t give a damn. Just don''t be meddlesome in my personal matters." He started heading back towards his cabinet with gallant steps.


    "And you better not try anything funny with Eva." A sudden cold threat came from Zeus as he turned his gaze towards him while he was departing. "Don''t pester her or any of our interns furthermore." He warned him.


    "Pffft!" Czar smirked impishly. "It''s funny, how an ignorant human is taming a cold true alpha''s heart!" He taunted him.


    "Shut the f*ck up." Zeus immediately reciprocated his taunt with a fiery response.


    ...


    As Czar left the premises, Zeus stood silently alone while gawking at the sky. His mind was still puzzled by the way he acted today.


    "Did I commit a sin by killing my own member? I don''t know why I was so furious with him without giving a second thought... I murdered him... And everything happened due to that strange troublesome woman... Why the hell I always get involved with her?" His mind was indulged with countless questions.


    ..


    "Si-Sir?"


    Suddenly Zeus flinched with a familiar voice and turned back. Eva was standing behind him with a fretful gaze.


    She slowly stepped near him and gazed cryptically. "Can we talk?" She inquired.

 Chapter 19 - Our Worlds Are Far Apart...

    Zeus''s POV:


    I was stunned to see her all of a sudden, standing behind me. She had a fretful face while asking me for a bit of time.??


    I tried to pretend more frigid in front of her and shifted my gaze towards the outside. "What do you want to talk about?" I inquired.


    She glanced at me for a second and lowered her eyes. "Abo-About today, whatever happened in the elevator--"


    "Nothing happened in the elevator." I interrupted her words bluntly because I deliberately wanted to escape her inquiries. Besides, it''s everything for her betterment.


    "Nothing happened?" She rolled her eyes and repeated my words in surprise. "Ho-How can you say it so casually after all the things I have been going through since the morning?" She sounded agitated.


    I stared at him intensively for a while and turned my face away. "That''s why I am telling you this, forget everything and do your best not to face anything awful anymore," I murmured in a heavy voice.


    She ogled at me for a while and smirked with a sad face. "Then, why did you save me from the creep, sir? Why did you corner me against the wall while coming closer to me? Why did you bother to worry about a mere small intern at your office?" Her voice sounded quite agitated.


    "Sorry for my... indecent gesture. But, I didn''t intend to do any immoral thing towards you. Still, I would be careful enough not to make you feel like that ever again." With a cold response, I turned back to head towards my room.


    "Please wait--"


    Suddenly, she grabbed my right arm from behind in order to stop me. I was startled by her gesture and turned my gaze towards her. Her eyes looked baffled enough while staring at me.


    "Please don''t escape from me again..." She murmured.


    I was startled enough to witness her unexpected gesture but somehow, I couldn''t bring myself to shove her hand away from me. Standing all still, we were firmly looking in each other''s eyes. It felt as if the time around us have already frozen...


    "Were you the one who saved my life that day? If it''s not the reason, then why do you look so familiar to me?" She interrogated me again.


    With a helpless gaze towards her, I grinned a bit. I tried to pretend stern in front of her to portray a false image of mine inside her mind. "Why do you expect me to be your savior? To be honest, I am a jerk who hurt others with harsh words... So, if you don''t want to be hurt, don''t get close to me. Stay away." With a sturdy expression, I rashly conveyed my words to her.


    She seemed shocked by my extremely rude response. Slowly, she loosened her grip and released my hand from her grip. Her eyes were a bit teary while looking at me with a poignant eloquence. "Sorry... I mistook you for someone else..." She murmured.


    As she let go of her grip, somehow my heart ached deeply. I put on a fake proud smirk and turned my face away to stroll in the opposite direction from her. Even though I intentionally hurt her with my tyranny, but unknowingly it was saddening for me to depart away from her...


    Although we can''t help it. Our worlds and destinies are set in a direction wholly opposite to each other. A weak innocent human-like her shouldn''t be indulged with a ferocious beast like me.


    But what bothered me the most was her captivating scent. Even though I had allowed working in my office, I couldn''t invite horrifying dangers to her. Her scent is enough eminent to summon ferocious other werewolves...


    My heart was still worrying about her safety and I didn''t know why! The more I want to drift away, the more I feel drawn towards her.


    While entering my room, I turned my head and tried to peek at the way she was sanding. She wasn''t there anymore, which means I was successful in maltreating her emotions...


    I should have been happy in accomplishing my goal but it felt sad as she left away. I slowly walked to my chair and grabbed the seat. I knew it''s better for her if she stays away from me, but I was assured enough that if I completely cut off my ties with her, she would be attacked by other werewolves pretty soon.


    I didn''t want any innocent self to undergo a painful death... just like my grandma...


    All I can do for now is protecting her secretly without letting her know about myself. Honestly, I don''t want to break the false image that created in her mind about me. With a deep sigh, I lit up a cigarette.


    ...


    (Door knocking)


    I flinched with the sudden noise and glared at the door. I wasn''t in the mood of dealing with further nuisances but reluctantly answered, "come in."


    To my surprise, a tall elegant and a quite familiar woman walked inside my cabinet with broad steps and a ubiquitous smile on her face.


    I was too surprised to encounter her unexpectedly. "Ivory?" I mumbled.

 Chapter 20 - Do You Want Me To Kill Her?

    "It''s been a long time, Zeus."


    Ivory entered his cabinet with her gallant steps and a bright smirk. She was dressed up in a darkish purple silk gown, with her shimmering black long hairs tucked up properly as a ponytail. With two small diamond earrings, she appeared as divine beauty.??


    Zeus stood up from his seat and approached her with a small grin. "Indeed, it''s been already 15 years now in human record. But, for our werewolf existence, this time-span was really small." He murmured.


    Ivory slowly walked closer to him and stared intensively for a while. "But still, I really missed you, Zeus. And you have become more handsome now. Human maidens will be sure head over heels for you." With a sly sneer, she murmured.


    Zeus raised his left eyebrow and smirked. "Don''t flatter me. You yourself have molded into a beautiful maiden too... Despite that, I am well aware of your marvelous strength as an alpha she-werewolf of our pack."


    She tilted her face a little left towards the outside and scraped her neck with shyness. "Ahh, don''t compliment me for my strength, Zeus. We are almost the same age but you are the super strongest leader of our whole pack. But as we both are alphas, so we have always get along with each other." She continued.


    Zeus gently took a few steps back and strolled near the fenestration. He slowly put his hands inside the suit pockets and gasped heavily. "You have been the only friend I had since childhood in my pack, who tried to understand me, even if it''s a little. Thanks for being a loyal friend to me." His voice sounded glum.


    Ivory stepped beside him and continued glancing at him silently. "Zeus, I am not that modest you know... I chose to stay by your side because I have always liked you, from every aspect. Even though I had to move to the UK to save my identity, but I chose to come back to meet you again. I know I may sound a bit prejudiced, but it''s all true." She responded.


    "Well, I have been also aware of your feelings towards me but--


    "But you never felt anything towards me. I have heard it countless times already, you don''t need to repeat it again." She pouted her face while intervening in his statement bluntly.


    Zeus suddenly sneered with her expression and glanced at her nonchalantly. "But, you indeed had committed a horrible mistake that could have revealed the entire existence that we have been trying so hard to hide in all these years... Somehow, I managed to gain control of the situation, and your departure too helped in the process... I honestly never thought that you will be actually back." He proclaimed.


    Ivory instantly made a sorry face and folded her arms. "I am sorry again... I have gained enough control over my anger outburst in these years of isolation... I am not gonna mess up anything ever again. You can count on me till I am alive." She chuckled.


    Zeus loosened his stiff gesture and nodded his head a little. Suddenly, Ivory rolled her eyes in surprise with a sudden sight!


    "Is that blood on your shoes? Did you had a fight?" She inquired.


    Zeus breathed out in a huff and raised his chin up to stare at the sky before answering, "no, I killed...someone from my pack..."


    Ivory froze in shock and flinched with his reply. "What!?" She shrieked.


    He turned his face towards her and darkened his eyes further. "He tried to attack an innocent human and I can''t abide other horrific dangers invading our existence." He sounded intense.


    "But what about uncle Antonio? How you are gonna answer him? Killing werewolves for the sake of human is absolutely taboo for us... You know it well, Zeus. Still, why did you do it?" She impatiently grabbed his arms while inquiring.


    Zeus tried to ignore the queries but her eagerness refrained him from doing so. "I just...don''t know..." He murmured.


    She immediately cupped his face in her arms and stared at him intensively. "Don''t lie, please. Tell me, what''s wrong? I have told you several times don''t endure your sufferings all alone." She was inquiring desperately.


    Zeus slowly unleashed his face away from her grip and shifted his eyes towards the window. With a dense voice, he answered, "I just couldn''t stand it when he tried to attack her..."


    "Her? Is that human a lady?" She blurted out in wonder as soon as he finished his statement. "You did all this for a woman?" Her voice sounded blunt.


    He clenched his fist tightly as if he was trying hard to hold back his emotions. "No, I did all this to save our existence from evil divulgence. If something had happened to that woman, I don''t know what further dangers had been awaited for us..." He replied.


    "Zeus, no matter how much you wanna fool others with your words but I won''t fall for this trick. It''s the first time you committed such an act for a human lady!" She moved a bit closer to him while speaking in a brusque tone. "Who is she? Why are you involved with a human?" She interrogated.


    He silently frowned his face and shook his head in opposition. "She is really strange... There are so many things shrouded in dark clouds of mystery around her, which piques up my interest..." He tried to defend himself in front of her.


    Ivory stared at him with darkened eyes as he was speaking. "It''s the first time, I am watching you are actually taking interest in a woman. But out of all, on a human?" She sounded offended.


    He firmly raised his chin up and ogled at her with mystic eyes. "I didn''t think that I would be actually tangled along with her. But, this time, I will be trying hard to cut off all the ties... But I can''t do that now as, before that, I need your help, Ivory. You gotta help me with something about that strange lady." He seemed quite fretted while asking her.


    "Do you want me to kill that woman? I can help you with that!" She rolled her eyes wider while responding with a sly smirk.

 Chapter 21 - She Is Cursed?

    Zeus and Ivory were walking beside each other through the giant hallway. Both of them had a stern expression written over their faces. Ivory while strolling silently, peeked at Zeus once and sighed a bit.


    "Zeus, I have agreed to help you with this but don''t think I am helping that human lady. I still despise humans too much." She murmured.??


    He nodded his head a little and glanced at her. "I know it quite well, and I am thankful that you agreed to help me with this." He retaliated.


    Ivory pouted her face with his answer. "You know I wouldn''t have been so nosy if she was a beast just like us. But I absolutely can''t let you interfere with an ignorant and strange human by jeopardizing your everything. Zeus, you have already suffered enough to gain this dominancy you have today. As you have promised me, once we are done with the plan, refrain away from her. Or else, I will do everything to forbear her from you." She sounded a little hoarse.


    Zeus didn''t utter anything and chose to be silent while walking along with her.


    ...


    "Ahhh, you two are together here? What a surprise!"


    Both of them flinched with the sudden cheeky voice and saw Czar was standing in front of them. He had an impish smirk on his face and slowly came walking towards them.


    Ivory greeted him with a mellow grin before speaking, "it''s been a long time Czar. How have you been?"


    "Of course, sexy and perfect as always." Czar winked at her with a cheeky smirk. "But when did you come back from the UK? Wow, I never thought you will come back to Rome ever again. And honestly, you look like an artistic beauty now." He was nonchalantly blabbering.


    Ivory smiled with his response and gently patted his shoulder. "I guess you are still the same as before. I was quite eager to return back here all this time and finally, I am able to do that." She responded.


    Czar quickly took a glance at Zeus and he was already glaring at him with an agitated look. He seemed amused by his stiffness and instantly wanted to tease him a little.


    "It''s so magnificent to watch two artistic alphas walking beside each other. You guys are indeed a match made in heaven, undoubtedly." He tried to tease them with a cryptic grin. "But since nowadays, my big alpha brother''s frozen heart seems to be a little warm for a human damsel! It seems really mysterious." He continued.


    Zeus rolled his eyes in annoyance and stared at him for a while. "Don''t you have other business apart from observing me?" He howled.


    Ivory lowered her gaze and made a long face. She seemed a little offended with Czar''s declaration but desperately tried to hide it. "I know, I have heard about all this," she answered.


    Czar raised his left eyebrow and approached closer to her. "Well, do you still like my brother, Ivory? But I can''t blame you though, my big brother acts as a chick magnet. So almost every day someone gets a crush on him." He murmured.


    She raised up her chin and stared at Czar with a smirk. "You know it well, my love for your brother has been always honest and pure. It doesn''t matter if we end up together or not, but I can absolutely sacrifice anything for his sake. That''s what loyalty implies for animals like us." Her voice sounded wistful with a gloomy smile on her face.


    "If you are done pestering us, you can leave now." Zeus groaned at him and started walking past by him. Ivory tilted her head a little bit and followed after him.


    ..


    "Ivory, don''t let him lose his heart for that human lass. After all, they are just playthings to us, but not meant for love." Czar firmly answered with a deep voice without even turning back to look at them.


    Zeus kept marching forward with an infuriated gaze in his dark eyes. He was trying to control his wrath around her. Ivory halted with his declaration and turned back to peek a glance at him.


    "I will make sure, Zeus never gets hurt due to that peculiar woman." She thought silently while walking away.


    ......


    As both of them were heading towards outside, suddenly his feet stopped with sight and he continued gawking at it. Ivory seemed a bit surprised with his gesture and looked forward.


    A beautiful, angelic damsel was walking towards them at a slow pace. But her eyes were fixated on Zeus and the same for him too. Both were lost in each other''s gaze from afar.


    Ivory was startled to notice his absurd expression and sneered. "Woah, I didn''t know, Zeus can look at a woman with such intense too... Then, it must be that lady..." She anticipated and started glaring at her.


    Eva continued walking towards them while peeking cryptically at Ivory. She seemed a bit agitated to watch him coming along with another woman and lowered her eyes. Zeus was staring at her intensively for a while, but with the sudden regain of senses, he averted his gaze away from her too.


    But, as she came closer to them, Ivory sniffed her nose and frowned her eyebrows. With rolled-up eyes she glanced at her in wonder. Eva gently bowed her head a little to greet them and crossed by them at a slow pace.


    Ivory sniffed her nose quite hard and turned back to observe her more vividly. She was departing away slowly.


    "Wa-Was it her smell? Was she the one you were talking about?" She turned her head and immediately inquired him.


    "Yes." An ice-cold response came back from Zeus who was still standing still with a saddened gaze in his eyes.


    Ivory stomped her feet in agitation and turned behind again. "How can a human emit such a stronger smell? It...It''s even different from that of omegas!" She growled.


    "Even I am stunned with this fact. Her unusual scent matches with my grandma, but she was an alpha... How can a mere human like her possess something so unusual?" He replied with a heavy resonance.


    Ivory sighed deeply and turned her eyes towards him. "I am certainly sure, she isn''t a normal human! I think she might be a cursed soul or a possessed one..." She sounded mystic.


    "Cursed?" Zeus exclaimed.

 Chapter 22 - Do You Really Believe It?

    Zeus frowned his eyebrows and stared at Ivory for a moment. "How can you assume that about her?" He inquired.


    Ivory smirked at his question and rolled her eyes mysteriously. "Didn''t you read our ancient mythology? If these feeble humans are imposed by an overpowering curse, they carry the capabilities to lure beasts towards them. But of course, it''s just a trend of mythical beliefs. And as I encountered her strange scent, the thought struck my mind." She continued.??


    He shifted his gaze immediately towards the way she just left passed by them and sighed a little before speaking, "but if it''s so... then why does her scent seems familiar to that of my grandma?"


    Ivory stroked the threads of her long hair falling over her face with her index finger and scrunched her eyebrows. Her face appeared as if she was lost in some deep thoughts.


    "Then, even thou it''s just a slight possibility...if she has some deeply embedded connection with the werewolves! Perhaps that''s what is responsible for the strange captivating scent lingering on her body." She commented in an intense tone.


    He flinched with her comment in bewilderment and glanced at her. His eyes were beaming in anxiousness as he was gasping wider. For a moment, both of them stayed awfully quiet.


    She startled a bit while observing his panicked face and tried to calm him down a little. Somehow, the concern and the anxiety she witnessed in his eyes for Eva was bothering her. "Let''s not jump into assumptions, Zeus. We don''t need to stick our nose inside her personal affairs." She murmured and tapped his shoulder tenderly.


    With a stern face, he shifted his gaze outside the large fenestration of the hallway with a heavy sigh. His voice sounded rugged as he murmured, "Ivory, you are the only one who can help me now."


    Her eyes were fixated on him as she was staring at him with her affectionate gape. She gently patted his shoulder and walked a bit closer to him. "Zeus, you know right how hard is to find the magical hematite stone... Still, as you have asked me about it, I will go beyond my limits to provide it to you. But you have to keep your promise and you must stay away from her. I am always worried for you, Zeus." Her voice sounded distressed as she pleaded softly.


    Zeus looked at her with a sad smile on his face and slightly nodded his head.


    .................


    Eva''s heart was throbbing hard and her mood was terribly agitated because of Zeus. Firstly due to his sudden hostile behavior which was completely different from their passionate closeness in the elevator. Secondly, watching him walking beside such a graceful and elegant woman was making her heart unknowingly restless.


    "Damn, why do I feel so irritated to find such a brute like him with another woman? I am so pissed off with myself ugghhh! Stop overthinking, Eva! Treat him like a stranger." She was mumbling on her own while walking back to her desk through the hallway.


    ...


    "Hello... Little Duckling!"


    A sudden impish voice startled her from behind and halted her motion. The voice was quite familiar and as she turned back, it was Czar, ogling at her from head to toe with a cryptic stare.


    She tried to hold back her wrath and slightly bowed her head as she already knew he was her superior in this new job. But he was amused to observe her sudden change in behavior and chuckled anomalously.


    "Woah! Did you just bow to me?" He inquired while walking closer to her.


    She lowered her gaze with a disgruntled expression and nodded her head. "Umm, can I go back to my desk? I am having some piled up works now." She desperately tried to avoid his further annoying gestures.


    Czar giggled with a wicked gaze in his eyes and brought his face a bit closer to her. "You are too good at faking your expressions, little duckling. But, I don''t like people who try to portray their fake image. So, you can be real with me. Your reactions excite me so much." He uttered while gently trying to stroke her long shimmering hair to tease her furthermore.


    Immediately Eva shoved his arm fiercely away from her and scowled at him. "Don''t touch me." She roared.


    "Haha! That''s more likely your reaction that amuses me the most, like a wild little duckling." He continued.


    Eva narrowed her eyes while glaring at him as she was too infuriated. "Stop calling me with that lewd name, you annoying jerk!" She ignited a sharp threat.


    Czar continued to giggle with her reactions and rolled his eyes mysteriously. "Don''t try to fake your gestures, I hate those creatures... That''s the sole reason I hate my brother too." He grumbled.


    Suddenly Eva flinched with his unexpected revelation and stared at him inquisitively. She didn''t expect him to be such upfront before her. She scrunched her eyebrows and asked him bluntly, "you...hate your brother?"


    All of a sudden his face was overpowered with darkness and he gazed at her intensely. "Are you curious about me?" He murmured.


    Eva jolted with his response and shook her head in declination. "Of course not! Why would I be? This office is full of annoying jerks!" She blurted out aloud.


    Czar had a quite tall posture compared to her and he slowly leaned towards her with a wicked grin. "Do you think, it was really red vinegar sauce dripped on his shoes? Do you believe that?" He whispered to her.

 Chapter 23 - An Unknown Approach!

    "Wh-What? What do you mean by this?" Eva stuttered in fear while asking.


    Czar seemed amused with her terrified reaction and grinned with a wicked expression prominent in his dark eyes.??


    "Didn''t you consider it as blood smear? Or you were actually dumb enough to assume it as vinegar sauce?" He rolled his eyes mystically before asking.


    Eva gritted her teeth in angst and stared at him inquisitively for a moment. "Hey, are you trying to manipulate me against your brother? You are such an evil brat!" She grumbled.


    "Haha!" He laughed out aloud with her response. Slowly he stroked her head with his right arm and gazed at her in wonder. "You are really one of a kind! I can sense it now somehow, why do he badly want to protect you.." His voice sounded quite mysterious.


    She quickly shoved away from his arm and glared at him. "I told you don''t touch me! I am well aware that you are cunning but are you dumb too?" She snarled at him.


    Czar ogled at her with a smirk and brought his face a bit closer to her ears. "Even though I am definitely not protective of you unlike him, but let me tell you a secret little duckling. The man who chased you at the elevator is already dead." He whispered under a low breath and quickly marched past her with a devilish smirk.


    Eva shuddered in fear hearing the unexpected revelation, with her legs entirely frozen. She immediately turned back and rolled her eyes in surprise. Czar just walked past by her but there wasn''t a single trace of him behind her! As if he suddenly vanished into thin air!


    "Wh-What the f*ck? Where did he go? He just walked past there!" She murmured in dread and looked all around her. Being completely baffled by the absurd situation she abruptly started advancing towards her office room.


    ...


    As soon as she left the hallway, immediately a flash of bright blue flame flashed out and Czar appeared with it. He was silently peeking at her by standing behind a pillar with a mystic smirk on his cherry red lips. But his pupils dilated which switched his eyes into a blue coloration while he was watching Eva from the back.


    "I will show you his deepest secrets and let you decide his place in your heart, little duckling. Because it will be fun to snatch away the only human who is warming up his frozen heart." He abruptly turned away his gaze with a malicious sneer. "I guess I won''t be bored much from now on." He murmured while walking away.


    .......


    It was around 7 pm. The sky was quite cloudy and heavy as if it was about to rain. Eva walked out of the office nonchalantly with a distressed gesture. Her mind was bulked up with several thoughts and assumptions.


    "Did the evil brat lied to me about his brother? Is that perverted man really dead? And was that real blood on his shoes...! Ahh, his name... Zeus Romano... " She was murmuring with a frown face while heading towards her home.


    With extreme agitation, she flipped her hair upwards and sighed deeply. "I can''t believe it... This is only the first day and I am stressed like crazy! Damn! I shouldn''t have come to work here!" She continued.


    As Eva was walking by the footpath on the roadside, instantly she could sense that someone has been watching her! Immediately she turned around and looked over. But no trace of any cryptic guy was spotted.


    "Ahh, I am just assuming things! Obviously, who would follow after such a mere girl like me? I should get back home real quick and have some rest." She increased her walking pace while progressing ahead.


    ...


    But she wasn''t assuming things as someone was indeed following her! And it was no one other than Zeus!


    Zeus was walking on the pathway just opposite to her on the roadside in his invisible form. His worrisome eyes were glued on her and all he could do was strolling beside her but on the opposite sides of the path. But, she had already enchanted his cold heart.


    "Why am I following her silently? It feels so annoying but I can''t help. Ughh, what''s wrong with me?" He was pouting his face while murmuring in a low breath.


    As Eva was walking towards her home, suddenly she spotted an ice-cream truck and smiled like a small happy child. Watching her getting allured by a simple ice-cream truck, unknowingly Zeus smirked with a blissful grin.


    "It''s been so long since I had an ice-cream." Eva swiftly ran towards the truck.


    But suddenly, her happy face completely faded into darkness as she spotted that her purse was missing! With a panicked face, she deliberately started to look all over for her bag but it was nowhere found!


    "Damn! Where did I drop by my money bag now? What the hell! How am I gonna reach home now without money? Ughhh, damn!" She was panicking in a screeching resonance and desperately looking all around.


    Zeus was watching everything from the opposite side. He snickered with her reactions as it was a bit amusing to him.


    "This girl can surely get along quite well with troubles." He mumbled with a chuckle and started to walk towards her from the opposite side.


    But all of a sudden his feet halted and his facial appearance grew quite darkish. He was ogling at someone with his enigmatic gaze.


    "Umm, excuse me, is this your purse?"


    Eva flinched in surprise at the sudden voice and turned behind. A tall, handsome, and considerate guy wearing a pair of golden spectacles was standing in front of her with a warm smile on his face. He seemed to be in his early twenties.


    She immediately noticed that he was stretching out her money bag and without wasting a single second, she instantly grabbed it.


    "Ye-Yes, it''s mine! Th-Thank you so much!" She sounded extremely happy.


    The guy smirked with her response and stared at her jubilantly before responding. "I am glad to make you happy."


    ...


    Zeus was glaring at them from afar and clenched his fist with a feeling of agitation. His eyes changed into a bright red color as they were glued upon the new unknown guy.

 Chapter 24 - Uncertain Intentions

    "Umm, sorry, but I think we don''t know each other!" Eva scrunched her eyebrows before stating the straight fact.


    The mysterious guy laughed a bit at her response and tried to loosen up the tense situation. "Don''t worry, I am not a stalker or anything. I just happened to see you dropping your purse outside the office so just thought of helping you with that." He sounded gentle.??


    "Ohh!" A wide relieved grin appeared on Eva''s face as she stared at him. "I am sorry for doubting your intentions. To be honest, so many things have been happening with me lately that...it''s been hard to trust anyone. I am sorry." She was apologetic.


    "Don''t fret, being nice isn''t admired nowadays. Well, didn''t you want to have ice-cream?" The guy pointed towards the ice-cream truck while replying to her.


    "Oh yes!" Eva bowed her head a little in order to thank him and walked towards the truck. As she was about to leave, suddenly her feet halted and she turned behind. "Do you want to join me too?" She whispered.


    His face glowed up with a wide smile and he slightly titled his head. "Sure."


    Zeus was watching their sweet interactions from the opposite side of the road and somehow he felt extremely agitated. Though he thought of walking away, the thoughts regarding her safety troubled him the most. He chose to stay!


    .....


    "What''s your name? Do you live nearby?" Eva asked him with a mellow tone while they were heading towards her home. Both of them were stuffing up the ice-cream scoop while chattering. But strangely, that guy was heading in the same direction as her which made her quite curious.


    "Yes. I have recently joined the Pluto industries and been moved here a week ago. And, I am Ross, nice to meet you." He mumbled.


    Eva was glancing at him secretively while walking next to each other. The guy was strangely quite handsome. His soft black hairs were whirling with the night breeze and with such a bright complexed face, he could easily giving competition to supermodels. But most importantly, the guy didn''t look creepy at all but had a constant amiable grin on his face.


    "I am Eva, I have joined the Romano group from today." She continued.


    "Woah, you are working in that famous Romano organization? Damn, you are lucky!" He sounded a bit hyped up.


    Suddenly Eva''s small grin vanished and her face entirely darkened. Immediately she was reminded of the horrendous encounters she experienced from the whole morning. She breathed out in a huff and continued strolling.


    He quickly noticed her frown response and stared at her inquisitively. "Is there something wrong? Why are you sighing?" He asked.


    Eva raised up her chin and looked at him in the eye and responded, "I don''t think working in such a big organization makes me any lucky! Indeed, it''s the actual opposite. Extremely cryptic."


    "Why? Did you encounter anything unusual?" He continued his interrogation.


    Eva lowered her gaze and sighed again deeply. "It won''t be good to unveil everything about me to someone I just met today. He is still a complete stranger." She wondered with a frowning gesture.


    ...


    In the meantime, suddenly her motion halted and abruptly she turned behind with blazing eyes. She seemed a little disturbed and kept looking around her as if she was searching for someone.


    Ross turned behind too and peeked at her absurd gesticulation. She was still looking around herself deliberately.


    "Umm, are you searching for someone?" He inquired with a straight face.


    Eva hesitated for a moment and slowly nodded her head. "I just felt... someone was there behind us." She murmured.


    "Do you mean by a stalker? Are you getting stalked?" He scrunched his eyebrows and reciprocated his query.


    "No, it''s not like that... I don''t know, but it really feels as if someone has been silently looking after me... To be honest, I have going through a lot! Even though I can''t see that person, but I can feel his presence around me. As if, the person is my silent protector." She tried to explain her feelings in a low resonance.


    .........


    Zeus was hiding behind the wall of a building as he got a little flustered when Eva suddenly looked back. He still can''t understand, how can they feel each other''s presence so mystically! It must have definitely got to do something with her smell! Or maybe, their hearts can locate each other''s closeness?


    Eva''s words unknowingly put a small grin on his face as he was continually following them like a shadow. Even though he was in his invisible form, Eva''s sudden gestures can make him fluster and nervous. It was quite similar to emotions when teenagers fall in love for the first time.


    He had to keep himself aloof from her as their worlds were drastically different from each other, and he didn''t want to expose his dark identity. Zeus, a true alpha werewolf, and Eva, a normal human being, both of them were existing beside each other as parallel lines...


    This time, his intention of following Eva was entirely reliant on Ross. He had a stern gaze located on him as they were moving ahead.


    ...........


    "So, I have already reached. Thank you for walking me home. I should get inside now and you too, go safely. It was nice to meet you."


    Both of them arrived near her house and she greeted him with a warm smile before bidding goodbye.


    "It was nice to meet you too, Eva. I think we would be meeting each other quite often from now on as we live practically in the same direction." He smirked.


    Eva responded him with a small grin and turned behind to head straight inside her home. "This guy doesn''t seem bad at all. Maybe kind people are still left in this world." She wondered while opening her door lock to head inside.


    .........


    Ross stood still ad watched her getting inside her apartment. Suddenly, a dark mystic smile emerged on his face. "Was it fun in stalking us, Mr. Alpha?" He blurted out in a cryptic voice and turned behind.


    Zeus was a little surprised in getting exposed swiftly and immediately discarded his invisible form. With blazing red flames appearing around him, he obtained his visible human form and glared at him in the eye. "I didn''t think you would actually notice me," he proclaimed.


    Ross sneered with his response and immediately his intense black eyes transformed into dark blue coloration while ogling at Zeus. "Did you have fun during following us?" He asked again.

 Chapter 25 - Who Am I To Her?

    "Absolutely it wasn''t fun. I really wanted to crush you all this time." Zeus growled at him angrily with his eyes obtaining the bright red color of a dominant true alpha.


    "Ohh!" Ross quietly walked closer to him and grinned with a sly eloquence. Slowly he brought his face a little closer to him and sniffed around him. "I smell, passionate jealousy." He smirked.??


    Zeus quietly glanced at Eva''s house once and turned his gaze towards him. "Let''s go somewhere quiet to talk. She can hear us here." He rumbled.


    ...


    Soon enough, both of them started running fiercely with their robust wolf legs. Zeus, as the superstrong dominant alpha, easily beat him in racing by taking huge leaps to reach the vast empty soccer field nearby.


    Ross tried to cope up with him in running but he was easily beaten. He glared at him while gritting his teeth and breathed out in a huff.


    Zeus had a proud smirk on his face and turned around towards him. "You can''t beat me with a simple running spree, and how can you even think of competing with me?" He muttered.


    He sulked with his response and tried to divert the topic. "What do you wanna talk to me?" inquired.


    Immediately the small smile vanished from his face and it darkened profusely. "Why did you approach Eva?" He sounded extremely intense.


    "Pffftt!" He laughed out aloud with his query and glanced at him. "You really wanted to talk about this? And who are you to ask me about this?" He reverted his answer.


    Zeus immediately reached out to him in the flash of a second and firmly grabbed his collar with his sturdy hands. "A werewolf always approaches a human with ulterior motives, either to devour them or to simply toy with them! So which one are you?" He clenched his grasp while asking.


    The hands of the powerful alpha were strong enough to choke his breath. He instantly started struggling to free himself from his grasp while responding, "based on your assumptions you can''t attack any werewolf! Besides, you aren''t my leader!" He growled fiercely while struggling to unleash the grip.


    After a moment of fiery choke, slowly he released his grasp and stared at him with his blazing red eyes. "Exactly! You aren''t from my pack, so note it down, I can omit the existence of a mere beta with just a flick of my finger. So, if you want to live, don''t dare to mess with Eva." A cold warning was declared by him.


    "Damn, do you own that girl? Who is she to you? Why are you getting so hyped up about her?" Ross grumbled at him infuriatingly.


    All of a sudden, Zeus became awfully quiet with the question. "He is right thou, who am I to her? Why do I get so freaked out when anything comes to her?" His mind was struck with these thoughts and abruptly he turned his face away.


    "I am no one, but I can''t let any werewolf kill innocent living beings. It forbids our rules of existence," he tried to cope up with an excuse.


    Ross smirked with his nonchalant excuse and sighed again. Slowly he took a step from him and cryptically answered, "we should respect each other''s existence as we both are animals. And, I just wanted to help the girl to find her money bag, that''s all." He murmured and quietly stared at Zeus. "As you are no one to her, don''t be so overly possessive of her. Just following a mere human like this is termed as stalking in this world."


    He shrugged with his response and scratched his neck with a feeling of uneasiness. "Even though I am no one to her, but... I don''t want her to get hurt. It''s all my wish and that''s why I chose to follow her! Who are you to defy my intentions?" He sounded quite furious.


    Ross shrugged with his answer and gradually his eye color changed to normal. "As a dominant alpha of your pack, you must have many responsibilities to look after. Don''t waste your time on a mere human as we will always belong to different worlds. That''s how our fate has been always decided.


    And as far as me, I just wanted to have a chit chat with her while walking her home. You don''t have to unnecessarily doubt on everyone''s intentions." He conveyed his words and turned behind to leave.


    Zeus stood all frozen for a while as his heart was somehow aching! No matter how hard he tries to run away from reality but their ultimate truth of existence always stands between him and Eva as the greatest barrier. They both were existing in the world entirely different from each other in every aspect, and this realization always pains his cold heart...


    As Ross was already walking away, Zeus turned his grimace towards him and glared. "But if you ever dare to lay a single scratch on her, I will terminate your existence from this world. Remember my words." He snarled at him with a screeching resonance.


    Ross continued walking away and didn''t look back at him. With a sly grin, he murmured, "what a nosy overprotective partner. Still, don''t have the guts to admit his own feelings, punk!"


    ...........


    Eva took a shower after reaching home and slowly stepped out of the restroom wearing her bathrobe. She had used a peach flavored shampoo as it was her favorite fruit. With a tired pace, she straightly headed towards the bed.


    While lying over the bed, she was playing with her wet hair threads and gazed at the night sky with a blank stare. Unknowingly, she sniffed around her hair and smiled a bit in pleasance.


    The crescent moon was shining brightly on the night sky as she gawked her eyes at it. "I wonder... if he actually wanted to kiss me in the elevator... He is so weird, so mysterious..." She was mumbling nonchalantly.


    "But...he...smelled like peach too... My favorite smell..." Suddenly she blurted out with a heavy sigh while looking at the moon.


    _____________________________


    Hello, my dear adorable readers,


    I am very happy to announce that my book has been finally contracted. So, you can gift me if you like the story.


    Also, please vote for me.


    And another announcement, if you are a secret fujoshi or BL lover, please check out my other book,


    "[BL] Love beyond Eternity."

 Chapter 26 - What Is Happening Now?

    The next day...


    Zeus, being dressed up in his formal black suit, quietly walked out of the mansion to walk into his car as he was about to leave for the office. But as he walked outside, he was startled to notice Ivory already standing outside the mansion with a blissful smile on her face.??


    He straightly walked towards her and reciprocated a gentle smile. "What are you doing outside? Why didn''t you go in?" He inquired.


    "I am in a bit hurry today. But as I had promised you, here." She opened up her small purse and took out a pendant that had a shinning bright black gem attached to it. "Here, your magical hematite. Just as you wanted." She murmured.


    Zeus stared at the shimmering black stone and quietly grabbed it by his hand. "How did you actually find it so soon?" He frowned his eyebrows while asking.


    She smirked at his question and leaned her face closer to him. "I can even give you my life right away if you ever ask me to do. It''s just a small stone and most importantly, I can do anything for you." She mumbled.


    Zeus lowered his gaze and tried to evoke an artificial smile in her response. Although, he felt a bit of pity for her as she has been always honest in her efforts when it comes to him.


    She soon noticed his awkwardness and took a step back from him. "Don''t fret, I was just teasing you. Well, I got this from the wizard grandma, especially for you." She answered.


    "Wizard grandma? But, how did you find her here in Rome?" He was amazed.


    She simpered with his question and mystically rolled her eyes wider. "She is staying in the Cansiglio forest, it''s a secret!" She winked at him.


    He was spellbound for a moment and again glanced at the stone. The hematite was glittering in the sunlight with a deep blue supernal radiance transmitted around from it. "Did you test it before buying? The grandma has a weird habit of conning innocent people." He shrugged.


    Ivory grinned to hear his query and firmly responded, "firstly, I am not an innocent lady but a fierce she-wolf. So, she didn''t dare to trick me."


    Zeus stared at the stone and clenched it in his wrist. He sighed deeply and put the pendant inside his pocket.


    Ivory gently stroked his arms and looked at him with tenderness. "Don''t worry, trust this magical hematite. It will definitely control the mysterious scent that she has been emitting around so that further any other beast won''t lurk around her. But..." She narrowed her eyes before speaking in a mystic tone, "don''t forget the promise you had given me. You gotta refrain away from her matters from now on. I won''t let you engage in further dangers." She continued.


    Zeus reluctantly nodded his head and breathed out in a huff.


    ..........


    Romano Emporium Main Building:


    Eva was walking inside the office with a dull face. Due to her bitter experiences on her first day, she was quite hesitant to continue working here. But... everyone becomes quite helpless when it comes to money and the pay was quite huge than any other regular companies emerging here.


    Not only that, the whole night she couldn''t sleep properly as her mind was unconsciously thinking of Zeus. The strange alluring smell which she had sensed in him yesterday inside the elevator had occupied her mind. With a heavy sigh, she stepped inside the elevator and turned on the button to the 17th floor.


    However while stepping inside the elevator, she felt a bit terror-stricken due to the act that happened with her yesterday. She still gets goosebumps all over her body when she reminisced of the devilish gaze that the weird nasty man was implying towards her. However, she gazed around her while stepping inside but there was not a single trace of anyone.


    "I think, today, everything is gonna be normal. Forget about yesterday Eva as a bad dream." She consoled herself and the elevator was about to close.


    Suddenly, someone arrived and blocked the door from closing by placing his hand in between. Eva widened her eyes in surprise as the person was none other than Zeus!


    He was startled too to notice her inside the elevator. With a moment of hesitation, he firmly averted his gaze from her and walked inside.


    Eva was speechless to notice him standing beside her inside the elevator just like yesterday.


    Most importantly, she was staring at him vividly as he looked extraordinarily sparkling with a handsome aura. With a porcelain bright skin, dazzling black Armani suit, a shining silver wolf-head brooch pinned in his chest pocket, and his wet dark black hairs properly styled with gel, he looked no less than that of a handsome prince or a showbiz top model. She even forgot to blink for a moment and her heart started throbbing real fast.


    Zeus could sense her intense staring lingering at him all around and he slightly peeked at her. "For how long do you wanna stare at me like this?" He murmured.


    She was terribly bashful with his sharp question and immediately lowered her gaze. "So-Sorry, sir." She uttered with a clumsy tone. "Darn it, he just caught me red-handed." She wondered and swatted her forehead in regret.


    Zeus smirked to witness her panicked reaction and tried hard to control his smile. Slowly he took a peek at her and she was fidgeting anxiously.


    After a moment of secretive glancing, firmly he put his hand in his pocket and took out the pendant from inside. With a deep gaze, he turned his face towards her.


    "Here, wear this from now on." He whispered in a soft tone,


    Eva flinched with his response and gazed at the mysterious pendant in his hand. Her eyes struck on the shining black crystal attached to it and she raised up her chin to ogle at him.


    "What is this?" She inquired.


    ...


    Suddenly, the elevator started shaking fiercely from inside as if a violent earthquake has hit them! Both of them were shocked and it was hard for them to withstand that jerking!


    "Aaahhrrgghh!" Eva screamed in fear and was about to fall on the ground when Zeus grabbed her waist tightly to prevent her from falling down.


    "What the hell is happening now?" She shrieked in fear!

 Chapter 27 - Trapped With You

    Zeus was grabbing Eva firmly by her waist, within his sturdy grip, and looked around them. The elevator was vigorously shaking tremors along with a red siren blowing up off and on. After a few seconds of extreme anxiety, the siren along with the tremors stopped occurring around. The elevator suddenly halted from moving and a small dim blue light turned on inside of it.


    Baffled Eva was clenching his shirt at the chest point while being enfolded in his arms. She was murmuring gibberish in fear and her legs were wobbly. As the vigorous shaking stopped, she tried to open her eyes cryptically and peeked at him. Zeus was already ogling at her intensively and as soon as she looked at him, she found herself embraced within his robust biceps.??


    With a jolt, Eva immediately departed away from him with a huge leap. Things were already bashful between them but with this unwanted embrace, she felt more embarrassed around him.


    "Wh-What the hell just happened now? Why did the elevator stop?" She inquired looking panic-stricken.


    Zeus turned away his face away from her and breathed out in a huff. "I think, the elevator worn out."


    "What? What the fu--" She controlled her swearing as she was in front of the CEO of her company. She fidgeted anxiously and looked around them. The elevator was quite small in space but with the dim blue light glimmering inside, it seemed more dreadful.


    "Worn-out? Does that mean it won''t move? We are trapped inside of this?" She shrieked in panic.


    Zeus firmly stepped forward from his position and walked towards the buttons situated inside. Swiftly he pressed a button and a beep sound occurred.


    "We won''t be trapped here forever. I have already called out for help and they will be rescuing us soon." He declared.


    Eva continued staring at him with a poker face and huffed out heavily again. "Gosh! I can''t believe this! Two times! Two times I faced a terrible experience inside this elevator! Damn! I am never going to take elevators inside this office! Never ever!" She was complaining in a rugged tone and squatted down on the ground anxiously.


    Zeus silently peeked at her once and scrunched his eyebrows. "Why are you nagging like this? Are you a small kindergarten kid?" He shrugged.


    "Of course not! But don''t you think it''s weird that two times I am going through awful experiences inside these stupid elevators and in both times you are here with me! Don''t you find this fishy?" She reciprocated his query.


    He seemed displeased with her accusation and sharply glared at her before speaking, "are you trying to accuse that I stopped this elevator today? Are you nuts?"


    She was seated on the floor of the elevator and sighed heavily with his response. "Look, I am not in my correct state of mind. Can you please spare me some space?" She sounded a little gentle this time.


    He didn''t try to bother her anymore and stomped his feet to vent out his frustration. The atmosphere was too dense as if each minute seemed like a long eternity.


    Quietly he chose to retreat and took his seat on the floor keeping a little distance from her. The hematite pendant was lying down on the floor and he slowly grabbed into his hand.


    Eva seemed extremely distressed and she tried to cover her face with her trembling arms. "I have seen this situation in movies... Soon after the oxygen inside the elevator will run out before the help arrives and we both will die in suffocation." She whispered.


    "Hey? Why are you blabbering out nonsense? Why would that situation ever come? And even if the help doesn''t appear in proper timing, I have my own way to let us get out." He exclaimed in a heavy tone.


    She was a bit startled by his response and quickly turned her gaze towards him. "Why? How can you come up with a way in this kind of horrible situation? Are you superman? Or an alien? How can you let us out?" She inquired bluntly.


    Zeus smirked a little at her question and lowered his eyes. "It will be a matter of a few seconds to break this metal wall with a fierce kick from my inhuman legs. But I can''t do this as long as you are trapped here with me. What a pain in the ass!" He thought but immediately put on a stiff expression on his grimace.


    "Hey, don''t you think you are talking quite informally with your CEO? You even rejected the pendant which I tried to hand you earlier?" He sounded tense.


    Eva lowered her face down in between her folded knees and clenched her grip. "I know and I am sorry indeed... But I am really losing my mind here, sir. It feels... so traumatic." She mumbled with a heavy sigh.


    Zeus couldn''t ask her any further queries and kept looking at her gestures with a concerned gaze. She looked terribly distressed as if a bad memory was haunting her mind.


    After a moment of anticipated silence, she chose to speak. "10 years ago, my family suffered from a terrible car accident on a dark night. I was asleep at that time but I felt a sudden ferocious jolt and our car turned over several times on the road. I was with my mom and dad inside the car.


    My dad tried his best to save me and mom till his last breath but he was severely injured among us. My mom was holding me in her arms when the car turned over but as the car wrecked, all of us were separated from each other. I was trapped in between the backseat area and all I could helplessly watch was my mom and dad whimpering in pain. I screamed for help but no one came to rescue us.


    Even though I survived and found myself in the hospital after I regained my senses, but my mom and dad couldn''t... The memory of being trapped in... is still...dreadful for me..." Her voice sounded constricted as she was almost about to cry out aloud during the conveying.


    Zeus silently listened to her as she opened up her bleeding wounds buried in her heart. Unknowingly he moved a bit closer towards her and put his arms around her shoulder.


    She was surprised by his unpredictable action but before she could ask anything, he puller her closer to his chest and tapped her head to comfort her.


    Eva was still in wonder about what''s going on but couldn''t move away from him. The warmth that she had lost years ago, it felt as if she revived it again. She stayed still within his arms.


    "You aren''t alone this time. I am right here by your side." He murmured with a sad face.


    The comfort and the warmth which she found in his arms touched her heart as she smiled with teary eyes. "He...feels warm." She thought.

 Chapter 28 - Closer To You

    Eva was snuggled within Zeus''s broad arms just like a small baby seeking comfort, while he was patting her soft hairs to calm her down. Both of them were immersed to feel each other''s warmth being trapped inside the small dark elevator.


    "I have something to ask you..." She broke the silence first.??


    He didn''t answer anything and unknowingly inclined his head towards her.


    "Why do I feel so safe and sound whenever I am with you? What is this feeling of being secured? Do you have any magical protective aura around you?" She evoked an absurd question with a low voice.


    Zeus seemed a bit happy to get the unexpected compliment from her and scraped his neck. His facial gestures depicted as if a small puppy was complimented by his sear master.


    "I don''t think I have such magical powers." He shrugged.


    "But...whenever I am in any grave danger, you always come to me, just like my guardian angel... See, even if I had stuck alone here, probably I would have died here in panic within now... But being with you, I don''t feel much scared now." She slowly leaned her head on his broad muscular shoulders and smiled with a wistful gaze.


    Zeus was gazing at the blue dim light which was providing minimal brightness to them in that dark enclosed elevator. His eyes looked glum while he was immersed in his dubious thoughts, "if you ever come to know about my real existence... you...yourself will define me as a monster... And it''s not hurtful, because, I am indeed a vicious beast." His heart ached a bit when his reality hit him hard.


    Eva scrunched her eyebrows and slightly raised her chin up to look at him and witnessed him being lost in the vague notions. "Is something bothering you?" She inquired softly.


    He flinched with her sudden question and lowered his gaze to look at her. She was tucked inside his embrace like a small child with her curious eyes gawked on him.


    There wasn''t much distance between their faces and while looking at her, unknowingly Zeus smirked on his own. "You...look like a small kitten." He blurted out.


    Eva''s face was flushed red in embarrassment with his cute compliment and she immediately lowered her face to hide her shy face from him. "Hey... what''s with this weird comparison!" She shrugged.


    He sneered with a mischievous grin as he was successful in teasing her. Slowly he laid back his head against the metallic walls and sighed deeply. "I wish I could stop the time right here now. It''s so peaceful... just being with her like this..." He was wondering with a sad smile while gazing at the faint bluish light.


    Suddenly, Eva could sense a unique, sweet scent being scattered from Zeus. In that small space, the smell felt extremely soothing as if it comforted her grievous heart. Unknowingly she sniffed for some time and leaned her head on his shoulder again. "You know, you smell like a peach... It''s my favorite scent..." Without even thinking, she blurted out.


    Zeus jolted with surprise with her strange confession and gazed at her with his cryptic eyes. "What?" He reciprocated.


    She slightly tilted her head and fidgeted anxiously before answering. "I don''t know why, but... I can sense a sweet smell from you... It''s not even a perfume fragrance... But it smells like peach, my favorite fruit."


    He rolled his eyes in awe and unknowingly his heart started throbbing hard. The heart beating was so fast that even she could feel it and immediately she winced a bit far and stared at him. "Your heart is beating too fast!" She proclaimed.


    "What the f*ck is wrong with me? Why does my heart pound like crazy whenever I am with her? And... can she sense my dominant alpha smell? But how is that possible... no human can sense it ever!" Zeus was pondering hard with a frown face and he scrunched his eyebrows.


    She stared at him for a while with countless questions in her gaze and lowered her face down. "I know...we have a professional relationship, sir. And neither I wanted to make you uncomfortable around me... It''s just, I shared my thoughts with you... But it''s quite easy to sense, that you always try to put walls in between us... I don''t know why... but...my heart feels strangely warm around you." She continued to reassure him.


    Zeus quietly took out the magical hematite pendant and grabbed her hands to hand it over. "It is necessary for us to maintain our professionalism. And, I don''t have any protective aura but I am the exact opposite of what you think about me. And most importantly, it would be better for you if you wear this from now on and consider it as your superior''s order." He concluded his statement while putting the pendant inside her grasp.


    Eva smirked with a sad face at his statement and looked at the black shining hematite. "Why are you trying so hard to build a false image of yours in front of me? But you know...eyes can''t lie. Even though you try hard to push me away from you but how can you omit the silent care in your gaze?"


    "You are mistaken, Miss Eva. I never cared for you and neither--"


    "Then why are you handing me this pendant?" She stubbornly interrupted his words with a fierce stare. "I am sure it must have something to do with my safety." She continued her blunt interrogations.


    Unable to convince her, Zeus firmly snatched the pendant from her hands and pulled her closer to him. With the sudden jolt, Eva''s heart started pounding loudly while gawking at his intense eyes.


    He put his hands around her neck and tied the pendant with a fretted face. Her eyes were glued on him while he was attaching it and she was spellbound with their unexpected closeness.


    "Don''t take it off ever again. Keep it with you, forever." He finished tying up the pendant and averted his bold gaze towards her intensified eyes.


    With a minute distance separating them, unknowingly Zeus placed his right arm to cup her face with the utmost tenderness. He could sense the strange alluring scent emitting out from her but due to the hematite stone, the intensity of the scent was lowered. But still, it was alluring enough to make an alpha lose his calm lingering so near to her.


    Eva''s eyes were gleaming with intense passion and without even knowing she brought her face extremely closer to him that the tip of their noses touched each other. Her lips quivered a bit as if they were desperate enough to taste red attractive lips. With a strong urge drawing towards each other, it was unbearable for them to laid back the emotions.


    Zeus couldn''t hold it anymore and slowly placed his lips over her reddened soft, trembling lips. But before they could kiss each other, all of a sudden a huge jerking shook the whole elevator and they flinched hard in surprise.


    Immediately the bright light switched on and the elevator started moving again for a second and stopped at a floor. Baffled with the situation both of them moved their faces a bit far from each other while ogling among themselves while sitting on the floor.


    Abruptly the elevator door opened and to their surprise, Czar was standing at the door. He smirked with a wicked expression to witness Eva snuggled in between Zeus''s arms being seated on the floor.


    "Woah! What a romantic sight! What''s going on here?" He chuckled.

 Chapter 29 - Hiding The Emotions

    Immediately, both Zeus and Eva sprang up from the ground departing from each other''s embrace and tried to pretend as if nothing happened. Czar seemed quite amused to caught him red-handed and gritted his teeth with a sly smirk.


    "Did I interrupt a romantic moment between you two? Oh my!" He tried to tease Zeus badly.??


    Both of them were flushed red in embarrassment. Zeus firmly walked out of the elevator and deliberately tried to avoid eye contact with her.


    "We both were stuck inside the elevator. And I had called for help, why the f*ck it took so long to fix this?" He sounded very stern while inquiring him bluntly.


    Czar was still grinning cheekily and glanced at Eva once. She was quietly heading out of the elevator following Zeus and she didn''t even try to see him for once.


    "I get it that both of you were stuck inside. But why you were snuggled in each other''s embrace? Ahhh, I think I interrupted a passionate moment." He conveyed his words with an impish manner while glancing at her.


    "Stop spilling out nonsense," Zeus grumbled in anger and firmly stepped ahead of him by blocking his view from her. But Czar''s eyes were locked on a certain sight!


    He quietly glanced at something with a frown face and shifted his gaze towards Zeus. "Isn''t it, hematite? Did you give her this pendant?" He resembled very curious.


    Eva finally raised her chin up and gazed at Czar with a stiff expression before answering, "yes. He gave me this pendant. Why? Did he commit a crime?" She boldly defended him as she was getting pissed off with his confrontations.


    "Haha!" Czar laughed out aloud with her statement and tried to walk closer to her. But Zeus was standing firmly in between them by blocking his way and he couldn''t surpass him.


    "It isn''t a normal pendant, little duckling. It has some exceptional magical powers. Do you want to know it?" He cryptically winked at her while replying.


    "I told you countless times, stop calling me with that vulgar name. And, have you lost your brain cells completely? How can magic exist in the real world?" She appeared agitated as she responded to him abruptly.


    As the situation was turning into a complicated argument, immediately Zeus grabbed his hands and started to walk away in the direction opposite her. He didn''t look back at her and tried to move far apart to tone down the intense situation.


    "Hey, where are you dragging me, big brother?" Czar asked with a spooky voice while being laid away by him.


    Eva stood alone being completely baffled by the unexpected act from Zeus. She grabbed the stone shining on the pendant that was tied to her neck and sounded quite offended, "how can he just leave me like this alone here? Why does he always run away from me like that? I am certain that he definitely cares about me but why does he choose to hide it? And... is this... really a magical stone?" She murmured with a deep breath.


    ...


    Zeus dragged him to his cabin and slammed the door hard after stepping inside. With an intense gaze, he turned towards Czar and groaned at him, "what the heck is your problem? Why were you spilling the facts about the hematite in front of her? Did your stupid brain has already forgotten that she is a human!"


    Czar slowly approached him closer and brought his face closer to him. "You gave her the stone, to control her captivating smell. Isn''t it?" His voice seemed quite eerie.


    "Stop meddling inside my personal issues. I have never intended to mess with your matters, Czar." He appeared quite angry while growling at him in a dark tone.


    He stepped a bit back from him and straightly headed towards the giant fenestration of his room. "From childhood, I was only taught to follow my strong, big alpha brother. I was never taught to be the kind of werewolf I wanted to become rather than following your footsteps... I had to discard my own will of leading life and had to tail you always even if it was against my wish...


    So, I am just doing whatever I was being taught. And, that''s why I will be meddling in your every matter." While speaking, his eyes looked a bit morose and his voice sounded constricted.


    Zeus glared at him intensively for a while and lowered his gaze. "I know it very well; the intensity of grudge your broken heart has been bearing all along against my family... Somewhere, I can relate to your pain--"


    "You can never understand the brutal agony that I have buried under my heart!" Czar interrupted his words fiercely and snapped at him. "You can never understand the loss which I have gone through... You can never ever relate my pain with you..." His voice choked as if he was almost on the verge of sobbing hard.


    Zeus couldn''t utter a single word and lowered his gaze. He turned back to leave the room and as he took a step forward, his motion halted.


    "As long as I am the alpha of my pack, I would be protecting my pack which also includes you. But... I can''t allow you to spill our secrets in front of humans... especially in front of her..." He murmured in a deep voice.


    "How long you are going to run away from your feelings like this? Tailing her like a loyal dog, protecting her from any harm, caring for her... why are you doing all these for her? If you like her, why aren''t you confessing yet?" Czar snapped at him with a disgruntled look in his eyes.


    Zeus didn''t dare to look at him and stood still with a frown face. "Stop assuming things. Such feelings can''t exist between a human and a werewolf. Our worlds are far apart!" He declaimed and hastily walked out of the room.


    Czar smirked with his exclamation and pouted his face. "It''s quite evident that your beastly heart has been already tamed by that feeble woman. But... it would be fun if I include some plot twists in your romantic story...


    Now it''s my turn, to watch you suffering..." He murmured with a wicked grin and took out his phone to dial someone.


    After a moment of ringing, someone picked up the call and he smirked devilishly, "dad, it''s me, Czar! I have something important to notify you about big brother!"

 Chapter 30 - She Hates Wolves!

    It was around 6 pm. For the rest of the day, Eva didn''t face any further troubles. For the rest of the day, she tried to keep looking for Zeus but he seemed to be avoiding her due to some reason.


    With a frown face, she was wandering out of the office. "I don''t understand that guy... He seems completely different when he is with me alone... But suddenly, his gesticulations transform in front of others... Is he just tossing me around? Or... he wants to hide something from me?" She was lost in her dubious thoughts.??


    "Have you been stressed today?"


    She flinched with the sudden voice behind her and turned around. Ross was standing behind and as she looked back, he waved his right arm towards her with a warm smile.


    She was a bit surprised to confront him all of a sudden outside her office and smiled awkwardly. He approached her with a blissful smile and gazed quite intensely at her.


    "Why do I always find you stressed whenever we meet? Yesterday and today too." He chuckled while inquiring about her.


    Eva sighed heavily and averted her eyes downwards. "Yeah, my life has been quite stressed out nowadays... I guess nothing is going right with me. But, what are you doing here, Ross?"


    "Remember, I told you last night that I work for the Pluto industries. And it''s quite nearby from here. I was just on my way back home and coincidentally I saw you looking all baffled while heading out." He expressed his words with a firm gaze glued upon her.


    Suddenly his eyes stuck on a shinning stone tied up on her neck and he scrunched his eyebrows. He didn''t look pleased to discover it.


    "Isn''t it, hematite?" Unknowingly he blurted out with a blunt tone.


    Eva immediately looked at the pendant and grabbed it with her soft right hands. "Well, I don''t know what it is called, but how do you know about it?" She reciprocated his question.


    Ross seemed a bit vexed with her curious confrontation and tried to avert the topic. "Umm, I...I read about it in a magazine, that''s why I recognized it. But as far I know... It''s quite rare to find, where did you find it?" His eyes were locked on the pendant during their conversation.


    She glanced at the shimmering back stone and caressed it with tender. "Why did you give me such a rare gem? Is this one of your way to shake up my heart?" She smiled a bit as it reminded her of the moment when Zeus tied up the pendant on her neck with the passionate closeness lingering between them.


    Ross narrowed his eyes as he was a bit startled to witness her warm smile while ogling at the stone. "Do you know why this gem is so rare?" He tried to evoke curiosities in her with a sly grimace.


    She raised up her chin and shook her head in declination. "Does it have any magical powers?" She asked while grabbing the stone tightly in her soft hands.


    "It is known to keep the attacks of evil spirits and supernatural beasts away from one who possessed it. So, yes, it''s quite rare." He responded while tapping his feet impatiently.


    "Pfft!" Eva abruptly smirked with his confrontation and cover her mouth with her right arm. "That''s nonsense. They are just superstitions created by people on their own. I don''t believe any of it." She had a small sneer on her face while replying to him.


    Ross felt a bit amused with her reaction and gritted his teeth with an impish expression. "Why? Don''t you believe that supernatural beasts exist in the real world? Don''t you believe malevolent spirits exist?" He seemed inquisitive.


    "Of course not. They are just fairy tale stories made up by the people." She abruptly replied with a bold smirk.


    Ross didn''t utter a single word and contemplated at her with a sinister smile. "I am well aware of who gave you this pendant to wear on. It must be that bastard stalker alpha, aargh! Till it''s hanging on your neck, I can''t even lay a single scratch on you...


    But from your sweet smell, I can perceive that you would be extremely delicious. It is making my cravings stronger for such a tasty meal." He was lost in his eerie thoughts with a fixed gaze towards her.


    "Ross, what are you thinking about?" She called him aloud as he looked lost in an unknown world of solicitudes.


    He regained his senses back and slowly took out two tickets from his pocket. With a deceptive smile on his face, he politely asked her, "well I have these two gift coupons with me. One is the tickets for The National Zoo and the other one is for The Aquarium. But sadly, I don''t know many people here as I am shifted in this locality recently.


    If you are free this weekend, do you wanna go with me to the zoo? Well, you can consider it as a small date between friends."


    Eva was startled by his sudden proposal and lowered her gaze with a frowned expression before answering anything. For a moment she was awfully quiet.


    "I... don''t wanna visit the zoo..." She murmured.


    He frowned his eyebrows and interrogated her, "may I ask, why?"


    She fidgeted anxiously before answering with a heavy sigh, "I...despise wild animals... especially wolves... So, if it''s okay with you, I can visit the Aquarium with you." Her tone sounded quite distressed.


    Ross was amused with her reaction and controlled his evil laughter in front of her. "She hates wolves? That''s really interesting!" He wondered with a sneer.


    ......


    Zeus was listening to their conversations silently from afar behind a giant pillar of the building. Somehow, his heart was stabbed brutally with an undefined sword of pain as he heard her words being conveyed to him.


    With a heavy sigh, he gazed at the sky with a stare of emptiness in his eyes. "She hates wolves..." He murmured in a broken voice with a glimpse of tears shimmering in the corner of his dark eyes.

 Chapter 31 - Confrontation With Father

    Walking with a heavy heart, Zeus slowly entered the Romano Mansion. His heart was aching with the words he just learnt from Eva just a few moments ago. The feeling was so terrible that he chose to head back home rather than following her like always. Till she has the pendant, he had made it sure that nothing would cause any harm to her.


    He was straightly walking back to his room with a grieved expression, but suddenly he could sense bold giant footsteps behind him.??


    "Zeus!"


    The tone was quite familiar to him and he sighed again with angst. Slowly, he turned back ad it was no one other than his father, the former, powerful alpha of the pack, Antonio.


    He was quite broad and sturdy, almost similar to Zeus''s appearance. His hairs were soft, adapting to the salt and pepper look. His biceps were robust and a stern expression was prominent over his face. He was more than 700 years old but the human disguise was absolutely perfect as he looked like a sturdy man in his early 50''s. His eyes looked immensely dark and with his gesticulations, he looked a bit furious.


    "Yes?" Zeus politely answered as he has always respected his father as the former alpha of the pack he was leading on now.


    "I gotta talk to you about something. Let''s have a seat." He firmly ordered and headed straight towards the sofa in the living room. He quietly followed his father with a deep sigh.


    "What do you want to talk about?" He asked him in a deep voice while being laid back on the sofa.


    Antonio had a stiff face and sharply raised his chin to glare at him. "Is it true, that you have killed a werewolf of our pack?" He grumbled.


    Zeus somehow didn''t expect such a stiff question from him but he didn''t dare to lie. Slowly, he nodded his head in confirmation.


    "May I ask, why?" He continued his interrogation.


    "Because he dared to break the rules of our existence. I am very strict whenever it comes to our rules and regulations." He tried to explain in a deep voice.


    His father gnashed his teeth in anger and suddenly slammed the corner table beside the sofa hard. The table immediately smashed into pieces as it couldn''t withstand his inhuman strength.


    "It was also one of our rules that we mustn''t harm any werewolf of our own pack to the utmost limit. But...being a respectable leader, you killed your own group member, and that also just for a human maiden? How dare you?" He sounded infuriating in wrath.


    He was startled to hear such a fierce confrontation from his father and scrunched his eyebrows. "How do you know that?" He reciprocated his query.


    "Do you think you can do anything about your will and I would stay quiet and let you do as you please? How dare you kill our own member for a mere human?" He sprang up from the sofa and dashed a fiery question to him.


    Zeus stood up from the sofa and frowned his face before responding to him, "dad, what you know isn''t the complete truth. I didn''t do it for solely saving the maiden, but if he further failed to control his urges of devouring humans, any human could have sensed it, and thereby, he could have put all of us in massive trouble. I just did it for the sake of all." He exclaimed.


    "Oh really? Then when the maiden had already sensed his beastly instincts, why didn''t you kill her? In spite of everything, you handed her magical hematite to protect her from further attacks!" He seemed in no mood of calming down.


    He seemed extremely offended with these fierce queries and clenched his wrist to control his growing anger. "It must be Czar... He must have reported everything to dad..." He thought and his level of anger drastically increased further.


    "Dad, I just wanted to save her as I couldn''t let an innocent being getting killed right in front of my eyes. I...I am already living with the forever guilt of being unable to save grandma from that bastard Lupo group. I couldn''t bear the same thing happening to her again..." He replied with a firm resonance.


    "But she is a damn human!" Antonio almost howled in anger and the intensity of his voice vibrated the entire hall room. "We are the superior beasts than those mere humans! We treat those helpless beings as our prey! Until now, you had never shown any mercy to any human as I had raised you, so what''s wrong with you now? Why do you bother about her life?" He grumbled at him fiercely again.


    Zeus chose to be silent with a lowered gaze as he couldn''t find the right explanation to answer his father. Somehow, he was all surprised with himself! He was absolutely right, until now, he never even bothered to care about human life, and earlier he had also encountered countless gracious human maidens but never drawn any attraction towards them.


    But what has been going wrong with him? Why does he feel so restless around her? Why does the slightest thought of something hazardous happening to her is enough to make his mind going crazy? Why does his heart pound like crazy whenever he approaches closer to her? Why does he feel so fulfilled when she lies closer to his chest? Since when she has become so important to him?


    He couldn''t utter a single word and chose to stay silent.


    But... Antonio couldn''t bear his silence and gritted his teeth in anger. He could easily sense that something has been going terribly wrong with his sturdy son and he chose to interfere within before it goes horribly wrong.


    Immediately he turned around from him and firmly declared, "I have decided. You will be getting engaged to Ivory the next day after the full moon night."


    Zeus flinched his shock and rolled in his eyes in wonder. "What?" He screamed.

 Chapter 32 - Opposition

    The fierce roaring voice of Zeus echoed the whole room as he howled at his father fuming in wrath.


    "I don''t like to repeat my words. I have already declared." Antonio sounded quite grumpy.??


    Zeus fiercely walked closer to his father with gallant steps and stared at him. "You can''t just decide my life decisions on your own. I won''t accept it and hereby, I reject your proposal." He groaned at him and immediately turned back to head straight to his room.


    "Do you think you are in a position to oppose my verdict? It''s an order from the former alpha of the pack you are leading on. So, better you prepare yourself to accept the new journey of your life." His voice seemed quite darkened as he replied to him.


    Zeus clenched his fist in anger and halted his motion. He wanted to begin a rampage inside the mansion to express his grudge but didn''t have a choice except to hold it back.


    "And just how can you suddenly choose of me getting engaged to a person I don''t even love? Ivory is just my close friend and I never had any lingering emotions towards her. Why would I have to follow your verdict?" He strongly opposed in a deep voice.


    Antonio stood still for a moment and casually took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. While lighting it up, he glanced at Zeus once before speaking, "as your parents, we have the right to chose what''s best for you. Ivory has been always beside you in your good and bad times as a strong pillar.


    She has always wanted the best for you and that kind of partner can make a life cordially perfect. Besides, she is the strongest alpha she-werewolf of our pack. She is smart, elegant, artistic, and strong... just as perfect for a true powerful alpha like you. What''s your point in rejecting such a precious lady?" He raised his pitch while bickering with him.


    Zeus narrowed his eyes while glaring at him. Fuming in immense wrath, unknowingly, his dark black eyes transformed into bright red dominant alpha color. He scrunched his eyebrows and snapped back at him, "I don''t love her and I won''t be able to chose her."


    ...


    "We don''t always get to choose the ones we love."


    A sudden deep voice from behind startled both of them. As they turned back, Aurelia was standing just behind Zeus with a frigid gaze towards him. She had a fretful expression buried deep down in her gaze.


    He tried to tone down his anger a bit and responded, "mom? Why are you--"


    "We don''t get to select the ones we desire to be with. If you are living with that urge, you are just fooling yourself with a futile dream. Life is... very unfair, son." Her voice sounded quite wistful and slowly approached closer to him.


    Zeus stood still and continued gawking at her. He was a bit startled with her response and lowered his face down with a glum eloquence. His heart commenced to ache with an ineffable pain.


    "So it''''s better, you must accept our choice and go with it. Believe me Zeus, no one will be perfect for you as Ivory." Antonio replied with a mild aspect as he seemed quite pleased with his wife''s explanation.


    "Dad, you decided it just to let me keep away from her... isn''t it? Did a human maiden scare you so much?" He shifted his head sideways and whined at his father. His tone seemed rude as he was extremely vexed.


    Antonio seemed agitated with his opposite response and immediately tried to dash towards him fiercely. But Aurelia abruptly came in between them to save her son from his rage and stopped him from approaching. She slightly turned her head sideface and firmly commanded, "go back to your room, Zeus. We will discuss about it later."


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word and dashed into his room in the blink of a second. As he left the room, she looked at him and he was already glaring at all the way Zeus just left inside.


    "Why are you being so harsh on our son? At least... we could have quietly discussed--"


    "There is no room left for discussion, Aurelia!" He furiously intervened her sentence and groaned at her by rolling his eyes wider. "Our son has already killed a pack member for that stupid human maiden! I am in awe, how could she was able to enter into his frozen heart? Do you ever think of the consequences if we continue this to let it happen? It would be dreadful for our entire existence!" He continued.


    She lowered her eyes and fretted her eyebrows with anguish. "I guess, we have to stop our son from going after her... But... how can we just decide of choosing his mate without his own will! Even I believe... Ivory will be perfect for him, but he needs to accept her too..." She sounded quite concerned for him while responding.


    Antonio turned backwards from her and gazed outside of the giant fenestration in their hallroom towards the dark night sky. The cresent moon was absolutely glimmering up, radiating a ecliptic illumination in the dark atmosphere. He continued contemplating at the dark azure with a blank gaze in his eyes.


    "I am surprised to be honest... Till now, we never ad to worry for Zeus as he had encountered countless human maidens but, he was all indifferent and cold towards them. But why this lady is taming his frozen heart? How could she enter the place that no one couldn''t do it till now, not even Ivory?" He voice seemed dubious.


    Aurelia was staring at him with a dark gaze in her eyes and slowly walked towards him. "I am suspicious, is that lady really a pure blood human? Or... an evil spirit bewitching our Zeus? You already know it... there are thousand enemies lurking around him." She answered.


    "I am unsure about it but something definitely must have been special about that lady which has caught his attention. But for now, it''s extremely important to keep an eye on him.


    A werewolf and a human can''t exist together... It''s absolutely forbidden and I won''t allow an alpha of our pack to violate the principal rule of our world." He grumbled infuriatingly.

 Chapter 33 - The Aquarium Date

    It was finally the long-awaited weekend. Eva was dressed up in a light pink white-colored crop top with blue tight jeans. It was finally the day when she decided of going to Aquarium with Ross as he asked her.


    With a sigh of reluctance, though she agreed to go with him, somewhere, it didn''t feel much blissful from her inside. But as he had helped her in finding her money bag and walking her back home, she couldn''t straightly reject his proposal.??


    While tucking her hair back with a silver-colored hairpin, she peeked at the pendant lying upon her dressing table. The shimmering black pendant was radiating an unusual aura with sun rays reflecting on it through the windows. The stone was magically beautiful!


    "Is this stone really keeps the evil spirits away?" She wondered while staring at the stone. Unknowingly she caressed it as the pendant reminded her of Zeus.


    "I miss you." She murmured with a sad smile on her face. "But why do I miss you? Why do I keep thinking about you? Your smell... your presence... everything keeps me at ease..." She was nonchalantly talking on her own while tying up the pendant on her neck.


    Applying a small amount of makeup, she gazed at herself in the mirror and sighed again. "Damn Eva! Why do your expressions look so morose? Come on, you didn''t even have any friends apart from Clara. What''s wrong with making new friends? Cheer up... you are going to enjoy your day!" She tried to console herself up and stood up.


    Quietly she headed straight towards the door and while heading her feet halted near the large family portrait hanging on the wall of her living room. While looking at the smiley faces of her beloved people, her throat choked with an urge of sobbing in grief. She bit her lower lip and tried to stop herself from breaking down again.


    "Felix... you used to be always worried about me that I didn''t have any friends apart from Clara... but look, I am going out today to hang out with my new friend... So, don''t you worry too much about me, okay?" She gently caressed the portrait and murmured with a glum sneer.


    ...


    BENEVOLENT AQUARIUM PARK.


    Eva was looking at her phone screen while walking towards the park. With the help of a cab, she reached the destination. Simultaneously, she was also taking the help of the directional map software while heading towards the location.


    "EVA!"


    A warm and amicable voice startled her from behind. As she turned back, it was Ross heading towards her with a wide gin.


    "Did you just arrive now?" He promptly asked her with a smirk and cryptically glanced at her.


    "Yes, I thought I was already late." She mumbled while ogling at him.


    Ross had dressed up in a creamy white t-shirt with navy blue dapper denim jeans. With his hairs properly styled up in a messy look and a black stylish sunglass, he looked quite different than usual. Rather than, it seemed as if he was groomed handsomely for their date.


    "You look really pretty today, Eva. " He scraped his neck before complimenting her as if he looked a bit shy.


    "Thanks. You look good too. So... shall we head in?" She tucked her soft hair behind her ears while responding in a mild tone.


    "Of course. Thank you for coming along with me toda--" Suddenly his voice constricted as his gaze firmly stuck on an unusual sight. His stare was fixed at the shimmering hematite pendant hanging down her neck.


    "Umm, why did you wear the pendant today too?" He frowned his eyebrows while asking her.


    Eva immediately lowered her chin and glanced at it. With an awkward smile, she stroked her pendant and whispered to him, "well, someone has told me... never to take off the pendant wherever I go... So, I wore it."


    Ross tried to evoke a fake smile and firmly glared at the pendant with a wicked stare. "Damn you, bastard alpha." He cussed at him from inside.


    ...


    There were a large number of different varieties of marine fishes and corals within the theme Aquarium park. Eva was gazing at them with her eyes glimmering in happiness. Ross was accompanied with her everywhere and explaining every little habitat of those colourful marine animals.


    After clicking several pictures together, both of them slowly walked towards the ice-cream stall to grab some chilling scoops. While gulping down, suddenly her gaze stuck at a big event going on in a separate complex.


    "Ross, there will be greeting the dolphins'' event happening now! Let''s go visit there." Her voice sparkled with a jovial tone while pointing at the complex auditorium. She quietly started walking towards the hall.


    "Sure. Let''s go there, next." He promptly answered and slowly followed her with a smile.


    ...


    While marching behind her, suddenly his feet halted and he called her from behind, "Eva?"


    Her motion stopped and she turned back with a confused look, "yes?"


    "Are you enjoying the date here with me?" He whispered with a soft grin.


    Eva being befuddled with his sudden question stared at him for a few seconds and awkwardly nodded her head. "Yes, I am enjoying today. Le-Let''s go." She quickly responded and started strolling forward again.


    Ross was looking at him from behind with a pair of blazing intense eyes. "We should treat our prey nicely before gobbling it down." He thought with an evil smirk and followed her inside.


    ..........


    Behind a large wall of the auditorium, a guy dressed up in a black hoodie and a pair of black goggles was watching them silently from afar.


    As Ross headed inside the building, the person instantly removed his goggles and it was no one other than Zeus! He was following them secretively as he was madly concerned about her.


    "Somehow, every road of my life... leads me back to you... Eva." He murmured with a sad smile.


    __________________


    Please keep voting for my story for the mass release of 5 chapters ^_^

 Chapter 34 - An Evil Intention

    The auditorium hall was enormous and thickly crowded. Eva was capturing all the dolphin''s playful moments on her phone with a wide grin on her face. Ross was quietly following after her with a wicked smirk on his cast.


    "Look, they are so cute!" She screamed with a blissful tone while pointing at the dolphins. They were playing with balls together along with the trainers helping them. Several small kids were gathered around the hall and looked immensely happily while clapping.??


    Ross didn''t utter a single word and only smiled at her responses. All of a sudden, an idea struck his mind, and he chuckled with a devilish expression.


    Slowly, he walked closer to her at a gentle pace and touched her shoulder. "Eva, why don''t you go too and play with those dolphins?" He suggested.


    She smirked with his response and widened her eyes. "Come on! Do you take me as a kid? What will others think--"


    "If we don''t stop caring about others, we won''t be able to enjoy our life to the fullest. Stop caring and go. You look so happy while making these videos, I bet you will be happiest when you gotta play with them." He boldly interrupted her hesitation and assured her to move forward.


    "He is really a nice person," she thought with a small smile and obediently nodded her head in response. With gallant steps, she marched forward towards the arena where the dolphins were gathered.


    Ross gawked at her from behind with a pair of sharp blazing eyes. Soon, she immersed herself in a jovial world as she looked immensely happy, tossing the ball at them. The dolphins were reverting every hit of the ball and flipped their fins in happiness. Her eyes were gleaming in joy.


    Zeus was quietly staring at them from afar distance at the corner of the auditorium hall. His eyes were glued upon her with a fixed intense stare. She was clapping her hands in joy while playing with them.


    To his surprise, she seemed like a small child being immersed in a beautiful rhythmical world, and unknowingly while looking at her, a small smile escaped his soft lips. With a sad smile, he continued watching her as long-desired happiness he had been yearning for.


    But some dark conspiracy was going on against her and soon it was revealed.


    Ross quietly walked closer to her with his eyes locked upon her pendant, shining as her protective armor on her neck. Quickly he looked around them to check if anyone was noticing his approach.


    Within a fraction of a moment, he placed his right arm on her back shoulder smoothly while her center of attention was focussed on feeding the dolphins. Immediately, razor-sharp claws emerged out of his nails, and in the spark of a second, he ripped the chain holding the pendant.


    PLOP!


    Immediately the chain ripped off and the pendant plopped into the water due to his devilish act. Eva rolled her eyes in surprise when her cherished neck pendant fell down on the profound pool.


    "NOOO! MY PENDANT!"


    She screamed intensely while watching it falling deep into the pool. Her eyes were widened in awe as if she still couldn''t believe what the heck just happened in a matter of few seconds.


    "I gotta get it back! I can''t lose it!" She shrieked aloud surprising almost all the people present there, along with the dolphins. She was almost determined to jump inside to get it back.


    Instantly Ross gripped her shoulder while stopping her from diving in. "Eva, what are you doing? It''s just a pendant!" He tried his ultimate best to stop her from ruining his nasty conspiracy.


    "I can''t lose it, Ross! It''s important to me! I was cherishing it so much, how did it fell inside! How could I lose it! Gosh!" She swatted her forehead while howling loudly. Her voice sounded constricted as if she was on the verge of tears from the sudden mishap.


    Ross was amused a little to see her getting all panicked but tried to stay composed in front of her. "Eva, calm down! We can''t change anything once it''s done. Believe me, nothing bad would happen to you after losing it." He held her arms while answering.


    Her eyes were teary and her gaze was locked on the pool of water where the pendant dropped in. Her heart was throbbing in grief as it was the only symbol of Zeus she had with herself till now. And he had clearly warned her prior, not to lose it ever again.


    A trainer of the dolphins quietly walked closer to Eva. She was all frozen in shock while looking at the pool. The person seemed to be nervous before speaking to her.


    "I am sorry for your loss, ma''am. But the pool is too deep, it''s hard to find the pendant now." The lady seemed to be fretted.


    Eva was still in a state of shock and sighed heavily. "So, it means... did I lose it forever? Can''t I find it ever again?" She murmured.


    "We will definitely try our best to look it everywhere around the pool with the help of our workers. But... we can''t guarantee you to do it by today, ma''am. I am sorry." The lady squirmed in anxiousness while asking for an apology.


    Ross seemed quite satisfied with her answer as this kind of situation was all he was rooting for. He desperately wanted to take the pendant away from her and finally, with his witty act, he was successful in doing so.


    But he tried to portray a morose expression in front of Eva who was standing all numb being teary-eyed. He quietly tapped her shoulder and sighed out heavily before consoling her, "Eva, let''s go outside. Let''s get some fresh air to calm down ourselves."


    She again took a glance at the pool and a drop of warm tears dripped down from the corner of her eyes. Her heart was feeling heavy and she slowly shoved herself away from his grip while heading outside all alone.


    "Now, it''s my chance. Bingo!" Ross wondered with an evil smirk.

 Chapter 35 - The Attack

    "Eva, slow down! You might trip and get hurt!"


    Ross called her in a sharp scream from behind. Eva was almost rushing ahead of him in grief and with the brisk tone, she halted.


    He moved quickly closer to her and glanced at her expression. She had a grimacing face with her eyes lowered down.


    "Hey, don''t be so sad. Your eyes are already swollen from crying so hard." He tried to comfort her and handed her a hanky to wipe her tears out. "Here, take this."


    She sighed heavily with his kind gesture and lifted her arm to grab the fine linen hanky. But all of a sudden, a thought struck her mind which made her pause.


    "Ross... what if I never find the pendant ever again? What if I am accosted by dangers... again?" Her voice quivered.


    With her dubious interrogation, immediately his facial eloquence darkened as he smirked wickedly. "Don''t worry... I won''t torture my pretty prey much!" He wondered with an evil sneer and cleared his throat before answering her back, "I am very sure the staff crew would definitely look for the pendant for you. Don''t overthink too much, okay?" He tried to portray a fake concern.


    She silently nodded her head and both of them started walking down the lane towards their home as it was almost the evening.


    ...


    It was almost around 8 pm. The night time was calm and radiating a mystic aura all-encompassing the surroundings. It was almost time for the bright full moon night and the illuminant moon was radiating brightly up there in the night sky. Ross and Eva were strolling down beside a large greenish grass- field at a slow pace being accompanied by the soothing night breeze.


    She stared at him once with a dubious gaze as he was walking ahead of her. After they started heading from the bus-stop, Ross has been awfully quiet. He suggested her of taking a short-cut route towards the home as their houses reside in the same direction. However, she agreed to his proposal but the idea appeared a bit skeptical towards her. They have been walking for the past 30 minutes but still, they didn''t reach their neighborhood area.


    Moreover, the area looked completely dark, desolated, and unfamiliar to her. She was ogling all around while following him quietly from behind, but his gestures were emerging out to be more suspicious towards her.


    "Ross? How long it will take more? I think we are in an unfamiliar neighborhood! I think we have taken the wrong route!" She whined in a loud tone while gazing around herself. With gradual passing time, the intense domain was turning out to be more spooky for her to rely on.


    Suddenly he halted his motion and stood all still. As he stopped marching, she stopped walking too and glanced at him from behind with a frown face.


    "We have come to the right destination, Eva. Here, no one will bother us anymore. I wanted to bring my meal right to this place, only." He sounded extremely malicious with a scary deep voice.


    Eva was shocked and surprised that she forgot to breathe out for a few seconds. She gasped at him in wonder and rolled her eyes in a fret, "wh-what? What do you mean by it? Ross? What are you even responding to?" She squeaked.


    With her fretted tone, he smirked cryptically and turned back towards her. But this was not the normal, amicable friendly Ross she had been meeting till now! But a fierce, dark, wicked and devilish eloquent person was standing in front of her by blocking her view.


    "Ro-Ross? What''s wrong? Yo-You are scaring me!" She took a step back while mumbling her words in an unclear pitch.


    "It was frustrating enough to put up such a fake friendly for quite a long time, Eva. But now, nothing won''t stop me from devouring you!" He declaimed in a cold voice and firmly took a step closer towards her. He had a cruel smile on his grimace while approaching her.


    She gulped her saliva anxiously and started moving in the back direction from him. She immediately sensed that his intentions weren''t normal from before and just he planned, she had fallen into his trap.


    "Why are you doing this you lunatic jerk? What do you want from me?" She screamed in wrath as his ugly confrontation made her fuming in rage.


    He laughed out aloud with her interrogation and covered his mouth with his broad arms. "Not only you are pretty, but fierce too! I absolutely love preys like this! They match my taste and also, satisfy my hunger!" With a sly smirk, he licked his red lustrous lips with a lewd yearning gaze towards her.


    STOMP!


    While moving back suddenly Eva tripped over a small pebble and nervously fell down on the ground. With the sudden tripping, she got a bruise on her elbow and it started bleeding profusely from the injured area.


    "Ahhh!" She quivered in pain while looking at the scrape and slightly raised her chin to take a peek at Ross.


    He was maliciously looking at her bleeding arm with his evil eyes shimmering in the dark. He licked his lips again as if the sight of her blood had immensely provoked the beast inside him!


    "The smell! The smell makes me crazy!" He howled in a loud voice and shifted his stare towards her frightened pale face.


    Eva was turned stiff in fear with her wobbly legs unable to stand up and run away from him. She was extremely terrified and started sobbing bitterly. "Why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong to you? Who are you?" She screamed.


    "Don''t worry darling, I generally don''t torture my food much before devouring! It''s just a matter of a few seconds!" He raised his right arm and stomped his feet hard by bending his body a little. It seemed as if he was attempting to take a huge leap towards her just like a wild animal capturing its prey.


    As he dashed closer to her suddenly someone came in between his way as fierce as the speed of the wind and yanked him ferociously away from her.


    She was trembling in fear while closing her eyes but as soon as she heard uninvited chaos, she cryptically opened her eyes.


    A tall, sturdy person drenched in water, dressed in a completely black attire was standing in front of her as her protective shield. She immediately recognized that the person was no one other than her constant protector, Zeus.


    "Not so fast, you bastard beta!" He growled at him in a fiery resonance.

 Chapter 36 - Attacking

    Trembling in fear, with her eyes tightly closed within, squatting down on the ground, she had covered her face with her quivering hands. But suddenly, she perceived a sensation of someone unknown standing in front of her as the mighty firm guard wall, to protect her from creepy Ross.


    And the deep voice, it was not unfamiliar too! She had heard the voice staying very close to that person, who has always protected her from approaching dangers. It was Zeus!


    Hearing his voice, she slowly shoved her hands away from her front and tried to blink at that scenario. Wearing a massive black fur coat, and completely soaked in water, Zeus was guarding her against him in a stern posture.


    "Ze-Zeus!" With a glimmer of relief on her face, she stood up from the ground, just behind him.


    "Ahhh, I knew it. You would definitely come to interrupt my dinner." Ross didn''t seem a bit flinched with his sudden arrival. Instead, he responded with a witty reply which further elevated his rage.


    "And you really thought I would allow you to even lay a single scratch over her? I guess you have forgotten my warning." With a deep reverberating dominating tone, his resonance echoed vibrationally in the entire vacant field they were confronting in.


    "Haha! And I guess I came prepared today." Immediately conveying his wicked response, Ross made a beast gesticulation on his face, curved his jaws, raised his eyebrows, and smirked with a malicious gaze in his dark eyes. He raised his right arm high up on the air and dashed furiously towards him with a mode attacking him.


    Eva was spellbound in shock with the absurd scenario happening in front of her eyes! The gentle and friendly person she thought about him was completely opposite from the one she mistook him. The way he dashed running towards Zeus, it appeared like a wild animalistic chase!


    But Zeus didn''t even slip aside from his rigid position and glared at him intensively. As he dashed extremely closer to him, Zeus clenched his fist and threw a vigorous punch over his face from his sturdy grip. With his one robust punch, he was almost sent flying up on air. He fell down on the ground at a distance far away, smashed his face down.


    As he dropped down, he rushed towards him using his supernatural power by taking a huge leap with his giant legs, clenching his fist again. But this time, Ross dodged his attack by sliding aside on the ground at the last moment.


    She rolled her eyes in awe as the way they were chasing after each other, wasn''t normal men fight! It appeared as if she was watching any cinematic graphics before her sight. With a dreadful gaze and throbbing heart, she stood all frozen staring at Zeus.


    "F*ck! Why are you dodging away from me? I don''t wanna waste my time furthermore on a weakling like you." Zeus stood up from the ground and wiped off the dust from his coat while challenging him in a calm resonance.


    In the bright moonlit illuminance, he saw Ross was bleeding from the corner of his lips with his one vigorous punch. With an evil smirk, he wiped off the blood from the corner and darkened his gaze, glaring at him. "Then I guess, we should fight in our true beast mode."


    Immediately, Eva witnessed a horrific paranormal sight ahead. He raised his arm and giant razor-sharp claws emerged out from his nails of both arms. He was grinning maliciously and two sharp, brutal white canines emerged out from the two side corners of his teeth. Moreover, his pupils dilated and the color of his eyes transformed from normal black to illuminant blue. He didn''t appear like a human anymore, but a violent beast glaring at Zeus.


    "Aeeekkkk!" Petrified in dread, Eva screamed aloud, covering her mouth with her shivering arms while glancing at Ross. He looked like a horrifying monster with the fierce gesticulations he was advancing.


    "I will show you what you get after interrupting my dinner! Aaaaaaaahrrgghh!" He raised his claws and rushed towards Zeus with a vigorous attempt to attack him.


    Quickly he dodged his turbulence and immediately grabbed him from behind by the neck to lock him within his grasp. But things didn''t go as he planned.


    SLASH!


    Suddenly, he slipped away from his grip and slashed his upper arm causing him to bleed profusely. Zeus was a bit startled too with his quick attack which happened in the blink of a second.


    "Hahhh!" Eva gasped in fear while watching him getting attacked in a flick of a second by him.


    DRIP! DROP!


    Blood droplets started dripping down from his arm and Zeus glanced at the scar with a fierce face. He gnashed his teeth in anger and raised his chin above to glare at him turbulently.


    "I guess, your powers have slowed down, Mr. Alpha. Look above!" He raised his index finger and pointed at the illuminated moon covered behind the dark clouds, shimmering in the night cold sky. "Full moon is in just 2 days from now. Your powers will be at the lowest peak and that''s the reason, you were slow in dodging my claws. You won''t be able to stop me!" He grumbled with a malevolent chuckle.


    "I will kill you! I will crush you within my arms!" With the fierce declaration, suddenly, his pupils dilated and the dark coloration of his eyes transformed into bright red radiance, the color of a true blood dominant alpha. He raised his bleeding wounded arm and giant sharp claws emerged out from his nails of the right hand. Stomping his feet turbulently over the ground, he ran towards him head-on rising those giant claws.


    STAB!!


    "Nooooooo! Zeus!" Eva shrieked in horror, rolling her eyes wider.


    Suddenly, Ross approached fiercely towards him and stabbed his abdomen right away with those monstrous claws. Zeus again couldn''t estimate his counterattack and got himself trapped in this plan.


    His body twitched in pain and he lowered his head to look at the sight. He had thrust his entire claws inside his gut and stood in front of him with a victorious grin.


    But something felt unusual! Generally, alphas face such grave injuries from enemies countless times in life, but with this stab, he felt a burning sensation in his entire body as if somebody had put him up on a fire! With immense pain, he twitched his body again but Ross thrust his hand further inside causing him more suffering!


    "OUGHHHH!" Zeus quivered in pain as he drove the entire claws straight inside his gut. He grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull him away from his body but his entire body was paining with a burning sensation.


    "What! Why is it burning! Aargh!" He shrieked out with a trembling voice


    Ross leaned his head a bit closer to him and smiled predominating his enormous canines. "It''s wolfsbane dust. It will definitely ensure your death!" He grumbled at him with a chuckle.


    ______________________________


    [Wolfsbane is a fictitious plant that is believed to execute werewolves.]

 Chapter 37 - An Alpha Never Loses

    "Ahhrghhh!" A spit of blood drooled down from the corner of Zeus''s bloody reddened soft lips, painting his porcelain white skin in blood as he quivered in pain.


    Ross has shoved his entire razor-sharp claw nails inside his gut with an utmost cruel smile lingering out his ferocious canines, and his bluish fierce eyes ogling at him devilishly.


    "I can''t believe, I am watching a ferocious alpha of Romano pack helplessly moaning in pain before me. Wolfsbane really works out the best." He grumbled deeply, holding a victorious smirk.


    "Why are you doing this to him? Leave him! You wanted to hurt me, so do it with me! Leave him, you bastard!" Eva was bawling her eyes out, trembling in fear while approaching closer to Zeus with her shivering pace.


    She was terrified but with a gallant heart, she provoked him to attack her instead of him. The brutal way in which he was getting tormented by him was beyond a nightmare.


    With a twitching sharp pain and a burning sensation all over his body, all of a sudden his legs gave up the strength of standing and he knelt down on the ground, severely bleeding out from his mouth. Zeus was severely injured, panting heavily but poured his entire strength in dragging back his claws from inside his gut.


    As soon as he knelt down, Ross raised his malicious face upwards and gawked at Eva who was approaching closer to them with her shivering pace. She was mourning hard, with her eyes fixed at Zeus''s pathetic condition.


    "Yes, good thing you called out. I will deal with him later, but now I should focus on you. True, I had forgotten about you, Eva! But I guess, I shouldn''t spare my dinner today and... you already know about my real self now. So it''s pointless, to leave you alive." He departed the claws away from him instantly and gore red thick blood was dripping down from his right arm. Eva shivered in terror as soon as she peeped at his arm and gasped hard, covering her mouth with her arm.


    Holding a gallant eloquence, he boldly walked towards Eva with blood droplets of Zeus dripping down on the ground as he moved ahead. She soon realized her horrifying approaching end and bit her lips anxiously bawling her eyes out. For the last time, she tried to have a glance at Zeus, who was kneeling down behind him, facing his back towards her.


    With fear and anxiety, her vision was turning out blurry but with her last desperate attempt, she tried to fix her stare at Zeus before her approaching demise.


    "Please... Please run away... He is coming towards me... Please use this opportunity and leave... Please, Zeus!" With her loud crying voice, trembling chin, and quivering lips, she shrieked at him as her last frantic attempt.


    "Awww! Such an innocent love blooming between you two. My heart is already melting." Ross reverberated her response with a mockery tone and raised his right arm as he had reached utmost closer to her. The razor pointed piercing claws emerged out from his nails and with a devilish gaze, he licked his lips while looking at Eva. "I bet, you will be a tasty meal. Now, die!" He shoved his blood-smeared arm in the air, venturing to pierce them inside her.


    GHAWP!


    "AEEEKKK!"


    All of a sudden, a thick, sturdy, hairy arm, holding robust giant claws emerging out from its nails, shoved inside his abdomen from behind which stabbed him ferociously from his inside out! Ross groaned in pain as the entire hand was inside his body tearing his gut thoroughly! And only one person could have such a powerful hold of ultimate paranormal claws!


    Ross stood all silent, numb, with blood profusely drooling out of his mouth. Eva was start-stunned, rolled his eyes in horror to watch such a paranormal sight! She shrieked in fear aloud and started breathing too fast! After a few moments of awful silence, the giant hand immediately retreated back away from his body. All paralyzed and numb, with the torn stomach, Ross couldn''t stand anymore and plopped down on the ground.


    As he dropped down, the person standing behind him holding a majestic figure was no one other than Zeus! As Eva rolled her eyes on him, she discovered a horrific visual!


    His eyes were no longer usual black but bloody red, with dilated pupils gawking at Ross. His hairy giant claw-shaped arm looked like that of an animal, especially it no longer had its human form! He was covered with blood bruises, holding a gravely injured abdomen with blood dripping down severely with a stern gallant eloquence on his face.


    After a few minutes, Ross stopped quivering in pain and already demised as he was being unable to withstand such a turbulent counter-attack from a true-blood alpha in his such injured state. As he stopped moving, Zeus raised his fiery eyes from the ground and glimpsed at Eva who was stunned in shock to witness his hidden new form.


    "An alpha...never loses..." He murmured his words and as soon as he finished proclaiming it, his strength gave up from his body. His knees collapsed and he knelt down on the ground, looking at her while peeping his eyes hysterically.


    "Zeus! No!!" Eva was shocked and surprised for a moment but as soon as she saw him dropping down, immediately she rushed towards him shrieking aloud in panic and alarm.


    As quickly she reached him, gently she grabbed his blood-coated body with her trembling arms and started mourning very hard. She placed his head on her lap, grabbed his face, and tried to comfort him a bit, caressing his face and hairs.


    "Zeus! Please don''t die! Please don''t leave me alone! I...I will take you to the hospital--"


    "You... You are safe... Eva..." He murmured his last words before closing his eyes with tears rolling down. A sad trembling smile with a quivering chin escaped his lips as he lost his consciousness on her lap.


    _______________


    ***********


    IMPORTANT INFORMATION:


    I HAVE BEEN ENCOUNTERING CONTINUOUS CONFUSIONS FROM MY DEAR READERS BUT I WANT TO CLEARLY MENTION IT THAT, BEFORE ZEUS COULD OBTAIN HIS COMPLETE WEREWOLF FORM, HE PASSED OUT ON HER LAP. THAT MEANS, EVA DIDN''T GET TO SEE HIS ACTUAL WOLF FORM AND SHE DOESN''T KNOW YET ABOUT HIS REAL IDENTITY. IT''S JUST THAT SHE REALIZED THAT HE IS A SUPERNATURAL CREATURE FROM ALL THE FIGHTING THAT HAPPENED.

 Chapter 38 - Its All Because Of Me!

    "NOOO! PLEASE! WAKE UP!"


    All helpless, doomed with fear and anguish, Eva shrieked out in panic. She was consistently tapping his blood-smeared jowls with his face turning out completely pale as he lost his consciousness, resting his head on her lap.


    TAP! TAP! TAP!


    All of a sudden, she heard giant footsteps approaching her closer to her in the dark. Trembling in fear, with petrified small eyes, she raised her chin up to look at the figure marching towards her.


    To her surprise, it was Czar! Dressed up in a black formal suit, he walked straight away close to her like a model as his tall, charming, elegant apearance looked quite shimmering in moonlit.


    But like regular days, he didn''t seem to be in a light-hearted mood. He seemed quite serious, holding a frown face and gazing intensively at collapsed Zeus.


    Watching him marching closer, all of a sudden, a small ray of hope lit inside her terror-stricken heart. Grabbing Zeus''s broad shoulder with her trembling hands, she started weeping bitterly, looking at Czar.


    "Please...help him...He...He is...gravely injured... Please help him, I beg you." Her teary voice choked with pain, as he pleaded before him, whimpering hard.


    Czar stood still for a few moments as if he was being hysteric with the horrifying situation. Ross was lying down dead on the ground, torn apart by the gut and covered in a pool of blood. He took a slight glance at him and shifted his face towards Eva.


    "Why is it so true... whenever he immerses himself in a trouble, it''s always related to you?" Czar grumbled at her, lowering his voice deeper. From his gestures, he looked quite agitated.


    Eva couldn''t oppose his accusation as indeed she has caused nothing but only serious trouble for him. And this time...it seriously impaired his own life!


    Lowering her head, sobbing in guilt, she nodded her head as warm tears dripped down from the corner of her deep brown eyes.


    "You are right... It''s all because of me... It''s always because of me... He always engages in trouble trying to save me out... I must be the one who suffers.. But instead of me...always...he endangers himself. I am the one who is responsible for his grave injury today. He chose to protect me and look...look what happened...hic..." She was quivering in a rugged voice, mourning hard, as she softly stroked his blood shredded cold pale cheeks.


    Slowly, Czar knelt down before them and observed him thoroughly by bringing his face much closer to him. Indeed, he was pathetically attacked which was being prominent from his deep, scary wounds.


    "How can this dumb alpha toss away his own life so carelessly for saving such a mere human? Has he gone nuts? Such a naive fool!" He grumbled on his own, looking at the severely injured portion of his abdomen from the attack of sharp claws.


    "We shouldn''t waste much time here. He is bleeding profusely! We gotta take him to the hospital! We have to hurry up!" Eva sounded very intense as well as terrified.


    Immediately, Czar shifted his glare towards her and stared intensively for a few seconds. From his gaze, it seemed that he must have been wondering about some serious issues.


    "You... You saw everything today, didn''t you?" His voice note resounded very darkly.


    She flinched for a second to hear such an absurd question from him and felt a bit scared. Slowly, she gulped her saliva and tried to act all composed before him.


    "You can ask me whatever you want later... But for now, we must hurry up to the hospital. He needs help now--"


    "As far I can assume, you have seen the hidden truth of our existence, didn''t you?" He seemed very impatient while leaning his dubious face closer to her.


    "Is your interrogations important now than someone''s life?" Unable to get a hold of her anxiety, furiously she yelled at him. "Can''t you see how severely he is injured! Can''t you see he needs help now or else..." She couldn''t complete her words as she started whimpering in panic again.


    For a few seconds, he continued staring at her intensely and took a deep breath out. "Alright, I will deal with you later. But do remember it little duckling, you won''t get away from me after knowing so much about us! You might have to pay a hefty price!" His threat sounded quite vicious as he rolled his eyes devilishly at her.


    Slowly, both of them initiated to raise Zeus up from the ground. He was completely motionless and Czar tried to hold him tight by his waist and putting his arms to wrap on his shoulder as support. He tried to drag him somewhere else.


    "We must take him to the hospital. There he can--"


    "No!" Czar firmly interrupted her sentence in a coarse voice, glaring at her intensely. "Hospital is for humans. It is not the place for monsters like us. I am taking him home." He further continued.


    Eva standing all numb and baffled, couldn''t oppose his firm declaration. She was fidgeting in despair, looking at unconscious droopy Zeus who appeared extremely vulnerable in that state.


    "O-Okay... I won''t stop you. But...please...take me with you." In a teary noise, she pleaded before him.


    "What? Are you crazy?" His irked reaction showed that he looked much agitated with her proposal and rolled his dark dubious eyes mystically.


    "It''s all happened because of me. He is in such a horrible state just because of me... So... please, please let me stay beside him. I want to stay beside him--"


    "Do you even realize what will happen to you if you ever dare to enter our mansion?" He intervened her sentence, groaning at her in anger. "Have you ever heard alone, helpless, fragile lamb entering inside a pack of wolves? It will never enter because...he is well aware, what can happen to his life if he dares to commit such stupidity."


    "I don''t care!" Eva declaimed firmly, bawling her eyes out in fear. "Please...Just let me stay beside him please!" She whimpered.

 Chapter 39 - Pleading

    "Don''t act like a stupid!" Fuming in anger, Czar grumbled at her furiously. While shrieking at her, he grasped collapsed Zeus tighter by hoarding his waist. "Look at this fool!" He pointed his index finger towards Zeus and glared at Eva. "This dumb fool tossed away his own life for your goddamn safety! And you are acting so selfish by not even caring about the sacrifice he made for you!" For the first time ever, Czar stood firmly in support of him.


    "I am not acting selfishly!" Eva reciprocated his accusation, by yelling back at him being baffled by the dense situation. "I am terribly guilt-stricken...


    I am badly wrecked from inside after losing everyone I ever loved... I just... I just...don''t wanna lose him... I am scared to let him get away from my sight...I am scared that I might not see him ever again!!" Sobbing helplessly in grief, she shouted with her husky agonizing tone, looking at Zeus who was leaning his head on his shoulder.


    "He won''t die. He is not such a weakling." After keeping quiet for a few seconds, he responded to her back in an assuring voice, holding a small confident simper.


    With his absurd declaration, Eva was spellbound for a few seconds and kept ogling at him.


    Czar slowly shifted his gaze sideways and gawked at him once. "I won''t allow you to die in any other''s hand so easily. You haven''t even suffered half of the miseries I have dealt in my life... You won''t escape so easily from me, my dear brother." Glaring at him with a dark mystic gaze, he wondered maliciously.


    As he was about to turn behind to leave, clenching his grasp around him firmly, immediately Eva grabbed his arm from behind attempting to stop him from leaving.


    "Wai-Wait..." Her crooked voice sounded melancholic.


    With an irked expression, he slightly shifted his gaze towards her and murmured deep, "what now?"


    "I... I don''t know...how but...please...Please save him. I beg of you..." Tears rolled down her despaired grimace as she quivered in pain.


    Czar didn''t utter a single word and kept gawking at her for a few seconds. For the very first time, he witnessed such a powerful fierce alpha like him severely injured and entirely collapsed. Not only that but also it was the very first time he watched a fragile weak human helplessly grieving for him.


    "I will deal with you later." Uttering his words deep, he turned back, dragging him along with him, and kept moving at a fast pace. Slowly, within the moonlit shimmering night, both of them disappeared in the dark.


    Eva stood behind, watching them leaving far away from her vision, with a tear-soaked despaired grimace. In immense regret, she lowered her face down.


    Soon, she plopped down on the ground as her knees gave up the strength. Clenching her fist harder, with quivering chin and trembling jowls she continued sobbing bitterly. "It''s all...all because of me... I should be the one to suffer... Not him..." She murmured in a rugged voice, peeking a glance at the dead body of Ross, lying down on the ground from a far distance from her, covered in blood.


    ...


    Romano Mansion:


    .


    "What? Engagement?"


    Ivory jolted up from the couch, rolling her eyes wider in awe as she shrieked aloud. From her gestures, she seemed terribly stunned with the revelation.


    Aelia and Antonio were seated next to each other on the sofa opposite Ivory holding their calm postures in their magnificent large living room. The crystalline golden beaded chandelier hanging above them seemed to shimmer in radiant light, which further illuminated the whole ambiance.


    "Yes. You heard it right. We have decided about your and Zeus''s engagement ceremony." Aelia took a small sip from the cup filled with Jasmine tea she was gripping onto. She seemed very calm and composed, evoking a small grin on her bright glamorous face.


    "Are...Are you serious? I...I think it''s too sudden." She still muttered her words in a rugged voice as it was clearly shocking for her to get accustomed.


    "Yes, you may think it''s a bit sudden. But we don''t regret our decision." After a moment of silence, Antonio stood up from the sofa and gazed at her intensely with a small smirk on his eloquence. "We have been aware of how much you have always loved our son from the very childhood. I would say, he is a lucky man to find someone like you."


    "But..." She seemed a bit reluctant with their sudden declaration and started fidgeting anxiously. Watching her getting all nervous, Aelia stood up from the sofa and slackly walked closer to her. She tapped her shoulder and smiled genially at her.


    "Ivory, you are smart, artistically gorgeous, bold, and most importantly, the strongest she-werewolf of our pack. In every aspect, you are absolutely perfect to be our next Luna. Believe me, Zeus would never find someone as perfect as you. A strong alpha always needs a strong luna to stay by his side in every situation of life. So, don''t you overthink too much!" Her tone sounded very mellow, as she was complimenting her cordially.


    "And for this reason, we have decided to held the engagement ceremony possibly after the full moon period." Antonio further approached closer to them and added further this context.


    Ivory flinched in surprise and immediately peeked at him in wonder. "Full moon...that means...it''s after 3 days? We are getting engaged after 3days? Is he alright with it?" She inquired


    "Don''t you worry about it, my dear..." Aelia caressed her forearm trying to assure her a little. "He seemed a bit hot-headed about it but I believe, he will never oppose the decision we will take for him."


    ...


    "But I think, the engagement will need to be postponed. Things have gotten much complicated."


    All three of them flinched with the sudden interruption from a familiar deep voice. All of them turned their gazes behind at the main entrance and froze in horrific shock.


    ______________________


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 Chapter 40 - Intentional Attack

    Inside the Romano Mansion, Antonio, Aelia, and Ivory never even imagined in their wildest nightmare to witness such a spine-chilling horrific sight just a day before the full moon night!


    Czar was standing at the entrance door clenching brutally injured, crumpled Zeus leaning on his body for support as he was wholly unconscious. Czar was grabbing firmly by putting his arms around his waist, pouring his entire strength in. But as the strongest and powerful alpha of the pack, his body had become abnormally heavy even in his collapsed frigid state.


    "Wh-What on the earth is this!?" Antonio shrieked out with a petrified voice, swirling his pupils wider.


    "My son! What happened to my Zeus!? Yelling in a horrified voice, Aelia rushed towards the entrance almost tripping over with her staggering footsteps. Followed after her, Antonio rushed towards that area with a panicked expression.


    Ivory seemed frozen with shock and despair to watch her beloved one covered in blood and all helplessly fragile. For a moment, she forgot to breathe and gawked at the horrifying sight to cope up with the nightmare they were facing head-on.


    After a moment of anticipation, immediately she started running towards them with tears of grief and anguish rolling down her eyes. She was trembling fretfully in agony and her toes were tripping over while running.


    "Wh-What ha-happened to my son! Zeus! Sp-Speak to your mom! Open your eyes, please! What happened to you, my son? He...What...What the hell happened?" Aelia was unable to hold in her desperate anguish and several times shook his face with her slender hand to wake him up from the collapsed state, yelling frantically. Watching this horrific sight, she had lost the stability of her mind.


    Antonio was frozen in alarm for a few minutes, gulped his saliva anxiously, and raised his eyes towards Czar, who was standing all numb with a frown face. "What on the earth has happened to our alpha?" He grumbled at him.


    "He has been attacked with wolfsbane. The injury is very severe." Holding a serious eloquence, Czar answered him in a low pitch.


    "Haww!" Shivering in fear, Ivory covered her mouth with her hand hearing such a startling revelation from him. Wolfsbane has been always a serious life-threatening weapon used against werewolves and hearing about that her beloved one has been attacked with such a malevolent weapon... her heart almost stopped beating for a moment in dread.


    "What?" Aelia rolled her tearful eyes, furrowing her eyebrows and raising her husky voice impatiently. She seemed entirely petrified to learn about it. "Who... Who the hell dared to attack my son with wolfsbane? Is... Is...he al..live.." She was stuttering in panic.


    "Yes, he is alive." Czar took a slight glance at Zeus who was still in a vulnerable severe state. "But we don''t have much time left... We gotta summon the Witch Lady immediately... He has lost an excessive amount of blood. And, it''s already around the full moon..."


    "I...I am calling her right now. Please take him to his r-room." Ivory pleaded in a terrified expression and abruptly started to dial on her phone to summon that lady.


    Immediately Antonio grabbed Zeus on the other half and both of them started to drag him into his room at a staggering pace. Aelia followed after them at a wobbly pace of motion, shedding tears of grief. The entire pacific ambiance of Romano Mansion completely turned into a chaotic terrified one.


    ...


    A lady, dressed up in black silk embroidered gown, appearing in her late 40''s was applying bandages over the severely injured shredded portion of Zeus on his abdomen where he was pierced inside with wolfsbane. He was lying over the bed devoid of any shirt as his upper portion of the body which was gravely injured was being treated by her. Before tying up the bandage, the lady was applying some mysterious typical herbs to each and every part of the wounds.


    Over the side of his giant bed, all of them were gathered around with their stare entirely fixed upon Zeus. Aelia and Ivory were continually sobbing watching him resting on the bed all stiff and frigid like a dead body. Even his breathing rate had turned out extremely slow.


    Cleansing up all the injured areas, she wiped out her hands with a tissue and stood up from the side of his bed. Abruptly, Antonio dashed in front of her frowning his eyebrows and slightly took a peek at Zeus. He turned his face towards the lady and sighed a bit.


    "Is...his condition too severe?" He inquired her in a dubious hoarse pitch.


    "Well..." She gasped heavily at his question and scrunched her eyebrow ridge. "To be honest, he isn''t in a stable condition."


    "Have you treated his wounds properly? Have you examined his injuries " Aelia almost rushed hastily towards that woman, sobbing in despair, with her tearful eyes. She groaned at her in a deep voice.


    "Yes, I have thoroughly applied my magical herbs to his grave wounds...But..."


    "But?" Antonio fidgeted in anxiety.


    "It seems from the attack that it was obviously an intentional life-threatening attack. The wolfsbane had been thoroughly pierced inside his gut so that the vindictive essence of it could burn his insides solely. The claws were extensively sharp and it was purely from an attack of another ferocious werewolf. I think...it''s itself a miracle that he is still breathing after facing such a life impairing attack." The lady was responding to them in a fretful tone, swirling her dialed pupils mystically.


    "But who would dare to attack him with wolfsbane? And... why...why couldn''t he resist it?" Lamenting in a crooked voice, Aelia rumbled her words in an unclear tone.


    "All I can conclude is... you all need to keep a better watch at him for the rest of few days. His condition is extremely fragile now just like a new-born... And, if someone attempts to take the advantage of this glorious situation, he may face another dangerous attack again... If he gets attacked in this vulnerable condition, probably he won''t survive." She sounded very intense.


    Everyone inside the room was spellbound with the shocking revelation from her and gazed at each other''s faces for a few moments. Immediately, Antonio turned around and glanced at Czar, who was standing at the corner of the room silently, holding a frown grimace.


    He slowly walked closer to Czar and furrowed his eyebrows deeply."Czar, you must know everything...why and what had happened to him, right? Narrate us everything now." His pitch sounded immensely dubious as he commanded him.


    _____________________


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 Chapter 41 - Fierceness

    Covered with blood-sogged patches all over her clothes, Eva was walking towards her home in a staggering motion. Her cheeks were all puffed as she had been crying too hard while strolling alone. Looking at the blood patches which were Zeus''s thick dark flesh blood that stained her clothing, was causing her to sob bitterly as she was continually reprimanded of the horrifying event that she had faced just a while ago. The worriment about Zeus''s pathetic severe injury was causing her heart to tear apart in agony and regret.


    As she reached near her residence, below her house, she saw a mystic dark figure standing on the ecliptic portion of the street light, on the roadside. From a distance, it seemed a lady-like figure.


    Being continuously hit with miseries from the past few days, watching an unknown figure standing below her apartment, she gulped her saliva in anxiety. Fearing of a new horrific encounter, she started to retreat backward, desperate to escape from that cryptic figure.


    "EVA!"


    As she turned back to leave the area silently as a retreat, all of a sudden, the cryptic figure called her aloud from behind, as if the person had noticed her arrival.


    But this time, the voice note didn''t seem unfamiliar or dubious to her. Abruptly, in a jolt, she turned behind, and indeed it was a lady''s voice.


    The person was no one other than Clara, her one and only best friend whom she has always considered as her family. She was hurriedly almost running towards her from that shadowy area, holding a bright smile on her face. She seemed extremely glad to see her best friend after such a long wait.


    Eva was startled and surprised to watch her all of a sudden before her. The horrific event that she had to encounter had engraved a huge void of emptiness in her heart. But watching a beloved one in such a severe state of mind, elicited the emotional turmoil inside her widely.


    As Clara rushed closer to her, suddenly, her motion halted and she stood all numb with a petrified expression on her face. Her toes were quivering in fear.


    Clara was intensively gazing at the blood-smeared clothes of Eva and rolled her eyes in dread. Standing all frigid for a while, she almost jolted towards Eva and clenched her grip holding both of her forearms.


    "Eva! Wh-What''s wrong with you? Why are you bleeding so much? Look at your dress, it''s wholly stained in blood! Goddamit, what on the earth has happened to you? Are you hurt? Where are you injured?" Blabbering her words in immense panic, she started gawking all over her to notice the injured portion from where she was bleeding on.


    "I...I am not injured, Clara..." Her teary voice sounded much crooked and grievous.


    "Then? Why are you covered in blood? Gosh, it''s so horrifying to look at--"


    Before she could even complete her words, Eva almost jumped in her arms, breaking down helplessly. She was befalling to hold back her emotions inside which were causing an extreme urge of pain inside her heart.


    With her sudden embrace, Clara seemed a bit startled as she witnessed her behaviors were quite strange. After a moment of anticipation, she softly caressed her back shoulder with her tender touch, trying to calm her down. Eva was shivering in her arms, and sobbing bitterly all silent.


    "E-Eva? What...What is going on with you? Why are you shivering? Why...Why are you crying so hard? Can we talk first?" She inquired in a fretful pitch.


    "I...I missed you...hic...hic..." Her voice sounded quite unclear as she murmured while grieving hard, resting on her shoulders. She clenched her grip around Clara as if such a loving embrace her soul had been seeking for long.


    "I am sorry for being a bit late in coming back to you, Eva... That stupid office trip had completely drained out my energy. I just arrived today morning and I wanted to give a surprise to you with this sudden visit...But...instead...I was surprised and shocked in horror, watching you like this...blood-smeared."


    "I am so worried... My heart...My heart is aching in pain...I can''t bear the weight of my grief...I feel so fucking useless!" She raised her voice aloud, venting out her entire frustration she had been weighing down in her heart, all alone.


    Clara was still spellbound with her absurd lamenting behavior and tugged her in her embrace. Patting her head softly, she sighed out a deep breath.


    "I wonder...what the heck has been happening with her? She seems so heartbroken..." She wondered.


    ...


    "Czar, narrate each and everything to us clearly." Antonio scrunched his eyebrows, frowning his face with a stiffened eloquence towards him. He looked highly anticipated with the severe condition of Zeus, which had already disturbed his peaceful state of mind.


    As soon as he concluded his command, Aelia rushed towards Czar fiercely, swirling her eyeballs wider as she seemed immensely frustrated.


    As she approached him, immediately, her pupil''s color transformed into dominant red as she was fuming in rage. "Don''t you dare to lie anything about my son... And... if all these have been caused by such an evil beta like you... I will slit out your throat right here and right now! No one can save you here from my wrath!" She shrieked out at him, venting out her anger vigorously.


    "Aelia, hold back your emotions!" Antonio grabbed her forearm as she was losing her calm state of mind. She going hysteric in pain and grief. "I have already asked him, you don''t have to interrupt between us."


    "Calm down? How can I calm down when my son is already on his death-bed?" She yelled at him louder, with tear-swelled eyes, whimpering in agony. "Antonio...if something happens to him... I swear... I won''t be sane anymore--"


    "Nothing will happen to our strongest alpha." To reassure her grieved heart, his voice resonated as an echo in the entire room. Czar, Ivory, and the Witch Lady were speechless with the intense atmosphere between them.


    He glanced at Czar back and inquired him again, "will you answer my question now?"


    Czar took a slight to peek at motionless, frigid Zeus on the bed and sighed out deeply. He raised his chin up and gazed at him straight before answering, "He impaired his own life... to save that human maiden..."


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 Chapter 42 - The Shocking Revelation

    "Wh-What?" Antonio murmured in an unclear voice. He was absolutely speechless for a few moments and even forgot to blink his eyes glaring at Czar on a dubious note. His shocking revelation stunned everyone present right there in the room. Aelia, swirled her bright red fierce eyes intensively staggered a step back in awe, hearing his repulsive answer.


    Czar frowned his grimace and glared sharply at his father, holding a dark eloquence in his eyes. "Yes. You heard it right. Your son... The proud, strongest, dominant Alpha has turned out to be a lovesick fool, who was tossed away his own life for the sake of that stupid human. It must be shocking for you all, isn''t it?" He had a witty small smirk at the edge of his tender red lips, which depicted his mockery expression towards them. "The son for whom you were always proud and haughty... that alpha has committed such a blunder." He continued.


    "No... It''s...It''s impossible..." Aelia sounded hysteric as she murmured in a hazy pitch, retreating a step back away from them. "My son...he can''t do this...He...He can''t commit such a blunder..." She seemed baffled as well as perplexing on her own.


    Somehow, Czar glared at them with a proud beam of happiness on his face. It seemed as if he was feeling much satisfied to watch them in such a despairing state caused by Zeus. He shifted his gaze towards Antonio, who was standing absolutely frozen, stunned in awe.


    "It must be really shocking for you all, dad. I am well aware of the ill-fated relationship of our pack with humans... I know...these humans have tried their best to destroy us in the past. Our ancestors had to pay a hefty price with their lives to protect us, but with our strong will, we survived it today...


    I know...how despicable humans are for us... And, the most unfortunate part is...the leader of our pack who must have protected us from these vile humans...fell head over heels for a mere human..." He sounded quite cryptic, in a deep voice.


    "What...What had exactly happened right there?" In a vexed tone, Antonio grumbled at him, as he sounded much infuriated with the raised intense situation.


    "I wasn''t present there at the exact moment the incident took place...But as far I have assumed, this attack was intended for that lady."


    "What?" Ivory shrieked out in surprise as she was unable to suppress her fret anymore. Slowly she walked closer to Aelia and stood still, ogling at him. "This attack...wasn''t triggered for Zeus?"


    "No. As far I can resemble the entire scenario...a werewolf from another pack intended to harm that human maiden. But...as always...Zeus came in between the mishap and chose to be her shield... Though, he defeated that vile werewolf but...the result is in front of you all. He protected that woman... obligating his own life." He reverberated his response in a deep echo.


    Ivory couldn''t utter a single word in his response. She was surprised and shock, fidgeting along with a heavy heart. Her dark, anguish eyes immediately filled with tears as she took a small peek at Zeus, while he was lying all unconscious over his bed. "Why Zeus? Why did you do that?" She wondered, inhaling a deep breath.


    "Who is that maiden?" All of a sudden, Aelia lost her entire grip over her calm mental state and yelled out at him in a loud screeching tone. "Who...Who the hell dared to mess with my son''s life?" She shrieked out and fiercely rushed towards Czar in gallant steps. "Tell me... Tell me where I can find that wench! I will...I will eliminate her entire existence right now."


    Watching her losing all her self-control, Ivory rushed towards her and gripped her forearm to halt her from going overboard. "Aunt Aelia... Please... calm down--"


    "Calm down?" She immediately turned her gaze towards Ivory and gritted her teeth in anger. "A lewd wench has messed up my son''s life and you are telling me to calm down? Hah! He...would never do such a forbidden act towards any human! I know my son! But...that vile human...she must have controlled him by any means... If I don''t kill her right now, someday, she is gonna get Zeus killed by someone--"


    "That day will never come."


    Antonio interrupted her statement, in a dark hoarse pitch. He had been standing all frigid, lowering his grimace down. But as soon as he raised his chin up, all of them noticed that his dark-black pupils had completely transformed into an illuminant golden red color, which clearly depicted the dominant vicious form of a former alpha. He seemed to be fuming with wrath, clenching his fist harder. His outrageous repulsive form somehow startled everyone in the room as it was extremely unlikely of him to get this fierce.


    "Before that day approaches, I will make sure to kill that woman with my own claws..." He grumbled in a deep pitch, swirling his eyeballs in wrath. "But, let''s wait for now till Zeus wakes up again... I have many things, to interrogate him." Mystically, he revolved his eyes over his bed, responding to her in a hoarse tone.


    Whimpering in agony and angst, Aelia started to sob bitterly, with trembling lips and quivering chin, she peeked at Zeus once.


    Ivory approached closer to her and hugged her tenderly from behind, providing her the moral support she needed at the very moment. Being a mother and watching her own son, on the verge of termination, wrecked her insides in dread.


    Tears rolled down from their cheeks as both of them stood all numb and frigid, knowing about the shocking revelation. She embraced Ivory back and started weeping on her shoulder, holding a heavy heart.


    Watching the entire chaotic intense scenario, Czar smirked with a sly expression imprinted on his face. Somehow, his eyes seemed very dark but satisfied to the core. He seemed to be gratified to watch them in despair.


    "It''s just the beginning, I will make sure to make your life doomed in miseries... I will make sure to seek my ultimate vengeance... Former Alpha and...your Vile Luna...both of you just wait and watch." He wondered with a malicious smirk and shifted his gaze back to Zeus, with a wrathful intense stare. "You too...my big brother. I will make sure to make your life miserable too."


    _______________


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 Chapter 43 - Different Perspectives

    "Here, have some warm milk. It will help you to relieve your stress."


    Clara handed Eva a cup of moderately skimmed warm milk, taking a seat next to her on the couch, inside her apartment. After taking a shower, changing her clothes into a night suit, Eva was sitting all numb and frozen as if her soul had been already transported to a different world. She didn''t even stretch out her arm to hold the cup from her. Her eyes were fixed at the neverending dark night sky, holding a gaze of unknown emptiness.


    "Eva?" She called her out again, but this time in a much louder voice.


    "Ye-Yes." She flinched back with her sudden loud noise and shifted her gaze from outside towards her. Her grimace resembled extremely pale.


    "I brought some warm milk for you. Drink it up."


    Nodding her head in a reluctant manner, she gripped the cup from her hand. Exhaling out a heavy sigh, she took a sip of the warm skimmed milk. Her eyes were still shrouded with anonymous darkness as if she was deeply immersed in something from inside.


    "Eva, if you are feeling a bit better now, can we talk?" She inquired in a deep voice, scrunching her eyebrows.


    Eva was sitting still, lowering her face downwards, and sighed out again. "What do you want to know, Clara?"


    "About every damn thing!" Her tone sounded a little irked as well repulsive. "I bet...something terrible must be going around with you... From your pale face, it''s clearly evident too. So, you better don''t hide anything from me. I am here to hear about all the shits you are going through."


    For a while, she stayed quiet and slowly raised her chin up, to look at her deep intense eyes. "Clara... can...can I ask you something?"


    "Yes, of course! Since when do you need permission for it?"


    "What you have done...if you ever come across a...mythical creature...who....is...not a human?" In a stuttering voice, she inquired her back.


    "What?" Clara looked absolutely stunned by her question, gazing at her in awe. "What kind of question is that? And what about the mythical creature?"


    "Just answer me first, Clara... What have you done if you ever come to know about such existence?" She was persistent.


    "Of course I will seek for help! Or I might inform the police immediately! Who would want to keep such a major revelation a secret from the world? First of all, I don''t believe if any kind of mythical being exists or not...but if they do exist...shouldn''t we grab a hold of this golden chance?" Her eyes abruptly transformed from an intense expression into a glimmering spark as if she was overexcited with the thought.


    "Golden chance?" Eva frowned her face, being inquisitive about her overstimulated reaction.


    "Of course!" She grabbed her arm tenderly and smirked at her. "The news channels, social media...the whole world will just go gaga with such a startling revelation! Once we disclose such a rarest phenomenon, we will be insanely popular like any high mighty celebrities! Don''t you think so?" She blabbered out consistently.


    "What the fuck?" Eva was spellbound for a few minutes with her completely drastic way of thinking that was the exact opposite from her. "Damn... I absolutely can''t tell her anything about the incidents that happened today...or else, she might go and announce it around the whole world about Zeus...about his real identity... It will put him even in more grave danger arousing new issues..." Nervously, while wondering she started tapping her feet, scratching the couch seat.


    "Eva? Hey, where are you lost again?" She tapped her forearm, trying to regain her back to reality as she seemed lost in her thoughts.


    "Ah, well, it''s nothing..."


    "But why did you ask me such an absurd question? Hey, wait. Do you really know about any mythical creature?" She sounded immensely inquisitive, flapping her forearms eagerly.


    "No...ho-how would I know about such a thing?" Gulping anxiously, she tried to lie before her. "It''s just...just... all my inner curiosity. Nothing much, I am...all okay."


    "Then why are you stuttering, Eva? Are you lying to me? And...what about those blood stains on your clothing?" From her stern voice, she seemed a bit dubious about her intentions.


    "It''s because... I witnessed an...accident..."


    "Accident?"


    Eva lowered her dark, mystified eyes fidgeting anxiously, and breathed out in a huff before speaking. "I just happened to witness an accident and...the person...was severely injured... covered in blood and bruises... But...I was so damn useless...I couldn''t do anything for him..." Her voice started to crook and her toes started to shiver in anxiety. Her eyes filled with tears of apprehension as she was reprimanded about Zeus.


    "Ah...that''s sad." Clara lowered her face too and thought of something for a while. "Well, is the person alive or dead--"


    "No! He must survive! He...have to survive!" All of a sudden, she shrieked aloud as if the thought of Zeus being dead shivered her from the core. With such a bold defying from her, she looked a bit surprised.


    "Wh-Why are you getting hyped up all of a sudden, Eva? Is the person is someone closer to you?" She asked her, lowering her voice deep.


    "No... He was just...some passerby..." Holding a heavy heart, she had to lie to her.


    Clara kept gawking at her intensely for a few minutes and wondered in her mind, fixing her gaze at her gesticulations. "Perhaps, the accident reprimanded her of Felix whom she lost just a few days ago... or maybe, she was reminded of the time she wanted to take away her own life." Adhering to her thoughts, she softly caressed her arms to console her.


    "Eva, whatever is troubling you from inside, just you know that you are not alone. I am and I will be forever by your side...no matter which path you chose. That''s my promise."


    Hearing her kind assurance, tears rolled down her cheeks as she bit her lips to stop herself from breaking down completely.


    "How... How do I let you know Clara...I have...I have fallen for someone who protected me from a monster risking his own life...How can I let you know, the person I have feelings for...


    Is not a human!" She wondered, fidgeting in distress.


    ___________________________


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 Chapter 44 - Her Mission

    The next early morning, it was around 7 am. Radiant sunbeams were emerging inside the room amidst the glass windows. Birds were chirping outside and it seemed to be a blissful new day after the long dark night.


    Clara had chosen to stay overnight in Eva''s apartment, to console her in her anxious phase. They chattered together for the whole night, reprimanding their old childhood memories in order to seek a pleasant time being.


    But Eva wasn''t in a stable emotional state either. Although she managed to hide her worries from Clara, her inner core was shattered entirely. She was badly concerned about Zeus''s condition but chose to portray a fake eloquence in front of her for the whole night.


    Moreover, in the dark night, she didn''t get a bit glimpse of sleep. All along, she kept glancing at the bright moon illuminating the sky while thinking about him. The way he was brutally injured, it was pretty sure that it would be obviously challenging for him to recover in his prior resolute form.


    The thought was intensely puzzling her from insides along with her heart throbbing in dread.


    Thinking about their tragic ill-fated turn of relationship, all she could do was feeling guilt-stricken all alone. She was sad, helpless, angry with her own vulnerability which led Zeus to such a grave injured state.


    But after thinking for the whole night, she came up with a conclusion as the sun rose in the sky illuminating the horizon. Quietly she stood up from her bed and took a small peek at Clara. She was immersed in deep sleep with her face appearing like a small child. As she glanced at her for some time, slowly she shifted her gaze away from her and headed towards the glass corner table located at the edge of the room.


    From there, she picked up a pen and wrote a note for Clara, holding a frown nervous eloquence.


    "Clara, I have somewhere very urgent to go... Sorry, I couldn''t wait till you wake up. I...I am feeling very anxious right now. Sorry, I can''t make you aware of my inner turmoils. But finally, I have mustered up all my courage to visit that area... I don''t know when I will be back or not...But, I will try to come back safe to you. Till then, wait for me."


    Slowly she folded the paper and placed it before the desk near her bed. Exhaling out a heavy breath, she headed straight towards the other room at a slow pace to get dressed up before heading away somewhere.


    ......


    "So... I am...finally here."


    She murmured slowly raising her chin up above from her phone. Feeling quite nervous and perplexed, she breathed out in a puff and gawked at the enormous mansion in her front view.


    She was standing before the dark, mysterious Romano Mansion, the place which was absolutely forbidden for her.


    Despite receiving a strict warning from Czar for never stepping her feet inside the mansion, she still mustered up every ounce of her inner strength to visit it. For the whole night, her heart was petrified and helpless wondering about Zeus which let her become desperate to come across such a decision just for him.


    "I don''t know...what I gotta face here... But... I won''t retreat, till I get a glimpse of him. I wanna see him with my own eyes... No matter what, I won''t go back till I get to see him. Even it''s just for once. I will be desperate today." Wondering with a frown, dubious face, she gulped her saliva down and closed the Google Map application on her phone which helped her till now to reach her destination.


    As she started heading towards the entrance, she saw a strange sight!


    Two giant cryptic people wearing complete black formal suit attire were standing guarding the gigantic metallic gate at the entrance with a vicious expression on their faces. And on the top of the guard wall, there was a large sign stuck on.


    "Entrance strictly prohibited."


    Looking at the sign, Eva was quite surprised as it was absolutely weird. Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced at the large magnificent mansion which concealed an intense dark aura around it. Somehow, her heart a strange terrifying sensation gazing at such a mysterious place.


    "What kind of weird sign is it! And why the hell they would put it right there? Ahhhh, damn, it means...those weird men would definitely not allow me to enter inside. Ughh, fuck!" She stomped her left feet in anger and murmured out her words in a lower voice fuming in utmost frustration. "No... I must not retreat today... I bet... I came so far and now I mustn''t go back... There...There must be some way...There must be--"


    Suddenly her dark, rolled up overstimulated eyes were impaled on a sight as she glanced at it being all intensified.


    Just from a distance of around 10-15 meters away from the entrance gate towards the backside of the mansion, there was a huge hole at the bottom area of the guard wall, which was technically covered up with a large bush placed in front of that hole. Probably, it was placed there so that space won''t catch any public attention. But it wasn''t concealed from Eva''s sharp, desperate gaze which was seeking a small chance to get inside the mansion.


    "That''s it... That''s all I needed! Bingo!" Beaming with joy, she clapped her arms a few times with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "If I squeeze myself a little more... I can easily crawl inside the mansion with that gap... That''s it...


    But...looking from outside about how gigantic this mansion is, I am sure there must be guards circling around... What if I get caught? Will they kill me?


    Ahh, no. Eva, you don''t have time to think about these kinds of stuff. Focus on your determination. I must go inside. He nearly died to protect me from that monster... So I mustn''t back out.


    Zeus, I am coming to see you." Murmuring her words on her own, with slow cat steps, she headed towards her mission.


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 Chapter 45 - Crawled Inside

    Holding onto extreme desperation to witness Zeus with her own eyes, Eva mustered up every ounce of the strength left inside her body to enter such a dark, dubious and dreadful mansion with such a fragile, weak body.


    She squeezed herself as much as possible to crawl inside through the shallow hole and finally succeeded in crawling up inside. Although she was terrified of being caught inside by any guard and being punished severely. But today, luck was in her favor.


    As she crawled up inside with her arms and feet trembling in anguish, for a few seconds she closed her eyes tight lying down on the ground. A few moments passed by, but nothing raucous happened around her.


    Slowly, she opened her eyes to take a small glimpse at her surroundings. As she raised her chin a bit up from the ground, the area she ended up crawling inside was at the backside of the mansion, in the midst of a large greenery yard. Luckily, there was not a single guard inside at that exact place and she escaped from getting caught at this moment.


    "Gosh! I...I can''t believe it! I ended inside! Damn, I ended inside! Thank God!" She immediately jolted up from the ground and folded her arms, murmuring in a mellow tone, looking at the sky. She was thanking the divinity for being on her side at this very moment.


    As she took a peek around herself, the yard was quite large. It was a long route to cross the yard end up inside the mansion. To escape from anyone''s eye, she had to walk straight ahead by hiding herself behind the large barricade wall in the yard.


    "Damn, I have to move very carefully right now. I can''t screw it up after coming such a long way. Not a chance!" She consoled herself with a brave smile on her face and started heading towards the mansion.


    But as she took a step forward, immediately she heard gallant footsteps coming towards her from the left direction. Frozen in dread, abruptly she ran behind the large wall of the mansion to conceal herself from anyone''s notice. As she hid at the back, slowly she took a glimpse at the people who approached that place. They seemed to be two guards almost rushing towards that area. They seemed to chatter within themselves holding a serious expression.


    "Did you feel that smell too?" One of the guys asked the other one, sniffing his nose constantly.


    "Yes! The smell...It seems very sweet. It is a strange scent!" The other one promptly answered in a deep voice.


    "Exactly. The whole yard is filled with that scent. We had never smelled something like this inside the mansion, it feels weird."


    "Do you think someone sneaked inside here? It really seems like an unfamiliar scent!"


    "But how can someone just end up inside here? This mansion is absolutely forbidden to others, almost everyone knows about it!"


    As both of them were deeply immersed in their intense conversation, immediately, one of the guys noticed the large hole implanted at the bottom of the guard wall and continued gawking at it. Hiding behind the barricade, Eva was watching them intensely, holding her breath and feeling much scared and fretted.


    "Hey, do you think someone sneaked in through this hole?" One of them asked the other in a fretful voice, scrunching his eyebrows harder.


    "But...how is that possible? No one in the town dares to come inside our Romano Mansion. Besides, we had also placed a large bush before the hole to keep it concealed. So, how could anyone notice it?" The other one strongly opposed his suggestion, fixing his intense glare towards the wall.


    With each of their growing assumptions, her heart was throbbing hard in fear. She was trying her best to make herself as calm as possible.


    "I think we must search around the mansion once. Let''s first warn the guards at the entrance and exit. If any imposter is found, we will deal with him." One of them rolled his dark brown cryptic eyes mystically and took a sharp glance around the whole yard. As he was ogling, Eva squeezed herself behind the barrier to make herself as small as possible to stay hidden from their sight.


    "Alright. But this strange scent is really making me lose my mind. I never smelled something sweet like this." The other one reverberated his response, sniffing his nose and both of them started to march straight towards the entrance area.


    Eva stayed all numb, waited until they leave the premises holding her breath within. As they left her sight, slowly she peeked at the way they just left through and exhaled out a large amount of air in a puff. She was almost sweating in anguish and slowly, wiped up her forehead sweat droplets.


    "Damn... I can''t believe I am saved again... Hufff... But, I couldn''t understand, what kind of smell they were talking about? Were... Were they referring to me? Do...Do I have that smell they were talking about?" As she reverberated her words in a hush, quickly she sniffed around her body to examine if she was possessing any special kind of smell.


    "No, I can''t smell anything abnormal from me! I didn''t even put my perfume today, so... what were they talking about?"


    Wondering on her own with furrowed eyebrows, she took a sharp glance at the mansion. "No, I mustn''t waste my time here anymore. Before...Before anything raucous happens, I have to visit Zeus by any means." Taking a deep breath in, holding her firm resolute, she took a glance around herself and cryptically headed towards the mansion.


    With her trembling pace, as she took a few steps ahead, all of a sudden, again she could hear some giant footsteps approaching the yard hastily. This time the footsteps were large in number. Petrified in anguish, she continued moving forward hiding behind the barrier.


    But, suddenly, a mysterious sturdy arm from the right of the barricade gripped her arm and pulled her strongly on the right side within the blink of a second! Someone...seized control over her!


    ________________


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 Chapter 46 - Unexpected Encounter

    "Aeeeekkk--"


    With the sudden pull from that mysterious arm on the right side of the barricade, she was shocked and petrified in horror. The arm suddenly pulled her over and pinned her against the wall in a hush. She was about to scream aloud but immediately someone covered her mouth with a hand, preventing her to scream aloud.


    For a few seconds, she shut her eyes tightly trembling in fear of the uncertainty. But the person who pinned her against the wall didn''t seem to have any intention of causing her any severe harm.


    Slowly, she opened up her eyes and blinked a few times. As she gazed at the person standing before her, abruptly her pupils were dilated in awe, swirling wider.


    It was no one other than Czar, pushing her against the wall and trying to cover her up with his giant posture. Eva was comparatively smaller than his giant, charming masculine, bold appearance which is always intensely considered a heart-throb among the women.


    As she saw him in front, in shock and surprise she couldn''t mutter a single word. He was still covering up her mouth with his large palm, and his eyes cryptically took a glance around them.


    "Ssssshhhh! Don''t scream. I am not here to kill you." He gesticulated an affirmative answer while putting his index finger on his lips, telling her not to make a single noise.


    She was breathing real fast in overstimulation, being stuck in such a palpitating situation. As both of them concealed against the barricade, Eva silently rolled her eyes sideways and noticed, several tall and sturdy guards were roaming around the yard, trying to carry out a search operation. The area from where Czar pulled her aside was also being monitored by them. Quickly, she understood, to save her from getting captured by them, he dragged her away to the right edgeways.


    Both of them stayed still, leaning against each other firmly. His palm was covering her mouth and she was nervous, perplexed as she wasn''t sure of his real intentions either. Slowly, she raised her chin up and took a glimpse at him. He was intensively gazing towards the guards, noticing their actions and making sure that they won''t get trapped by them.


    Tugged inside his sturdy majestic posture, somehow, she was feeling a little safer. Both of their bodies were inclined much closer to each other with almost no gap between them. His face was so close that she could almost sense his intense warm breathing on her grimace.


    After a few minutes, all of those sturdy men left the premises as they couldn''t find anything suspicious. While they were retreating, slowly Czar moved a little apart from her and also chose to uncover her mouth, removing his palm. As he put his hand down, Eva gasped aloud, inhaling a deep breath inside, raising her chin up to look at him anxiously.


    "Wh-Why are you here?" She sounded very nervous, asking him bluntly.


    He seemed much agitated with her question and rolled his dark, dubious brown eyeballs mystically at her. "That''s the same question I should ask you first! What the hell you are doing here?" His voice resonated much irked.


    Palpitating silently, she chose to stay all numb, devoid of giving him an appropriate answer. Her eyes were averted downwards while breathing out in a huff.


    With her silence, Czar was getting much more frustrated. He slammed the wall louder with his robust arm which flinched her deeply.


    "Why the fuck you are here?" He grumbled at her in an appalling tone, while glancing around their surrounding once. "Did you take my warning yesterday as a joke? I had advised you, never to step inside a lion den being such a fragile lamb yourself! Did you take it all like a pile of rubbish? How dare and how did you end up here?" He was appearing quite agitated from his facial display.


    "I...I...am sorry..." Watching him getting all hyped up, she was terrified and standing all numb, mumbling while lowering her eyes down. "I...just couldn''t find any other way apart from this..." Her voice sounded teary as she was on the edge of breaking down.


    "Gosh!" Czar shoved his hair bangs up over his forehead, with a troublesome stir look on his face. Looking all around the yard again, he firmly shifted his gaze towards Eva who was almost shivering in dread.


    "Look, earlier I just had the intention of messing up with you as you had piqued up my curiosity. But right now, things have gotten complicated, and I really don''t wanna be involved with you in any issues.


    Our worlds are entirely different so don''t you dare stick your nose inside our business.


    Watching you all helpless and vincible, I decided to help you out in hiding away from them but it''s just for one time. You can''t stay here for a single minute now. The guards have moved away and this is your chance. Just crawl out of here through that hole." Sounding all stern, he pointed his index finger towards that giant perforation on the guard wall from where she ended up inside.


    She quietly took a peek at the hole and shifted her eyes towards him, with a bold stare of determination. "No. I...I won''t leave." Her voice resonated with persistence.


    Czar resembled quite frustrated with her stubborn nature and glared at her furiously, evoking wrath from his fiery eyes. "Look, there is no use of showing your persistence before me. I would like to make it clear to you that I am not Zeus and don''t you ever mistake me for that dumb fool. I won''t jump heroically before you or even budge off against anyone to save you if you are being eaten alive here! I already made it clear that I helped you for just one time and I won''t make a single move hereafter." He grumbled at her, in an intense tone.


    "I already know about it and honestly, I don''t expect any help from you. But after coming this far, there is no point in retreating back for me. I am ready to face what''s ahead of me." In a crooked husky voice, she murmured her final verdict and was about to leave from that place, in the forward direction to the mansion.


    All of a sudden, as she was about to leave, Czar grabbed her right arm and pinned her forcibly against the wall prohibiting her from leaving. He slapped his arm fiercely on the wall which made a loud tapping sound on the silent yard. His facial eloquence looked much irked as he was gazing at her intensively. "Hey, are you... testing my patience?" He groaned.


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 Chapter 47 - Gallant Face-off

    "You..You are hurting me..." Trying to unleash her fragile wrist from his strong grip, she quivered in pain as the way he was gripping onto her, with his obnoxious strength was indeed hurting her.


    "How dare you even try to defy me? You weak nosy human!" Czar was losing his hold over his wrath and grumbled in a vile tone. "I haven''t even used my entire strength snd you are already twisted in pain. Should I end your suffering by killing you at once?" Swirling his dilated black eyeballs wider, he groaned at her.


    "Are...you trying to threaten me?" While asking him back, her arm started twitching severely in pain as compared to his inhuman strength, Eva was an absolutely powerless weakling. "Do you think you can scare me with your rage?"


    "No, I don''t intend to scare such a useless human like you." As he reciprocated, a villainous sneer appeared on his face, fixing his intense gaze upon her. "It would probably take a few seconds for me to terminate your existence. Don''t you understand how vulnerable you are before us, you fool? How do you even dare to stand up against my command with such a fragile body?" His voice sounded a little curious.


    Trying to sway up her wrist apart from his grip, she glared back at him with her dark black eyes swelled up with tears of anguish and fear. Her jowls we trembling, she was scared of him, but she desperately wanted to face him bravely without backing out.


    "I know I am weak... But... you can''t shatter away my determination, no matter how hard you try to threaten me. If... If you want to kill me, do it. I won''t stop you. But also, I won''t retreat from here today without seeing Zeus." She reclaimed with tears rolling down from the corner of her despaired eyes.


    Czar seemed very surprised to watch her acting all brave with her shivering, fragile posture in that small figure. She was unable to unleash herself from his single tightened clutch but didn''t appear to accept defeat at any cost. This was the very first time, he was watching a human facing him with such a gallant resolution.


    "You want to visit that dumb fool, risking your own life? Haha! What a pathetic human you are! Do you even understand what you are even aiming for?" He grinned nonchalantly with a sly expression.


    "Don''t you dare badmouth about him!" Eva howled at him in a loud tone, glaring her fiery eyes wider as she seemed much enraged. The way Czar tried to belittle his ultimate sacrifice, triggered Eva real hard and she snapped at him furiously. "That person... That person didn''t think about a single consequence...and jumped before me to save my life from that monster! And I won''t allow any jerk like you to disparage his huge sacrifice... I will never allow, do you get it?"


    "Did you just call me a jerk?" He seemed much amused with the way she stood up front before him to defend Zeus. He smirked a little and tightened his grip on her arm which immediately caused her immense pain as a punishment for vexing back at him. "I saved your life today too or else you would have been transformed into a pile of ripped skin and a few bones. And, this is how you appreciate me, little duckling?"


    Her wrist started to throb hard in pain as he had poured up his strength, punishing her harder. Twitching her arm, she tried to escape away from him desperate, whimpering in pain. "My hand... My hand is hurting... Please... Please leave my arm... It''s paining..."


    "Then take your words back inside your arrogant little mouth and just disappear from here. I am still being kind enough and giving you the final chance to run away. If you still dare to disobey, then you will lose your life in my hands." This time, his threatening voice resonated much darker as he widened his glare at her.


    She was still fidgeting in pain but stubbornly shook her head in declination. "No... I won''t leave, at any cost!" She resembled to be in severe pain as the porcelain white skin of her arm was turning into bruised red, due to his grip.


    "You lousy human--"


    "Please let me see him just once!" Unable to suppress her inner painful turmoil, she broke down severely into tears of anguish. "Please... just let me see his face once... After that, you...you can kill me, I won''t stop you. But before dying, please... please just let me see him once for god sake with my own eyes. I promise I would never come back here again. But please... I beg of you, please." Sobbing hard with her wrecked heart, she grabbed his arm with her shivering fragile arm, clenching him while pleading for her ultimate wish.


    Witnessing her strength entirely shattering down in front of him, for the first time, he felt a strange twitching pain inside his cold, frozen heart. Watching her crying bitterly, suddenly, an unknown pain stirred inside his heart which he never ever experienced before, encountering any human. Looking at her all powerless, helplessly pleading before him to have a single glance of Zeus, unknowingly reminded himself of a painful memory flashback, which his heart had engraved deeper inside all these years.


    ...


    [Flashback]


    "Please let me see my mom, please!"


    Holding the arm of a younger small boy preferably in his early teens of around 14-15 years, a small innocent child of around 5-6 years old was whimpering in pain, helplessly shaking his arm to convey his emotions to him. The younger boy was all standing all stiff, frigid, and numb, lowering his grimace down.


    "Please let me see my mother, brother...hic hic... Please take me to her... I beg of you, brother..." He was sobbing bitterly covered in drool and sweat, biting his small, feeble lips and grabbing onto his arm pleading hard.


    The younger boy slowly raised his chin up and glanced at him with a heavy heart. "Czar, leave my hand--"


    "No. Please, big brother... I don''t have anyone in this world except my mom...hic...She is innocent... She didn''t do anything...Why...Why is everyone punishing her? Please... Please take me to her just once... I will never ask you anything ever again... Please let me see her just once...Please brother," folding his tiny arms, he helplessly begged before him in a crooked voice.


    "I...I am sorry..." The boy immediate unleashed away his arm from his grasp and started marching forward with a slow pace. His eyes were tear-filled, painful, grievous and as he moved a few steps ahead, warm tears dripped down.


    "No...Please brother... Brother Zeus! Please take me to my mom...Please... Momma... How can I reach you... Please somebody help me..." His trembling feet gave up the strength and he fell down on the ground, shattering down into bitter lamenting, crying out louder.


    __________________________


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 Chapter 48 - Reminded Me Of Myself

    Czar stood still, absolutely motionless, lowering his grimace downwards. The painful flashback of the haunting memories that he had buried deep down in his cold, wrecked heart was tormenting his inner soul brutally. He stood completely silent, breathing out heavily.


    All of a sudden, Eva noticed that his spare right arm was shivering a bit. It seemed as if he was undergoing some kind of tremor anxiety attack, but he was trying hard to endure it silently. People often get exposed to such kinds of situations if they are encountered with some kind of traumatized memory, and probably something around that was happening there with him. In her inner mind, she assumed it.


    Slowly, she also perceived that the strength with which Czar was clenching her wrist, was gradually lessening furthermore. She sensed his inner conflicts and wiped out her tears, continuing to gawk at him in awe.


    "Ar-Are you...okay?" In a crooked husky tone, she asked him first.


    Czar still stood all numb, but with her soft crooked voice, his shivering arm seemed to be gradually returning to its normalized form. It stopped shaking and abruptly, he unleashed her wrist from his grip too, lowering his arms down, deviating a bit away from her.


    After a moment of awful silence, he raised his chin up with a grimacing expression imprinted all over his face. His porcelain white bright face seemed to be faded with an unknown wave of profound sadness. He stared at her straight in the eye for some time and chose to speak hereafter.


    "You...You will have to promise me...that...you will be never coming here back again after you see him today..." His voice sounded very deep, merged with an unusual bitter tone.


    "Pardon?" Eva was still surprised with his proclamation and reciprocated him back in wonder.


    "I will let you in just...just for today. But after you see him, leave right away and you won''t be able to come here back again. Can you agree with my deal?" His eyes looked much darker than usual staring at her intensively.


    "You...You will help me? You...will allow me to get inside?"


    "Can''t you understand human language? Then tell me, in which language I should communicate with you?" His tone sounded much irked and turbulent this time as if he was getting vexed up with her.


    His answer was still unbelievable for her to digest, but this time she didn''t urge to make him much agitated by repeating his reply again and again. Such an atrocious arrogant guy like him who was viciously threatening her to death, by violently clenching her wrist imposing his wish against her will...was miraculously speaking the exact opposite suggestion in such a less span of time. It was getting much suspicious for her to concede.


    "Do...Do you want to kill me by bringing me inside the mansion? What do you intend?" She furrowed her eyebrows asking him in a blunt pitch.


    "I intend to help you...to see that dumb guy for... one time." He responded to her, in a valiant sharp tone.


    "Why? Why do you all of a sudden change your mind so quickly? Just before sometime you were so rigid and deadly against my decision, but now... why do you agree to help me? It''s obviously suspicious for me to trust you..." She took a sharp glimpse at the bruised red area on her wrist resulted due to the fierce strength that he poured to clench her arm forcibly against the wall. From her posture, she seemed much offended with him.


    He took a heavy breath inside and lowered his eyeballs, cryptically blinking a few times before answering her. "Just a few moments ago, the way you were ugly sobbing...I too have grieved out like that helplessly... just like you, stuck in a similar situation...


    But...no one intended to help me that time... Fucking no one did! If they would have at least... listened to me, perhaps, I didn''t have to grow up as the kind of person I have become now..." His voice reverberated in a heavy echo, implying much despair in his expression.


    Eva stood silent, listening to him without uttering a single word in response. She was growing more inquisitive with his statements.


    "It''s strange... it''s really so damn strange!" All of a sudden, he smirked at her holding a dubious eloquence, and stared straight into her dark brown eyes swirled at him. "The memories...The visions...which I had convinced my inner self that I have forgotten everything past all these years... miraculously haunted me again when I saw you wailing helplessly just to see that damn fool... You...You reprimanded me of my past vulnerable side which I had assumed of burying down deep. You...reminded me of myself...of... who am I..." As he continued to speak in a cold voice, somehow, his smirk faded with a tinge of sadness, implementing the weight of emotions his voice was overbearing.


    She stayed silent for a while, observing his emotional convulsion from close. "Did you too face something...remorseful?" Unknowingly, she blurted out.


    With her direct proclamation, it seemed Czar finally regained his senses back and stiffened his posture, glimpsing at her fixed. "Why would I disclose my personal life to you? Are we that close?" Immediately, she sensed a sharp change in tone in his coarse voice, as he charged her back.


    She furrowed her eye-brow ridge and glared at him. "But just now you were sharing your story with me on your own... Why are you charging me back?"


    "I really don''t wanna share anything about myself with such a fragile woman like you. But one thing I must disclose... You looked so freaking ugly while sobbing for him... It really amused me to see you in such a distressed state. Well, I really love to watch others getting depressed." With a spooky smile, he tried to tease her changing their topic of conversation, tucking his both arms within the arm notch and leaning his back against the wall.


    Eva glared at him, rolling her eyeballs wider with a fierce gaze. "He is indeed such a creepy arrogant punk! Why the hell I had to be involved with him right here?" She cussed at him inside her mind.


    _______________________


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 Chapter 49 - A Helpless Deal

    "So...are you willing to accept my favor?"


    While Eva was lost in her countless perplexed thoughts running deep down inside her mind, all of a sudden she flinched hard with the sudden blunt interrogation from Czar. His dark intense eyes were locked on her with a sly small smirk lingering on his passionate red soft lips.


    But the small smirk somehow emitted a vicious aura to her and she was perceiving chills on her spine, facing such a mysterious man.


    "How can I trust this creepy jerk? What if...he really intends to put me in danger? Worst, what if he really wants to kill me? Damn... Even his smile is giving me chills..." She wondered with a frown face, scrunching her eyebrow ridge deeper.


    "Why are you looking at me so passionately?" He evoked a teasing interrogation and the smile on his lips grew broader. Staring at her, he further continued to provoke her, "from your expressions, there are two possibilities of your thinking. First one, either you are falling for such a handsome, charming and a perfect man like me. Secondly, you must be so touched from your heart to witness my kind favor that you are running out of words to thank me. Am I right?"


    "Huh, what a crappy dumb assumption! Well, I guess he is not only a creep but also his brain capacity must be tinier than the size of a pea." She sighed out deep hearing out his proclamation and slowly caressed the bruised reddened area of her wrist.


    It was still paining quite profoundly, with the imprinting of his four broad finger patches on her white skin. It was the impact of the strength by which he was gripping on her. The more she perceived the pain sensation, the more her anger was growing stronger on him.


    "Well, thank you for your consideration. But, I guess, I will be fine on my own from now. You don''t have to tag along with me... I will go and visit him by myself." With a frowned expression, she conveyed her verdict in a strict tone and took a step forward, straight ahead to the mansion from their hideout.


    Czar sneered again at her proclamation and gazed at her from behind as she was marching forward. "Alright, if that''s what you want, go ahead." He murmured cryptically.


    Eva didn''t halt and continued to move forward, without taking a glance back at him. She was still mad at him and it was evident from her gesticulations.


    "But...within a few minutes, you will be a dead piece of meat chunk as soon as you take a step inside the mansion. I doubt...even if your bones will be left behind at least..." Moving a bit away from their hideout wall, where he was standing leaning against the wall, he shifted his face entirely towards her conducting his statement with a dubious look in his dark eyes. "And to be blunt, as I have already told you, there will be no one to help you no matter how hard you scream...not even me!"


    Her motion halted as soon as she heard his verdict which swooned her in fear from inside. Her heart started to palpitate harder and gulping her saliva anxiously, she turned her back at him. "Wh-What?" She probed.


    "I had already warned you yesterday, stepping inside a vicious den would leave you turned into a heap of flesh and blood... There is no guarantee you would ever get to see Zeus if you go on your own, at least not in this life." He sounded much darker this time, rolling his gleaming eyes wider.


    Her heart was pounding hard in dread witnessing the scary mystic look in his eyes which screamed a more ominous situation ahead of her in that horrifying mansion.


    "Damn it! The only person who is aware of the entire ominous scenario here..is this jerk... What if... he is really telling the truth? What if I really get killed by the guards here? Or what...if they attack me just the way that monster attacked Zeus?" She was palpitating, lost in her thoughts, lowering her eyes down.


    Czar slowly approached closer to her, marching with gallant bold steps, and evoked a cryptic smirk while she was all gazing downwards. "Alright, if you are brave enough to go on your own... then good luck on your mission." Whispering his words closer to her ears, he took a step forward to walk away from the place, with a small smile lingering on his lips.


    "No...Wait!" All of a sudden, she gripped his broad arm from behind, intending to stop him from leaving away. "Don''t just leave yet... I... I... am really so fucking helpless at this moment... Only...you can help me here--"


    "But I won''t help you for free!" He interrupted her statement and shifted his face sideways and glared at her in a dubious stare in his eyes. "You have to give me a promise of never coming back here again... And if you dare to break your promise, I will be the one who will kill you first! Remember, we value promises more than lives."


    With his rugged intense verdict, she was growing more nervous but tried to portray herself composed before him. "Al-Alright... but, you have to keep your promise of helping me meet him without me getting harmed by anyone else." She reciprocated in a blunt tone.


    His eyes glimmered with joy as she agreed to his declaration and he nodded his head in assurance. Slowly, he retreated closer to her taking a step back, and gripped her soft tender warm palm, holding it tighter. "Till I am with you, no one will be able to put a scratch on you here, little duckling." With a sly mysterious wink, he smiled at her wider.


    "I don''t even have any option left apart from trusting this jerk here. I hope...he won''t betray me at least." Looking at his broad, veiny hands holding her arm, she was thinking on her own, sighing out deeper.


    "But before that, you need something." All of a sudden, he whispered in a low voice, tugging her closer to his chest with a robust pull.


    She was surprised with his sudden absurd behavior and glared at him fiercely, "hey! What''s with this sudden behavior now?"


    _____________________


    **Firstly, I am sorry for having irregular updates as currently, so many kinds of stuff are going on with me including my university exams and interviews :(


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 Chapter 50 - The Recovered Pendant

    "Why? Do you think... I will drop a kiss on your delicious cherry lips?" In a sly tone, he pulled her closer to his embrace by placing his sturdy arm around her waist.


    Eva shivered in fear with his luscious declaration and immediately tried to push him away from her stretching out her small fragile arms. "Don''t you dare try to commit any pervy act with me here... I will definitely kill you--"


    "Damn, you are seething at me just like a wild duckling!" He abruptly interrogated her fuming tone and put his other spare hand inside the pocket with a sly smirk on his face. "I was just messing with you, don''t worry." Reverberating his words, he took a small shining pendant out of his pouch.


    Eva swirled her deep brown eyeballs in awe witnessing the startling sight. It was the exact same mystic black hematite pendant that Zeus had gifted to her and the exact one which she dropped down into the pool of the aquarium on that cursed day. She had assumed to lose this priceless gift forever but miraculously, watching it in front of her again with him, she was utterly spellbound.


    "Thi-This... This one--"


    "It must be given to you by that dumb fool, isn''t it? How romantic!" He interrupted her stuttered voice in a spooky tone.


    She intensively gawked at the shimmering black hematite stone as from her gestures, she still seemed to be in disbelief. After a moment of shock, she snatched the pendant fiercely from his grip and shoved his arm away from her waist, moving a further distance back.


    "Hey, why did you snatch it away from me like that? Are you a burglar?" He sounded a bit offended.


    "This pendant belongs to me! I had dropped it down there in that pool... I thought... I had lost it forever... Why and how do you have it?" She snarled at him.


    "It wasn''t me who found it for you." Narrowing his eyes, he murmured at her in a soft note with his gaze fixed at the black stone.


    "What?"


    "I just retrieved this pendant from Zeus''s pocket...So it seems that he was the one who found this pendant for you. I don''t wanna steal his credit--"


    "What?" She shrieked out aloud, intervening in his statement in shock. "Zeus found this pendant? But how? I had lost it inside the aquarium..."


    All of a sudden, her words halted as a startling realization flashed out in her mind. She reprimanded quickly that exact moment when Zeus arrived gallantly and stood before her giant shield when Ross tried to attack her. His clothes were completely drenched in water which had obviously piqued her curiosity earlier. That time, she didn''t understand the reason behind it but now...it was growing evident!


    "Tha-That means... he jumped inside that pool to search it back for me? He... He was silently taking care of me even though when I was with someone else?" The realization hit her mind hard, with warm tears dripping down her saddened eyes as she glanced at the hematite shimmering in sun.


    Czar watched her silently, standing apart from a distance while she was grieving in shock. He exhaled out a deep sigh and responded to her in a gentle tone, "well, it seems that he didn''t get the chance to hand it over to you on his own. I found this pendant after he was taken here and...as I had assumed it right. He has given it to you."


    "He... He did everything for me... Watched over me for the whole time on his own...and... and I... I couldn''t do a single thing to protect him from that monster... Fuck...Fuck my life...Fuck!!" Sobbing bitterly with tears of anguish rolling down her cheeks, she sounded much vexed with herself. "I am absolutely worthless... I am good for nothing..."


    "We don''t have much time now. You gotta stay strong if you want to step inside the mansion to see him... Though he is in pretty bad condition if you still wanna see him, wear this pendant and come with me." Trying to console her grieved heart, he murmured his words in a deep voice.


    Eva stood all frigid for a moment, clenching the pendant hard in her grip. Slowly, she wiped out her tears and tried to wear the necklace down her neckline. But, being constantly stabbed with painful realizations, her heart had turned out sour. Her arms were trembling in anxiety and she was facing many difficulties to put it down on her own.


    "Damn it, why can''t I even wear a necklace now? Stop shaking my stupid hands!?" Being all doomed with stress and anxiousness, she grumbled at herself.


    Czar was silently watching her for a few moments and witnessing her struggles, he decided to interfere. Slowly, he approached closer to her and took away the necklace from her wobbling palm. With a stern expression imprinted on his face, he moved closer while trying to put the necklace on her.


    She was startled by his sudden act of kindness and stared at him for a few seconds, raising her chin up. They were standing extremely closer to each other, with almost no gap between their bodies. As he was tying it on her, she could easily perceive his intense warm breath over her face. As Eva was staring at him in wonder, he too took a small glimpse at her deep brown rolled eyeballs before answering her.


    "I am helping you today with everything for the very first and last time. After today, we will be treating each other like absolute strangers. You must keep it in your mind, little duckling." Slowly caressing her soft shimmering hairs a little, he took a step away from her.


    Listening to his stern declamation, she regained back her senses and tried to avoid a firm eye-contact with him, averting her gaze. "You don''t have to remind me of it consistently. And...stop calling me with that creepy name! I will be expecting the same from you to treat me like a stranger. Okay?" She blurted out in a whining tone.


    Czar smiled a little with her reciprocation and boldly turned his grimace towards the mansion. "Then, let''s head inside." He declared with a small smirk.


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 Chapter 51 - Disguise

    Marching slowly with nervous cat paw steps, Czar was guiding terrified Eva towards the small back door of the mansion. He was looking around everywhere, monitoring the situation before letting her step inside.


    There were several guards marching in the yard at the front of the mansion, so they were trying hard to escape from their sight. Following him, she was gulping her saliva, breathing quite hard.


    As they were about to sneak inside, all of a sudden Czar halted his motion in front of a small quarter located at the back of the yard. It seemed to be a petite calm resting area or a separate place specially set up there for some purpose.


    "What happened now? Why did you stop here?" She whisper-shouted at him, unable to hold back her anxiety.


    With a frown face, he shifted his gaze towards her and answered in a deep note, "this is a separate leisure area for the maids of our mansion. Judging by this time, everyone must be busy serving inside our mansion so the quarter must be definitely desolated."


    "So? What it has to be with me? Wh-Why are you telling me all these?" Frowning her eyebrows, she inquired him.


    He was holding a stiff gesture and slowly took a peek around them before responding to her further. "Go inside the maid''s quarter and quickly groom yourself as a maid. Remember, we don''t have much time to waste. Dress up in 15 minutes. That''s the way I have to take you inside in disguise."


    "What? Dressed up as a maid? But why didn''t you tell me about it earlier?" She scoffed at him in a perplexed tone as the sudden addition in his plan puzzled her quite badly.


    "I don''t have much time to bicker here with you. If you can''t do it, just back off." Growling in a deep voice, he sounded much vexed and tried to depart away from her, turning his back against her.


    "Wait a moment!" Immediately Eva grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving and sighed out deep. "I...I never said that I can''t do it... But... How can I just go inside an unknown place and dress up as a maid? I... I am feeling scared with these alternations. What if I get caught here inside this quarter?" She murmured.


    Breathing out in a huff, Czar slowly turned behind to face her and kept ogling at her for a few seconds. "Then do you want me to come along with you and help in dressing you up? Well, I don''t mind such naughty solutions--"


    "For heaven''s sake can you just stop suggesting me such pervert ideas? I have swooned in fear from inside!" She interrupted him in a heavy voice, unleashing her grip from his sturdy hand.


    Czar tried to tease her a little as she was looking much troubled in anxiety but watching her getting more vexed, he didn''t kid furthermore. "Relax. I know each and every detailed thing about this mansion. Stop overthinking and go hurry up, pick up a dress. It''s the only way you can enter inside. Also, you have only 15 minutes limitation for it."


    Lowering her head in a perplexed manner, she pouted her face before walking towards the quarter. As she was about to leave, slowly she took a glimpse at him with her sharp, deep brown eyes. "Don''t you dare think of betraying me here... Wa-Wait here for me... Don''t leave me alone."


    Czar smirked a little with her blunt commendation and didn''t utter a single word. As she marched inside, his dark black mystic eyes were fixed intensively on her from behind.


    "It''s the very first time... someone asked me to wait for her. I wonder how strange she is!" He thought with a small unknown smile lingering on his lips.


    .....


    A few minutes passed by with Czar monitoring the yard alone while waiting for Eva. With each passing minute, he was growing more and more anxious, impatient, and fretful for her.


    Soon, his wait was over as the door opened and hurriedly he shifted his gaze towards that direction. A beautiful lady with long shimmering black hair and porcelain white bright skin, wearing a black dress with white trim, and a full skirt above knee-length came walking out of the quarter with nervous slow steps.


    In such a disguise, Eva seemed extremely different compared to earlier. She was also wearing a white half-apron, designed with ruffled lace. Also, she wore a sort of ruffled hairband on the top of her head, which all over blended with her natural beauty bestowed her an attractive and charming appearance.


    Czar couldn''t take off his eyes away from her as dressed up in such an attractive outfit, outshined her beauty drastically. She was nervously gazing around the yard while his eyes were gawked upon her, scanning her from head to toe.


    "You... Why do you look so beautiful?" Unknowingly he blurted out, with an intense voice.


    "I am in no mood for your applause." Eva sounded much agitated from her stiff posture and monitored her dress once with a restless posture. "I can''t believe, even these maids here get to wear such a fancy maid costume. It even looks quite expensive too. I am thankful to find a spare outfit inside luckily. Gosh, what a distressing situation I am in!" She was whining on her own with a disgruntled expression imprinted on her face.


    But he still couldn''t take his eyes off her as if his eyes gawked magnetically towards her beauty. His own strange behavior baffled him a bit as started to wonder on his own.


    "What the heck? Why does she seem so beautiful to me now? I...I have to spend moments with countless beautiful maidens but...why does she seem so different than the rest being dressed up as an ethereal beauty? Maybe... Maybe it''s because of such a fancy costume. Yes, it''s all happening due to the costume. Why would such a powerful beta like me ever find a mere powerless human as her beautiful? That''s nonsense." His internal conflicts kept puzzling his mind badly.


    "Can you please stop looking at me like that? I did whatever you asked me to do. So, we can go ahead, right? I am already feeling embarrassed about wearing such a costume! I want to get over all these soon." She whisper-shouted at him, trying to regain his consciousness as he seemed lost somewhere from his display.


    "Uh...ye-yes." Confused and perplexed, he responded to her in a low voice.


    ___________________


    Hello, my dear readers,


    I am finally back again. Thank you for your patience and love :*


    Please keep voting for me and I will be doing mass release soon.


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 Chapter 52 - Inside The Mansion

    [KLACK]


    Czar prudently unlocked the doorknob of the large, metal-plated door, entering inside the humongous mystic Romano mansion with petite slow steps. Eva was following after him like an obedient puppy, all nervous and fretful in that fancy maid costume which however was a grave reason behind her discomfort posture.


    As they stepped indoors, Eva was awe-struck in shock, swirling her eyes wider looking at the interior design of such a magnificent huge mansion. The backside entrance of the giant hallway room through which they sneaked inside seemed to be a neverending palace to her, sumptuously decorated with interior design. A giant golden crystalline magnanimous chandelier hanging at the exact center of the luxurious hallway appeared immensely beautiful amidst the interior designs. Moreover, the mansion was 4 storeyed from inside and even the stairs were perfectly groomed with silver railings and crystalline granite stone.


    Eva was at a loss of words witnessing the ethereal beauty of the ambiguous mansion which looked no less than a magnificent royal palace based on the embellished decorative graphics. Her eyes were gawking all over the surroundings and for a few seconds, she even forgot to blink her startled eyes.


    "His room is on the 2nd floor, so we have to reach there extremely carefully without inviting any unnecessary attention here. Do you understand?" Czar was walking ahead of her, glancing around everywhere in the hallway which was desolated at that very moment. As he was marching forward, he tried to convey his plan to her but she didn''t answer a single response back to him.


    The unusual silence bothered him a little. Halting his motion, he turned his neck behind with an agitated look in his eyes towards her. As expected, she was gawking at the massively sumptuous mansion tilting her head and rolling her dilated pupils wider.


    "Hey, are you even paying attention to me?" He grumbled at her in a thick rugged note. "Here I am telling you about something important and you are busy gazing at our mansion! Are you an authentic dumbhead?"


    "Ahh, I...I am sorry..." Fidgeting anxiously at his dense whining, she lowered her eyes down and murmured in a low tone. "It''s the first time... I...I am watching such a magnificent house in real... I have always seen this kind of place in movies and dramas. It looks like a dream palace to me... One can easily get lost inside here...It''s so huge..."


    Czar walked closer to her and with an intense gaze in his eyes stared at her for a few seconds. "This mansion is probably the darkest place among the entire world. You don''t even have the slightest idea about what resides here, little duckling. If you don''t hurry up, this dream palace will turn into the worst nightmare for you. You can''t stay here for a longer time--"


    "MASTER CZAR?"


    All of a sudden his statement got interrupted with a sharp call from behind which immediately flinched her very hard. In a heavy jolt, he turned back at the person who called him right away in such a blunt voice. It was no one other than tall, handsome, and impressively groomed Mr. Tylor, the superior and chief butler of Romano Mansion.


    "Master Czar, what are you doing here near this backdoor?" The man seemed a bit inquisitive as he probed his query in a dubious voice. Quickly his eyes shifted towards Eva who was almost deadpanned in fear, lowering her grimace and trying hard to cover her face by adjusting the laced silk white cap she was wearing on her head. Her gestures seemed a bit suspicious to him and he continued further, "Master Czar, who is this maid? Has she arrived here new? I...I don''t remember encountering her in this mansion prior."


    Czar quickly sensed the growing intense situation and stood in front of shivering fragile Eva, guarding her against his cryptic gaze like a rock-pillar. "Yes, she is the newest one here. I have chosen her to work in our mansion." He chose to interfere, responding back to him in a dark voice.


    "But Master, does she belong to our clan? You must be aware, it''s beyond our strict rules to allow any outsider apart from our own members inside our mansion. And, somehow, she seems a bit strange too--"


    "Mr. Tylor!" All of a sudden, Czar howled at him in a vicious tone, choosing to turn him all silent with such a loud call. His eyes seemed extremely dark and atrocious while he was glaring at him fiercely. "Mr. Tylor, don''t you think you are prattling too much nowadays?"


    "I... I apologize for my response, Master." He lowered his gaze and sounded a bit scared of his howled voice. "I am just worried about our safety, Master. After whatever has happened to Master Zeus... Madam Aelia has given us the responsibility of looking after every slight change happening around here." He tried to interpreter his intentions.


    Firmly, Czar walked a few steps closer to him and glared intensively with a death stare. "I despise those beings who talk unnecessarily too much. So, if you won''t shut yourself up... I might slit out your throat right here...right now." His warning resonated much intensely inside the quiet hall room.


    The man seemed to be baffled by his threatening and immediately took a step back from him. Slightly, he peeked a glimpse at Eva and didn''t utter a single word anymore. Without fuming him anymore, he started heading straight to the kitchen with giant footsteps and a grimacing face.


    As he left their sight, quickly Czar turned back at panic-stricken Eva who was almost frozen and numb in fear. She was too scared and couldn''t utter a single word to him.


    "I have told you already, it''s too dangerous for you to stay here any longer. Before anyone sees us again, we gotta head back quick." Walking closer to her with gentle footsteps, he murmured his statement.


    Eva raised up his chin and gazed at him in tearful contemplation. "Wh-What if someone else catches me again? They...They are definitely gonna kill me..." Her voice crooked in terror, and she clenched her fist hard.


    "I have promised you... I will keep you safe till today. But, we don''t have much time anymore." Wrapping up his words fast, immediately he placed his sturdy muscular arms around her small waist and picked her up instantly within his arms.


    With his swift strange approach, Eva was terribly shocked being suddenly carried up by him without even acknowledging her permission! She wobbled her arms and whisper-shouted at him, "hey what the heck you are doing--"


    "Let me show you some real speed." Czar evoked a sly smile, interrupting her words wittily.


    ____________


    ***Please vote for me to help me reach my power stone goal :*

 Chapter 53 - Can You Hear Me

    "Put...Put me down! Wh-What the heck you are playing at--" Eva whisper-shouted at him, as she seemed to be struggling hard in his strong arms, as it was quite awkward for her to endure being suddenly picked up by a strange unfamiliar person.


    "Ugh, shut up if you don''t want to cause unnecessary trouble." Czar sounded a bit vexed, intending to keep her quiet.


    Immediately, he gazed around themselves and took a huge powerful flight grasping her tightly in his arms. Utilizing the strength of his superhuman werewolf legs, he took a huge jump from the downstairs and landed straight on the hallway passage of the second floor where Zeus''s room was located.


    Eva was petrified in shock and surprise as she stared at him intensively, keeping her eyes wide open. Witnessing such a strange inhuman incident right before her eyes, she was spellbound. For a moment, she even forgot to breath properly.


    As Czar descended on the second floor with his huge jump, cryptically, he took a glance at her who seemed to be a petite small being, being tugged in his sturdy arms and gaping at him in awe.


    "We arrived at our destination, little duckling. Did I surprise you with my power?" He tossed a spooky grin at her, gripping his hand firmly around her waist.


    For a few minutes, she couldn''t utter a single word as it resembled, she was trying hard to get accustomed with the absurd reality. She gulped her saliva anxiously and inquired him back, "did...did you just...fly?"


    "Do I seem like a bird to you? Why would I fly?"


    "But...you took a huge flight and landed straight here from downstairs--"


    "Ahh, you are so naive. I just took a high jump, that''s all." He murmured his sentence with a small smirk lingering on his passionate soft lips, cryptically winking his eyes at her. "Judging from your surprised face, are you impressed with my powerful, attractive skills?" He continued to tease her.


    Eva frowned her eyebrow ridge and fidgeted anxiously within his grasp. "Pu...Put me down, please." She responded.


    Without opposing her decision, obediently, Czar unleased her from his grip by putting her down on the ground carefully. As soon as she get off his embrace, she glanced at him with a fretful expression.


    "Please take me to Zeus before anything happens again." Her pleading sounded much dense, and fretted.


    "That''s why we are here for. Look ahead, at that giant door. That room belongs to him." He pointed his index finger straight towards the gigantic metallic door of a room located at the ultimate end of the hall way. A humongous golden plated wolf-head was being crafted on the black colored metal door which clearly depicted the superiority of the person residing in that room.


    All impatient and eager, without wasting a further second, Eva started running towards the room with gallant footsteps. Her eyes looked all intense, she was breathing hard and from her gesticulations, she seemed unable to suppress her urges anymore to peek a glance at her awaited one...


    "Wait! You can''t go on your own...the door won''t open!" Czar seemed a bit surprised to watch her dashing towards that giant door all of a sudden. With a baffled look on his face, he started rushing after her. However, she seemed to be extremely lucky as at that moment, the hallway was completely desolated. She somehow escaped from attracting any malicious attention.


    Soon she dashed closer to the door and started panting heavily as the hallway passage was quite long to cover! All anxious, she started gazing towards the door but something felt a bit off!


    There was not a single specific door knob placed on the gigantic door of his room. Eva desperately looked around everywhere being all perplexed, trying hard to come up with a clue.


    "Hey, you can''t enter inside without me!" Czar snarled at her again in an agitated voice, approaching her quickly.


    In the spark of a moment, all of a sudden, Eva touched the giant gold-plated wolf-head with her trembling right palm, gulping down her saliva anxiously. Immediately, a miraculous event happened right before them!


    An illuminant spark of golden-red light brightened up the entire humongous door. The flash of light was so sudden that she had to avert her gaze somewhere else, to protect herself from getting blinded by the light. As the light brightened up the surface, immediately the door unlocked and its two partitions opened up towards inside on their own. It was a miraculous moment to witness!


    Czar was spellbound to notice the strange happenings right before his eyes and immediately he shifted his gaze towards her. "Hey... h-how did you open the door? You... You shouldn''t be able to unlock it! How did you do it?" He frowned his eyebrows, inquiring her sternly.


    Slowly, she uncovered her eyes and gasped a heavy breath out. "I...I just touched the crafted golden wolf-head design... I thought...maybe it''s the access of this room."


    "How is this possible? Only the creatures having a pure wolf bloodline in their gene are capable of unlocking the doorway... How could she do it? How could a mere human be able to touch our divine spiritual wolf-head? Who the heck is she?" Lost in his thoughts, he was gawking at her intensively.


    "You are really strange--"


    "I am sorry, but I can''t wait anymore. I am heading inside." She sounded very restless and all of a sudden, she rushed inside the door with a grimacing expression imprinted on her face.


    With a heavy jolt, after dashing inside the room and glanced around everywhere, breathing out heavily. But her eyes stuck on the vision in front of her, and a huge sword of pain stabbed her wrecked heart deeply.


    On the large, extremely sumptuous bed, Zeus was lying down all motionless and numb. His upper portion of the muscular, strong physique was naked, but the grave injuries near his abdomen along with the injuries in his arms were wrapped up in bandages. The injuries seemed so severe that they were wrapped up in several folds of gauzes and smeared with blood droplets. His breathing was intense but slow as if... it was even too difficult for him to inhale air for survival... He seemed tired and immersed in deep sleep, with his pale, numb face, emotionless face.


    Sobbing down in tears, she rushed towards him and helplessly stared at his distressed condition for a few seconds. Abruptly, she lowered her face closer to his body and with the utmost affection, touched his cold, firm palm.


    "Zeus? Can... Can you hear me? Look...Look at me, Zeus. See, I have come for you... I...I came here just for you without even caring about my life... But, why are you like this? Why are you so stiff and numb? Are... Are you in so much pain? Can you hear me? Zeus, please don''t be silent...My...My heart is bleeding to watch you like this...Please, just once... Please can you open your eyes... please? Please can you look at me...just once? I won''t ask more...But please, just look at me once, please?" She caressed his arm, whispering close to his ears her along with tear droplets dripping down on his arm she was holding tight.


    _________________


    ****200 PS: 5 extra chapters

 Chapter 54 - A Helpless Confession

    No matter... how many times Eva called out his name deliberately in her teary soft voice, there was not a single response from Zeus. He lied stiff and all frigid on the bed, like a magnificent handsome prince immersed in the world of deep sleep after fighting alone a long, exhausting battle.


    "Zeus? Can''t you answer me just once? Can''t you open your eyes? Please...Please look at me with your worrisome big eyes the way you always did? Please?" Her whimpering voice sounded much saddened as she caressed his arm softly, holding it within her fragile grasp.


    "It''s of no use. No matter, how much you summon him...He won''t wake up..." Czar walked closer to her with his slow, gentle steps and conveyed his answer in a deep note. His facial eloquence looked much serious with his eyes fixated on his unconscious porcelain-white pale face.


    Her heart was aching in agony to watch her beloved one in such a miserable state. Restlessly, she took a seat next to him on the bed, and with her trembling right palm, she softly caressed his cold side face with tear droplets dripping down her eyes.


    "Why? Why have you grown so weak, Zeus? The way...you...you protected my life yesterday... the way you fought for me... the way you didn''t even give a damn about your life... at least...at least... let me thank you properly... You...always look after me from afar... but you never expressed your concerns before me... Why... Why are you so kind, Zeus? Why do the kindest people have to suffer so much?" She was murmuring her words on her own, mourning for him helplessly.


    Quietly, Czar marched nearby them and breathed out in a huff. She was grieving out for him too hard staring at Zeus intensively and in some part of his heart, he was feeling a bit pitiful for her suffering. With a deep poignant gaze towards her, he breathed out in a huff before conversing further.


    "This...This fool almost had died yesterday for the sake of protecting you...If he hadn''t been the strongest one of us, probably, he wouldn''t have been able to make it... The injuries were severe. His gut was pierced thoroughly in a brutal attempt... His whole upper body is bruised with claw marks... He is perhaps in the weakest phase of his life now, battling for survival..." His voice grew heavier and intense while he was explaining his vulnerable state to her.


    Eva was quivering in agony with her jowls trembling nonchalantly to hear such a painful declamation from him. She tightened her grip over his cold, frigid arm and continued staring at him widening her gaze.


    "Why did you do it, Zeus? Why do you never bother about yourself when it comes to me? Why? Why did you intend to sacrifice your life so easily? You...You should have left me to die... At least...At least I didn''t have to watch you in this miserable condition...hic... It''s...all because of me... Hic... I... should have died yesterday... How am I going to live if something happens to you?" She was sobbing bitterly, clenching her fist hard with her tears rolling down on his stiff knuckle.


    Czar breathed out in a huff quite heavily and slowly knelt down on the ground before her while she was grieving for him. She was crying lowering her grimace down and didn''t bother to raise her chin up to look at him.


    "Why are you blaming everything on yourself, little duckling?" He sounded much gentle, with his dark dubious eyes fixated at her sorrowful face. "You didn''t ask to be saved... He...He did everything on his own... You are not the one to be blamed at the end of the day... It was his firm choice to keep your safety above everything..." From his conversing, he seemed to be consoling her deep.


    Slowly, Eva raised her chin up and cryptically glanced at Czar, blinking her teary eyes a few times. Somehow she sensed a breeze of comfort from the way he was trying to console her grieved heart. Inhaling a heavy breath inside, she murmured her answer, "but...but he tossed his life away...just for me... He gave up on his life for me...I...I feel so fucking helpless--"


    "I don''t know why but...You are indeed special to him, little duckling...There lies no doubt in it... As far I knew him, he is the kind of guy...who would bother to help someone stuck in a distressed condition. No matter...how much the person could beg for help...But...Zeus wouldn''t even budge to look at him... That''s the kind of cold-hearted soul he possesses..." Somehow, his verdict sounded very intense and morose while he peeped a glance at him. The way he conveyed his answer, it seemed as if he was holding some vague mystic grudges against him buried deep down in his heart.


    Eva quietly listened to his opinion without uttering a single word in response. From his answer, she could clearly depict, there were unknown, dark mystified secrets encircling the whole mansion, involving both the lives of Zeus and Czar. Something felt strange and off between them.


    After conversing his statement, slowly Czar stood up from the ground and took a deep breath in. With a stern look in his eyes, he gazed firmly at her and muttered his words in a low pitch, "we can''t waste much time here anymore. I will be waiting outside the room at the door... Finish your greetings a bit faster and come outside. I will knock on the door twice if I see any danger approaching us." He sounded very rigid, blurting out his reply swiftly, walking out of the room in giant bold footsteps.


    Eva sat all stiff, holding his arm tight and caressing his knuckle. Slowly, she shifted her gaze towards his unconscious body and took a deep look at the portion of his bare chest which was wrapped in bandages holding the claw marks. She tenderly placed her right arm on the portion of his chest, residing his heart, and touched it.


    After a moment of silence, slowly she leaned her head a bit closer to him and placed a soft tender kiss on his chest, resting her head softly over his chest.


    "Zeus... I am sorry... But, I have...fallen in love with you... I love you so freaking much...It hurts... It hurts to watch you so weak... It hurts my heart so bad..." Her tears dripped down on his bare chest, as she murmured her sad helpless confession.


    ___________

 Chapter 55 - I Will Be Waiting For You

    Resting her head over his muscular, bare, bandage-wrapped chest she was breathing out wearily with tear droplets rolling down the corner of her eyes. Her gaze was fixated at Zeus''s pale, absolutely motionless face, without even blinking her eyes nonchalantly. She slowly caressed his side-face but they perceived unusually cold to her. His condition was quite severe and the painful realization was tearing apart her wounded heart.


    "Zeus..." She placed her soft tender palm over the portion of his heart, caressing his embrace. "I know... I know your heart...it can...definitely hear me out... Zeus, you know, everything makes sense now... I have realized all the things you did for me without even letting me know... You are the one...who saved me that night from committing suicide...didn''t you?" Her voice sounded crooked, husky, and emulsified in pain.


    No response came. He still laid down all stiff and numb.


    "I know...you aren''t in a state to answer me... I even know that...you will never admit how much you fret about me... You always chose to be my silent protector...You jumped in that magnificent pool to find back my lost pendant... Unthinkingly, you tossed away your life in exchange for my life... Why? Since when did I become so important for you? Why did you always tail me from behind but not grabbing my hand in front of the whole world? What are you afraid of...Zeus?"


    She was mourning her complaints all alone as he laid down all silent, without showing any movement in his gesticulations. Anyone would confuse him for a cold, lifeless body if his deep breath ever stopped from inhalation.


    Eva slowly raised her head up from his chest and took off a heavy sigh, staring at him with a teary gaze and holding his arm tightly over her lap. "Zeus... how long you are going to stay all silent like this? Can''t...Can''t you just open your eyes once? Can''t you look at me just once? I...I can''t stay here with you all day like this...Zeus... I will have to leave soon..." She lowered her grimace, covering her face with her arm to hold back herself from grieving hard, wiping her tears out.


    A few minutes passed by with Eva being awfully silent, staring at him with a poignant contemplation and caressing his arm softly. From her appearances, it seemed that as if she wanted to engrave a vivid picture of him in her heart as well as her gaze because both of them were unaware of what destiny had prepared ahead for both of them.


    "Zeus, I feel so fucking helpless... I can''t even imagine the pain you went through just to protect me... But I couldn''t hold myself back anymore. I... I risked my everything and came to you here... I know...if...if I am captured by the guards today, they won''t show any mercy before taking away my life... But even if it''s my last moments... I still wanted to see you once, Zeus... I...I am so thankful to God that...you are...at least...alive..." She placed a soft kiss on his knuckle and embracing his arm closer to her heart.


    "You know...it seems so strange... But...just a few days ago, I was cursing against God so badly because... they took away my brother from me... He was the only one whom I had as my own by my side in this lonely world... Losing everything at once forced me to attempt ending this fucked up life of mine...


    But I never knew... the moment I assumed myself all alone and cursed... is the exact moment, you grabbed my arm standing by my side like my guarding shield... Zeus, you came into my life as the gift of divinity... God snatched everything away from me but...in return... he gave me someone... who keeps me above his own life... I am grateful for that..."


    Whimpering her words in a low pitch, slowly she leaned closer to his grimace. With trembling jowls and a sad smile on her face, she tugged herself near to him. She closed her eyes tight and placed a warm, emotional kiss over his soft reddened lips with a drop of tear dripping down on his chin right from the corner of her dark, saddened eyes.


    After engraving a warm kiss on his lips, she pulled her face a bit up and placed an affectionate soft peck on his forehead, with a deep sigh. Slowly, she unrolled her eyes wide open and evoked a sad smile looking at him passionately still.


    "I... I have fallen so hard for you...Zeus... How can I not fall for a person who always watched over me from afar? I... I don''t know...what''s ahead decided by our destiny... but...I just want to see you doing fine... I just want to see you all firm and healthy right before my eyes... I just want to see you happy even if that happiness doesn''t include me together along with you... That''s how I love you so much... And this realization dragged me towards you today.


    But... I... I believe you will wake up soon...Zeus. You will have to rise and shine again... I... I can''t come here again to meet you like this as I am forbidden from it...but... I hope... I hope you will come back to me this time, Zeus.


    I will be...waiting for you... I will look forward to meeting you again... I will look forward to immersing myself within your warm embrace, I will keep hoping for that day.


    I will look forward patiently... Don''t forget me, Zeus...Please...Remember... I will be waiting for you..." She muttered her unclear words with a teary, sad smile, contemplating him deeply.


    ....


    "Damn, what''s taking her so long? I told her to wrap up her greetings in short and come outside! This girl always loves to cause trouble for everyone! Such a nuisance..." Roaming outside the room impatiently, Czar hissed at her in a deep voice within his mind, looking all fretful. From his gestures, he seemed much impatient too.


    "What you are doing outside here, Czar?"


    All of a sudden, a dark, mystical, hoarse voice from behind flinched him hard!


    ________________________


    **200 votes- 5 extra chapters as a reward!

 Chapter 56 - Are You Hiding Something?

    "Huh?"


    With a heavy jolt of flinch, in a flash of a second Czar turned behind gazing at the person who summoned him all of a sudden. Intensively, he swirled his pupils momentarily in awe. The encounter was entirely out of the plan and the person standing upright in front of him was no one other than Ivory!


    Dressed up in a silk white full sleeve gown, with her shimmering dark black hairs unknotted flaunting down her shoulders, she was gazing at him intensely with dark vicious anticipation towards him.


    "I-Ivory?" He blurted out in surprise.


    "I asked, what are you doing here outside Zeus''s room?" She reciprocated her question again but this time much in an intense tone.


    "I...I...I was just...roaming here on my own...It''s nothing much..." He was stuttering anxiously with a slight glimpse shifted towards the door.


    With bold footsteps, she marched closer to him and continued monitoring his absurd expressions frowning her eye-brow ridge. "Really? You were just roaming here?"


    "Yes...of-course... Why? Am I forbidden to stand here?"


    "I didn''t mean my words like that. But... from my prolonged observation with the Romano family, you and Zeus never had a good bonding of brotherhood, to begin with... And most importantly, you seemed to be flinching hard when I called you out here. I don''t know why, but your gestures are a bit skeptical for me." She cleared out her point, straight and tough.


    Gulping his saliva anxiously, Czar stood all frozen for a few seconds as his mind was going all numb. "Damn, as always...Ivory is too quick-witted! What am I gonna do now! That nuisance is still inside the room... How am I gonna let her out to escape? Ughhh, fuck!" His mind was filled up with all these puzzling thoughts, while he was fidgeting quite anxiously, tapping his feet hard.


    "Why do you look so stressed, Czar?" She furrowed her eyebrows gawking at him intensely.


    "Ahh, no. It''s nothing. Why am I gonna be stressed? Haha..." Faking a burst of small laughter to portray his composed behavior, he was trying hard to convince her the best.


    "But it seems you are not your typical self today. And most importantly, why are you marching outside the room rather than going inside?"


    "No... I was just...Well..." He was stuttering again with her straight blunt inquiries hitting him strenuously.


    "Do you still feel awkward?"


    All of a sudden, he seemed surprised to hear her direct probing and raised his chin up to ogle at her with a deep gaze in his eyes. She was looking at him straight in the eye as her questions were quite direct and stern.


    "Czar, I know... I know everything that you had to go through... You, still must feel strange around everyone here, right? Perhaps, that''s why you always chose to avoid showing your true concerns inside this mansion." She asked again.


    "You are overthinking about me, Ivory." All of a sudden, his face tainted with a grimacing expression, and with a heavy sigh, he conveyed his verdict in a profound note. "Though I am residing along with them in the same mansion... I have been accustomed to being treated like a mere stranger past all these years. No one here...considered me as their own... including my own father, who still looks at me with a pitiful gaze. It''s kinda typical for me now... I don''t give a fuck to them anymore." His voice grew heavy, dense, and saturated with sadness.


    She was staring at him with a sad gaze in her dark dubious eyes and chose to be silent for a few seconds lowering her grimace down. "I guess... the scars in your heart still hasn''t healed after all these years--"


    "No, you are wrong, Ivory." Abruptly he interrupted her conversation in a rugged cold voice, with a spooky smirk lingering on his lips. "My scars are too deep to be healed... It will...forever keep on bleeding and reminding me of the purpose I still carried them."


    She slowly nodded her head to his verdict and both of them stayed silent for a few seconds. After some moment of pause, she chose to speak first.


    "Alright... Then, I think I should go and check up once on Zeus." She murmured in a frigid tone and took a step forward to head straight inside the room.


    As soon as she muttered, Czar flinched again in surprise as all of a sudden he got panic-stricken for Eva who was still inside the room with Zeus! When Ivory took a step forward to march inside, quickly he rushed closer and stood before her like a guard wall, blocking the door.


    "Wa-Wait! Why are you going inside?" He blurted out stressfully.


    "What? What do you mean by this?" With his unusual conduct, she seemed much surprised probing him back.


    "No...I...I mean that Zeus...he must be sleeping right now. It''s impossible for him to wake up any soon... So, why bother going inside?" He muttered his words quite fast while gulping down his saliva as his throat seemed to be constricted in anxiety.


    She stood still for a few seconds, watching him acting all absurd and fretted her face. "Well I know he must be still in deep sleep. But... haven''t you heard what Uncle Antonio have commanded? He has to be monitored by us consistently as the upcoming 3 days till the full moon will be an extremely vulnerable stage for him. It''s not unnatural if those scumbags try to harm him again. We must keep a close watch on him. And...I have to dress up his wounds again. It must have started to bleed already." She answered him in a polite note and took a step forward again to move straight ahead.


    "Wa-Wait--" Czar impatiently guarded her way again frowning his face intensely. "I think we must let him sleep for some time now. You can dress up his wounds later too. Why bother him now--"


    "Czar, why does it seems that you are stopping me from heading inside? Are you trying...to hide something?" She tossed a straight question at him straight in a dubious, dark voice.


    __________________


    ***200 votes: 5 extra chapters for you all :)

 Chapter 57 - A Shield

    "Wait...What?" Frowning his eyebrows, Czar reciprocated her in a stiff tone.


    "You are really acting so strange today. From your perplexed gestures, it seems you don''t wanna let me go inside the room. Why? Are you trying to hide something?" She sounded pretty intense, gawking at him strictly.


    His intentions were being exposed by her witty nature which caused him to panic hard internally. Staring at him with a small dubious smirk on his face, he murmured slowly, "Ivory, are you being suspicious of me?"


    "Whenever something comes to Zeus... I can''t even trust the divinity. So, be honest with me Czar. Why don''t you want me to go inside?" All of a sudden, her voice constricted as a wild thought struck her mind in a jolt. "Have...Have you done something to him?" She whispered under low breath.


    "Pffft!" He smirked with her striking assumption and continued staring straight into her eye intensely, tapping his right feet on the ground in a rhythm. "Are you trying to accuse me that I might have harmed my big brother in this severe state? Are you distrustful of me?"


    Suddenly, she swirled her dark brown eyeballs wider at him in awe. "Don''t tell me, Czar... Don''t tell me you have done something to..." She couldn''t complete her words as her expressions looked much fretful. "Move aside Czar! I want to go inside!" Suddenly, her voice along with her gestures seemed very restless, trying to traverse his block and dash inside to Zeus.


    "Wait a minute!" All of a sudden, he grabbed her forearm intending to stop her from rushing in. Intensively he stared straight into her and sounded much dubious, "before you go inside, I...I want to state something to you--"


    "I can''t focus on a single conversation right now! It''s my command...leave my arm and step aside, Czar!" All of a sudden, she grumbled at him in a dominant loud noise and shoved her hand away from his grasp. Without wasting a single second anymore, in a heavy jolt, she dashed inside the room with her gallant footsteps.


    ...


    DASHH!


    The gigantic door partitions opened inside making a heavy loud noise and in a dash, Ivory rushed inside the room with a hysterical expression imprinted on her face. But she didn''t even imagine in her wildest dream to witness the view inside which shocked her inner core!


    With the unforeseen tumultuous noise of the door opening, Eva jolted in surprise, standing up from the bedside, and immediately turned behind to witness the raucous happening there. She was startled and spellbound to watch Ivory dashing inside the room unexpectedly and continued gawking at her in awe.


    Her motion paused along with her mind taking a bit of time trying to process the shocking reality in front of her. It didn''t take any longer to perceive that she was the only one for whom Zeus tossed away everything...even his own life so easily without thinking about his own pack! Moreover, she had confronted her in his office prior too which had imprinted a clear picture of her in her mind.


    She glared at Eva for a few seconds looking all stiff and after a while, her gaze shifted towards her arm which was still gripped on with Zeus. The unexpected sight provoked burning wrath in her heart.


    Abruptly, Eva understood that she was glaring at their intertwined hands, and with a panicked gesture, she quickly let go of his arm in a hush. She seemed terrified and swooned in fear being unable to make firm eye contact with her fiery gaze. Just behind her, Czar dashed inside the room too and huffed a deep breath looking at the sudden messed up situation.


    Clenching her fist hard, Ivory took a bold vicious step towards her. From her facial gestures, she seemed much vexed, fuming in rage. Czar abruptly sensed the upcoming severe chaos and in a flick of a second, rushed ahead of her blocking her way to head straight towards Eva.


    With his interference, she seemed extremely infuriated and glared at him rolling her eyes wider. "Why the heck you are stopping me again--"


    "Calm down a little before jumping to any conclusion. I can explain--"


    "You can explain? Have you gone nuts, Czar?" Grumbling in an atrocious tone, she transmitted a dark death stare at her. "This...This vile human dared to step inside Zeus''s room and you are asking me to calm down? Today... Zeus is in this pathetic condition just because to save her damn life! How the fuck I can calm down?" She snapped at him.


    "Ivory if you keep raising your voice like this... you will be inviting more unwanted attention here. You know it well...if something happens to her... Zeus won''t be happy with you ever again... Please understand my concern and tone down a little." He was trying to convince her quite hard, lowering his voice in a polite note.


    She stood all frigid glaring at Eva who seemed to be petrified in fear and anguish, standing at the corner of the room lowering her grimace down clenching the laces of her maid skirt. Ivory took a deep breath after hearing out his plead and shifted her glare straight to Czar.


    "Be honest with me...Did you help her to sneak inside?" In an intense voice, she probed.


    "I just helped her to witness his condition... She sneaked here on her own but I guided her inside--"


    "Why?"


    "H-Huh?"


    "Why did you commit such a blunder, Czar!? Why the fuck you let her take a single step inside our mansion? What the heck is wrong with you?" All of a sudden, she lost her calm, bursting out her agitation on him in a screeching note.


    Terrified with apprehension, Eva took slow small steps towards Czar and stood right behind him with her shivering fragile body. He was guarding her against her wrath like a shield which ensured her a dim ray of hope and consign in that disastrous situation.


    "I have my reasons for choosing to help her. It was my own decision." In a dubious intense tone, he reciprocated her back.


    "So it means you could put our entire existence in danger just to help this damn wench?" Gritting her teeth in anger, she grumbled at him while glaring viciously at Eva. "It''s enough for me to bear now! This damn wench is destroying our whole pack! I will kill her right now and wrap up the story here!" She boldly marched forward towards her clenching her fist hard.


    All of a sudden, Czar grabbed by her forearm and blocked her way gallantly from moving ahead forbidding her from the further approach. Immediately, his dilated eyeballs transformed the color into shimmering dark blue as he glared at her back, "don''t... don''t touch her." He muttered.


    ____________________


    A HEARTFELT THANK YOU LOVELIES:


    First of all, a big and lovely thanks from the bottom of my heart to all my adorable readers. The way you are supporting my book, I am overwhelmed :*


    This week I had set a power stone goal of 200 and I gained 190 votes out of it. Sadly, just for 10 votes more, I couldn''t reach my goal, but to thank all of your efforts and best wishes, I will be doing a mass release this week just as a token of my gratitude :)


    Thanks my lovelies but I am setting up my next power stone goal for this week :


    300 votes: 6 extra chapters as a reward!!


    Please help me reach it this time :* :)

 Chapter 58 - Protecting Her

    "Wh...What did you say?" Her voice stuttered as she fixed her gaze intensively at Czar while he was groping her forearm to block her way from marching towards Eva.


    "Don''t touch her. I won''t allow you to cause any harm to her." His deep blue shimmering supernatural eyes were blazing in a mystified form while he murmured his verdict in a heavy note.


    All of a sudden, Ivory jolted her arm to unleash from his grip and vigorously took a step back from him. In the blink of a second, her deep brown eyeballs molded into her dominant alpha bright red color as she evoked a fiery stare at him. She seemed to be fuming in wrath, with her jaws quivering in anger and her glare sharply directed towards Eva.


    "You...Do you wish to protect this human by going against us? Will you betray your family for this wench?" She snarled at him.


    "Betray? Hahh...No one...Bloody not a single one stood up for me when my own family treated me like a piece of crap! No one ever bothered to accept my heartfelt beg when I..." He trailed off, with his breath going heavily intense as if he was reprimanded of a painful memory while charging her back. Keeping a sudden pause for a moment, he continued, "I...I have made a promise to her... to keep her safe and sound for today... I won''t make a little fuss if you intend to kill her tomorrow but not today...As...you must already know...how we keep our promises superior to our lives."


    She was startled, bewildered at his statement, rolling her brightened fiery red eyes at him while exhaling out intensely. "You must have gone crazy...Czar... Open your damn eyes! She is a human! Humans are never worthy of our trust! They...They will always look for an opportunity to stab us back! Look...Look at him!"


    All restless and fretful, she pointed her index finger towards emotionless frigid Zeus, lying on the bed all lifeless and numb. Her eyes were glistening with tears as she directed her arm towards him, with her gaze fixated at Czar. "Look at him! He...He is almost on the verge of death today...just...just to save this damn human! Have you forgotten? They...They are our enemy...our eternal enemy! Involving with her will cost you nothing good! And...you are walking on the same path that your brother went overboard--"


    "I am not going overboard, Ivory." Abruptly he interrupted her sentence in a hoarse voice, trying to calm himself a bit. His eyes gradually returned to the normal black form and calmly he took a step closer to her to tone her impatient state of mind a bit down. "I just decided to help her as...someday in my past... I was stuck in her position too. At that moment... I cried and begged everyone but no one intended to show any mercy to a small powerless child...


    I just... I just wanted to forbear her through the same pain I have already faced before... So at least, I can call this help as the last chance that I spared to her if someday... I would need to kill her. I won''t have pity over her again..." His voice sounded much thick and dark, as he took a small glimpse at Eva who was trembling and swooned in fear, standing behind her.


    With a deep sigh, Ivory lowered her eyes for a moment and her eyes too molded into the usual deep brown color from her dominant alpha form. "Czar, whatever has happened to you it all lies in our long old past! And... And Zeus was never involved in whatever you faced...neither he intended to cause you any pain intentionally! So...why...why would he bear the consequences of your actions? Do you even realize what you have committed today? If anyone...a single being ever knows that you have brought this human inside our mansion to him, along with you... Zeus too would have to face severe punishment even though he is all innocent--"


    "I will never let anyone know that...that I have entered the Romano Mansion, madam..." All of a sudden, Eva broke her silence and chose to interrupt her sentence taking a small step forward towards her looking all fretful and nervous. "I can give you my word... I will never let anyone know about it... Neither I will cause any further risk to his life anymore."


    "You have already caused enough damage to him...you darn human! I would prefer to die rather than trusting a human!" Hissing at her response she rolled her pupils wider vexing her displeasure. She was unable to stand her anymore and with a heavy breath out, she tilted her chin sideways to ogle at Zeus who was still lying stiff on the bed.


    "Ivory...just... trust me for today. I know...Zeus indeed means everything to you. But...as you know it too...how much he cherishes this lady more than his life. At least for him...keep it a secret." He murmured in a polite tone asking for her approval.


    As soon as he finished his sentence, Eva raised her eyes to gawk at Ivory as indeed she understood it well from her restless gestures, how much she cares about him. "She... She indeed treasures him so much... Her love for him is so evident..." This painful realization hit her mind hard which even caused her heart to ache a little. The person she had fallen in love with was already treasured by someone so devotedly who was not a powerless human like her, but a strong fierce ruthless lady who can go beyond boundaries to keep her man safe! Her eyes filled with tears of anguish as she lowered her grimace down.


    Stomping her feet hard on the ground, she took a deep breath out and looked at Czar intensely. "Just for today...But... if I see this human here ever again... I swear no one will be able to protect her from my wrath!" Grumbling viciously, she peeked a glare at her.


    With a small smile of relief, Czar nodded his head and immediately grabbed Eva''s arm which caused her to flinch in surprise. Firmly he gazed at Ivory and murmured, "I am taking her outside now. Th-Thank you... Ivory." With bold gallant steps, he dragged Eva out of the room with gallant steps forward. While leaving, Eva turned her neck behind looking at Zeus helplessly for the last time with a teary gaze all the way outside.


    Ivory stood all still, frigid and numb like a statue as they left out of the room premises. Her eyes were filled with tears of wrath, agony, and shifting her gaze sideways she looked at him intensely.


    "What...What did I lack Zeus? Why is it... not me?" She whispered under low breath on her own.


    ________________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 59 - Pointless Emotions

    Gripping onto her arm tight, carefully keeping a sharp observation around their surroundings, both Czar and Eva sneaked straight to the giant yard at the back of the Romano mansion in a running spree. It was quite difficult for her to cope up with his fleeing speed wearing such a fancy maid costume...but holding onto her strong will, she decided to escape along with him.


    He was helping her in escaping from such an atrocious environment, running at his lowest possible speed compared to the power of a strong werewolf. After an anticipated galloping of several minutes, both of them reached the area of the yard near the giant guard wall bearing a massive hole from where she had crawled up inside earlier.


    Reaching their destination, he unleashed her hand from his grasp and both of them started to pant vigorously hiding behind a massive wall separating the yard to dodge the loyal guards. Looking around themselves again, he swirled his eyes wider and took a glimpse at Eva. She had a menacing terrified expression on her face while massaging the area of her wrist where he was grabbing onto. He understood it well, compared to her vulnerability, it must be hard for her to withstand his inhuman strength.


    "Is your hand okay?" In a gentle voice, he inquired her looking sharply at her arm.


    "Umm. Yes... But that''s fine...I have been already hurt too much before... This pain is negligible... to its comparison." Holding a sad small smirk on her rosy lips, she conveyed her words.


    Unknowingly, he continued staring at her for a few moments and took a heavy sigh out leaning his back against the wall. Standing right next to her, both of them chose to be reserved holding an awkward calmness between them.


    "You...You must stay as far as possible from Zeus. I hope, you have already understood now that involving yourself with us will bring risks to your own life. And, as far I have already notified you, I won''t help you even if you are about to die tomorrow. It''s just a one-time help for today." He chose to break the silence and muttered in a low voice.


    She stood all still, looking down at the ground with a pair of saddened eyes, fidgeting on her own. She didn''t utter a single word, residing all silent and numb.


    "And... I will issue your termination letter from our Romano Organization. You have to start a new life with a new job... Don''t worry, the compensation fee for the sudden termination from us would be delivered right to your address. So... I am telling you it prior so that you would get time to find a new workplace. I hope you would understand...it''s all...for your own sake." He continued his proclamation, glancing at her quietly.


    She still didn''t utter a single objection and lowering her grimace down, she took a deep breath in. Her eyes seemed too gloomy and Czar was indeed monitoring her actions vividly.


    "What are you thinking so hard?" Her silence was piquing up his curiosity quite bad as he probed the direct question at her.


    She raised her chin up and looked straight up at the blank limitless sky, evoking a heavy sigh out. "It''s just... I was wondering...why my life is so harsh to me? Who... Who wrote... such a cursed fate for me?" Her voice grew heavier and morose as if she was trying hard to hold back inside her severe urge of sobbing out aloud.


    For a moment, Czar suddenly became totally speechless and continued looking at her with his dark, dubious eyes fixedly. Her saddened appearance somehow managed to intrude a line of thread straight in his heart which was already torn apart before with pain.


    "Do you... really love Zeus?" Unknowingly he blurted out a sudden blunt question.


    She smiled, blinking her tear-filled deep brown eyes poignantly. "He is the one... who stood beside me when I had intended to brutally abandon myself too. He protected me... He cared for me... But he chose to hide it away from me... The care and love which I never expected to retrieve back in my life came to me as the gift of the divinity in the form of Zeus...


    But look at me... I am such a worthless powerless person who can''t even protect the person I love... Just for the sake of his well-being, I... I need to stay away from me...


    Can you imagine how painful it is for me to bear everything inside? It''s... It''s killing me from inside..." Tears of anguish rolled down her cheeks as she reverberated her heartfelt honest words.


    "You really do love him as... your tears explained everything." In a spooky tone, he straightened his back against the wall, mumbling in a deep voice. "But...our worlds are existing in the parallel universe... And above all, Zeus will be engaged to Ivory soon. Their marriage has been already decided way before by the family. So... You eventually have to give up on him. Some love stories aren''t meant to last for eternity..."


    "You are...brutally very honest..." Wiping out her eyes with her trembling fragile hands, she smiled at him in response. "The way she was stirred up for him... I had eventually realized that she loves him madly enough... But I didn''t expect her to be his betrothal partner."


    "Ivory loves him way too much...but it''s sad... She had to witness her beloved one risking his everything for the sake of an ordinary human maiden. I really can''t understand the intentions of that fool--"


    "You would never be able to understand him unless you value someone more than your own life...That''s called the power of love. Zeus risked his life to protect me and I risked mine just to come for him here...


    I know...Zeus loves me way too much... I am blessed enough... that despite being an ordinary human, almost inferior compared to every aspect with that lady...I was still able to enter his heart...


    You would be able to understand what and why he did it for me when you will fall for someone truly...someday..." She spoke in a soft, grieved tone looking right up at the sky with a teary gaze.


    He was numb, gawking at her frowning his eyebrows. His heart was pounding hard unknowingly as he wondered on his own, "Never... I won''t do such a ridiculous act ever...


    I will never ever fall for anyone from my heart. Emotions like love are pointless in my life."


    ....


    Little did he know, destiny had already begun the game of fate...


    _____________________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 60 - Strange Emotions

    "But...there is something else I want to say you before I leave."


    All of a sudden, Czar flinched retrieving his senses back with her cordial voice while he was immersed in his thoughts from inside. With a perplexed gesture, he glanced back at her raising his masculine jawline up and continued blinking his dark dubious eyes.


    "What do you want--"


    "I want to thank you." Holding a sad teary smile on her small face, she smirked at him. "For everything you did for me today."


    "Hah... Why are you being suddenly sweet to me, little duckling?" Unknowingly he blurted out evoking a spooky sneer at her. "You have been always acting so blunt towards me, but why are you all sweet now? Are you...actually mesmerized by my irresistible charm?" He took a step closer to her, intentionally trying hard to tease her up.


    Slowly, the small smile on her face completely tainted followed by a serious, stiff expression on her face. "I won''t lie to you about my perceptions today. To be honest, you have always annoyed me so bad that I really wanted to punch your face hard, whenever we met each other. Honestly, I had assumed you to be a lecherous rich spoiled brat before. Especially it stirred me up furthermore whenever you blabbered your nonsense chattering with me, including calling me with that vulgar name. You have been always getting on my nerves whenever we faced." She muttered nonchalantly.


    "Hey... Don''t you think you are being too harsh? How dare you?" Frowning his eyebrow ridge with a displeased gesture, he grumbled at her locking his gaze intensively.


    "But...If it hadn''t been your help today...probably... I would have really turned into a lump of dead meat... You are the reason I am still alive today inside this mansion." She lowered her gaze down from his face and took a deep sigh out while conversing her words in a heavy note.


    Czar didn''t utter a single word as he seemed a bit surprised with her absolutely unexpected deep sincere emotions towards him. Swirling his dark brown eyes wider, he continued ogling at her fragile pose.


    "I don''t know what horrible events you have faced in your life earlier which provoked you today to help me out here. But all I have understood that... You are... really a good person." Raising her chin up and staring straight into his eyes, she mumbled her consoled words in a soft, cordial voice.


    THROB!


    All of a sudden, an absolutely strange sensation caused inside his heart to throb out harder as their eyes met each other intensively. For the entire first time in his life, someone''s simple bunch of words caused a strange palpitation inside his dark, cold, bruised heart.


    "Wh-What''s wrong with me? Why my heart just throbbed so hard?" Gulping down his saliva anxiously, he lowered his eyes down avoiding the profound eye-contact with her.


    "No matter how much you try to hide it...but deep down inside your tough exterior... a sincere, good person still lives in you. Even though you desperately always try to portray yourself as a bad fellow, but honestly, you still hold a sincere, genuine heart to aid the helpless ones. That''s what makes you different from the rest...Mr. Czar." Her voice sounded much polite and cordial with a small, warm smile lingering on her grimace.


    THROB! THROB!!


    Hearing out his name for the very first time in her voice, his heart started to throb passionately harder. Abruptly in a jolt, he took a step back looking all nervous and fretful about his unusual emotional turbulence.


    "Fuck! Why my heart is beating so hard? Just because she called me by my name? What the fuck?" Cursing his inner core, he frowned his face looking all perturbed.


    "Hey, stop...stop calling me a good person! You are creeping me out right now... I...I prefer to be a heartless badass rather than a soft-hearted fool... That''s what everybody has said to me till now. Yo-You are the first naive human who is... calling me a good person. Stick to your previous perceptions about me because... I told you...I ain''t gonna help you even if you are about to die tomorrow..." He was stuttering quite anxiously in panic, trying to avoid her their eye-contact.


    "Yeah yeah, I already know about it. But... I just wanted to share what I felt about you. It''s better to share your feelings rather than bottling them up inside." Taking a deep breath inside, she straightened her back against the wall and peeked at the large hole at the giant guard wall of the mansion. "I guess, I gotta leave now. Thank you."


    "Don''t come back here ever again. And...possibly...stay far away from us."


    "Yeah...I understood it... But..." With a sad gaze in her eyes, she looked in the direction straight towards the mansion, breathing out in a huff. "Can you...please look after him for me? He...He is really in such a weak state..." She trailed off.


    "Hey, I am not here to babysit Zeus. I have several other businesses to take care of." Abruptly, he sulked his face grumbling back at her.


    "I know, but... I wish... I could stay by his side..." Murmuring in a low voice, in a gloomy gesture, she slowly turned back to march forward towards the giant wall. Taking a step forward, she turned her neck back and smiled for the last time before bidding him goodbye.


    "Take care, you too." She whispered.


    Without responding to her, abruptly he turned back and started to walk straight towards the mansion taking giant footsteps. His gestures seemed much perplexed as if he was being anxious over something from inside.


    Marching ahead a few steps, unknowingly, his motion halted. Holding a vexed troublesome look on his face, sneakily he turned his neck behind to observe her silently from behind. With slow tender steps, she was heading to crawl out of the mansion through the passage but she indeed looked quite lonely from his observation.


    "Damnit! Why do I feel so uneasy when she is really leaving? What the fuck is wrong with me?" He wondered alone.


    ____________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters

 Chapter 61 - A Witness

    It was almost afternoon. Dressed up in the fancy maid outfit and walking along staggered, shuffling slow pace, Eva head straight towards her apartment because that''s the one and only place she could go holding such a grieved broken heart. However, the passerby strangers were gawking at her with an absurd gesture, especially at her maid outfit. She looked like a cosplay actress but from her gesticulations and a pale face, she seemed totally wrecked from inside.


    "EVA!"


    All of a sudden someone shrieked aloud reverberating the whole neighbourhood in such a screeching voice. Eva was walking all forward lowering her grimace down at the ground. But the sudden familiar voice caused her to raise her chin up and ogle at the person who summoned her.


    It was Clara, her only friend left in this world. She was running closer to her in a spree, looking extremely panicked and almost on the verge of tears. Immediately as she approached her, almost she jumped in her arms clutching her closer with a tight embrace. The hug was so sudden that for a few seconds, even she was baffled.


    "EVA! TH-THANK GOODNESS! THANK GOD YOU CAME BACK! THANK GOD!" She started to sob bitterly absorbed in the fret while embracing her tightly. Eva stood still like a statue for a moment and slowly reciprocated her hug by putting her arms around her waist.


    "Yeah... Sadly, I have nowhere to go apart from home. I had to come back..." She murmured.


    Abruptly, Clara deviated away from her embrace and thoroughly monitored her all around. "Do you even know how fucking scared I was when I saw the letter you left behind? It was almost like...you were going to a lion den! Do you even realize how panicked I was?" She screamed aloud.


    "I am sorry Clara--"


    "You even left your phone behind! Do you know how many negative thoughts crossed my mind? I was about to head seek help from the police but thank God... Thank God... you are back!" Interrupting her words, she snapped at her venting out her frustration with an intensive teary stare.


    "I am sorry... I must have scared you so bad." Softly wiping out her rolling tears, she mumbled her apology in a morose tone.


    "Where the heck you had been since the morning? And..." Glancing at her with her frowned eyebrows, she probed her, "what''s with this corny maid outfit? Did you go to a cosplay competition? Why are you dressed like this?"


    Enduring a distressed look on her face, slowly she removed the ruffled hairband from the top of her head. "No... it was...it was kinda like a cosplay competition." All anxiously, she tried to come up with a lame excuse to escape from her interrogation.


    "What?" With a scowled expression on her face, Clara continued staring at her in awe for a while. "You went to a cosplay competition in such an early morning, leaving behind such a scary letter? Do you think I am a crazy fool who will believe such a lame answer?"


    She stood still all frigid and numb, lowering her gaze down from her. She was fidgeting on her own with her mind shrouded with several thoughts, "I can''t tell her about Romano Mansion... I can''t let her know about anything--"


    "Eva, what''s wrong? I am asking you something--"


    "Clara...can we talk about all these later? I...I really feel very dizzy right now. I am not in the state both mentally and physically to face all these questions. I...I am very tired..." Her voice sounded very painful and distressed, with a grimacing look on her face.


    "Ah...Al-Alright... Let''s head inside first. You can answer me whenever you feel you are ready... But please, I beg you, Eva, I don''t have anyone in this world apart from your precious friendship... Please, Please don''t abandon me ever again." Gripping her arms tight, she quivered her pleading in a sorrowful tone.


    "I am sorry for everything, Clara... I am really sorry." Murmuring in a guilt-stricken voice, she held onto her arm with a heavy heart.


    ....


    "Madam Ivory... Did you summon me?"


    Holding an arduous stern look in her dark, dubious brown eyes, Ivory was standing still on the giant sumptuous terrace of that magnificent Romano Mansion, staring at the endless horizon with a blank gaze. She seemed too quiet, with her frowned eyebrow ridge and still eyeballs looking all mystified. She had summoned Mr. Tylor, the chief butler of the mansion and he immediately arrived right there to follow up with her command.


    "Yes. I called you out here." In a deep voice, she murmured.


    "Do you want to convey something Madam--"


    "I want to ask you something, Mr.Tylor. Be honest with me." Slowly, she shifted her dark gaze towards him by turning behind, evoking a small mysterious smirk. "Did you saw Czar bringing someone into our mansion?"


    With her strict blunt question, he seemed to be fretted for a few seconds as he averted his gaze away from her. Squirming anxiously, he answered, "ye-yes Madam."


    "Did you see that person? Didn''t you ask him anything?" She continued her sharp query by taking a step closer to him.


    "Well, to be honest, Master Czar had forbidden me to interrupt him any further. But--"


    "But?"


    "But...I will be honest with you, Madam. He brought inside a suspicious lady dressed in the maid outfit. That maiden was trying hard to cover her face from me and she was really acting absurd. I can guarantee, that person was someone from outside and probably...could be a human lady--"


    GWAAWP!


    All of a sudden, stabbing him with her razor-sharp fierce claws, Ivory shoved her entire right arm inside his gut and ripped it apart brutally! Blood droplets smeared all over the surface of the terrace including the thick droplets staining her silk gown


    "AEEEKKK! MA-MADAM!" Spewing out warm thick blood from his quivering lips, immediately he plopped down on the ground as soon as she shoved her blood-coated arm from inside his abdomen. Lurking in pain for several minutes, slowly his body movements halted as he breathed his last gasp of air.


    Staring intensively at his blood-covered ripped body, Ivory took a deep sigh out as she raised her chin up from the ground to stare at the limitless blue sky. She had a menacing grievous expression on her face with warm blood dripping down her claws on the ground.


    "You... You were the only witness, Mr. Tylor... You could have easily spilled about today in front of anyone just like how you confessed before me... And... I didn''t have any option left other than killing you... I am sorry, Mr. Tylor. You were like a father-figure for me...


    But..." All of a sudden, her dark eyes obtained the dominant red alpha form as she lowered her eyes down at the ground. "To protect my Zeus... I can go beyond any boundaries...


    I can... I can commit...everything..." She grumbled under low breath, clenching her blood-smeared fist.


    _____________________


    *Don''t forget: 300 votes= 6 extra chapters

 Chapter 62 - Seeking Comfort

    LA GRAZIA HOSTESS BAR:


    Holding a glass full of scotch, Czar was sitting all frigid leaning his back against the velvet red sofa inside the sumptuous VIP room that he had booked personally. With a grimacing look on his face, he dropped down a few ice-cubes in the glass and elicited a heavy deep sigh.


    (Door Knock)


    All of a sudden, his silence was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door of his cabinet which caused him to raise his chin up from the ground and glance towards the door. "Come in." He commanded.


    Slowly, the doorknob unlocked inside. A tall, immensely gorgeous, radiant, and vivacious lady, holding a graciously cordial gesture on her face walked down inside his cabin. Her skin tone was porcelain white, radiantly bright with sharpened postures. Her dark brown long hair up to the shoulder length was untied and wavering flawlessly. She had a spooky mysterious grin on her rosy, lustrous cherry red lips.


    The lady seemed much tempting wearing a sexy, short, and tight bright red silk gown above the knee length. The neckline of the seductive costume was very deep, V-shaped, through which the giant curvy cleavage of her plumped-up bosoms was clearly evident. Putting bright red high heels down, she walked straight closer to him like a gorgeous model!


    "Ahhh, my darling! I missed you so much already... Why did you come here after so many days?" Taking her seat beside him on the giant couch, she drew herself within his warm embrace, gently tugging his arm while conversing in a soft seductive voice.


    Czar didn''t utter a single word and continued gulping down the scotch with a blank gaze in his eyes. His mind seemed internally perplexed with several thoughts running wild.


    "Why are you so quiet today, Mr. Czar? Usually, on other days, you had been already pulled me now in your arms engraving a passionate kiss on my lips...You can''t even imagine, how much I became ecstatic when you summoned here today. You always used to say to me, that I am your favorite hostess who comforts and entertains you the best among all. And I won''t lie... I really enjoy your presence too. Look, I have even put a bright sexy outfit just as you like." She tugged his arm closer to her plumpy bust trying hard to tempt him with her attractive charm.


    "Were you...that happy with my arrival?" In a low deep voice, he probed her a blunt question looking at the glass of scotch with a fixed stare.


    "Of course! I was delighted by your arrival... You are my favorite customer and there''s no doubt in it--"


    "Why am I your favorite?" All of a sudden, he interrupted her voice and tossed a straight question, shifting his stern gaze towards her. "What do you like about me?" His tone seemed much inquisitive as he continued ogling.


    With his unexpected immediate question, she looked a little baffled for some time. Staring at him intensely, she gulped her saliva and slowly drew out her slender arm from his tug. "Umm, yes obviously you are my beloved. And...that''s because..."


    "Because?"


    "Well, you are the richest client I ever had here who pays me a hella lot of money. You...You are also too good in bed. Thanks to you, I have experienced extremely hot, passionate, steamy sex which I couldn''t even imagine with anyone else. You are exceptional in giving me every type of pleasure that I never endured from any other client. You are definitely, the best person, Mr. Czar." Owning a broad cheerful smile on her face, she murmured her words delightfully, holding her sturdy hand and caressing it softly on her lap.


    Czar chuckled with her sincere explanation as she finished up wrapping her words together. But somehow, this time, his smile looked unavoidably sad, distressing as if the small smile was hiding a buckle of sadness inside of it.


    "So...you called me best one just because...I provide for your needs both physically and economically. It means you like me just because you receive such kinds of stuff from me, right? Like a trade policy..." His voice sounded heavy, coarse weighing down the immense weight of emotions.


    "No, it''s just not because of that, Mr. Czar." She seemed a bit baffled and immediately tried to clarify her words to him. "It''s not like that I love your presence just because you provide me everything--"


    "That''s fine, Grace." Taking a deep sip of the scotch, he murmured his answer intervening in her statement. He still had a small sad smile on his face while he took a small glimpse at her. "You don''t need to give me any explanations. Well, till now, no one has ever liked me selflessly on their own and it doesn''t even bother me now. In fact, I appreciate your honesty, Grace."


    She seemed much perplexed with his response and she continued staring at him intensely for a few seconds being all silent. Taking a deep breath inside, she whispered softly to him, "Mr. Czar, are...are you going through a rough patch? Did something happen? Why do your eyes look so sad?"


    "Really? Do I look sad?"


    "Ye...Yes. You...don''t seem like the usual person I knew before... Has something happened to you? I can comfort you as you want--"


    "Grace, I need you to do something for me." Abruptly, he interrupted her response and took out a large carry bag kept beside him on the couch. The bag seemed a little heavy as he lifted it up and handed it straight to her. "Here."


    "What''s this?" She looked much curious grabbing the bag from his hand and taking a peek at it. "Did you buy something for me again, Mr. Czar? Aww, you are so generous." She blurted out her words in a blissful tone while unwrapping the stuff from inside the bag.


    But soon enough she was startled! It was a fancy maid uniform packed inside the bag. Holding the ruffled dress, she raised her chin up and looked at him with a frowned gesture.


    "A maid uniform? Why are you giving me this?" She probed in a curious tone.


    "Change your outfit into this maid uniform, Grace. I... I want to confirm about something..." His voice sounded dark and intense.


    ___________________


    Hello, my honey buns!


    It''s the first mass release of my story as a token of gratitude for your support last week and I hope you all are enjoying my story :)


    Please keep voting for me as your support means a lot to me :)


    Also, I am thinking of making a server where I can share sneak peeks, character intro, or several kinds of stuff to entertain you all. So, can you suggest to me where should I make it? In discord or telegram? Also, you all can catch up with my Insta ID too: @author_shadowprincess


    I would appreciate your beloved opinions. Please give this poor author some ideas about it :)


    Also, 300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 63 - A New Predicament

    "Eva?"


    As both Eva and Clara were about to step inside the room of the apartment complex, walking through the stairs, suddenly, someone summoned her from behind in a frigid, dense voice. The sound seemed much familiar as she turned behind to take a look at the person.


    Behind them, a tall, elegant-looking lady, probably in her late 40''s was standing beside the staircase. She had a strict cold expression on her face with her eyes intensively locked on them.


    "Oh, Mrs. Lily?" Slowly taking a step closer to her, Eva smiled at her conveying her regards. She was the owner of the apartment complex she was residing in as a tenant, and also, preferably a stiff woman to deal with.


    "Well, I guess you must have already guessed why I am here today." The lady walked closer to Eva taking slow steps while conveying her words in a deep voice.


    "Yes... I know, Mrs. Lily--"


    "You still have overdue of 3 months of rent. Besides, this is the 4th month running in but I haven''t accepted any payment from you. Eva, have you already forgotten that you are living here as a tenant?" Her proclamation sounded intentionally rude enough.


    "What the fuck? Why is she talking so harshly to her?" Clara seemed disgusted at her from her facial gesticulations and continued glaring at the woman wondering on her own.


    "I know... And...I am sorry, Mrs. Lily. I didn''t forget that my position here." Lowering her eyes down from her, she mumbled in a morose note.


    "Your apologies won''t be enough for me anymore dear. You have been residing here for a couple of years and...your brother was always punctual to take care of every measure. But...since past few months, you have been too irresponsible, Eva." She was speaking in a dense pitch implying the undeniable tyranny within her statement.


    "Excuse me, Madam?" Clara couldn''t hold back her patience anymore and chose to meddle inside their conversation with a frowned grimace. "Don''t you think you are being too sour towards her--"


    Immediately Eva gripped her arm tightly and shifted her gaze sideways towards her, slightly tilting her head. It resembled as if she was indicating her to stay silent. Watching her firm gesticulations, she didn''t have a choice rather than obeying her.


    Slowly, Eva raised her chin up and stared intensely at the woman. "Mrs. Lily, I don''t want to sound pitiful before you...but it''s true, I have been going through a chaotic mess." Her voice grew heavier as if her throat was becoming constricted with the urge of sobbing out aloud.


    "I have been scammed a lot of money by a fraudster who had assured me of finding a reliable job... I chose to hide it from Felix as I didn''t want him to fret about me unnecessarily... The money he used to transfer for me...I was saving them up to catch up with all the stuff that was messed up due to my stupidity. I thought...slowly I will clear up all the dues with the money he was sending and also finding a job by myself...


    Sadly, my entire small world turned upside down when my only brother suddenly left me all alone in this world...Though he was considerate enough to leave some money in his account for me...but they weren''t enough to pay out all the bills... So, I desperately started to look for jobs and thankfully I got one...


    But again, my cursed fate came into play and...I got terminated from my job too--"


    "What? You got terminated?" Swirling out her eyeballs in surprise, Clara almost shrieked out at her in surprise. "Didn''t you start the job recently? What happened all of a sudden? Why? How?" She appeared impatient.


    "It''s a long story, Clara." She signaled at her to stay quiet and continued her declamation towards Mrs. Lily. "Though I got terminated...I will be receiving some considerable sum of the amount within a few days with which I can clear up all the residual bills. Also, I will be looking for a new set of jobs from tomorrow. So...Can you at least give me a few days more, please? She asked her much distressfully.


    She stood silent all numb and frigid for a few minutes, intensely gawking at Eva. With a deep sigh out, she continued, "look, Eva, I had always liked Felix as if he was my own son...And what happened to him is purely unfortunate...Honestly, I feel sorry for you too that at such a young age you have to go through so much stuff.


    But...I can''t abandon my business by looking at your cursed fate...If I keep sparing you like this, rest all the other tenants would start messing with me which I absolutely can''t accept.  And to be honest, the other residents always talk stuff behind your back that you always bring bad luck to your surrounding--"


    "Mrs. Lily," all of a sudden Eva interrupted her sentence in a deep rugged voice looking at her sharply. "You can directly come to the reason you are here for today. Wh-What do you want to tell me exactly?" She probed.


    "Alright, then I will be straightforward with you. After clearing up the rent dues within this month, you can move out of this apartment. I have decided it for leashing it with a new resident." She sounded very gruff, with a stiff expression on her cast.


    With her sudden proposal, Eva was entirely stunned in shock. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe as if the whole ground was collapsing beneath her feet. She stood still like a statue trying to cope up with the reality and muttered out, "wh-what?"


    "I want you to move out, Eva. Look, from your current situation, I don''t think you will be able to afford such a place like this--"


    "Enough with the crap!!"


    All of a sudden, Clara ran out of her patience and burst out viciously in front of them shrieking out loud. She glared at that woman rolling her eyeballs deep and gritted her teeth in anger taking a bold step closer to her.


    "How... How can be you so heartless towards my friend? Don''t you have a slightest of courtesy within you?" She yelled out.


    "Clara please calm down. Let me deal with it--"


    "You step back, Eva!" She boldly unleashed her arm from her grip while she tried to stop her from intervening again. "I have been done enough with all the shit! What does she think of herself? Who are you to look so down on her? You heartless old hag!" She continued screaming.

 Chapter 64 - Empty Inside

    "Wh-What is this? How is this brat speaking with me?" Rolling her eyeballs wider in awe at Clara''s fierce expressions, Mrs. Lily murmured out her words in an unclear voice.


    "Oh really? You should be thankful that I am still speaking to you rather than hitting directly on your old wrinkle-filled face!" She sounded extremely hyped up, fuming in wrath and grumbling in anger.


    "The situation was moving forward towards an absolute chaotic environment which Eva had sensed pretty clear. Quickly she unlocked the doorknob of her house and being all panicked, she gripped her arm forcefully trying to push her inside the apartment to cut off the heated argument instantly.


    "Clara, for God''s sake please shut up, please! Go inside, please go inside!" She was trying to push her harder but despite her attempts, she stood like a rock pillar, viciously glaring at Mrs. Lily.


    "Wahh! Wahhhh! Look at this brat! Look the way she is addressing an elder! Where are your manners? Is this the way you should speak to people who are older enough to be your parents'' age?" All pumped up in wrath, Mrs. Lily yelled at them in her loud screeching voice, with her eyes intensively focussed on Eva.


    "Why? Why I should treat you with respect? Do you really deserve it?" Forcefully she shoved Eva away from her who was almost thrusting her backside to tone down the heated situation. "Look Mrs. old hag, respect is something you can only give to those who exactly repay you the same amount that you deserve! It doesn''t matter with your age! After treating my best friend so harshly, did you expect flowers and praises from me!?"


    "You called me Old Hag!? How dare you little punk?" Furiously she fussed at Clara and boldly took a step closer to them in the apartment hallway.


    "Clara please stop it--"


    "Yes, I called you a nasty old hag!! But I forgot to add one thing too, you are blind and deaf too!" Infuriatingly, she moved a step closer to her in reciprocation trying to face her head-on with terrified Eva standing in the middle of them, trying to calm her down.


    "How dare you--"


    "Because you are blinded by your nasty selfishness!" All of a sudden, while fussing intensely at Mrs. Lily, her eyes were shimmering with tears and she was biting her lower lip quite hard, desperately to stop herself from breaking down in that heated moment.


    "Can''t...Can''t you see how miserable she has been already? She...She lost her entire family...She lost her job... Now you are snatching away her home too just because she is lagging behind with 3 months of rent? This house...This house has a lot of memories of Felix which is deeply attached to her heart... Ahhgrhh, it''s so darn frustrating! Fuck!" Tears of anguish and regret rolled down her cheeks as she clenched her fist hard, lowering her saddened gaze down.


    Eva was all speechless for a few seconds to watch her breaking down so grievously and continued gawking at her with her painful teary eyes. Taking a deep breath inside, she slowly caressed her right arm pleading to her in a soft voice, "Cl...Clara, please go inside... I beg of you...Please..."


    "Fuck!" Breathing out in a huff, Clara fiercely unlocked the door stepping inside and slamming it hard before them.


    "Lo...Look at her temper! Look how the way she just disrespected me! Who the hell she thinks of herself, huh?" Pointing her index finger towards the door, she responded to Eva holding an extremely disappointed face.


    "I...I am sorry on her behalf... Mrs. Lily. She... She has a quite bad temper and...she really can''t stand it watching me suffering--"


    "Then do you also wanna accuse me that I am causing you suffering? Huh, c''mon girl!" Frowning her eyebrows, she sounded quite frustrated. "I...have been already enough kind to you that I am letting you stay this month which has still 15 days left. I allowed it just because...I still remember the smiling innocent face of your brother who was always so cordial towards me!


    And...your friend! Oh my my! She is such an arrogant hot-headed punk! If it wasn''t for your helplessness...I would have thrown out all of your stuff outside the building right now! I am already doing you too much of a favor! You should be grateful to me."


    Hearing her harsh, cold words which pierced her heart brutally, Eva stood still like a rock, all motionless and a grimacing expression on her teary eyes. Lowering down her eyes, she didn''t utter a single word.


    "Ahh, my mood is completely ruined! Go inside and start looking for a new job along with a new home from tomorrow. Ahh, my gosh!" Blabbering out her blunt words, she turned behind and started heading down the staircase stomping her feet hitting the ground quite hard.


    "The world...is indeed a nasty selfish place... Sorry, Felix... I failed to protect your peaceful home... I am really sorry, brother..." Tears rolled down her grimace, with her jowls quivering in pain as she mumbled out her painful apology under low breath.


    .......


    "How am I looking in this outfit, darling?"


    Wearing the special fancy maid outfit, Grace walked out of the washroom of the cabinet, grinning at Czar from ear to ear. She was standing before him holding a tempting pose, putting her arms around her waist while trying to allure him with her attractive charm. "Aren''t I prettiest among all the hostesses in this bar? I bet you must have thought of something mischievous while picking this dress up for me, didn''t you?"


    Czar sat all still resting his back against the sofa and gawking at her fixedly holding the glass filled with scotch. While he was staring at her from head to toe, somehow, his eyes seemed to be searching for something special!


    "Didn''t you like the dress, Mr. Czar? Why are you not even complimenting me?" She looked a bit disappointed with his blank gesture and sulked her face while complaining softly.


    "Why? Why doesn''t it seem any special? After watching little duckling in that maid outfit...my heart suddenly fluttered out of nowhere! I thought...I had a special fascination with this maid attire... But... Why can''t I feel anything special watching her in the same outfit?


    Why...Why does it feels...so empty inside?" He wondered silently.


    ______________


    *300 votes: 6 extra chapters as a reward :)

 Chapter 65 - Comfort

    Breathing a deep sigh out, slowly, Eva walked inside her apartment holding a frowned grimace. Clara was seated on the couch of her living room, covering her face with her palms, breathing out heavily while trying to calm herself down from the hard situation.


    Eva was carrying a few chilled beer cans that she took out from her freezer. With slow steps approaching, she stood before her near the couch and called her in a soft voice.


    "Clara?"


    "Please, Eva! I am not in a mood right now to deal with your lectures! You can save it up later for me when I will be finally able to cool myself down!" She sounded extremely vexed as she grumbled at her in a deep, hoarse pitch gently putting her hands down from her grimace.


    "I am not here to give you lectures, Clara." Slowly, Eva knelt down on the ground before her and stared at her continuously for a few moments. Her gestures seemed much saddened but she was trying quite hard to hide her agitation behind her anger. "I am here to ask you for venting out your frustration on me. You can scream and shout at me, I won''t stop you. But...don''t keep everything concealed inside." She whispered softly, gripping her arms.


    "And why I would vent it out on you?" In a loud stirred tone, she fussed at her. "I already feel so fucking sorry for you... And you are asking me to vent my agitation out on you?"


    "But you will feel relieved--"


    "Stop being so unnecessarily kind for everyone, Eva!!" All of a sudden she gnashed her teeth in anger and howled at her fiercely with a painful dark gaze.


    Her heart was bleeding out for her while she was frantically trying to pretend strong before her. Eva noticed, her eyes were shimmering with tears along with her jowls trembling hard. She was almost on the verge of sobbing but trying hard to endure it inside.


    "Clara, you don''t have to hold it in--"


    "You have been always kind to everyone...then why? Why the fuck you are suffering so much? That...That old hag was brutally tormenting you but you were still humble towards her...Why? Why are you such a precious human? It''s making me so freaking angry to watch you suffer and not being able of any help... Fuck this shitty world! Fuck everyone!" Tears of anguish rolled down her eyes as she grumbled in a lower voice, biting her soft lips quite arduously.


    "I...I am not all alone, Clara. I still have you...I have earned a priceless friend in this harsh world who has been always prepared to stand by my side whenever life grows hard... And...I am really thankful for that..." Softly caressing her knuckle, she murmured her words in a sad voice.


    "Eva," all of a sudden her stirred-up tone lowered a bit and wiping out her eyes she stared at her straight in the eye. "Fuck this place, move in together with me, Eva. You can stay there as long as you want... I won''t even budge. And...And I promise you, I will treat you the best way that you always deserve. But please...I can''t see you suffering like this--"


    "Clara, please take a deep breath and calm down." Intervening her words, she murmured softly with her morose gaze fixed at her. Softly, she caressed her arm and continued further, "I will be desperately looking for new jobs from tomorrow and I believe, in this 15 days time period, I will definitely arrange something for me. And I promise you if I fail to do so...I will go move in together to your place. Okay?"


    "Why are you so damn stubborn? You never listen to me! You don''t even understand how much it torments me..." Fuming in apprehension, she trailed off lowering her eyes down.


    Eva stood up from the ground and affectionately pulled her closer to her chest, comforting each other''s soul with warmth. Resting in her embrace, Clara couldn''t hold back her tears anymore and started sobbing silently. Tears rolled down from the corner of Eva''s dark, grieved eyes as she caressed her back tenderly.


    "Nothing of all these mishaps would have ever happened...if...Zeus didn''t stop me that day from taking away my own life...


    You saved my life, Zeus... You did everything for me...But...how am I going to live without you?" She wondered all broken.


    ........


    "Are you perhaps, thinking about someone else being with me?"


    All of a sudden, Grace lowered her voice and inquired a blunt query straight at Czar walking closer to his sofa. Sloppily, she took the seat beside him, keenly keeping a watch at his gestures while asking the question.


    Gulping down the remaining scotch in his glass, Czar smiled meekly at her query and took a small side glance at her. "Why do you think so? Do I seem a bit different?"


    "Of course. You are entirely different from the person who used to come here to me to relieve his stress. I have never seen you thinking about someone else apart from yourself, Mr. Czar. Well, who is she? Is she a special one?" Her voice sounded a bit glum while she lowered her eyes down with a sneer.


    He stayed still for a few seconds and took a deep breath in, raising his chin up and gazing at the decorative sumptuous ceiling inside the cabinet. He laid his back against the sofa and responded further, "she called me...a good person...Isn''t it strange, Grace? No one said it to me before no matter...how hard I tried my best to prove my worth...But...damn, she is such a weak little duckling..." His voice seemed a bit profound and tipsy, as he blurted out his words with a small sad smile.


    "He has been coming here for so many years already... I still remember, the first day he told me not to linger any emotional attraction towards him. It''s all just physical relaxation.


    I can''t believe, he is the same person who is getting butterflies in his tummy just because someone called him a good person... I guess, this person still has an innocent side of him." She wondered, gazing at him intensively, holding a smirk.


    "Grace, I will pay you three times more today." Rambling out his words, he took out a few bundles of thickly loaded money and placed it on the table before them. Looking at the bucks, she smiled a bit wider and straightened her back shoulder taking a deep breath inside.


    "Then, should I start undressing my costume? Or you wanna take it to the motel room, Mr. Czar?"


    "No." Abruptly, he answered her in a deep heavy voice and slowly shifted his gaze towards her, holding a heavy sad smile. "You just have to stay beside me for some time." He murmured.


    "What?"


    All of a sudden, he rested his head on her soft shoulder and gently caressed her knuckle holding her arm. "Just stay beside me like this and pat my head. I just...I just want to have some good rest...Don''t leave me, even if I fall asleep... Okay?" A small teardrop rolled down the corner of his eyes as he shut them tightly, smiling painfully.


    She smirked and softly nodded and slowly patted his head with a teary gaze towards him. "You are...really a good yet lonely person inside, Mr. Czar." She whispered.


    _______________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 66 - Where Am I?

    Zeus''s POV:


    This place...It''s...so murky! Everything seems hazy right here... It really feels so strange, but...where am I?


    I have been going through a roller coaster ride of my life. As soon as I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in an absurd unknown place. The sunrays were mild with a pinkish white horizon comprising above. The whole area looked a bit hazy with mystic fog engulfing the entire surrounding. I was dressed up in the exact same outfit that I was wearing the day I faced the vicious encounter to protect Eva...


    Eva! That''s right! As far I can retrieve it, I lost her consciousness lying in her soft arms...Her teary eyes the last thing I witnessed with my blurry vision. I remember I was attacked with wolfsbane by that sneaky bastard. It was indeed one of the severe conflicts I have battled in my long life.


    But I can''t relate to my current situation! I should be resting on my bed surrounded by my family! But...But why am I standing here all alone in such a desolated place? Why is no one around me? Why--


    Suddenly, my heart started pounding hard, swooned in fear. The sudden loneliness drew a harsh assumption in my mind which shook me from my core!


    Am I already dead? Is this what the afterlife or divine realm looks like? Is that why I am alone here?


    My head started to feel dizzy. My forehead was covered with cold terrified perspiration as I flipped my soft hair bangs up. I was frustrated, frightened, and annoyed with every possible emotion running wild in my mind!


    How can my life end in such a futile way? There were so many things I didn''t accomplish in life... I didn''t obtain my vengeance from our rival Lupos! I didn''t get to lead my pack in every safe and secured possible way...


    And...Eva...


    All of a sudden, my dark sad eyes were swelled up with tears that rolled down my quivering chin.


    I...I didn''t even get to tell...how much she meant for me... She had no one by her side...How could I leave her alone? What will I do... if something adverse happens to her? How will I protect her? Damn!


    Wiping out my eyes and clenching hard my inner strength, I started running aimlessly in the forward direction. My limbs were wobbling, but I mustered up my desperation. I was frantically glancing around me to get rid of that place as soon as possible as it was making me sick!


    No...I can''t...I mustn''t die just like that...I can never lose my life so easily! I am the true blood alpha of Romano! I can''t die with a regretful life!


    "Hey! Is someone here? Where am I? Why am I here? Who brought me here?" All panicked, I screamed my lungs out rushing in a zig-zag way, desperately glancing around me. There was not a single trace of any living being beside me which made me further distressed. My dim ray of hope was slowly fading away occupying with a wave of petrifying loneliness.


    The worst realization was yet to come. None of my supernatural powers were working in this absurd place. I tried hard to utilize my strength but...strangely, I was feeling extremely weak! It was even difficult for me to keep continue running that eventually I halted and started to pant hard... My throat was choked in fear while fleeing amidst the mist!


    "GET ME OUT OF HERE! I WANNA GO BACK! I HAVE TO GO BACK! SHE NEEDS ME! I CAN''T LEAVE HER ALONE! THERE IS NO ONE TO STAY HER SIDE...SHE...SHE WOULD TRY TO KILL HERSELF AGAIN IF I LEAVE HER TOO!...NO! PLEASE DON''T DO THIS TO ME! I...NEED... HER!! HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME OUT OF HERE!"


    I was almost on the verge of tears as I screamed again desperately with a crooked voice. I can''t believe such an awful situation was ongoing that made the strongest, powerful alpha like me feeling absolutely worthless and incapable!


    I was slowly draining out of the little amount of hope which was making me keep going through that drastic state. Covering my face beneath my arms, I broke down in tears helplessly... Sadly, whenever I shut my eyes, all I could gaze at was Eva''s warm and precious smile... The thought of being torn apart from her was breaking my heart into uncountable pieces... Will I never get to see her again? Will I never get to embrace her again? The solicitudes suddenly started to make me feel absolutely breathless...


    "ZEUS? MY CHILD?"


    Suddenly, a miraculous event happened to me when I was on my edge of a distressed state. The husky, gentle voice sounded extremely familiar to me and the most surprising fact, I know the voice too well but it''s been a really long time since I got to hear it last...


    Frantically, I turned behind entirely covered up in sweat and tears. My dark eyes immediately swirled wider as I was extremely shocked, surprised!


    In front of me, a kind and warm veteran lady was standing, looking at me with her eyes filled with love. She was the exact same woman I loved the most in my life and helplessly regretted every day for being incapable of protecting her... My precious Grandmother!


    "Gr-Granny? Is...Is that you? Are...you really standing before me?" I was stuttering in awe, mumbling in an unclear tone.


    It was a surreal state for me to believe! My grandmother... She was murdered before my own eyes more than 100 years ago while I was still a feeble, weak but happy child from inside... The regret...the pain in my heart caused me to transform into a ruthless cold Alpha who knew nothing but vengeance before I met Eva who caused my frozen heart to beat again...


    But...why and how my granny is standing before me?


    "It''s been a long time since I got to see you, my child... You were so tiny back then... Come...give your granny a big hug." She pulled out her arms while looking at me with her teary eyes and a soft warm smile. She looked the exact same as her last day...


    I had no doubt left anymore! She was indeed my beloved grandmother who loved me like no one else, not even like my own parents...I started to sob bitterly with a brink of happiness rushing in my heart. But a thought struck my mind again!


    She had already died a long time ago...So...it means...I am already dead too?


    ____________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 67 - Emotional Reunion

    Holding a heavy, grievous heart, Zeus rushed closer to his grandmother and pulled her in his tight embrace before breaking down completely. He was whimpering in pain as he clenched his grip around her waist, panting wearily with his quivering chin.


    She was sobbing hard seized with the harsh feelings of solitude. Those were the tears of longing as she put her arms around his warm, broad shoulder of her beloved grandchild with whom she had been separated a long time ago. A prolonged waiting period for over a time span of 100 years was withstanding in between them while both of them were bound with each other. They were sobbing helplessly holding each other in their arms, unable to transpire their precious reunion moment.


    "How...How have you been, my child? Have...Have you eaten well? Have you been...happy?" Weeping in agony, she murmured out her words, affectionately caressing his broad back shoulder.


    "Hic... I should ask you first about that...granny... How...How have you been? Where have you been till now... Were you lonely? Were you stuck in this remote place all this time? I...I had missed you so much...I never...I never even dreamed that...I would get to see you again, granny... I still miss you every day... I still...hic..." Zeus was sobbing bitterly like a small child, resting his head on her soft warm shoulders as his painful teardrops rolled down consistently.


    She tapped his shoulder a few times to console his wrecked emotional outburst. "Don''t cry too hard, my child... You will be nauseous afterward. I was fine all this time, my little Zeus... I still can''t believe you have grown up to be a fine young man...How have you been until now--"


    "I wasn''t happy at all...granny... Af-After you left me, I had no one by my side...My parents only raised me to become the alpha of the pack... No one ever bothered to give me the love and support a child needs... I...I had to butcher my own soft heart and...I had to transform myself into a ruthless cold alpha devoid of any emotions... You knew it, I never wanted to take the responsibility of leading my pack... I just...just wanted to live my life happily...


    But everything changed... I...I had no shoulder to cry on whenever I felt empty inside...


    That''s when I realized that my life was only left with an objective to fulfill my revenge from the Lupos who snatched you away from me... You were the only one who ever cared for me in my family...There was never...no one for me..." Weeping his sadness down his eyeballs, he mumbled his heartfelt words in a deep, husky voice.


    She stood all silent taking a deep breath inside and raising her chin up at the sky. Tapping his shoulder tenderly, she was trying to soothe his broken lonely heart. "I can understand your pain, my child. It''s fine...cry all you want to on my shoulder. Relieve your emotions. Your granny won''t leave you alone, here."


    Her deep, morose voice reverberated the whole area as an echo as she spoke out. Sobbing for quite some time, slowly, Zeus raised his head up from her shoulder and moved a few inches away from her while wiping out his eyes.


    "I am...I am sorry, granny. You...must have felt so absurd to see me in such a dejected state--"


    "Oh my! For me, you will be forever my little Zeus who used to wipe out his drool on my skirt. No matter, how much you grow up as a man, you will be forever my little ball of happiness." Softly patting his head with her tender arms, she comforted him with a warm smile.


    His eyes were teary again as he attained the precious warmth that he had lost a long ago. Trying hard to console his tears again from rolling down, he tried to avert the topic a bit.


    "Granny, I am so confused. What is this place? Where am I? And why you are here? What''s happening with us?" He probed her several questions at once.


    "This is the area... near the Bridge Of Oblivion where your soul is currently residing in, my child. Look at that," softly she pointed her right slender index finger at a distance a bit far from where they were standing along. "That is the Sacred Bridge of Oblivion."


    The mystic fog covering the whole space magically tainted up a little and an unusual sight became noticeable to him!


    From a measurable distance near them, he saw a gigantic, sumptuous, magnificently crafted mysterious bridge that suddenly appeared before him out of nowhere. The area and extent of the bridge seemed so massive that the endpoint was almost invisible for them. It looked like a gigantic walkway passage situated in that remote strange place that intended to make him curious.


    "Wh-What? What kind of bridge is that? And...why are we near it, granny?"


    "Once you cross this Bridge of Oblivion, your soul will enter the heavenly realm, my child. That''s where our souls belong whenever we decease. And...you will also be able to walk into a new afterlife once the right time comes--"


    "Wa-Wait a minute, granny!" All of a sudden, his facial appearances looked absolutely petrified as he rolled out his eyes wider in dread. "Soul...afterlife... heaven... these words...


    Th-That means, I am de-dead too? I can''t go back anymore?" He sounded intense.


    She stood still for a moment, staring at him with her sad gaze, and took a deep breath in before responding to his queries. "Zeus, once you cross this bridge, you won''t be able to go back anymore." She answered.


    "But why am I here, granny? What is happening to me--"


    "You are here because now your body is in a vulnerable state tormented between life and death, my child. Your soul and your body are conflicting against each other. Your body wants to give up from the unbearable pain but your soul wants to live..."


    Slowly, she gripped his arm, caressing it softly while lowering her grimace down. "I...I know everything that you have faced until now... I know...how brutally you were ravaged by a werewolf... That''s the reason, you are here in this frail state. My heart was aching to see you like this. That''s why, I crossed this bridge to find you here, my child."


    Zeus stood still looking all perplexed at her explanation, intensively gawking at her. His heart was pounding hard in restlessness, but he couldn''t utter a single word.


    "If it was the situation before, I would have held your hand and take you along with me crossing this Oblivion bridge.


    But...now...I know the reason behind your will to live.


    As because now, you have reason to live, don''t you? You have a reason to go back because you know...there is someone who will be waiting and crying for you... There is someone whom you cherish more than your own life, my child...


    She is...Eva, am I right?" She whispered in a soft mellow voice, with a small smile.


    ________________________________________


    **Firstly, I am sorry to inform you all that I have injured my right arm by tripping over which has caused a serious injury to my wrist. Luckily, my arm didn''t break.


    In this condition, doctors have forbidden me to give any stress on my hand and to avoid writing for at least 1-2 weeks. But I know, you all love my story so much that I will definitely try to give updates regularly but it won''t be daily because If I take proper rest for 1 week, I can resume writing again. So, whenever I will feel good, I will definitely try to write a chapter for you all.


    Hope you all will understand and support me :) Please don''t stop voting for me too :)

 Chapter 68 - A Sad Confession

    All frozen and stunned by her sudden inquiry, Zeus stood like a frigid statue, gawking at his granny in awe. He didn''t expect for the slightest moment that she will bring Eva in this context here.


    "You...You know about Eva..." He trailed off, gulping his saliva anxiously.


    "Even though I was not physically present right before you my child, but all these years, I was looking after you from afar." Softly she caressed his broad back shoulder trying to console him while whispering her words. "She is the sole reason for whom your heart pounds like crazy, isn''t it, Zeus? You didn''t even consider your own life and just jumped before to protect her at any cost... Do you realize how much you are in love with her?"


    Lowering his dark gloomy eyes down, Zeus stood all frigid taking a deep sigh out. Fidgeting nervously, he responded back to her in a low profound voice, "I don''t know granny...since when I started to feel these strange emotions...but..."


    "But?"


    "Eva is someone for me...whom I never wanna lose. I don''t care about my own life but...I won''t be able to live if...if something happens to her..." His voice grew heavier and husky as if he was trying hard to hold back his emotional outburst inside.


    "Do you know...since when all of these begin, my child?" Holding a small simper on her face, she probed a small query. Looking a bit perplexed, he shook his head in declination and replied back, "n...no."


    "Zeus, always remember, when destiny comes into play there will be never any coincidences. Out of all living beings, why did you end up saving her from taking away her own life that night? Have you ever tried to ask yourself this question?" Swirling her eyes wider, she mumbled in a soft tone.


    Her sudden mystical question caused his heart to palpitate harder, making him more nervous. Standing all still with his gaze intensely fixated on her, he didn''t utter a single word.


    "I bet you never tried to find out the key yourself, my child. But the only answer is destiny...


    You ended up saving her from committing suicide because you were meant to find her that night... And not only you, but she also was waiting to be saved by you who is an irreplaceable part of her destiny. Don''t consider it as a mere attraction because everything was already predecided by fate." She tapped his shoulder affectionately while murmuring her answer but somehow, her eyes seemed a bit saddened.


    A sad smile appeared on his lips as he averted his gaze down from her, taking a deep breath in. "So it means, I was always meant to find her as...she is the line of my destiny I have been searching for since so long..." He wondered quietly.


    "But you must remember, destiny is not always kind for everyone, Zeus. It can rather leave dark scars behind apart from proffering happiness that everyone deserves." She sounded a bit intense while exhaling a deep breath outside. Judging from her facial gestures, she seemed perplexed too.


    Zeus quietly observed her gesticulations momentarily and slowly grabbed her soft, tender arm before conversing further, looking very fretful. "Granny, you...you must be really disappointed in me, don''t you? As...you know about everything...you must also know that...she is a human..."


    "I know that she is a mortal, but--"


    "This truth must have hurt you too badly, granny. I swear I have never forgotten the painful cruelties our ancestors had faced due to those vile humans. I still clearly reprimand that those evil humans were responsible for grandpa''s death. Those brutal memories are still alive in our hearts...


    But...I never even imagined that as a true alpha myself, I...I would ever fall this hard for a human...


    Trust me, I wanted to run away from this realization desperately... I thought maybe staying away from her would be the best possible remedy for me, but I...I really can''t possibly stay away from her. Every time I tried to avoid her, I ended up tailing her from behind like a pet...Even any slightest danger near her is enough to make me go all crazy and panicked.


    I...I really do love her, granny. She...She is the only one in our whole world who can make me feel happy and lively again like before... I...I know, I feel like betraying my pack... They will be terribly disappointed with me when they will find about this truth as I am well aware, how much the Romano pack despises humans... Perhaps, they will start resenting me too...


    But...I really can''t stop myself from loving Eva... Don''t I have the right to be happy again, granny? Am I being too selfish here for asking about my happiness? Why can''t I live my life as I want?" Tears of anguish rolled down his jowls as he murmured his words in a husky, crooked pitch while trying hard to suppress his urge of crying out aloud.


    She was looking at him intensively with her dark, teary gaze as his sad proclamation of love was tormenting her heart in despair. Watching Zeus grieving hard all helplessly in front of her was enough to shatter her heart into pieces.


    "My child... I will never be disappointed with you... How can I be? Falling in love isn''t a crime, Zeus... And...whatever has led to the brutal hatred between the werewolves and humans in the past was never your fault too... Neither you nor Eva could be blamed in this context... But..." All of a sudden, she trailed off as she seemed very fretted.


    "But? Why did you halt, granny?" Wiping his teary eyes out, he probed her back.


    "I...I am more worried about you my child...The consequence of this destiny will be enough heartbreaking... And possibly...you will be the worst sufferer of everything Zeus...Eva is a mortal, drastically different from us in every aspect. And, the worst part is...she will have a very short life span compared to us... Humans can''t even get to live for 100 years...


    Zeus, you will have to toss away everything for the sake of her life... You will have to risk your everything for the cost of protecting her just to watch her...slowly die before your own eyes...


    You will be left all alone, heartbroken, sad in the world without your mate once she dies by the law of nature... Compared to our lifespan...the time may come quite soon... You won''t be able to keep her alive forever as she is a human...Someday, she will have to leave you, my child. And, you would have to live a lonely life ahead only with her memories...


    Won''t it be too painful for you my child? A relationship between a mortal and an immortal is a forbidden one...


    Would...Would you be able to lead such a sorrowful life ahead? Or...you would like to walk with me crossing the Bridge of Oblivion? I will let you chose..." She murmured in a soft, teary voice, holding his arm tight.


    ______________________________________________


    Hello, my lovelies,


    Thank you all for your lovely wishes and blessings.


    But sadly, my arm isn''t much recovered... Actually, in childhood, I had an injury in the same portion, and this time too the injury that occurred in the same part worsened the already wounded area... I am sorry, but doctors have strictly forbidden me to give any stress for a week or two, or perhaps I would have to opt a surgery :(


    But I couldn''t resist writing a chapter for you all. Thank you for bearing with me :) You guys are my sweetest supporters and keep motivating me like you always do. Hopefully, I will be back soon with a recovered right arm :)


    Please keep voting too :)

 Chapter 69 - A Final Choice

    Awe-struck by her bold yet saddening declamation, Zeus stood still like a statue momentarily holding a heavy grievous heart. His granny pointed out the harsh ill-fated consequence of the route of their lives involving a supernatural werewolf like him and a powerless mortal human i.e. Eva...


    No matter how much he would try to escape from his destiny, but in the end...such events will be bound to happen just as she depicted. In other words, one of them would have to leave the other one behind when the time comes...


    Lowering his grimace down along with his dark intense eyes filled with sadness, he didn''t utter a single word and slowly nodded his head in obeyance.


    "So...what do you intend to do...my child? The final decision will be ultimately yours. But do remember, you won''t get this opportunity to have your choice ever again after this... From whatever you will decide, you will be the one sealing up your own fate. There will be no turning back..." Her voice grew heavier as she caressed his arm with her slender fingers, holding a small sad smile.


    "Even though, my love will be a sad one...but still...I...I want to live... Granny..." Slowly raising his teary eyes upward, he murmured in a crooked voice looking at her eyes with a poignant gaze.


    She didn''t utter a single objection and stood still gawking at him intensely exhaling a deep breath, carrying a heavy weight of her emotions.


    "Honestly, all my life I have been wanting to die...All my life I have been bearing the painful regret in my heart for losing you right before my own eyes...I was always lonely, broken trying hard to do my best in protecting my pack as the chosen alpha...


    But...I was never happy...I never found the happiness that would ever fill the void crafted deep down in my cold heart... The moment when I had lost every hope of finding my happiness again... I met Eva at a very strange moment of my life...


    She was on the verge of giving up her own life helplessly. Probably, that made me realize... I am not the only one in the world battling these dark gloomy days...We all are fighting our own pain and also...we can heal each other''s wounded hearts with the love we have been seeking for so long...


    Eva...became the ray of hope of my life, my only comfort in this dark world... I found myself unknowingly smiling around her, the smile which I had lost years ago... Not only that, I always went crazy whenever anything miserable happened to her. Without even realizing that...I have committed the grave sin of falling in love with a human...


    But despite everything, this time, I want to choose my happiness... I want to live my life...No matter how cruel our fate will be towards us...No matter how sad our love will be... No matter what''s ahead awaited us in life...My heart will truly and sincerely always belong to Eva...Always and forever..." His firm yet somber declaration sounded much dense, reverberating like an echo in that desolated area.


    She stared at him intensely for a few minutes and tossed a warm smile at her beloved grandson, caressing his head tenderly. "I knew you would choose it and I am proud of your decision my child. Do you remember, what I had told you on my fateful last day when we went to the Mountain God temple together?"


    "I do remember, granny. You had told me, someday...we will choose someone above everyone and everything, and that''s the choice our hearts will make... I couldn''t realize your opinion at that moment...but...I do realize it now after choosing Eva in my life...


    I know, I couldn''t protect you, granny, from those Lupos...But I swear to fulfill my vengeance from those bastards... I will never forget the pain they caused me..." Softly he placed a small peck holding her knuckle tight as his lips quivered a little.


    She smiled with a broad grin on her face with her eyes swelled up with tears while looking at him. "You have really grown up well, my child. I...I have complete faith in you and I know... You will be the happiest to stay by her side. But...the road ahead won''t be smooth for you both... There will be times when you would feel devasted and shattered, but whatever it happens, you will have to protect your love forever. Because it''s the choice you have made it for yourself, my child." She murmured her words in a polite note.


    "I promise you, granny, no matter what happens... Even if the day comes ever that she would begin to despise me... I still won''t abandon her side ever in my life. Even if someday, I have to die protecting the love of my life, I will gladly do so, no matter what." His eyes were shimmering with tears as he looked at her straight in the eye, murmuring his words in a saddened voice.


    WHOOSHHH!


    All of a sudden, a surreal event happened right before his vision which startled him immensely. The strange mist which was carpeting up the entire place magically disappeared and the entire area became clearly visible. It was a large vacant place and slowly, his granny raised up her right arm pointing towards something at his behind. With a curious face, he turned back and faced a huge shocking sight!


    Behind him at a measurable distance, Eva was standing holding a broad teary smile while looking at Zeus. He was spellbound to witness her in such a strange place that his feet staggered momentarily, shaking up his posture.


    "E...EVA!? IS...IS THAT YOU...EVA?" In a shaky fumbling voice, he murmured his awestruck words.


    "Go back to your love, my child. My blessings will be always with both of you. And...I wish...both of you... eternal happiness." Softly, she murmured her words tapping his arm a few times and slowly drifting her arm apart from his grasp.


    Shocked and surprised, Zeus was almost on the verge of tears as he turned his grimace towards his granny. He seemed confused with tears rolling down and gawking at her intensely.


    "Granny, what''s this--"


    "This is the choice you have made my son. Go back to your love. This...This will be our final goodbye my child but do always remember, granny will be watching and loving you forever."


    As soon as she completed her teary sentence, Zeus embraced her tighter in his arms while starting to sob bitterly like a small child, holding her shoulder tight. "I am sorry...I will miss you...I love you..granny..." He was quivering in grief.


    "I will forever stay in your heart my little Zeus." Softly she tapped his back and placed a soft kiss on his forehead as the symbol of their final goodbye. "But from now on, you will have to protect her forever... Stay by her side... And...be happy this time, my child. Go...Go back to your love."


    Obediently nodding his head in response, he hugged her once again for the last time and with a heavy heart, he turned back away from her. Eva was still standing holding a warm smile on her face and as soon as he witnessed it, he took a step forward in her direction with a teary emotional gesture.


    "I am coming to you...I chose you...now and forever...Eva..." Murmuring out his words aloud, he started to run towards the direction gathering every strength in his body at a bold pace.


    ....


    HAWWHHH!


    Huffing a deep breath, Zeus opened up his eyes slowly and took a profound blow of air out. His vision was blurry but slowly it turned out clear. He could see his surroundings and miraculously it was his own room where he was lying down on bed wrapped up in bandages. His whole body was aching hard and he took a deep breath in to calm down himself.


    "E...Eva... I am...back..." That was the first word he murmured out, in a crooked deep voice.


    __________________


    **Please read the author''s note :* And also, please keep voting :)

 Chapter 70 - You Dont Need To Come Here

    "Ahhh, damn! My head hurts so bad! But...umm...the shoulder indeed feels soft... Wait, why am I resting on a shoulder? Huh?"


    Murmuring in a displeased stiff voice, Czar slowly opened up his eyes, rubbing them nonchalantly while trying to wake up from his deep snooze. His head was still dizzy with a strange tipsy sensation all over his body. Softly he gazed around him and indeed he was resting over the soft, slender shoulder of a lady.


    Quickly with a heavy jolt, he raised his head up and glanced at the person seated beside him. He was still lounging at that special hostess bar chamber leaning on Grace''s shoulder who was sitting next to him elegantly holding a wide smile towards him.


    "Why...Why are you here? And...why was I sleeping on your shoulder, Grace?" Frowning his eyebrows deeper, he probed her.


    "Well judging from your surprised reaction, you are really awake, Mr. Czar. Ahh, you were sleeping on my shoulder for almost 5 hours. They are all stiffened now." Slowly moving her shoulder joints freely, she sulked at him in a gentle voice.


    "But why was I sleeping on your shoulder? What''s going on?" He sounded a bit perplexed this time, swirling his foci wider.


    "I guess, you really don''t remember anything--"


    "Remember what? What do you mean by that?" Interrupting her sentence quickly, he reciprocated his query in a deep voice.


    Grace softly gazed at his confused grimace momentarily and stood up from the couch in a relaxed posture. Czar seemed very troubled with the existing situation between them and gulped his saliva while glaring at her gestures.


    "You were the one who asked me to stay by your side even if you fall asleep on my shoulder, Mr. Czar. Even, you had paid me three times than usual just to keep me tagged along with you. Ahh, I guess you were feeling really lonely inside--"


    "What?" Jumping off the couch, he sprang up while shrieking out in a surprisingly high pitch. He was spellbound to hear something like that from a mere bar hostess which left him speechless for a few seconds. "Really? Did...Did I ask you something like that?"


    "Umm, yes. You even asked me to pat your head till you fall asleep. Also, you had forbidden me from leaving you." She had a straight face while answering his queries bluntly, with a small smirk.


    Looking all flustered with her answer, Czar flipped up his hair bangs up his forehead, and took a deep sigh out averting his gaze away from her. "Gosh, I must have been crazy! Why did I ever ask you something so ridiculous? It''s so freaking embarrassing, ughh! And...And why did you agree to my stupid request? Why you were here with me for almost 5 hours, absolutely for nothing? Ahh, my head even hurts more now..." His voice sounded much restless while he tapped his feet hard on the ground a few times.


    Grace smiled at his bashful reaction and slowly walked closer to him with a warm glimmer on her face. "It wasn''t a dull experience for me at all. You were sleeping peacefully like a small child in my arms and I was happy just by looking at you. To be honest, no one ever asked me such a request in my life. All I was accustomed was serving the clients with my body but for the first time...someone wanted my accompany. It made me indeed pleased." She whispered in a soft note, holding a sad smile.


    Czar slowly raised his eyes up from the ground and glanced at her face for a few seconds. He didn''t utter a single word to oppose her anymore rather than exhaling a deep breath of air.


    "Mr. Czar, well, I felt, for the very first time in so many years, you were honest with me about your emotions. You looked a bit heartbroken and lonely while drinking all alone. You even asked me to dress up in a maid attire as if you were searching for someone else within me... The fact indeed made me a little sad, but I was glad that you were finally opening up your suppressed emotions after all these years." She slowly tapped his shoulder a few times, trying to soothe him a bit.


    "Damn it! I must be really crazy! Why did I do something so embarrassing before her! She must be thinking of me so naive right now..." Grumbling inside his mind, he sulked his face for a while.


    "Grace, I don''t know why did I ask you something so stupid, I can''t really remember anything--"


    "Mr. Czar, you won''t have to give any explanation about your actions." She smiled with a gentle warmth, glancing straight into his eyes, and slowly gripped his arm while handing him a small bottle of syrup. "Here, drink this and it will help you to overcome the hangover. Also... I...I wanted to request you something..."


    "Yes?"


    "You won''t need to come here anymore, Mr. Czar." Slowly lowering her eyes down, she let go of his hand while mumbling her words in a soft note. "I guess, you must have already found the special person who can heal the broken part of yours that you were seeking to be healed all this time... I really wish, the person will bring out the happiest side of yours so that...you won''t ever have to come to any hostess bar seeking warmth...


    I...I will lose a good client of mine, but people like me are born to be replaced. So, you don''t need to come here anymore, Mr. Czar. I wish you all happiness and a final goodbye." Her gaze seemed gloomy enough as she stared at him deeply for a few seconds. Slowly she lowered her eyes and took a step forward to walk straight out of the room.


    Czar stood still behind like a statue, huffing a deep blew of air and holding a stiff posture. As soon as she walked out, he took a small peek at the door turning his gaze behind, and smirked involuntarily.


    "Happiness? Special person? Fuck this bullshit! I paid her such a hefty amount all these years and how could she forbid me from coming here? Such a crazy human...


    Why... Why would I ever need someone in my life? I...I am already...happy enough..." His voice crooked a little as he murmured his words on his own, holding a glum expression in his blank gaze.


    ....


    "I can''t believe it! What are all these crazy kinds of stuff going around our mansion? How can Mr. Tylor disappear out of nowhere from our mansion?"


    Howling out in a deeply intense voice, Antonio shrieked aloud in the living room where all the respective butlers of the mansion were gathered around. Aelia was standing behind him holding a stern expression on her face beside Ivory, who seemed absolutely motionless with a dark mystic gaze in her eyes towards them.


    "We...We don''t know about it, Master... But, last time, we saw him going upstairs of the mansion. After that... he didn''t come back..." A young butler, fretting anxiously tried to answer his growl while fidgeting his arms.


    "Did he disappear in the atmosphere? How can I believe such a crazy explanation? He was the senior butler of our mansion! How can he just fade away all of a sudden?" Looking all frustrated with the chaotic situation, Antonio grumbled at them aloud.


    "Ivory, don''t you think this is a terrible incident? How can he just disappear from our mansion today?" Aelia whispered close to her, while taking a small peek at her blank face.


    She stood still and lowered her head holding an intense eloquence. "I...I don''t know about it, Aunt Aelia..." Her answer seemed quite nervous and short.


    "Why is she behaving a bit odd?" Aelia was wondering while stealing glances at Ivory, who was fidgeting pretty anxiously beside her.


    "MADAM! MASTER!"


    All of a sudden, a young maid came rushing towards them at the living room where they all were gathered along. She was panting heavily as if she had come running along with the downstairs. Antonio frowned his face and turned back at her, probing in a stiff voice, "what''s wrong now? Why are you being so loud?"


    "Master... Master Zeus has woken up!!" She shrieked out in bewilderment.


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 Chapter 71 - Waking Up

    Gently with a careful attempt, Zeus raised his head a bit up from his head-pillow while taking a glance at the gigantic door of his room, which was left partly open.


    "Ahh, why did she run away from my room like that? I...I just asked for a glass of water from her... Why did she flee away as if she was summoned by a ghost? Damn, it surprised me..."


    Wondering inside with a frown face, he averted his gaze away from the door and glanced at the glass vessel placed on the corner table placed beside his sumptuous bed. Slowly he tried to get up from the bed on his own but his deep wound near the abdomen started to pain immensely, which caused him to withdraw his attempt.


    "ZEUS! MY SON!"


    All of a sudden, a crowd of people consisting of the mansion royal guards looking extremely fretted dashed inside his room through the door, including both of his terrified parents along with Ivory on the first row. Aelia shrieked out so loud in anticipation that her voice reverberated in the whole room as an echo.


    "Zeus! You are awake! Thank goodness! I was so scared!" She mumbled clamorously rushing closer to his bedside. She almost stumbled near him in turmoil while attempting to caress his head and shoulders.


    "Mom! Why...Why are you panicking so much? Relax, slow down a bit... I am all awake, don''t fret." Frowning his eye-brow ridge, he softly tapped her arm while she was holding onto his grimace.


    "How...How can I calm down? Do...Do you even have the slightest idea how scared we were all this time? We...We thought...we will lose you forever... Hic...You will never understand our inner turmoil..." Wailing into tears of grief, she gripped his arm tightly while directing her whining at him.


    Beside Aelia, Ivory and Antonio stood still gazing at Zeus fixedly while skipping to blink. Antonio was trying to maintain a composed posture in front of their royal guards who were standing in the back row behind them. However, Ivory was unable to control her emotional outburst and broke down in tears of anguish. Her heart was terribly scared and petrified from losing her beloved, which was clearly depicted from the helpless tears that were rolling down her puffy pale cheeks.


    Slowly Zeus averted his gaze towards his father, Ivory, and the royal guards existing in the room as he continued watching their gesticulations for a few seconds. Exhaling a deep sigh out, he softly murmured, "I...I must have scared you all so bad... I am...sorry...."


    "Are you doing a little better now?" Grimacing his face harder, Antonio tossed a straight question at him.


    "Yes...but...I really feel so damn weak... Can you fetch me a glass of water, Ivory? I asked the maid but she ran away from the room looking all startled... I don''t know why... Umm, dad, can you help me sit up on the bed? I can''t believe I am asking you such a trivial thing." He responded to them in a perplexed tone.


    Abruptly, she followed his command and quickly fetched a glass of water for him while wiping her tears out. Antonio walked closer to his bedside and grabbed him by the shoulder while helping him to sit on the bed, leaning his back against the large cushion. His whole upper part of the body was wrapped up in bandages and bruises which started throbbing deeply even with the slightest voluntary movement of his body. Quivering in pain, he was panting quite hard while Ivory handed him a glass of water to gulp it all down.


    "Of course, anyone would be startled if they watch you wake up all of a sudden! Do you know how much the whole mansion was deadly uptight for you? And why wouldn''t we be... You are our alpha, Zeus! We, the Romanos, only have you as our ultimate strength!" Holding a grimacing expression on her face, she snarled at him.


    Zeus stayed still gulping the water and kept his quiet momentarily. Their extreme anxiety was quite evident before him and somehow he was being a bit guilt-stricken for causing them so much apprehension.


    "How do you feel for causing us so much angst and trepidation? Your mother has been wailing out continuously from the moment you fell asleep! We didn''t even get a brink of rest!" Antonio sounded a bid hoarse as he grumbled his objection towards him, moving a few steps away from the sumptuous bedside.


    "I know...I...am sorry for scaring you all... But...I don''t even remember vividly what had happened--"


    "You were attacked with wolfsbane, my son!" With her quivering chin, Aelia promptly answered him in a glum voice, staring straight at his troubled grimace. "It''s itself a miracle that you are still breathing after suffering such a dreadful attack! Your...Your gut was pierced with wolfsbane dust! You were bleeding profusely when you got home--"


    "Indeed, I am grateful to be still alive, mom. But... who brought me back to home in that state--"


    "Czar."


    All of a sudden, Ivory responded to him in a dubious pitch while swirling her eyeballs mystically. With her unexpected response, Aelia seemed a bit agitated while Zeus was speechless instantly.


    "What? Czar? He... brought me home?" His voice sounded very bewildered.


    "He may not show it to you...but...I think he really cares about you. In fact, he is your own brother. By bringing you back here at the relevant time, he has saved your life, or else--"


    "He is his half-brother, darn it! Have you forgotten it?" All of a sudden, Aelia sprang up from the bed and snarled at her, rolling out her wrath-filled eyes in rage. Her immediate reaction was quite unexpected for everyone, especially for Ivory as it was the very first time, she raised her voice at her in front of everyone.


    Gulping her saliva anxiously, she tried to explain her, "Aunt Aelia, I didn''t mean to say--"


    "I didn''t give birth to that brat and...I will never consider him as my own son! Never ever! He is and he will always be an outsider brat for me! Don''t even try to include him in our family and keep this in your mind forever. I hope, you will never commit such a mistake again!" Grumbling aloud at her, she stomped her feet on the ground quite hard and took a small peek at Zeus who was seated being all confused.


    "Zeus, you must need some rest right now. We won''t bother you now anymore. Ivory, if you wanna stay beside him you can, and rest of the others, you can leave them alone." Commanding her words in a hoarse tone, quickly she walked out of the room in a few giant steps. Antonio seemed much displeased with her sudden infuriated reaction and followed her outside, along with the royal guards.


    Ivory took a deep sigh out and lowered her gaze downwards, fidgeting nonchalantly. "She hates Czar way too much... Sometimes...I feel a bit pity for him..." She wondered on her own.


    Zeus resembled much puzzled with the situation as he lowered his glance down with several thoughts crowding his mind. "If...If Czar has brought me home, then...he must have met Eva too at that moment... Damn it! I hope...I hope he didn''t cause any harm to her... I really don''t want to...hate my brother..." He clenched his fist hard, exhaling a deep breath.


    _________________

 Chapter 72 - Silent Heartache

    "Are you...still worried about that woman?"


    All of a sudden, Ivory snarled at him in a deep intense voice which caused Zeus to flinch unexpectedly. He was lost in his worries surrounding Eva but with her sudden intense pitch, he revived his senses back.


    "No... I...I was just..."


    "Zeus, I don''t need your explanations, when your gestures are enough to portray everything... You don''t have to make up excuses." Slowly averting her dark glum eyes away from him towards the giant window beside his bed, she murmured her words in a displeased tone.


    Taking a deep breath inside, he raised his gaze up from the ground and stared intensively at her for a few seconds. Her eyes seemed sad and dark while gazing at the blank horizon outside the window which indeed caused his heart to ache a bit.


    "Ivory, you too must be so disappointed in me, isn''t it? I...I must have broken your heart so bad..." With a sorrowful glance, he conveyed his feelings softly.


    She stayed silent gazing outside with a sullen expression for a while and didn''t object to his answer. After a few minutes of awkward silence persisting between them, she took a deep breath in and directed her gloomy stare towards him.


    "You just didn''t break my heart, Zeus... You...You had almost killed me too..." She whispered with a sad smirk.


    "Ivory, I can understand how you felt--"


    "No, you never actually tried to understand my feelings for you, Zeus!! Can you even have the slightest idea how brutally my heart bled to watch you covered in blood and bruises? Do you realize how scared I was of losing you? Can you even understand a single damn feeling?" All of a sudden, she grumbled out aloud interrupting him in a deliberate manner that startled him a bit. "If you could understand me...you wouldn''t be sitting here and worrying about a mere human till now when you should be remorseful towards us for what you did!"


    Zeus sat still looking at her embittered expression, taking a deep breath in. He realized the amount of pain his action has caused her was unmatchable and the part made him feel much condemned.


    "Ivory, I know...I have caused you so much pain, but...I had my reasons to do so--"


    "Reasons?" She again sounded much irked while intruding in his words again. "You had a reason to sacrifice your own life for that damn woman? And you think I should support you in such a gallantry action? Gosh!"


    "I couldn''t let her getting injured right before my own eyes.."


    "So you jumped before and suffered the dreadful wolfsbane attack yourself just so that woman can live? Have you lost your mind? How could you just forget that you are our Alpha and...thousands of lives depend on you! How could you just toss away everything for that human you barely met a few months ago? I... I am staying by your side since we were children, Zeus! I supported you blindly in each and every way since childhood! I...I had handed you that haematite pendant so that you could toss the woman away from you but instead, you risked your own life for her? How could you turn a blind eye on us just like that--"


    "I LOVE HER!"


    All of a sudden, Zeus proclaimed his verdict in an intense tone, which caused her to halt in surprise. She stood all motionless, gawking at him in awe and absolutely speechless at his instant answer.


    "Yes! I love her! I...I love Eva way too much, Ivory! I had already fallen for her since the first day... It''s just...I realized it quite late what my heart actually wants... I wasn''t granted this second chance of life to avoid and run away from my feelings! How...How could I let her get hurt right before my own eyes? All I did was protecting the woman I love...You would have done the same thing if you had been in my place, Ivory!" Sputtering out aloud, he sounded much anxious and resolute.


    She stood like a statue observing his gesticulations in wonder and didn''t utter a single word to defy. Her heart was throbbing hard in agony with each of his statements but she chose to stand all silent.


    Taking a deep breath in, slowly Zeus raised his gaze up and looked at her saddened eloquence for a while. "I...I am sorry... I got carried away. But, since childhood, I only had you like my friend who could understand me in my harsh times... I...I can''t explain but I kinda hoped a little that you would understand me this time too, Ivory." He murmured.


    After enduring a deep silence, she chose to speak first. "You...You had expected that I would support you risking your own life for that darn human... You thought I would be alright with it? You were right thou, I...I would do the same thing if I was put up in your situation. So, do you even know how...how many sacrifices I had to make for the sake of protecting you? Do you even realize...how much...how much I have loved you since our childhood?" Her voice crooked as if her throat was choked in immense unbearable pain.


    He lowered his head down, looking all remorseful at her words, and took a heavy sigh out. "I was always aware of your feelings, Ivory. But sadly, I couldn''t think of you more than my friend. I am sorry but I won''t ever be able to love you the way you want..."


    Her heart was stabbed brutally with his painful words making it difficult for her to stand anymore before him. Lowering her gaze down with tears of anguish rolling down her cheeks, she murmured briefly, "you...you must have lost your mind... You aren''t in your right senses at all..."


    KNOCK KNOCK!


    Suddenly, the large door unlocked open and the person standing at the door end was no one other than Czar. He had dubious eloquence on his face and stood still for a moment, gawking intensely at both of them.


    As soon as the door opened, Ivory immediately rushed out of the room in a spree that startled both Zeus and Czar immensely. She was trying hard to control herself from wrecking down in front of him, turning out flushed red, and dashed outside.


    "Woah, what happened to her? She seemed to be crying?" Unable to suppress his query, Czar tossed a straight question at Zeus who was sitting all numb on the bed. But he didn''t utter a single word in response and stayed all quiet.


    ....


    Rushing out the room, Ivory straightly rushed to the giant balcony on the floor, biting her lips desperately to stop herself from crying too hard. Reaching the desolated spot, she put her cold arms around her mouth and began to sob bitterly whimpering in pain. She tapped her chest a few times harder as if her heart was aching too bad from being consoled anymore.


    "100 years of wait... 100 years of love...I tried my best to protect him and...he... Why... Why?" She uttered in an unclear voice, grieving all alone shutting her eyes tight.

 Chapter 73 - A Disclosure

    "But she really looked much devasted, big brother... Something must have happened between you two, I am pretty sure. Did you two fight?" Slowly with tapping footsteps, Czar walked into his room holding a frown eloquence as he kept glancing at the door curiously from the way Ivory just dashed outside.


    Emitting a huff of heavy breath out, Zeus raised his intense stare up from the ground and glanced at him acutely, before asking him, "Czar, I am sure you must have so many things to tell me."


    He seemed a bit startled with his sudden uncommon request and charged back promptly, "things like what? What do I need to tell you? I just came to check up whether you are dead or alive--"


    "Czar, I already know you have brought me home that day after that incident. But why? Why did you choose to help me?" Grimacing his face, he inquired him sharply.


    He looked much perplexed with his direct query and gulped his saliva anxiously. "Who...Who told you about it?" He stuttered.


    "As far I have known you till now Czar, you have always despised me and my family. You...always wanted to see my doomed in misery... You have hated me from the core of your heart... But why, why did you chose to save my life this time?"


    "So, should I have left you there dying all alone?" He snapped at him with an irked look over his cast as soon as he concluded his query.


    "Even if you would have left me dying back there, it shouldn''t have caused any impact over your hatred towards me." Holding a sorrowful grimace, Zeus murmured his reply in a lower deep voice.


    Czar vividly stared at him for a while and took a heavy sigh out. Slowly, he walked a few steps closer to his bedside and put his arms inside his pocket, keeping a cold gesture.


    "Look, big brother, it''s true that I have always resented you from the core of my heart...but, the fact won''t change that you are still the eldest son of my father. Even for my father, my existence never mattered to him but he has always cherished you with his all might... So... I couldn''t let the precious son of my father die and rot all alone in that remote field because I couldn''t let you escape the world so easily without enduring much suffering...


    And, I bet...Ivory has informed you about it because I never intended to boast it before you."


    "But the fact won''t change that you still saved my life, despite holding your immense hatred...Tha-Thank you for...for saving me..." His voice grew heavier pent up with silent emotions, with his dark eyes dipped in grief while looking at him.


    "Geez, I might have not helped you that day if..." All of a sudden, he trailed off after blurting out unknowingly.


    "If?" Quickly his facial gestures turned into a mystic one as he kept staring at him intensively holding a curious gaze.


    Czar took a deep inhale of air in and stared straight into his eye before uttering in a deep voice, "I just...felt a bit sorry for that little duckling who was sobbing bitterly holding you covered in blood, in her arms... She was begging before me helplessly to save your life and... I couldn''t turn her down.."


    "You have met her, don''t you?" All of a sudden, Zeus responded to him back in a dubious loud voice, as he seemed extremely turbulent with his answer. "I knew it...You must have met Eva that day...How...How was she? Was she crying too hard? She must have been in shock to witness all that chaos... And...I...I hope...you haven''t hurt her in any way... I hope you haven''t caused her any injury--"


    "Are you crazy? Why would I attack her at that moment?" Interrupting his sentence viciously, he snapped at him louder with an irked display. "Look, I may seem like a jerk to you but I have some of my own virtues.  I simply won''t attack anyone who is already traumatized in a distressing situation. If so, I wouldn''t have helped her sneaking inside our Romano Mansion in the first place risking myself--" Suddenly, the words from his mouth halted with the immediate realization of what he just blurted out in front of him accidentally.


    "Wh-What? What did you ju-just say?" Petrified in shock, Zeus rolled his eyeballs wider while probing him back instantly.


    "Ahh, oh, it''s nothing. I think you should have rest now... I should leave right now." Blabbering out some unclear gibberish to cover up the accidental revelation, he immediately tried to turn back from him to leave the room.


    "Wait a minute! Don''t leave the room yet! It''s the command from your Alpha!" Looking all puzzled and turbulent he reclaimed his dominant command causing a deep reverberation in the whole room, forbidding him from leaving. Czar stood still for a few seconds, facing towards the door. From his stiff gestures, it seemed he was aware of the approaching troubled situation that he had caused.


    "Darn it my stupid mouth! I should have kept quiet... Why the fuck I blurted it right before him? Darn it, fuck!" He was cursing himself inside, sighing out heavily.


    "You just said... that...Ev-Eva sneaked inside our mansion, right? Did...Did she really come here? Is...Is this true? You aren''t fooling around with me right... Answer me, Czar!!" Impatiently straightening his back against the cushion, he mumbled at him in a profound pitch, looking all fretted.


    Slowly, he turned back towards him, frowning his eyebrows and glaring at him intensively. His reaction looked abnormally fervent, almost leaning on his edges focussing on him to seek the response.


    "Answer me, Czar! Why are being all numb suddenly--"


    "Yes."


    The short and deep answer from Czar immediately froze Zeus in shock as if the time had stopped running out for him. For a moment, he even forgot to breathe in and continued gawking at him, with his eyes shimmering in remorse.


    "Wh-What?"


    "She has sneaked inside the mansion and not only that, but she had also visited here. She was extremely stubborn to risk everything for you and it didn''t even scare her that she could have actually died while attempting such a deadly endeavor... Besides, she was actually ready to embrace death for the sake of just watching you once... I didn''t expect her to be...such persistent for you..." Lowering his eyes down, in a deep sullen voice, he conversed the entire scenario.


    All of a sudden, tears of shock and apprehension rolled down his eyes as he sat all numb and silent, gawking at him while running out of words. "Eva... Eva came for me? Here?" He wondered with his chest throbbing in immense pain.

 Chapter 74 - Fervent Heart!

    "Eva...was here?" Dripping a drop of tear down from the corner of his dark and distressed eyes, Zeus murmured his question towards him quite impatiently.


    Taking a deep huff of breath out, Czar sulked his face and stared at him straight. "You know...I really wanted this fact to keep hidden from you because as far I know, you will be eager for causing much trouble for me...But my darn stupid lousy mouth! I couldn''t even keep this secret intact--"


    "How did she get in? And...And what about the royal guards? Didn''t they abduct her? Oh...Oh my gosh! How could she even come here? How could she enter our strictly forbidden werewolf mansion? Where is she right now? I...I am sure something must have happened to her! Damn it! How is she? Is she alright or...or injured? Where is she!? Where the heck is she?" Looking extremely fretted and petrified, he started to probe him with several fiery questions at once without even breathing a huff.


    "There you go again, I knew you would be panicking like this and that''s why I wanted to keep it hidden from you. Relax, calm down a little or you would overstrain your fragile body again and your family would blame me for causing you unnecessary trouble." He sounded much glowered at him.


    "Czar, don''t change the fucking topic! Where is Eva? How is she? How did she get in? Take me to her right now! I wanna see her! I wanna see her with my own eyes!" Panting quite heavily, he tried to get down from the bed on his own voluntarily moving his injured limbs and looking extremely terrified.


    "Have you gone crazy? What are you even doing?" Immediately Czar pounced on his bed groping him hard by his broad shoulder, and trying to stop him from moving further. "I knew you would be such impatient brat once you hear about it! Calm down, nothing serious has happened--"


    "Where is she? Czar... you can''t understand...You can''t have the slightest idea what kind of turmoil I am enduring inside! I...I am feeling that I may die right now if something happens to her... You know how brutal our mansion is...especially towards humans...I...I can''t even imagine..." His deep intense voice crooked in apprehension as he was swirling his pupils wider.


    "I know about it very well! In fact, no one knows about the brutal side of The Romanos better than me! I obviously couldn''t let her turn into a lump of flesh devoured by our pack with the unbelievable naive act that she committed by coming here. So... I protected her all along here." Sounding much dense and profound, he slowly removed his arms away from his shoulder.


    "You...what?" Zeus stuttered in surprise, hearing his words.


    "Yes, I protected her all the way in the mansion. I know it may sound unimaginable to you like all along till now, I never intended to show a bit of kindness to anyone, especially to humans... But... today I couldn''t resist helping her. If I didn''t, she would have been brutally massacred by our guards..."


    Listening to his resonance, Zeus stayed all silent, intensely glowering at his grimace without interrupting him. Czar was seated beside him holding a frown eloquence, with his gaze fixed at downwards while speaking.


    "I won''t lie, I threatened her at first quite crudely to retreat back from the mansion...but... she becomes quite courageous when it comes to you, Zeus." Slowly raising his gaze up, he stared at him straight in the eye while conversing.


    "She stayed stubborn and even pounced at me back arguing harder that if I want, I can kill her after she gets to see you one last time. Her persistence and the helplessness that I saw in her eyes, somehow reminded me of my own lost self. And hence, I agreed to help her to sneak inside just for a day. Also, I have clearly mentioned it to her, if she ever tries to commit the same thing like today, I would be the one who will slit her throat apart! But for today, I have guided as well as guarded her safely both in and out." His voice sounded a bit mysterious, with a small dubious smirk on his face.


    "I...I am still in disbelief, Czar... You...You helped her risking your life? I just can''t--"


    "Ahhh, don''t overthink stressing your brain, big brother. Though I have become all heartless now, I did have a heart long ago which was forced to turn completely ruthless and full of hatred. Thanks to your family, I have become a corrupt villain now. But this life is far better from rather than staying as a generous fool! Relax, it was just a one-time favor that I acted on little duckling as she looked freaking ugly while crying too hard. And sadly, I can''t stand ugly kinds of stuff. So, I helped her just to get rid of that ugly duckling!" Holding a mystic creepy chuckle, he blurted out his answer in a spree standing up slowly from his bed.


    "No matter, how much you try to portray yourself as an antagonist, I know...you still somewhere has the kind heart you bore a long time ago, Czar." Lowering his eyes down from his face, Zeus took a deep breath while wondering on his own.


    "Th-Thank you for...for keeping her safe here... I...I owe you a huge favor, Czar... First, you saved my life, and then you saved as well as guarded Eva''s life too... I don''t know even I can thank you enough expressing my gratitude..." His voice grew heavy carrying a lot of emotion.


    "Ahh just don''t thank me only. Save up some of your gratitude and thank Ivory too." He promptly replied to him back.


    "Ivory?" Frowning his eyebrows, he tossed him back.


    "Ahh, that was such a turbulent moment! Ivory suddenly barged into your room and caught Eva red-handed. Too infuriated and provoked, she was almost about to stab her to death but somehow I managed to save little duckling from her wrath--"


    "Wait a moment!" All of a sudden, looking all intense and troubled, Zeus rolled his pupils and interrupted his answer viciously. "You...You mean...Ivory knows about it that Eva was inside our mansion? She found it?"


    "Yes, and she even helped me keep the secret concealed. Of course, she did it to save you from any uninvited trouble. You should be glad to have a person like her, for always having your back. But...why do you look so troubled? Did you guys have a fight?"


    "Fuck! She protected us and...Why did I treat her so harshly? Darn it! I committed a huge mistake..." Zeus cursed himself inside, looking extremely traumatized.

 Chapter 75 - Bitterness

    "AELIA! WAIT A DAMN MOMENT!"


    Tumbling down the stairs while chasing after her, Antonio growled at her aloud in his dominant alpha tone, reaching the gigantic hallway traversing the living room. With his loud call, her motion halted momentarily, but she stood all stiff like a statue looking much intense. She was gasping out quite heavily which clearly impacted that she was fuming in wrath and anxiety.


    Antonio stopped his pace from chasing after her as soon as she halted. Taking a deep breath in, he held a disgusted eloquence over his face while glaring at her from behind. But she didn''t turn back, stood firm like a wax statue.


    "I called you several times to stop! Why did you ultimately provoke me to raise my voice?" He snarled, standing at a measurable distance away from her.


    "What do you want?" In a low, deep rugged voice, she charged at him.


    He continued glaring at her from behind for a few seconds and quickly unbuttoned the collar button of his dark black shirt as if something anxious was shoving him from inside. Emitting a deep sigh out, he walked a few steps forward, closer to her.


    "Why did you have to act so crudely in front of those royal guards as well as Ivory? Why did you have to rebuke Czar so bad? I...I know you resent him but... being so harsh about our own family before everyone is something I absolutely can''t encourage--"


    "Since when did he became our family?" Interrupting him viciously, she turned back at him with her dark, intense eyes filled up in immense wrath. "He was...always an outsider for me. That''s how I have always considered him till now! Why would I have to sympathize while talking about a mere outsider?"


    "Aelia, your hatred won''t change the fact that he is my own son! He bears my own blood in his veins! How can I abandon the fact that he is a part of mine?" Looking much agitated, Antonio grumbled at her raising his voice quite aloud.


    "A part of yours?" Frowning her eyebrow ridge, she reciprocated a blunt answer and boldly took a few steps closer to him, gawking straight in his eyes. "Have you already forgotten the promise you made to me? Or should I remind you again?"


    "I haven''t forgotten my promise, Aelia. I didn''t like the way you talked about him--"


    "That brat will stay with us only as an outsider, and he will never be the part of our family. That''s the promise you vowed to me to let him stay with us... And now... you are suddenly being overprotective towards him? Now...you wanna turn back from your words, dear?" Her deep irked voice reverberated like a threat in the whole hallway.


    "I...I had to agree with your condition to let him stay with us against my own will! I never agreed from the very start to let him treated as an outsider! No one and nothing can change the fact that he is my second son. How could I abandon him so easily--"


    "That means from the very start, you were just deceiving me, Antonio." Her tone grew intense as she snapped out at him infuriatingly. "Even though...I always knew it from before...you...you have never been true with your emotions when it comes to me... I knew it from before but the fact still hurts my heart." All of sudden, her voice crooked a little as if she was being churned down in grief, gazing at him still.


    Antonio stood numb for a few minutes, silently staring at her dark glowered eyes. She had a disgruntled sad smile imprinted on her face which symbolized her immense hostility towards him.


    "I didn''t deceive you Aelia. I just didn''t have any choice rather than to agree with you."


    "Even without my own will, I agreed to take your son in but... I foolishly hoped that...my husband would keep his words this time... But I was wrong this time too, Antonio--"


    "Why are you acting all innocent, Aelia? Aren''t you at fault too? Have...Have you ever loved me truly? Have you ever cherished me honestly? You...You just wanted to be my Luna just because your beloved one chose a human woman over you, which crushed your almighty pride! You...You have just used me to get rid of his emotions! Shouldn''t you be blamed too? Why am I the only one to be accused?"


    All of a sudden, his loud intense charge echoed the hallway intensively which caused an extremely awkward silence persisting between them for a while. He was panting heavily after blurting out those intense words fiercely at her. His pent-up emotional outburst startled her immensely as for a few seconds, she even forgot to blink while glaring at him.


    "Wha-What did you just say? This is what you have thought of me until now? You...You had all these in your mind?" Her eyes were shimmering with tears as she murmured in a husky, broken voice, clenching her fist hard.


    After a few seconds of anticipation, he quickly realized what he snapped at her in such a heated moment. Gulping his saliva down, he took a step closer to her trying to be a bit apologetic for his action.


    "I...I am sorry, I didn''t want to rip open your old wounds... I just couldn''t hold it back--"


    "And what you did to me..was it acceptable? You were a horrible husband to me... You just slept with me to have a powerful heir who could take after you! Everything you plotted with me was always skeptical! Have...Have you ever truly loved me too? No, the answer is no! Because if you had ever held any emotions towards me or Zeus, your illegitimate son Czar would have been never born!"


    "Enough already Aelia!!" All of a sudden, his pupils obtained the dominant red color as he snarled at her furiously.


    She seemed extremely enraged and within a blink of a second, her dark brown eyes transformed into a dominant red form too indicating her viciousness. "Don''t yell at me! I am not scared to back out from any fight, even if it''s with you! Besides, let''s be honest with each other now, Zeus is the only thread that has still kept us connected to each other... Or...we might have already parted our ways long ago! Because...you were never mine..." She scowled in a rugged pitch, clenching her fist harder.


    Antonio kept gawking at her intensively for a moment and after a pause of few seconds, his eyes returned to normal form.


    "I regret it..." He mumbled something unclear.


    "What?"


    "I regret it so much for liking you even for s single moment, Aelia! I regret it so much...for choosing you over Madona! I regret it so bad! I wish...I could have turned back my past actions...At least, I could have been...happy with her..." All of a sudden, in a choked voice he blurted out his words and immediately turned back away from her, he straightway walked towards his room.


    She stood still like a statue, swirling her illuminant red eyes while watching him walking away. Her heart was throbbing in pain and trying unable to control her emotional outburst, she started sobbing bitterly.


    "You...You had promised me...You had vowed to me that you won''t mention her name in this mansion ever again! You...You scumbag! Ahhggghh! I hate you! I absolutely despise you, Antonio! You... traitor! Did you hear me!? I hate you! I hate youuu!"


    She was screaming out aloud all alone, with tears of wrecked emotions dropping down, and stomping her feet on the ground harder.


    ____________________


    ****Please keep voting :)


    Can you all guess, who is Madona?

 Chapter 76 - Confinement

    "Brother, I bet something must have happened between you two. Did you guys argue about something? Is it... regarding your fondness towards little duckling? You know my hunches are never wrong." He was gawking at him fixedly, with a mystic smirk occupying his grimace as he conversed.


    "Czar, can you just stop calling Eva with that obscene name? Till how long you are gonna be like that?" Holding a vexed expression on his face, Zeus reciprocated back promptly.


    "Why? It''s fun to tease her... And I really like to observe her agitated look on her tiny face! Haha! It amuses me so much...damn!" Unknowingly, he cracked up with laughter, holding a pleasant eloquence while slowly averting his eyes from him.


    His sudden laughter somehow startled Zeus a bit. For the first time ever in that mansion, he saw Czar laughing out heartily before him with such a happy gesture. Even though he saw him laughing countless times, but unlike every time, his eyes weren''t sad or dark. Instead, they seemed gleaming with warmth as he was chatting about her.


    "Czar, it''s the first time I am watching you smiling so happily. I didn''t know, teasing her would be so fun-filled for you... But, you should smile like this more often, it suits you." Staring vividly at him, he murmured softly.


    All of a sudden, the wide smile occupying his face immediately faded engrossed with a dubious surprised expression at his response. "Errr, why was I smiling so widely like that talking about her? Damn! I must be really out of my mind! What''s wrong with me?" Wondering perplexedly, he stood silent for a few seconds.


    "Czar did my response upset you--"


    "Ahhh, that''s a ridiculous assumption of yours, big brother." Quickly, he interrupted his sentence with a mystic chuckle, trying his best to divert that topic. "Why would I feel happy about her? She is just a mere powerless naive mortal! But... what about you? Why are you indulged with a human when you already have Ivory as a loyal friend as well as a lover... She loves you way too much that--"


    "I love her, Czar. You had asked me earlier if I have feelings for her...Why did I choose to tail her like a pet everywhere she went... My answer is yes. I love her way too much." Suddenly, Zeus blurted out with emotional turbulence before him with a straight face, which left him quite awe-struck.


    He stood silent without uttering a single word, staring at him straight in the eye. "Woah, I can''t believe this! Our true blood almighty alpha has fallen head over heels for a mere human maiden! But you must know my dear brother, if I spill out this secret outside, our pack will be thrilled to hear this! Especially, your mother... I can''t wait to watch her scowling face while hearing this magnificent news..." He had an uncouth broad grin on his face as he blurted out his words excitedly.


    "You don''t need to worry about it, Czar." Averting his gaze downwards, he took a deep sigh out and shifted his glare towards the outside scenario from the giant window by his bedside. "I...myself will announce it before everyone when the time comes... As an alpha, it''s mandatory for me to announce the most important decision of my life before my pack... I know...probably...everyone will be disgusted with me but... I won''t run away from my feelings anymore." His voice sounded painful as well intense.


    "Zeus, I really didn''t want to bring it up, but, don''t you feel sorry for Ivory? She always stood by your side firmly since your damn childhood! I mean...c''mon man, can you even understand how harsh it will be for her to bear all these? She protected you always with her might and you chose a human girl over true loyalty? And...what about your mom and our dad? And what about our pack? You know it well, how filthy we consider those darn humans! And...being our alpha with such an honor and responsibilities on your back, you fell for a human? And you seem quite bold about your decision! Oh my, it''s ridiculous!" Glowering his eloquence harder, he had a disgruntled display on his cast, glaring at him viciously.


    Zeus stayed all calm and silent without uttering a single word in objection. But with each passing moment, Czar was turning out much impatient while rebuking at him.


    "Brother, to be honest, I always wanted to watch you in a miserable state... I was always envious of the pamper and attention you always had to yourself... But I had never imagined, you would end up digging your own grave! I mean, the person who used to be stringent when it involved the violation of any rule within our pack, would actually end up falling for a human? Are you sure you are not going to regret it? Are you really serious?" He blurted out breathlessly, scowling his eyebrows.


    "I won''t deny, Ivory has been always a major supporter in my life, a rock pillar. But, once your heart chooses to be with someone who makes you happier, there will be no turning back. And for me...it''s only Eva. I already know, there will be enough challenges to tear us apart but I can''t hide my feelings anymore." With a painful expression, he mumbled his coarse voice with his gaze still fixed at the horizon.


    CREAK!


    All of a sudden, their conversing was interrupted as the giant door partitions opened up making a loud noise inside the room. Startled with the sudden intervention, both of them took a glance at the door and found Aelia was standing at the door, looking all condensed with two tall, broad muscular men dapped up in black suits behind her.


    "Mom?" Zeus sounded much perplexed.


    She boldly walked inside the room with her fiery eyes intensely gazing at Czar. The two men followed her gradually and they had a stern expression on their face.


    "What are you doing here in my son''s room?" Sharply, she inquired him quick.


    Czar was quite displeased to see her suddenly barging inside the room and sighed out heavily. "I came to check on my brother. Why? Is it forbidden for me to be here?"


    "Yes, I despise it whenever you try to grow closer towards my son, because who knows, what''s inside your nasty mind! I absolutely can''t trust a brat like you!" Gnashing her teeth in rage, she charged back.


    "Mom, please stop venting your anger on him! And...who are these guys? Why did you barge them in my room?" Quickly he meddled between them trying to diverge the heated moment.


    Taking a deep breath inside, Aelia shifted her gaze towards Zeus and replied firmly, "these two men will consistently look after you 24/7 till you regain back your strength. Especially since you are awake, who knows, who might try to harm you again! There are distrustful people still existing in our mansion." While speaking, she slightly peeked at Czar once as if she was implying those crude words to him.


    "What? You mean these two men will confine me like a prisoner? What the heck is this?" He objected out aloud.


    "Also, my dear son, you are absolutely forbidden from leaving our mansion. These two men will accompany you everywhere inside the mansion, even in your washroom. Your safety matters to me the most."


    "But this is confinement. This is wrong--"


    "This is my final decision, Zeus." Hoarsely, she interrupted his objection sticking a fierce glare at him. Czar stood still while gawking at both of them at each time being all puzzled.


    "This is wrong! I can''t stay here confined like this! I...I have to meet Eva... I must see her... I...I miss her so much..." Wondering inside in a perplexed state, he clenched his fist hard.


    __________________


    ***Please keep voting for me ^_^


    Sadly, my arm is not yet healed totally. It may take a bit of time more to heal it :(


    I hope all my adorable readers will keep supporting me like the way you always did :) :*

 Chapter 77 - Perplexed Condition

    "Mom, why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden? I am already awake and I am gradually doing much better! Why are you confining me inside?" Sulking his face, he snapped at her in a displeased tone.


    She took a deep breath in, flipped her shimmering brown hair down the shoulder, and murmured in a deep voice, "I don''t have a choice, my son. Especially after all these strange things happening in our mansion."


    "Strange things?" Gulping in anxiety, Czar immediately reciprocated her question back.


    Aelia stood all firm and didn''t even bother to answer at Czar''s reply. Her eyes were still fixed at Zeus and nonchalantly she responded to him, "Mr. Tylor has disappeared from our mansion."


    "What? How?" Rolling his dark pupils wider, Zeus abruptly shrieked in dread, looking shocked.


    Czar too was startled with the unexpected revelation and stood numb, gawking at Aelia in fear. All of a sudden, his face turned absolutely pale as if he could sense something horrific in here.


    "I don''t know... We are trying to find about the situation...He was our senior butler as well as one of the most trustworthy people of our pack... What caused his sudden disappearance, is yet to be investigated. But as for now, I absolutely can''t cut off any slack when it comes to your safety, Zeus. That''s why, I decided to appoint these two tough men of our pack who can look after you well enough, till you are healed completely." Slowly, she pointed her tapered fingers towards those tall, dapper broad men who were standing behind her. As soon as she pointed at them, obediently they bowed their head before Zeus to offer their generosity.


    "Greetings to our Alpha. We will do our very best to protect you, even with our life." Both of them repeated their words synchronically, in an intrepid posture.


    Seeming very impatient and troubled inside, Czar immediately dashed out of the room taking giant bold steps leaving them a bit startled with his act. As he quickly walked out, Zeus seemed a little worried and kept glancing at the way he left.


    Aelia slowly took a small peek at the door and her facial expression turned much sour. Clearing her throat, she responded to him, "Zeus, I also suggest you, stay away from that brat. Don''t you see, how dubiously he just walked out from here! I bet, he must be plotting any vile attempt inside his malicious head--"


    "Mom, please!" Promptly, he intervened between her reply with his vicious dominant tone and paused her from speaking further. His appearance looked much irked as he frowned his eyebrow ridge while glowering at her. "Please stop always presuming about Czar! The way you are always humiliating him may be the reason he just walked out of the room. Stop always suspecting him out of blue."


    "What?" She scowled at him rolling her fiery eyes vexedly. "Are you taking that brat''s side now? Are you defending him?"


    "I am not defending him, mom! But nothing can change away from the fact that he is my brother! We bear the same blood! If...If you can''t give him the minimal respect that he deserves, at least as our pack member, then you must stop doubting about him always! Also...you don''t need to cut out some slack in your obsession towards me mom, because I am not a kid anymore. I can and I will take care of my own."


    "Zeus... you are snapping back at your mother for that evil brat--"


    "Everyone, get out of my room right now. My head is aching too hard and I want to be alone for some time. Till I summon anyone after some time, no one is allowed to enter! It''s my strict command as an Alpha."


    Immediately, in a loud vicious tone, Zeus grumbled out his verdict with the intense moment between him and his mother. She seemed extremely displeased with his reaction and without wasting a single second, she stomped her feet in anger and chose to walk out of the room. Those two men looking much confused for a moment chose to follow after her quietly as Zeus was looking extremely irked.


    Sitting up on the bed, he took a deep sigh out and glanced at his abdominal part which was tightly wrapped up in bandages, severely injured. Frowning his eloquence, he murmured out on his own, in a heavy voice. "Why the situation has turned so messy in here? Damnit! I...I have to see Eva...I must..."


    .....


    Dashing fiercely straight at the giant balcony of the floor, Czar was swirling his dark intense gaze around as if he was deliberately looking for someone. Soon he reached the spot, his feet halted as it seemed his searching was finally over.


    Ivory was standing all stiff, leaning on the metal railing at the edge of the balcony with a cold stern expression on her face. Her eyes looked saddened, filled with grief as she was looking at the endless horizon holding a blank gaze.


    "Ivory?" Seeming much impatient and agitated, Czar called her behind in a loud deep resonance. With his sudden call, she flinched a bit and turned her head behind, gawking at him in awe. From her gestures, it seemed as if she wasn''t expecting him to be there in the first place.


    "Why you are here, Czar? Do you need something?" Slowly, she muttered.


    He didn''t respond to her query and walked closer to her, appearing much bothered. Staring straight into her eyes he chose to speak. "Mr. Tylor has disappeared from the mansion. Do you know about it?"


    "Oh... I see..." Looking a bit perplexed, she turned her gaze away towards the outside.


    "Oh, I see? That''s all you have to say? Aren''t you surprised a little?" Czar grumbled out in a deep voice, frowning his eyebrows.


    Ivory stood firm for a moment and without uttering any single word, she turned behind to walk away from the balcony. As she was about to leave, immediately Czar groped her arm from the back, intending to stop her from leaving.


    She seemed a bit offended and slightly shifted her gaze sideways. "Czar, what are you doing--"


    "You killed him, Ivory...didn''t you? Why did you do it? He... He was always kinder towards you! Why the heck you killed him?" He snapped at her in a low, furious voice.


    She still stayed all stiff like a statue and didn''t object to him. After a moment of silence, she took a deep sigh out and shoved her arm away from him.


    "To protect my love... I can go beyond any boundaries, Czar...


    I know, Zeus is in illusion... I know that human wench can never love him the way I selflessly did till all these years...


    But I can''t abandon him ever till I am alive... I know, he will come back to me someday... And... I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe from evil eyes..."


    In a glum painful voice, she murmured out and steadily walked away from the balcony leaving him behind all startled and spellbound.


    "Damn it! I guess, everyone in this mansion has lost their mind... Including me too..." With an agitated look on his face, he wondered with a heavy huff of breath.


    ---------------


    **Hello my beloved readers,


    I am sorry to keep you guys waiting for the new chapter. I am following my doctor''s advice as the past few days I had put a bit of stress on my arm, which caused me some trouble again... I hope I will be fully healed without opting for surgery so that I don''t have to keep you all waiting for new chapters...


    Please keep voting and supporting me :)

 Chapter 78 - Break Free!

    It was almost past dinner time. Slowly, sipping up his chicken breast soup along with grilled salmon slices placed before him on the plate, Zeus was seated still on his bed with his back supported against the giant cushion. However, his mind was crowded with countless perplexed thoughts. From his facial gestures, he didn''t seem to be at ease. Rather than, he looked like he was deeply worried about something, alone in his room.


    "I feel pissed off so bad! I...I can''t control my heart anymore... I definitely can''t wait till my entire healing. I gotta think of a way to escape outside for my Eva... Damn! I miss her... I wanna see her so bad... I miss her warm smile... I miss her tiny pouty face... Ahhh...damnit!" Mumbling inside his mind, he stared sharply at the soup bowl with anticipation and a heavy sigh.


    Knock Knock!


    All of a sudden, he flinched hard with the interrupting noise as the door creaked open inside. Those two sturdy men who were in charge of looking after him slowly stepped inside the room with a nervous gaze on their faces. One of them was holding a food tray with a large bowl filled with some kind of warm soup.


    "Greetings to our Alpha. Hope you are eating well, Master Zeus." Both of them slightly bowed their head while reciprocating their salutation towards him.


    "Why are you both here again? Didn''t I command earlier, till I summon any of you, no one is allowed to come inside. So why did you barge in?" Seeming much irked, he grumbled at them in a deep pitch.


    One of them who was holding the food tray slowly stepped forward and chose to answer him nervously, "umm, Master, we brought you our traditional mineral-enriched Ox-Blood Soup. It will help you rejuvenate your lost strength and fasten your healing process." He gently walked closer to his bedside and carefully placed the tray beside him after wrapping up his words quickly.


    Zeus took a peek at the soup bowl and raised his eyes up at them, staring intensively. He took a small sip of the soup and softy nodded his head. "It tastes good."


    With his short compliment, they seemed to be overjoyed enough with a wide grin on their anxious faces. "Really, Master? We prepared it for you with our heart and soul. And we know, you will regain back your strength very soon." They blurted out together.


    Watching them getting so excited with a small compliment, he chuckled a bit. "Were you both that worried about me?" He mumbled taking a sip again.


    "Not only us, Master! Every one of our Romano Pack has been tremendously worried about you, Master. And...It''s obvious. You are our Alpha, our superior strength. If...If something horrific had happened to you, every one of us would have been fallen apart..." One of them replied back to him in a deep, intense voice, swirling his pupils wider.


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word and kept glancing at them vividly. He felt a bit sorry for being quite harsh towards them even though their intentions were pure. They were just doing the duties they were instructed to do but deep down inside, they were honestly concerned about him.


    Suddenly, his facial expression grew a bit pale and he breathed out a deep huff. Raising his grimace, he inquired them in a rugged tone, "what...what if someday... as the Alpha of your pack I cause you some major disappointment...Will you all... still be able to trust... and stay devoted to me till the end?" His voice crooked a little as he murmured.


    With his absurd question, both of them seemed a bit perplexed fr a moment but quickly shook their head in obeyance. "No matter what happens, whatever path you will choose, we as your pack member will be always devoted to you. Please don''t fret about it, Master." They declaimed out aloud.


    At their bold proclamation, for a moment, his heart was feeling a bit light-weighted from all the sullen guilt emotions he was born inside. With a sad smile imprinted on his cherry red lips, he took a few more sips of the soup they prepared for him earnestly.


    "Are you both gonna keep a watch staring at me like this? Well, I feel a bit uncomfortable if you both will keep looking at me like that." Slowly discarding the food tray, he mumbled politely in a soft voice.


    "We...We don''t have a choice, Master. Both of us have been assigned to protect you from any impairment and if we fail to do so, Madam Aelia will definitely kill us..." Looking a little fretful, one of them uttered his intuition.


    All of a sudden, a striking thought struck his mind and immediately he swirled his eyeballs wider. With utmost anticipation, he gawked at them fixedly with a dubious expression on his face.


    "Then... You both gotta help me out today..." With a mystic smirk, he blurted out.


    "Help? What help Master--"


    Before the completion of their sentence, all of a sudden, his dark eyeballs obtained the dominant red form as he intended to use his super wolf powers at them. Both of them stiffened as ice as their eyes locked on Zeus''s red gaze and couldn''t utter a single word in objection as if they were paralyzed distinctly.


    "Have a good sleep both of you. Have a deep, healthy rest." Zeus murmured out deeply while intensively gawking at them. To be precise, he was using his hypnotic powers on them!


    Immediately, both of them crippled down on the ground losing their complete senses as they couldn''t resist the supreme power of alpha. Watching them losing their senses in the blink of a second, Zeus couldn''t help but smile a bit victoriously.


    "It was too easy to counter you both." Murmuring in a jubilant tone, he slowly tried to get down from the bed on his own as after sipping up the Ox-Blood soup, he was indeed feeling quite rejuvenated. Slowly, he put down his left feet on the ground followed by the right one. As he tried to stand up, his abdominal injured part twitched in pain which caused him to tremble a bit.


    But he didn''t back off, putting his entire strength in, he slowly marched closer to one of them who was lying down at a measurable distance from him. Painfully, he tried to kneel down on the ground and touched the arm of that person, closing his eyes tight.


    "Let me borrow your strength for today... You can have your rest for now." He mumbled softly and immediately a flash of red illuminant light wrapped up his entire unconscious body. Small red flames seemed to disperse out all over and indeed, Zeus was borrowing his strength into his weak feeble body!


    The procedure lasted for several minutes. Carefully he opened his eyes and released his hand from his arm. Soon he stood up from the ground and this time, his body didn''t ache so painfully. Indeed borrowing his strength, he was feeling a bit lively than earlier.


    With a small smirk, he gazed outside straight through the giant window by his bedside and took a deep sigh of comfort. The night breeze was indeed cooling with the bright illuminant moon radiating the whole sky.


    "It''s time..." He mumbled to himself with a wide blissful smile.


    ________________________________


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 Chapter 79 - I Missed You!

    It was almost past midnight. The bright illuminant moonlight was shimmering the entire night sky with small stars beaming in it. A mild and calm night breeze was softly drifting inside the large glass window panes inside Eva''s living room which were left partly open...


    Both Eva and Clara completely passed out on the couch, tugging beside each other, after gobbling down several cans of chilled beer to vent out enormous frustrations of their messed up lives. After several hours of a long tiring slumber, Eva was the first one to regain her senses back.


    Slowly, she blinked her blurry heavy eyes cryptically while trying to wake herself up raising her head up from the couch. Whereas, Clara was still unconscious in deep sleep, snoring aloud.


    Her head was all numb due to the effect of heavy drinking. She had been always a light-headed drinker but several cans of beer were enough to make her terribly sober.


    Scratching her head with a puzzled look in her deep brown eyes, she flaked her soft hair bangs up from her forehead trying to get a hold of the situation happening around her. A large number of beer cans were scattered all around the room causing a huge mess inside her house. Making a frown face, she tried to stand up from the couch as quietly as possible trying not to wake up Clara. As she stood up, taking a deep breath inside, she took a small glance at her sleeping sober pale face.


    "I am sorry Clara...for dragging you too in my messed up life... I guess, all my life...I have only caused suffering to the people I ever loved... I am truly sorry for everything..." Mumbling softly in her mind, with a sad small smile she gently caressed her fine hair threads from her sleeping face and turned behind to walk straight towards the kitchen to fetch some water as her gullet was choked in thirst.


    Gulping down a few sips of water, she stood still like a statue resting her back against the wall of the kitchen while gazing at her large family portrait hung on the wall with happy faces confined in it. As she looked at the beautiful smiles of her beloved family members, standing all alone inside the dark apartment, tears of guilt and apprehension dripped down the corner of her sullen eyes.


    "Firstly, I lost every one of you... Then I lost my job... And now... my home too...I never had the slightest idea that my life will become so burdensome for me one day..." She muttered alone in a low cold voice with her gaze still fixed at the portrait, primarily focussed on her mother. "Mom, you know... every day...little by little... I have been dying inside with regret and pain for being left as the only survivor of that fateful night which snatched you and dad away from me forever... I thought...maybe someday...along with Felix by my side, I will be able to overcome this pain...


    But now...look at me... You three are teamed up all together resting in heaven and I... I can''t even reach up to you no matter how much I yearn to see you all just once..." Her chin started quivering as her voice crooked while she was trying hard to choke her tears inside, possibly not trying to make any whimpering sound that can wake up Clara.


    "Why did you all have to leave me here alone in this scary world? Dad, Felix...do I really bring misfortune in people''s lives just as the landlady said? Am...Am I the reason you all had to face a tragic death? Yes...maybe...maybe she is right... I think... I am the cursed one indeed... Just for the sake of my cursed life...Z...Zeus had almost died too... Then...Then should I stay away from Clara? I... I think she must abandon me too... I don''t wanna cause any harm to the people I love... I... I...just wanted to be...happy... I just only wanted to live a normal happy life... What did I do to deserve all these? Why?" Clenching her skirt with her trembling fist and lowering her head down at the ground, she started to sob bitterly with her soul aching in agony... While conveying her whining to the smiling picture hung on the wall, all she could do was crying alone as silently as possible.


    After a while, tapping her chest a few times, she tried to console her broken soul while wiping her tear-soaked eyes, "Stop crying, Eva... You have to stay strong... You have to--"


    Suddenly, her words paused as she apprehended a strange sensation somewhere quite closer to her. A few times, she sniffed her nose as she could perceive a sweet yet intoxicating scent drifting inside her apartment from outside which in turn made her a bit restless.


    "Where is this sweet smell coming from?" She wondered while sniffing a few more times while anticipatingly glancing at the window. "I think I have already encountered this strange scent before... It is familiar... It''s so strangely familiar... Ahhh, I remember! I sensed this smell when I was..." All of a sudden, her pupils swirled wider in shock as if she was reminded of something too important which caused her muttering to pause in wonder.


    Immediately without wasting a single second anymore, she rushed towards the door panting heavily as if her heartbeat was about to stop! In anticipation and concern, she dashed outside her apartment running straight down the stairs desperately reaching outside almost holding her breath! As she stepped out of the premises, her feet halted and her eyes rolled wider in shock to witness the view before her.


    Standing at a measurable distance from her, it was her beloved awaited person, Zeus! He had a wide sad teary smile on his bruised face while glancing at her with his deep eyes filled with feelings of love and yearning. He was resting against a giant streetlight as a support but as soon as Eva dashed outside, he slowly tried to straighten his back. He had an oversize black jacket around his shoulder with his bare abdomen and chest wrapped up in bandages with blood droplets smitten in it.


    "No... It can''t be possible... I....I must be hallucinating... I must be out of my mind.... How can he stand here right in front of me? How can he come right in front of my house in such a critically injured state? No... He shouldn''t be here! He can''t be here! I... I must be dreaming... It''s impossible!" Screaming inside her mind, Eva couldn''t move a single inch as if she was frozen in shock. Desperately, she shook her head a few times possibly to check if she was still asleep but everything felt too surreal to believe! Her heart was throbbing like crazy but her body was all stiffened while she was almost on the verge of breaking down!


    Zeus understood she was too shocked to meet him in such an unexpected manner and the fact made him smile a bit. He stood straight and stretched out his arms wider grinning from ear to ear watching her beloved person after such a long-anticipated waiting...


    "Won''t...Won''t you come and hug me, Eva? I... I missed you! I missed you so much!" He responded out aloud first in a deep emotional voice.


    ____________________


    *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!


    Hello my lovelies,


    I know you all were desperately waiting for this chapter and here''s my small gift for you all for patiently waiting for my arm to recover and supporting me.


    ?Click on this YouTube link below to watch the small teaser I made for my book with my three main characters- Zeus, Eva and Czar.


    ¡Ì https://youtu.be/7wumXW5Xa5g


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 Chapter 80 - Anticipated Reunion

    Hearing her name out in his heartwrenching warm voice, Eva''s heart throbbed hard with a tingling ache arising inside her chest. Those intense dark sullen eyes were welled up with tears that rolled down her cheeks as she continued staring at him holding her breath. It was a surreal sight for her, too hard to be true!


    After a moment of absolute silence, she slowly started marching forward towards him where he stood still stretching out his arms wider, with a teary sad smile on his pale bruised face. In the radiant moonlight, Zeus looked like an elegant prince of the night, impatiently calling out for his princess with that anticipated gaze.


    "Ze-Zeus? Is...Is it really you?" Mumbling in an unclear low voice, she continued moving ahead with that staggering footsteps as if she was still in disbelief. Soon enough, she reached closer to him and tried to raise her trembling right arm to touch his face tenderly to make sure if it''s all true. "Is it really you? Is it? I am... not hallucinating right--"


    Before she could complete her words, a stronger, yet desperately fond hug immediately pulled her inside his warm embrace in the blink of a second! Zeus was trying his best to stay as strong as he could, but once he tugged her inside his broad chest, he couldn''t control himself anymore. Wrapping his grasp around her waist as tighter as he could, he was trembling, breathing heavily with warm teardrops dripping down on her shoulder which she could sense. He was sobbing too hard like a small child, leaning his head within her shoulder groove.


    Tugging within his embrace, Eva realized prominently that it wasn''t a dream after all! Neither she was drunken nor hallucinating! Gripping his shoulder with her shivering hands, she whispered in her teary unclear voice, "Zeus, it''s really you? You...You really came here? But...wh-why? How did you come here?"


    "I...I missed you so much...I wanted to see you so badly..." Choking his tears inside, he responded quickly, clenching his grip around her further pulling her closer.


    "You...You really came..." All of a sudden, whimpering out aloud, Eva burst out in tears gripping his jacket tightly in her fragile slender hands.


    Burrowing herself inside his warmest embrace, she mumbled while crying bitterly, "You shouldn''t be here at this hour! You shouldn''t have come here, you fool! Have you gone crazy? Why are you here? You should have rested on your bed...Hic...You should haven''t come here! Why do you always scare me so much? Why do you always make me feel so helpless? Why are you so stubborn? Stupid...You fool...Hic...Why do you always keep me over your own life, damnit! Why?" Her teary voice choked hard while she was throwing several weak punches on his back to reprimand her despair that was churning down her insides.


    Zeus stood silent for a while, snuggling her small body, and chuckled a bit watching her losing her composure all of a sudden like a tiny angry kitten. Softly caressing her head to calm down, he released his tight grip around his waist and pulled her a few inches away from him. She was still grieving out aloud, clenching her fist with tears and snot messing up her flushed face.


    "Can you please calm down a little--"


    "How can I calm myself?" Interrupting him instantly, she threw her small persistent punches again on his forearm, expressing her helpless inner turmoil. "Why do you keep messing with me? Why did you jump in front of me? Why didn''t you think once about me before sacrificing yourself? I want to smack your stupid head--"


    "Owww! It hurts." Tenderly, he tried to resist her fist attack by gripping her arm, making a pouty sly expression, "I am still an injured person, Eva...I tried so hard to come back to you and instead, you are just hitting and scolding this poor guy... Have some mercy on me, sweetheart..."


    With his gentle whining, she immediately fretted for a few seconds and started caressing his arm and shoulders, swirling her pupils wider in panic. "Oh my gosh... did it hurt? I...I am sorry... I thought maybe these weak punches won''t affect... I am sorry...hic... I just don''t know how to react to what''s happening with me...hic... It feels like I am living a dream...I am so grateful to...God...But, I am too scared to wake up... I am sorry... Hic..." She started sobbing again softly stroking him all over.


    Gawking at her distressed eloquence in that sparkling moonlight, calmly Zeus cupped half of her face within his broad palm and leaned his head closer to her trembling anxious face. In a fraction of a second, he placed a soft endearing peck on her plump red lips which startled her pretty much with his sudden action!


    "Is my kiss enough assuring to stop you from crying so hard? Or... should I kiss you once more?" Holding a witty smirk on his rosy lips, he whispered closer to her ears in an enthralling pitch.


    With such an unexpected tender kiss, Eva seemed to stop crying, and almost immediately, her face turned into a red flustered one as it was their very special kiss which Zeus initiated himself first! Lowering her gaze down from him, she tried hard to hide her embarrassed gesture.


    He continued staring at her with his love-filled glance and smiled to watch her turning all red shy ball. Taking a deep breath inside, he further continued, "I...I have a reason to come here today, Eva."


    "Reason?"


    "Yes. I wanted to confess the truth." His deep voice seemed much bolder this time as he gripped her soft knuckle quite firmly. "And the truth is, that I am sick of all these pretentious acts that I had to put on until now... Hereby, I surrender my heart and soul to you, Eva. I can''t hold back my feelings for you anymore and... I...I really love you so much... I am not ashamed anymore to admit my love before the world. I am already prepared to face all the consequences of the decision my heart has made." Gasping quite hard, he declared his bold confession gawking intensely at her, holding a serious expression.


    The sudden confession from him came out of the blue which she didn''t have expected to receive, standing under such a radiant moonlight horizon holding each other in a warm embrace. All startled and with a wave of countless emotions stirring her heart, she tried to refrain herself from breaking down in tears of joy.


    But all of a sudden, her eyes averted to an unusual sight! The bandage that was wrapped around his abdomen was stained wet with blood droplets! It seemed as if he had ripped open his wound again which caused her a serious perplexion.


    "Ze-Zeus... You are bleeding again! The bandage is stained with blood!"


    With her panicked response, he took a peek at that injured area, and indeed it was smudged in blood. Making a frown eloquence, he looked much displeased at it.


    "You...You shouldn''t be standing here too long in such a state! Damnit! You should be resting now! You need to seated somewhere else...but... where can I take you? I...I can''t take you inside my home because my friend is sleeping in there and she would wake up the whole neighborhood if she discovers us at this time! But then.. where can I take you?" She was mumbling in a panicked mode, impatiently looking around themselves.


    Frowning his eyebrows, Zeus took a glance at the topmost large terrace of her residence and smiled a bit mystically. Immediately, he pulled her waist within his arms, tugging her all of a sudden before whispering softly, "then let me take you to the moon, my beloved."


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 Chapter 81 - A Promise To Keep

    "Huh? Zeus, what do you mean--"


    Before she could finish off those words out of her mouth, in the blink of a second Zeus took a huge flight, straight up on the air by stomping his right feet on the ground. With the sudden leap, scared and shocked Eva immediately tugged herself inside his arms, closing her eyes tight while clenching her grip on his jacket. Taking several huge leaps over one balcony to hook for support, Zeus steadily landed on the wide terrace, grasping her small body within his strong embrace.


    "We have arrived. Look, Eva." Whispering softly in her ears, he slowly released his snug grip around her waist, moving a few steps away.


    Anxiously breathing hard, she gradually unfolded her eyes, blinking in a disoriented manner. They were standing on the wide vacant terrace of her residence complex under the giant illuminant moon beaming up the entire starry sky as well as the whole terrace. A few fireflies were fleeting around them along with the night breeze which utmostly made the entire night view extremely magical standing up so high!


    "The moon looks... so beautiful from up here, isn''t it?" Gazing up at the sky with a small smirk on his radiant grimace, he murmured softly.


    Eva stood stiff for a few minutes, gawking at him intensely with her fretful eyes. "Bu-But Zeus, what the heck just happened now? It-It''s such a skyscraping building... Did you just... fly here?"


    "No, I just jumped up to here." Shifting his gaze at her pale confused eloquence, he conducted his words holding a proud smirk.


    "But...how did you do--"


    "Eva, I know you are aware of my real truth." This time, his expression turned a bit stiff, staring deeply into her perplexed eyes. "Even though, I...I have many things to tell you, Eva... I am not a human, unlike you. And this is my disguised form which I had to obtain to live among these humans... As you have known already, so, I don''t have to conceal my powers from you anymore. And to be honest, I really love these desolated places like up here, so far from the ground... from the humans and...most peaceful." He shifted his deep enchanting eyes towards the giant moon again.


    "Do...Do you dislike humans that much?" Fidgeting anxiously, she murmured while lowering her eyes down on the ground away from him.


    "I despise humans." This time a cold, stiff voice responded back from Zeus with his eyes still fixated at the endless starry sky. Taking a deep huff of breath inside, he continued, "humans have always caused us endless pain... They have always...betrayed us... No matter how much kindness we had showered, it never mattered to them... That''s the reason, I despise them, truly."


    Somehow his deep glum voice caused an unusual ache in her heart while she stood numb, without uttering a single word. She was strangely nervous as well as a bit disheartened with his verdict as she herself was a human indeed!


    "But you are different, Eva."


    All of a sudden, she flinched hard as Zeus proclaimed aloud while walking a few steps closer to her. Holding a blissful smile on his face, he softly caressed her side face before answering further, "my whole world revolves around you, Eva. You are...You are so different... so strange... I don''t know how, but you are always able to make me go insane whenever you get out of my sight... My heart had almost stopped beating when I got to know that...you sneaked in our mansion..."


    Startled and numb, she stared at him straight in his dark dubious eyes swirling her pupils wider. Gulping down, she reciprocated back, "you...you know about it?"


    "Did you think that you will keep it hidden from me, forever? Eva, how could you do such a dreadful act? I was lying lifeless over the bed...I didn''t have a single clue of what''s going on around me...What would I have done if you were attacked by someone in there?" He inquired in a blunt tone, frowning his brows.


    "Then what other choices I was left with apart from sneaking in? I...I was dying inside helplessly to have a glimpse of you... even it''s for just once! Can you even ima--" All of a sudden, her words halted along with her sharp gaze locked on his abdominal part where the bandage was soaked in blood! He was indeed bleeding quite vigorously!


    "Oh my gosh! I...I forgot about the bleeding! Why did you jump so high in such a state? You must have severely ripped open the wounds! Damnit!" Grasping his shoulders hard, she shrieked out.


    "Don''t worry, Eva, it''s just a small wound. Nothing much would affect me--"


    "Shut up and sit down quietly!" In a loud panicked voice, she commanded while pushing him sturdily against the giant edge wall of the terrace forcing him to sit down still on the ground. Quite involuntarily, Zeus obeyed her command and tentatively sat down along with her. Immediately she ripped a large fabric piece of her skirt and tried to tie that lace of cloth over his injured area, while his bewildered fond eyes were still fixated on her doings.


    "I am tying this over to stop this bleeding momentarily. You need to dress up this wound as soon as possible. Stay still and don''t push any further pressure on it." Her deep sullen eyes were swollen with tears and her rigid voice crooked a bit while she was caressing the wound. It seemed as if she was trying to choke those tears inside with her heart aching to see him suffering painfully.


    He quietly sat still on the ground looking at her trying to hold herself intact so desperately. He soon understood her concerns regarding him and softly cupped her face to soothe her worried soul.


    "Eva, I am really fine... It really doesn''t hurt much...It may be bleeding profusely but I am extremely stronger enough to endure it. It''s nothing serious for me. Why are you so worried about me--"


    "Do you expect me to believe all these lies when I saw you were brutally stabbed by that monster before my eyes? Do you think I would feel okay to watch you bleeding so helplessly all because of me? No... My heart is not okay at all! I...I am dying inside to watch you suffering so miserably! I can''t watch the person I love so much enduring all the torments inside while faking a smile before me! I can''t do it...hic..." Suddenly, unable to hold back her emotions, she burst out in tears.


    Zeus seemed much nervous to watch her breaking down painfully before him as he gently held her arms tight to calm her down. "Eva, please don''t cry... I am really fine--"


    "Please don''t die, Zeus..." All of a sudden, she gripped his arms with her shivering hands along with bitter tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please don''t leave me... I have already lost everything at once... All...All I am left with is...only you...in this world...So, please don''t leave me alone... Please... stay alive..."


    Before she could wrap her words, Zeus pulled her into his warm embrace with tears weighing heavyweight of emotions dripping down from the corner of his eyes. Both of them were shedding warm tears in each other''s snuggle to vent out the grief they were carrying along all this time to ease the pain from their wounded hearts.


    "I...I won''t die, Eva... Don''t worry... I won''t ever abandon you in my eternal lifetime... I will...I will definitely live for you beyond God''s will... That''s a promise..." Snuggling in her warmth, Zeus mumbled his teary words with a heavy breath.


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 Chapter 82 - Revelation

    "Put your arms around my shoulder, I will keep you warm." Snuggling and seated next to him under the illuminant full moon and the ethereal night breeze, Eva whispered softly, caressing his strong arm resting on her shoulder. Zeus had a blissful smile on his face while watching her nestling closer to him. Closing her eyes and leaning her head on his broad arm, she was embracing his warmth from her soul.


    "I want to make you stay by my side like this... forever, Eva." Tenderly rubbing his chin on her side face, he mumbled his words but somehow his voice sounded a bit sad.


    "Zeus, I know... the road ahead of us will be tiresome...but I can''t let go of you... As... you are the only one who chose me above everyone else..." She towed closer to him, gripping his arm a bit tighter. It was evident from her voice that she was definitely concerned about the future ahead, waited for them.


    "Neither...I can lose you, Eva... I opted for this second chance of life just to be with you...No matter what happens, I will fight hard to keep you by my side..."


    As his voice crooked a little, she raised her head up from his shoulder and continued gazing at his sullen eyes, fixated on the moon. Taking a deep huff of breath inside, she touched the bruises impaired on his elegant face making a frown expression.


    "If something had really happened to you... how would I live?" Choking her tears inside, she whispered nimbly to him. Hearing her soft response, he soon shifted his gaze away from the moon towards her.


    "I am sorry...for...making you worry so much, Eva--" Suddenly, his words halted and his dark pupils swirled wider as if his gaze locked upon something quite unusual! Immediately, he grabbed her wrist and tugged it closer to him, fretting his grimace.


    "What happened to your arm?" In a rigid stiff tone, he inquired while staring at the swelled reddish bruised mark of fingers on her wrist which seemed much painful to him.


    She lowered her head to gaze at the mark and for a moment she seemed a bit perturbed. She desperately wanted to keep it hidden from everyone but it was hard to escape from his deep fierce eyes.


    "Well...Your brother, Mr. Czar... was threatening me to death to retreat back from your mansion...by clenching my arm hard...Indeed it was painful and left a dark bruise on my wrist. But I endured it and gave him a tough fight persisting my urge." As she was mumbling in a low tone, slightly she took a small peek at his face and it ran down a chill on her spine in fear!


    His eyes seemed unbelievably dark, blazing in rage as he was still glaring at her wrist! She had never seen such a dark, spine-chilling fierce reaction on his face which was something similar from that fateful night while he was encountering that monster! It was evident that he was getting immensely angry, fuming in wrath breathing heavily.


    "He-Hey...calm down, Zeus... You are mistaking the situation...He is the one who saved my life and also protected me inside your mansion in your absence...If it wasn''t him... I would have been already dead until now. I...I know his threatening method was wrong but...he indeed saved me...Also...He also saved me from the wrath of...of your fi...fiancee..." She replied to him promptly enough to tone down his anger as the atmosphere around them was getting quite heavy.


    Hearing out her explanation, somehow his rage calmed down a little but he stayed stiff holding a serious expression. Softly he caressed the bruised area of her wrist and covered it with his palm, momentarily closing his eyes.


    All of a sudden, a bright red flash of light, reflected on her arm resulting from his palm, which barely lasted for a few seconds! She was startled to watch the unanticipated flash out of nowhere and as soon as the spark of light disappeared, Zeus opened his eyes and slowly removed his palm away from her grip.


    Eva was deadpanned in shock to witness a surprising sight! The swelled bruise mark vanished right away and her arm looked exactly normal like before! It was a magical sight to witness and all perplexed, she kept glancing at her arm and his face.


    "For this reason...I am sparing Czar for this time... But I will never let anyone to lay a single scratch on you, Eva. You are my treasure and I will protect you with all my might." Taking a deep sigh out, he muttered his words.


    "Bu-But... Where did the bruise go? How did it disappear--"


    "I healed you with my power, Eva."


    "But why aren''t you using this power to heal yourself? You...You are more injured than I am!" Looking all panicked, Eva grasped his arm muttering out aloud.


    Zeus silently nodded his head in declination and tapped her arm tenderly. "I can''t do it, Eva... I can only use this power to heal the ones weaker than me... Also, Ivory is not my fiancee. I never agreed to marry her in the first place, neither I linger any special feelings for her apart from our childhood friendship. The only one I especially treasure in my heart is you, Eva. Don''t worry, I will never let anything bad happening to you." He whispered calmly, caressing her unknotted hair, with a small smile on his face.


    All of a sudden, her eyes swelled up with tears as she kept looking at his eyes intensely. Choking her tears inside, she murmured amicably, "I feel safe with you, Zeus... I used to feel the same around my dad too... But... I won''t be able to see my parents ever again..."


    Watching her getting all emotional, he furrowed his brows and asked back, "wh...what happened to your parents?"


    "They were killed... They were ravaged by them mercilessly..." Her tone fumbled in fear as she gasped aloud as she clenched her grip on his arm.


    "Killed? Killed by whom?" In a perturbed expression, he gulped his saliva, staring at her vividly.


    She stayed silent for a while and swirling her pupils wider in dread, she whispered to him, "w...wolves..."


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 Chapter 83 - Wolves

    "Wh...What?"


    Zeus''s voice choked in dread with the extremely unanticipated revelation she conducted just a few seconds ago. Swirling his eyeballs wider, he unknowingly murmured out his query with his gaze intensively fixed on her.


    Eva was sitting right next to him, trembling in fear and clenching his arms tight. She seemed to be internally traumatized by her expressions and taking a deep breath in, she slowly raised her chin up to look at him.


    "Wolves...Wolves have killed my beloved ones... Th-They destroyed my entire family,  my happiness...everything..." Tears rolling down her grimace, she uttered in a husky tone further clenching her grip over his arm.


    Engulfed in shock, he sat still and momentarily, even forgot to breathe hearing her painful words. His heart was throbbing hard but still, with an uncertain perplexed grimace, he chose to object her back, "how...how it can be possible, Eva? Ar...Are you sure...you aren''t mistaking it or something--"


    "How can I mistake my own parent''s death, Zeus?" Before he could complete his sentence, immediately she intervened imposing her response quite badly. She seemed restless, grieved with a disgusted expression imprinted all over her face. "No...No one ever believed me whatever I tried to speak, not even my own brother... But...I swear... that night...the dreadful accident of our car was caused by those wolves... They... They intentionally targeted us on that night! I...I remember everything before I passed out..."


    Zeus was getting swallowed up in dread with his mind gradually becoming all blank inside. The little world of dreams he wished of creating along with Eva by her side was starting to shake up vigorously with the revelation of a bitter truth that could indeed crumble their love upside down!


    "On that fateful night, it was just the day after lunar eclipse when my world fell apart...When our car...flipped over several times... I... I got separated from my mom and dad...covered in blood and bruises... Before losing my senses, my...my blurry vision was looking for my parents who...who were scattered away from me on the road... a bit far and...critically injured. I...I wanted to cry out aloud to them but...but my head was ripped open, bleeding too severely...


    Tears rolling down my hazy eyes I...I saw a herd of wild black wolves with... blazing red eyes walking towards my mom who...who was lying all lifeless on the road...But, she was alive! I still clearly remember it...she was breathing! I wanted to scream out for help but...but the road was all empty... Watching them approaching my mom...helplessly I lost my conscience... I thought, perhaps...it was the end for all of us...a pathetic end...But..."


    "But?"


    "But... when I woke up... I found myself in the hospital, wrapped up in bandages severely wounded, both physically and mentally... It was indeed a pathetic end of my happy life because...only I was left out alive that night, but...my parents couldn''t... My mom and dad had...had brutal claw marks all over their body! Postmortem reports concluded that...their abdomen was stabbed brutally several times to make sure that they won''t survive...They... They were murdered, Zeus! They were butchered!" Helplessly biting her lips to stop herself from breaking down, she shrieked aloud in a frustrated pitch while conveying the whole incident that turned her life upside down, that tragic night.


    Zeus couldn''t utter a single word and lowered his head down away from her face. His heart was filled up with grief and regret hearing out her pain and not being able to console her... The part which was causing him a severe heartache was that despite being a werewolf by himself, he had to accept the tragic story of his beloved one who lost her happiness at the hands of his own species...probably, his own clan as well as his own existence... The realization was too sorrowful but he didn''t have the courage left inside to beg for her mercy.


    "No one believed in the hospital when I said they attacked us intentionally... They wanted to kill all of us but...it was a miracle that I survived that dreadful night. However, since that night...I have always lived a regretful depressing life for being the lone survivor of that painful incident... And when my heart desired to live a good life after a grievous decade, then the same thing...the exact same thing happened to my brother...hic..." She couldn''t hold back her pain inside anymore and burst out involuntarily into warm tears, wailing out aloud from inside, covering her face with her shivering hands.


    "Eva...please try to get a hold on yourself--"


    "Felix was a brave forest ranger officer but...he...he too was attacked by wild animals...hic... His body was so critically butchered that... they had to cremate him inside the Cansaglio forest... I...I was so unfortunate that I...couldn''t even embrace my brother for the last time...hic... He was my only family that was left in this world... His colleagues had inferred that they had heard wolves growling near their camp on the night my brother was killed...hic... Those wolves even took away my last family ever left hic..." She cried out, covering her face and mourning all alone lowering her head down.


    As soon as she finished her whining, Zeus immediately tugged her closer to his chest holding her in his arms to stop herself from crying out harder. His heart was breaking apart in despair to watch her breaking down helplessly and he could stop himself from soothing her wounded soul...He finally realized the grave reason behind their fateful first meet when she was prepared to take away her own life, being unable to bear the pain. Softly, he caressed her head with tears rolling down from his eyes whereas Eva was sobbing bitterly, clenching his shoulder and snuggling in his embrace.


    "Th-That''s why... I am afraid to lose you, Zeus... You are all I have... I... I am afraid that perhaps someday...those cunning wolves will take you away from me...hic... I don''t know why they caused me so much pain...hic... But... I hate them! I despise them with all my life! I...I wish I could eradicate the existence of every wolf from this planet... I despise them... I want them to disappear...Die, you bastards! Die and disappear! Hic..." Resting in his arms, she cried out even harder while looking at the moon with her eyes filled with the pain of losing her beloved ones and immense unbearable anger towards wolves.


    Zeus didn''t have the courage to gaze at her wrathful eyes and holding a grief-filled, terrified heart, he clenched his grip around her waist as if he was afraid of letting her go. With sullen teary eyes, he wondered silently, "will you want me dead too when once you learn my bitter truth of existence? Will you despise me too someday? No... I...I can''t lose you, Eva... Granny was right indeed; our fates won''t be merciful towards us..."


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 Chapter 84 - Remorseful

    "I...I am sorry, E...Eva. I am sorry for everything..."


    Snuggling in her shoulder groove, Zeus whispered his guilt-stricken words in a broken voice with warm tears rolling down the corner of his beautiful big eyes. His heart was throbbing in remorse watching her mourning so helplessly, but at the same time, the fear of their uncertain future ahead occupied his mind.


    After a moment of emotional outburst, her sorrowful heart somehow calmed a bit within his embrace and she finally stopped whimpering. Taking a deep breath inside, she spoke first, closing her eyes and holding him in her arms, "why are you being sorry, Zeus?"


    No answer came. He stayed absolutely silent without uttering a single word in response. Eva could easily perceive his warm teardrops, dripping down on her shoulder. However, it piqued up her curiosity and slowly she released herself from his tight embrace. His face was resembling extremely pale, with teary sullen eyes gazing downwards. He was fidgeting a bit anxiously as if something was terribly bothering him from inside.


    Softly she raised her arms and cupped his face holding a warm smile. His distressed expression was gradually making her curious but she chose to stay calm, comforting his anxious heart.


    "Why are you making such a sad face, Zeus? It''s not like...you have anything to do behind my dismal...It is not your fault at all, Zeus, right?"


    Hearing her tender approach, he still couldn''t bring himself to stare at her vividly as his heart was filled with too much pain. He continued staring at the ground, with his mind crowded with thoughts.


    "My existence...My existence is my regret, Eva... I still can''t believe...my lineage or maybe...my pack would be responsible for your lonesome life... My heart is sinking, I...I am scared of losing you... I can''t bear to lose you, Eva..." He wondered with tears swelled in his eyes.


    Eva continued staring at his dismal face and gradually frowned her eyebrows with a tinge of fear arising in her heart. Gulping her saliva, he lifted her arms away from him and clenched her fist hard.


    "Ze...Zeus, why are your eyes...filled with regret? Wh-Why can''t you look at me in the eye? Wh-What''s wrong? Is...Is there something more painful awaited for me to know yet? Why are you silent all of a sudden? You..You are scaring me now, Zeus." In a sullen low voice, she muttered towards him, gawking at him intensely.


    Watching her getting all terrified, he finally raised his eyes up from the ground and stared at her pale worried grimace. However, he couldn''t muster up the courage to confess the entire truth as his heart was shaken up with the revelation. Taking a deep huff of breath out, he mumbled, "I...I am indeed regretful, Eva."


    "But why?"


    "Because...I...I am a beast myself. My heart feels heavy to know that you lost your entire family at the hands of wolves... I couldn''t help but feel remorseful about my existence--"


    "You are overthinking too much, you fool." Before he could complete his sentence, she meddled in a bold manner holding a small relieved smile on her face. "How can you blame your existence over my tragic story? You dorky child."


    "But...Eva..."


    "Zeus, don''t misjudge me. I really don''t bear any hatred emotions towards any other wild animals, except those vile creatures. In fact, I find it quite exciting that the person I love the most is a supernatural being... But you will be always my adorable dorky lover no matter how powerful you are." Pinching his cheeks in a loving way, she gently patted his head to assure his insecurities.


    TAP! TAP!


    All of a sudden, both of them heard a tapping sound on the desolated terrace, preferably of footsteps which caused both of them to flinch quite hard. Looking all perplexed, both of them gazed everywhere around them, and momentarily an awkward silence prevailed between them.


    "Did...Did you hear the footsteps just now, Zeus? I...I am sure, I wasn''t mistaken! Wh-What''s happening here?" All nervously, she blurted out, clenching his arm.


    Zeus was sitting in a stiff posture but all of a sudden, his gaze shifted on the glimpse of a mysterious dark shadow reflected by the moonlight on the ground, a bit far away from them. Immediately he frowned his eyebrows and grasped her arm tightly before commanding her in a cold voice, "Eva, go back to your room. Go back downstairs."


    "But...what''s happening here, Zeus? Is someone really in here?" She again glanced around them, reciprocating in a dubious tone.


    "Eva, don''t worry about me, just go back downstairs. I...I will come and see you soon again. Don''t fret." Gripping one of his arms on the wall behind him, both of them tried to stand up with his other arm around her shoulder as support.


    "But you are not fully recovered, Zeus! How can I leave you alone here? How will you go back--"


    "Eva, please...please do as I say right now. Please go back to your room." This time his voice sounded quite intense and heavy as if he was concerned about something inside.


    She didn''t object anymore stood still for a few seconds and took a deep sigh out, making a frown face. In the fraction of a second, she leaned her head closer to him and placed a sudden warm soft kiss on his puffed lips quite unexpectedly.


    "Alright, but don''t get yourself hurt again... And... come back to me safely, soon." In a concerning low pitch, she mumbled her words caressing his shimmering hair. He was a bit surprised with the sudden kiss but immediately nodded his head in obeyance.


    Slowly, Eva started heading straight towards the door to walk downstairs but before leaving, she gazed at him once again. He softly nodded his head to reassure her with a small smile and without having a choice, she chose to walk down.


    Gasping a heavy breath of air, Zeus straightened his neck towards the front and scrunched his brows deeply before making a bold proclamation, "You can come out now. I know you are here..."

 Chapter 85 - Turmoil

    As soon as he proclaimed aloud, a flash of an illuminant red flame appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the terrace which brightened up the entire area. Zeus stood still watching the flame with his dark, intense gaze for a few seconds. As soon as the flame disappeared, a tall elegant, figure arrived walking closer to him wearing quite a pair of red high heel shoes, making the tapping sound again.


    This mystic person was no one other than Ivory, standing tall and straight wearing silk embroidered reddish brown full sleeve gown, and glaring at him with her bright red dominant pupils. Her facial expression looked much vexed as if she was badly agitated but trying her best to keep herself composed.


    "Ivory, I didn''t think you would find me here." He chose to speak first, holding a small mystic smirk.


    "Why? Are you so disappointed to find me here?" Immediately, she snapped at him, folding her arms in the arm notch.


    "I am not disappointed. I had assumed that maybe I was able to escape from the mansion but I just...didn''t expect that you will hunt me down here. I guess I underestimated your powers."


    "Too bad that I interrupted your sweet time here with that despicable human. But...both of you were getting on my nerves and that''s why I couldn''t hold myself back from tapping my heels to disrupt between." Gritting her teeth in anger, she grumbled at him with her eyeballs gradually returning to their normal black form.


    "She must be angry with me!" Glancing at her irked eloquence, he wondered inside frowning his face. "Why are you here...Ivory?" Taking a deep breath in, he asked first.


    "Don''t you think this is something I should ask you first? What the heck you are doing here in such a weak physical state?" Blazing in anger, instantly she snarled at him.


    "I know, you must be angry with me--"


    "Angry? Haha!" Suddenly, she chuckled with an annoyed gesture averting her eyes away from him and gazing at the radiant bright moon up. "If I hadn''t been loving you for so long...I would have already killed you by now. You are testing my patience way too much, Zeus."


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word and kept his silence for a few seconds, lowering his eyes down on the ground. It was evident to him that her heart was burning in wrath and pain after watching both of them together.


    "Ivory, I--"


    "Do you even have the slightest idea how madly I was worried for you when I found out your disappearance from your room? Do you even realize how badly my heart was shaken in fear? I...I thought something terrible must have happened to you again! Can you ever realize my sincerity towards you? Can you... damnit!" Unable to suppress her anger, she shrieked out aloud at him.


    "I came here to see, Eva. The way your heart was worried about my safety... I guess it won''t be distant for you to realize the emotions I feel towards her. I was...worried about her." Holding a stern face, and looking straight into her eyes he proclaimed in a deep pitch.


    "Wahhh..." Hearing out his response, her facial expression turned extremely exasperated as if she was swallowed up inside in wrath, clenching her fist harder. "I want to twist her neck so badly right now!  I want to give that witch a pathetic death as her reward..." She wondered.


    "Ivory, You know, I...I am thankful that you have spared her life inside the mansion, also...you kept it a secret apart from everyone else. I...I am grateful--"


    "I regret it!"


    All of a sudden, she yelled out stomping her feet on the ground as if she was beaming in rage, unable to suppress it any longer. Zeus, looking a bit perplexed, continued to stare at her intensively, "what?"


    "I regret sparing her life! I shouldn''t have listened to Czar! I should have torn her gut with my claws at the moment I saw her inside! I should have killed there right at that moment!"


    "Ivory, have you lost your mind?" His voice sounded much vicious as he growled at her in a furious voice, swirling his pupils wider.


    "Yes, I have lost my mind! I am so scared that someday... you are gonna pay a hefty price for going after that human! I can''t bear to watch everything snatched away from you again! I can''t bear to watch our pack despising you just because of her! Everything will fall in place if she just dies!" She yelled out in a husky sullen voice which indicated her distressed state of mind.


    "Stop it already, Ivo..."


    Suddenly, mystic darkness prevailed before his eyes which immediately halted his speech. His mind started to feel dizzy making it difficult for him to stand there. His severely injured abdominal part started twitching in pain and burning sensation along with his legs turning all wobbly. Strangely enough, he started sweating out with a feverish sensation prevailing all over his body.


    "What''s happening to me? Why...Why am I feeling so weak again?" He wondered while trying to grasp the wall behind him to balance his imbalanced physical state.


    Ivory quickly noticed his distorted condition and gulped her saliva down. Instantly started rushing closer to him in fear taking giant footsteps, "Zeus, what''s wrong? Are you alright?"


    "I...I don''t know... I...feel weak again..."


    Before he could finish his words, all of a sudden he lost his senses and collapsed down on the ground, making her scream out loud in panic.


    "ZEUS! WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING AGAIN?"


    ___________


    **Hello my lovelies,


    I hope you are all well in this pandemic situation. My country is quite battling hard against Covid and to be honest, mentally we all are disturbed enough.


    Anyways, Please help me reach my power stone goal of 300 stones.


    Also, please keep voting if you want to devour 4 extra chapters as your reward.


    What do you think will be happening next?

 Chapter 86 - Baffled Condition

    It was 8 am in the morning already. Warm tropical sunrays were drifting inside the living room through the partly open large glass windows. Eva was sitting on the sofa glancing at several paper pamphlets with a frown expression. Sometimes, she was gazing outside the window at the endless blue horizon, fidgeting anxiously as if she was concerned about something internally.


    "I hope...Zeus has reached his home safely... Darn it, I shouldn''t have listened to him... I shouldn''t have left the terrace--"


    "UGHHH MY HEAD HURTS SO BAD!!"


    Suddenly, she flinched hard with the unusual grouchy noise beside her. As she peeked a glance, Clara had already woken up from her deep slumber, looking all tipsy and dazed out. Scratching her head, she flipped her hair and glanced at Eva who was looking all confused, sitting opposite to her.


    "Eva...you are awake already? Ughh damn, I think I overslept... but still, my head is killing me, ughhh!" She sounded a bit cranky, clenching her forehead.


    "Ahh, I guess, your hangover is troubling you again, Clara. Here, take this medicine. It will surely help to overcome this trouble." Gently, she stood up from the couch and came walking closer, handing her a glass of water along with medicine. She obediently took it and gulped down with some water, allowing herself to calm down a bit.


    "Eva, as far I remember, the whole room was a mess last night... Did you clean it all alone? And, why do your eyes seem so puffy? Didn''t you get any sleep last night? What are you doing so early?" Tossing several queries at once, she continued staring at her furrowing her eyebrows.


    Facing so many queries at once, a bit nervously she cleared her throat and tried to stay calm not to arise any suspicions for her, "yes, of course, I had a good sleep last night. And... I was making a list of the places I market out from these pamphlets."


    "Pamphlets?"


    "Clara, you already know I am currently stuck in a messy situation. I need to look for several jobs at once as I can''t decide it based on my preferences... Also, I need to start packing my stuff as I have been given only a time limit of 15 days..." Her voice appeared much gloomy as she lowered her gaze down from her making a sad face.


    Immediately, she stood up from the couch. Watching her getting all gloomy, she couldn''t contain her concerns inside and boldly grasped her arm before answering, "Eva, you don''t have to wait here till your given time period. You can move in with me and I swear, my room will be extremely comfortable for you. I promise to take good care of you as you are my best friend, Eva. Look, you can move out anytime once you find a much stable job--"


    "Clara, we had already discussed it last night." Intervening between her sentence, she softly tapped her arm while releasing herself from her grasp. Holding a small smile she further continued, "you have already done more than enough for me, Clara. I can''t make myself dependent on you forever... After all, I need to sort out everything by myself as soon as possible."


    She stood still hearing her persistence and took a deep sigh of the distress out. "You never listen to me, Eva." She sulked her face murmuring in an irked note.


    "I do listen to you, Clara. But this time, let me deal with all this stuff on my own. And, besides worried about me, you should hurry and take a shower to dress up yourself, or else you will be terminated from your job too, like me. Don''t worry, I will make you some breakfast first." Softly poking her chin, she propelled a warm smile at her before walking away.


    She gently nodded her head a bit and looked at the way she marched towards the kitchen trying to represent herself as composed as possible. She knew it quite well, Eva was badly troubled inside but trying hard not to make her worry about her. Taking a deep sigh out, she continued gazing at her clenching her wrist wearing the deep blue ''moonstone bracelet'', shimmering on those sunrays.


    .....


    "Uhhh..."


    Quivering in a painful resonance, slowly Zeus opened his eyes and blinked nonchalantly a few times to clear his blurry vision. As he gazed around himself, he was lying over his sumptuous bed in his room along with Aelia and Antonio, as well as Ivory eagerly waiting beside him. Moreover, those two men who were summoned by Aelia from last night were also present in the room, watching him from a bit far. Everyone''s frowned facial expression seemed to be relaxed a bit as soon he woke up. It seemed as if they were intensely waiting for him to regain his senses back.


    As soon as he opened his eyes, his gaze shifted directly towards Ivory who was stood all stiff, gawking at Zeus with a perplexed eloquence. As soon as their eyes met, she gulped down her saliva and tried to avert her eyes away from him.


    "My son, are you feeling better now?" Aelia anxiously broke the silence inside the room asking him in a timid tone. Softly, she took her seat beside him and caressed his forehead to check whether his fever has gone down or not.


    "Uhh, ye-yes, mom. I...I feel much better now..." Confused with the ongoing situation, he murmured while stealing a glance at Ivory again. But this time, she didn''t bother to glance back at him.


    "My gosh, why did you bother to exercise in such a weak physical state? How could you stress on your injury again?" She sounded much displeased, glaring at him vividly.


    "Wh-What?"


    "Ivory told us that despite her disapproval, you tried to train your physical strength last night conducting strenuous exercises. You put too much pressure on your fragile state and even got a fever! Why did you bother to do it? It''s not like your physical strength will abolish if you refrain from training for a few days. Do you like to torment our worries that much?" Grumbling in a furious tone, Antonio seemed much vexed at him, with a frowned grimace.


    "Training? Physical strength? Wh...What are they talking about?" Wondering inside his baffled mind, he blinked his eyes a few times trying to peek a glance at Ivory again.


    "Master, even we had tried to stop you last night from conducting those strenuous exercises but you didn''t even listen to us. You mustn''t exert too much restraint on your frail state...or it will be worsened furthermore." The guy from whom he had borrowed his physical strength last night, came walking a few steps closer to his bed looking very concerned and mumbling in a gentle voice.


    Swirling his pupils wider, Zeus listened to his response which bewildered him to a greater extent. "What? When did they stop me from conducting training? Didn''t he really remember last night I hypnotized both of them to sleep for escaping? What the hell is happening here? Am I dreaming or something?" He was lost in his perplexed thoughts inside.


    "Zeus, you are really blessed to find a partner like Ivory who always has your back like a rock pillar." Softly patting his head, Aelia whispered her words holding a small smile, sneaking a glimpse at Ivory who seemed a bit restless from her eloquence. "If she hadn''t taken care of you since the last night, your condition might have worsened, son. She really cherishes you preciously, and you are lucky indeed to find a beautiful yet capable strong partner like her in every aspect. She will be definitely the perfect luna just like our perfect alpha..."


    Hearing out her earnest longings, somehow his heart ached a bit with an urge of agony arousing inside. She seemed too pleased while proclaiming her wishes and that''s what made it difficult for Zeus to look at her happy face. Making a distressed expression, he first took a peek at Ivory who was standing all numb, holding a sullen fake smile, then lowered his eyes down.


    "You should take as much rest as you can, Zeus. We have many things to discuss but you need to recover first completely. I guess we all must allow him to get some rest." Antonio declaimed his proposal in a deep resonance echoing inside the room to which almost every member present inside the room agreed.


    Tapping his head tenderly, Aelia too stood up and walked towards the door following after Antonio. Ivory was the last one standing inside the room, lowering her head down and standing tall stiff like a statue. As everyone else left away from the room, she raised her chin up, looking at him with a pair of sad eyes.


    "Uncle Antonio is right, you should have some rest at first." She muttered and turned back to walk out of the room taking a deep huff of breath.


    "Wait! Don''t leave yet, Ivory!"


    Suddenly, Zeus groped her arm from behind, looking all perplexed and desperate. "What the hell is happening here, Ivory? Why are they all talking this nonsense? Have... they gone crazy or am I the only one going crazy now?" He probed aloud.


    ______________________


    ***Please keep voting and commenting :* :* :*

 Chapter 87 - Manipulative

    "I...I have hypnotized them."


    "What?"


    Getting such an ice-cold response from her, Zeus was baffled for a few seconds staring at her in wonder. Slowly, he loosened his grip on her arm as he was dropping his control over his reflexes with her answer.


    "I didn''t have any choice left apart from it." Her voice was distant as well as with a profound emptiness on her eyes, she turned back confronting him upfront. "To wrap up whatever happened last night, I had to hypnotize these two men right here and I couldn''t come up with any other excuse for your parents except this lame one. You know, it hurts me...It really does hurts me to lie before them so pathetically because they trust me way too much... I guess I don''t deserve their faith at all..."


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word in response and lowered his head down for a few minutes with an urge of sadness arousing inside his heart.


    According to their spiritual mythology, it was indeed a great sin for the other werewolves except for the alpha of a pack to use hypnotism against their own clan. The punishment was too severe that even a few of their ancestors lost their entire supernatural powers as well as their lives at the hands of their celestial members. But without even giving a second thought, Ivory abused her powers for his sake, it was making him suffer mentally.


    "Why did you do it, Ivory? You knew it quite well.... that you can''t use hypnotism against our pack! Why did you use it against them? Have...Have you forgotten those punishments that our ancestors faced?" Frowning his eyebrows in anger, he snapped at her immediately.


    "As I told you already, I didn''t have any other option left... When I took you back here, both of them were already waking up from the slumber you had put them for escaping...They saw me bringing you back here and...involuntarily I had to use my powers to erase their memories--"


    "How could you commit such a grave sin for me so readily? Why didn''t you let everyone know the truth? How could you endanger yourself like that?" Before she could wrap up her words, he shrieked out in an infuriated manner.


    "Let everyone know the truth? Hah, should I have done that for you?" Holding a disgruntled smirk on her face, she stared at him intensively with her eyes all of a sudden fuming in wrath.


    "Then why did you endanger yourself for me--"


    "Then should I have unveiled everything causing everyone so much pain?" Suddenly, unable to suppress her frustration, she yelled out furiously at him. Her eyes were gleaming in tears of agony as she continued gawking at him. "Should I have put you in danger then? Should I have exposed it to watch you getting disowned by your own pack, just for the sake of that lousy human? Should I have watched you losing everything at once you worked so hard to earn for? Should I have done all these like a worthless loser? What did I do wrong?"


    "Ivory, listen to me, you have been always the only friend I ever had in my life. How could I let you--"


    "Do you fucking know, how scared I was when I watched you collapsing before my own eyes? For that human...For that darn human, you overstrained yourself so much that it worsened your state! You...You fool! Do you fucking realize how helpless I had been in that position?" Warm tears bearing heavyweight of emotions streamed down her eyes as she continued snarling at him, clenching her fist in anger.


    "All I did was for the sake of my love. I was madly worried about Eva that... I couldn''t stop myself from going to her... And...And she did the exact same for me... We both love each other so much, Ivory... That''s the only reason behind my actions. I know...I have caused enough pain to you and... I am really sorry for everything..."


    "Love? You think that human really loves you?" Grumbling in a fiery rage, she inquired him quite viciously, walking a step closer to him. Zeus was awe-struck with her immediate retort and momentarily stared at her.


    "What do you mean--"


    "You have really lost your senses, Zeus! You have forgotten who we are and who you are! That human... She is just allured by your outer shell! She is just attracted by your disguise, not the real you! She can never love you for who you are because there lies the boundary between the mortals and immortals! Those darn humans... they are the epitome of betrayals. They have been always stabbing us in the back! We, the mighty werewolves, treat them as our prey because they deserve it! They deserve to be despised! Have...Have you forgotten all the pain those humans have caused to us? Have you forgotten how much the Romanos abhor humans?" Gnashing her teeth in anger, breathing heavily in wrath, she tried to wake up his conscience desperately.


    "But why Eva has to suffer all the hate due to those vile humans who caused us a lot of pain?" Persistently opposing her declamation, he further retaliated his concerns for the woman he cherishes quite boldly. "She...She has already gone through a lot of misery! She has lost her family at the hands of our lineage! What did she ever do to receive all these agonies? I...I know...Both of us belong to different worlds coexisting together, but... I have promised... I will never abandon her no matter what happens! I have made a choice, and there''s no point in retreating away from it."


    For a moment after he finished his declaration, an awkward silence persisted between them with the two pair of eyes intensively gazing at each other. Her eyes seemed to be much painful but his gaze seemed but bolder as if he was ready to fight against the whole world, for his beloved one.


    "Alright," suddenly her facial expression transformed into a dark mystic one with a small smirk faltering on her red puffy lips. "Go ahead and tell her the truth about your existence. Tell her, that you are a true-blood alpha werewolf of our Romano clan. Go ahead."


    Holding a fretful eloquence and a startled gaze, he rolled his dark-black pupils quite wider with the response. His throat choked with a surge of fear arousing inside him which halted his every response, with his jowls quivering a bit. Squirming in anxiety, he lowered his eyes down from her.


    "What''s wrong? Why are you silent all of a sudden? Why don''t you go ahead and tell her right now?" She leaned her head a bit closer to him, intensely contemplating him with a sly grin while probing him. Though he was silent with a grimacing expression evident on his pale bruised face, slowly, he raised his chin up to look at her sternly.


    "Ivory--"


    "Let me tell you the consequence that will be happening after your confession. The woman you are claiming to be sincerely in love with you will scream aloud in horror looking at your true werewolf form! She will cry for help and run away from you declaring you as a vile beast! There''s no way she will accept it because...for humans, we are the brutal monsters who relish their claws dipped in blood and gore... That''s what we are...the mighty brutes. How can we exist together with those powerless mortals?" Mystically grounding her voice she mumbled in a low pitch, intending to manipulate his mind with her persuasive aura.


    He quietly listened along to everything and taking a deep breath in, further retorted his verdict, "I can''t impose my feelings on her even if she can''t accept my harsh truth... But there is no point in retreating back from the choice my heart has already made. I love her and I will be protecting her till the very end. It''s up to her to accept me for whoever I am."


    Immediately, stomping her feet in anger, she straightened her back clenching her fist in anger. Glaring at him with her blazing fiery eyes, she further rebuked, "one day, the person you are swearing now to protect, will abandon you brutally! She will be the one who will rip your heart apart... And when this day comes... I will be the first one who will eliminate her entire existence because I can''t sit back and watching you suffering all alone...


    Till then...I will do whatever it takes to protect you with all my might because no matter what happens, I have accepted you for who you are a long time ago..." Uttering in a painful voice, she walked straight out of the room taking giant footsteps leaving him behind gazing at the way she left like a storm.


    Sitting quietly with a heavy heart and a frown face, only those harsh words of her flashed on his mind:


    "ONE DAY THE PERSON YOU ARE SWEARING TO PROTECT WILL ABANDON YOU BRUTALLY! SHE WILL RIP OPEN YOUR HEART LEAVING YOU ALL ALONE!"


    ____________________


    **Please keep voting and commenting :*

 Chapter 88 - Discover

    "Sorry, Miss Eva Ricci, but we can''t select you, as you lack work experiences which are mandatory for our corporation. We wish you all the best wishes ahead."


    That''s the same answer she was reciprocated with from almost every organization she tried to apply in. Heartbroken and devasted with the harsh reality, she pushed the door walking out of the skyrise building with waffling footsteps, clenching a few more pamphlets tightly in her arm.


    "Best wishes my ass! How am I going to gain work experience if every company keeps on rejecting me like this? Ahh, I guess I have to give up on my dream of working in a reputable corporate group... Based on my fucked up situation, I guess I gotta start for looking some survival jobs at least..." She was mumbling on her own making a frown expression on her face.


    At a measurable distance behind her, a tall broad muscular guy was standing behind a large Eucalyptus tree, wearing a black hoodie and a black hat followed by black goggles, he was gazing at her intensely. From his gestures, it seemed he was monitoring her from a distance being a bit overly curious.


    As she continued walking ahead, the mystic person slowly came out forward rather than hiding behind the tree. Taking a deep huff of breath inside, he removed his goggles and it was no one other than Czar, who was silently following her since the morning!


    "Darn it, judging from her devasted facial expression she might have failed to score a job here too! Ahh, but why am I worried about her whereabouts? Why am I following her to every interview place like a damn fool? This is seriously pissing off my head, why am I feeling bad for her? I guess...I shouldn''t have terminated her from our group...But I did just for her sake as I didn''t want to catch up in our chaotic world! What should I do, c''mon man!" He was wondering on his own, scratching his head making a grimacing eloquence facing his internal turbulence. His eyes were staring at the ground but all of a sudden he sensed gentle footsteps of a lady stopping before him.


    "Excuse me, but why are you following me everywhere since the morning?"


    The voice was unbelievably familiar to him! In a jolt, he raised his chin upward and saw Eva was standing before him holding an inquisitive expression towards him. She was impertinently staring at his dark brown eyes which made him flushed out all of a sudden.


    "Li...Little duckling... Did you know about it?" He implied in a nervous tone.


    "Of course, I had already found it out since the beginning of my schedule. But, I thought maybe you were playing around with me. But when I looked behind this time, you seemed a bit disturbed to me. So...umm, I couldn''t hold back my curiosity any longer and came here to ask you sharply instead. Why are you following me? Or, were you stalking me?" She was probing several questions at him once with a straight face.


    "Gosh, you are such an airhead! Why would I bother to stalk you? I am a busy man, you know! I just came here because..." He trailed off suddenly, unable to express his mixed emotions right before her. Fidgeting in anxiety, he averted his gaze away.


    "Because?"


    "Because it''s nothing! I was just messing with you, that''s it." Trying to come up with an instant excuse, he declared in a grumpy tone avoiding direct eye contact with her.


    Eva kept looking at his sulking face momentarily and unknowingly chuckled out. Watching her smiling all of a sudden even in her distressed state, he seemed more perplexed than before.


    "What? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"


    "It''s nothing... I just found it funny to watch you getting all flustered out like a small kid. Haha." Covering her mouth with her palm, she responded quickly with a wide grin.


    "Hey, are you looking down on me--"


    "Anyways Mr. Czar, I am already tired from facing all the rejections since morning. There is a small public park nearby, do you wanna sit there with me for some time rather than strolling behind me?" Her deep black pupils sparkled in the illuminant sun rays as she asked him in a mild tone and a small smile.


    He wasn''t expecting such a response from her in the first place after getting discovered by her. Momentarily, he expected her to be angry with him but rather than that, she was inviting him to accompany her along rather than following her alone. Her actions seemed a bit unusual, but he couldn''t decline and softly nodded his head in obeyance.


    .......


    "Do you want a coke?"


    Handing a can towards him, she inquired in a tender voice, looking at him considerately. Sitting on a public bench inside the park, he raised his chin and politely took the can which she had brought for him from the vending machine.


    "I thought...you would be angry with me... But, instead, you asked me to accompany you and also handed me a coke. You are really an airhead." Mumbling in a low tone, he slightly took a peek at her when she took her seat beside him holding a small smile on her grimace.


    "You are right, but I couldn''t be angry with you since you were the one who saved my life in the Romano Mansion." Sipping the coke, she uttered nonchalantly, staring at the endless sky.


    He was unknowingly staring at her shimmering smooth hair threads, wavering in the mild spring breeze. Without even realizing it, he was admiring her big ethereal dark black eyes, her delicate bright white skin along her puffy red lips exquisitely crafted by the divine creation.


    Lost in her beauty, he even forgot to blink for a while. Soon enough, when she turned her side-face towards him, quickly he averted his eyes elsewhere making sure not to get caught in the act.


    "Well, Mr. Czar, I know you will sound cranky, but were you probably worried about me?" She tilted her head a bit, asking him in an impertinent note.


    "Why would I be worried about you?" Immediately he jolted back on the seat, as she indeed caught him red-handed in the act.  "I have already told you, I was just messing with you--"


    "I just wanted to tell you that you won''t need to feel bad for me, Mr. Czar. You see, bad things often happen to us but tough times will pass if we have good people around us." She lowered her head down, with a sad smile lingering on the edge of her lips.


    All of a sudden, he took a small peek at her wrist which seemed smooth and clean devoid of any bruised mark which he had left on her that day. Frowning his eyebrows, he glanced at her before probing, "did you happen to meet Zeus?"


    Surprised at his question, he blinked her eyelashes a few times and tenderly nodded her head in response. "I guess the proverb is really true, people in love will always find a way back to be with each other, no matter what. " She whispered softly.


    Somehow, her response made an unusual irked feeling inside his chest which caused him to be a bit more agitated. Leaning his back straight against the bench, he raised his chin to gaze at the clear bluish horizon with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.


    "You know, little duckling, you should really stay away from us...especially from Zeus. Involving with him will cause you nothing good. The love you are talking about is probably just an illusion you are dreaming about. I know I may sound harsh, but we really belong to the separate worlds--"


    "Mr. Czar," before he could wrap up his words, she intervened in a considerate voice and a pair of tender eyes gazing at him, "Zeus stood by my side when I was determined to abandon myself. He protected me, cared about me without expecting anything in return... I don''t care if he isn''t a human but my love for him would never drift away just because we belong to separate entities. He is my strength."


    "Then why are you living a life where you have to depend on others for your strength?" Unknowingly, he was getting irked with her responses and continued reciprocating in an impudent manner, "look at me. I never had to depend on anyone for any sake. I am just blissful to be on my own--"


    "Because you were never able to be happy from your heart." All of a sudden, looking at him, she murmured in a low pitch.


    Startled with her blunt response, he seemed to be in a daze. "Wh-What?"


    "You were never happy in your life even if it''s just for once, Mr. Czar. You pretend to be egoistic, rude on the outside to built a barrier around yourself so that no one can hurt you ever again. Even if you smile and laugh, but these are all fake. Your eyes seem cold and empty. Your heart is too broken to realize how lonely you are from inside. That''s what I feel," holding a sad small smile, she whispered staring at his blank eyes.


    "How...How could she found my hidden scars? Who the heck is she?" Gulping his saliva, his heart throbbed in pain wondering inside.


    _________________


    **Please keep voting and commenting :*

 Chapter 89 - Tangerine

    "He...Hey, why are you presuming things about me? I...I am all fine... Why would I be lonely? I have tons of maidens to play around with... Why are you making things on your own?" Grumbling in a perplexed low pitch, he stared sharply into her eyes.


    "No, I am not assuming things on my own." Smiling with a tender eloquence, she took the last sip from the can and stood up from the bench turning towards him.


    "You know Mr. Czar, it''s okay to be true with your emotions. We all face cruel stuff in life, but we can''t run away from the pain we are feeling inside. It''s okay to be true to yourself. You don''t need to pretend fine always, because someday someone will look through your pain distinctly. You won''t be able to hide anymore."


    She was standing straight under the radiant sun, holding a soothing grimace towards him while conveying her heartfelt words. In that tender atmosphere holding the warm smile, she looked like an ethereal angel descended from heaven in his eyes. Somehow his voice choked inside and unable to utter a single word, he continued staring at her profound wide eyes.


    Slowly, Eva zipped open her handbag that she was carrying along and took a small tangerine out of it. Grinning softly, she handed it straight in his arm which indeed startled him furthermore.


    "My mom used to say, whenever we have too many things running on our mind, we should focus on peeling and eating a tangerine as...it will keep our minds involved, even if it''s for a brief moment. Also, tangerine is my favorite fruit. Umm, I am just suggesting you do it. But, believe me, it works."


    Swirling his pupils wider, looking utterly amazed he gently grabbed it from her hand and continue staring at the fruit making a perplexing face. It seemed as if he was wondering about certain things inside but kept his silence before her.


    "Also, you don''t need to follow me around anymore Mr. Czar, I am all fine too. You should take care of yourself a bit more too. See you later." Slightly bowing her head, Eva murmured to him in an amiable complexion and turned behind heading straight outside the park alone. Czar stayed still on the bench, all numb and frigid looking at the tangerine she left him behind. Slowly he raised his chin and gawked at all the way she was walking along and took out a deep huff of breath.


    (FLASHBACK)


    ...


    "Mom, you are back?"


    Holding a warm broad smile on his face, Czar of around 6 years old dashed running towards the door as Madonna, his mother and a beautiful young woman with an angelic expression on her grimace, tried to walk inside opening the doorknob. As little Czar rushed closer to her, spreading her arms wider she pulled him tighter inside her warm embrace.


    "My baby, did you miss mom already?" Patting his small head tenderly, she murmured.


    "Yes, I was feeling lonely without you, mom. You were gone for a long time today..." Czar was pouting his face while snuggling in her warmth.


    "I am sorry my child, it took me a bit more time today. But mom has brought your favorite beef today. I will cook your favorite meal!"


    "Really?"


    Czar almost jumped in joy, putting a small peck on her puffy cheeks and grinning widely. "We will have beef today, mom?" He sounded too excited about it.


    "Of course," she seemed much happier to see her son laughing and jumping at her answer. "I have also brought bacon for you, Czar. Don''t worry, mom will raise you as a stronger person, just like your alpha brother." She caressed his head softly, with her wide tender eyes gleaming in bliss.


    Czar continued staring at her eyes momentarily with his small curious gaze and all of a sudden his wide smile tainted a bit. "But mom... They...They don''t seem to like us...especially... They are cold towards us--"


    "It''s not like that, Czar." Immediately she interrupted and pulled him back into her embrace, putting a small kiss on his forehead. "You are the son of our alpha. No matter what others say, but your father will never be able to abandon you, my child. And believe me, you aren''t less in any aspect than your alpha brother just because you are a beta. Don''t worry Czar, mom will be always together by your side so that you won''t feel lonely anymore on your own. I will raise you as my strongest child." She was comforting his worried soul hugging her tighter in her warmth.


    Soothed in her embrace, he seemed much relieved and firmly nodded his head chuckling in joy. Soon she moved a few inches away from him and groped a large bag placed near her. Softly she pulled a tangerine out of the bag and handed it to his tiny arms.


    "Look honey, mom has also brought your favorite tangerines. I know how much you love them so I searched around everywhere to grab some fresh tangerines for you. These are sweeter just like my sweet child."


    "Yaay! Tangerine! I love you, mom." Grabbing it from her hand quickly enough, he put a cheerful peck on her cheeks and placed his tiny arms around her shoulder, snuggling closer to her.


    "Awww, I love you too my Czar," smiling happily she further reciprocated caressing his small back shoulder.


    "Don''t worry, mom will always bring your favorite tangerines for you."


    ...


    A drop of warm tears carrying the heavyweight of concealed emotions dripped down on the tangerine while Czar was staring at it, lowering his head down. His heart was throbbing in pain and raising his grimace above at the sky, he muttered on his own.


    "It''s...It''s been so long since I ever had a tangerine... I...I just don''t get it... How can she rip open my old wounds so easily? Why...Why does she feel so warm..." Peeling it gently and putting a slice of the fruit in his mouth, a warm smile appeared on his face unknowingly with a tinge of profound sadness inside his eyes.


    "It''s sweet...It''s as sweet as the ones you brought for me, mom... It''s too sweet that my heart is aching again...Shit..." Trying hard to control his tears biting his lips, he murmured on his own with warm tears rolling down his cheeks.


    ...


    "Clara, I am telling you, I am all fine. I will start looking for some other jobs starting tomorrow. Don''t you worry too much about me?"


    "Cut it out! I know you are not fine. Please stop lying straight on my face."


    Frowning her eyebrows, she reciprocated quickly at Eva stomping her feet in anger and frustration. Both of them were talking to each other outside Clara''s working place from where she sneaked out to meet her for a while as she was too worried about her interviews. But though she was claiming to be all fine, she could clearly understand that all those rejections the whole day must have badly tormented her from inside.


    "Clara, you should go back to work now. I will meet you later. Besides, I don''t want to bother you outside your workplace." Glancing around the premises once, she mumbled in a low voice tapping her forearm.


    "But, Eva... How can I not be worried..."


    "I should better get going now. I will call you later, okay?" Responding to her instantly in a warm voice, she turned behind and continued walking out of the premises leaving her behind with a perturbed heart.


    "Fine, my ass! I know you are not fine at all! Ahh, I wish I could do at least something to ease your pain..."


    Sulking with a concerned gaze, she turned back with a heavy sigh to head straight inside her office. But all of a sudden her feet halted stiffly with the horrifying sight before him.


    At a convenient distance from her, Czar was standing straight folding his arms within the arm notch and glaring at her viciously. As soon as their eyes met, perplexed in fear she retreated a step back and immediately tried to escape from his sight.


    But as soon as she tried to run out, Czar dashed closer and groped her arm to stop her from fleeing away from him.


    Glaring his eyeballs wider in a dark gaze, he whispered to her from behind, "You... You are a beta too... Aren''t you?"


    "What? What are you talking about?" Mumbling in a fearful voice, she tried to free her hands from his grasp.


    "Don''t you dare lie to me! What are you thinking of fooling around?


    You... You are a beta too... Aren''t you?"


    ____________________________


    ***As I promised, a new mystery twist was included in my story and hence I infer that Volume 1 is concluded successfully.


    So, from now on it will be beginning of Volume 2 which will infer many more twists ahead :* :*


    Please keep supporting :*

 Chapter 90 - A Secret Unveiled

    "What are you talking about? Wh...Why would I be a beta? Wh...Who the heck are you?" Grumbling in a vicious tone, she snapped at him while trying her very best to restrain her arm from his strong grasp. Czar seemed to be amused at her vexed reaction and immediately in the blink of a second, pulled her arm forcefully towards a narrow lane beside the parking lot near the spot they were standing by. The area was quite desolated as it was past afternoon already.


    Dragging her with force against her will, he pinned her hard against the wall putting his broad arm on the wall beside her while forbidding her from further escaping.


    "Really? Do you want me to believe this crap? How long you are going to act all innocent?" Tossing a cunning smirk on his puffy red lips, he whispered softly.


    Clara frowned her eyebrows, glaring at him in intense anger. "Hey weirdo, you are pinning a woman against the wall forcefully! Don''t you know it''s considered as a sexual assault? Do you want to be sued by me?"


    "You are really too persistent and clever! How long you are trying to decline your identity?"


    "I am not declining anything! I don''t know who the fuck you are and why all of a sudden you are targeting me! Get off my arm!" This time, her voice shrieked aloud as she was desperately trying to escape from his grasp, furrowing her brow ridge.


    "Alright. Then," quickly Czar raised her arm which he was grasping hard upward and the moonstone bracelet she was wearing on her wrist sparkled in the radiant daylight.  "What is this moonstone bracelet doing on your arm? Aren''t you wearing it to hide your identity from your friend...Eva?" His mouth curved out a dark mystic smile as he proclaimed his words towards her.


    Swooned in fear and cold sweat, Clara gulped her saliva down the throat and stared intensely at his dark mysterious gaze with her arms shivering a little.


    "I...I don''t know what are you talking about--"


    "Moonstone keeps our real werewolf form concealed under any turbulent condition. You know it very well and that''s the reason you are deceiving little duckling, isn''t it?"


    "How do you know E...Eva?"


    "That''s not of your concern! Answer my question and I will spare you alive." Further clenching his grip, he uttered in a devilish tone.


    "Leave my arm, you jerk!" Covered in a cold perspiration, she desperately wanted to escape from his fierce queries and yelled out louder. Her lips were quivering and she seemed to be terrified inside.


    "Okay, so you won''t admit it, right?" This time, his tone seemed much irked as he glared at her sharply.


    Immediately in a fraction of a second, he viciously choked her throat with his other spare arm and clutched the moonstone bracelet harder. She seemed utterly petrified and tried to restrain her throat from his grasp.


    "You fucking jerk, leave...aarrghh! Leave my...(cough) (cough)...


    "I will simply kill you and tear your moonstone into pieces. That''s the only punishment you deserve for lying to me with such an innocent face." Furthermore, immediately his dark eyeball color transformed into illuminant blue form while he was attending his vicious true beta form.


    "Leave...cough** Ahhggghh..."


    "Goodbye, my dear. Have a safe trip to hell!" In the blink of a second, large razor-sharp claws emerged out from his nails as he was about to tear her bracelet apart into pieces.


    "LEAVE ME YOU FUCKER!!"


    As she was pushed down the edge of her limit by him, mustering up all her strength, and screaming out viciously, she thrust him away from her body and started coughing out aloud. Her whole body was trembling in exhaust due to the violent encounter between them. As soon as she stopped coughing after a while, slowly she raised her chin up and glared at him in rage.


    But this time, her gaze towards him wasn''t normal at all!


    Her deep brown eyes were transformed into bright blue beta color as she was gnashing her teeth in anger, caressing her arm which was grasped by him forcefully. His strong grip had left a deep bruise on her wrist and softly she touched it with her another arm.


    Immediately a mild blue flame emitted out from her palm and the swollen bruise on her arm instantly disappeared without leaving a single scratch, making her skin as white and radiant as before. Healing her wound, she further glared at him clenching her fist in anger.


    "So... You are finally in your true form," Holding a mystic dark aura, Czar chuckled out in amusement watching her getting all infuriated.


    "You nasty jerk! Are you trying to pick a fight with me? How dare you provoke my anger!" Shouting in a loud furious note, Clara swirled her deep blue pupils wider.


    "And why the heck you are deceiving Eva trying to portray yourself as an innocent human being? What ill motive you possess towards her?" His smile gradually faded away as he viciously reciprocated back at her, grumbling in anger.


    "I...I don''t possess any ill motive towards her you jerk! She is my best friend! I truly care about her!"


    "Best friend? Haha!" Chuckling with a tantalizing expression, he took a few steps closer to her holding a dubious eloquence on his face. "A werewolf is claiming to be the best friend of a human maiden! Isn''t it ridiculous?"


    "What the hell you want from me? Why are you messing with my life? What the fuck you want jerk?" She sounded extremely enraged when those sharp chisel-shaped claws started emerging out from her nails.


    "What do I want?" He smirked rolling his eyeballs and tilted his head a little before responding further in an amused tone, "should I disclose everything to little duckling? Should I do it?"


    ____________________


    **How do you guys like their vicious first encounter?


    A big secret is revealed now!


    What do you all think about it?

 Chapter 91 - Deal

    "Do...Do you wish to die, you jerk?"


    Glaring at him with her wrathful gaze, she raised her fierce claws upon the air, pointing towards him with the malicious threat. Watching her getting all infuriated, Czar was enjoying provoking her a bit too much.


    "Really? Can a weak beta like you, kill me? If you are confident enough, use your powers." Without moving a single inch away from her, he further straightened his back, reciprocating with a crude smirk.


    "As you wish, punk!" Immediately holding an atrocious facial expression, Clara almost flew towards him swinging her chisel-shaped claws in the air to attack vigorously. She was gritting her teeth and promptly enough, her long, prickly, ferocious white canines started to evolve and descend her mouth as if she was unable to suppress her real form any longer.


    Watching her dashing towards him in rage, he didn''t even try to move or step back. As soon as she reached him, he quickly teleported himself just behind her and fiercely grabbed both of her arms from her back. Moreover, he was choking her throat using his elbow trying to lock her attempts to attack him any further.


    "Aahhhrghhh! Leave me, you punk!"


    "Did you think a mere weakling like you would win against me? How foolish of you!" He whispered leaning his face a bit closer to her ears from behind while she was desperately trying to break free from his interlock posture.


    "I will kill you! I will definitely...(cough) make...sure...to kill...you...(cough)..." She continued to mutter in a feeble voice, struggling hard.


    "It seems you haven''t used your powers for a long time. Living among the humans, have you forgotten who you are? Or... Were you plotting something against your friend?"


    "She is the only person I...I ever had in my life... Ev...Even if we are animals...but we can never hurt the ones we love!!" She yelled out this time in a broken voice with her deep blue supernatural pupils gleaming in tears.


    All of a sudden, her heartfelt words struck Czar straight into his heart and for a moment, he turned out to be all silent. Standing still grasping her in his arms, he took out a heavy sigh and slowly unleashed his elbow locking her throat.


    As soon as he released his grip, fuming in anger Clara turned back and swung her claws in the air attempting to pierce him straight on his neck. But he immediately dodged her attack by wavering his neck and grasped her by the arm, tightly enough.


    "You are quite hot-headed, honey. Such women like you turn me on, you know?" He blinked his eyes a bit mischievously, scanning her from head to toe.


    "You nasty punk! Such men like you make me wanna puke on their face!" She snapped back, glaring her illuminant blue eyes at him.


    "Then...Should we make a deal and work together?" This time his voice seemed much dubious and darker as he softened his grip on her arms.


    "Deal?"


    "I have understood that you don''t want your secret to being discovered by anyone. Since I have already found about it, I can help you in keeping it a secret. But--"


    "B...But?" She gulped her saliva, blinking her eyes filled with dread.


    "You gotta be my playmate."


    "What?"


    "You have already heard me out. You gotta play with me and fulfill my needs." He chuckled a bit mysteriously, swirling his eyeballs wider.


    "What the fuck you are talking about, you nasty pervert? I will rip off your dirty mouth!" Squirming in panic, she grumbled out louder trying to unleash her arm.


    Czar understood it evident that she was interpreting his words in a vulgar way of depiction, which made him laugh out all of a sudden. Softly grinning for a moment, he tried to clarify his intentions.


    "Well, I am not talking about playing naughty games with me. It''s just that...you have to follow me and my orders whenever I will summon you. Or in simple words, you gotta be my slave. But don''t fret, I will be a kind and considerate ''Master'' for you as long as you obey me."


    "This annoying bastard! I wish I could stab him uncountable times to death..." She wondered while gnashing her jaws at him and slowly her canines started to attain their normal form along with her pupils transforming into the usual deep brown color. Her abnormal fierce claws started to retreat inside her nails attaining the usual shape. It seemed as if she was trying to regain back her human form.


    "If...If I follow your whims... Then... You agree to keep it a secret from everyone... especially from Eva?" Furrowing her eyebrows, she inquired in a cold voice.


    Watching her getting a bit cooled down, he unleashed his grip from her arm and smiled broadly from ear to ear before responding, "of course, you know we never break our promises no matter what."


    She stood still lowering her eyes down at the ground, frowning in anticipation. She seemed much hesitant to be agreeable with his choice but had no other option left out.


    "Look...as...as long as you don''t ask me anything irrelevant or impossible... I...I can obey your or...orders... But, I...I am hesitant to trust a punk like you..."


    "Haha! You are a brutally honest, wild kitten."


    "Hey, don''t call me with these weird names, pervert!" She sounded quite agitated standing on the edge of her patience level.


    "Well," he had a sinister look on his face with a leer curved on his lips gazing towards her. "I have been looking for a new playmate quite a long time now. I am glad I have finally found you today. Let''s hope we have a good time helping each other." Responding in a deep voice, he boldly took a few steps ahead watching her stirred up standing still. Casually, he took his mobile out of his black hoodie and handed it over to her.


    "It''s the first time I am asking for someone''s contact number. And... Don''t you dare about giving me any wrong number because you know what can happen as the consequences. Right?"


    "This sly punk..." Cursing him inside in her mind, she took the smartphone and unwillingly saved her contact details in it. As she handed it back over to him, she probed him again, "you...you won''t break your promise... Right?"


    "It will depend until you obey me, wild kitten." Softly tapping her head once, he boldly walked a few steps crossing her by the side. As he marched forward a bit ahead, his feet halted, and holding a cunning wolf-like smile, he peeked a glance back at her.


    "Also...from today, you will address me as ''Master Czar''. But...if we are in a public place, I can cut you some slack. Be my good little pet." Whispering in a sly note, he further started moving forward whistling an unusual tune. He seemed much glorified after dominating Clara with her secret and this fact was pissing her badly enough. She covered her bashful face with her slender palms and started cursing her fate terribly in embarrassment and vexation.


    "Fuck! This is so fucking... annoying! FUCK!!! FUCK! SHIT!!! WHY! WHY IT HAD TO BE THIS PERVERT? WHY THE FUCK I HAD TO BE INVOLVED WITH HIM? FUCK--"


    "Umm, Miss Clara?"


    Suddenly, with the timid voice calling her from behind, she jolted hard and turned back in a flash. It was Maria, her co-worker in the workplace who was glancing at her holding an impertinent gaze towards her.


    "M...Maria?"


    "Miss Clara, what are you doing inside this narrow lane?" She frowned her eyebrows, interrogating quite descriptively. "I thought...I was hearing some noises but...indeed I wasn''t mistaken... Also, I saw a tall man walking out of here whistling and smiling. What were you doing here--" She was taking a few steps closer towards her but all of a sudden, her facial expression turned pale and in fear, she shrieked out aloud.


    "Miss Clara, wh-what happened to your neck? Did...Did someone strangle you?"


    "Huh?"


    Immediately Clara touched her neck and indeed it was swollen in the portions where Czar had choked her earlier. Fuming in wrath, she tried to hold her anger within helplessly.


    "Umm, oh... it''s nothing... It''s just a mere bruise caused by my dog... It''s nothing, don''t worry!" She uttered in a clumsy tone, further buttoning up the collar buttons of her shirt.


    "But as far I remember, you had said, that you never had a pet--"


    "Ahh, you are worrying too much, Maria. I told you, it''s nothing." Immediately she tried to walk past her almost galloping inside the office to avoid her further queries.


    "The next time I see you... I will try my best so that you won''t go back alive...you nasty fucker! Screw you!"  She cursed him again, clenching her fist harder.


    "Is it only me or Miss Clara is being strange today? Those marks...is it possible that it was caused by the man who walked past out the lane? That means...sexual abuse?" Swirling her pupils wider, Maria stood still watching her leaving from behind, assuming things on her own.


    _______________


    ***Please keep voting and commenting :*

 Chapter 92 - Mystic Approach

    "Excuse me, young lady?"


    All of a sudden with the unusual call from behind, Eva flinched hard as she was walking towards her home holding a frown expression. Though she tried hard to portray herself blissful and carefree in front of Clara, her insides were churned down in worries and concerns with the persistent failures blocking her way ahead.


    But the unfamiliar voice behind startled her quite harder.


    Quickly she glanced back and noticed, a tall, handsome, well-suited groomed gentleman in his late 30''s was standing with a warm smile on his face. His eyes seemed a deep brown and dubious as he was staring back at her intensively.


    "Ye-Yes? Did you summon me?"


    "Yes, I did." Slightly his curious eyes rolled over on her surprised face and along with a small leer, he further interpreted. "Were you perhaps looking for a job?"


    Utterly surprised at his response, she scrunched her eyebrows in suspicion and tossed a sharp reply, "how did you know about that?


    "Well, I just glanced a few minutes earlier, you were gazing at the paper pamphlets intensely. It seemed to me perhaps you were in urgent need of a job."


    "Huh?" Baffled at his confident response, she glanced back at the pamphlets at which, she was indeed looking for some other vacancies a few moments ago.


    "Uh...Well...Ye-Yes..." She sounded a bit bashful, lowering her eyes down at the ground.


    "Ahh thank goodness! Well, to be honest, I require an honest employee too. So I was guessing if you willing to work for me, young lady?" Folding his arms within the arm notch, he straightened his back while proposing his answer in a jubilant expression.


    "Eva, you don''t have the situation to show preference about the jobs. I need money and...I must do everything possible to make it sure that I can take care of all my circumstances..." Convincing her concerned heart inside, she desperately nodded her head and answered in a mellow tone, "yes sir, I...I am willing to do any possible job right now."


    "Alright, then you are standing just in front of your workplace." The man cheekily pointed his index finger towards the left and as she shifted her gaze, indeed she was standing beside a large, magnificent, sumptuously decorated, newly furnished cafeteria, named "Caf¨¦ Roselia". Blinking her eyes in confusion, she shifted her gaze towards the man again.


    "S...Sir, are you talking about hiring me for this cafe place?"


    "Yes, young lady." His eyes seemed to be glistening in bliss as he peeked at the sumptuous cafe via the large transparent glass walls guarding it around and making the cafe artistically beautiful in view. "I am the owner of this cafeteria and it''s not long since I started this business. I was looking for an honest worker to help me with the business and somehow, you looked perfect for helping me around. Shall we go inside?"


    Her mind was filling up with perplexing thoughts and running out of choices, she slowly followed him inside the cafeteria a bit hesitantly. Although she agreed to any possible job battling her tough situation but even for a single second, she didn''t expect it to be working in a mere cafeteria! The fact which was bothering her was that she had zero interest as well experience in this field!


    As they walked in, the man directed her towards a table nearby. The whole cafeteria had a quite large space inside, but it was empty devoid of any customers, which was making her somehow more concerned.


    "Ahh, you must be wondering, why the whole place is empty." Taking his seat opposite her on the table, he mumbled with a leer on his face.


    "No...I...I was just--"


    "That''s fine, young lady. It''s okay to be curious. Also, for some personal issues, I couldn''t open my cafe for business hours. That''s the reason I am looking for someone who can manage my cafe while I am away."


    "Ahh, I...I understand..." Fidgeting her fingers on her lap, she nodded her head.


    "So if you are satisfied with the queries, let us move forward towards the next step." His smile widened on his eloquence and gently, he took a large file which was placed right on the table beside him and handed it straight to Eva.


    "Here, take a look at this file. All details regarding the works you need to do with the description are provided here. Also, your salary information is mentioned here too."


    Obediently picking the file right from his hand, she straightway glanced at the salary section in anticipation. Immediately her pupils dilated as they swirled in shock looking at the information mentioned there.


    "6...6000 dollars?" Gulping her saliva, she murmured.


    "Yes, it''s the initial salary that you will be provided for the first two months. Why? Is it too little for you? Then I can negotiate it as you require--"


    "No...No sir, I...I mean...This...This salary is too high for...for a mere cafeteria worker...I...I mean... It''s kind of like an office job pay..."


    "Haha! You are quite honest, young lady." Watching her stuttering in anticipation, he couldn''t hold back his laughter anymore and stared at her intensely for a few seconds. "Well, young lady, did you perhaps look down on my capability to pay you a certain amount?"


    "No...sir... I didn''t mean it--"


    "I cherish my cafe so much and I am hiring a person who will take care of the place I treasure so much. So...I should pay the person fair and healthy as a reward to work with me. That''s what I intend." He mumbled on his own, looking at her straight in the eye trying to depict his intentions.


    "Ahh...I...I understand sir--"


    "It''s fine, you don''t have to be so dense. Let me introduce myself first, I am Mr. Beck Bojman and you can call me Mr. Beck too from now on and be at ease around me." He softly stretched out his arm towards her for a cordial handshake, muttering in a tender voice.


    "I...I am Eva Ricci...And...you can call me with my name too from now on. I...I am glad to be able to work with you." She instantly grabbed his arm reciprocating their formal greeting with a warm wide grin on her face.


    "Alright Miss Eva, let''s work together from now on. You can take the file away with you and make sure to look at it before you work tomorrow morning."


    "Ye...Yes sir, then...thank you for hiring me." She slowly stood up from her seat and bowed her head to offer her gratitude towards him. "I was really in need of money and... I didn''t even expect the pay here would be so high... Also, I...I must have been a bit rude towards you when you asked me about looking for a job... S...so many terrible things have been going around with me lately that...I am grown over suspicious about almost everything. I...I am sorry...Mr. Beck."


    "That''s fine, Miss Eva." Suddenly, his facial expression grew a bit intense and dark as he stared at her sharply. Holding a mystic smirk, he further concluded, "you must be cautious about everyone around her. Also...don''t trust anyone too blindly... It''s my advice to you."


    As his facial eloquence transformed quickly, a cold spine-chilling sensation ran down her nerves as she glanced at him back. Somehow his eyes seemed a bit fierce, concealing several mysteries in it which made her anxious.


    "Is it only me or...his eyes...seems a bit strange... No... Eva, stop overthinking! You should be grateful to this person for offering you such a well-paid job! Stop your goddamn suspicions! He seems to be such a generous man. How can you suspect his intentions?" Firmly she shook her head horizontally a few times, scolding her inner self to clear off those perplexing thoughts concerning her mind.


    "Well then, you can take your leave today. See you tomorrow, Miss Eva."


    "Ye-Yes, Mr. Beck. Thank you, once again..."


    ...


    Beck stayed still on the chair watching Eva from behind, leaving the cafeteria with a warm smile on her face. But, his facial expression wasn''t the same as before! It was drastically changed into a sinister look, holding a cunning smirk on his grimace.


    Calmly, he took out his cellphone from the long oversize black coat he was wearing and dialed someone with her eyes still fixed at her through the glass walls.


    As someone picked up the phone after ringing a few times, Beck murmured in a deep mystical voice,


    "I had told you earlier, it will be a piece of cake for me. Though, you were right... She seemed a bit special one just like you had described. But it was too easy to allure her with money... I didn''t expect it to be so easy to conduct but she easily fell into my trap...


    Target successfully captured."


    Smiling with a victorious chuckle, he disconnected the call.


    ______________


    **Please keep voting and commenting for me :*

 Chapter 93 - Home

    (Phone ringing)


    It was already past evening.


    While walking back home, holding the file clutched in her arms and humming a mellow tune, Eva seemed happy from her gesticulations. But soon enough she was distracted by the noise of her phone ringing all of a sudden. Her pace halted and quickly, she picked it out from her handbag. The call was from Clara and it was quite unexpected at that time.


    "Hello, Clara?"


    "Eva, where are you? Have you head back home?" Unusually her voice sounded a bit perplexed as if she was bothered by something.


    "Umm, yes I am heading back home. But, why do you ask--"


    "Eva, d...did you meet any weirdo or...umm, I mean...any strange person on your way back home who...who was talking about irrational kinds of stuff?"


    "What?" Her inquiry seemed quite unusual to her as she understood it well, it was not her usual self at all. "Clara, what are you talking about? Are you unwell?"


    "No...I...I just wanted to...confirm it... Ne...Nevermind..." This time her tone seemed a bit relieved and she took a heavy sigh off, speaking in a low voice.


    "Clara, if something is bothering you, no matter what happens you can always come to me. I am your best friend after all." Eva sounded a bit concerned as her anxious tone was making her quite perplexed.


    "Ye...Yeah... I...I know Eva... You would never abandon me, no matter what..." She whispered in a glum noise and breathing out in a huff, she further concluded. "Go back home safely. I...I will talk to you later."


    "Wait, Clara, I got a job---"


    BEEP BEEP!


    The phone call got disconnected before she even got to complete her sentence. Standing alone with a frown face, glancing at the screen she started wondering on her own, "am I overthinking or...her voice did seem unusual? She even hung up on me so fast... What''s wrong with her now?"


    ...


    "Are you worried about someone?"


    "Huh?" Immediately hearing a sudden, low whispering breath closer to her shoulder, she almost jolted back facing the person in a flash of a second. She was too startled then while turning behind, her feet slipped off and unable to hold back her balance, she was about to fall on the ground hitting hard.


    But the mysterious person standing behind her was no one other than Czar who without wasting a further second grasped her waist and pulled closer to his broad chest when she was about to trip over. Saving her from the awkward fall, he was lost in her deep ethereal eyes holding her in his arms tightly while she was too startled and baffled for a few seconds with the sudden confrontation.


    "Mr. Czar? Gosh, what you were doing behind me silently? Your voice did scare me so bad!" Regaining back her senses, she whined in a sulky tone trying to restrain herself from his embrace. The position was a bit uncomfortable for her as they were standing in the middle of the subway with people all around, hovering their curious gaze on them.


    "I didn''t mean to scare you, little duckling." Unwillingly he removed his arms away from her waist as she seemed to be struggling to restrain herself. Whenever they were brought close together by certain unplanned incidents, Eva seemed quite clumsy and uncomfortable which somehow had always irked him. The reason behind it was probably because she already had Zeus treasured in her heart.


    "Thank you for saving me. Or else...I might have gotten hurt." Moving a few steps away from him, she responded in a considerate tone, with a small grin curved on her lips.


    "That''s fine. I didn''t want you to crack your skull hitting the ground hard." Clearing his throat with a clumsy cough, he tried to conceal his true intentions regarding her, changing the topic.


    "By the way Mr. Czar, we are meeting for the second time today. What were you doing here at this hour? Umm, don''t tell me, you were still following me since I left the park?"


    "You are wrong little duckling. I came back here because I had forgotten earlier to give you something." Smiling with a sly eloquence, Czar took out a small white envelope from the front pocket of his black hoodie and swung in the air mischievously towards her. Instantly, she groped the envelope tightly and looking all baffled, kept glancing at him.


    "What''s this?"


    "It''s your compensation paycheck for your sudden termination. Just as I had promised."


    Startled at his bold answer, immediately Eva took a small peak at the envelope and indeed it was loaded with money which she was in desperate need of! Bewildered and grateful, a broad grin appeared on her pale face as she raised her eyes above to stare straight at him.


    "I can''t believe... Why am I turning out so lucky all of a sudden today? Ahh, th-thank you...Mr. Czar."


    "C''mon, you don''t need to thank me. It''s your money after all. You didn''t ask for the termination, so it''s obvious to reward you with the compensation amount. And..."


    "And?"


    "Thank you for the...tan... tangerine earlier. It was sweet." Scraping his neck holding a small bashful smile, he murmured in a mellow tone.


    "Pffttt!" Suddenly she chuckled out watching his shy face as it was a quite rare view to watch such a person like him getting nervous around anyone. As she smiled out, Czar raised his chin and continued gawking at her deeply.


    "Little duckling...I would rather suggest you now...not to cross your paths often with the Romanos. Involving with us will never bring any good to you." His voice sounded thick and coarse, with his gesticulations a bit more anxious.


    "Well, don''t worry about me. I will make myself stronger enough to endure almost every hardship." Exhaling a heavy breath of fresh air out, she mumbled in a cordial voice watching him from close. "Well, are you heading back home now, Mr. Czar?"


    "Home?" All of a sudden, the mellow expression on his face faded completely, tainted by a sullen, sad smile as he lowered his gaze down from her.


    "Umm, yes, your home?" She however didn''t expect such a heavy-hearted response from him and seemed confused.


    "Little duckling, you had told me earlier to be a bit honest with myself. So... I will honestly tell you my answer, I...don''t have a home." Raising his gloomy eyes upwards, he tossed a painful smile.


    "Wh-What?"


    "That mansion is just the place I stay in...or other words, I need to stay in... A home is a place where your heart feels safe and belonged... But sadly, I don''t have any such place in my life."


    Hearing his heart-wrenching response, somehow her heart throbbed a little in agony. Even though he seemed to be a mischievous person liking to toy around with others, but indeed he too had a dark painful side of him concealed in the shadows... It was evident for her that nothing could''ve been more painful than not even having a place or a person to be called as his own...


    "Then... Why are you staying there till now? Why don''t you leave the place and go somewhere else?" Frowning her eyebrows with a distressed look in her eyes, she inquired.


    Czar lowered his head down momentarily for a few seconds and then answered, "a promise... A promise keeps me bound there..."


    "Mr. Czar--"


    (Phone ringing)


    As she was about to soothe his wounded heart with her words, all of a sudden it was interrupted by the loud ringing noise of her cellphone. Perplexed and concerned, she quickly checked the screen and noticed that it was from an unknown number that had never called her before. Scrunching her eyebrows in anxiety, she picked it up.


    "He-Hello?"


    "Am I speaking with the most beautiful woman who has stolen my heart?" The voice seemed extremely familiar to her and in a fraction of a second, she recognized it with a wide blissful grin on her face.


    "Zeus?" Blurting out grinning from ear to ear, she sounded extremely happy clenching the mobile tighter in her grip. From her facial expression, it seemed that as if she was eagerly waiting for this moment only.


    "Wow, you recognized my voice pretty quickly!"


    "How can I not recognize your voice? Do you know how much I was wondering about you? And...how did you get my number, Zeus?"


    "Nothing seems impossible for me when it comes to you, Eva. I missed you a lot, too." His voice sounded a bit relieved and pleasant which immediately put a wide chuckle on Eva''s puffy red lips.


    Watching her speaking with Zeus in such a blissful tone, somehow Czar felt a bit agitated inside. He frowned his face and without uttering any word turned back away from her retreating in the opposite direction. Walking away all alone, he felt irked and bothered by their happy chattering and squirming in agitation, he wondered on his own, "why am I feeling so perturbed with his phone call? Why...Why do I feel bothered? I guess...It still irks me to...watch people being happy..."

 Chapter 94 - Seek

    "I missed you too... You were on my mind all this time since I left you on the terrace last night... I was regretting my decision, I was so freaking worried about you, Zeus. Since...Since when did you become so important for my heart?" Walking along the subway with a blissful smile on her face, as she was carrying on a conversation with him over the phone.


    As soon as Czar started walking away from her by watching her speaking over the phone, she was a bit startled at his odd reaction and glanced a few times back to watch him marching away all alone amidst the crowd. Somehow she could notice his glum eyes but tried to focus on Zeus more as she had been desperately wanting to contact him again.


    On the other hand, Zeus was taking a small stroll across the large yard of the mansion in front of the entrance. His mind wasn''t at ease for a single moment since all the chaotic situations happening around him simultaneously. Moreover, Ivory''s stubbornness was causing further distress in his heart. To seek happiness and peace, his only choice was looking for Eva even if it had to be limited within a phone call.


    Looking at the illuminant moonlight sky and countless ethereal fireflies wavering around him on the large yard, he smiled at her response blissfully. Her soft voice was enough for him to escape from all the despair he had confronted till now.


    "Eva, I can proudly say it... I will never regret choosing you in my life. You came into my life as the boon I had been looking hopelessly for so long..."


    His voice sounded soothing and amicable over the phone and a wide chuckle appeared on her face hearing it. Taking a deep breath in, she further concluded, "perhaps both of us were looking for each other for so long... I wish I had met you sooner, Zeus."


    As she was talking with him strolling by the sidewalk, a big car crossed beside Eva honking pretty louder. The noise was sudden and loud that it immediately caught his attention on the call.


    "Eva, where are you? Are you outside?"


    "Yes. Ahh, I have something important to tell you, Zeus. I got a new job today!"


    She sounded extremely happy while whispering to him. Somehow his heart turned a bit sour to hear about her working somewhere else apart from his organization, but it was all for her safety and security that he agreed to the decision of her termination.


    "Congratulations. Though I feel a bit sad that I won''t be able to see you at work anymore...but...all I want to see you happy and safe." He murmured.


    "Zeus, though we can''t see each other at work anymore, we can always meet outside work... whenever we can. And, my new boss seems like a kind person. And the pay is pretty good too! I was just going back home after confirming my job and that''s when I met Mr. Czar..."


    "What?" Suddenly with her response, his eyebrows frowned with an anxious feeling and his face turned a bit sour. "Czar...he came to meet you?"


    "Well, honestly, we have met two times today. He even gave me the compensation amount for the termination of my job. It was necessary for me." She reciprocated gently.


    "Two times? Why is the hovering around her so much? What intentions does he possess towards her?" Wondering inside his mind, he stayed silent for a few seconds, fretting his brow ridge.


    "Zeus, umm... Can I ask you something?"


    "Hmm?"


    "Mr. Czar... doesn''t have a happy past, does he?"


    Her voice resonated low, deeper in pitch.


    Zeus didn''t utter any single word to object to her query, neither did he admit it. He stayed as silent as earlier and gave off a heavy sigh.


    "Zeus, he is your brother, isn''t it? Though...he always smiles and acts playful...but if you look in his eyes once, you can see the emptiness so vividly. I feel that the way he acts such a way because...he likes to attract the attention of others so that he would feel a little less lonely... Don''t you feel the same too?"


    His heart ached a bit hard in agony hearing out her heartfelt answer. He stood all numb, clenching the phone harder in his grip and unable to define any of her words. She described him accurately enough and that''s the fact which he had been declining himself for so long that resulted in the profound bitterness in their relationship.


    All of a sudden, Zeus heard a noise near the giant  entrance gate and shifted his gaze towards it. Czar was walking in a nonchalant motion towards the mansion and as soon as he saw Zeus, his pace halted, locking his gaze on him intensively.


    "Eva, I will call you tomorrow again. Get home safely and sleep well." Uttering in a cold voice, quickly enough he disconnected the call which startled her too. She wondered if her advice had been bothersome for him, biting her nails in anticipation.


    ...


    "Are you doing well, big brother? I guess you are recovering real quick. Good for you. I am a bit tired and going back to my room," after a moment of pause, he quietly took a few steps closer to him intending to head straight towards the mansion. Whereas, Zeus stood like a rock gazing at him intensely, all silent. As soon as he reached closer to him, he chose to speak.


    "Did you went to meet Eva?" His voice sounded ice-cold, reverberating in the dark.


    Hearing his inquiry, his motion halted, and fiercely enough, he locked his eyes straight on him. "Brother, are you trying to pick a fight with me?"


    "No, I just asked you a simple question. Did you went to meet Eva?" He seemed calm but resonated the same question again.


    "Yes. I did, so what?" Czar sounded quite irked and agitated this time, glaring at him.


    Zeus momentarily became all silent looking at his eyes sharply in the dark. His silence was provoking his agitation furthermore and he further vexed at him.


    "Why are you silent? Are you being jealous of such a small act? C''mon big brother, you are being way narrow-minded now--"


    "Hovering around other people''s happiness won''t make you happy, Czar. You must seek for your happiness." He proclaimed in a frigid and stiff manner before he could even finish off his sentence. His dazed gaze seemed darker as he was gawking at him.


    "Wh...What?"


    "Czar, you may be playing around Eva to catch her attention... But the part which worries me is your hatred towards humans... I am worried, once you are bored with this playful game, you may hurt her and... I don''t want it to happen. Eva might be a mere human maiden to you but...she is my entire world. You can hurt me as much as you want since I am your brother, I can endure it. But don''t you play around with Eva---"


    "CUT THE CRAP!!"


    All of a sudden, fiercely Czar shrieked out aloud that his husky perturbed voice reverberated inside the entire desolate garden. He seemed furious, blazing his eyes in anger while glaring at him.


    Zeus silently stood still, pausing his sentence and startled at his reaction.


    "Who...Who the fuck are you to care about my happiness? Who the hell gave you the right to do so?" He screamed out, venting his frustration on him.


    "Czar--"


    "All my life...I had never been happy for a single moment in this fucking mansion! My whole life...I was treated as an unwanted child! This fucking place was never my home...not even for a single day! When...When I finally learned to be my own, who the fuck are you to bother about my life? Where have your concerns about me been all this time?"


    "I never treated you below your worth, Czar." Slowly taking a step forward towards him, maintaining a calm posture he murmured in a deep voice. "You are my brother and I have been always concerned about you--"


    "What a bullshit crap you are blurting out, Zeus Romano!" He intervened his words viciously, holding a painful smirk on his lips. "Out of all the people I hate in this crappy house, I...I despise you the most, Zeus! I hate you the most! I...I wish I could burn down the entire house including you!" Proclaiming his intense hatred towards him, he turned back to walk away outside the mansion, trembling in wrath.


    Zeus stood awestruck with his heart aching in agony to hear those painful words out of his mouth. He lowered his head down and clenched his fist running out of words and phrases.


    But before he left, slightly he shifted his gaze towards him and murmured out in a deep note, "and don''t mistake little duckling as a mere human maiden... She was able to open your door touching our spiritual emblem, without my help. Seek for the truth before it''s too late." Grumbling his words, he walked out of the premises without even looking back once.


    "Wh-What? She...did that? What?" Swirling his eyeballs wider in shock and dread, Zeus shrieked out aloud.


    ************


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 Chapter 95 - First Day

    The next day...


    Golden yellow illuminant sunrays were lightening up the entire atmosphere with mild, tender spring breeze floating nonchalantly through the downtown. Birds were chirping and blessing the stressed life of people with melodious voices which indeed made the whole surrounding quite amicable to breathe in.


    Dressed up in a formal red skirt with a white laced floral top, Eva was walking down the street with a blissful smile on her face. She was on her way to the ''Cafe Roselia'', her new workplace owning a confident grin on her oval elegant grimace. Painting her lips with a cherry red lipstick, flaunting her wavy shimmering black hair down the shoulder, and putting light mascara on her long, beautiful eyelashes, she indeed looked divinely gorgeous attaining the attraction of several men walking past by her. Moreover, the shining black haematite stone hanging on her neck, attached with the silver necklace flaunted her beauty quite furthermore.


    .


    As soon as she reached the cafe and opened the entrance door, the wind chimes rang blissfully in a mellow rhythm which was the major indication of the customers visiting the cafe. As she marched inside, she noticed Mr. Beck, dapped in a suit was looking at a magazine sitting on a table nearby to the glass door, sipping an Americano Latte. Hearing the sound of wind chimes, he raised his chin and glanced at Eva with a warm smile on his radiant face.


    "Good morning, Miss Eva." He was the first one to break the silence, greeting her tenderly.


    "Good morning, Mr. Beck. Here I am, ready for my first day." She bowed her head a bit offering her cordial gesture towards him and holding a blissful grin.


    With his dark almond-shaped big eyes, he scanned her entirely from head to toe owning a mystical smirk. As he finished scanning, softly he murmured standing up from him a seat, "you look ethereally beautiful today, Miss Eva. Judging from your outfit, you look like a bright regular corporate woman."


    Hearing out his compliment, somehow she felt a bit bashful lowering her eyes down. "Umm...I was a little confused about dressing up for my first day here, Mr. Beck. I am sorry if my outfit is overly showy--"


    "That''s fine, young lady. I like those women who dress up confidently like you. From the first moment, I saw you I knew it right away... You are the one." Taking a few casual steps closer to her, he murmured in a gentle note with a mystical smile on his grimace, gawking at her. "If you have studied the file, you can start it right away. I know you can manage everything quite well and so, I will leave my cafe up to you then." Tapping her shoulder to hint at his encouragement, he slowly walked past her outside the cafe putting his hands in his dark blue suit pocket.


    As he left her alone, she glanced back once and wondered on her own, "was the...hitting on me? No...I am probably overthinking again! Eva...stop suspecting everyone! I should focus on my work from now on... I gotta put up my messed life on the right path. For that, I need money, by anyhow..."


    .


    It was already past afternoon. Compared to her first day working in a cafeteria, Eva was doing pretty well managing the customers gracefully. There weren''t many people around, but those who came were quite mesmerized with her charm, especially a few young as well middle-aged men. Standing at the counter and taking the orders, she was smiling radiantly at the people which was drastically increasing her charm furthermore. People were stealing glances at her while sipping their coffee, as well as a few of them, we''re crushing on her hard. There were some young women inside the cafe too who seemed to be a bit displeased in jealousy with the radiant aura she was emitting there.


    [Phone ringing]


    While monitoring an invoice bill on the computer at the counter, she slightly took a glance at the screen to peek at the number. Immediately her eyes brightened up in joy and hurriedly she picked it up in a jolt, grinning widely.


    "Zeus?" A blissful tone escaped her mouth as she answered it.


    "I missed you." A warm voice answered from the other side of the phone which melted her heart like wax along with a small chuckle.


    "Ahh, I...I missed you, too. I thought... You were angry at me, last night..." Fidgeting anxiously, she stole a glance around her to make sure no customers were waiting in the queue and already served with their orders.


    "Eva... Out of billions of creatures on earth, you are and you will be the only one who can only calm down my anger instead. You are my magical potion." A soft whimper escaped his voice, as he took a deep sigh out.


    She smiled in gleam, lowering her gaze down at the table. "Are you doing better now, Zeus? How is your injury? I...I am at my workplace right now."


    "I know about it, and that''s why I came to meet you instead."


    "What?" Utterly surprised, she blurted out in a loud voice which flinched a few customers who were sitting nearby the counter. Swirling her eyeballs, she further continued, "you came what?"


    "I came to meet you here in the cafe. I am watching you from outside through these glass walls. I was waiting for your permission before hoping in." He reciprocated in a calm and composed tone.


    Immediately with a jolt of surprise, Eva raised her chin glancing straight at the wide road in front of the cafe. Indeed it was true! Dressed up magnificently in a black loose formal shirt tucked inside his white denim jeans, wearing black goggles and elegantly styled up wet shimmering hair, Zeus looked no less than a breathtaking hot supermodel who was catching the attention of almost every ladies passing across him.


    As soon as their eyes met each other, he raised his arm upwards and waved towards her, holding a broad chuckle.


    "Why does he look so handsome today? Gosh... This man can kill someone with his looks!" Quickly disconnecting the call, she almost rushed towards the door without wasting a single second. Watching her coming to greet him, smiling radiantly Zeus further walked closer to her.


    "Zeus? Why are you here? And...what about your injury? You should have taken rest at least--"


    Before she could finish her nagging, he embraced her small body within his broad chest, snuggling in her shoulder. Her touch seemed warm and loving which put a pleasant grin on his face.


    "I missed you. A day without seeing your face is too hard for me to endure." He whispered.


    "Gosh, you just become a small child before me! I had never thought the almighty Zeus Romano would turn into a pampered baby, someday." She tried to tease him a bit, softly tapping his shoulder with a smile.


    After a moment of embrace, both of them drifted apart from each other a few inches away and he caressed her blushing cheeks tenderly. "You look... beautiful like sunshine, Eva..."


    "You look handsome too. But I am amazed, how did you find me here?"


    Holding a mysterious smirk on his radiant face, he stared intensely at her before answering, "no matter where you are...I will always make sure to find you."


    All of a sudden her heart throbbed hard, hearing out his passionate declaration. Gripping his arms tight, she pulled his arm to head straight into the cafe. "Come inside. I will treat you with some special coffee."


    .


    Obediently following her inside like a small puppy, Zeus took the seat closer to the counter to stay in closer proximity from her. As soon as he walked inside, his bright divine aura immediately caught the attention of all the ladies, resting inside. As he took his seat tossing a smile at Eva who was preparing coffee for him, all those hungry mesmerizing eyes were abruptly hooked on him.


    .


    "Oh my God! Who is this guy? Look at his broad shoulders! Oh my! Is he a model? Or an actor? He seems to be rich! Gosh, he is my type! Should I ask for his phone number? He is a nice catch! Look at his glowing skin, oh my! His veins... Look at his veins on the arm..."


    All these whispering and mumbling noises from all around were pissing Eva quite badly. Irked and quite agitated, she was glaring at those hungry maidens with her eyes blazing in wrath.


    But Zeus seemed entirely indifferent to all the whispering noises beside him. His eyes were only gazing towards Eva, without giving a damn to any of the women present right there.


    "Excuse me?"


    Suddenly, a tall, pretty, and quite well fashionable lady gently approached closer to his table summoning him in a soft note. She tucked her fine hair threads behind her ear, looking much confident.


    "You look pretty lonely here Mister... If you don''t mind, can I join you here?" She probed in a bolder voice.


    "No." A cold, irritated voice came as a response from him as he was twitching his eyebrows in agitation. The woman still seemed a bit persistent and tried to pursue him again, "I just wanted to give you some accompaniment--"


    "Go away...before I kill you." Swirling his pupils wider, he proclaimed in a scary dark note, with an atrocious gaze in his eyes.


    _________


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 Chapter 96 - Different Expressions

    "Wh...What? What... did you say?"


    .


    BAM!!!


    .


    Making a loud reverberating noise inside the cafe, Eva banged the coffee tray quite hard on the table Zeus was sitting on to cut off their entire conversation chase. Her facial expression seemed extremely vexed, raising her chin, she glared at the woman who was approaching her man shamelessly.


    "Excuse me, ma''am? The table is already reserved, so you can try somewhere else. Thank you." Her eyebrows were twitching in perturbation, and in a displeased tone she pointed her index finger towards an empty table at the corner of the room, indicating her to go away.


    "Huh?" That lady looked highly offended with her impolite behavior as well as his atrocious threat. Glaring back at both of them, she grumbled, "what a bunch of creepy weirdos! Darn it! I am leaving here right now! Such a disgusting place!"


    Stomping her feet hard on the ground, she marched straight out of the cafe inviting the attention of quite a few people. As she stomped out, taking a deep sigh out of displeasure, Eva took her seat opposite Zeus on the table.


    "You didn''t have to threaten her like that, Zeus. What kind of response you gave to a woman?"


    "She was annoying me. Humans are stinky and I despise it when they bother me like this." Looking much calmer and composed, he murmured in a soft voice, gawking at her.


    His response somehow throbbed her heart a bit in concern. His immense hatred towards humans always bothered her badly as it was her existence as well! A concern always occupied her mind that what if someday Zeus begins to despise her the same way he treats the rest of the others. The fear and palpitation were causing her to overthink about it, lowering her gaze down from him.


    "But you looked enraged too, Eva." Softly caressing her knuckle, he broke the silence initiating their conversation. "Your pretty face seemed much vicious when you were glaring at that woman--"


    "Of course I would be angry!" Snapping at him before he could finish his sentence, she frowned her brow ridge. "She was hitting on my man! I wanted to chop her head off her body! But it''s bothersome to cover a crime due to laws and regulations in humans... So, unwillingly I had to let her go..."


    "Were you jealous?"


    Suddenly, a blunt question came flew from him which startled her as she rose her chin up to look straight into his eyes. He was smiling heartily, staring at her deep ethereal eyes, and seemed much amused at her vexed reaction.


    "Wh...What?"


    "Were you jealous, sweetheart?"


    "Ye...Yes of course I was jealous! And... what''s her fault to fall for a man if you go on looking so breathtaking like this... Every woman will drool over such a perfect man like you..." She fidgeted anxiously while sulking her face.


    "Your usual calm face looks so fierce whenever you are jealous. It makes you... perfect for me."


    "You don''t have to console me anymore... Just... Stay as my man... Forever." Breathing a deep sigh out, she mumbled, pouting her grimace while he was caressing her knuckle softly. As soon as she stopped rambling, Zeus pulled up her hand from the table and tenderly placed a soft kiss on her knuckle, which for a few seconds, even surprised her.


    "I don''t need to even look at any other woman because...I have already found the one I was meant to be with. I am and I will be always in love with you, Eva." His voice sounded amicable as he patted her blushing cheeks, to shower her with his deep affection.


    Her heart was pounding like crazy observing such heartwarming displays from her. A wide grin appeared on her face as she further touched his broad, warm hands and nodded her head.


    "Alright alright, look, I have brought this for you to grab a bite." She pointed towards a delicate blueberry cheesecake which seemed much delicious, served on a plate together with a cup of hot Americano on the table. Zeus seemed a bit baffled as she pointed towards it and blinked his eyes nonchalantly.


    "I didn''t order for a blueberry cheesecake, Eva---"


    "I know. It''s my favorite so I wanted to have a taste of it. Trust me, your worries and concerns will melt along with blueberry cheesecake making your heart content in gleam." She sounded much pleased while trying to pursue him to try the dish which was her favorite.


    Watching her getting excited with such a small thing, Zeus couldn''t help but smile at her innocence. Obediently he picked up the spoon and took a scoop of the cake she brought for him.


    "Is it delicious?"


    "Yes, very..."


    "Yaay, I am glad you like it. Whenever you are sad or depressed, just chose this combination and your mood will instantly brighten up!" She was clapping her hands like a small kid, mumbling in a mellow tone holding a warm chuckle on her radiant face.


    Zeus couldn''t refrain himself from staring at her as if she was the only living thing left in the world for him. Her wavy deep black hair was shimmering as golden brown in the sunrays that were reflecting inside through the glass walls, elevating her beauty a thousand folds higher. He was lost in his deep thoughts, unknowingly smiling like a young teen boy in love.


    "She is trying to teach me finding joy in little things...I wished for this warmth in my life for so long... I feel...spring finally arrived in my cold life..." He wondered, holding a radiant broad smile.


    ...


    [Phone ringing]


    The apartment seemed small in size, but much messy with clothes and accessories scattered all around everywhere. It was already past afternoon and lazily, Clara was still slacking off on the bed without any spare energy left in her body to get up. She skipped breakfast and was planning to skip lunch too due to her unbeatable tiredness, but her plan was intervened with the sudden loud phone call echoing inside her bedroom.


    "Ughhh! Who the heck is bothering me on my day off? Darn it, I got a day off after such a long wait... And who the fuck is disturbing my slacking hours?" Grumbling in a pissed-off tone, she nuzzled her face on the soft head pillow before picking the phone from the side of the corner table.


    Her eyes were closed and without even glancing at the number, she conveyed her displeasure. "Hello...Who the hell is this?"


    "Is this tone you should use to communicate with your Master?" A cold, witty voice came from the other side of the phone.


    "Master...my ass! Who the heck is bothering me on my day off?" Her eyes were still closed while snarling at him.


    The voice became momentarily quiet on the other side and after an awkward silence, it further continued in a deep reciprocation, "If you have forgotten about our deal, then I guess...I must let your friend know about your real truth."


    Suddenly, in the flash of a second, she opened her big startled eyes and almost sprang up on the bed quickly glancing at the phone screen. It was from Czar, who seemed a little vexed over the call at her arrogant responses towards him.


    "Ohh...ahh...I...I...am finally awake now! I...I am sorry, I didn''t recognize your voice earlier..."


    "You offended me with your reaction, my dear slave. Shouldn''t you recognize my voice just from a single word?" His tone sounded much perturbed as he inquired her sharply.


    "Why this asshole is bothering me on my day off? Ahh, I wish I could kick his butt once for testing my patience!" Cursing him inside her mind, she cleared her throat before responding to him back in a polite tone, "good afternoon, ma...master. What business do you have with me?"


    "You are my slave, do I need to have any business before calling you? Ahh, so naive. You should be thankful to your master who reached out to you first!" He replied almost abruptly, occupied by a chuckle.


    "This jerk is annoying the shit out of me!" Trying to suppress her anger as much she could, she further lowered her pitch furthermore, "pardon my ignorance, master. But I was just curious that why did you remind me all of a sudden?"


    "Well, I was bored as hell, so I thought of you to ease my boredom. So... Meet me at Sapphire Street in an hour. And yes...don''t be a single second late than your scheduled time or else...you know what will happen afterward, right?"


    The call was disconnected almost immediately after his declaration.


    Clutching the phone harder in her grip, she sat like a statue momentarily. All of a sudden she stood up from her bed and threw the phone on the bed quite viciously, screaming her out in anger, "you fucking jerk! How dare you boss me around like this on my precious day off? I want to kill you ripping your stomach apart! You are an asshole! Die! Just die!!!!!"


    ____________


    **What do you think their stories will turn out next?


    My dear readers, I have very sad news to share with you all,


    For the last few days my health was deteriorating & today I checked in with a doctor and came to know that I am COVID POSITIVE :( :(


    I am mentally devastated but I will try my best to stay strong and fight back for you all :) You people have become my family and hopefully... I will make it through this tough phase...


    Need your love and prayers :) Please keep voting and supporting :'')

 Chapter 97 - Memories

    After spending some quality time in each other''s warmth, it was time for Zeus and Eva to bid farewell. Slowly, Eva followed him outside of the cafeteria, holding a sullen smile as he was leaving already from the premises.


    Both of them stood still, facing opposite each other and holding each other''s arms tightly. As he was about to leave, he softly caressed her side cheeks expressing his concerns.


    "Don''t overwork yourself too much. And...don''t go home much lately. Be careful about the surroundings especially from the people approaching you." He murmured.


    "Okay, okay I get it. You too should take care of yourself for me, Zeus. Don''t get hurt by yourself again. It terrifies my heart to see you in pain... Okay?" She reciprocated, touching his warm hand which was caressing her face.


    Tenderly nodding his head, he took a sharp glance around them before responding further. "Also... Never take off the pendant from your neck, Eva. It will protect you from everything even when I won''t be nearby... Never lose it, okay?"


    "I won''t. Promise." Affectionately placing a soft kiss on his warm hands touching her grimace, she stood still staring at his elegant appearance.


    "I...I will leave now. Take care." Mumbling with a heavy heart, he was about to turn back leaving her behind at the cafeteria. But when he took a step forward, immediately she grabbed his forearm from behind, intending to stop him from leaving.


    "Wait a moment! I forgot something!"


    Startled at her quick response, he shifted his impertinent gaze towards her when she took out her phone raising her arm while holding it a bit higher.


    "To...Today is our first day of togetherness. Let''s take a selfie to cherish this memory forever in our hearts." Snuggling closer to his broad muscular chest, she whispered in a mellow tone.


    A wide smile appeared on his face watching her heartwarming affection towards him. Nodding his head he put his arms around her shoulder tucking her closer in his embrace.


    "1...2...3...Smile!" [Click]


    .


    It was the very first picture both of them clicked together. Indeed, they looked like the perfect dignified couple, happy and gleaming with love after finding such solace in each other''s warmth.


    "We both look so pretty in the picture. I...I will cherish this beautiful memory. People may fade away...but memories forever stay alive in our hearts, Zeus." Looking at the picture with a warm smile on her face reflected by the gleaming sun rays, she sounded delicate and pleasant.


    All of a sudden, hearing her response, his heart throbbed a bit with a tinge of uncertainty stirring him from inside. The wide smile tainted a little as his eyes were locked on her, smiling and looking at their picture as if it was her only precious treasure.


    "Will our lovable moments...fade away someday too? Will...Will you despise me after knowing my truth of existence, Eva? Won''t...Won''t you hold my hand like this forever? Are there too many secrets lying about our relationship, Eva? How...How would I live without you in my life?" Several questions rose inside his mind while his dark, sad eyes were intensively watching her smiling on her own. As he turned out extremely quiet, she raised her chin from the screen and took a glance at him.


    "Zeus, why aren''t you saying anything? And...why do your eyes look so sad? Wh... What''s wrong?"


    "It''s...nothing." Giving off a short sad smirk, he tried to avert his gaze away from her taking out a deep sigh.


    "But--"


    "Eva, I will disclose everything to you regarding life... But... I...beg you...Please never let go of my hand... I...I am really...scared of losing you..." Lowering his tear-filled eyes, he clenched her arm tighter sounding a bit petrified with the fear of their uncertain fate.


    "What are you talking about, Zeus? Why would I leave you? I...I will stick to you forever, no matter what happens. I promise, okay?" She sounded too worried, softly cupping his face in her tiny arms.


    "Okay... You should head back now, Eva. The customers are waiting inside." Tenderly placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he asked her to head inside because of the dark atmosphere growing around them.


    Unwillingly, she stepped a few steps back from him and giving off a heavy sigh, retreated inside the cafe with a heavy heart. Standing outside alone for a few seconds, Zeus watched her strolling inside rolling his concerned gaze.


    After a pause of few seconds, he turned back and quickly took out his cellphone, dialing someone with a frown grimace.


    [Phone ringing]


    "Hello, Mr. Pablo?" He murmured out in a heavy voice as soon as someone picked up the phone after ringing a few times.


    "Sir? How...How have you been? I...I heard you had met with a grave accident! How is your health doing now, sir?" A concerned, broken voice of his assistant of the Romano Group responded quickly from the other side of the phone.


    "I am doing fine now...but... I need your help regarding a matter." His voice grew darker as he took a slight to peek around, glancing at the cafe through the glass walls.


    "What kind of help, sir? Is there anything urgent--"


    "If you remember, we had an intern working for us for a couple of days. Miss Eva Ricci..."


    "Ye...Yes, sir, I do remember! But...that young lady has terminated suddenly without a proper reason from our office a few days ago..."


    "I want every information she had submitted on her interview..." He proclaimed in a dense, heavy pitch swirling his eyeballs mysteriously.


    "But...sir..." Mr. Pablo seemed a bit hesitant regarding his request as disclosing the personal pieces of information of an ex-employee was quite a prohibitional act to commit.


    "Also...I need every detail of her family and the places she applied for an internship before joining our organization. Each and everything I want in a detailed format. Hopefully, I will receive it as sooner as possible." Commanding in a profound pitch, quickly enough he disconnected the call lowering his guilty perplexed eyes down from the glass walls. He clenched his fist harder, emitting a deep huff of breath out.


    "Forgive me Eva for doing background checking on you... But... What Czar told me yesterday, is not letting me live at ease... There... something special and secretive about you which I must be well aware of before it''s too late...


    You are not an ordinary human, Eva... Something dark... surely lies in there..." Wondering inside, his left eyeball transformed into the illuminant red alpha color, as he stole a glance at the cafe before walking away from the premises.


    -------------------------


    HUFF! HUFF!


    Almost panting heavily and running out of breath, Clara came running across Sapphire Street, thanks to the scheduled time she was given by Czar to attend the place. It was a magnificently constructed old street, which mainly stays desolated most of the time except few large vehicles running through it consistently. On the other sideway of the giant street, facing the Marcus Cliff located closer to the place, a narrow public bench was placed. Czar was sitting there gloriously like a handsome, elegant model glancing at his phone holding a mystic smirk on his face. After noticing him quickly, she ran straight towards the bench huffing deep breaths out due to all the hardships she faced while coming to such a desolate place.


    "Ma...Master... I...I...came here...(huff) (huff)..."


    Without even raising his chin from the screen, a broad smile appeared on his face hearing her voice. "Why are you running out of breath?"


    "This place...it''s far from my home...The cab dropped me off at a place much further than this street... I came here all the way running...and now...I feel... breathless..." She murmured in an anticipated voice.


    "Cab? What the fuck?" Sprang up from his seat, Czar marched closer towards her holding a witty smirk on his face and his eyes intensely gawking on her. "Have you forgotten about your real identity after being too accustomed to the human lifestyle? Did you take a cab to come here? What a crappy joke! What about your legs? Who can compare with a werewolf when it comes to running?" His voice sounded cranky while inquiring about her.


    "Look at this asshole! Firstly he forced me to run here and now complaining like an annoying punk! I want to beat him till death!!!"  Grumbling inside her mind, she slowly cleared her throat before responding further, "I...I am a sorry master, but...I didn''t want to run up to here..."


    "But still...you are 20 seconds late." Peeking a glance at his wristwatch, he whispered in a sly tone. "So...you know what it means, right?"


    "Pa...Pardon?"


    "You deserve punishment...isn''t it? So, are you prepared for it?" Tossing a cunning wink, he murmured leaning his mouth closer to her ears.


    ______________________________


    **Please keep voting and supporting my Novel if you want mass releases :)


    300 votes: 6 chapters in mass release!!!

 Chapter 98 - Denial!

    "Pu...Punishment?" Gulping her saliva and frowning her eyebrow, Clara reciprocated his command in a husky tone.


    "Yes."


    "What ki...kind of punishment? I...I won''t accept any... perverted stuff---"


    "Relax, my wild kitten!" A sly chuckle escaped his slender puffy lips as he slowly retreated to take his seat back on the bench before conveying further, "I won''t do any lewd stuff with a woman without her consent. I have...my dignity."


    "How can I trust such a jerk like you who is all of a sudden messing up my entire life! Why am I stuck with such a nuisance like you?" Thinking with a perplexed gesture, she stood still fidgeting her toes involuntarily.


    "Well, since it''s your first day in serving me, I will go easy on you. Go and bring hot chocolate milk for me." Folding his broad arms inside the arm notch, he commanded in a stiff voice.


    "Hot chocolate milk? Bu...But there aren''t any cafeterias within a 2km radius..."


    "So what?" Raising his left eyebrow, he pointed a pricky question towards her. "Use your strength and run away to fulfill your master''s command. It will take probably 15-20mins if you use your real speed." His tone sounded quite arrogant and cold.


    "But--"


    "Go away or I might command something harsh for you. Hurry up, I am parched." Acting like a rich spoiled brat, he diverted his gaze towards his phone without listening to her further response.


    "Such a nasty punk!" Cursing him again inside her mind, she quickly turned her back towards him and slightly stretched out her tall limbs. Slowly she closed both of her eyes for a second and opened them in a jolt. This time her eyes were devoid of the natural brown color, instead, the eyeballs were transformed into an illuminant blue appearance. In a fraction of a second, she started running straight towards the opposite direction from him, taking huge leaps forward with her superstrong limbs. In a flash, she completely disappeared from his sight as he was noticing her actions quietly from behind. Czar had a wide smile on his face while observing her utilizing her strength which she tries so hard to conceal from the rest of the world.


    "Don''t worry my dear, your master will revive back your inner she-wolf soon again... Even though you have lived among these filthy humans all these years... But you will never be on the same level with those weak creatures. You...I...We are the superior ones..."


    ...


    "Mas...Master, here''s your...hot chocolate milk..."


    Huffing deep breathe out, after a few minutes later she came back to him holding out a cup of warm chocolate milk just as he demanded. As soon as she came back, Czar took a sharp glance at his phone and turned it off inside his pocket.


    "You came back within 7 minutes! Nice job, my dear slave! But... I am not in a mood to drink this chocolate milk anymore." He replied cheekily.


    Clara seemed extremely vexed with his sly response as her brow ridge was twitching in anger. "Ma...Master...why are you messing with me like this?" Her tone sounded much irked.


    "Simple. You are my new toy and I am playing around with you. Isn''t it amazing?" Scanning her from head to toe with his witty gaze, he further reciprocated his proclamation, "but since you obeyed my punishment, the master will be generous to give you an award. You can drink it all by yourself. Come, sit beside me." Softly he tapped his arm on the bench, asking her to grab a seat next to him quite meekly.


    "This weirdo seems twisted! Darn it, I am almost losing my patience around him." Looking much displeased, she quietly sat beside keeping a bit of distance between them. Fuming in anger, she was slurping the drink from the cup as her throat was quite quenched in thirst.


    "You know I like this annoyed as fuck look on your pretty face... It makes me wanna tease you a bit more using your secret as my weapon..." Straightening his back on the seat, he spoke in a cryptic tone, shifting his side gaze towards her.


    "Whatever..."


    "But one thing I am really curious about you... Why are you playing with my whims?"


    Startled at his blunt question, she flickered her eyelashes gazing at him intensively for a couple of seconds. "What?"


    "Why are you so desperate to protect your secret from your friend? I guess...I am irritating you to a greater extent... Judging from your vexatious reactions, you already seem on the edge of your endurance. So...why? Why aren''t you quitting this game already? What makes you so desperate?" Frowning his expression, he swung a few pricky questions at her.


    Clara sat still momentarily unable to answer him any abrupt response. Clenching the cup on her timid arms, she lowered her eyes down from him giving off a heavy sigh, "I...I don''t wanna lose Eva... She is the only support I ever had in my lonely life... She has been always my true friend--"


    "Why do you need a human to survive your own life? Also... if she has been always this loyal to you, she would also accept your real truth of existence without abandoning you! Then, what makes you so scared?"


    "She...won''t accept me..." Her voice shivered, looking a bit petrified she clenched her fist being confounded with anxiety. "Once she knows about my truth...she will abandon me... I am the kind of creature she despises the most..."


    "She despises wolves?" Furrowing his brow ridge, he tossed a quick inquiry, with his dark gaze almost glittering in impertinence. Clara sat stiff, solidified like a rock nodding her head in response.


    Immediately a wide crafty grin appeared on his face as he happened to be amused at her answer. Unknowingly, smirking on his own, he mumbled, "that''s such an interesting turn of events! I can''t wait to see the look on his face when she will abandon him too! Damn, that will be such an auspicious day to celebrate my first win!"


    "Wh...What? What are you mumbling about?" Looking all baffled, she reciprocated his proclamation.


    "Soon enough...I will watch someone close to me doomed in despair... Especially, thanks to your friend!" Winking at her with a smile, he resonated much meekly.


    "You love to watch others in despair, right?" Glancing at him, she frowned her chin while asking.


    "Yes... I love to see others whimpering in pain!!" Swirling his pupils wider, his eyes transformed into the beta blue color, emitting a wicked aura. "Look at the car coming towards us. There are four people inside... Should I flip the car and kill them all?" His voice grew dark as he pointed towards a black car running down the street towards them,  flickering his eyebrows.


    Clara stayed still, staring at his gestures without answering a single word in response.


    "It won''t take more than a minute for me to kill those powerless creatures. The area will splash with a pool of blood...they will whimper in pain and thinking about their suffering is enough exciting for me, wild kitten! Don''t you think so too? Don''t you like to watch others in pain?"


    She slowly lowered her head at his inquiry, tossing a timid sad grin on her face. "I won''t lie... I was just like you before... I won''t hide the fact that even though I am living with these humans, but I still hate their presence around me..." She fidgeted a little, clenching her fist that was resting on her lap. "But...since I found Eva... Everything changed in my life. She...She taught me to sympathize with other''s pain... She taught me the peace of being selfless sometimes even though her fate has been always too cruel for her...But...She is indeed an angel who blessed my life with her presence... The only reason I...I stopped attacking humans is Eva... She is too precious for me and...I can''t lose her in my life..."


    Quietly resting still and numb, Czar listened to her response without uttering a single word. Her answer somehow throbbed a part of his heart, tingling a sweet pain inside.


    Lowering his grimace down from her, a sad smile occupied his face before he spoke, "she...she is the first person I ever encountered after my mom who called me a good person... She...is very weird indeed..." A deep sigh emitted out of his lips, and quickly enough Clara turned her face towards him, staring intensively.


    "Do you...like her?"


    "Wh-What!?"


    "I mean...do you have feelings for her?" She repeated.


    Shocked at her straight question, Czar sat solidified like a rock, gazing at her impertinent eloquence for a few minutes. Reviving his senses after an awkward silence, he irked back at her in a loud voice, "what a crappy joke! How could you presume such an impossible thought for me? Why would I ever have feelings for a mere human like her? That''s impossible! That''s...purely impossible!!"


    ______________________________


    **My dear readers, I have very sad news to share with you all,


    For the last few days my health was deteriorating & today I checked in with a doctor and came to know that I am COVID POSITIVE :( :(


    I am mentally devastated but I will try my best to stay strong and fight back for you all :) You people have become my family and hopefully... I will make it through this tough phase...


    Need your love and prayers :) Please keep voting and supporting :'')

 Chapter 99 - Forbidden

    "It''s just..." She gulped her saliva, lowering her gaze down with a small smirk. "The smile you had on your face just now talking about her...seemed so pure and blissful, master. It''s quite strange unlike you..."


    Czar looking all numb and startled at her honest opinion fidgeted anxiously for a few seconds. His illuminant blue eyes transformed back into usual black and somehow he looked a little nervous. An awkward silence persisted between them momentarily. Clearing his throat and looking a bit perturbed, he shifted his glare towards the giant street before answering her, "I don''t have the slightest intention to involve myself in that useless stuff! Things like that aren''t meant for me... My goal is predecided for a very long time and all I can do is waiting to revive back my glory..."


    His tone this time didn''t resonate as his usual mischievous one, rather than it sounded real stiff thickened with mystic aura. Clara kept looking at his frigid grimace curiously and it was evident that he had his hidden intentions set up as his priority over his happiness...


    "I am sorry, master... I didn''t want you to be offended with my words--"


    "Also, I want to add a major clause in our relation, Miss Clara." He continued further in a dark profound pitch, fixing his intense gaze at the front.


    "A clause?" This was the very first time Czar called out her name which further intensified the atmosphere surrounding them, by making her more anxious.


    "Both of us will be forbidden from developing any kind of romantic or emotional feelings towards each other. Or in other words... We will be forbidden from falling in love with each other in our current relationship. This will be the major clause and the backbone behind our master-slave relation." He shifted his sharp fierce glance towards her, declaiming in a hoarse tone.


    The sudden announcement was unexpected for Clara as she stood awestruck, opening up her mouth a little. Trying to process his command, she further reciprocated out of curiosity, "Ummm, what if...either one of us violates this clause and... unintentionally falls for one of us?"


    "Then right at that very moment, our deal will end and we will terminate our current relationship. Both of us will depart away from each other as far as possible, and will never see each other again. I strictly forbid any emotional involvement with my toys, at least that''s what I have done until now." Abruptly he replied to her.


    "Master...are you scared of falling in love?" She inquired promptly, frowning her chin as his words were piquing up her impertinence quite badly.


    Czar stood still momentarily for a few minutes and a wide sad smile appeared on his face at her question. "I am scared of pain... My life has already enough scars to make me the kind of person I am today... I...I don''t want something more to wreck me from inside when I have already spent so many years learning to pick myself up from the dark abyss... Love makes us weak and I don''t want anyone to be my weakness."


    "No matter how vicious and annoying he tries to be... but this person indeed is broken badly from inside...just like me..." Emitting out a heavy heartfelt sigh, her eyes seemed pitiful looking at his sad smile which indeed projected a lot amount of pain he was desperately trying to hide. Looking at the growing intense atmosphere surrounding them, she tried to ease the mood by diverting the topic somewhere else.


    "Fine...then I can assure you that our master-slave relation would never face a single scratch because the clause violation seems impossible at this point." Sulking her face, she cleared her throat before mumbling.


    "Huh?"


    "I will be honest with you master, Ummm...you possess all the traits of the person I despise the most. So, I can''t fall in love with you and I guess you are already determined enough to refrain from any emotional involvement. So in other words...neither one of us will ever violate this clause and unfortunately, I have to stick around with you being your slave. That''s practically annoying as hell for me!"


    "Buhahahahaha!" As soon as she finished whining her inner thoughts, Czar immediately burst out with laughter. His eyes were glittering in pleasance as he found her opinion truly amazing and satisfying to his inner turmoils.


    "Umm, master...you are laughing? Shouldn''t you be offended--"


    "I have never received such an honest opinion from any maiden... Every woman chose to stick with false deceptive praises around me but...you are the first one who bluntly pointed out your immense displeasure towards me... Hahaha, I find it damn amazing..." His voice sounded much gleeful compared to the sullen tone he had before.


    Watching him laughing out heartily forgetting his grievous agony somehow made her a bit pleased. Unknowingly a wide chuckle appeared on her jowls as she lowered her eyes looking much jovial.


    "A slave also has to make her master laugh out aloud even in glum situations... So...I just did my job and I am glad...it made you laugh at least." She was gazing at the street with her shimmering unknotted brown hair wavering with the mild spring breeze floating around them. The glistening sun rays reflected her divine smile to an ethereal level of beauty.


    Standing beside her, unknowingly he stole a glance at her charming smile which looked divinely beautiful. Her fair porcelain skin was glowing in the sunlight and her large almond-shaped eyes seemed much jovial, smiling heartily. Unconsciously he was monitoring her gorgeousness, widening his gaze stiff.


    "I didn''t notice it before...but she is...indeed beautiful..." His mind chanted the words, with his mouth being entirely silent.


    "Master...should we go back home then?" Softly shifting her glance at him by turning her side face, she noticed that he was already staring at her for the time being!


    Unknowingly getting caught by her in the act, he averted his gaze away from her responding in a flustered expression.


    "Ah..yes...yes..."


    ....


    "Ahhh, finally my shift ends today! Owww, my back hurts so much! It''s such a strenuous job..." Tossing the final garbage bean away in the disposal can, Eva straightened up her shoulders, stretching her back while glancing at the clock. It was already 6 pm and the closing time of the cafeteria. She was being impatient for going back home and with an impertinent gaze in her eyes, she sneaked a peek at her phone.


    "Are you done for the day, Miss Eva?"


    A warm, soothing voice from behind caused her to flinch hard. She turned back and watched Mr. Beck was standing near the entrance wind chimes, closely walking towards her tossing a broad smile. As both of their eyes met, she too reciprocated his smile with a blissful chuckle.


    "Good evening, Mr. Beck. Well, I was waiting for you before leaving as...my shift has already ended..."


    "Did you enjoy working here on your first day?"


    "Of...Of course. The place indeed has a soothing atmosphere to work with... Though I was unfamiliar with this kind of work I enjoyed serving the customers here, Mr. Beck. Here... Here''s the record of today''s sale." Politely she stretched out her arm handing him a big black covered file maintaining all the data of the accounts for the day.


    "Ahh, thank you for your hard work. I am relieved to leave my cafe in your safe hands, Miss Eva." He replied quickly while taking a glance at the sales record noted inside the file, with a mystic dark gaze.


    "Well then, I should take my leave right now, Mr. Beck--"


    "Umm, before leaving...can I ask you for a small favor, Miss Eva?" Abruptly he interrupted her sentence, in a gentle note raising his dark eyes above from the file.


    "Favour?"


    "Can you prepare a soothing hot cappuccino for me before leaving? Well, you can also join me for a cup of coffee..." He was smiling wide but somehow his grin had a hidden mystic aura around it.


    "Of course I can prepare it for you, Mr. Beck. But...I will join you for a coffee the next time." She happily nodded her head and gradually headed straight towards the staff kitchen to prepare his coffee. Beck stood still for a moment looking at her with his intense gaze and after a while, his face faded with immense darkness. Taking slow steps towards her, he marched straight to the kitchen observing her from behind as she was working on her own.


    Suddenly, he picked up a sharp, shinning knife from the rack of the kitchen and hide it behind folding his arms. He had an atrocious smirk on his face and slowly marched towards Eva clenching the knife harder in his grip.


    ______________


    **Hello my lovelies,


    I am trying my best to stay strong and fight this stupid Coronavirus gathering my entire strength... Pardon me if you find some grammatical errors as I am not in a state currently to edit it precisely.


    I will not give up so easily and also I need your love and prayers to heal myself again...


    Please keep voting and loving me :)

 Chapter 100 - Smell

    "Tap! Tap! Tap!"


    Even though he was marching very slowly and carefully towards Eva, she could sense the slow tapering sound of footsteps behind her. Her heart pounded hard in fear and with a heavy jolt, she immediately turned back to face the approaching noise.


    As she flipped her neck, with the sudden jolt the hematite pendant flickered out of her shirt, causing an unusual sparkle on the black hematite stone, under the giant golden yellow chandelier she was standing beneath. Getting caught in the act by her while approaching, Beck immediately halted his pace and his sharp gaze shifted on the divine black gemstone which was glittering under the yellow radiance, guarding her as the protective barrier! Abruptly he took a step back as he had almost a few steps apart from her, clenching the knife harder on his grip hiding it behind.


    "Mr. Beck!? Wh-What are you doing here behind me?" Frowning her eyebrows intensely, Eva inquired him bluntly, scanning him from head to toe.


    "Ahh, m-me? I...I just wanted to take a peek of...h-how you were preparing the coffee...hehe..." Stuttering quite clumsily, he took a few steps back away from her trying hard to cover his act.


    "But..." She trailed off glaring at him sharply without averting her gaze. "Just to peek at the coffee? Then...why was he approaching me so slowly?" She thought.


    Beck quite evidently realized that she was being skeptical of his intentions and the atmosphere around them was growing more awkward. Quietly putting the knife behind at the rack carefully hiding it from her, he tried to portray his calm and compose his usual self to revive back her trust again.


    "Miss Eva...did I somehow offend you by approaching like that? If I did...then I am sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you. I...just had pure intentions..." Making a guilty frown expression, he was trying his best to convince her again.


    Watching him looking all distressed at her response, she fidgeted anxiously and lowered her gaze down from his face. "Well, Mr. Beck... It''s just that...so many traumatic events have been happening around me...I can''t help myself rather than staying over-conscious of my surroundings... I...heard your footsteps and for a couple of few seconds, I was indeed scared of you..."


    "I...I am extremely sorry, Miss Eva...But I didn''t have the idea that you might misunderstand my intentions--"


    "Please don''t do this ever again, Mr. Beck. I don''t like it if anyone approaches me in such a creepy-crawly gesture...I hope I can make it clear to you." In a deep coarse voice, she asserted her opinion quite vividly, looking straight in his eyes for a few seconds. Watching her looking all stern and frigid, he carefully nodded his head obeying her command.


    Taking a deep huff of breath, Eva pointed her index finger on the table where she was preparing the cappuccino for him. "I have already prepared your coffee, and you can add sugar to it preferable to your taste. So...I will take my leave now, Mr. Beck." Muttering in a heavy pitch, she slowly unwrapped the apron around her waist and hung it on the wall of the room. Picking up her handbag, she bowed her head a bit before leaving the place at an instant.


    "Umm, yes...see you tomorrow, Miss Eva... By the way, your necklace is quite pretty! I noticed it right now...it was sparkling in light..." Gazing at the pendant, he conveyed his compliment in a mystic voice holding a small smile.


    "Oh, tha-thank you..." Eva glanced back at her pendant once which was flickered out from the inside of her shirt and softly caressing the gemstone, she raised her chin to look at him, "it is gifted by my boyfriend. I treasure this present more than everything..."


    "Your bo-boyfriend?"


    "Yes, Mr. Beck. I already have someone whom I love and cherish more than my life... Probably meeting him was the only good thing that ever happened to me... And, he is the only person who makes me feel safe and protected." Proudly standing tall and glancing back at him, she was flexing out her love for Zeus caressing the pendant tenderly.


    "Ohh... I see... that''s good for you, Miss Eva..." Hearing her bold response, from his gestures he seemed a bit agitated while he was trying hard to project a fake difficult smile. She noticed his dubious gesticulations and that made the situation more anxious.


    "Mr. Beck, well, I..." Suddenly, her speech halted and she frowned her grimace holding a displeased expression. It was quite absurd that she could suddenly perceive a pungent smell from nearby from where she was standing! The scent was too strong and disgustful that she sniffed her nose a few times before inquiring him back, "wh-where is this disgusting smell coming from? It''s terrible!!"


    "Smell?"


    "Mr. Beck, can''t you sense a weird smell here all of a sudden? It smells like sewage! Ughh, it''s too awful!" Covering her nostrils with a cotton handkerchief, she blurted out her displeasure in a bold voice.


    Quite evidently, his facial eloquence suddenly transformed into a darker offended one and the smile on his face completely vanished. Putting both of his hands inside the suit pocket, he muttered in a low deep voice, "Miss Eva, I think you should leave now. It''s getting quite late."


    Looking at his intense dark gaze somehow throbbed her heart once in fear. His face seemed extremely vexed and without wasting a single second further, she quickly started to walk past him.


    But as soon as she crossed him across, her eyeballs swirled in shock and for a few seconds, her feet halted as she stole a glance at him from her side face. Before he could notice her pause, she tried to walk out of the cafeteria as soon as possible, intending to reach the main street taking giant bold steps.


    As she walked out leaving the place in a rush, after covering a few meters distance, she paused walking and gasped out a heavy breath of air.


    "Is...Is it my mistake or...I...I could sense the smell coming out from him? Bu...But...why would it happen? How could such a horrible scent come out from him? How is this possible? No... probably...it was coming from sewage nearby... But...then...why did he seem so infuriated? His...His face looked unbelievably cold and vicious and...it was terrifying to look at... I don''t know what to do...am...am I overthinking or... something really strange is going on there?" Several internal conflicts were going on her mind as she clenched her fist hard, gazing up at the radiant starry sky with a tinge of helplessness in her blank stare...


    "Mom...Dad...Felix... Am...Am I in some kind of danger again? What I should do...I...really do need money but ...I don''t know what''s happening with me... Life seems... so hard at this stage..." She murmured anxiously on her own, with her eyes glistening in tears.


    .....


    As Eva rushed out of the cafe, Beck was standing all frigid and numb holding a devilish expression on his face, clenching his right fist.


    Immediately he took a few steps ahead, picked up the coffee cup from the table, and threw it viciously on the ground splashing the coffee all around on the floor and the glass shattering into countless pieces in a fit of rage! He was fuming in wrath and raised his jowls to glance at the door from where she left just now.


    "You...bitch!! Darn it! I...I can''t attack her while the pendant is still with her... I should have chopped her throat off within today if that hematite didn''t stop me!" He was venting out his infuriated grudge while throwing a voracious punch on the table. A huge crack appeared on the surface and a few more glass items cracked open unable to withstand his rage.


    "That bastard alpha is protecting her with all his might... Boyfriend my ass! How dare she run her mouth before me? How dare she commanded me today? That fucking hoe...


    I...gotta find some way to rip apart her annoying mouth! I have to finish her off before that bastard alpha interferes with my work..."


    All of a sudden the white scleral part of his eyes transformed into entire black, large monstrous ones as he glared sharply at the door. Large, chisel-shaped claws grew out from his nails along with ferocious long white canines emerging out of his mouth. His dark black vicious eyes sparkled under the radiant light as he raised his gaze towards the Cresent moon illuminating bright on the sky.


    "You just wait for a few days...Miss Eva... Once I get the perfect opportunity...no one will be able to save you from my wrath...


    No one! So...Start counting your remaining days..." He smirked with the malicious devil grimace...


    ____________


    **Please keep voting for me :)


    Once I recover from my weak physical state, I will try to do a mass release :)

 Chapter 101 - The Luna

    The Breathy Hollow Forest...


    The forest is considered one of the deadliest and the darkest among all the other deep forests along with the province of Rione Monti. It has been the wild habitat of every troop of vicious mythical animals along with the werewolves for a long time. The place is devilish and cursed according to the humans so they steadily choose to avoid getting involved in this place by any means. As it has a lot of bad reputation about not a single soul coming out alive if by any given chance they trespassed ever into the cursed forest, it has also become the natural habitat of the creatures who tend to stay away from human civilization.


    .


    In the middle heart of the forest, there lies a giant yet magnificently old oak tree, beside which rests a small cottage, dimly lit with halogen lamps in the outer as well as inner parts. Walking down the forest looking all composed and stomping his feet hard on the ground, Zeus stood tall and stiff before the cottage, glaring at it with his deep brown eyes. Taking a deep sigh out, he intended to stroll straight inside the cottage. As he walked in, a metal door at the entrance blocked his way and before entering in, he gently knocked on the door once.


    .


    "Who is this?"


    A fragile female hoarse voice probed from inside as he stopped knocking. Without further warning, he grabbed the doorknob and dashed inside holding a serious grimace. As he marched in, he noticed that the Witch Lady was sitting on a small chair and casually sipping some kind of tea. It was that woman who had saved his life with magical herbs while he was attacked by the grave wolfsbane that dreadful night! Watching him suddenly dashing into her hut, she jolted up from the seat looking very surprised and gulping her saliva down.


    "Ma-Master Zeus?" In an unclear startled voice, she muttered. "Wh-What makes you come in he-here?"


    "Of course, I came to meet you, Miss Violet." Folding his arms inside his broad arm notch, he declared in a heavy tone, gradually walking towards a small chair in the room for grabbing a seat. "I have some questions that I guess...only you can answer."


    "Qu-Questions? What kind of questions our alpha has for me? And most importantly...how is your health now, Master?" Her voice sounded a bit startled, as she peeped her eyelashes a few times consistently.


    Glancing around the corners of the small hut, he observed countless weird stuff being piled up inside the room. Along with that, he noticed a few jars of gemstones filled with countless colored stones and some kind of glittering dust-like particles.


    "I am doing much better than earlier. The black hematite that you had given to Ivory... I have gifted it to a human." He chose to break the silence and speak first.


    "A human?"


    "She is not an ordinary human maiden... And that''s where my question lies," frowning his eyebrows he glared at her startled face tossing a deep sigh. "She was able to touch our spiritual wolf emblem curved on my room door. Can an ordinary human do this?"


    "No." A cold, hoarse voice came from her as the straight answer while she slowly walked across the table, grabbing her seat opposite to him in the room. "She is not a mere human."


    "I knew it," wondering inside his mind he leaned his back against the chair, further proclaiming her sharply, "Miss Violet, you are enough experienced to be well aware of such strange facts. Indeed she is quite special... I knew it from the very first day of our fateful meeting... I couldn''t read her mind...I couldn''t hypnotize her... Such things have never happened to me past all these years while I encountered countless of humans..."


    "Master, if a human needs our divine hematite...she is not a pure-blood human. That''s what I have learned from my past experiences." Gulping her saliva down anxiously, she stiffly stared at him straight in his eyes, folding her limbs one upon another.


    "Indeed she needs the hematite... Because..."


    "Because?"


    "She has been always inviting unavoidable dangers around her due to...an uncommon scent... Strangely enough, I have never sensed such a unique smell around any humans and that''s what about her caught my attention at the first glance! Other werewolves seem to be approaching her just being allured by her scent... To...To keep her protected from the other dreadful alarms, I...I gave her the hematite stone." He asserted boldly.


    "Master, hematite has been always mythologically protecting us to keep our disguised form amidst the human population. If a human needs it then there will be some strange possibilities... But Master, may I ask what makes you so worried about a human that you even came here looking for me in your injured health?"


    "I love her." A gallant, cold voice reciprocated back from him as he stayed still and calm.


    "Wh-What? P-Pardon?"


    "She is the love of my life and...I have decided to be with her till eternity...She will be the next Luna of our pack."


    "What?" Irked out aloud in fury, she immediately stood up from the seat and glared at him swirling her dilated pupils wider. She seemed very agitated and inquired him back in a blunt tone, "such a powerless human will become our Luna? We...Do we have to serve a human for the rest of our life? That''s ridiculous! That''s pointless and unbelievable to us, Master!!"


    "I had somehow expected this kind of irked reaction from everyone." He stayed all calm glancing at her vexed expression, tapping his feet nonchalantly on the ground. He took a deep sigh out and further concluded, "I opted for this second chance of life just to be with her in this lifetime. I have already made my decision and it''s just a matter of time before I announce it before the rest of my pack."


    "Master, our Luna strictly has to be a strong-willed she-wolf who can go beyond any circumstances to protect us from any enemy invasion! Such a perfect woman is Madam Ivory...She will be perfect in every aspect to be the Luna of the Romanos and both of you have known each other since your early childhood. But now...if you choose that human and...a Luna needs your protection for survival...then...then how can we serve her? It...It will brutally hurt our pride for serving a powerless human being superior creature ourselves than her! What is all this nonsense?"


    "Eva is indeed a strong-willed woman, Miss Violet!" This time unable to suppress his wrath after hearing such immense hatred towards her, he grumbled out louder in his dominant alpha tone turning her silent and numb. "She is the strongest and kindest among all the humans I ever encountered! She...She is unlike those vile humans who have always backstabbed us in the past...She has a pure heart made of gold! There are thousands of reasons I chose her to be my Luna and no one ever is going to change my mind! No one in this world will be able to take her away from me!"


    Frowning her brow ridge and gasping breath of air, she lowered her head fidgeting anxiously before reciprocating him further. "Then... Does she know about our real identity, Master? Has she accepted the real you?" In a feeble voice, she muttered in a shaky tone.


    With her sharp inquiry, a sense of palpitating fear ached his heart and for a few seconds, he turned out all numb. Slowly shaking his head in declination, he whispered to her, "she doesn''t know yet that...I...I am a werewolf... But I will reveal everything to her very soon... I...don''t want to keep it a secret from her..."


    "Then, how about you reveal your true self in the next full moon, Master?" A mystic dark smirk appeared on her pale face as she took a slow step closer to him. "If she has accepted you truly, she will still choose to stick with you...but..."


    "But what?"


    "But if she was just mesmerized by your charming disguise... She will run away from you, Master! Forget about Luna, she will never even try to see you ever again... After all...these traitor humans can never accept us with all their hearts... Master, you must have been softhearted for her but you mustn''t forget, we have born to rule over them! They are our prey! We have two separate worlds--"


    "Shut up! Or I will tear out your annoying mouth!" Clenching his broad hard fist, and immediately his dilated pupils obtaining the red color of his dominant alpha form, he yelled out louder reverberating the entire cottage! His voice sounded powerful, enraged, and vibrated the entire surface projecting the scary rage of a true blood alpha. She shivered in a cold sweat and immediately took a few steps away from him, squirming in dread.


    "Ma-Master--"


    "I...I absolutely won''t stand anyone talking ill about my Luna! I fucking won''t spare anyone if they try to harm my Eva! Even if it''s my pack... I am ready to fight anyone!" He shrieked out.


    ________________


    **Please keep voting and commenting :)

 Chapter 102 - A Command

    Petrified, covered in a cold sweat, the lady retreated a few steps back from Zeus while he grumbled out aloud reverberating the entire place. Fidgeting anxiously, she knelt before him, bowing her head and muttering in a shaky tone, "pa-pardon me, Master... Pardon my ill behavior...But, please...spare my life...Don''t kill me, Master. You...You are our alpha, you should be the one protecting us... Please...don''t kill me..."


    "Only on one condition," Growling in a scarry dark voice, he firmly took a step forward towards her where she was kneeling, trembling in fear and folding her arms. "I can only spare your life if you do as I say..."


    "I will! I will do it, Master...I will follow your every command, Master..."


    "Good for you. Then...find me a spiritual ruby stone and red were-fox fur soon as possible." He commanded to her in a deep low pitch.


    "Spiritual ru...ruby?" Her voice stuttered as she raised her chin from the ground, staring straight into his elegant face, looking all stiff. "Master, I...I can find you red were-fox fur as sooner as possible...but...where would I find our divine ruby stone? Only...Only a few celestial alphas among us possessed such a rare powerful gemstone... Where would I find it--"


    Rising his arm a bit higher he took a step closer to her and immediately in the blink of a second, his silver-brown unique fur coated his entire arm and razor-sharp large claws emerged out from his nails.


    "Then...should I kill you right now?" Flexing his claws, he threatened her in a cold, rugged tone.


    Swirling her pupils in fear, she started sobbing bitterly, "Master...I...I have saved your life from wolfsbane that night... Please... don''t be so heartless towards your people..."


    "Did you think I won''t realize why you are declining my command, Miss Violet? Yes...what you have assumed is true...I will give it to Eva which will protect her life even if something happens to me... And I know, only you can bring such a rare thing to me..." His deep alpha dominant eyes sparkled viciously, as he glared at her.


    "If...If you had asked the stone for yourself...I would have given it to you by any means, Master...but..." Wondering inside her mind, while twitching her eyebrows she gulped her saliva before reciprocating him in a broken pitch, "Master, you need the stone yourself more than anyone...After getting such a rare gem, how could you just give it to someone else?"


    "Eva is not someone else, she is my everything!" Staring straight deep down her eyes, he proclaimed in a shuddering thick voice. "I have sworn an oath that I will protect her with all my might...I know it well, wolves will try to harm her in every possible way just like what they did to her family...And, I won''t let it happen to the woman I will love till my end. Even if something happens to me, the ruby will save her life from those malicious attacks and that''s all that I wish for. I don''t care whoever she is or..even if she abandons me someday but no matter what happens, I won''t abandon her not even after my death..." Clenching his other arm, he muttered with a painful expression, taking a deep breath.


    "How...How did that human wench bewitch our Master? He is not even thinking about himself just once! All he cares about is her damn life... Darn it! He has lost his senses! I can''t even object to his command even though it''s wrong!" She was immersed in her worried thoughts, clenching her fist laid upon her lap.


    "So, will you fulfill my command or you are ready to lose your life?" His silver fur sparkled with the radiance the starry sky was reflecting inside through the door.


    "I...I will do it, master..." Frowning her face with a displeased gesture, unwillingly she nodded her head bowing down her gaze towards the ground. "Please spare me some time for finding such a precious treasure--"


    "Alright. You have time till the next full moon." Before she could wrap up her sentence, Zeus interrupted in a rigid voice looking all stern and composed.


    "Fu-Full moon? But...Master...I won''t be able to find it in such a small period..."


    "If you can''t do it, then be prepared to embrace death." Holding a vicious dark smirk on his face, his eyes returned to their normal black color along with the claws and silver-brown fur disappearing from his arm transforming into his usual normal human form. "But, if you want to live...zip up your runny mouth and do it as I say. I hope...you won''t disappoint me, Miss Violet." Stomping his feet hard on the ground, he firmly walked out of the cottage holding a stiff, tall, and gallant posture.


    As soon as he marched outside, Violet raised her swirled eyeballs from the ground, and immediately the pupils obtained the deep blue illuminant transformation from her usual black color. Snarling and gnashing her teeth in anger, she stared sharply at the door before mumbling on her own, "no matter what happens... I won''t hand the Ruby ever to that vile human wench!! If...If anyone deserves to possess such a treasure...it must be our Master... I won''t let her endanger our Master''s life like this... I must do something..." Her voice sounded hoarse, reverberating the entire surrounding in a dark, intense note.


    .....


    Walking straight inside the Romano Mansion humming a mellow tone on his own, Czar had a small amicable smile on his face while he was headed straight towards his room. He was still amused by Clara''s brutal honesty which was quite a rare quality that a modern woman ever possesses.


    "Czar."


    A deep, rugged voice from behind halted his motion as he paused before strolling upstairs. The voice was extremely familiar and it was no one other than Antonio, his father who was standing magnificently in the middle of the living room, summoning him from the back.


    His call somehow soured his mellow mood as he stopped whistling and taking a deep sigh, turned behind facing him upfront. Both of them stared at each other for a couple of seconds and slowly but steadily, Czar walked a few steps closer to him.


    "What a glorious day to be alive...that my father is summoning me instead of Zeus? Dad, is your eyesight getting old? I am Czar, not your eldest but the younger son." Tantalizing him with a sly expression, he smirked rolling his pupils wider.


    "Come here and have a seat." Indicating his slender finger towards the velvet couch on the room, he sounded frigid as ice at his response.


    Unwillingly stomping his footsteps on the floor, Czar walked towards the couch where Antonio grabbed a seat first. Skeptical of his behavior, Czar took his seat next to him keeping a bit of distance between them.


    "Dad, your gestures seem suspicious today. Usually, you have always asked your elder son to accompany you in a drink or discussion...but why are you suddenly concerned about me today?" Fretting his brow ridge, he sharply inquired.


    "It''s true." His voice sounded much thicker than usual as he took out a deep sigh. "I have never treated you kindly for even once the way...I have treated Zeus. Did it...hurt your feelings?" Softly turning his sad deep gaze towards him, he asserted.


    Suddenly, his heart ached a little in pain as immediately enough he averted his glance away from him trying hard to avoid eye contact. "No...No, why would it hurt me? I...I was always an outsider in this mansion from the beginning... I was well aware of my position--"


    "No matter what anyone proclaims, you are and you always will be my youngest son, Czar. You bear my blood in your veins... And...somehow, I can still find Madonna in you whom I have lost...so long ago... Your deep big eyes...has always revived her memories in my heart. After all...I am living a life filled with regrets..." His almond-shaped brown, profound eyes seemed to glisten with tears as he was talking down the memory lane, holding a heavy heart.


    Czar stayed all numb, frozen in a daze unable to answer him a single word for a while. His heart was tearing apart into pieces and trying hard to withstand his deepest grief, he murmured in a husky tone, "even if you are living a life of regret...it won''t change the miseries and despairs...I...I had to bore all these years... I...I still couldn''t leave you just because of that promise, dad...Or else, I would have left long ago..." His voice grew heavier implementing the burden of his emotions.


    "Czar, I am...I am sorry..."


    "Anyways, let''s get straight to the point, dad." He interrupted his sentence in an enraged tone glaring straight into his eyes. "What business you have with me?"


    Momentarily, he stayed silent, and taking a deep huff of breath out, he muttered, "you...you need to disclose everything regarding that human maiden who has enchanted Zeus."


    "Why? I...I am indeed getting a bad feeling about it." He wondered inside, frowning his thick eyebrows.


    _________________________________


    *Hello my dear readers,


    I have a present for you all. To relieve my stress in this tough time, I have made the trailer video of our power couple Zeus and Eva or in abbreviation, "ZEVA".


    So click the link below to watch the YouTube trailer:


    https://youtu.be/G27BMQDzEpk


    *Also, if you are unable to access it, I will be posting the video on my Insta handle: @author_shadowprincess. You can follow it there, and please like and comment to give me some encouragement.


    **A new trailer video is coming for you all soon!!

 Chapter 103 - Inner Conflicts

    "Wh...What do you want to know about her?" With his trembling lips and quivering chin, looking much fretful he tossed a sharp query at his father, fidgeting his fingers.


    Staring straight into his eyes with a mystic layer of darkness, Antonio promptly answered, "I want to know every little detail about that human."


    "But wh-why?"


    "To finish her off with my own hands." A terrifying response flew back from him which absolutely turned Czar spellbound and numb for a few minutes.


    "What?"


    "I can''t let Zeus do such a heinous sin by sacrificing his own life for a mere human! He...He is the present alpha of our pack! Thousands of life and hopes are dependent on him...He absolutely can''t be bewitched by a weak human... So, I have to step within--"


    "Bewitch? Such a bullshit!" Suddenly he jolted up from the couch, snarling at his father while swirling his pupils wider in wrath. He was infuriated, perplexed just by listening to his declamation and unable to suppress his displeasure, his shrieking reverberated inside the entire living room.


    Antonio seemed a bit startled to watch him getting worked up all of a sudden with his simple answer. He raised his chin up, ogling at him while scrunching his eyebrows hard, "Czar, why do you look displeased--"


    "Your son is the first one who intended to chase after her, tailing her around everywhere! He was the first one who unnecessarily involved her in our world! How...How did she bewitch him? C''mon, dad, your Zeus isn''t a teenage kid who will be charmed by just any woman! When he was the one who chose to save her life over his own...then why the heck she has to die? It''s fucking unfair!" Looking invincibly worried, he howled out louder in a dense irked pitch almost surprising him to a greater extent.


    "Are you defending that human right now, Czar?" Folding his broad muscular arms in his arm groove, he tossed an irked query towards him. This time Antonio''s voice sounded much vexed as if he was triggering out his rage quite intentionally.


    "N...No!" Baffled at his self reaction, he shook his head in declination and tried to objectify his response before him, "I...I was just telling you the truth that...it was pissing me off...I...I am not defending her or anything else--"


    "You are indeed defending that mere human over your own brother, Czar! Your behavior is upsetting me, son." Standing up tall from the couch, firmly he marched closer to him glaring deeply into his baffled gaze. "Maybe... it''s true that Zeus was the one who intended to trail after her first, but he has lost his mind and currently not in the right state. He has absolutely forgotten that he is our alpha and the Romanos need him as their pillar support. He can''t be fooling around with a human forgetting his responsibilities at this moment, and that''s the reason as his father and the former alpha of Romanos, I have to step in the situation.


    I can''t abandon my own son who is dear to me...but I can simply eliminate the woman and turn up the situation the same as before. Everything will fall back to its own place once the woman is out of our way." He asserted his intense expression, staring straight into him.


    "Do you think...Zeus will stay silent if something ever happens to her?" Gritting his jowls in anger, he reciprocated in a hoarse tone gawking into his brown cryptic eyes. "Dad, Zeus didn''t even think for a second before enduring the wolfsbane attack just for her sake! That...That wolfsbane would leave a permanent curse on him but still, he suffered...endured the pain just to be with her! Do you really think he would be silent and calm if the woman dies? He will carry out a rampage in the entire pack! There will be pools of blood flowing everywhere and...it would be a scandalous event for us--"


    "It will be further embarrassing if the alpha of a pack which despises humans more than anything intends to stick around a human! He is my son...And I know it well how to heap him down under responsibilities once I get rid of that woman. I will further progress accordingly to the situation ahead."


    "But dad--"


    "Czar, it was disappointing of me to expect some kind of help from you." Looking all frowned, and interrupting him halfway, he averted his glance away from him straightening his back in a tall posture. "It''s probably the first time I am warning you, don''t walk down into the same path your brother has followed! Don''t be stupid like him! Remember who you are and be the kind of wicked werewolf you always have been towards humans! Don''t indulge in unnecessary emotions like your brother because I absolutely won''t like it to watch both of my sons doomed in despair. Also, I wish these deliberations would stay only between us both." Steadily turning his back at him, he tried to head towards the upstairs looking utterly distressed.


    Czar stood still with burning fumes inside his heart frowning in concern for Eva after hearing his proclamation. His eyebrows were twitching and in an irked tone, he grumbled at his father from behind.


    "She is the happiness of your son, dad! He...He will forever lose his bliss if something happens to her!"


    Apprehending his intense objection, somehow his feet halted while he was heading straight towards his room. A momentary awkward silence persisted between them as slowly he turned back at Czar, glaring piercingly before answering.


    "For an Alpha of Romano, responsibilities, and pack comes first before his own happiness. If...we were allowed to choose our happiness, then perhaps...Madonna would have still stayed by my side all these years." His deep husky voice crooked a little and his eyes were immersed in intense sadness as he proclaimed his heartfelt words towards him. Shocked at his unexpected answer, a trace of despair rose inside his heart as Czar glared back at his father, standing stiff and frigid.


    ...


    "What is all the ruckus going on here?"


    Both of them flinched hard with the sudden cold screeching tone at a measurable distance from them up from the stairs. It was no one other than Aelia, wearing a black, silk-laced full sleeve gown glowing radiantly and looking all skeptical of them, glaring at both of them, especially at Antonio with her blazing deep ash-brown eyeballs.


    "Aelia?"


    "I heard some chaotic conflicts going on between you two from upstairs. What''s the matter happening here?" Tapping down the stairs, she stole a small displeased peek at Czar who was intensively glaring back at her.


    "It''s nothing serious, just a small father-son talk. Don''t you worry about it, Aelia. I am heading to my room now." In a deep resonance, he conveyed his words before heading direct upstairs holding a serious grimace.


    As soon as he left the premises, she shifted her glare towards Czar who was staring intensely at her, gnashing his lower jowls in rage. He seemed much enraged from his appearances and the display further perturbed her.


    "What are you glaring at, you nasty punk?" She irked out.


    "My mother....My kind mother deserved to be here in your place, you vile filthy woman! I wish...I wish I could see you dead and devasted! I wish I could watch you suffering and whimpering in misery..." Cursing inside his mind, he continued his intense gawking.


    "Stay away from my son and my husband!" Swirling her pupils wider, she proclaimed in a dense pitch. "Antonio maybe your biological father...but I have never considered you as my family! Stay as far away as possible from us!" Stomping her feet hard on the ground after conveying her dark declaration, she firmly walked across the stairs to head upstairs following after Antonio.


    As soon as she left, taking a deep huff of breath out, Czar clenched his fist and slammed hard on the couch expressing his pent-up rage. He seemed to be bottled up in his inner turmoils and much conflicted inside.


    "That filthy woman will be only in despair if her son is suffering... Zeus would really lose his will in life if something happens to Eva...He won''t probably survive without her! I...I can understand dad somehow... All these happenings will only entirely benefit me as it will cause my first victory over them...I would finally be able to avenge my inner wrath if I keep all of these as a secret and let dad do whatever he wants...


    But...


    Why am I still not happy? Why...Why do I keep reminding the warm smile she gave to me? Why do her kind words keep ringing in my ears?" His heart was throbbing with an unknown pain as he was battling his inner turmoil. Slowly, he took a small tangerine peel out of his suit pocket and clenched it harder in his grasp, looking at it.


    "Why have I still kept this tangerine peel with me that she gave to me? Why am I so concerned about her? Why I don''t want her... to die? Why? What''s wrong with me?"


    _________________________


    **Please keep voting and commenting for me :)


    What do you think will happen next?

 Chapter 104 - Dearest

    "Sigh..."


    Clenching the bathrobe tighter in her waist, Eva pulled out a deep sigh before lying down on her bed, holding a frown grimace and a perplexed heart. She was fighting her inner turmoils all alone and staring with a blank gaze towards the starry night sky from the giant bedroom window, she stayed all numb.


    "Should I just quit this job? I...I don''t think I am much mistaken...How could that awful smell emit out from Mr. Beck? Did I... commit a mistake again by accepting his job offer? Damn it! I am so damn confused! Should I just quit? But... What about my bills? What about looking for a new place to stay? I...I need money right now and the pay is huge there... But what if I indulge myself in a dangerous situation again? What will I do if that happens?"


    Conflicted with her inner thoughts, she sighed out again before nuzzling her grimace on the soft pillow. She seemed much fretted and with a blank gaze, once she tried to peek at her phone kept beside her.


    A wide smiling face of Zeus appeared on her screen as she turned it on, which unknowingly brought a small simper on her dull, perplexed eloquence just by looking at it. She had set their very first selfie as her phone wallpaper and just by looking at his grin, her heavy heart felt a bit soothing.


    "I just saw you today in the afternoon but why do I miss you so much already? Why do I want to be with you all the time, Zeus?" Softly caressing at the picture on her wallpaper, she murmured on her own taking a deep huff of breath out. "You know...things are being way too rough in my life...Every time I am finding myself indulged in strange things...but the moments I spend with you are the most precious ones for me, Zeus. I am glad to find you in my life. I wish I could tie you up with me for 24/7 so that...we won''t have to be apart again...Damn, I must be sounding really embarrassing... isn''t it?" Talking on her own with his picture, she was seeking solace, and caressing the screen softly. Her eyes looked a little sad, but she had a small simper on her cherry red lips.


    "Should I just call him?" Sitting up on her bed and resting her back against the pillow, involuntarily she opened up the dial list while mumbling on her own. But her fingers were fidgeting a bit anxiously.


    "What if he finds me too clingy? Nope...I don''t think he would mind it...After all, we are each other''s very first partners... And...I am too stressed already. Hearing his voice once would really calm down my inner turmoils... Should I call him just once? Should I tell him about the happenings in the cafe? No...I...I don''t think that''s a good idea... He is always madly worried about me...maybe he would panic way too much after learning all these... I can''t put more stress on him... But...I do really miss him--"


    [Phone Ringing]


    Suddenly she flinched hard as the phone rang out aloud in her palm. Swirling her eyes wider in surprise, she saw it was no one other than her beloved Zeus who was calling her at that very moment when she was already missing him badly!


    "Zeus? Hello?" In the blink of a second, she picked up the call and a wide chuckle appeared on her face.


    "I missed you, my love." His cold, deep voice struck straight into her heart causing a tingling sensation in her body as he whispered on the call.


    "Damn... I...I was missing you too... I was wondering a bit ago...we just met today in the afternoon but still, it seems I haven''t seen you from a long time..." She pouted her face, mumbling in a tender pitch.


    "Then, should I just come to you?" He sounded a little playful this time, seeming much pleased at her response.


    "Wh-What?"


    "We both miss each other so dearly... So I was wondering...if I can come right now to you... I won''t mind staying next to you for the rest of the night...but I wonder, what can happen between us in the whole night if our sparks of romance get fired up... It''s obvious, I won''t be able to hold back myself anymore..." He chuckled a bit while proclaiming on his own.


    Eva was flustered red, turning into a shy ball after hearing his mischievous suggestion. Her small ears had turn absolutely red in color, depicting the kind of embarrassed she was. With a choked voice, she further stuttered, "e..eh? Wh-What are you...ta-talking about? You...must be...crazy... How can you imagine... naughty stuff like this right now---"


    "Hahahaha," bursting out with immense laughter being successfully able to make her as embarrassed as he wanted, he sounded very jovial, "I am sorry... I was just teasing you a bit, honey... I can already imagine you as a flushed red goofball."


    "Zeus, c''mon, now you are teasing me too?"


    "Don''t worry about anything Eva, I will be right by your side whenever you need me. After all, to keep you safe will be always my eternal responsibility. I love you and I will continue to love you even more." His voice sounded much soothing and deep as he murmured from the other side of the call, placing a soft kiss over the phone.


    "Damn... I really love this man so much... So freaking much..." A wide blissful grin appeared on her face while wondering as she firmly nodded her head.


    .....


    Outside her apartment complex, standing beneath a street light, Zeus was gripping his phone hard with his dark, mysterious gaze fixed towards Eva''s flat, especially towards her balcony. After a while, he softly asked her to disconnect the call and get some sleep with his eyes still fixed on the above floor.


    After a while, suddenly, his eyes flickered towards a shadow that immediately crossed by her apartment premises, and in a flash, he fiercely chased after the shadow, holding a scary dark grimace.


    Quickly enough he captured a young man locking his neck from behind in his elbow grip. The man seemed terrified to be caught upright by him and was shivering in horror.


    "Pl-Please...Please don''t kill me! Please! Spare my life!" He pleaded with utter desperation, trying to escape from his firm grasp.


    _______________________________________________


    **Hello my dear readers,


    I have a present for you all. To relieve my stress in this tough time, I have made the trailer video of our power couple Zeus and Eva or in abbreviation, "ZEVA".


    So click the link below to watch the YouTube trailer:


    https://youtu.be/G27BMQDzEpk


    *Also, if you are unable to access it, I will be posting the video on my Insta handle: @author_shadowprincess. You can follow it there, and please like and comment to give me some encouragement.


    **A new trailer video is coming for you all soon!!


    Please keep voting and supporting me :)

 Chapter 105 - Swear

    "I knew it...You filthy bastards would definitely come after my Eva... Then, shouldn''t I rip your gut apart?" His dark intense low voice sounded more extensively scary when he was choking his throat in his elbow grip, evoking his wrath.


    "Please...I...(cough) (cough)...I...I just did what I was told...Please spare my life..." That young guy started sobbing bitterly absorbed by severe dread, trying his utmost best to flee away from his hold.


    "That bastard was also sent after her by the Lupos who stabbed me with wolfsbane and almost had killed me... After all these, you filthy jerks are still expecting mercy from me?"


    "My...throat...(cough)...Ma-Master...Please release your elbow...I...I was just doing what I was asked...I didn''t have any evil intentions further..."


    "Then what were you doing here outside her house, punk? Spit it out or I will twist and crack apart your neck right now!" Swirling his fury eyeballs wider, he gnarred at him gritting his lower jowls in rage.


    "I am telling...I am telling...(cough) (cough) (cough)...Your arm...please--"


    Hearing his desperate feeble plea, Zeus slowly unleashed the lock around his neck departing his elbow from his body. As soon as he was released, the guy plopped down on the ground coughing out vigorously as he had almost killed him choking his throat fiercely. Holding a stern face, Zeus firmly stomped his right foot on his feet making sure he won''t try to run away.


    "Spit it out, bastard! How dare you pry on my Eva? How dare you!"


    "I...I was asked to do it! Our...alpha... Our Master Calix had commanded me to keep a sharp watch on her whereabouts...I...I was just following his orders, Master. I haven''t caused any harm to her, neither I intended to do it! I swear on our wolf emblem!" Sobbing in fear, he muttered in a gibberish voice looking at his foot which was being mashed hard under his feet.


    Calix! Hearing the name out of his mouth immediately provoked his fiery to the greatest extent. His facial expression turned extremely scary and sour as he clenched his fist harder unable to suppress his wrath. Calix is the powerful alpha as well as his eternal rival of the pack which had caused him immense pain by murdering his lovable granny, the Lupos! Calix is a true blood alpha too just like him possessing almost every toughest yet the most vicious qualities they could ever have.


    Zeus knew it well, Calix would definitely try to chase after Eva as she is the only weakness Zeus ever had, and by taking away her life, he would be easily able to defeat him as well as taking control over one of the strongest pack, the Romanos. That''s how cruel and malicious they have been always! His granny was murdered by Calix''s father and the former alpha of the pack right before his own eyes and since that fateful blood-smeared day he had sworn on his life to avenge all the pain and trauma by destroying everyone from the Lupos!


    "That bastard... I knew it, that bastard will be behind everything... But how can I only blame him when my own pack members will be soon chasing after her life too... Why...Why can''t anyone let me be happy with the one I love? Why?" Wondering with an agitated look in his blazing dark eyes, he took a deep sigh out, perplexed for her intensely.


    "Master...I...I have told you the truth...Please, can you spare me now?"


    Apprehending his timid tear-soaked voice, an atrocious smirk appeared on his mysterious eloquence and he murmured, "of course! Since you confessed the truth... I won''t kill you. But..."


    Immediately before completing his words, he placed a voracious kick on his knees, smashing his joint and making a cracking up noise with his strength before removing his foot away from his body.


    "AAAAEEEEKKKKK! My knee! AHHHHGHHH!" The guy cried out harshly in a bitter voice as he whimpered in pain rolling on the ground. "My knee! Ahhrhh!"


    "Don''t worry, smashing your leg is far better than splitting your throat apart! Also, that''s your punishment for prying on my love and messing with a true alpha... But if I catch you or anyone from your pack next time doing any nasty tricks around her...I swear... there will be the biggest blood-stained gore any pack ever witnessed! I am not the weak Zeus once I used to be! I am much powerful alone for taking down your entire group! Go back and convey my open challenge to your alpha... And also warn him on my behalf, I will be coming soon for cracking up his skull if he doesn''t back off on his own! Get lost!" He snarled in a fuming note, maliciously threatening him before he could leave.


    As soon as he finished gnarring, in the blink of a second, a golden brown sparkling flame appeared all around the guy as he shape-shifted himself into a small dark brown-furred wolf, running away from him with his staggering pace. The wolf vanished right before his eyes in a few seconds and Zeus stood alone momentarily taking a deep sigh of worriment out.


    After a few minutes, he slowly took his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and turned the screen on. Eva''s smiling face appeared wide on the screen which unknowingly brought tears of despair in his eyes, as he stared at their first picture together on his wallpaper. With blurred teary vision, he softly caressed at Eva''s picture before mumbling on his own,


    "Eva...The road ahead of us won''t be normal like any other couple in love... I am sorry, I can''t give you a normal life... I am sorry for involving an innocent person like you in our merciless world...Perhaps...you would regret someday choosing me...


    But for me, you are and you will be my everything, always and forever... No matter what our destiny has planned ahead, I will never leave abandon you till my last breath. I will fight for you even till death do us apart..." A drop of tear rolled down his cheeks as he turned off the screen.


    ____________________________


    **Please do keep voting and commenting :)

 Chapter 106 - Smile

    "Ahh, the sun is shining so beautifully today... It''s a good day, to begin with... I am up quite early...I guess I won''t miss my train today..."


    Mumbling on her own in a frail mellow tone, Clara was locking her door before she could head out straight to her workplace. It was 8.30 am and she had indeed groomed herself quite early than the regular weekdays. Humming an unknown tone, slowly, she was stepping down the stairs as her apartment was on the second floor. As soon as she walked out of the yard, her feet halted, and opening her mouth wide in shock, she stared intensively at the unbelievable sight right before her!


    Leaning his back against a red, gorgeous Porsche Turbo car, Czar was scrolling his phone screen making a frown face. His mood seemed a bit dull than his usual playful mood which she could notice accurately. As soon as Clara walked down the stairs and stopped right before him, gradually he raised his eyes up from the screen and momentarily stared at her.


    "You are finally here," he sounded a bit sluggish, putting his phone back into his pocket.


    "Wh-What are you do-doing here...Ma-Master? And...how...how did you find my address?" She was stuttering in awe.


    "I have my own sources. Besides, did you have breakfast? Are you heading to work?"


    "N...No, I usually skip breakfast nowadays...And, yes, I was heading to work--"


    "Fine, then get in the car. Let''s go grab some bite together." Putting his hands back into the pocket, his deep low voice resonated as an echo in the silent neighborhood. Clara looked extremely surprised at his gestures and blinked her eyes nonchalantly for few times in a row.


    "Are you asking me to...join you in breakfast, Master? But...I have to go back to work--"


    Before she could wrap up her sentence, he meddled in between, "I will drop you at your destination after we finish our meal. Besides, can you drive a car?"


    "Umm, yes. I do know driving--"


    "Perfect." Quickly, he tossed a key chain in the air towards her and hurriedly enough she caught it within her grasp. As she raised her impertinent gaze towards him, he further concluded, "drive the car for me."


    "Wh-What?"


    "Have you forgotten who is the master and slave in our relation? Quit asking further questions and get in inside. I am hungry!" Firmly enough, stretching his shoulder he walked steadily in the other side of the car to grab his seat beside the driving one. His voice seemed a bit irked as if something was quite pissing him off from inside.


    "What? Is this how you ask a woman out? Such a freaking rude jerk! He doesn''t even know any manners! What a nuisance! Ughh... Why is he bothering me again in the early morning?" Frowning her face in a displeased gesture while wondering, she had to head straight into the car without her own will and took a deep sigh out.


    .....


    "Ummmmm...The spaghetti is so damn delicious, Master!!"


    Along with her sparkling bright eyes and a radiant jovial smile on her porcelain white pretty face, she blurted out aloud happily while grabbing a bite of the delicious spaghetti they had ordered inside the restaurant. She drove him to the nearby family restaurant as he sounded much hungry and irked inside the car. As soon as they reached the venue, Czar ordered six different meal courses for him while Clara only ordered spaghetti for her since it was her favorite. Both of them were seated opposite each other and Czar was entirely focused on chomping the food voraciously. He seemed to be starving enough to get this kind of craving!


    "Umm, though the restaurant isn''t a deluxe one, the food is pretty satisfying." Taking a large bite on the fried beef steak, he mumbled out slowly in response.


    Clara unknowingly continued staring at him momentarily as he seemed to be only focussed on the meal placed before him without paying any attention to her. His appearance looked like a small child in her eyes and a small simper appeared on her face, "Master, you ordered six full meal courses for breakfast... Do you usually eat this much or you were starving for a long time?"


    "I usually tend to eat more whenever I am stressed. This is the only relaxation I find at that moment!" Munching the meatballs from the soup, he answered in a cold rugged tone.


    "Aha! So he is stressed today! That''s why he hasn''t smiled even once since we came here... Wait! Why am I paying attention to such small details? What the hell!" Wondering inside with a grouchy face, she cleared her throat before averting her thoughts to somewhere else, "well, thanks to you Master, I got to taste such delicious spaghetti for my breakfast."


    "Uh hmmm, but you will be the one who will pay for all these meals." He finally rose his deep brown eyes staring straight into her gaze, while intaking a chomp of meat.


    "What!?" Shocked at his response she blurted out her objection in an agitated note. "But why am I the one paying for it? I didn''t even order all these menu courses!"


    "Because you are my slave, so you will be obeying my decision."


    "But...I don''t have enough money with me right now, Master. If I spend it all on this food, I gotta starve probably for the rest of the day...And, I can''t work properly in an empty stomach--"


    "Hahaha!" Before she could finish her desperate explanation, Czar burst out in laughter just by looking at her panicked face. She seemed a bit surprised at the sudden laughter and continued flickering her eyelashes. "I am sorry for making you panicked so much, I was just messing with you...Sorry, haha!"


    Watching him smiling heartily at her, a chunk of a smile appeared on her face as she continued looking at him. "He is...finally smiling again... He looks even better whenever he smiles," she wondered silently, fixing her gaze at his mellow grin.


    _______________________


    **A special trailer video is coming for you all as my gift :*


    Keep voting :)

 Chapter 107 - Friends?

    "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Huh?" Startled at his blunt query, Clara seemed much surprised as she revived her senses back. Indeed she was unconsciously staring at his smiling face and he caught her off guard quite unexpectedly. "I...I wasn''t looking at you...Ma-Master..."


    "And now you are lying as well... You know, you look quite pathetic in lying." Sipping the hot soup from the bowl, he seemed much composed while murmuring his answer.


    "Okay, okay! You don''t have to insult me any further. Ye-Yes, I was wondering, since the morning I didn''t see you smiling even once... It was nice to see you grinning again." Stuttering in a panicked voice, she cited.


    Surprised at her honest interpretation, momentarily Czar stopped eating and continued glancing at her anxious face. Wiping his mouth with a tissue, he frowned his eyebrows before asking, "do you have... feelings for me?"


    "What?" In a grouchy tone, she shrieked out almost startling every other person residing beside them in the restaurant.


    "I asked if you have any feelings for me?"


    "Why would I do that? What for?" Making a disgusted face, she sounded quite irked, clenching the fork harder in her grasp.


    "Hmmm, then it''s all good." He seemed much relieved with her answer, tossing a broad smile while focussing on cutting the chunk of steak using a fork.


    "Master, what''s with this absurd question? It really startled me for a moment--"


    "I just wanted the confirmation from you," gulping down the piece of beef, he sipped some water smirking on his own. "To be honest, the disgusted face you just made is your normal reaction. It startles me whenever you talk over such cheesy things... I...don''t want our current relationship to turn into a complicated one."


    "Then rest assured, it would never happen to us at least, not to me. I have already told you, Master, you are the polar opposite kind of person who will suit my taste. I was just glad to see you smiling normally, that''s all." She further clarified her intention of taking a small sip of water from the glass placed before her on the table. "But...I have a question... Why did you ask me to accompany you to the breakfast today, Master? You could have come with your friends..."


    "Friends? What''s that?" Fretting his eyebrow ridge, he queried her abruptly in a cold voice.


    She didn''t expect such a kind of response as she was quite used to his playful nature and assumed that he might be quite popular. Such an answer from him somehow surprised her for a moment. "Don''t you have...friends?"


    Hearing her query, a sad smile appeared on his slender soft lips as he took a heavy huff of breath out. "Everyone around me either wanted to cling into my bed or just, they were enchanted by my social status. I intended to flow along with my whims and turned them into my plaything. I toyed with them till I got bored and tossed them away or... killed them. If they are known as friends then yes, I had plenty of friends around me. But...if not, then unfortunately I don''t have friends."


    All silent and numb, Clara intensely looked into his sad eyes while he was trying hard to hide his inner pain. Somehow, a tinge of sadness rose in her heart as she wondered, "I can understand... It must be hella lonely not to even have a shoulder lent to you if you want to cry your tears out. It must have been so lonely and tired of desperately looking for someone who understands you but in the end, comforting your inner self by taping your own shoulders. I...feel pity for this man... He tries so hard to be a bad wicked guy, but it''s the protective shield he has formed around himself to escape from despair."


    "Hey, why are you looking at me with that pitiful gaze in your eyes?" Frowning his chin, he stated a sharp query.


    Emitting a deep sigh out, Clara shook her head in declination without saying a single word about her worriments for him. "Friends are someone...who can lend you their shoulder when you want to wail out aloud after pretending to be strong for so long. Friends are someone who is honest with you, can understand you, your secrets, your pain, still tend to stick around you no matter what happens... Friends are someone, when they are around, they would make you feel comfortable and pleased rather than feeling lonely and glum. That''s what I know, master." She whispered in a soft note looking straight into his eyes tossing a small simper.


    "Wow! Do such beings ever exist in life?"


    "Of course! Look at me! I have my Eva who taught me what does friendship stands for...and that''s why I am following you and your whims just to be with her forever..."


    "Then why do you hide your identity from her? She is your friend, she should understand your secrets." A quick reciprocal tossed back from him as soon as she interpreted her explanation.


    All of a sudden, the small simper she had along on her grimace vanished into thin air, occupied by a dark fazed expression. Anxiously lowering down her eyeballs, she mumbled, "I...I don''t want Eva to be scared of me after learning my real truth... I want to pretend as a human at least around her because...I don''t want to lose her faith in me... This is the utmost secret which I have kept hidden from her...I don''t want it to ruin our friendship."


    Watching her making a serious perplexed face, resting his chin on his broad palm, unknowingly Czar continued staring at her blinking his dark black eyelashes consistently. He was immersed in his thoughts, tapping his feet down the table nonchalantly.


    "Friends, eh? Umm, why did I think of her for accompanying me today when I was feeling down? She has been honest with me till now. Somehow, her presence doesn''t make me uncomfortable around her either... So...is that how friends feel?"


    ____________________________________


    ***Here''s my present for you all!


    Presenting you the second trailer staring our Czar and introducing our second lead woman, Clara...


    https://youtu.be/DYdZE7knM-A


    Click the link above to enjoy my trailer and also comment your views. If you can''t watch in YouTube, make sure to follow my Insta handle @author_shadowprincess to watch the video.


    "Please keep voting for me if you want a mass release :)

 Chapter 108 - HellHound

    The morning was indeed bright and beautiful with radiant sunrays illuminating the entire atmosphere, dissolving in warmth.


    .


    Taking a deep huff of breath out, dressed up in formal attire, Eva halted momentarily before entering her workplace, i.e. the cafe, holding a frown grimace. She was gazing inside through the glass walls as the cafe seemed empty. Mr. Beck was nowhere present inside and she was staring vividly, with countless thoughts running inside her mind.


    The awkward incident that happened between both of them in the last evening, turned out to be much absurd to be able to face each other from now on rather unlike their amicable relation before. Eva was perplexed, anxiety was swallowing her inside, and consistently she was sighing heavily.


    "Why do I feel so nervous before entering the cafe? Mr. Beck isn''t present inside, then why am I supposed to be anxious? Damn...if isn''t for the money...I wouldn''t have to be here helplessly... I...I should head inside and as a normal employee, continue my work for today... But...I gotta get out of here right before the sunset grows darker..."


    Cheering herself as hard as possible, taking a deep breath inside she firmly pushed the door before walking in. The place was neatly decorated before she came, as if, someone had properly taken care of the place. While heading straight to the staff kitchen, a unique sight startled her a bit. She found a small bouquet of fresh purple orchids and a sticky note on the large wooden table. Surprised and curious, she pulled out the note before touching the bouquet.


    .


    "Dear Miss Eva,


    Very good morning to you. It''s almost the time of your arrival but I am so sorry, due to some urgent business I am heading out first before even greeting you. I am truly sorry and as a token of my apology, I am leaving these freshly grown beautiful orchids for a beauty like you. I hope you will enjoy today working here. I may come back late today so you can head out first after your shift. See you soon :)


    -Mr. Beck."


    .


    Reading the sticky note, a warm smile appeared on her face as she glanced back at the orchids. They were indeed fresh and softly, she picked them up in her arms.


    "I think I really did misjudge his intentions... The man indeed seems like a kind and considerate person, maybe...I am being overly skeptical of his sweet gesture. Ahh, I feel bad for doubting him so much. He even left these orchids for me... Why did I imagine horrible things about him? You are a fool Eva, absolutely a fool..." Mumbling on her own, tenderly she sniffed the beautiful fragrance from the flowers before caressing them with her slender fingers.


    .


    Standing at a measurable distance from the cafe, a tall, fair-skinned, elegant person dressed up in a charcoal black hoodie, black denim, and a black sunglass, while watching Eva sharply through the glass walls standing behind a gigantic wall of a skyrise building. As soon as she picked up the flowers in her arm, a victorious wicked grin appeared on the face of the person. Slowly he removed his goggles and it was no one other than Beck, chuckling with a cunning smirk imprinted on his lips.


    "I knew, it would be a piece of cake to convince a fool like you... What a dumb woman..." Blurting out in a deep low voice, carefully he took his phone out of his hoodie for dialing a number. The phone rang a few times before the person on the other handpicked it up, answering him in a cold voice, "hello?"


    "Just give me 7 days," glaring at Eva from his blazing eyeballs, he murmured in a low rugged pitch, leaning his back against the wall.


    "But what if you fail to execute your plan? You had intended to kill the woman on the 1st day, isn''t it?" The voice seemed coarse and much crude, rebuking him over the call.


    "I had attempted to do my work but that darn hematite... That pendant...which the alpha has given her would definitely alarm her before I make my move and she would be able to escape from me...I have to prepare a proper plan before executing it--"


    "She is the only weakness of that bastard!" The grumbling voice grew dense over the phone as it interrupted his sentence. "Snatching her away from him will be our first victory... Besides, that woman seems kind of special! I believe, she will be a delicious meal for you, Beck."


    Licking his puffy lips voraciously with his pink tongue, he smiled with a devilish expression on his face before he whispered, "I have promised you, Master. And a Hellhound always treats a promise worthy over his life... Don''t worry, I will chop her head off and present it to you. You can devour her head and...I will devour her delicious body..."


    "I will be waiting for your present, but don''t make me wait too long...Good luck." The call was disconnected in the blink of a second and turning his phone off, he tossed a wide, ingenious smirk occupying his face.


    "7 days to go..." He muttered on his own and tried to walk away in the opposite direction from the cafeteria while attempting to put his goggles on.


    BUMP!


    All of a sudden, he bumped his shoulders to a rich, slender, and graceful woman who was coming opposite from the direction he was heading onto. The lady seemed to be in an irked mood from before and as they bumped quite hard into each other, she stared invincibly into his dark black eyeballs, sulking her face.


    "Hey! Are you blind? Can''t you watch where are you going?" She yelled out quite aloud, catching the attention of a few passersby.


    "I am sorry, Ma''am. But you were the first one to bump into me," he continued staring back at her looking all composed.


    "Woah! Such a sly lier! Look everyone, how he is lying straight on my face! You are putting the blame on me so cleverly... I know men like you who know nothing but lying pathetically---"


    All of a sudden a shocking event happened before everyone! The woman suddenly stopped grumbling and her lower jaws started quivering hard! Her red puffy lips turned bluish along with her right arm which started to shiver vigorously. In a fraction of a second, she collapsed down on the ground with some kind of whitish froth rolling down the corner of her partly open mouth as she stopped shivering!


    "Oh my God! What happened to her! Oh my gosh, is she having a stroke? Call the ambulance! Hurry! Help her, someone!"


    All the people nearby sounded intensely panicked, gathering around her on the ground. Some of them started to monitor her pulse and a few of them were calling emergency medical aid!


    Glancing at her collapsed body momentarily, Beck took out a small sigh before putting back his black goggles before moving away from the crowd. After walking a few steps away from them, his feet halted as he took a small peek behind at the woman lying collapsed on the ground.


    "Poor human! Stare straight into a hellhound''s eye for more than 10 seconds and your death will be inevitable... Though, this time I am not responsible for it, but I should have worn my contacts at least. Anyways, poor thing, you yourself chose to gaze into my eyes and lost your life... May the deity bless your poor soul with an afterlife..." Tossing a vicious chuckle on his face, he chose to walk away silently humming ancient folklore.


    -----------------------------------


    "I am stuck in a dilemma."


    Flinching hard on Czar''s sudden cold response, Clara revived her senses as she was lost in deep worriments regarding her friendship with Eva. She raised her chin up and stared straight into his eyes.


    "Dilemma?"


    "Yes. I don''t know why am I stuck in it... It''s kind of stressful..." Czar twirled the glass of water on his hand, frowning his grimace.


    "What kind of dilemma, Master?"


    "Umm, to be precise, I...I have learned about a dreadful plan being plotted against someone... And I am not supposed to share it with anyone either... If I keep my mouth shut and let it happen the way it''s planned, things will entirely benefit me or I can say...I can score my first glorious victory...


    But...


    If I keep it hidden... A... person will die...and..." He was struggling hard to utter his heartfelt words straight out of his mouth and trailed off.


    "And you don''t want that person to die, isn''t it?" Clara responded abruptly the exact words he was trying to utter surprising him to a great extent.


    _____________________________


    [ A SHORT NOTE:


    HELLHOUNDS are mythological hellish supernatural wild dogs who are also known as "bearers of death." They are voracious, powerful animals possessing mangled black fur, sparkling black eyes without the white scleral part. They are different from werewolves as they possess ghostly characteristics or phantom behavior. They are known as blessed by God of Death and bears an extremely foul smell around them.]


    ----------------------------


    **Please keep voting and commenting :)

 Chapter 109 - Spring Blooms

    Startled at her sudden response, Czar momentarily swirled his pupils wider gazing at Clara in awe. Those words he was struggling too hard to commence out of his mouth, she expressed it so casually, glancing at his deep brown eyes.


    "Judging from your expression, I guess I am right, Master."


    Taking a deep gasp out, he softly nodded his head lowering his glance down at the table. "Yes. I do not want her to die...And it''s kinda pissing me off!"


    "Is that person closer enough to you?" Resting her jowl on her slender soft palm, she further articulated her queries.


    "No," a tinge of melancholy glistened in his eyes as his expression grew further dark. "But she is not a stranger to me... I don''t know why, but...her every act reminds me of someone I have treasured in my heart."


    "Hmmm...then, Master, are you in love with that person?"


    "What? What an absurd question!" Sounding much vexed, he irked out his objection averting her gaze away from her. But somehow, her blunt question made his heart pound like crazy, battling unusual anxiety.


    "Pardon me...but as far I have seen in movies... the person who reminds us of a closer one, usually conquers a safe place in our heart." Taking a small sip of water from the glass she was holding on, she picked up the tissue to wipe her mouth.


    "What she is talking about? If it really ever happens to me then...I guess...I will be fucked up." Anxiously gulping down some water, he directed his gaze back to her tossing a blunt query, "have you ever fallen in love with someone?"


    "No. I have only seen those cheesy kinds of stuff in movies and documentaries." Promptly she responded with a sullen look in her eyes, with her slender rosy lips quivering a little. " Abandoned beings like me, don''t need love to break my heart any further. I am already broken from inside." Her voice crooked a bit.


    "Were you...abandoned?"


    "Ahh, that''s a quite melodramatic story, Master. Let''s talk about it someday else...when we have ample time to spend." Desperately trying hard to conceal her despaired heart from him, she took a small peek at her wristwatch, sharply raising her eyebrows. "Darn it, I really gotta go now or I will be really really late, and probably, my supervisor will bite my head off!"


    Hearing her panic-stricken voice, unknowingly Czar smiled with a glum gaze towards her. Clearing his throat, he took out his credit card from the wallet while mumbling softly, "then...I guess we both are very sad people from inside, trying to seek solace in this merciless world."


    "Hmm, maybe..." Holding a small sad smile putting bright dimples on her cheeks, she stared into his eyes for a while. "But master, I just want to tell you that...you should do whatever your heart follows. Even if the consequences go otherwise, but you won''t feel regret if you obey your heart. As your slave, I can suggest you at least this much since you shared a few of your worriments with me." Her voice sounded soothing and warm for him while he was gawking intensely at her, for the time being.


    ....


    Both of them came walking out of the restaurant, strolling next to each other in gentle footsteps. Putting both of his arms inside his suit pocket, Czar had a pleasant expression on his face, with his blank gaze staring at the tall, beautiful wild olive tree bloomed with thousands of white flowers, right in front of the restaurant.


    "Master, umm, can I use your car to head to my workplace first? I don''t have much time to walk up to the subway station...Besides, you can take the car away after I reach my destination--"


    "No need." A quirky response evoked back from him before she could wrap up her sentence.


    "Pardon?"


    All of a sudden he swung the car keys back to her taking out of his pocket in the air, which she grasped almost immediately holding a baffled expression on her face. "Take the car with you. No need to give it back."


    "Wh-What?"


    "You already heard me. I don''t like to repeat things." Smirking with a warm grimace, he reciprocated to her quickly in a gentle voice.


    "Bu-But," gulping her saliva anxiously she took a small nervous peek at the sumptuous glorified red Porche parked near them which was inviting the attention of almost every person present right there. "It''s a million-dollar worthy car, master! I...I can''t even dream of having that car in this lifetime with such a low working my butt off salary! And...you are giving it to me for free?"


    "I am not giving it for free." He cleared his throat a bit and caressed his hair bangs from the top of his forehead before answering her. "Well, think of it as a thanksgiving gift from your master for hearing my worriments and obeying my orders, today. Nothing else."


    "But...how can I take such an expensive gift from you? And...what about you? How are you going to head back?"


    "Ahh, c''mon, stop bothering me with so many queries!" He sounded a little irked, twitching his eyebrow ridge while glaring at her. "Quit fidgeting so much. All those women I dealt with earlier used to drool over me whenever I rewarded them any presents...And yet you, who look too perplexed right now!"


    "But--"


    "Don''t worry about me, I am the mighty Czar Romano, the second prince of Romano group! I have my separate deluxe collection of such sports cars and I just don''t bother about them anymore. Just take it, before I change my mind. Also, you gotta pick me up from now on whenever I will summon you! Got it? Or you are still hesitant?"


    Hearing his bold assurance, a widespread grin appeared on her porcelain white beautiful face as her deep brown eyes sparkled in joy. "Th-Thank you so much... I...I will take good care of your reward." Bowing her head in order to express her gratitude, she chuckled heartily, radiating in gleam.


    "Why does she look so happy with such a mere gift?" Wondering inside his mind, he shrugged his shoulders before turning back away from her to head in the opposite direction from her. She was watching him leaving while holding a gratifying smile on her face.


    Walking a few steps ahead, his footsteps paused for a moment as he turned back to take a small peek at her. She was already looking at him from behind all smiling. Blissful white olive flower petals were floating with the spring breeze in the entire surrounding, as both of them stood still watching each other silently amidst the dancing small white petals and the sunny radiance.


    "Just...don''t ever catch feelings for me! Or...I might snatch my car back from you!" Smirking with a witty eloquence, he responded in a loud voice breaking the silence between them, waving his hand at her.


    "Pfft! What a weirdo!" Unknowingly she chuckled in bliss, murmuring under soft breath and waving her hand back.


    _____________


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 Chapter 110 - Death Stare

    Bright and pleasant weather, with warm radiant sun rays, was blessing the entire atmosphere while Eva was working on her own inside the cafe. Managing her customers and treating everyone with an equal amount of kindness was the first thing she ever chose to do. While she was preparing an invoice bill for a customer standing before her near the counter, suddenly, she heard some kind of ruckus going inside the cafe. Staring out through the glass walls, several ladies were whispering and murmuring on their own, making surprising expressions.


    "Oh my! Look at him! Such an ethereal handsome man! Gosh...he looks like a Greek God! It''s such a divine charm!"


    Hearing the whispering noises, she frowned her eyebrows and tried to peek at the way they were staring at. But the customer standing before her seemed to be a bit offended as her attention was a bit diverted away from the invoice bill.


    "Excuse me, can you please hurry up a little?" The man seemed to be in his early 30''s, sounding much rude at her.


    "Ah, ye-yes sir," somehow she tried again to concentrate back at the invoice bill, but their whispers were consistently piquing up her curiosities. Stealing a glance away from the tablet screen, she tried to glimpse at the way out and immediately swirled her eyeballs in awe.


    A magnificent glistening black Rolls Royce was parked on the road in front of the cafeteria. Outside the car, dressed up in a complete black Armani suit cupped with a golden wolf-head brooch at the chest, Zeus was leaning his broad muscular shoulder against the car, folding his muscular arms within the arm notch and sharply glancing through the glass barrier, especially towards her. His dark black hair was styled up with gel and his bare forehead look elevated his charm to a thousand extent! He had a serious expression on his face but as soon as both of their eyes met each other, he smirked a bit.


    "Zeus?" Blurting out in wonder, immediately Eva stepped out of the counter and tried to head straight towards him, looking much in a hurry.


    "Hey! Where are you going, lady? What about my order?" The man seemed much surprised a bit agitated to watch her leaving in such a rush from the counter.


    Quickly glancing back at the person behind, she mumbled in a spree," sorry sir, but Zeus comes first." Her blunt answer left him in a daze as he waited behind.


    ....


    "Zeus? What are you doing here today, too?" Abruptly she jolted outside straight towards him, asking him with a baffled look on her face.


    "I want to see you each and every day of my life. I missed you." Welcoming her blissfully stretching out open his wide arms, he tugged her inside his embrace, softly caressing her hair and resting his chin on her shoulder.


    "Gosh, you are such a baby. Even today you surprised me with your sudden arrival! Why didn''t you summon me while you were waiting outside? How long you were going to stand here and stare at me?"


    A soft smile appeared on his puffy cherry red lips while hearing her pouty complaints and he lifted up his chin from her shoulder. Tenderly caressing her cheek while glancing straight into her eye, he muttered, "I didn''t want to bother you when you were working silently. So I was just going to stand here and look at you."


    "And your glorifying presence is already enough to flutter all the women''s hearts and causing a ruckus inside the cafe." She was sulking her face while scanning him vividly from head to toe. "Gosh, just look at you! Why do you look even more handsome today? What''s up with this hairstyle and dress-up? Are you gonna give a heart attack to all the women out there?"


    "Am I looking good enough for you?"


    "Good? My heart is almost about to burst out of my chest as it can''t handle your bright charm! Even supermodels or top celebrities can''t handle your charisma! I am worried...if you go out dressing up like this...what if you attract a ton of ladies towards you? What am I going to do then if someone tries to steal you away from me?" Her deep voice reverberated a bit as she was holding his arm tightly while lodging her complaints.


    "That will never happen, rest assured." Zeus further clutched her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckle, trying to comfort her worried heart. "Every human either has been scared of me or has resented me. You are the first one, who bravely strived to love me. I am grateful for that, Eva."


    "EXCUSE ME?"


    All of a sudden, their romantic soft moment was interrupted by a deep hoarse voice from behind as Eva flinched hard and shifted her gaze sideways. That person who was waiting for the order at the counter came straight out of the door and called out Eva quite in an imprudent tone. Zeus raised his gaze up from her and glared at the person who interrupted their moment.


    "How long I have to wait more inside? Is this the way you treat your customers by leaving them inside and having your sweet moment here? This is an ill-service..."


    All of a sudden his irked voice trailed off as his eyes shifted straight towards Zeus who was already glaring at him with a murderous cold gaze, grasping Eva in his arms. A spine-chilling sensation aroused in his body and immediately he got goosebumps, taking a step back from them.


    "Wh-Why is that man glaring at me like that?  Lo-Look at his gaze, it''s horrifying!" He stuttered in fear pointing a finger towards Zeus when without uttering a single word, he was scowling at him with his dark black pupils, making a devilish facial expression.


    "Zeus? Stop...Stop glaring at him like that! You are scaring him!" She whisper-shouted in his ears trying to calm him down a little but he seemed much irked at him.


    "Fuck off your coffee! I am leaving from here right now!" Stomping his feet in anger, the guy walked out of the premises leaving both of them behind. While leaving, he could still perceive a sharp vicious glare on his back which was much terrifying him furthermore.


    "Zeus! Will you stop threatening people with your death stare? Look, he ran away in fear!" Eva sounded a bit bothered, frowning her eyebrows at him.


    "I want to slit his throat." He grumbled in a low cold voice gazing straight at the way the guy left.


    ______________________


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 Chapter 111 - Evolve Your Heart

    "Wh-What?"


    "I want to kill that annoying human!" Zeus'' face scowled at the direction he was looking at while he grumbled out in a scary low pitch.


    For a few seconds, Eva kept glancing at him with countless worriments in her dark brown eyes and took a deep sigh out. Softly, she caressed his broad chest with her tender arms and whispered to him, "why do you want to kill every other human? Are you a serial killer?"


    "Because they are annoying. I can''t stand annoying stuff--"


    "Have you ever found me annoying?"


    Suddenly, with her soft interruption, he was startled a little and shifted his intense eyes quickly at her oval-shaped small face. The kind of question was unexpected from her and quickly he shook his head in declination, "no! of course not!"


    "Because you love me, Zeus. Similarly, when these people also have someone in their life whom they love dearly. But if you kill each and every one of them, can you imagine how much their loved ones will suffer?" She tenderly caressed his soft side face looking straight into his eyes, tossing a small sad smile.


    For a while, Zeus stayed absolutely quiet without uttering a single word, with his gaze intensively fixed upon Eva, breathing in deeply.


    "The one you love is also a human... Not every human is annoying, not every human is harsh...Kind people still do exist in this world...just like the way you found me, Zeus. So...don''t you think you should at least open your cold heart to the rest of the humans since you are living in the same world with them?" She asserted in a soft voice.


    Zeus stood still lowering his eyes and grimacing his perplexed face. Somehow her kind words arose a tinge of sadness in his heart and a deep sigh escaped out his breath. "I don''t resent them out of no reason... They...They have always stabbed us in the back causing us so much pain... We bear our own deep scars inside..."


    Eva didn''t try to pursue him any further and quietly enough stood closer to him while holding his warm hands and looking straight into his sad gaze. The atmosphere around them was growing heavier and she wittily, she tried to divert the topic into a light-hearted one.


    "Well, are you heading somewhere, Zeus? You are groomed quite magnificently! Too handsome for my heart..." Poking his cheeks softly, she muttered in a mellow tone.


    He raised his chin up and stared into her eyes with a wide grin appearing on his elegant jawline. "I have an important meeting today, so...I was heading back to Romano Organization... I wish...I could let you keep working there by my side, Eva."


    "That''s fine, we can still spend moments with each other outside work." She grasped his arm a bit tighter and tossed a warm smile looking at him. "As long as you are in my life, I am pleased with everything, Zeus. But...don''t head back to the office looking too handsome like this...the female employees would start drooling over your charm and I am very possessive about it."


    He chuckled out while gawking at her pouty face as she appeared to be unbelievably cute at that moment. Softly tugging her waist a little closer to his firm body, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, stroking her soft hair holding a blissful smile. "I am already yours and my heart will be only yours till eternity. There is no in-between. "


    Happily nodding her head with faith in their love, her face grew a bit pale as she fidgeted for a few seconds. She seemed to be thinking about something inside and after a small pause, she mumbled out, "Zeus, tomorrow it''s weekend...Umm, do you have some spare time or...I mean...can you spend the whole day with me tomorrow?"


    "Umm, yes, anything for you. Why?"


    A sad smile emerged on her jowls as she lowered her gaze down from him. "I will take you somewhere with me...to introduce you to someone..."


    "M-Me?"


    "Yes. So...just be groomed up in all black like today and meet me at Corsolia Street within 9 am. I will be waiting for you there."


    "But I can pick you straight from your home--"


    "That''s fine. Just...meet me tomorrow and..I will take you somewhere special." Interrupting his sentence, she tenderly caressed his side face holding a gloomy gaze in her eyes. Her sudden request somehow confused him a bit but he couldn''t oppose her proposal and almost agreed to it immediately.


    "Alright, so it will be our first date tomorrow. I will make sure to make you the happiest tomorrow." Smirking with a jovial appearance, Zeus mumbled before taking a peek at his wristwatch. "Ahh, it''s almost time now, I have to head back to my office."


    "Okay, see you tomorrow." Nodding her head, she intended to move a bit away from him as he turned back to step into his car. All of a sudden, his feet halted, and immediately glancing back at her, he placed a soft, sudden kiss on her puffy cheeks quite unexpectedly.


    "Huh? Ze-Zeus..."


    "I love you," Whispering soft in her ears, his mischievous sudden kiss turned her flushed red in embarrassment. A wide grin appeared on her face as he continued glancing at him while touching his grimace, "I love you too."


    The car soon left out the premises leaving dark black smoke and Eva standing behind, gazing at the way with a blank stare in her eyes. A void of sadness seemed visible in her dark eyes as whispered on her own,


    "I guess someday... I will be able to erase the hatred you bear towards humans, Zeus. Someday... I will make you see the world in a whole different way...as I am sure enough, my love will definitely evolve your cold heart. I promise...I will let it happen."


    _________________________


    Thanks to all your blessings and prayers, I am really doing well now much better than before... So please be like this together with me for a really long time :*


    I will be completely fine really soon :)


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 Chapter 112 - What!?

    It was almost around evening time. Completing her shift at the cafe, Eva was walking towards the subway to head back straight to home. The street lights were illuminating the entire streets as she walked past them, glancing up above at the dusky sky. Indeed, Mr. Beck didn''t come back to the cafe and as she was instructed, she had to close the cafeteria heading out first. The thought of spending the entire next day with Zeus was putting a blissful feeling inside her mind. But somehow, her face looked a bit pale, with a sullen appearance outside. Something was indeed bothering her but she was trying hard to stay all composed.


    [PHONE RINGING]


    She took the cellphone out of her handbag and it was no one other than her best friend, Clara. Lit up with a broad smile, she picked it up and answered, "hello?"


    "Eva, hey are you free right now?"


    "Umm, yes, why?"


    "Let''s meet up for a drink. It''s been a long time since we had been out for drinks! Are you up for it?"


    Hearing the gentle pleading from her, Eva quickly glanced at her wristwatch and it was 7 pm. Wondering for a few seconds, she quickly nodded her head in response, "alright, let''s meet up. I have gotta many things to share with you, Clara."


    "Perfect. Then let''s meet up within half an hour at our favorite restaurant. See you soon." She sounded much rejoiced with her answer and quickly enough disconnected the call. Eva halted her motion and turned around to head in the opposite direction since she resembled much relieved to grab a drink with her best friend.


    ....


    Eva was the first one to reach their decided destination, i.e the Le Bella Restaurant. It''s been a long time enough since they have been usually coming there to relieve their stress. Glancing at the wristwatch, she was waiting for Clara tapping her feet on the ground impatiently.


    But she didn''t have to wait much longer either. A sumptuous, red Porsche Turbo soon arrived at the venue and stopped right before her. Eva seemed a bit curious about its arrival and surprising her furthermore, Clara stepped out of it, quite in a glorious style, holding a broad smile.


    "Clara?" Blinking her long eyelashes in awe, she blurted out in an impertinent tone while consistently glancing at both her and the car. The sight was quite unexpected since it was a dream car for both of them, worthy of million dollars!


    "Did I surprise you, Eva?" She chuckled while mumbling in a polite note, walking close to her.


    "Where did you get this car? Did you borrow it from someone?" She sounded much bewildered.


    "Nope. This car is mine, now."


    "What?" Swirling her eyeballs wider in shock, she stood still like a statue, gawking at Clara.


    "I said, this car is mine now. Isn''t it glorious, Eva?"


    "H...Hey, Clara...this car is worth of million dollars...Where did you get so much capital?" Walking a step closer to her, she quickly grabbed her arm and glancing around themselves, lowered her voice, "don''t tell me, you are indulged in illegal activities to make a living! Tell me the truth, Clara... You are scaring me now!"


    "Pfftt!" Monitoring her panicked face, Clara couldn''t resist her chuckle as it was kind of amusing for her to tease her. She swirled her eyeballs mystically and glanced back at her, wondering inside, "well, the kind of Master-Slave relation we have doesn''t seem to be illegal. But I can''t tell her all these... as a softie like her will definitely freak out hearing that a bold woman like me is striving as someone''s slave now! Damn, why did I even got tangled in such a mess?"


    "Clara? Hey? What aren''t you answering?"


    "Ahhh," she revived back her senses with her loud call and tapped her shoulder to assure her anxious self. "Don''t fret too much, Eva. It''s nothing that you are thinking! Umm, actually, you can say that I won the car in a lotto, quite unexpectedly!"


    "Lotto?"


    "Yes and now it''s all mine! Doesn''t the car model look sexy enough? Damn, I am already in love with it!" She had a widespread grin that emerged out on her lower jowls, with her deep brown eyeballs sparkling in bliss and she was talking about the car.


    Watching her broad smile and blissful gaze, Eva felt a bit assured and smirked in pleasure. She softly poked her with her right elbow, trying to praise in her joy, "of course, it has sexy, elegant looks! Damn, I feel so jealous of your luck, Clara...But I am so darn happy that finally, you have achieved to score your dream car... Finally, good things are happening in our lives!"


    "So tonight, the drinks will be on mine! Let''s go!" Clenching her arm in a tight grip, both of them head straight into the restaurant, gleaming in happiness.


    ......


    "Cheers for your brand new car! Much more success to come soon for you my dear best friend!" Eva raised a toast congratulating Clara with a broad grin spread all over her face while Clara sat opposite her, watching her happy smile with gleaming eyes.


    "Eva, it soothes my heart to watch you always being so happy with my small achievements...Thank you." She reciprocated her toast, chuckling wider and gulping down the whole glass of whiskey in a spree.


    "Well, since it''s a rejoiceful moment, let me share something with you which I have been itching to tell you... Clara, I am finally dating!" She asserted in a thrilling voice, gawking at her intensely.


    "What? When? How? When did this miracle happen? Why didn''t you tell me earlier?" Shocked at her revelation, she shot several questions at her being all impatient.


    "I wanted to tell you that day when you had called me earlier, but...quickly enough you disconnected the call... But, finally, I have found the one for me, Clara!"


    "Woah, way to go, girl!" She winked at her, grinning in bliss and pouring some whiskey in her glass before further response, "so who is the lucky man who dared to enchant your heart?"


    Eva lowered her gaze down, blushing quite hard at her sharp inquiry. After a few seconds of silence she reciprocated softly, "he is quite a popular business tycoon and talk of the town... I hope you have heard his name, Zeus Romano...CEO of Romano Organization."


    "POOOFFF!"


    (Cough) Cough)


    Spilling out all the whiskey from her mouth, Clara started coughing intensely, being spellbound at her answer!  Eva seemed quite startled to get such a reaction from her and gulped anxiously. After a few seconds of awkward troublesome reaction, trying to calm down a little, Clara rolled her eyeballs in shock and shrieked out loud at her, "what?"


    _________________________


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 Chapter 113 - Verbal Spat

    "Umm, Clara...are you alright? What kind of reaction was that?"


    "What did you say? You...You are dating Zeus Romano?" Ignoring her anxious worriment, she tossed a fiery question straight towards her, rolling her dilated pupils in angst.


    "Ye-Yes."


    "But why?"


    "Wh-Why?"


    "Out of all the people residing here in Rione Monti, why it has to be him? Why didn''t you find someone else to be with?" Unable to suppress her tremendous trepidation, she screamed out quite aloud, attracting the attention of a few customers who were stealing glances at them. Eva was spellbound with her frantic reaction as it was extremely unexpected from her. Till now, she had been always supporting her in every aspect, and she had hoped for it too, this time. But she received the exact opposite reaction from her which somehow, offended her heart.


    "Clara, please calm down a little. People are watching us here. this is a public place--"


    "I don''t give a damn to others!" Blurting out fiercely, she grabbed her arm placed on the table and clenched anxiously. "Why it has to be that man? How can you date him when he is a..." All of a sudden, her voice trailed off, twitching her jaws.


    "When he is a? What?" Scrunching her eyebrows, Eva reciprocated her answer bluntly, frowning at her.


    "He is a werewolf, damn it! I wish...I could say this louder! But these darn humans around us!" Gritting her teeth in anticipation, Clara took a deep breath out to calm down her temperament from getting further accelerated. "He...He is a Cassanova!" She asserted in a rugged pitch.


    "What?"


    "You heard me right, Eva! That man has an ill reputation among the business tycoons of our town! He likes to toy with other women as if they are their playthings and maybe that''s what he is doing with you right now--"


    "ENOUGH!"


    All of a sudden, like a striking thunderbolt, Eva grumbled out in fury, slamming her hand hard on the table to stop her statement. It was the very first time in their 17 years of friendship, Clara saw her fumed in such a fit of rage and her jowls quivered a bit in angst. Eva was breathing very intensely, glaring at her while clenching her fist on the table.


    "E...Eva?"


    "I said, enough of your crap, Clara!" She sounded severely angry, scowling her grimace.


    "Crap? You think...whatever I am talking is...crap?"


    "That person almost had died to save my life! He tossed away his own life before mine! He even saved me from taking away my own darn life! And...And you are telling me that he is toying with my feelings? I know it evident how much that person loves me and I don''t need to prove it to anyone, not even you Clara!" Yelling out in a fuming pitch, she glared straight in her deep eyes, frowning her face in resentment.


    Clara sat still resting her back against the chair, clenching the glass of whiskey in her other arm, acting all numb. Her eyes gawked upon Eva''s fiery gaze but her mind was horrified with countless thoughts running wild in her imagination.


    "She definitely doesn''t know about his real identity! I bet it...there is no way she would be still and try to defend him if she had known about his bitter existence... She...She is in love with an alpha of a pack yet she is expecting me to calm down and praise her? She...doesn''t even a simple idea about the edge of the abyss she is standing by... History is repeating again this time...I don''t want her to face the cruel end... just like her mother... No...I gotta do something...I can''t let it repeat again!" Twitching her eyebrows, she was being wholly frantic inside, tapping her feet under the table in dread.


    "However, I didn''t come here today to receive such an extreme absurd reaction from you, Clara. I don''t know, why the heck you tried to flaunt those nasty rumors about him, trying to demotivate my spirit. But...I have complete faith in my love and I know at least this much, Zeus will never love any other woman if it''s not me. I hope someday, you can see it yourself." Snapping hard with displeasure, she stood up from her seat, intending to leave the place right away.


    "Wait, Eva!" In the jolt of a second, Clara stepped up grabbing her forearm while trying to stop her from leaving. The situation was turning out to be quite messy and it was much disheartening, it was the first aggression they ever showed to each other in all these prolonged years of friendship.


    "Clara, let go of my hand--"


    "No, I won''t leave you before you listen to me!" Tightening her grip on her arm, she desperately tried to hold her, swallowing her own trepidation deep down inside. "Eva...you are the only friend I ever had in my life! I have always wished the best for you! I have always supported you in every stuff...but! But this time...this time it''s not right...It''s not what you think!"


    "Clara, spit it out loud and clear. Don''t make things more complicated between us."  Snarling at her in a rugged low pitch, her eyes intensely ogled at her.


    "How can I spit it out, damn it! How can I say the man you are dating belongs to the lineage who is the reason behind your painful life! He is one of the kind from which I have always tried to keep you away! I am scared for your life...I even chose to conceal my identity forever just so that I can stay by your side, to follow the promise I have made to your father! How can I leave you alone when you are almost about to jump off a cliff?" She was wondering inside, twitching her jowls and panicking inside.


    "Will you say something or just be quiet like this? Your silence is irking me enough, Clara."


    "Eva, whatever I am saying you have a reason...has a meaning behind it! All my life...I just wished for you to be safe and...involving with a person like him won''t bring you any good! I promise, will...I will let you know the reason when the time comes, but...I don''t want you to suffer from any bad stuff in your life...I don''t want you ever to be heartbroken... Please, try to understand my emotions, Eva." Trying hard to hold back her tears of helplessness welled up in her eyes, she tried to convince her desperately.


    Momentarily she stood still, staring intensively at her dark brown eyes and emitting out a heavy sigh. For a moment, grimacing hard stuffed with pain, she lowered her eyes down from her, whispering back, "that''s the choice I have made Clara... No matter what other consequences are awaited for me, I still want Zeus to stay by my side. As...he is the only person who ever made me feel secured and safe, just with his presence after my dad."


    Speechless and numb at her answer, she tried to reciprocate her response in a teary broken voice, "Eva...please try to understand my concern--"


    "Clara please let go of my arm. We will talk about it again when both of us will be in our right senses." Her deep dark eyes were glistening in tears as she unhitched her arm intensely away from her grip. She couldn''t stare anymore at her grievous face and lowering her eyes down, she mumbled out, "I am heading out first now."


    "Eva--"


    "Bye." Stomping her foot hard on the ground, she walked out fiercely like a storm straight out of the restaurant while trying hard to resist her tears from rolling down. It was the first-ever ugly spat they ever had with each other and both of them were equally heartbroken, distressed with agony.


    Clara quietly glanced behind, watching her leaving out of her sight fiercely. As soon as she left, she tried hard to crash and break the table to vent out her anger, but she chose to stay frigid as the action could have caused her other unnecessary problems. "Fuck! What a fucking situation I am stuck in right now! Damn... I feel so fucking helpless... What can I do to stop her---"


    All of a sudden, at a lightning-fast pace, a thought crossed her mind which caused her whole body to shiver in fright. Gulping down her saliva, she rolled her pupils restlessly murmuring on her.


    "Was...Was Mr. Czar talking about Eva that time? Is...Is something horrific being plotted against her? Is she being targeted by the pack? Will...Will they try to... kill her? What the fuck! Why I didn''t realize it earlier!" Immediately without wasting a further second, she grabbed her phone and frantically started dialing Czar, gasping out of breath.


    "THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF NETWORK COVERAGE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER." The same answer came back consistently from the other side of the call as she desperately tried to dial him a number of times.


    Swaying in wrath, she flipped the phone hard on the table hard and shrieked out helplessly, "FUCK! FUCK IT ALL!"

 Chapter 114 - Simplicity

    The next day...


    The weather seemed a bit dusky along with ash-colored clouds floating all around in the endless horizon, emitting out a melancholic aura in the entire atmosphere. There wasn''t a bright radiance of sunrays, rather than, a cool mild breeze was wavering the small, freshly bloomed purple Oleanders, grown on the shrubs, arrayed next to each other on both the sidewalks of Corsolia Street.


    Dressed up in a black full sleeve laced sheer gown with minimal makeup and flaunting her shimmering untied silky brown hair down her shoulder, Eva was waiting for her date, standing beside an Oleander tree, impatiently glancing at her wristwatch.


    Though she had put minimal makeup for her first-ever date day with her beloved one, her grimace looked a bit pale with sleep-deprived sore eyebags just below her eyes. The verbal spat with Clara was enough for her to keep her awake through the whole night as her heart was in immense pain. Clara has been the only person who has firmly stood by her side in all highs and lows of life. The first fight between them had shaken her up from the core, and she was trying hard not to make her worries evident before Zeus as it was quite an important day for her.


    Soon enough, her wait was over when a big charcoal black deluxe car stopped right before her, causing her to flinch a bit.


    Zeus, stepped out of the car, completely dressed up in a shimmering black luxurious suit, with a glorious charm over his porcelain bright elegant face. Just by having a single glance at him, unknowingly, a wide smile appeared on her grimace as she kept looking at the way.


    "Did I make you wait for a long time?" Slowly walking closer to her, he whispered tenderly, holding her soft hand tight in his broad palm.


    "No. It''s nothing. You are the only one who can make me wait, I won''t mind it." Smiling meekly, she promptly replied.


    Zeus was staring at her invincibly dilating his brown pupils and all of a sudden, his wide smile tainted a little. Frowning his eyebrows, he intended to ask her quite impertinently, "Eva, haven''t you slept properly last night? Why I can see swollen eye bags beneath your eyes? Were you stressed out about something?"


    "Ahh, umm, no! It''s...It''s nothing! I really had a good sleep, trust me! I don''t know when did I have eyebags...haha! It''s really nothing... Don''t worry." Trying hard to project a burst of fake laughter to ease his worries, she mumbled out.


    "Eva, you aren''t hiding something from me, right---"


    "Zeus, please stop worrying about me so much! You are really spoiling me too bad! If you always pamper me like this, how am I gonna live whenever you aren''t around me?" Softly poking his cheeks with her tiny fingers, she spoke in a mild tone, smiling on her own. Her eyes were shimmering in gleam while glancing intensely at her beloved.


    "I won''t leave your side." Caressing her shimmering hair threads away from her beautiful face, replying in a loving tone, staring back at her. "Even if you chase me away someday, I still would find my way back to you."


    Hearing his soft voice, piercing quite deep inside, her heart throbbed hard blooming a ray of hope in her deep eyes as she gazed at him. Tenderly nodding her head in response she answered him, "alright. Then, let''s head straight to our destination today."


    "Okay, then get inside the car." Zeus slightly tilted his head, pointing at the car. Hearing his indication, a tall well-dressed young man working as his apprentice in the Romano group came outside the car, opening the car door for both of them.


    "Car? Are we going by car?" Frowning her eyebrows, she sounded a bit displeased.


    "Why? Um, do you want to go by something else? Should I just call my private jet?"


    "Ahh, c''mon Zeus, it''s way too much for me." Hearing his unthinkable suggestions, she smirked at him swirling her eyes. "I am a simple woman, Zeus. And...I want to lead a simple life with you. So, let''s start it by today. We will head to our destination by bus."


    "Bus?" Sounding much offended at her retaliation, he frowned his thick black eyebrows gawking at her.


    "Yes, there is a bus stop nearby."


    "But why we have to go by bus? I hate crowds, I hate humans... Why do I have to travel with them on our first date?" Objecting quite bluntly, he appeared quite agitated.


    Eva somehow had expected his irked reaction after hearing his suggestion but holding a soft smile towards him she tried hard to pursue his cold heart, "I am a human too, Zeus. If you can love me so much...can''t you be just a little kinder towards the rest of them? I...I just wanted to spend our date as any other ordinary couple, forgetting our stressful circumstances. Is it really that impossible to accept?"


    Just by hearing out her earnest pleading and soft voice, his heart melted a bit as he took out a deep sigh of defeat. Unwillingly nodding his head, he muttered in a rugged voice, "O-Okay...Let''s go to the bus stop. But I won''t spare any annoying beings who dares to spoil our special day!"


    "No one will do it! Trust me, I will be your safety pin for today who will bottle up your agitations from venting out." Tightly gripping his arm, she pointed straight towards the opposite direction of their way and chuckled in happiness. Watching her all smiley and jovial by his side, a tinge of a small grin appeared on his roseate lips as obediently like a small puppy, he followed her lead towards the bus stop.


    Walking next to each other, all of a sudden his phone rang out aloud flinching both of them as it was quite unexpected at that very moment.


    Frowning his face, he grabbed out his phone and noticed, it was his assistant who was bothering him at that time. Slightly he glanced back at her and she happily nodded her head, giving her approval to pick it up.


    "Why are you bothering me today, Mr. Pavlov? Today is my special day--"


    "Pardon me sir, but...I have gathered some informations about that intern, Miss Eva Ricci, just as you had asked me." The voice sounded a bit impatient, interrupting Zeus on the call.


    Stealing a small peek at smiling Eva while walking next to her, holding her hand tight, he whispered in a mystic dark voice, "tell me everything about it."


    __________________


    **The real revelation begins...


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    300 PS: Mass release!!

 Chapter 115 - 10 Years Ago

    "Her father, Mr. Stevan Ricci was an architect-planner, sir. He seemed to be a kind man, having a good reputation among his clients and colleagues. Her mother, Mrs. Eleana Ricci was a homemaker and also had a good reputation in every neighborhood they lived in. She also had an older brother, named Felix Ricci, who worked as a special ranger officer in Cansaglio Forest. They seemed to be a well-known happy family. These are the basic details about her family members but...surprisingly, each of them has suffered...a brutal death. She seems to have such a stroke of harsh luck, that she had to mourn for each of her family members all alone." The grew a bit heavy as it depicted the information he gathered along.


    "That means, Eva didn''t lie to me about any of her familial matter." Stealing a small glance at her, Zeus gulped his saliva anxiously looking at her smiling face. His inner soul felt a bit guilty about the investigations he was carrying out without her consent, and watching her broad innocent smile, he helplessly lowered his gaze down.


    "When did all of these happen?" He murmured intentionally in a low pitch, trying hard not to caught up in her suspicion on their very first date together.


    "Umm, sir, around 10 years ago, her parents suffered a severe horrific accident near the Bella Cino street on one fateful night. Miss Eva too was caught up in the accident as she was present right there with her parents. But somehow, she made it through but her poor parents couldn''t..."


    "Bella Cino street? After so many years...that place...." Wondering inside his mind, he frowned his eyebrows anxiously.


    "Zeus, are you alright? Why do you look so tensed?" Softly peeking at his perplexed face, she tossed a straight query at him.


    "Oh, no it''s nothing." Tackling hard to assure her with a fake grin, he put the call on hold for a few seconds before asking her politely, "Eva, if you don''t mind, can I go over there and talk over for a few minutes? The call seems very important for our company," he pointed towards a giant Oleanna tree, located a few steps away from them.


    "Yes, of course. Go ahead." She grinned with a gleaming gesture in her eyes, gazing at him tenderly.


    Retreating towards the tree with a sad smile on his face, his heart was growing heavier in guilt and anticipation. He softly glanced back at Eva before focusing on the call back again, thinking silently, "Eva trusts me blindly... She loves me way too much... And, here...I am carrying out her investigation without her consent... I mustn''t do it but...I am helpless! I need to know everything about her!"


    "Sir, are you still there?" The voice muttered out aloud from the other side of the call.


    "Yes. Did you just say, Bella Cino Street? 10 years ago? Tell me the date of the accident?"


    "I am still unable to find the exact date, sir. But it was around springtime... Probably close to that day when we were traveling through Bella Cino, at that night..."


    Suddenly, his heart throbbed a bit in anticipation as the man spoke out about the past event. Gulping his saliva down, he scrunched his eyebrows before retaliating, "any further information?"


    "Her brother was killed by the attack of wild animals inside the Cansaglio Forest. And...I also found a bit peculiar information about them--"


    "Spit it out, quick."


    "Her family has a history of moving out a couple of times to different places, like Cento Storico, Prati, Testaccio and now it''s Rione Monti. She also had her education completing in different towns but for the last 10 years, she has been living here with her brother after her parents died." The voice resonated as an echo over the call, speaking mystically.


    "Why? What''s the reason behind it?" Unable to suppress his query, Zeus grumbled out in a deep voice, looking a bit fretful.


    "I am trying to trace about that. I will let you know when I will find any further information. Thank you, sir."


    As soon as he finished his interpretations, Zeus disconnected the call, emitting out a deep sigh. His eyes seemed filled with anxiety, as he raised his chin gazing at the dusky horizon above.


    "Bella Cino...huh? I had never imagined... I would come across that place again..." He mumbled out, with his mind focussed on the incident that happened 10 years ago.


    ....


    [FLASHBACK]


    24th April 2010;


    "Darn it! We are already late for our meeting, now the shortcut route has been blocked too! Such an awful day I am having!"


    Sitting at the backseat, Zeus whined out aloud in a furious voice, adjusting his necktie. His face seemed quite agitated as he grumbled towards Mr. Pavlov, who was driving the car for him.


    "I am sorry sir, but we have to take the Bella Cino route, as we don''t have any choice left now." He whispered.


    "Whatever, I gotta reach the venue quick. Drive it a bit faster." Taking a deep sigh out, he shifted his gaze towards the side window viewing the outside night scenarios. The street was a quiet desolated broad one. In the soft moonlight, the dark forest surrounding both sides of the street seemed mystically dark.


    .


    SCREECH!


    .


    Suddenly, halting the car all by clutching the break, it made quite a weird sound as it was stopped in the middle of the street.


    "What''s wrong now? We are already late today!" Zeus sounded intensely infuriated, shrieking at him aloud.


    "Si...Sir!" Palpitated and shocked, he stuttered in a deep voice, "there''s an accident happened here... It''s...a pool of blood!!"


    "What?" Immediately without wasting a single second, Zeus jolted outside the car glancing at the front where they halted. Indeed, a brutally smashed white car was standing at the right corner of the road and two bodies were lying down on the ground, covered in blood and bruises!


    ________________________


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 Chapter 116 - Savior

    [Flashback]


    .


    "Darn it! What the heck just happened here!" Wondering with a frown grimace, Zeus closed the car door and stared intensively at the bloody sight. Those were two female bodies, lying on the road separated by a few meters apart.


    "Sir, it seems something terrible has happened here!" Blurting out aloud, Mr. Pavlov looked quite panic-stricken while he was gawking at the view.


    Without giving any response to his answer, Zeus firmly walked ahead towards the female who was lying in a bit closer proximity to him. As soon as he reached that lady, rolling his eyes while glancing around everywhere at the forest, sniffing the air a few times.


    "Damn! I smell wolves here...nearby..." Thinking inside, he shifted his gaze down at the lady who was severely injured by the accident.


    Swallowed by impertinence, he knelt down on the ground to have a closer look at that lady, swirling his eyeballs. From a close view, she looked like a young high school student, smeared in blood. Her blood-soaked fine black hair was flickered on her face, covering it from being visible. Only a small portion of her lower jaw including her roseate soft lips was visible through the mess-like hair threads. Mr. Pavlov hastily ran ahead to monitor the second woman who was lying down at a nearby distance from her, swirling his pupils in horror. He gently held her blood-smeared wrist to check her pulse and indeed made a displeased face.


    "Sir... This...This woman is...already dead." He shrieked in fear, looking back at Zeus who was still glancing at the high school girl, lowering his face down.


    Hearing out his proclamation, Zeus slowly raised his arm and brought his broad two fingers closer to her nose hidden amidst mesh hair, to monitor her breathing. Miraculously, she was still alive, breathing very faintly!


    "This girl is alive." He raised his gaze up and mumbled in a deep voice, frowning his face.


    "Really? Sir, then should we just take her to a nearby hospital?"


    "Are you crazy?" Irked at his suggestion, he scowled at him grumbling in a rugged voice. "We have to attend our annual business meet and yet you are suggesting such silly advice?"


    "But..." Fidgeting anxiously at his hoarse scolding, he slowly glanced at that young lady looking much morose. "Sir, if we wait and seek for medical help...till then...she might die too! She is also severely injured and--"


    "So what? We don''t have a choice apart from that. Call medical emergency and inform about this accident. I am sure some help would soon come here. I will head back to the car." He glanced back at her while commanding him in a deep voice, scrunching his eyebrows.


    Mr. Pavlov seemed a bit distressed with his rigid, cold declaration and unwillingly nodded his head agreeing to it. He took out his phone and started to seek medical help walking a few steps away from them.


    "There are wolves nearby, I can definitely sense them. I wonder if this all mishap has been caused by them..." Wondering inside his mind, he was about to stand up from the ground, heading back towards his car. As he was about to do it, suddenly, a strange incident happened!


    Her right index finger flicked a little as if she was still conscious about what''s going on around here! She was breathing heavily and her lips started to quiver in pain. She was trying to utter something in an unclear low voice which immediately caught Zeus''s attention.


    "Is she awake?" Thinking about it, he tried to lean his face a bit closer to observe her but found something peculiar instead!


    Her blood smelled unusually sweet which he had never sensed in any human before. Moreover, the smell was quite captivating for animals, and without even realizing it, his insides started to crave fresh blood as his animal instinct was triggered by it.


    "Damn! What''s with this strange smell? It feels so strange--"


    "Sa...Save me..."


    All of a sudden, he flinched hard as the young girl muttered out feebly gasping out a heavy breath of air. Her body seemed twitching in pain and she seemed struggling hard to make it through.


    "Hey, are you awake now?" Frowning his grimace, he inquired her impertinently.


    "Please...Please save...me... I...I want to...live..."


    Uttering out in a gibberish tone, she lost her consciousness again. This time, her breath was gradually going slower as if her end moment was nearby...


    Steadily looking at her motionless body for a few seconds, Zeus raised his glance up and looked at Mr. Pavlov who was desperately trying to seek medical help despite all network issues in such a desolated area.


    Taking a deep heavy sigh out, he further glanced back at her looking bothered. Watching her begging for her life, his cold heart was feeling a bit of pity for her helplessness.


    "Though I didn''t want to involve with any human today, yet you left me with no choice." Mumbling in a timid voice, he softly touched her head near the frontal portion with his broad palm. Immediately a spark of red mystic flame appeared out of his palm as a result of the touch! Swirling his pupils, abruptly they transformed into bright red dominant color while he was applying his supernatural power.


    "I am healing you for now. Don''t worry, you won''t die till the medical help arrives. It''s an alpha''s word." While he mumbled in a feeble tone, the red flame that was emerging out from his palm immediately scattered around her entire body and it reflected a reddish flash of light before disappearing. The flame was the healing shield that he used at that moment to keep her alive.


    As soon as the flame disappeared in the thin air, Zeus moved away from his arms from her head and sighed out heavily. His eyeballs obtained the usual black form and he proclaimed out in a low tone, "don''t appear before me again. I don''t want to remind of memory of saving a human like you."


    .


    "Sir, the ambulance will be here within 10minutes! This girl can be still saved now!" Mr. Pavlov almost came running back to him, grinning in bliss as he came up with the pleasant news.


    "Alright, that means we can leave now."


    "Yes sir, but...I feel bad for that woman," he pointed his finger towards the second woman lying down dead at a distance from them. "She seems to be the mother of this young girl... This poor girl will gonna be heartbroken once she wakes up."


    Staying stiff and numb at his reciprocation, Zeus was glancing at her with a sullen deep gaze. "I feel pity for you that...probably...you will also have to live a regretful life like me..." He wondered before standing up from the ground.


    Before turning back at his car, he softly glimpsed at the young girl for the last time who was still unconscious but her breathing was gradually turning to normal. Sighing a deep huff of breath, he started heading backward.


    ...


    "Zeus!? Hey, Zeus??"


    "Huh!?" Suddenly reviving himself back from the past flashback where he was immersed, Zeus shifted his gaze towards Eva who seemed much anxious, calling out his name quite aloud holding his arm.


    "Zeus? What''s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Are you alright?" She looked much intense, asking him consistently without a pause.


    "M...Me?"


    "Yes! What were you thinking here for the past few minutes? I...I called you several times but you weren''t answering me! I got scared again that you might be feeling sick... Zeus, are you alright?" Clutching his broad palm in her slender soft arm, she continued while gawking at him.


    "Ahh, yes. I am absolutely fine. It...it was nothing, I was just thinking about something trivial." Clearing his throat a bit, he tried to retaliate in a gentle voice to assure her further.


    "Really?" Frowning her face anxiously, she sighed out deeply, "gosh, I was so damn scared! Pheww!"


    "I am sorry for making you worry, Eva. I won''t do it again." Further tightening his grip on her arm he whispered softly before cupping her side face tenderly.


    "Al...Alright, then let''s head towards our destination. Or else, we will gonna be late." Taking a peek at her wristwatch, she mumbled in a cold deep voice. Holding arms with each other, she started heading straight towards the bus stop with Zeus obediently following her lead.


    "Why? Why did I remind of that young girl today? I...I wonder if she is alive or not...


    But I am curious, where is she taking me today?" He wondered on his own, glancing at Eva impertinently.


    "Don''t fret too much, I am not kidnaping you." Peeping at him holding a warm smile on her face, she muttered out understanding his anticipation.


    "Were you reading my mind, Eva?"


    "No, but I want to assure you. The place is indeed special for me...and I hope you will gonna love it too." She chuckled.


    A bit amazed at her confidence, Zeus reciprocated her assertion with a wide grin and a soft node while walking next to each other blissfully.


    ___________________________


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 Chapter 117 - The Emptiness

    After a long, anticipated bus ride of around half an hour, both Eva and Zeus reached their destination holding arms right next to each other. Zeus had been leaning on his edge out of curiosity to find out where she was taking him though, but soon enough the wait was over.


    As soon as the bus stopped at Megan Folio street, Eva stepped down from the bus obediently followed by Zeus like a little adorable puppy. In a while, the bus left out of their sight, he inquisitively looked at the front and jaw-dropped in awe, because the venue was extremely unexpected for him to visit for their first-ever date.


    MEMORANDUM GRAVEYARD...


    Quite a renowned, spacious, and artistic graveyard situated a bit far away from the populous Rione Monti town. The area was quiet, desolated, and glum in appearance. Moreover, the weather wasn''t sunny at all. The dusky clouds were filling up the entire horizon turning bright mother nature into a heavy, darker one indicating that probably it will start raining very soon!


    "Are you surprised?" Tenderly smiling at Zeus, Eva tossed a query towards him unable to suppress her impertinence since he indeed looked quite bewildered with their chosen destination.


    "Ye...Yes." Obediently nodding his head at her query, he sighed out a little. "Why did we come to this graveyard on the first day of our date, Eva? I had expected of going into any light-hearted warm place to relieve from the agonies we have been suffering through..."


    "I am sorry for disappointing you, Zeus. But...I just wanted to...let you meet my parents today. I am sorry, that we had to come to such a glum place like this since...they aren''t alive anymore." Her soft voice seemed a bit dense and it crooked a little as if she was trying hard to stay strong before him.


    Zeus stood still, looking at her with his puppy eyes in wonder. His heart felt a bit heavier and guilty for not realizing her anticipation sooner. Watching her smiling with such a sad grimace, quickly he grabbed her soft hand tight assuring her wounded heart.


    "No...I am sorry for being such an airhead and not realizing it sooner. Alright, let''s go meet my dear future in-laws. I hope they would be happy to see me, just like their adorable daughter."


    Hearing his tender response, a curve of wide smile crafted on her lips as she firmly shook her head and gripped his arm tighter. "Let''s go."


    ....


    Before heading inside the graveyard, Eva collected some freshly bloomed white daisies from a small flower stall located right next to it. The stall had been providing free flowers to countless people who frequently come to meet their loved ones with a broken, empty heart. However, looking at the bright flowers, somewhat their pain softens a bit as within those blissful petals, they could imagine the smile of their loved ones, hoping desperately to meet them again someday in an afterlife.


    Holding the flower bouquet in one arm and holding his broad palm in the other, Eva quietly headed to the extreme left side of the crematorium. It was a short walk of few minutes, and soon enough they reached their ultimate destination. There have been two graves lying right next to each other, adorned with white granite tombs on which their names were crafted.


    Mr. Stevan Ricci.


    Mrs. Eleana Ricci.


    Just by glimpsing at the names, a tinge of sadness rose in his heart as he shifted his gaze to the right, just to have a small peek at Eva. She was numb, all silent for a few seconds, staring at the tombs with a deep emptiness in her gaze. Zeus wasn''t able to come up with any proper response to soothe her broken emotions and chose to stay still right next to her side.


    After a few minutes of apathetic silence, she quietly removed her hand away from his grip and knelt down on the ground before those two graves. Softly she placed the flower bouquet before their tomb and raised her chin up, holding a morose, blank gaze towards them.


    "Mom...Dad... How have you been here? Did you feel lonely? Did you miss me? Sorry, I couldn''t come here last week... I...I am really going through a rough patch of life, mom. Dad, you too must have been really sulky with me, aren''t you?" She was blabbering on her own, looking at their tombstones with a sad smile on her oval, sullen face.


    Zeus didn''t utter any word and quietly continued glancing at her while she was chattering on her own, looking at the graves. Softly, she stared caressing both the gravestones with her small, fragile arms before speaking further.


    "Mom, I have brought your favorite daisies today. Look, they are so fresh. You loved daisy so much...I remember, dad used to bring daisy for you every day...and...a bouquet for you on your anniversary... Since, dad can''t move away from the coffin...I did that part on behalf of dad... Happy anniversary, mom...dad..." Her voice was slowly growing heavier as she murmured, lowering her eyes down.


    Watching her mumbling with a heavy heart, Zeus knelt down on the ground just right next to her, glancing with his poignant, dark eyes. Softly, he initiated to grip her hand, caressing her knuckle as she looked quite lonely and broken at that very moment.


    "Is...today your... mom dad''s anniversary?" After a deep sigh, he whispered.


    "Yes. Both of them loved each other so much...that...they even left the world in the same day...together. They are the perfect couple I have seen in my entire life."


    "Ha...Happy anniversary...Mr. and Mrs. Ricci." Politely bowing his head before them, he declaimed with a grievous heart. His main concern was for Eva as she was trying hard to stay strong before him, but it must have been to painful for her to endure all the agonies alone.


    "Mom, dad...both of you always told me...whenever I will find someone perfect for me, I should bring him home on your anniversary... Look, that''s what I did. I finally found the one I love the most after you both and Felix in this world...But...why does it seem so unfair?" Her resonance crooked a little more while her glum eyes were swelling up in tears as she clenched the fist of her arm which was caressing the grave.


    Battling with grief and guilt, Zeus sat still like a statue unable to answer a single word. Throbbing hard, his heart was consistently blaming his own existence as the prime cause of her sufferings and he was fighting it desperately within his core. Heartbroken, he kept peeping at Eva helplessly while she was venting out her emotions.


    "I...I never wanted to meet you both like this...I never imagined that someday...I will have to bring my loved one to meet you both in a graveyard! I...I wanted this small things to happen like any other normal happy family! But now...Felix is gone too! Why? Why did I have to go through all these? What did I even do to deserve all these, mom? Why do you both always stay silent before me when I cry out aloud? Why...Why can''t I listen to your voice even...if it''s just for once? Why am I living this regretful life? Why??" Bursting out into bitter tears, she wailed out her pent up frustration, clenching the lace of the gown on her chest. Her heart seemed to be in immense pain, as she had been trying to stay strong for too long!


    Immediately tugging her tightly within his warm embrace, Zeus tried to console her deep scars which was tormenting her too badly! To console her from sobbing bitterly, he wrapped his arms around her should and softly tapped her shoulder to assure a bit of solace.


    "Cry it all out, Eva. Don''t hold your tears in...or...it will even cause a deeper scar inside your heart." He whispered tenderly enough.


    Whimpering bitterly snuggling in his chest, she continued to mourn her despair, holding him tighter. Her only comfort left in this world after her loved ones was Zeus, standing like a pillar support next to her.


    While she was grieving in his arms, he rose his gaze up to look at the tombstones vividly. Suddenly, his gaze was stuck on a certain thing which shocked him entirely from his core. Swirling his pupils wider, his voice gasped out of air while he tried to mumble it out.


    "E...Eva, when did... the accident happened?"


    Hearing his stuttering, trepid voice, she seemed startled a little. Wiping her tear-soaked eyes, she softly raised her head up from his chest and stared at him. "The date is written there on the granite, look."


    "Is it...24..." He trailed off before even finishing his expression.


    "Yes, it was on 24th April, 2010. I...I was just a... 16 year old girl at that time... when I lost both the strong pillars of my life. I will never forget that cursed date...Zeus." Lowering her gaze down, she mumbled in a sad voice.


    Rolling his eyes wider in shock, he shrieked out aloud, "Wh...What?"


    _______________


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 Chapter 118 - The Birthmark

    "Why? Is there...something wrong about it, Zeus?" Staring straight into his dark black eyeballs, she gulped her saliva anxiously. His sudden loud reaction seemed a bit unusual to her compared to how calm and composed he was all this time.


    Sitting numb like a statue, he couldn''t believe his ears momentarily and gazed again at the tombstone to reconfirm it. Indeed, the date of demise for both of them was 24th April 2010...the same day when he saved the life of that young human girl.


    All of a sudden, a thought crossed his mind like a thunderbolt when he was gawking at the grave. The young girl who he had saved had a small reddish-brown colored star-shaped birthmark on her right elbow. He had peeked a glance at the mark when he was healing her and today, the small thing was about to have a huge impact on him.


    "Show...Show me your right elbow." Stuttering intensely, he whispered to her.


    "What?"


    "Show me your elbow. I...I want to see it."


    "But why? What has happened, Zeus? Why do you look so fretful--"


    Before even she could complete her remark, Zeus impatiently pulled out her arm and rolled up her sleeves without waiting for her consent. His heart was palpitating in concern and his strange behavior quite startled Eva too.


    But...indeed his hunch was right! Rolling up the sleeves, he noticed that exact mark, curved on her elbow. Swirling his pupils wider, he suddenly moved an inch away from her, releasing her from his grip without uttering a single word. As he seemed unable to process the happenings right before his sight.


    "Zeus? Wh-What happened? Why do you look so tensed? Did...Did I do something wrong? Are you...angry with me somehow?" She slowly crawled a bit closer to him and softly touched his forearm, asking in a fretted tone.


    After a moment of his absolute silence, he mumbled in a deep note, "do...do you remember what happened that night?"


    "I clearly remember up to the point when the wolves intentionally jumped right before our car causing it to flip over... But, after that...I was separated from my parents and gradually passed out... I don''t remember a single thing that happened afterward. Doctors had already termed that due to the heavy trauma, I got amnesia. They also remarked that it was purely a miracle that saved my life or else...here I would have been sleeping inside a coffin too along with my parents--"


    Before she could conclude her sentence, gripping her arm, Zeus tugged her hastily inside his embrace wrapping her small body within his arms. He started sobbing bitterly as the pain of guilt and regret was stirring him up from inside. He held her as tighter as he could, shedding warm tears on her shoulder which she could sense vividly, and that left her absolutely spellbound.


    "Zeus...Wh...Why are you crying?"


    "Th-Thank you... Thank you for coming back to me... Thank you for staying alive... I...I had almost lost you, but, thank you for not listening to my command and appearing before me again... Thank you...Thank you for sealing my fate..." He was wailing out aloud like a small child, clenching his grip tighter around her. From his gesture, he seemed too afraid to lose her.


    "Zeus, but, you are the one who had saved my life that night from committing suicide. I should be the one thanking you for it... Why you are the one thanking me? What did I do? And, why are you sobbing?" She sounded much baffled, watching him unexpectedly mourning in her arms.


    "I committed a blunder that night... I left you alone on the street covered in blood and bruises... If...If those wolves had come back again, they could have killed you! I was the one who refused to take you to the hospital in that critical state...Fuck! I feel... so fucking repentant right now...If I had known that time, you will rewrite my destiny one day, I would have never left you alone, Eva... I am sorry for everything...but I won''t hide anything my bitter truth from you anymore. I am prepared to face the consequences." Regretting inside his heart, he continued shedding his tears snuggling in her shoulder groove.


    "Zeus, will you please say something? It''s making me more anxious right now." Clenching her grasp over his firm broad shoulder, she asserted in a heavy voice, fanning intensely.


    He slowly pulled out himself from her embrace and quietly chose to wipe his tear-soaked eyes. His bright face was flustered red from sobbing too hard and clearing his throat, he raised his chin up to stare at her who seemed on the edge of curiosity.


    "Eva, within the coming next three days...I swear...I will disclose everything about me. I won''t keep anything conceal from you anymore." He declaimed in a rugged voice.


    Swirling her dilated pupils wider, she gasped her breath staring at him vividly. "Disclose? What else you have kept hidden from me, Zeus?"


    "My real truth... I will let you know...who am I..."


    Cupping his side grimace, she asserted while fidgeting anxiously, "I am already aware of the truth that...you aren''t a human like me. But I have still chosen to love you--"


    "It will be up to you... if you can still love me after knowing who am I...Eva, I will show you my dark world, and it''s my promise to you right before your parents." He interrupted her remark in a bold declamation, staring straight into his eyes holding an immense deep gaze.


    For a while, she was spellbound with his unexpected proclamation, and couldn''t utter any word. Momentarily keeping her silence, she politely nodded her head before answering, "alright. If you have already decided so, I will gladly wait for your confession. But always remember it, I do love you and I believe, nothing will change in our relationship. Everything will be just the same as we are now, right next to each other."


    Staring at her warm smile with a dark, sullen gaze, Zeus he shook his head a little, clenching his fist with all the perplexing thoughts crowding his mind, "no matter whatever is awaiting for me ahead...I will face it gallantly. But I won''t abandon my destiny, ever again..."


    __________________________

 Chapter 119 - Flying Higher

    It was almost past the evening of their first date day. Time was flying ahead quite fast. After spending an ample amount of time before her parents inside the crematorium, both Eva and Zeus walked up to the Melville River bank holding hands on hands. After a quality amount of time in each other''s solace, both of them decided to grab something along with a drink as their heart was feeling much heavier, stuffed with different shades of grief tugged inside.


    .


    But it was a bad idea, to begin with. Eva was quite a lightweight drinker compared to him. Just after gulping down two bottles of freshly brewed beer, she already started to feel tipsy with her oval porcelain bright face turning to flushed red.


    .


    "Eva, you are quite drunk. I think we must head back home now." Softly caressing her arm, Zeus tried to retrieve her senses while she was sitting opposite to him looking all drowsy.


    "Nope... I will... continue drinking today...till I pass out... I...am very sad from the inside, today... We just came back...from the crematorium..." She blabbered out quickly.


    "But your face is turning red...I don''t think Eva you should drink anymore---"


    "Zeus... do you love...me?" A quick question flew away from her straight at him before he could even wrap up his sentence.


    "Yes."


    "Do you find me...sexy? Am I captivating... enough for you?" Her voice sounded a little irked and loud which immediately grabbed the attention of a few people residing near them in the restaurant.


    "Ye-Yes." He quickly nodded his head, appearing a bit shy.


    "Then why haven''t you slept with me yet? I want to...have...sleep with you... Right here..." Slamming her hand hard on the table, she startled almost every other person who was peeking at them, including him.


    "Eva, you are really drunk. C''mon, let''s head home." Trying hard to control his bashfulness, Zeus stood up from his seat and abruptly walked ahead to grab her within his arms.


    "No, I will sleep here first...before heading home. Why? Don''t you find...me attractive? Am I not seductive?" She was consistently objecting to his arm while he was trying to hold her close, blabbering nonchalantly.


    "I had heard some humans turn out to be aroused after having a few rounds of drink, but I didn''t expect Eva to be one of them... Damn, her scent is growing stronger...it''s too hard for me to resist. I must take her out of here before she invites other troubles." Gulping his saliva, he intended to make her stand up and tug in his arms, a bit forcefully.


    "Then...give me a piggyback ride..."


    "What?"


    "Give me a piggyback ride or sleep here with me! If you agree...we can also go to a motel!" This time her drunk voice resonated much sharply inside the restaurant, making all the people awe-struck with the ongoing scenario.


    "Ok-Okay! I will give you a piggyback ride. But please stay quiet. Okay?" Carefully obeying her command, he groped her small body up in his back shoulder before heading out of the place with an embarrassing grimace. On the other hand, happily, she clasped her arms around his neck, holding him tighter.


    ...


    The sky was heavier and dusky with countless dark clouds grumbling on their own. It was about to start raining any time soon. Zeus seemed to be in a hurry of getting her back home safely before the rain starts pouring. Gripping her tightly in his back, he was walking by the subway attracting the attention of countless people walking past by them.


    "Zeus?" She mumbled his name in a delicate note.


    "Hmm?"


    "Don''t ever leave me...okay?"


    "I won''t." Chuckling at her tipsy responses, he continued walking ahead with his giant bold steps. This drunk Eva was drastically different from the one he had always known and he found it quite amazing.


    "Then...can you take me to a flight in the clouds?"


    "Eva...I can''t fly... We can jump higher but we don''t have wings to fly--"


    "But I want to fly... in the air with you...Take me there!" She sounded much like a small kid, nagging persistently.


    "Sigh..." Tossing a deep huff of breath out, Zeus came up with a quick idea. He wrapped himself along with Eva in his invisible power and quickly glanced around them. At that very moment, he was standing just in front of a tall, skyscraper building.


    Without wasting a further second, he attempted to use his alpha strength by climbing vertically with the help of his robust powerful legs up on the building, gripping his lady love tighter in his embrace.


    Running faster to the top end of the building, the entire Rione Monti seemed beautiful in the majestic night view from the top. Clutching her waist on his back, he whispered tenderly, "hold me tighter, my love."


    "Ye---"


    Before she could finish her sentence, he jumped higher from the top of the building to another one. With each high jump, he flew up much higher in the air grasping her in his back trying to fulfill her wish of flying up higher.


    "WHEEEE! I AM FLYING!! HAHAHA!" She was grinning, chuckling aloud in glee clenching her grip strongly around his neck while he continued fleeting from one building to another.


    "Are you happy? Did I make you a bit happy right now?" Tenderly glancing at her wide smile, he whispered in a soft breath.


    "I feel like...the happiest alive on the earth...You are the best gift I ever had, Zeus... I won''t stop loving you...till my last breath." Putting a warm, affectionate kiss on his puffy soft cheek, she snuggled her head in his broad shoulder.


    Glancing at her amicably, Zeus kissed her back on her flustered red cheek holding a small sad simper on his face. "And you will be my first and last mate ever... I promise."


    ___________________________


    *A big twist is coming into the plot which will evolve their love story.


    What do you all think is going to happen?


    Please do comment to let me know :)


    Please keep voting for me too :)

 Chapter 120 - Claiming The Right

    "Miss Clara? Hey? Hello? Are you listening to us?"


    "Huh?"


    Looking a bit startled when someone was quavering her arms to revive her senses back, Clara seemed much surprised while looking right next to her. It was the colleagues'' dinner party which she was attending with a heavy, glum heart after having a big fight with her only bestie, Eva.


    She wasn''t interested to attend the party in the first place but didn''t have a choice since the invitation was from her director. To save her job, though she accompanied her acquaintances quietly, her mind was filled with countless worries regarding the jeopardizing schemes planned against Eva. Moreover, every time she failed to contact Czar which was making her further anxious and madly frustrated.


    "Were you...calling me?" Peeking at Miss Maria, her junior acquaintance sitting next to her, Clara inquired in a fragile voice.


    "Umm, Miss Clara are you alright? I have been calling you a few times in a row, but you didn''t answer me even for once! That''s why I had to quaver your arm to revive your senses back. Where are you so lost? Are you worried about something?" Frowning her eyebrows, she mumbled.


    Taking a deep heavy sigh out, Clara quietly swayed her head in declination and lowered her eyes down. "I am, okay..."


    "You are absolutely not fine, Miss Clara!" Sitting right opposite to her on the table, a young, handsome gentleman objected to her statement, twirling the glass of beer in his arm. He too was a subordinate in her company and always bore a secret crush on Clara deep down in his heart. "You were just consistently glancing at your phone and drinking on your own. You didn''t even talk to anyone since the moment you arrived at the dinner party. Your eyes seem puffy too as if you didn''t sleep properly last night. Are you really alright?"


    "C''mon Henry, stop noticing me too obviously," chuckling at his response, Clara took a small sip from the beer glass she was holding in her arms. "I am really fine, just some...stressful stuff are pissing me off a bit---"


    "SO... YOU ARE HERE!"


    Suddenly, flinching hard from the deep loud voice behind their table in the restaurant, Clara took a small glimpse at the back and rolled her eyes in awe. Just behind her, well dapped up in a royal blue suit and looking quite handsome, Czar was staring at her putting his hands in his pocket.


    "M-Mr. Czar!?" Jolting up from her seat, she blurted out quite aloud. Her surprised reaction suddenly startled those colleagues of her workplace gathered at the table.


    "Why did you leave so many voice mails in my number? I told you earlier, don''t leave any voice notes or mail unless it''s too necessary!" Sounding a bit irked, he glared at her while fussing.


    "Damn, where have you been Mr. Czar? I...I had almost called you at least more than 500 times since last night! Why weren''t you picking it up? And..." Gulping her saliva anxiously, she further concluded, "how did you find me here?"


    "Tracking down people is a favorite hobby of mine." Holding a witty smirk on his face, Czar sharply glanced at the colleagues who were intensely ogling at them. He also noticed Henry who was making a displeased expression on his face while frowning at him.


    "Mr. Czar you don''t even have an idea how perplexed I was--"


    "Alright, let''s talk right now. Come with me, let''s head outside." Abruptly, he grabbed her arm in the flick of a second, causing her to flinch hard even more.


    "Now? But...I am in a company dinner with my colleagues--"


    "Excuse me, Mister!" All of a sudden Henry stood up from his seat, resembling all agitated glaring at him. Czar had a carefree eloquence all over his face and quickly shifted his gaze to him.


    "Do you have anything to say?" Clearing his throat, he tightened his grip on Clara''s arm before asking him in a crude tone.


    "Don''t you think it''s highly immoral to take a lady out of her acquaintance feast barging inside all of a sudden? Don''t you think it''s rude?" His tone sounded much provoked while he was glaring at his arm that was holding Clara tighter.


    "No. I don''t think it''s rude." He sounded much calm as usual denying his accusations.


    "What? Are you shameless or have you lost your moral senses?"


    "I don''t have time for your lectures, dude. She has to come with me now so you all can enjoy the dinner without her." Tossing a small sly smirk, he mumbled in a deep note while stealing at peek at Clara.


    She seemed spellbound at his unexpected action and gawking at him intensely before she mumbled, "Mr. Czar, wait...we can also talk after the dinner---"


    "And who the heck are you? Are you her lover? What right do you claim on her?" Grumbling in a loud enraged voice, Henry spit his words quite fiercely at him without showing any intention of backing out.


    This time, Czar shifted his dark furious death stare towards him. His small smirk immediately faded away, occupied by intense glare as he grumbled out in a rugged voice, "I am her Master and she is my slave! I obviously possess my own right over her and don''t you dare interfere within!"


    A jaw-drop silence immediately prevailed among her colleagues hearing his answer! It was as intense and unexpected one could ever imagine. Everyone was looking at each other''s faces being speechless for a couple of seconds. Henry was unable to process the information for a while and continued staring at him, rolling his eyes.


    Clara seemed extremely shocked with it and in palpitation tried to divert the topic from going too further, by faking a burst of nervous laughter. "Hahaha! Mr. Czar, you are too funny always! Guys, don''t you overthink...It''s nothing! I am telling you, it''s not you all are imagining!"


    "Let''s go." Clenching her arm tight, he almost dragged her outside in front of everyone, leaving them all mute! After a few minutes of awkward silence, Miss Maria raised her chin up towards Henry who was still standing all bewildered and numb. Emitting a deep sigh out, she further reciprocated, "Henry, I think you should really give up on Miss Clara! I have already seen this guy with her before, near our office, coming out of a narrow lane."


    "You...knew about my feelings?" Stuttering anxiously, he reciprocated.


    "Of course, you were always too obvious around her! Almost everyone in the office knows about your crush on her...except Miss Clara herself! And...didn''t you see, how boldly that handsome man dragged her outside in front of every one us here. I guess, they really have something sensual relation going on!" She whisper-shouted in a low voice, swirling her eyes mystically.


    "But..." He couldn''t utter a single word and continued staring at the way Clara was swayed outside, clenching his fist in displeasure.


    ...


    "Mr. Czar, wait a minute! You are gripping my arm too tight, it''s hurting!" Blurting out quite aloud, she sounded a bit irked while Czar stopped his motion reaching near the parking slot of the restaurant.


    Leaving his grip over her arm, he sharply turned back towards her and stared intensively before answering, "have you forgotten how to address your master?"


    "And why did you declare it so shamelessly in front of everyone? I had told you earlier to keep it a secret from everyone! They are my work colleagues! I can''t even imagine what they must be thinking about us right now!" She sounded too grumpy, bickering with him.


    "Who cares about those humans? I can just kill them in a few seconds if they dare to gossip about it."


    "Mr. Czar violence is not the solution to every problem! Even though we are animals, but we are cohabitating with the humans in their world...At least, we should behave like them rationally!" Glancing at the red bruise formed around her wrist with his tight grip, she asserted in a bold note, scowling her grimace.


    Momentarily Czar kept gawking at her worrisome pale face and took a deep sigh out vexing much annoyance. "Whatever! I am quite a busy man you know! What did you want to talk about--"


    "About Eva." Before he could even wrap his words, she fiercely remarked her own proclamation looking much trepid. "That day in the restaurant...were you talking about Eva? Is something bad gonna happen to her? Is she being targeted by anyone?"


    Rolling his eyeballs wider in shock, he gazed at her anxiously for a few seconds without answering a single word. After a perplexed silence, he thought to retreat away from the place to avoid her fierce inquires. Before turning back, he reciprocated in a dark pitch, "I am not obliged to tell you about it. You are free to imagine what you believe. I have some work unfinished so leaving right now--"


    "Please save her!" Immediately she grabbed his arm from behind desperately intending to stop him from leaving without a proper answer.


    "Hey, what are you talking about---"


    "I don''t want the history to repeat again! Please...Please don''t let her die, Mr. Czar! I know...you too are worried about her! Please, I beg of you this time..." Her voice grew a bit heavy as she was trying hard to choke her tears in.


    "History...repeat?" Frowning his eyebrows, he mumbled.

 Chapter 121 - Resisting The Charm

    It was around 9 pm. The more time was floating by, the more the dusky clouds were bulking up in the horizon. A growling sound of clouds had already begun indicating that it could start raining at any moment. The whole atmosphere had a sullen appearance compared to the other days when the ambiance is usually jovial since it''s the springtime in Rione Monti.


    Holding up tighter sleepy and snuggling Eva on his broad back shoulder, Zeus was walking down gallantly towards the way leading straight to her home. Soon enough, he reached near her apartment complex in a moment. He took a deep huff of breath out looking at the building and glanced back at her sleepy face.


    "Eva, wake up. We are already near your home." In a soothing voice, he tried to wake her up from her snooze.


    "Umm, I don''t...wanna...go home..." An unclear, tipsy reply came back from her in a frail tone.


    "But why?"


    "I am... sick of being...alone...all the time... I...don''t want to be alone again... Stay...Stay with me, Zeus..."


    A wave of profound guilt and sadness rose inside his heart hearing her morose answer. The major reason behind her lonely and empty life was his lineage, this part had been always churning him inside down helplessly.


    "You...You aren''t alone, Eva. I...I am willing to give up my everything just to be with you..." His voice grew a bit thick while mumbling to her.


    "Stay here with me... Don''t...leave me alone...again..." She further clenched her arms around his neck, snuggling her head on his shoulder.


    Unable to come up with an answer, he stood still for a few seconds wondering about what to do next. Taking a deep sigh out, without being able to come up with an alternative plan he gripped her tighter and started walking upstairs heading straight to her apartment.


    While climbing up, as soon as he reached the first floor and was about to ascend towards the second floor, a stern-looking lady comparatively in her early 50''s, i.e her landlady Mrs. Lily, dashed out of her apartment on the floor and encountered Zeus sharply.


    "Excuse me? Who are you? I have never seen you coming here even once to her house, so what are you doing today at such a late hour? And..." Stiffly she peeked at unconscious Eva snuggling on his shoulder and frowned her face. "What happened to Miss Ricci? Why is she clinging to you? I won''t allow you to go ahead without hearing a convincible reply!" She sounded too nosy, glaring at him.


    "Ahh, why do these humans always test my patience?" Wondering inside while sighing out a bit heavily, he boldly turned at her, confronting her head-on. "You won''t allow me to go to her place?"


    "Not! Your intentions are already skeptical for me, so it''s better if you answer me properly or...I am going to inform the police!" She tried to threaten him in a rugged tone, constantly peeking glance at Eva.


    "Alright. You left me with no choice." Holding a witty smirk, he fiercely rolled his dark eyeballs which immediately transformed into dominant bright red color while she was glaring at him already. As soon as her eyes were pinned intensely with his gaze, her whole body movement paused and in a fraction of a second, she turned out to be numb like a statue.


    Zeus continued glaring at her for meanwhile with his bright red pupils swirled on. After a matter of few seconds, his eyeballs returned to their usual black form, The old lady immediately got down on her knees on the ground before him, bowing her head downwards as soon as he stopped glaring at her.


    "Ma...Master! For...Forgive my impudent behavior... Please forgive me, master!" She was chattering out constantly, towing her head down in an anxious tone.


    "So, do you still wish to report me to the police?" He seemed quite amused to watch the lady begging down on her knees for his mercy who was threatening him invincibly just a moment ago.


    "I would never think of daring to commit something dreadful like that! Everything on this world belongs to you, master... including our lives. Please forgive my impudence... please be merciful." She sounded extremely palpitated, folding her arms were fidgeting in dread.


    "Only on one condition. Always bent down on your knees and be polite, bowing your head down whenever you see me or Eva here from now on... When I am not here around, it will be your responsibility to look after her. You will have to serve as her slave from now on. Do you accept it?"


    "Of course, Master! I will be her slave forever till the moment I die!" She towed her head down again, proclaiming in a bold voice.


    "Good for you. As long as you obey me, you will keep living." Chuckling with a pleasant expression, gallantly he continued walking upstairs towards her room leaving her behind kneeling.


    "Thank you, master...I will...I swear I will serve her with my life..." Her voice resonated too meekly as if she was grateful to revive back her life, bowing consistently to express her gratitude.


    "It''s just a piece of cake for me to hypnotize these weak humans! But I still do wonder, why my hypnotization didn''t work on Eva? Why is she way too special?" Stealing a glance at her innocent small face, unknowingly a wide grin appeared on his face while he watched her snoozing peacefully. As he softly caressed those fine hair threads whirling on her face with one arm, on the other hand, he slightly clutched the doorknob to loosen it up and enter her place.


    Her apartment was quite tiny compared to the gigantic mansion of his own, but he found a strange kind of solace inside. The place was dark since all the lights were turned off but it was warm and neatly decorated.


    Taking a glance around in the dark with his sharp eyes, he steadily walked towards the bedroom taking giant footsteps ahead. Her bed seemed smaller compared to his own. Entering inside, carefully Zeus dropped her down on the bed placing the cushion on her head softly so that she can sleep amicably.


    But as soon as Zeus tried to move away from her after putting her down on the bed, in a fraction of a second Eva grasped his shirt, flinching her a bit.


    "Eva, you are awake?"


    "You...are leaving? Don''t go... Sleep here with me..." She tapped on the bed with one arm while clutching his shirt tighter. Her frail voice sounded much tipsy at that moment while she was peeking at him blinking her long yet beautiful eyelashes.


    "Eva, I...I am not leaving. I will stay here and sleep on the couch outside. Don''t worry about me," he seemed a bit nervous tenderly trying to unleash himself from her grip.


    "Why...are you...pushing me away, Zeus? We love each other... I know...you want me too...just the way I do... Then what''s the barrier between us? Why are you holding...yourself back?" Her voice sounded much acoustic while she stared straight into his eyes being boldly persuasive.


    With every passing moment he was growing more nervous and all of a sudden, he clenched her arm intending to halt the temptation blooming in between them. She was drunk and not in her right mind so he chose to be a bit rigid, facing her.


    "Eva, an inevitable barrier is indeed lying between us...I won''t touch you till the day you accept me for who am I... I will be waiting for you till then." His  tone reverberated like a deep echo inside her dark silent room.


    "Zeus...why are you--"


    "Eva, please! For heaven''s sake, please don''t tempt me anymore. I am worried, I won''t be able to hold myself any longer apart from you. I...I am a man after all!" Gripping her arm tightly in his grasp, Zeus muttered in an intense tone, ogling at her dazed eyes. She was breathing very heavily and slowly after his command, she closed her eyes going back to her slumber following him obediently.


    ...


    As soon as she closed her eyes, Zeus took a deep sigh out and lowered his gaze down near his crotch. Indeed, he felt an uncomfortable sensation of a bulge formed around his crotch, and hastily, he loosened up his necktie. Taking off his suit and unbuttoning his shirt collar, he stared at her sleepy face, fanning hard.


    "Damn, it''s too dangerous to resist her charms especially when she is drunk... I...I won''t behold myself back anymore if this continues... I am feeling darn hot, I must calm myself down. I need water..." Glancing around the room, his gaze was seeking some water which was nowhere found.


    Stepping up from her bed, steadily he headed straight towards the kitchen coming out of her room. As he stepped into the living room, he turned the lights on and found a round vessel of water placed on the table near the couch.


    He was about to take a step towards the jar but all of a sudden his gaze locked on the giant family portrait hung in the center of the living room, consisting of four innocent smiling faces gazing at him.


    Immediately his feet halted, his eyeballs were swirled wider in shock and dread! His head started to feel dizzy and his motion staggered as if he was about to collapse down on the ground! Panting heavily, he murmured on his own, " No... It... It can''t be... No... No!!"


    ___________________


    **Please keep voting ^_^

 Chapter 122 - Meeting You Again

    The early 1970''s; Brookland Forest, United Kingdom...


    FWIP! THUD!


    "Ahhh, I lost to you in the sword fight again... Damn, I guess I am really getting old now, Zeus." Tossing a bright wide smile on his masculine elegant face, a tall, middle-aged handsome man dapped up in complete formal black attire, rolling his sleeves up above his muscular elbow wiped his forehead sweatdrops, looking at Zeus affectionately.


    Zeus standing all tall and charming, appearing to be in his late teenage years was facing him head-on with a sly smirk on his face. Due to his intense workouts, even though he seemed to be blooming in the fresh adolescence years of his life, his body was fully grown like an adult.


    He was standing in his bare body devoid of any shirt. His broad compact shoulder along with the triceps busting in his forearms was enough of a sight to make the heart of any maiden shaken up from inside. Following the masculine seductive abs over his lower abdomen made him too enchanting to even steal a glance. Flaunting his dark black shimmering hair bangs upon his temples, he wiped off the sweaty perspiration from his lower abdomen, walking a step closer to him.


    "Uncle Steve, I know it well that you actually lose to me every time on purpose. But this seems unfair, I am not a small kid now. I have already entered my early adolescence period of life, so without any hesitation, you should keep up a strict fight with me." Mumbling in a soft voice, he stared at him invincibly.


    "I can see it quite well, Zeus. You are grown up into one of the most exquisite men in the entire Brookland and it makes me so proud of you. But...no matter how much you grow old, for me, you will always be the little Zeus who was trembling in fear when you met me for the first time.


    A bit embarrassed at his honest remark, he frowned his face diligently and tried to whine out his complaints. "Uncle, stop calling me a kid! Of...Of course, I would be scared...Any small kid will be scared if they meet a man for the first time who had been gripping a sharp sword in his hand... But that''s what makes you the toughest swordsman in our pack, uncle. That''s what makes me more passionate to learn swordsman skills from you." He tossed a small simper, glancing straight into his eyes.


    "Hahaha!" The man softly patted his head giving him a warm smile with his deep blue eyes shimmering in gleam. "Zeus, you will be the next alpha of our pack. So, it''s my utmost privilege to share my swordsman skills with our future leader. Also, you are the only son of my childhood friend, I could at least do this much for Aelia by teaching her precious son the best skills of using the sword in a fight. It will define your elegance, dear." He asserted in a genial tone.


    "But..." All of a sudden, his smile tainted away from his grimace as he lowered his eyes down from his gaze. Fidgeting a bit nervously, he whispered his worriment to him, "I am...still perplexed about it, uncle. What...What if I don''t stand up to the expectations my pack will have from me in the near future? What if I fail to avenge my grandma''s death from those Lupos? I...I am giving it my all to be the toughest Romano and the worthy alpha, but inside my chest...it feels strange."


    "You are the worthy one, Zeus." Softly caressing his shoulder, he tried to soothe his perplexed state of mind with his bold assurance. He took a deep sigh out and gazed at him fixedly, "I believe you... In fact, I have always treated you the same I would treat my own child. I know it well, you will be the wise and the worthy alpha our pack ever had. Just don''t ever doubt yourself... Always do remember, I will be always on your side, no matter what happens in the forthcoming future. Okay?"


    His deep brown eyes were glistening in tears as he raised his chin up, looking at him with a small sad smile on his face. "Thank you...for having your faith in me, uncle. I promise I won''t let you down...ever again." He proclaimed in a deep low pitch, nodding his head firmly.


    But...destiny had already set up other merciless pathways for their future...


    .....


    It was 23rd September 1984 when the cursed fateful day wrecked his heart forever leaving a deep scar inside...


    Rushing vigorously through the woods, fanning hard and almost running out of breath, Zeus was at the edge of his breakdown. He was biting his lips desperately to hold himself back from wrecking down and ran straight through the woods.


    After a while of desperate rushing, his feet finally halted when he saw the person he was chasing after slowly drifting apart from his sight. Steve was walking ahead at a staggering pace looking all worn down and alone from behind.


    Choking his tears in, he dashed forward and gripped his arm from the back, intending to stop him from leaving.


    "Uncle Steve!"


    Hearing his sudden loud yell, he flinched a bit hard and quickly glanced at him, turning behind. Zeus was trying hard to hold back his bitter tears and Steve was quirky enough to observe the mental breakdown he was enduring though.


    "Zeus? What are you doing here---"


    "Why are you leaving me, Uncle Steve? You promised to stay forever by my side and now...you are leaving me too? Why? Why are you abandoning your pack? This...This is your home, uncle! Why are you leaving everything behind? Where are you heading to? How would you live without us...without this forest?" He grumbled out his frustration in a crooked voice, clenching his arm quite hard.


    "Zeus, calm down... You are breathing too hard, my child. Don''t stress yourself so much--"


    "All this... for a human? You are leaving behind your family just for a mere human?" Swirling his teary pupils wider, he screamed out vexing his grudge at him. "How did you become so weak, uncle? You...You are not the Uncle Steve I have always known... You are definitely a weak helpless person running away from us!"


    Watching his whining his perturbations out, Steve stood all numb gawking at his face intensely. After a moment of complete silence, he chose to reciprocate his answer, "Zeus, she is not just a mere human... I love her. I love her so much that it would leave a permanent scar in my heart if something ever happens to her... She is the woman, I treasure more than any other woman in my life. That''s why I have made my choice to stay by her side from now on."


    Tears started rolling down his cheeks as he invincibly stared straight into his eyes. His heart was throbbing hard in agony, all he could do was helplessly stand and glare at him evoking his rage.


    "I know, everyone in the pack is disgusted with my decision right now. I know somewhere deep down in your heart, you must be despising me today too. I am sorry for causing you pain...


    Zeus, one day, you will meet someone who will be worthy of your love. That person will hold the power of making you fight against the whole world just to keep her by your side...that''s the same thing I am doing right now. Hopefully, one day you will understand the reason behind my helpless decision that I am making today. But one more thing, once you find the person meant for you, protect her with all your might... Remember, fate is always cruel to everyone but never give up on your love even if destiny turns against you." Tapping his shoulder for one last time, Steve smiled at him holding a teary sad gaze.


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word and listened to him standing silent and still. Slowly, he unleashed his grip over his arm which was restraining him back from leaving and a wave of profound sadness shook his inner core.


    "And I will forever keep believing in you, my little Zeus. I know, you will be the wisest alpha our pack ever had as our protective shield till now. Also, don''t blame or pressurize yourself too much for every little thing that will ever happen. And..." He gulped his saliva making a frown face as he lowered his gaze down from him.


    From his facial gesture, it seemed as if he was in a dilemma before proclaiming something after a short pause, "I know...Aelia must be despising me too much right now. But, do take care of your mother, Zeus. She might appear stubborn from the outside but she always had a soft side hidden from the world. And probably...someday...we will cross paths again in life where I can challenge you for a sword fight with me again just like our good old days. Till then...Don''t forget me...okay?"


    Bursting out in grief, Zeus hugged in his warm embrace as both of them could feel their warm tears shedding on each other''s shoulders. The night cool breeze was floating mildly but the atmosphere had a deep sullen aura when two fond hearts were biding their final goodbye in tears before parting their ways in the entire lifetime. That night seemed much darker, long...and heavy.


    ....


    Several years later...watching the exact same face with the exact same warm smile hung on the portrait aroused the profound wave of sadness that was churning him from inside. He wanted to wail out aloud and a huge thunderbolt lightened up the entire room as it started raining heavily, emitting a gloomy aura. Covering his face with his trembling broad hands, he started sobbing bitterly kneeling and bending down on the ground.


    "I...I never wanted to meet you again like this...Why? Why did you have to meet me again like this? What the fuck?" He grumbled out in a low tear-soaked voice, closing his eyes shut.

 Chapter 123 - Grudge

    KRRRRR...SSHHWAAA...


    With every passing minute, the night was growing heavier while the rain was intensely pouring down the sky, with terrifying thunderbolts crushing the entire horizon.


    Amidst the turbulent weather, being totally drenched wet in rain, Zeus was standing before the grave of Eva''s parents inside the dark, desolated crematorium. The whole area seemed much scary in the dark but being absolutely numb like a statue he was gawking at the tombstone of Mr. Stevan Ricci. His heartwrenching tears were mixed with the raindrops, fanning quite deeply.


    His gaze was dark and absorbed with a profound emptiness while he was ogling at the name imprinted on the tombstone. After a moment of absolute silence, he clenched his fist hard and took a deep puff of breath out. His feet gave upon the strength and all of a sudden he knelt down on the ground along with his heart throbbing with an unspeakable agony churning him down from inside.


    "Why? Why did you do this to me, Uncle? You...had promised to stay forever...by my side... I was still desperately hoping for the day...to challenge you again for the swordfight and...you too... abandoned me like this? Why?" Murmuring in a broken voice, he raised his chin up from the ground glaring at the tombstone with his tear-soaked eyes.


    KRRRR!


    A strong, frightening thunder again thrilled the entire area lightening up the whole crematorium. The weather was growing more wretched to bear with. It seemed as if heaven beyond was mourning helplessly along with Zeus, expressing their way of grief.


    "Why did you leave me before keeping your promise? Why? Why couldn''t you stay alive? Why...Why did you leave me behind with this unbeatable regret? How am I going to live my life with this burden of pain? How am I gonna ever become happy? If...If you had to disappear forever like this...why did you ever come in front of me? Why the heck I had to see your smile again? Why? Fuck!" Wailing out his pain in the form of loud screams, he punched on the tombstone several times, crying out aloud.


    Helplessly with his other arm, he was hitting his own chest which was throbbing in immense pain. Swallowed up in tears and drool, he was wrecked down like a small child mumbling all alone, "it''s all because of me... It''s all because of me!! I...I have failed to protect you as the alpha... I have failed to save you and your loved ones!


    You...You always wanted to see me as the wisest alpha and yet I am the one who disappointed you in the end! I...I am dying inside with regret...It''s wrecking down my soul... If...If I had come a bit earlier that night...I would have never let something bad happening to you...If only I didn''t suggest taking the other route that night...Fuck! Fucking hell!"


    Wailing out his vent, he raised his gaze of emptiness towards the sour dark horizon, lamenting aloud out bitterly clenching his arms. "I...I am the one who should die! Why the fuck I am still alive with all this pain! How long...How long am I going to live with this misery? Why did it have to be you...Why did it have to be my loved one again? Why!?"


    ...


    "I am glad...though it''s late...at least you have realized...that you should die, Zeus Romano!"


    All of a sudden hearing a hoarse, deep voice behind his back, Zeus paused out for a moment and slowly turned his neck behind towards the direction. His grimace was tear-soaked, his inner core was wrecked down in despair and painfully he raised his dark gaze towards the familiar person.


    The person was no one other than Czar, glaring at Zeus by standing at a measurable distance from him in the dark, desolated crematorium. Czar had a mystic, atrocious smirk lingering on his face while his murky eyes were fixated on him. Slowly after a moment of pause between them, he chose to walk closer to him in gentle footsteps.


    "Czar?" Quivering in a broken voice, he stared intensely at him while he was approaching closer to him.


    "You must be surprised to see me here, aren''t you, big brother?" On a sour note, he tantalized his words at him.


    "Why...Why you are here?"


    "To be honest, I came here to watch you howling like a crazy dog in grief. But instead, it''s fun to watch you grieving so hard on his grave. I am glad I decided to follow you here," the dark smirk widened on his lips as he reached closer to him, just a few inches apart.


    "Czar... I...I want to be alone right now... Get lost and leave me alone here." Slowly, he declaimed his dark command, shifting his gaze at the tombstone away from him. Hearing out his word, he further chuckled and invincibly gazed at the grave in front of him.


    "Destiny knows it quite well to play its trump card whenever we start to live with a frail hope that life would get any better. Or else, who knew, that little duckling will turn out to be the daughter of the most worthy sword fighter of our pack... As far I know, he was remembered to be the strongest yet the traitor beta among our clan who abandoned us to stay with his human love...


    But fuck! Who knew...his blood will run through Eva''s veins? Damn! This is such an interesting turn of events! Your lady love is a hybrid human! Doesn''t her specialty make you happy, big brother? After all, she carries our sacred wolf blood in her nerves!" He was prattling on his own, intensely glaring at him from behind. His dark eyes were shimmering in gleam to watch him helplessly doomed in despair, all alone.


    "Czar... I am not in the right mental state to converse with you... I...I beg of you, please go away---"


    "But shouldn''t as the alpha, it was your responsibility to protect your pack member?" Before he could wrap his words, he fiercely interrupted his words trying hard to manipulate his already wounded heart. "Don''t you think, you have already failed us as our alpha? You couldn''t even protect your grandmother as a child and...now even as an adult, you still couldn''t protect the life of your beloved uncle whom you valued in your heart... That silver sword in your room whom you cherish so preciously till now was gifted by him, isn''t it? You were still hoping inside to meet him someday but alas...who knew...the mighty alpha of Romano will turn out to be a loser in the end. I pity you, big brother."


    "You are right," whispering in a teary broken voice, Zeus clenched his fist placed over his lap sobbing in despair. "I am the one who should be blamed... I am the one who failed him to be the wisest alpha... I...don''t know...how am I going to live with this pain?"


    A vile wide smile appeared on his face as he continued to monitor his distressed look victoriously. Leaning his face a bit closer to him, he whispered in an ardent tone, "then...you should just die, brother. You must compensate the loss with your own life, shouldn''t you?"


    A wave of immense despair twirled inside his heart hearing out his harsh words loud and clear. A sad smile appeared on his face as gently, he tried to stand up straight from the ground turning behind, looking at him.


    "Czar... I know... probably you hate me the most among anyone in this world...but still, it...it hurts my heart...hearing out your harsh wishes about me."


    "Harsh wish? Huh! Do you ever fucking realize what it feels like to lead a harsh life?" Viciously grumbling at him, his face turned out intensely dark while his terrifying gaze was ogling at him. "The pain...The regret...The helplessness of being unable to save your loved one is evident in your eyes today... The emptiness that I have been bearing in my eyes...I can fucking see it in you today! I...I am so happy! I am so darn happy to watch you suffering like crazy!" His voice crooked a little while his intense screams reverberated the entire area.


    Zeus stood still like a statue, rolling his eyes at him taking a deep sigh out. The rain was pouring down intensely and both of them were soaked wet battling their inner turmoil.


    "Now...Now every time you look at her eyes...your heart will be swelled up with the regret of your incapability! The same pain...I am bearing inside my heart every time I look at you and your family... Every fucking day, I cursed myself for my mother''s death and now...you will curse yourself too... Every fucking day!"


    "Have you...always wished to see me wearied...so badly?" He asserted in a husky tone, holding a deep cold smirk with his heart throbbing in agony.


    Holding a vicious glare scowling his face, he mumbled in a dark note, "I have always wished to see you suffering in the agony worse than death... And...right now, the best possible avenge for me will be if I kill your lady love today or possibly... right now?"


    "CZARRRR!" Fiercely like a wild storm, he dashed towards him and gripped up his collar hard, swirling his red dominant pupils, growling out aloud.


    ________________________


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 Chapter 124 - Left With Regret

    "Woah! I had expected such a loud reaction from you, big brother..."


    "SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE I SLIT OUT YOUR TONGUE!" Grumbling out like a storm, Zeus clenched his grip viciously on his collar glaring with his fiery dominant red eyes. He looked much terrifying and had almost lost his self-control when Eva''s name was meddled in between the brothers'' conflict.


    Staring at him swirling his eyes wider, Czar tossed out a burst of amused laughter at his loud reaction. He didn''t seem a bit perplexed at his roar but instead kept that sly look on his face.


    "Why the fuck you are laughing at? Do you find this... funny?" Zeus''s temperament was further accelerated with his absurd reaction and viciously enough, he chose to probe him in a low voice.


    "I am...laughing at your state, big brother... Oh my, I didn''t expect to watch you going all crazy and helpless so soon... I guess the deities are on my side in this fight..."


    "If you lay a single finger on Eva... From that moment, I will forget... that you are my brother!" A cold, frigid, atrocious threat blurted out of him as he scowled his grimace, leaning his face a bit closer to him.


    "What a crazy jerk!" Mumbling out in a low voice, all of a sudden, the sly smile that he had on his face depraved entirely and it was occupied with mystic darkness swallowing him all over. Immediately his dark brown pupils transformed into the illuminant blue color while he was attaining his beta form, burning in rage. "Don''t even try to rub salt in my scars, Zeus Romano! When did you ever consider me like your own brother?"


    "Always! I have always looked upon you as my own brother! I have always cared for you more than anyone you ignorant fool--"


    "Lier!" Before he could conclude his statement, Czar lost all of his calm and shrieked out at him. Fiercely, he gripped his collar back and rolled his eyeballs while gritting his jowls in anger. "You all are fucking liers! All you people just know how to put up a fake act before others acting all innocent! But sadly, I am not like you who bothers to put up a fake show! I will yell out whatever comes to mind and do whatever I want! Who the fuck are you to stop me?"


    A moment of awkward silence persisted between them as Zeus stared invincibly at him straight in his eyes. Gnashing his teeth, he shoved him away from him leaving the grip over his collar and using his force which propelled him in the opposite direction from him."Your hatred has made you blind, Czar...Even the truth has been always in front of you all these years...but still, you have always blamed me for everything that ever happened! I...I have tolerated your childish fussing all these years...but this time, I won''t stay still if you try to involve with Eva. She is an innocent one--"


    "My mother was an innocent being too! But was she spared by the pack? No...She was murdered by you vile creatures!" Roaring out in a broken tremulous voice, Czar clenched his fist hard while glaring at Zeus from the distance. His eyes were glistening in tears when he growled out his grudge at him. "Just the way hearing your woman''s name is hurting your soul...the same way...every day...every fucking day I have been dying inside in remorse... Do you feel now, how it likes to survive with the pain of regret? Can you realize it now?"


    "Czar...not only you have been living a remorseful life! Don''t be too selfish and open up your heart to glance at the people around you trying so hard to exist... Not only you are the one living in grief--"


    "I am selfish and I will lead my life however I wish! Quit lecturing me and worry about yourself, big brother..." Holding a dark agitated glare, he vexed out his words in a cold voice. "What will you do now? It seems you will be going to face the same tragic outcome your beloved uncle has endured... She is a hybrid and you know it well, how they are targeted by the other wolves! How will you make her your mate? Till how long you will keep protecting her? You do know the truth that...You are nothing but an incapable alpha who can''t even protect his own people! So how can you save her life?"


    His heart was tearing apart into pieces hearing out his vicious accusations and with an agonized soul, he was clenching his fist helplessly, lowering his gaze down drenching in rain. His head was feeling dizzy and a surge of pain was throbbing his insides. "I won''t...I won''t allow the history to repeat itself again... Never..." He murmured on his own in a frail tone.


    "Brace yourself for all the sufferings on the way you have chosen, big brother. Your forbidden fruit of love will burn you down to ashes and I will enjoy every moment of it... I will be waiting for the day she knows your real existence. I can''t wait to see the look on your face when she will be the first one to abandon you! It will be such a sight to enjoy!


    But do remember, no matter what happens, I won''t allow you to lead a peaceful life...not until I am alive... I am willing to become the antagonist of your story, just to watch you suffering like hell! Keep it in mind..." Grumbling in an intense pitch, immediately right before his eyes, Czar disappeared amidst the immense rainfall, leaving Zeus all alone standing in the dark.


    For a while, he stood like a pillar sobbing in grief and his heart being stirred up for her safety. The real truth behind Eva''s existence was much bitter than he could ever expect! Losing his beloved one after his granny, his heart was butchered into pieces and somehow, he wasn''t able to gather the strength to face Eva bravely at that moment. For the first time in his life, he felt scared of revealing his own truth before her. Unable to stifle the unspeakable agony, he lowered his head down with tears dripping down, mixed among with rain droplets.


    ...


    It was around 3 am in the morning. The rainfall had stopped a while ago and the sky was gradually becoming clear after such heavy precipitation. Staggering on his feet and holding a tear-soaked painful grimace, Zeus eventually returned back to Eva''s home, fully drenched wet from tip to toe. As soon as he clutched open the doorknob, entering inside, someone dashed out straight into the living room in the flick of a second.


    "Zeus? Where the hell you have been? Damn, I was so madly worried for you!"


    He raised his chin up staring at the front where he saw Eva, looking all anxious and frowning her eyebrows vented out her remark. She was already awake from her slumber and seemed terribly worried about him from her appearance. A dim yellow light was illuminating in the living room but in his mind, he was swallowed up in profound darkness.


    He didn''t utter a single word and continued staring at her with a sad gaze like a mute.


    "Oh my gosh...Zeus! You are fully drenched wet! Why did you go outside in such harsh weather? It has been raining so badly outside! Gosh, you must have caught a cold..." Quickly glancing around the room, she grabbed a small towel lying on the couch next to her and dashed closer to him. Frowning her eyebrow ridge, she started wiping his soaked hairs seeming much concerned about him.


    "Why do you always make me so anxious, Zeus? Do you even know since how long I was waiting for you---"


    "You...You were waiting for me?" After a long silence, finally, a cold response came back from him.


    A bit startled at his absurd question, Eva swirled her eyeballs and continued glancing at him straight in the eye. "Of course! I was deliberately waiting for your return! Once I woke up from my slumber, my head was feeling dizzy but what troubled me the most was not having you by my side! I was panicked, scared of the thunder... But when I saw you had left your belongings here, I eventually knew that you would return. But why did it took you so long? Do you even know what time is it--"


    "Why?" Before she could wrap up her words, a teary crooked question came back halted her speech momentarily.


    "Pa-Pardon?"


    "Why do you love me, Eva?" Staring straight into her dark pupils, a cold answer was reciprocated from him.


    Eva seemed oddly startled at his query and like a numb person, she kept gawking back at him. "What kind of question you are asking me...Zeus?"


    "Why do you love me? Why did you choose me? I...I am not worthy of your love! I am not worthy of anything! I...I am a loser...I am a fucking failure! Why did you fall for me?" Bursting out in tears, he screamed out aloud causing a sharp echo in the room.


    Her heart throbbed out hard in dread hearing his sharp lament. Gulping her saliva, she mumbled slowly, "Ze-Zeus, what has happened to you? Why are you being like this?"


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 Chapter 125 - Barging In

    Facing Zeus in such a broken state, Eva was badly perplexed, unable to come up with any method to cope up with the situation. Fanning hard in anxiety, she softly tried to hold his grimace in her trembling hands, gazing intensely.


    "Zeus...what''s wrong? Why are you behaving like this?"


    He was still grieving remorsefully, frowning his face and twitching his jowls. But, this time his gestures seemed a bit dizzy. His feet were trembling on their own and leaning his back against the wall, he tried to stand straight, wailing out, "I know it well! Eventually, just like everyone else...you will abandon me too! You will leave me too!"


    "Zeus, why are you in such a wrecked state? What''s wrong---" All of a sudden, her speech trailed off as she touched his face cupping within her grip. Rolling his eyes in horror, she screamed out loud, "Zeus, you are burning with fever! Oh my gosh! What am I gonna do? It''s too hot..." In trepidation, she started to touch all over his face including his forehead, cheek, jowls.


    He understood it apparently, that it was the feverish sensation that he has felt for a while due to the exposure of the extreme trauma. It hasn''t been long since he survived that grave injury. His head was feeling much heavier throbbing in pain and angst. His vision was turning a bit blurry and it was making him difficult to even stand firm.


    "Eva...leave me alone...Don''t bother..."


    Before he could even wrap his words, all of a sudden a complete blackout prevailed right in front of his eyes. In the blink of a second, he lost his consciousness and collapsed in her arms. Alarmed in fear, she screamed out aloud seeing him in such a terrible state holding him closer to her heart.


    .....


    DING DONG!


    Flinched out hard with the sudden loud voice of the doorbell, Clara jolted up from her sleep and woke up on her bed. Looking a bit anxious, she glanced all around the room and took a peek at the wall clock in her bedroom.


    "Did I hear it right? Was it my doorbell? But...it''s 3 am right now, how can it be possible?" Scratching her scalp, she was mumbling on her own while yawning.


    DING DONGGG!


    This time the sound of the doorbell seemed much loud than before as if someone pressed it quite harder. A bit anxious at the sudden interruption, unwillingly she stood up from her bed and headed towards the door, strolling fast.


    Before opening the doorknob, she quickly grabbed a big metal rod placed on the umbrella basket near the door for her own safety and kept it hidden behind her. Abruptly unlocking the door, she clenched the rod harder to counterattack over it if it was a forthcoming danger.


    But it wasn''t any burglar or criminal standing at her door. To her surprise, it was Czar visiting her at such an unexpected time, fully drenched wet from tip to toe.


    "Ma-Master?" Swirling her pupils, Clara blurted out in a loud pitch.


    "Why did it take you so long to open the door? I chose to enter your home like any other normal being, but if I had known you are going to make me wait like this...I would have at least used teleportation." He scrunched his eyebrow ridge and sounded quite vexed, and palpitated.


    "Master, what are you doing in my house at this hour? Do you know...it''s 3 am in the morning--"


    "I am gonna stay over for tonight." Before she could wrap her sentence, Czar boldly interrupted her remark and headed straight inside her room in a gallant posture. She was spellbound with his brazen attitude and stood still momentarily at the door in disbelief.


    "Are you gonna keep standing at the door?" He took a small glance at her and chose to probe audaciously.


    Frowning her eyebrows, she closed the door and impertinently walked closer towards him in the hallway. "Umm, well, I am speechless with your audacity, master. First of all, why are you here in a woman''s place at such an absurd time? Besides, you are even boldly proclaiming that you would stay here overnight. So how should I process this whole situation?" Her voice sounded much irked.


    Czar took a small huff of breath out and intended to remove his drenched suit coat, putting it in the laundry basket placed near the corridor. "I don''t see you as a woman." He declaimed in a deep voice.


    "What?"


    "I don''t see you as a woman. For me, you are my slave and I can do whatever I wish around you. So, I don''t find anything absurd about barging in your place right now. I didn''t want to stay alone in a hotel so I came here instead. Anyway, prepare some spare clothes for me. I am gonna take a shower." Sounding much bold, he took a small peak at the washroom which was just on the left side of the hallway passage.


    "Excuse me?" Agitated at his rude fusing, she headed a few steps closer to him while glaring her eyes in frustration. "Where I would find spare clothes for you, master? You might not see me as a woman...but I am a woman and I don''t have any spare men''s clothing. So I suggest you, it''s better you should move into a hotel rather than staying here."


    For a while, he kept glancing at her perturbed reaction with a sly smirk lingering on his face. Folding his arms within his arm notch, he mumbled in a spooky tone,  "well, spare clothes aren''t a big issue for me. I don''t mind roaming here naked if I don''t find clothes. In fact, being like that is much more comfortable for me---"


    "But I mind it! How can you roam here naked in my home? Have you lost your goddamn mind?" Screaming in frustration, her voice reverberated like an echo in the entire room.


    __________________


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 Chapter 126 - Feeling Content

    "Hey, why are you raising your voice at me?" Scrunching his eyebrow ridge, Czar murmured his voice sounding much displeased at her sudden loud reaction. With each passing moment, Clara was further losing her temperament and tried to inhale a deep breath calming herself down.


    "I...I am not yelling at you, master. It''s just...your suggestion seemed much uncomfortable and embarrassing to me right now..."


    "But it doesn''t give you the audacity to yell at me. Besides, we are in a master-slave relation right now. So, it''s your job to follow my orders around." He cleared his throat sounding much hoarse.


    "Ughh, this man can really piss me off! He is damn stubborn like a kid! Ahh, why am I suddenly stressed so much at darn 3 am? My head...It''s hurting so badly right now," twitching her eyebrows she flipped her hairs on the other side of her neck wondering on her own. After a moment of silence between them, she chose to mumble in a gentle tone, "okay. You can head to the shower. I will look for something for you to wear..."


    "Good." Tossing a sly chuckle, he immediately headed straight inside the washroom leaving her outside standing in the hallway frowning her eyebrows.


    ...


    While he was taking up a warm shower, Clara was sitting up on her bed with an irked expression written all over her face. She was still drowsy, with her head aching a bit. Soon enough, the doorknob of the washroom clutched open, and wearing a warm long white bathrobe Czar headed straight into her bedroom rubbing his wet hairs with a small towel. Through the division of the bathrobe near his chest area, his firm, tough muscles were visible. Czar always had an elegant appearance behold, but in that wet look, he seemed much hotter than usual.


    "I had told you to prepare some spare clothes for me. Why did you get me a bathrobe?" Tossing away the towel, he took a small glimpse at her who was sitting up on the bed glaring at him.


    "Well I don''t have any men''s clothing with me and due to our physique differences, my clothes won''t fit you. So, it''s better if you keep wearing the bathrobe for now. At least, it''s better than roaming naked." Squirming her arms, she snapped at him.


    Czar scrunched his eyebrows and took a deep sigh out after hearing her remark. "Alright, then wrap up the laundry of my clothes within tomorrow. It''s a quite authentic suit of mine." In a gallant voice, he proclaimed at her and straight-headed towards her bed. Watching him coming all of a sudden towards her, she was startled and quickly jolted up from the bed.


    "Wh-Why are you heading towards my bed?" Gulping her saliva down, she probed him bluntly.


    "What kind of pathetic question is this? Look at the time, of course, I want to sleep."


    "You...You will be sleeping here? In my room?"


    "Yes."


    "On my bed?" Rolling her eyeballs wider, she reciprocated her answer looking all perplexed.


    "Why are you bothering me with so many questions? Yes, I will sleep here on your bed. Now please would you move aside? I am too tired right now." Shoving her a bit away from the bed with his arm, Czar quickly climbed up on the bed stretching out his wide arms on the soft mattress.


    Clara stood like a mute statue looking at the grown handsome man rolling and nuzzling on her soft bed. She was spellbound at his shameless behavior and taking a deep breath out she tried to hold her temperament back, "master, if you will rest on my bed, where the heck will I sleep? I have to go back to work tomorrow. My whole day will be ruined if I won''t get proper rest."


    "You can sleep on the floor in this room or in the couch outside. So, please go away and don''t bother me anymore." Wrapping himself in her warm blanket, within a few seconds he fell asleep snoring out aloud.


    "Huh? Look at this crazy jerk sleeping so peacefully on my bed and commanding me to sleep on the floor in my own house! Damn, this punk!" Clara clenched her fist in anger intending to throw out a punch towards him in the air. But as soon as she took a glance at his innocent sleeping face on her pillow, her motion halted, and somehow her heart was feeling a bit of compassion for him.


    "Maybe...he really wanted to run away from somewhere and didn''t have any place to go...Probably, that''s why he came here to seek a little solace. Ahh, anyway, just for today...I can sleep on the couch outside. I should let him rest peacefully for the time being." Wondering inside while glancing at his sleepy face, she blinked her eyelashes nonchalantly. Though he was sleeping like a small child, his porcelain white skin along with those big eyes beautifully crafted with long eyelashes, his pointed nose, and charming roseate lips...everything about him looked ethereally attractive at that moment in her eyes. Unknowingly she raised her arm to caress his soft black hair threads wavering on his forehead but suddenly, she stopped halfway.


    "Damn, what was I even thinking to do right now? I must be out of my mind!" Flinching at her own self, quickly she walked out of the room a bit nervously.


    ...


    CHIRP...CHIRP...


    The mild chirping noise of birds flocking outside the window of the room was enough to wake Zeus up from his deep slumber. It was morning already and radiant sunshine was entering the room providing a mild warmth. Slowly, he peeped his eyes a few times and stared all around him.


    On a chair near his bedside, Eva was sleeping resting her face on her elbow placed over the bed, looking a bit pale and exhausted. Just next to her, a big bowl of water with a linen cloth was placed over. Zeus promptly understood she had been taking care of his fever silently for the whole night which made him much guilt-stricken from inside. Besides, her grimace appeared much tired to even look at with those puffy eye bags being much evident.


    Watching her silently for a few seconds with a sad deep gaze, Zeus raised his arm softly to caress those fine hairs nuzzling over her face so that she can sleep without any interruption. But as soon as he touched her hair with his fingertip to tuck them behind her ears, flinching with a heavy jolt she quickly woke up from her snooze and raised her chin up looking at him.


    "Zeus? You are awake? How...How are you feeling now? Is the fever down?" Immediately she placed her warm hand on his neck, his forehead, and his cheeks to monitor his body temperature.


    "I am sorry, I didn''t mean to wake you up. Don''t worry, I am feeling much better now." He murmured in a polite voice, looking sharply at her perplexed grimace.


    "But your body temperature still feels a bit feverish... I think some proper medications and rest will heal you quickly, Zeus." Making a worried face, she asserted.


    A small smile appeared on his face watching her worrying about him so impatiently. Tenderly he held her arm in his grip while caressing her knuckle. "Did you stay all night awake looking after me?"


    Staring intensively at him after hearing his query, she lowered her gaze down and nodded her head in response. "You...You were behaving quite weirdly yesterday... It seemed to me...you were traumatized over something and that''s what led you to this fever. Am I right?"


    Zeus took a deep breath in and laid all still on the bed without giving her an answer. His face seemed to be anticipating something and he was frowning his eyebrows. Smartly enough, Eva understood from his gestures that he was being a bit reluctant about sharing what he had encountered last night.


    "Alright, let''s not talk about yesterday. First, I will prepare you my super delicious porridge and give you some medicines after that. Trust me, you will feel better than now." Trying to divert the topic otherwise, she softly patted his head and stood up from the chair before heading towards the kitchen.


    "But Eva...human medicines aren''t necessary for me... Don''t worry, I will be fine on my own--"


    "No more objections! Just stay still and be patient like a small obedient kid. Don''t think about anything and just trust me, okay?" Leaning her head closer to his face and putting a small kiss on his forehead, she whispered her words gently towards him.


    For the first time, his heart was feeling content with the warmth she was showering on him. The dark scar which was embedded in his heart last night was still throbbing hard whenever he was looking at her, but for the time being, he didn''t want their good times to fleet away.


    ...


    (Doorbell sound)


    Eva walked out of the room and tying up her hair in a knot, she was heading straight towards the kitchen. But with the sudden doorbell noise, her motion halted, and quickly she opened the door.


    A tall, young delivery boy was standing at the door holding a bunch of fresh white orchids in his arm. Holding an impertinent gaze at him, she inquired him, "yes?"


    "Are you Miss Eva Ricci?"


    "Ye-Yes?"


    "This orchids has been delivered for you, ma''am." Politely he stretched out his arm to hand her the flower bouquet with a smile.


    "For me?" Surprised at his answer, she rolled her eyes in anxiety. "Who gave me these flowers?"


    __________________


    **300 votes: 6 extra chapters :)

 Chapter 127 - Anticipations Approaching

    "Umm, ma''am... you can see the letter tucked inside the bouquet sent for you. The name of the sender must have been mentioned there," bowing his head a bit obediently, the guy whispered to her tossing a kind smile.


    "O-Okay." Impatiently Eva closed the door as soon as the guy left the premises of her home. Indeed inside the bunch of those white orchids, a small yellow-colored leaflet was tucked in. Carefully she took out the leaflet and tried to gaze at the sender. To her surprise, the flowers were delivered from Mr. Beck again!


    "Dear Miss Eva,


    I hope these beautiful orchids would bring a smile to your face as soon as you get them. Kindly, I gotta ask you a favor. I am going out of town for a business purpose for the next 2 days so, the cafeteria will be closed. But can you visit the Brooklyn Coffee Farm tomorrow to collect fresh coffee beans? Usually, I prefer to go and collect my beans personally but since this time I can''t...so can you do me this favor instead? The address is provided on the other side of the leaflet and keep it safe with you. The farm is quite reputed but a bit far away from the town, so you might have to stay there overnight. Please take care of yourself.


    Kind regards,


    Mr. Beck."


    After finishing up reading the letter, she took a small glimpse at the back of the paper, and indeed, the complete address was provided there. Though she didn''t have to leave for work today leaving sick Zeus behind, the sudden command of running those errands bothered her a little.


    "Gosh, why does he has to sent me flowers to convey his message? He can simply send me a text or call me directly. Gosh, people are so cheesy nowadays... This is annoying, I really don''t want to go out of town on such short notice..." She was mumbling on her own, tucking the leaflet back inside the bouquet.


    "Eva, who was it?"


    Hearing the sudden loud call from Zeus, she quickly strolled closer towards the room and stood at the door. He was sitting up on her bed, resting his broad shoulder against the wall supporting by a cushion. His soft hairs were quite messy as he just rose up on the bed. But in her eyes, his puffy red grimace with the bed hair look seemed much cuter than usual gorgeous appearance.


    "It''s nothing. I got a notice that I don''t have to head to work today, instead, we can spend the whole day together, honey." Smiling tenderly at him, she reciprocated his answer.


    "Really?" His eyes seemed to be gleaming in bliss as soon as he heard her answer.


    "Of course. But...tomorrow I have to run an errand but never mind, at least I got a day off today. I am happy."


    "But...what''s with those flowers?" Immediately the small simper on his face tainted a little as his eyes shifted towards the white orchids she was grasping in her arm.


    "Oh, these? Well, my boss seems kind of a cheesy person, sending me flowers and stuff to relay his message. But these white orchids are so fresh, they are beautiful." While conveying her words, she smelled those flowers with a pleasant grin on her face.


    "Why would he send white orchids to you? Did he ever give you these orchids before?" His voice sounded a bit hoarse as he continued glaring at them, sitting still.


    "Ahh, don''t be so jealous, my honey." Eva chuckled meekly at his response tugging the bouquet close in her arm. "He is well aware that I am already taken. So don''t fret, maybe it''s just one of his weird habits of sending flowers to everyone. Don''t think much about it. Stay still, I will bring some porridge for you okay?" Tossing a tender flying kiss towards him, she headed back to the kitchen humming some meek tune.


    While she was leaving back, his eyes were still gawking at those flowers which she was carrying along with her. Looking much perplexed, he wondered deep inside his mind, "but why white orchids? I bet...Eva doesn''t even know, white orchid symbolizes... death."


    ....


    Yawning aloud while stretching his arms, Czar woke up from his deep peaceful slumber, rubbing his eyes nonchalantly. The mild sunrays radiating inside the room through the window indicated that it was a blissful warm morning already. As soon as he woke up alone in the room, he saw the bathrobe he had been wearing since the last night had loosened its knot, and quickly enough, he tied it back before heading out of the room.


    As soon as he walked outside, a sweet smell of banana pancakes was lingering in his craving for food. As he didn''t have anything since the last night, even the scent of simple pancakes was enough to make his stomach growl out aloud.


    Stepping inside the kitchen, he saw Clara was preparing those pancakes wearing a bright red apron and tucking her hair knot as a bun. She was dressed up in a formal white shirt and a knee-length black skirt, looking much in a hurry while preparing the breakfast.


    "Are you heading out somewhere?"


    Suddenly at his deep voice, she flinched out quite hard, glancing behind and swirling her eyes in a roll. Czar was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, leaning his back against the wall and folding his arms within the groove.


    "Ahh, master? You are awake already? Go-Good morning." She mumbled out in a spree, hurriedly flipping the pancakes over.


    "You didn''t answer my question?"


    "I think you have already forgotten, I have told you last night. I have to go to work today." Softly peeking at him behind, she asserted.


    "That means... I have to stay alone here?" His voice sounded a bit perplexed while he was scrunching his eyebrows.


    "Are you gonna stay here? I have already dry-cleaned your clothes in the morning." Putting some pancakes over a plate, she walked towards the dining table placing them right in front of him. "I had assumed, perhaps you will leave in the morning so I did it early. Thanks to you, I couldn''t sleep outside on the couch and have a really bad headache now. Well, I was craving for something sweet that''s why I made pancakes for breakfast. Hope, you will like it, master."


    "Are you not gonna have breakfast with me?" He seemed a bit displeased, frowning his face and inquiring her back.


    "I am sorry, but I will wrap it with me and eat on my way. You can eat without me and if you want to stay here, you are free to do so since you never listen to me, master." She tossed her remark in a tantalized way, smirking a little. Czar could evidently see the swollen eye bags beneath her eyes which indicated that she didn''t get proper sleep last night.


    "But...I don''t wanna eat alone." Wondering deep inside, he huffed out a deep breath. He didn''t even bother to walk a single step ahead to grab his sit on the table.


    "I guess, I have to use the toilet for a while. You can go ahead and ave it, master." Clenching her arm near her abdomen, quickly she rushed towards the washroom as if it was quite urget. Standing all stiff, Czar was sulking his face glancing at those pancakes served on the table.


    [DOORBELL RINGS]


    Suddenly, the loud sound of the doorbell startled him quite hard. Tossing an impertinent gaze towards the door, he boldly walked ahead opening it curiously on behalf of her.


    "Good morning, Miss Claraa--"


    At the entrance of the door, her office subordinate Henry had expected Clara to open the door as he was smiling brightly. But instead, watching him wearing a bathrobe with a loose knot, messy bed hair, and sleepy fresh face...his smile immediately tainted away occupied with an irked expression.


    "You...You are the man who dragged Miss Clara from our party!" Scowling his face, Henry sounded much infuriated looking at him.


    "Ahh, yes I remember. You were the annoying brat who was asking me too many questions," scraping his messy hair, Czar reciprocated his reply wittily.


    "What are you doing here in Miss Clara''s place? And...wearing this lewd bathrobe in the morning?"


    "And why do you bother in my personal life? I can wear a bathrobe or I can roam naked...I can do whatever I want, who are you to probe me?" His voice sounded a bit irked due to his nosy attitude.


    For a while, Henry continued glaring at him fiercely and tried to peek inside the house through the corridor. But Clara was nowhere seen and in a furious tone, he grumbled at him, "hey...be honest, do you love Miss Clara?"


    "No."


    "Then...does she have feelings for you?"


    "No."


    "No? Then why are you here at her place? Are you trying to use her?"


    "Umm, yes. I am kind of using her right now." His answer was short and witty as he shrugged his shoulders.


    "What?" He screamed out in rage swirling his eyes wider. "What kind of scumbag are you? You call yourself a human---"


    "No. I am not a human." Holding a dark smile towards him, he declaimed in a hoarse voice.


    _______________________


    300 votes: 6 new chapters!

 Chapter 128 - Hypnotize

    "This punk has really lost his senses..." Gnashing his jowls in anger, Henry wondered with a death stare towards him intensely while Czar was standing still, looking at him holding a witty smirk. He didn''t seem a bit bothered by his accusations and faced him much boldly.


    "Are you done with your chattering or still have something left to speak?"


    "Hey dude...you need to check yourself with a therapist! I think...you are not in your right senses now! I am really concerned about Miss Clara, how could she even let a crazy jerk like you in her home?" Grumbling in rage, Henry tried to move a bit closer to him intending to forcefully barge inside the home while he was still persistingly guarding the door.


    "Well, I am in my right senses but you are gonna lose your senses right now." Mystically he swirled his eyeballs while replying in a spooky voice.


    "What?"


    All of a sudden, the dark brown pupils of his eye transformed into bright blue color as he intended to use his superpowers by viciously glaring at him straight into his eyes. With a sudden jolt, Henry almost stood all numb like a statue as their eyes encountered each other! He couldn''t even breathe properly while he was gazing at him making a vile expression on his face.


    "Miss Clara is sick today...She is gonna take a day off..." In a low deep voice, Czar muttered these words out of his mouth intensely staring at him.


    Henry gazed at his eyes like a statue and as soon as he proclaimed his words, like a puppet he nodded his head gently and repeated those exact words in a frail pitch, "Miss Clara is sick today... She is gonna take a day off."


    "Henry?"


    All of a sudden, Clara shrieked out aloud from behind which startled Czar quite hard. Quickly, his dark blue eyes obtained the usual human form as she hurriedly rushed to the door ogling at Henry in perplexion.


    "Henry? What are you doing here? Why are you at my home this early morning?" In anticipation, she threw so many questions scanning him from head to toe.


    "Miss Clara is sick today...She is gonna take a day off." In a robotic manner, he proclaimed the same words again staring at her. His eyes seemed to be abnormally darkened with a faded expression all over his face.


    "What?" Bewildered at his answer, she quickly shifted her gaze towards Czar who was still smiling meekly at him. "Wh-What''s wrong with him?" She probed her being quite restless.


    "Miss Clara is sick today...She is gonna take a day off." He repeated the same words again which amused Czar as he began to chuckle, swirling his eyes.


    "Why is he uttering like a robot? What the heck is happening here, master?" Rolling her eyes wider in fear, she shrieked out quite aloud.


    "I have hypnotized him."


    "What?"


    "You heard me right. I can''t stand nosy stuff and that''s why I had to hypnotize him." Smiling in a spooky eloquence, he uttered those words smoothly out of his mouth taking a huff of breath out. "He will tell these exact words in the office acting as an eye- witness and you will be taking the day off today. Isn''t it a good thing?"


    "Wh-Why did you do it, master?" Panicking out quite hastily, she grabbed his arm and shook his arm vigorously a few times to regain his senses back from that state. "Hey, Henry! Please revive your senses! You can hear me, right? Please act normal as you do!"


    "Miss Clara is sick today...She is gonna take a day off." He murmured those exact words again, gazing at her eyes with a blank stare.


    "Damn it!" Looking infuriated, she turned her face behind and glared at Czar who seemed to be enjoying the show, smiling on his own. "Master! Please revive his senses back! You mustn''t abuse your powers on these weak humans, they could fall into grave danger!"


    "Sorry, but hypnotic powers won''t be reversed till the sunset." Promptly he responded, smirking a little.


    "That means... he is gonna stay like this till the evening?"


    "Yes."


    "Are you fucking kidding me? Why did you do this to him then?" Slapping her forehead with her hand, she growled at him in frustration, constantly gazing at Henry who was standing all stiff and numb.


    This time, the mischievous smile on his face faded a little as he shifted his gaze towards him to convey his intense words, "alright. Don''t bother us anymore. Leave."


    Politely he bowed his head before him and without uttering a single word he left away right from her entrance walking at a gentle pace. Clara seemed too concerned about his state and impatiently stirred her queries towards him.


    "Master, how can he just leave like that? He can fall into a major accident in this hypnotic state! It''s too dangerous--"


    "Stop worrying about these humans too much." Before she could wrap her words, sounding much darker and dense, he conversed his answer staring straight into her perplexed eyes.  "Though you have lived among these humans but don''t forget about your own identity! We are much superior to these annoying humans. I think you better worry about your own lineage from which you belong."


    "But...Master..."


    All of a sudden, he leaned his face a bit closer towards her and whispered in an intense tone before she could speak further. "You should be appreciative to me that I easily gave you a day off from your hectic work schedule.


    But looking at you constantly nagging and whining at me is pissing me off a bit, my dear. You mustn''t try to provoke my anger instincts. I may look all smiley and playful but you don''t have a single idea, how terrifying I turn out to be if someone aggravates my rage. So, worry about your own life and be obedient to me." He tapped her shoulder a few times threatening her in a cold, husky voice, smiling a bit while glaring straight into her eyes.


    For the first time, his attitude seemed much malicious like a monster, and his spooky smile was enough to bring terrifying chills all over her spine. Her legs trembled a little and without uttering any word further, she quickly nodded her head in response.


    "That''s like a good girl. Come, let''s have breakfast together." His playful smirk reappeared on his face again as he turned behind to stroll back inside, whistling a meek tune in a calm manner as if nothing happened in between. Clara stood like a statue, awe-struck at his attitude gulping her saliva quite anxiously. It was the very first time, she felt quite scared of his smile and the fact quite messed her up from inside.


    ....


    "Ewww! The medicine tastes so bitter...I won''t have it more---"


    "Zeus, don''t whine like a child! C''mon, open your mouth wide..."


    "No please, it tastes too awful! I am perfectly fine now, I don''t need medicines---"


    "Open your mouth! AAAAAA?"


    "Aaaaa."


    Dealing with his childish whining, Eva was desperately trying hard to feed him the medicines after he consumed the porridge that she had prepared for him tenderly. He was sulking his face quite hard while gulping those medicines against his own will just for her sake. Watching his silly facial expressions, all of a sudden, Eva burst out into laughter covering her mouth, closing her eyes shut.


    "What? Are you enjoying tormenting me?" Zeus pouted his lips while wiping that liquid flavor from his mouth, making a displeased grimace.


    "Haha! I am sorry...But your face is just like him right now!" She was laughing quite hard.


    "Him?"


    "Yes. My father used to nag like you exactly the same way whenever he fell sick. My mom used to feed him those pills and medicines in the same way just I fed you now. Haha! But his expressions were always too funny to watch..."


    All of a sudden, his heart tinged with the pain of despair as he watched her laughing out heartily right before him. Without uttering a single word, he continued staring at her holding a glum gaze.


    After a moment of intense laughing, her eyes were almost teary as she had giggled too much.


    Wiping her eyes she mumbled in a soft tone, "damn. All these things feel like just happened yesterday...Sometimes, I can''t believe it...I am living without them for 10 years already..."


    Her voice grew a bit sadder as she lowered her eyes down, sighing a deep huff of breath. "You know Zeus...I...I really want to see them just once...but...I know it''s impossible for me. That''s why I try to find my lost happiness in such little things... And, your expressions truly made me giggle. Th-Thank you, Zeus." She raised her chin up looking at him with a sad wide smile and a tearful gaze.


    Softly, Zeus clenched her hand with his one arm and caressed her face tenderly with the other arm. Reciprocating a sad wide smile towards her, he mumbled his words in a polite voice, "I will make sure to hold this precious smile on your face, forever. I will make sure to make your father being proud of me for cherishing her daughter preciously. It''s my promise to you, Eva."


    "He will be proud of you, I am sure of it, Zeus." Nuzzling her side face on his palm, she responded with tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as their eyes were fixed on each other.


    .


    But...


    Little did their serene hearts knew...fierce storms had been approaching them at the speed of light, which was about to be the turning point of their pure relationship.


    ____________________


    300 votes: 6 extra chapters!!

 Chapter 129 - Nailed A Hammer

    Sitting right opposite to him on the dining table, Clara was silently chomping a slice of pancake, continuously stealing glances at Czar who was gulping down those slices in a rush. He was stuffing his mouth with the pancakes that she had prepared chomping and swallowing them holding a small smile on his face.


    "He seems really hungry..." Wondering inside her mind, she was peeping at him furrowing her eyebrows.


    "Yes, you are right.  I was indeed starving since the last night. And I really wanted to have breakfast together since I am sick of always eating alone." Startling her for a moment, Czar quickly responded to those exact words which she was wondering inside her mind.


    "Huh? Ma-Master, did you just read my mind?"


    "No. But the way you were glancing at me, I assumed you might be wondering about it." Taking a large bite on a slice of a pancake he was gripping on his hand, he smiled a bit mystically at her.


    Clara silently glanced at him for a few seconds, without uttering a single word. She was squirming on her own as if something was quite bothering her from inside. He noticed her anxious face quite evidently and chose to speak first. "If something is bothering you from inside, then you can spit it out."


    "Master... whatever I had told you last night... regarding Eva... Please, keep it tight-lipped with you. I beg of you... She should never know that her father wasn''t a human--"


    "He was a beta werewolf, like us." Before she could finish her words, Czar proclaimed his remark in a dark voice, staring invincibly at her eyes. She was awe-struck at his sudden declamation as she didn''t expect him to find out her father''s real identity, which was secured as a secret by Clara for all these years.


    "Ho-How did you know about it?" Gulping down her saliva, she probed him restlessly.


    He laid still on the chair for a moment and took out a deep huff of breath. "Not only that, he belonged to our Romanos. Steve Romano, the toughest swordsman we ever had." He replied.


    "What?" Swirling her eyes in fear, she jolted up on her seat looking deadpanned in shock. For a moment, her vision almost blurred out as her mind started to feel dizzy.


    "Not only that... he has been always known as the traitor who dared to abandon his own pack...just to dream of a happily ever after with a human. Such a darn fool..." Wiping his fingers with a tissue, he smirked with a vile expression on his face muttering out in a deep voice.


    "I...I can''t believe this!" Looking extremely perplexed with the revelation, Clara gasped out a heavy breath of air, fidgeting her fingers involuntarily. She was grimacing her face and anxiously rose her chin up, staring at him before conversing further. "That...Does that mean Eva is going to walk on the same dreadful path her mother chose for herself?"


    "There is a basic difference that lies in between... The one she has chosen for herself is the alpha of our pack! If Zeus dares to commit the same mistake as him, he won''t be spared by our celestial ancestors. Despite this, he might get terminated forever in the prison of hellfire! After all, whatever destiny has decided for them, Zeus will have to pay a hefty price of the consequences." Smiling viciously with a devilish expression on his fresh bright face, his eyes shimmered in gleam while he was articulating about it to her.


    Like a numb statue, she sat still, looking at his eyes which seemed much entertained, sparkling in bliss. Frowning her brows, she inquired at him, "master...you are smiling?"


    "Yes. Why? Am I forbidden from smiling?"


    "Master...your brother is gonna face such a cruel fate on the hands of destiny! Even...He could be executed in the realm of hellfire by the celestial ancestors! You must know it well, it''s the severe punishment in our world. And yet...you are laughing at this brutal consequence? Is this something to be laughed out?"


    "Ahh, don''t start with your nagging again." He scoffed at her quickly, making a vexed expression on his face. "He is not worthy of my sympathy... In fact, he has never considered me as my own brother! All he could do these years was portraying a fake act of compassion towards me and trying hard to win my heart. But deep down inside...he has been always aware of how much I have hated him... no matter what." Crossing his arms over his chest, he grumbled out his words in an irked pitch.


    She stared at him in wonder for a few seconds and sighing a heavy breath out of displeasure, she stood up from the seat holding a bereaved gesture. "Master...if he has been always aware of your hatred towards him...yet he has still tried to win over your heart, then...probably...he must have really cherished you deep down in his heart."


    "What?" Hearing her answer, in the blink of an eye, he leaned forward on the table, gazing at her in disbelief.


    "Master, one can only be earnestly compassionate towards the other bearing the hatred if...he genuinely cares about him. Perhaps, he had always cherished you as his own brother but his cold heart couldn''t display it out... Probably, he chose to perform his duties silently but maybe it bloomed further disputes between you both."


    "Quit your nonsense," looking much irked at her response, he stood up from the chair. Angrily vexing at her, he grumbled out, "what do you even know about us? How could you defend him as if you had known him for a long time?"


    She fidgeted anxiously for a moment and raised her chin up to glare back at him. "I don''t know anything, master. But...isn''t it easy to understand? Or...maybe, you just want to keep these flares of wrath alive in your heart just to hate your brother?"


    "That''s enough!" Unable to hold back his anger, he yelled out aloud reverberating the whole room as an echo which immediately halted her from speaking further. "I have had enough of your lectures. I am leaving from here right now!"


    Stomping his feet in anger, he dashed into the room to grab his clothes before leaving the house. Clara stood still, frowning her face while watching him leaving in such a rage.


    "Maybe...I have nailed a hammer in a deep painful scar of his heart. But...in all this chaos, I am most worried about Eva. Ultimately, she is the one who will have to go through so much pain...


    Damn... I wish...I wish I could stop her before choosing Zeus..." She sighed out, wondering inside.


    ...


    It was already past evening. Spending quality time together for the whole day, holding arms in arms, walking next to each other both Zeus and Eva went out to their nearby store as Eva was short on groceries. Zeus was indeed feeling much better after she had forced him to gulp down the medicines, so he decided to go on a small walk with her, breathing some fresh air out with the evening breeze wavering the small shrubs around them.


    While passing by a small public park, near her apartment, Eva noticed three young men were playing a street performance singing beautiful melodies while playing violin and a cello. A crowd of people was surrounding those artists and a young teenage couple was dancing to the rhythm of the melody there were playing, holding each other in their embrace. The whole atmosphere looked quite blissful and curiously, Eva was gazing at them while crossing the park.


    "Do you want to visit inside?" Watching her observing those people impertinently, Zeus gave her a wide smile and whispered his proposal softly towards her.


    "Umm, but...there are many people inside...And, you don''t like crowds..."


    "But for you, I am willing to change myself, Eva." Gripping her hand tight, he murmured his words which startled her pretty much as she didn''t expect, she would be able to cause his change of heart in such a short span. With a bright smile on his face, Zeus tugged her inside the park, closer to the band which was performing on.


    "Oh my! Look at this pair...They look so adorable... Both of them look so beautiful together..."


    Some of them whispered among themselves when both of them walked amidst the crowd holding each other tight. Both of them blushed with those compliments and continued smiling wider.


    .


    "Is there any couple who is willing to dance in our next melody? It will be a beautiful, romantic one." The vocalist suddenly announced his remark in a loud voice, rolling his eyes amidst the crowd.


    "Here, we will!"


    All of a sudden, Zeus raised his arm up higher with the announcement. His unexpected reaction immediately baffled Eva as she continued gawking at him in wonder. Softly turning his gaze towards her, he tossed a meek smile before asking her out, "would you like to dance with me, my lady?"


    Flustered red in shyness before the whole cheering crowd and her deep brown eyes shimmering in happiness, she chuckled at his tender request and nodded her head staring at him in awe."I would love to, my lord."


    ._______________________________


    ****Please help me reach the 300 power stone target to get 6 extra chapters in reward ^_^

 Chapter 130 - Perfect...

    "I found a love for me


    Oh darling, just dive right in and follow my lead


    Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet


    Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me...


    ''Cause we were just kids when we fell in love


    Not knowing what it was


    I will not give you up this time


    But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own


    And in your eyes, you''re holding mine


    Baby, I''m dancing in the dark with you between my arms


    Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song


    When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath


    But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight ..."


    .


    Amidst the mild breeze wavering around the atmosphere, dancing beautiful white cherry laurel petals were floating in the air when Zeus and Eva were immersed in each other''s arms, dancing to the beautiful romantic melody the vocalist was singing, looking ethereally beautiful as a pair. Her body was held close to him, his one arm was softly holding her slim waist and the other one was tenderly taking her arm. Eva was putting one of her hands around his firm broad shoulder and the other one was tightly secured in his clutch. Both of them were rhythmically floating amidst the breeze looking at each other shimmering in gleam, smiling blissfully, and forgetting about the rest of the world as if the world entirely consisted of only both of them.


    As soon as he finished singing, a huge round of applause cheered for them loudly, as both of them looking flustered red stood next to each other, holding each other''s hand tenderly. Eva politely bowed her head before the crowd for their cheering and Zeus lowering her gaze down continued glancing at her. As soon as she looked up at him, he softly cupped her face in his grip and marked a dreamy kiss on her forehead, embracing her closer to him. His unexpected kiss startled her, making her more bashful in front of all the people gathered around them.


    "Awwww! Such an adorable couple...You both are definitely a match made in heaven in this modern world where love and romance are considered fleeting emotions... It feels so good to see a pair, so deeply in love with each other." A middle-aged, kind-hearted woman who was watching them dancing standing amidst the crowd took a few steps closer to them and whispered in a gentle note.


    "Th-Thank you, madam." Eva politely bowed her head first as she knew it quite well, Zeus would never express his gratitude towards any human. So on behalf of him, she chose to do show her grace towards her first.


    "Thanks." Smiling meekly with a blissful expression on his face, Zeus shocked her furthermore by thanking the woman for complimenting them. For the first time, she watched him expressing his kind gesture to a human right in front of her. Such a  small gesture from his side further made her heart fulfilled with happiness as her eyes were shimmering in joy while they were fixed at him.


    ...


    "I felt so happy, when you thanked the woman earlier, Zeus. I thought...probably...you would never be soft towards any human."


    While walking away from the park towards the giant street holding hands in hands, she whispered her converse in a meek tone, looking at him. Zeus was feeling jubilant enough to watch her getting impressed over such a small gesture which indeed meant a lot for her.


    "Well, to be honest, it doesn''t change the fact that I still dislike humans... But...if you want me to become more open towards them, for you...I can do anything, Eva."


    She smiled lowering her eyes down, seeming a bit flustered at his honest answer. "And...I...also...didn''t expect you to kiss me in front of the whole crowd... You really surprised me a lot, showering so much love on me today..." She mumbled, clutching his hand tightly.


    Hearing her proclamation, he took out a deep sigh, and somehow his face appeared a bit sullen as the wide smile on his eloquence faded a little. "I wish...I could claim you mine in front of the whole world without any obstacles in our path of love. Sometimes, I really wish if I was born as a normal human like you...things wouldn''t have been much complicated for us today..." His voice sounded a bit crooked, swallowed in darkness.


    Eva quickly understood the sadness that was filling up his heart and she tried to cheer him up. "Ah, if we both are faithful to each other, no obstacles will hinder in our way of love. Don''t think too much, Zeus."


    He was feeling down with the anxious cloud growing over his heart thinking about the barrier of the twisted fate standing in between them. Slowly, he raised his chin up looking at her intensely, "Eva, you....you won''t abandon me...right?"


    "What are you talking about, Zeus? Why would I ever abandon you? You are all I have in this world." Looking at his dark sad eyes stiffly, she murmured her bold words holding his arm tightly. "What are you so scared of being abandoned by me, Zeus? How much assurance do you still need to have faith in my love?" She conversed, tossing an impertinent gaze towards him.


    He stood still momentarily for a few seconds without uttering a single word. Taking a deep huff of breath out, he wondered inside, "yes she is right. Why am I still scared of abandonment? If she can love me so much...she will definitely embrace my real self too!" He seemed a bit relieved and holding a wide smile on his face, he murmured to her. "I have complete faith in you, Eva. I know, you will... never leave me."


    "Exactly. So don''t ever doubt on our love like that..." She nuzzled his head, reciprocating a warm smile back.


    While walking back they didn''t even realize they were already standing in front of her apartment. Zeus halted his motion before heading into the premises which baffled her a little.


    "Zeus? What''s wrong?"


    "I...I will leave, for now, Eva. Go back inside and lock the door properly."


    "Won''t you stay over tonight? You were feverish since the whole morning, how can you just head back now?" She was looking a bit disappointed at his response, sulking her grimace.


    "Well...I doubt...if I try to stay over...something might happen between us..." Scraping his neck looking a shy goofball, he mumbled his words smiling with a mischievous gaze towards her.


    "What? Ahh, you are so naughty, Zeus! Always thinking of perverted stuff..." She tenderly punched his chest, flushed red in bashfulness and averting her eyes away from him.


    "But, yesterday at the restaurant...you were the one who was acting much bolder than usual. You asked me to sleep with you, Eva." Playfully conversing with her, he tried to pull her waist closer to him, intensely looking at her.


    "What? I did what?" She repeated in disbelief.


    "You asked me to sleep with you last night...You were so irresistible that I was almost about to lose my mind... Since you weren''t on your right senses, I had to hold myself back. But...as both of us aren''t drunk today...we can finish the business that we had left undone yesterday. I can agree to your proposal, honey." Teasing her in a sly voice, he softly caressed her arm while trying to tug her closer to him.


    "Ahhh, okay okay, I understand. Go...Go back home, right now. Do-Don''t need to stay over..." She tried to release herself from his grip, her face was completely reddened in embarrassment. She understood he was intentionally teasing her and to avoid further embarrassment, tried to shove him away.


    "Why? We can continue yesterday''s unfinished work---"


    "Zeus, please don''t tease me anymore. Go back already..."


    Chuckling hard to watch her getting all embarrassed in his strong embrace, he was amused from deep inside. He softly caressed those fleeting hair threads from her bright, ethereal face and leaned his face closer to her. The time around them seems to stop all of a sudden as she closed her eyes, surrendering herself to his intense approach. Tenderly, Zeus placed a deep tempestuous kiss on her puffy roseate lips which were quivering on their own. Lovingly, he targeted her luscious upper lips and continued engulfing them passionately like a sweet pulp. Eva stood still, succumbing to his warmth and passionately clenching his broad shoulder reciprocating the passionate kiss.


    After a moment of intense temptation, both of them swayed their lips away from each other looking at each other with eyes filled with bliss. Zeus placed a small peck on her forehead before he was about to leave.


    "Head back inside. And...run the errands cautiously tomorrow. If you sense something dubious, don''t forget to call me." He mumbled.


    "Okay. I will. See you soon, Zeus." Kissing his puffy cheek with a gleam expression, she headed straight towards her apartment. As she was leaving, she looked behind a few times to look at him while he was watching her heading inside, holding a warm smile on his face. Wavering her hands at him, she continued heading forward.


    ...


    All of a sudden, she heard intense footsteps right behind her as if someone was walking closer to him. She thought perhaps Zeus was following her inside and quickly, she chose to turn around.


    "Zeus, did you forget someth..." Her voice trailed off, she rolled her eyes in wonder as it was not him, but someone she didn''t expect at that moment.

 Chapter 131 - Laments

    "Both of you...looked so happy with each other, little duckling."


    Standing just behind her, rolling his hands inside his suit pocket, Czar cast a sly compliment towards her giving her a wicked small simper.


    "Mr. Czar?" Eva seemed much surprised to find him there out of the blue as she rolled her eyeballs, gazing at him in wonder. After a few seconds, she took a small glance around her, but the lane was completely desolated. Zeus was present there just a moment ago but probably he had already left.


    "Are you looking for Zeus?" Immediately, he understood her anticipation and snatched the words right from her mind. She didn''t expect him to be so witty and kept ogling at him.


    "No...I was just..."


    "Well, Zeus had already left a few minutes ago. Why are you still looking for him after spending so many lovey-dovey moments together? Or perhaps...you are scared of me?" His facial expression turned pretty atrocious, as he locked his eyes at her, intensely.


    "We are not strangers, Mr. Czar. There is no need for me to be scared of you. I was just surprised since I saw him standing there just a minute ago...but he suddenly disappeared and you came out of the blue. That''s all." She didn''t flinch a bit and firmly proclaimed her answer, staring at him back.


    "But we aren''t close either...so...there''s an obvious reason to be skeptical of me, little duckling. Don''t you think, you are being too gallant around monsters like us?" He murmured walking a step closer to her, igniting his fierce gaze at her with a smirk. At his dubious actions, she didn''t look even a bit bothered and kept glancing at him nonchalantly.


    "Mr. Czar, are you purposely trying to scare me today? May I ask...why?" A little simper lingered on her roseate lips as she firmly chose to inquire him first.


    Her sudden question somehow startled him a little as if he wasn''t expecting such a response from her. Gulping his saliva, he took a deep breath out, raising his chin up to gawk at her before answering, "do you even know who we are?"


    "Yes. You all are inhuman beings who claim themselves dangerous as monsters."


    "How can you be so casual about it?" Frowning his eyebrows, he grumbled in a displeased tone looking much dubious from his dubious expression.


    Eva stood still and smiled a little at his sharp question. "Because I am in love with such a being... There is nothing left for me to be scared of--"


    "How naive of you, little duckling!" All of a sudden, he chuckled out aloud before she could even finish off her sentence. He firmly walked closer to her, standing only a few inches apart, and leaned his face near to her, whispering in a low pitch, "once you see our real selves, you will be the one screaming in horror. Especially, the one you love...Zeus. He is pretty dangerous and brutal to be called a monster, the most fierce amongst us! Will you be able to bear it when you will see his true self?"


    Hearing his cold dubious interpretation about him in such a shady manner, unknowingly, a chill of fear ran down her spine but she tried to portray herself as calm as possible right before him. "I...have faith in him and...our love---"


    "Hahahahah! Faith? Hahaha!" He burst out in laughter hearing her quivering response. His laugh was quite humiliating which she could perceive well, but didn''t utter a single word and continued observing him. After a moment of intense laughter, he became silent before responding to her further.


    "What an utter bullshit you are dreaming of, little duckling! You don''t know even have the slightest idea with whom you are meddling in yourself! Don''t you think you are too brave to face us? You came into our mansion tossing away your life just like that... and now right in front of me, you are standing all fearlessly. Do you think I can''t harm you? Do you think you are trusting the rightful beings?"


    "Will you harm me, Mr. Czar?" Holding a small sad smirk on her face, she mumbled in a low tone ogling at him.


    In the flash of a second, his dark brown eyeballs obtained the translucent blue color which shimmered in the dark as he glared at her viciously. Watching him suddenly changing his pupil color, she flinched a little but didn''t take a single step back from him.


    "It won''t take three seconds for me to kill you right here, right now! I had warned you earlier...messing with us will lead you to lose your own life! Do you still trust me and willing to stand here bravely? You should run away now or beg before me for your life!" His voice sounded as dark and dubious as he scowled.


    Surprisingly, she still didn''t retreat a single step back and stared straight into his eyes, taking a deep breath of huff out. "Trusting you and standing here is my choice, Mr. Czar. If you kill me right now, my choice will be turned to regret and I will die with that. It won''t be your fault if you do so, I am facing you with my own choice." She reciprocated her words in a husky tone, sounding much intense.


    "Wh-What?" Immediately hearing her bold proclamation, his vision blurred out for a second and his heart throbbed with immense pain. His feet staggered and unknowingly, he took a step back.


    "Mr. Czar, no matter how much you try to scare me, I know from deep down inside...you are a good person. You kept your word and protected me inside the mansion. You may try to portray yourself as rude and arrogant but that''s your outer shell...Deep down inside, you are a good man with a bad choice of life." Her eyes were shimmering with a glum feeling as she looked at his dark eyes, much gallantly.


    All of a sudden, his heart twitched with intractable pain as the exact few words of his mother reverberated in his ears while he was staring at her.


    "TRUSTING YOUR FATHER HAS BEEN MY CHOICE, CZAR. IF MY CHOICE TURNS OUT TO BE A REGRET, I WILL DIE WITH THAT REGRET BUT IT WON''T BE YOUR FATHER''S FAULT. DON''T HATE HIM EVER. HE ISN''T COLD TO YOU... HE ISN''T A BAD PERSON. I HAVE KNOWN HIM... HE IS A GOOD MAN, BUT WITH A SAD CHOICE OF LIFE."


    His inner core ached severely as those words rang in his ears. Tears swelled up in his eyes and he was swallowed up with immense anger as he was reminded again with those painful words of his beloved mother! Those words that he always wanted to forget...resounded to him again just because she reverberated the exact words too!


    Trembling in angst, he dashed towards her and furiously grasped both of her forearms, rolling his eyes wider. Eva was shocked at his furious approach and in shock, she gawked at him gulping her saliva down. Glaring at her, he gnarled in an angst tone, "Hey! What do you think of yourself, huh? Who are you to rip apart my hidden wounds? Who are you?"


    His intense voice sounded too appalling for her as she was squirming in fear trying to release herself from his fervent grip. "Mr. Czar...wh-what did I do? Please...Please release my arms, it''s hurting me---"


    "How can you utter those same words like her!? How can you ache my heart so much? How...How can you understand me so accurately? It''s pissing me off! Fuck!" His loud scream crooked a little as if he was trying hard to swallow his tears of grief.


    All of a sudden, she stopped striving in his grasp hearing his painful allegation. Her eyes were shimmering in tears as she could vividly watch the immense sadness engulfing him entirely. "Mr. Czar--"


    "How could you be so naive like her? Why do you have a kind heart? Why?  Look...I...I am not a good person! I am a devil! Good people always face a bitter ending! Why do you have to be like her?" He continued his shrieks.


    "Please ca-calm down..."


    "You should be scared of me! You should be terrified of us! We...We are heartless beings! Why do you trust me? How can you see through my heart? Why do you always make me realize how weak I am? Why...Why do you torment me so much? Why do you remind me of scars? Why!"


    Unable to hold his despair anymore, helplessly he broke down into bitter tears. for the first time, she realized how painful it has been for him to suffer all alone which ached her heart. Leaning his head over her frail shoulder, he continued mourning his lament silently as she could sense warm teardrops dripping down on her shoulder, holding her tight in his arms.


    Eva didn''t flinch or resist and quietly stood still. Tears were rolling down her cheeks too as she raised her chin up at the blank gloomy sky, mumbling at him, "cry all you want...Mr. Czar. Don''t swallow your pain...Let it all out as much you want..."


    ...


    A few meters away from them, leaning his back against a large wall of a building, Zeus was standing all numb. His sad dark eyes, quivering jowls looked stuffed with pain as he swallowed his tears inside, looking at the horizon emitting a deep sigh out...


    "I am sorry...my brother..." He murmured in a teary broken voice.

 Chapter 132 - Crying?

    Clara''s POV:


    Ahhh...what a shitty day I am having today... It would have been much better if I had just gone to the office. I wasted my precious day off for spending my whole day playing video games and watching shitty movies... My life feels really awful!


    Mumbling on my own, I was walking nonchalantly to the nearby shop from my house to grab some beer as I was running short on it. Taking a deep huff of breath out, I took a small peek at my phone which still had the smiley wallpaper of Eva and mine... I really miss her. I want to convey every truth to her but I am helpless...


    It''s the first time in our 17 years of friendship, we fought this bad. She must have really disappointed with my absurd behavior...but I feel so darn helpless. I wish I could tell her why am I acting like this! I really want to call her and ask for an apology but I am scared...what if she no longer wants to be my friend? What am I gonna answer if she proclaims it?


    And Mr. Czar...how could he just hypnotize Henry like that? He wasted my precious day off without even thinking once! Why the hell he always mess with me? My life has been turning upside down from the day I met that man! Sometimes I really wish if my life would have gone well if we had never encountered... or...it would have been the same as now? He is so strange...


    Sigh...


    "Mister! Hello, mister! You can''t sleep here on the table! Hello? Hey!"


    All of a sudden, I heard some kind of ruckus going in front of the convenience store I was heading to. A well-dapped man was asleep over the table putting his head down and the store manager lady was desperately trying to wake him up. Generally, I prefer to refrain from meddling in other people''s business but the old lady was striving too hard dealing with that weird man. Curiously I walked closer to them.


    "Madam, what''s wrong?" I asked her politely, trying to glimpse at the man who was putting his head down, covering his face with his elbow. Several beer cans were existing on the table and indeed he looked quite drunk.


    "Ahh, this man drank too much beer and has been sleeping here for an hour! I have been trying to wake him up but this punk is not even responding! What a nuisance!" She grumbled out her complaints, looking too irked.


    "Is it so?" I tried to take a look over his face but it was tugged inside his elbow groove. From his groomed get-up, he seemed strangely familiar to me! Slowly, I grasped his muscular shoulder and tried to shake him up from the deep slumber.


    "Hey man, wake up! You can''t just lie here drunk and dead! Get up and go elsewhere!" I sounded much frigid while shaking him off. But he didn''t even budge and continued his slumber as usual! It seemed to me, he had already passed out from getting too drunk!


    The old lady quickly handed me a glass of water as I decided to sprinkle it on his face to revive his senses back. I forcefully tried to drag his face up from the table using my strong strength but something extremely unexpected was awaited for me!


    I was shocked, startled to observe what''s going ahead with me as soon as I dragged him up. The drunk man was no one other than Mr. Czar, turning out flustered red from excessive drinking and breathing quite heavily. He seemed much devasted as his clothes were crooked, drenched in sweat. Panicked to find him all of a sudden, I shrieked out aloud cupping his face, "Mr. Cz...Master? What are you doing here? Wake up!"


    "You know this man?" She frowned her eyebrows glancing at me sharply. I was quite panicked to find him suddenly right there in such a state and nodded my head at her response.


    The lady hurriedly spattered the water on his face and I tapped his jawbone a few times, trying to regain his senses. After our desperate attempt that lasted for a few minutes, he finally woke up and fidgeted quite hard.


    "Master? You are awake? Are you alright?" I grasped his arms tightly, restlessly asking him. He slowly opened his eyes, blinked at me a few times. He was reeking of alcohol and resembled too drunk even to speak.


    "Umm...Err..." He was muttering gibberish trying to look at me piercing his gaze wider.


    "Master, don''t you recognize me? Why are you here in such an awful state? What happened to you?"


    "Ohhh...yes... I...remember... You are the nagging... slave of mine... Kek..." Asserting with a tipsy, unclear voice, he smiled at me widely blinking his beautiful eyelashes while looking at me. But unknowingly, his smile seemed too sad to me, to be precise, it seemed painful!


    "Since when he has been here?" I firmly shifted my gaze towards the lady who was ogling at our weird interaction curiously. As soon as our eyes met, she lowered her gaze down.


    "Well, he had been here for more than an hour, drinking all alone and looking at the night sky with a blank gaze in his eyes. Sometimes he was crying, sometimes he was chuckling...err, he acted too weird, to be honest..."


    One of her sentences immediately caught my attention as I scrunched my eyebrows, staring at her intensely. "He was crying?" I sharply inquired.


    "Yes. As far I saw, he was bawling his eyes out like a child and after some time, laughing on his own... I don''t know how to describe it, young lady."


    I shifted my eyes towards him, holding his arm tighter in my grip. I was shocked by the revelation and continued looking at his drowsy self. Such a tough man like him...was crying?

 Chapter 133 - His Confession

    Clara''s POV:


    "I don''t want to go home... I...don''t...want to go back...to that shitty place..."


    Squirming and struggling to get out of my grip while I was dragging him to the public bench just a few meters away from the store, Mr. Czar fussed out his whining a few times attracting the attention of a few passersby near us. It seemed to me as if I was towing a man-child from the way he was reacting!


    "Master, please calm down... People are watching us here--"


    "I won''t go back...home! Leave me here, I will...sleep on the footpath..."


    "I am not either taking you home, Master! Please keep quiet!" I shrieked out in a furious tone as my patience was being already at the edge by his loud whinings which were inviting unnecessary attention. With my scolding, for a moment he didn''t bother me much and I firmly hauled him to the seat to make him sober.


    His suit was crooked, stained with beer and his hair was all messy. His collar seemed stuffed as it was buttoned up, so I firmly tried to unbutton it so that he would feel a bit at ease.


    "Wh...Why are you undressing...me?" Pouting his lips, he murmured at me.


    "I am not undressing you. Please...I am not a pervert, Master. I am just helping you, that''s all." I firmly objected, unleashing his necktie so that he would feel comfortable.


    He didn''t bother me anymore and stayed quiet obediently. The more I was looking at him, the more I was bewildered. How can the same man be drastically different in two different states? He seems bold, tough, arrogant, and gruff in his normal state...but right now, in my eyes, he looks like a small, innocent child grimacing in pain bearing an emptiness in his dark eyes.


    "You should be...very agitated with me, don''t you?" A small smirk appeared on his lips as he asked me, leaning his back against the wooden bench. I was sitting next to him, staring intensely at him as several questions were running wild in my mind.


    "Master, why were you crying alone? Were you hurt by the words I said to you in the morning? Did I hurt you so badly?" Unknowingly, I was feeling guilty all by myself to watch him in such a distressed state.


    "No."


    "Then, why were you---"


    "You were right, Clara."


    All of a sudden, before I could complete my words, his sonorous voice interrupted as he deeply called me by my name, raising his chin glancing at the sky above. I flinched hard hearing my name out of his lips, but strangely, it sounded beautiful to me rather than those strange names he used to summon me...


    I was lost, peering quite intensely, forgetting about the rest of the world.


    "You were right indeed, about whatever you said to me today..." He continued.


    "Pa-Pardon?"


    "I am...intentionally keeping these flares of wrath against my brother alive...deep in my heart. I am...well aware that...he was the one, who has been...compassionate towards me. Haha, you exposed me accurately...haha..." Again a sad wide smile covered his face and his tipsy voice crooked, which unknowingly twitched my insides as I looked up to him.


    "But...why? Why are you willfully bearing the grudge against him?" I was fuming in curiosity and unable to suppress it any longer, tossed my query at him.


    He took a deep sigh out and continued glancing at the sky, holding that painful simper on his grimace. "Do you know...how...I had to live all these years?"


    I didn''t expect such a reciprocation from him and lowered my eyes down. I shook my head in declination, answering him in a short note, "no."


    "All these years, I was living...with a fire...burning inside my chest... I couldn''t get rid of the pain the flame had caused me...I couldn''t even scream for help... All I could do was enduring it and getting...angry..." His slurred voice sounded very dark.


    I didn''t utter a single word, rose my chin up, and kept listening to his painful agonies.


    "My mother...She was all... I ever had. She was a precious woman, just like Eva...strangely familiar...both of them..." A smirk escaped his lips as he continued his story, sighing heavily.


    "Eva?" I flinched out hearing her name from him all of a sudden. Frowning my grimace, I ogled at him impertinently.


    "But, my mom... sacrificed herself to keep me alive... You know, all these years...I was living with the guilt of existing... I...was tormented physically and mentally; I had to live my life...as an outsider... But I couldn''t scream for help. I had to endure every fucking thing all alone...


    I had to learn to fake my smile to hide the burning flame in my heart... Every time, I saw Zeus cherished by his family...a pain of loneliness engulfed me from inside...


    With each passing day, I had to butcher my soft heart and transform myself into a monster...


    I...I started to have fun...watching others in despair... I started to kill humans just for the sake of my hidden angst...


    I had to encrypt my real dark face behind this mischievous outer shell... And all I could do was getting enraged with him, wanting him to suffer the way I did...


    Though deep down inside, I knew it well, he has always cared for me...silently...


    But I can''t restrain myself anymore... All I am left in the world in the burning flares in my core...


    If I let go of the anger which kept me alive all these years...how am I gonna keep living?"


    Tears rolled down his puffy tear-soaked cheeks as he muttered in a husky sonorous voice as he tossed a wide sad smile.


    Without even realizing it, my eyes were already swelled in tears hearing his painful confession. For the first time, he opened his hidden scars to me even though he wasn''t in his right senses. I couldn''t find the accurate words to soothe his pain but slowly, I held his hand to comfort him with my actions.


    "You have me by your side, master. You won''t have to bear your pain alone..." I mumbled in a teary pitch, staring at him with a glum smile.


    Choking his tears in, he shifted his face towards me and tossed a small smile.


    Softly, he leaned his head on my shoulder and took a deep sigh out before conversing further, "You know what...Eva was right...I had to live with a bad choice of life...But how can she understand...me so well?


    That''s what makes my heart flutter... whenever I am with her...


    I guess...


    I really do like her..." A drop of tear dripped down from the corner of his eyes as he whispered under low breath.


    I was spellbound with this shocking confession he mumbled before falling asleep on my shoulder. I had never realized earlier that his deep-rooted emotions were circulating around her!


    But something was more strange to me...


    Why my heart is twitching hearing his honest confession? Why...I don''t feel happy...hearing it?


    What''s wrong with me?

 Chapter 134 - An Illusion?

    It was already 8 am in morning.


    The weather has been pretty blissful lately after the heavy rainfall that showered on Rione Monti a few days back. The sun was radiating its golden warm beam and with the mild spring breeze floating around, the atmosphere was perfect for a day-out.


    Sitting at the subway station, Eva was quietly waiting for her train. She had to visit the Brooklyn Coffee Farm in the countryside to run the errands as she was instructed by Mr. Beck. Wearing a light yellow knee-length skirt with a full sleeve white lace top and minimal makeup, she was looking enough attractive to catch the attention of young fellows passing by her in the station. But her facial expression seemed dense. She was playing with the hematite pendant on her neck, sighing out deeply.


    "Why did Mr. Czar sobbed so much yesterday? Did I really say something terrible? Damn... I...I don''t even know why he was trying so hard to scare me...but...is there something horrifying that I don''t know yet? I couldn''t get a wink of sleep last night...Hopefully, my day out today will help me to forget about the chaos that happened last night... I...I really want to live a happy life now with Zeus by my side..."


    Wondering deep down inside her mind, she looked up at the clear blue horizon with a sad gaze in her eyes. "God...I guess you have given me enough miseries to deal with at such a young age... All I have now is him... Please let me live happily with him. I know it may sound tough, but don''t let any obstacles separate us ever... I beg of you, please..." She mumbled in a low pitch and quickly, lowered her gaze down.


    At that moment her train had arrived at the subway station and abruptly she stood up from the bench, to walk inside the train with a frown grimace. The moment the glass doors opened, a crowd of people immediately dashed inside including Eva who was hauled along with the people. As soon as she stepped inside, the area was thickly packed with people, and making her way at the corner, she turned her gaze towards the station before the door closed again.


    Suddenly, witnessing an unexpected sight she flinched quite hard! Clearly, she could saw wearing a black full sleeve long coat and a black hat, Mr. Beck was glaring at her standing amidst the crowd in the station. His eyes were entirely black without the whitish part and it looked terrifying than that of a monster! As soon as her eyes met him, in a flick of a second, it seemed as if he disappeared in thin air!


    "Wh-What the heck?" Mumbling being alarmed and baffled, Eva tried to walk back onto the platform but the doors closed forbidding her from getting out. The train started running instantly but holding a confused expression, she stood at the door, breathing out intensely.


    "I...I saw him...I clearly saw him...But...how could he disappear like that? I...I am not...mistaken! I definitely saw Mr. Beck...He...He was glaring at me... But, how is that possible? In that letter, he had written to me that he will be out of town for two days...


    Then...was it an illusion? But..those eyes... They weren''t of any human... I...I am getting chills over my spine just by thinking about those eyes...


    But how is this possible? No... I guess I must be really hallucinating since I didn''t get a wink of sleep last night... Maybe I really saw it all wrong!" Taking a deep sigh out, she leaned her head on the door tapping her chest a few times to soothe herself down from the trepidation.


    "Relax Eva...It must be an illusion...So many awful things have been happening with me, so, I must have become overly skeptical of everything...


    I guess this day out will help me relieve myself..." She mumbled to herself, in a sonorous low voice.


    ....


    "Ughhh, my head!"


    Waking up on the bed with a tingling sensation and a throbbing headache, Czar clenched his forehead tight while sitting up on the bed. His eyes were half-closed and slowly, he unfolded his blurry gaze trying to glimpse around his surrounding.


    "Good morning, master."


    The familiar gentle voice in front of him startled him a bit as he quickly raised his chin at the front, swirling his pupils. Clara was standing near the door holding a warm smile on her face and as he glanced around, he was back again in her bedroom, lying on her fluffy bed.


    "Wh-What am I doing here again?" Scrunching his eyebrows, he murmured his whining at her to which she softly snickered


    "Well, this time I was the one who brought you here last night, master. Since you were too drunk and didn''t want to head back home, I had no other choice rather than to bring you here. Are you alright now?" She walked a step closer to him, crossing her arms behind her.


    Czar was quite perplexed hearing her remark. But the thing which puzzled her the most was he was wearing a Winnie Pooh yellow t-shirt and loose pajamas rather than his typical suit. Bewildered at the sight, he inquired her bluntly, "why am I wearing such girly clothes? What happened to my suit?"


    "You were drenched in sweat and reeking of alcohol. Sorry, but I had no other choice than to change your clothes into my spare oversize shirt and pajamas."


    "What? You changed my clothes?" Shocked at her statement, he shrieked out swirling his eyes wider.


    "Yes...As I said, master, I didn''t have any choice. But you...look pretty cute in my clothes." A small sly smirk escaped her lips as she murmured gallantly, staring at him.


    "Wh-What the hell? This is the invasion of my privacy! How could you undress me without my own will? This is a crime---ughh!" His head twitched hard again as he was yelling out his frustration which slurred his speech.


    "Master, don''t worry about such a trivial matter. I didn''t see anything." She quickly came forward and handed him a bottle of syrup looking concerned for him. "Here, drink this syrup and come out for breakfast. This will help you to cure your hangover. Okay?"


    Without objecting to her, he obediently took the syrup and frowned his face glancing at the shirt he was wearing. Looking at his pouty face, she smiled and was headed back outside the room.


    As soon as she reached the door, her feet halted for a moment and she turned behind at him, "actually...I...saw that thing of yours...But don''t worry, I will pretend as if I didn''t see anything..." She chuckled with a sly gaze and walked out of the room.


    Flustered red in embarrassment, Czar yelled out aloud at her, "Hey! How could you!"

 Chapter 135 - Brooklyn Farmhouse

    Alberobello, the small countryside town where Eva was heading to. It was located a bit far away from Rione Monti and comparatively small and rural in size. The Brooklyn Coffee Farmhouse was quite a well-renowned coffee production unit in the whole Alberobello. As she was guided in the letter, she continued walking towards the direction after stepping out from the town station.


    Soon, she went to the bus stop and grabbed a seat on the bus straightly headed towards her destination. Taking the window seat on the bus, she was gazing at the outside nature scenarios which were quite different from the populous town, Rione Monti. The place was not such thickly crowded and a vintage culture was prominent among the people who were passing by her. Holding a frown expression on her face, she lowered her gaze down from the green scenarios and took out the phone from her small purse.


    The address that Mr. Beck had sent to her yesterday, she was taking a vivid look at it. Her mind was still baffled that she saw at the station for barely a few seconds, but it was shivering! Especially the moment her eyes locked at him, for a second she felt as if her heart was going to stop beating!


    Taking a heavy breath out, she dialed Mr. Beck on the call trying to clear up the confusion her mind was messed up with. But his phone rang several times and he didn''t pick it up.


    "Was it a foolish act of mine to trust his words and come here all alone? Damn it, I...I should have come here with someone... I don''t know why but I am getting such strange palpitations inside... I guess I should really stop overthinking too much! I should try to focus on the path ahead of me..." Mumbling on her own with a perplexed face, tenderly she took a small glimpse at her phone screen wallpaper.


    Zeus''s smiling face was the only breeze of relief she could feel in that intense moment. She caressed the part of the screen on his face, continued looking at it with a sad smile.


    "Should I call him and share everything regarding what I saw there at the station? But...I don''t want to always bother him too much...He will be probably busy with his important business kinds of stuff... I have already caused him enough trouble to intervene. I think...I should be enough brave to face my problems ahead on my own from now on..." Turning the phone screen off, she put her phone back into the purse and gazed out of the window again.


    ...


    The anticipated bus ride lasted for about 30 minutes since the farmhouse was on the extreme end of the countryside. Stepping out of the bus, she slowly walked a few steps towards the giant gate of the farmhouse bearing the metallic label of Brooklyn Coffee Farmhouse. Gulping her saliva and intaking a deep breath in, she opened the giant gate and tried to walk in through the large grassy passage.


    "Are you Miss Eva Ricci?"


    All of a sudden a sonorous voice from ahead startled her while she was shutting the gate. Quickly, she turned around and a tall, young fine-looking man in his early 30''s was smiling at her, crossing his arms behind his back. She felt a bit nervous and frowning her grimace, she anxiously nodded her head.


    "Ye-Yes."


    "We have been waiting for your arrival for a long time. Glad to see you safe and sound." The man smiled at her but somehow, the smile seemed a little spooky to her. She saw just on the left side of his face, he was bearing a deep cut scar as if he was slashed with a knife! The scar was quite scary to look at and quickly, she averted her gaze down.


    "You look a bit nervous around me, is it because of my scar?" Surprisingly, he muttered the exact words what was bothering her from inside which startled her furthermore.


    "No...I didn''t mean that---"


    "It''s alright. Almost every new person who comes here has the same thought as you. Don''t worry, I am not a street thug or a criminal but an innocent farmer here. I had been stabbed by a burglar when I was trying to help an old lady from the hands of a thug. Since then, it has been quite messing up with my reputation." The man scraped his neck and making a modest expression, he politely remarked.


    Hearing his explanation, her heart was feeling a bit relieved but the anxiety was still existing within her. "I...I am sorry Mister, I didn''t know about it..." She asserted while fidgeting on her own.


    "It''s alright, Miss Ricci. Myself, Thomas Morgan, and I will assist you here in the farmhouse. Please follow me inside." He pointed his arm inside the passage and tossed an amicable smile. Slowly he turned around and continued walking ahead while she followed him from behind.


    "I am certain enough that I didn''t hear any approaching footsteps behind me while I was locking the gate. Then...how did this man suddenly appear right behind me? I didn''t saw any surveillance camera here at the gate, so how did he know that I have arrived?


    Damn, I must be overthinking again... Stop thinking rubbish, Eva! I will certainly go crazy at this rate if my skeptical issues continue..." Wondering inside her mind, she followed him through the passage getting a palpitated feeling of angst all over her body.


    .


    Soon enough, both of them reached a giant wooden building that seemed to be the heart of the farmhouse. The building was much worn out and appeared to be in the lack of maintenance in her eyes. Thomas finally halted his pace and turned behind, looking at her with a warm smile. "We have arrived here, Miss Ricci. You will be able to collect your coffee beans from here. It''s our stock house." He mumbled.


    "Ahh, ye-yes. Thank you," politely bowing her head she was about to head inside but he quickly approached closer to her and stood firm, blocking her way inside.


    "I am sorry Miss Ricci, but, you have to submit your belongings to me before you head in. You are not allowed to carry them inside." He sounded quite dubious, with his dark eyeballs shimmering in the sun beam.


    "Wh-What?" Startled at his response, she gulped anxiously and gawked at him straight in the eye before articulating her objection. "But what kind of rule is it? I have...never heard any farmhouse having such kind of regulations implemented."


    "We are sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Ricci. But we have a quite bad history about visitors who carried hidden surveillance cameras with them and that led to major robbery in our stock house. Since then, we don''t allow anyone to carry their belongings inside. It will be kept safely in the locker outside and you can keep the key with you." The man was mumbling in a polite voice, lowering his eyes down from her.


    "Wh-What a trouble," sulking her grimace she stretched out her arm and handed him the purse she was carrying with. "Here, please lock it safely and hand over the key to me, mister." She whispered in a deep pitch.


    He took a quick glance at her and rolled his eyes mystically. "Umm, sorry, but can you put your necklace inside the purse too?"


    "What?" Shrieking aloud in confusion, she quickly grabbed the pendant in her arm scowling her face at him. "Why? What for?"


    "Sorry, but we can''t allow you to carry any metallic stuff. The necklace is made of silver with a gemstone pendant on it. So...it''s forbidden to carry inside."


    "No...I won''t take it off." She sounded much braver while gazing at him intensely. "I am forbidden from taking off this necklace. This is precious for me and sorry, I can''t take it off." She was loud and clear, clenching the hematite pendant in her tiny grasp.


    "Ahh, alright." The man frowned his grimace and stretched his arm to hand her the purse again. "I am sorry then, Miss Ricci, we can''t allow you inside."


    "But?"


    It''s strictly forbidden for us too. I am very sorry, but you can walk outside in the direction I just brought you in." Handing her the purse, he quickly turned around and continued walking straight into the stock house, in bold footsteps.


    "Ahh, damnit! I can''t head back without taking these coffee beans!" Perplexed in concern and wondering for a moment, she took a deep huff breath and called him out restlessly. "Please wait a moment!"


    Hearing her loud summon, the man halted his pace and turned at her. With extreme hesitation and nervousness, she took off the necklace and involuntarily put it inside her purse. Taking a deep sigh out, she handed it back to him again sounding much intense, "please lock it safely and hand me the key. This is very precious for me."


    "Of course, thank you, Miss Ricci." The man enlarged a spooky wide smile on his face grabbing the purse from her hand.


    ________________________


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 Chapter 136 - What Heart Wants

    "Hey, where are my clothes? I am feeling so freaking uncomfortable in this girly stuff!"


    Frowning his face making a perplexed expression, Czar scraped his neck sounding much vexed. Wearing her pair of pink fluffy slippers, he walked out of the room heading towards the breakfast table where Clara was waiting for him by serving the breakfast on the table.


    She was casually sitting on the chair, looking at him and smiling on her own. With the messy bed hair, puffy fresh cheeks, pouty face, and shy eloquence along with the bright yellow shirt-pajamas, he looked much more adorable in her eyes rather than the typical bold alluring appearance that he puts before the world.


    "Master, but you seem much cute to me in these clothes," she conversed.


    "Hey, don''t tease me anymore--"


    "I am not, master." Before he could wrap up his words, she interrupted in a firm voice straightening her back on the chair. "Why must you put up such a bold appearance before the world when you are soft from the inside?"


    Hearing such a strong statement from her, he was surprised momentarily and continued looking at her intensely. He frowned his eyebrows and murmured in a stiff note, "what do you mean by that?"


    "Let''s keep such discussions for later. Here, have breakfast first, master. I have baked cheesy macaroni pasta along with jasmine tea for you. It tastes delicious especially if you are sober." Tapping her hand on the table, she gently invited him to sit opposite her holding a warm smile on her face.


    He stole a small glance at the creamy pasta and indeed, it seemed much luscious served with delicacy. Obediently, he took the seat opposite to him and chomped a bite of the creamy pasta, nodding his head in bliss.


    "Do you like it, master?" Leaning her head towards him, her eyes were gleaming in impertinence while she asked him tilting her brows.


    "Yes... N-No one ever bothered to cook for me once all these years...but...you are doing it for me without any hesitation. Th-That makes me happy," he was lowering his gaze down sounding much considerate with a small glum smirk on his face.


    Clara quietly looked at him for a few seconds and tossing a sad smile she averted her eyes down too. "I feel happy that I can erase a bit of the lonely dark clouds surrounding you all over, Mr. Czar." She wondered inside silently.


    "Well, how did I end up here yesterday? How did you find me? As far I remember, I was drinking outside a store...and...after that..." His voice trailed off as he was sulking his face trying to reminisce about what happened last night.


    "Do you... really not remember what happened to you last night?" She reciprocated back.


    "No...did I really blabber something weird? Damn...I shouldn''t have been boozing too much last night!" He was scratching his hair, seeming much puzzled judged by his facial expression.


    Taking a deep sigh out, she continued staring at him looking a bit perplexed. "That means, he hasn''t even realized yet that he has feelings for Eva... Does he really doesn''t remember what he conversed to me last night?" She kept wondering fidgeting her thumb over the table.


    "Did I really do something so weird that you can''t even tell me now?" Raising his chin up, he uttered in an eager gesture, leaning his head towards her.


    Looking at him going all impatient for her answer she realized that he indeed doesn''t remember single stuff about last night. She took a heavy sigh out and articulated her answer in a polite voice.


    "Master..."


    "Ye-Yes?"


    "We all have our own stories in life. Though we look absolutely fine on the outside but deep down inside, we all live with a nail lodged in our hearts. That''s how life is...merciless as ever to everyone." She tossed a deep sad smile at him, looking straight into his shimmering brown eyes murmuring in a sonorous pitch.


    Staring straight into her big, deep eyes, his heart unknowingly throbbed a bit as if these are the exact emotions he wanted to scream out before the world but had to bore inside his heart all these years, acting indifferent. Gulping his saliva, he gawked at her forgetting to breathe for a few seconds.


    "So...you don''t have to feel lonely all by yourself, master. We all live with painful memories but that''s what keeps us going forward. It''s fine to be weak sometimes...


    Though life may not go the way we always want it to be. But as long as we have people beside us, who can understand our pain, wounded hearts can heal... But you must always stick to your heart while making the honest decisions by yourself," sounding like a fresh breeze of mild spring she stood up from the seat and took a huff of breath out.


    "Master, I didn''t want to lecture or nag you...I just wanted to console you so that...you can do, what your heart wants. That''s all. Hope you will enjoy your breakfast, I have to head to work today." Gently she walked towards her room leaving him behind sitting on the table, with a blank gaze in his sincere eyes. He was clenching the fork in his arm and frowning his face intensely as if something was running wild in his mind.


    "I don''t know why did she tell me all this stuff but...she is right. I must stick to what my heart wants over anything...


    And my heart wants her to live... I won''t let someone naive as her die again without any guilt right before my own eyes..." He stood up from the seat, with his deep brown eyes transforming into illuminant blue as he glared outside the window, looking all ardent.


    .........


    CREAK!


    After putting her purse inside a small metallic closet at the entrance of the giant stock house, Thomas unlocked the large wooden door opening the two wooden divisions inwards. Anxiously gripping a small key of the closet, Eva quietly followed him inside and swirled her eyes in suspicion.


    The place seemed extremely worn down, with dust and dirt covering inside the whole place as if the place hadn''t been used for several years! The wooden floor was thickly stained with lumps of grit without any footsteps imprinted on it. Gulping her saliva, she quickly shifted her gaze towards him while asking with a frown face, "mister, haven''t you used this stock house for a while? Why is it so worn down and dirty? It seems as if...no one bothers to come here at all!"


    "Ahh, I am sorry, Miss Ricci." The man scraped his neck making an embarrassed face while glancing around the mansion, "I have to manage these whole-farm single-handedly for a few years. We have a few more stock houses to manage and that''s why I couldn''t maintain this one. But don''t fret, our precious coffee beans are safely preserved inside. You can follow me upstairs." He pointed his finger towards the stairs leading to the first floor and abruptly started walking ahead of her.


    Standing with a displeased face, she squirmed anxiously for a moment and looked behind at the way they walked inside. All of a sudden, her eyeballs rolled wider in fear and for a moment it seemed as her heart throbbed harder.


    The floor on the way through which they walked inside had only the footsteps of a single person marked over it! Judging from the size, they were definitely her footsteps! That means Mr. Thomas''s footprints were missing on the floor as if he had been walking in the air all this time!


    "Miss Ricci, are you coming in?"


    Suddenly, at his loud proclamation, she revived her senses back while she was still standing in the corridor absorbed in uncertainty. Raising her chin up and looking at him, she noticed that he had a wide smile on his face while his deep black eyeballs were shimmering with an unknown excitement! Trying to swallow her anxiety and calming down her palpitations, she took a deep breath inside and walked a few steps forward after him.


    ...


    Soon both of them stopped near a room on the first floor and Thomas quickly unlocked the doorknob opening it wider. He directed his arm towards inside and looked at her with a small grin on his face, "Miss Ricci, you can wait here for a few minutes while I will unlock our storage room. I will soon summon you to select those coffee beans for your cafe." He asserted.


    Eva, clenching the closet key tighter in her grip obediently walked inside the room looking all anxious. She could sense it evidently something dubious was indeed going around there but didn''t have any choice left except to obey him so that she could leave the strange place as soon as possible. Her heart was throbbing in fear but on the outside, she was acting all quiet.


    "It''s just a matter of a few moments... Hang in there Eva, you will be getting out of here soon." She soothed herself while walking inside the room nervously as the door shut-in.

 Chapter 137 - Confined In The House

    [Cough] [Cough]


    The room was quite dark and damp. Eva started coughing out quite intensely as soon as she stepped inside the pathetic place. The wooden floor was covered with dust and grits while the ceiling was coated with spider webs making a horrible appearance of the place right before her eyes. In the extreme corner of the room, there was a glass window that was broken in one part.


    Through the cracked glass, dim sunrays sneaked inside the room which was the only source of comfort inside that shabby place. The room was quite small in size and entirely vacant.


    But a small, mysterious medium-sized wooden box was kept just below the window which immediately caught her attention at the first glance. Looking all around the empty place, she slowly walked closer to the box which was covered in dust and moist. While walking on the damp floor, it was making several creaking noises as if the building was about to collapse at any moment.


    "How can they keep their precious coffee beans inside such a shabby place? Is it a way to avoid burglars? Or...something is seriously wrong with the farmhouse! And what''s with this weird box?" Gulping her saliva down, she reached the box in a few steps and kneeled down on the ground curiously gazing at it.


    There was a small metal knob at the edge of the box and just by pressing the knob, it made a clutching sound of opening the lock. In that procession, she swallowed some dust particles and continued coughing again. After intense anticipation, she fully opened the partition of the box trying to steal a glimpse inside.


    The box was vacant too except an old, crooked, torn piece of newspaper was kept inside of it. She was expecting some kinds of stuff inside the box but only finding out an old newspaper, it baffled her quite badly. Taking a deep sigh out, she took out the paper, tried to unfold and peek a glance at it.


    All of a sudden a huge thunderbolt crashed on her heart as it throbbed with extreme fear! Her limbs started to tremble along with her arm which was shivering quite badly. She swirled her eyeballs, gulped her saliva, and took an intense breath out fixing her gaze on the news article which was published on that piece of paper.


    "June 25, 2010; Due to the sudden fatal demise of Mr. Joss, the executive, and proprietor of Brooklyn Coffee Farm, the place will be permanently shut down and the acres of land will be handed to the government for future purpose as reported by his family members. So, thereby, Brook Coffee Beans will be permanently closing its business in the entire Italian Province as well as overseas. The family members have thanked everyone earnestly for their honest co-operation till the time span of 25 years and would be wishing their sincere kindness further ahead. For now, his eldest son has requested a criminal investigation for the reason behind his father''s sudden demise that occurred last night. Further reports will be revealed according to the sources probing ahead."


    Reading the article in a trembling voice, suddenly, the piece of paper plopped down from her arm. Her legs were shivering anxiously and gasping aloud in dread, she wanted to cry out aloud in terror. Covering her mouth with her shaking palm, she looked again at the paper rolled beside her as tears of angst dripped down from the corner of her eyes. She could evidently understand that she had severely endangered her life this time and the realization hit her quite hard.


    "That means...Did Mr. Beck lie to me all this time? He must have known that this place is already closed 10 years ago but still...he asked me to visit here? Fuck! Fuck Eva! Why can''t you understand people''s hidden intentions? Why do you still trust people so blindly? Fuck! I am badly screwed right now!" Grumbling in a broken voice she started biting her nails while glancing at the door of the room. Immediately without wasting a few seconds, she stood up from the ground and dashed towards the door sweating profusely.


    "I have to get out of here right now... I must get out of here!" Wiping her tears while trying to console herself, she grabbed the doorknob and clenched it in the opposite direction using her entire strength. Luckily, it worked and the door clutched open which calmed her fear a little bit.


    Desperately gasping air, she ran straight through the stairs towards the giant door through which they entered in. She was dimly hoping that perhaps the door had been left unlocked but her presumption was wrong this time. Reaching the door, she tried to pull the partitions with all her might, also clutching the doorknob with a feeble hope alive in her heart that perhaps it would open like earlier. But it seemed that the door was tightly locked from outside and no matter how hard she tried to push that away, the door didn''t even budge a little.


    "Fuck it!" Her heart was pounding in fear as she turned around looking at the giant house all around. There were several rooms inside the two-storeyed house and all of them were shut-in leaving her all alone in that horrific place.


    "Mr. Thomas! Mr. Thomas, can you hear me? Open this fucking door! I wanna get out of here! You can''t fool me anymore! I don''t want your fucking coffee beans, just let me get out of here! Do you hear me? Get me out of here, you scumbag! Mr. Thomas! Where the fuck are you!?"


    Gathering up her entire strength, she screamed out aloud fuming in rage while glancing all around the house. Not a single soul seemed to respond to her intense scream but her voice reverberated like an echo inside the desolated dark mansion. Trying hard to hold herself from breaking down, she immediately came up with an idea and started rushing upstairs to that shabby room again.


    One side of the glass window was broken in that room. If she could manage to break the other half and try to jump off it, at least there will be a feeble hope of getting out of the place alive. This was the only option that was left with her and in the flash of a second, she reached the room panting heavily.


    But something even more terrifying was awaited for her!


    Her feet halted and her teary eyes rolled wider in shock at the sight ahead of her! The wooden box and the paper had no trace left and disappeared from the room mysteriously! Also, it seemed as the broken glass was magically fixed by someone with two intact glass halves covering it. The sight was horrific to bear with and just by a small glance, she had shuddered in fear.


    "I am sure...no...no one came into this room! Then..how could the glass repair on its own? And...the box? The paper? Wh-Where did it go? Is...Is someone playing with me? No...No I can''t wait anymore... I must do something!"


    Wondering inside her mind looking all ardent, she immediately grabbed a pointed heel shoe that she was wearing on and dashed towards the glass window with staggering footsteps. Unable to come up with any other hope, fiercely she banged the previously broken area of the glass window with her heel shoe to crack it open using her entire strength.


    But fate had decided not to spare her any mercy despite all her fervent attempts. She hit the glass window parts several times with those pointed heels, each time increasing the force but nothing seemed to budge those glass partitions. They were intact as usual making her mind going all crazy.


    "Fuck! Why they aren''t breaking? What''s wrong with this glass! Why won''t it crack open? What the fuck?" She cried out aloud, almost losing her hope to get out of the place safe and secured. While she was sobbing, suddenly, she felt as if someone sneaked a peek inside the room, and in a rush, she turned behind at the door. But no one seemed to be there and her heart started to pound like crazy.


    Abruptly putting her heels back, she ran down the stairs looking terribly scared of all the strange happenings. Soon she reached the main door and started banging the metal knob screaming out aloud in tears.


    "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE HELP! SOMEONE...ZE...ZEUS!"


    ...


    WHAAMM!


    "AEEKK!"


    All of a sudden, a sharp blow hit the back of her head as she whimpered out in pain. Abruptly, her mind started to feel dizzy and the vision right in front of the eyes blurred out. The blow was much hard that her entire head started to ache severely. Her legs gave upon the strength and in the jolt of a second, she plopped down on the ground helplessly looking at the door before darkness prevailed right before her eyes.


    "Ze...us..." She mumbled her last word with a drop of tear dripping down before losing her consciousness.


    _________________


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 Chapter 138 - Torment

    The night was growing darker and mystified with every passing minute. The intense nightfall breeze along with the sound of owls hooting aloud all around was clearly echoing the entire area.


    After slowly regaining her consciousness, Eva breathed heavily, trying to open both her eyes, blinking them softly. She could sense both of her arms were crossed behind her back, tied hard with a rope. As she peeped her eyes, she could see herself lying down amidst deep dark woods on the grass facing sideways.


    Her legs were free as she could move them a little bit. But her body seemed much heavier with an unknown tingling pain all over. Her mind was still feeling dazed and puzzled. The back of her head where she was hit was throbbing with a palpitating sensation which was quite difficult for her to endure.


    But as soon as she gazed at the front, in the middle of such a dark forest, she could see a thick pile of timbers and sapwoods being arranged just a few steps away from her. As soon as she tried to look at the woods curiously by raising her head a bit up from the ground, she could hear dense footsteps just behind her as if someone came walking up to her.


    "Are you up?" A dark, intense loud voice growled amidst the forest while summoning her. Eva quickly rested her head down in the same position as before and laid still without moving her body. She tried to act lifeless as before as her heart was throbbing in fear with the grave danger approaching her gallantly.


    "I know you are up. Do you think your poor acting would convince me actually?"


    Suddenly after the completion of these coarse words, someone grabbed her hair roughly from behind which immediately caused her to whimper aloud in pain. The brutal person was grabbing her hair exactly at the same position where she was hit. Crying with such a piercing pain sensation, the person mercilessly raised and made her sit up from the ground forcefully while she tried to peek at the person who was tormenting her.


    Her eyes rolled out in tears and angst by taking a glance at the person. It was Thomas who was doing these horrible things to her holding a proud victorious smirk on his face. He clenched his grip on her hair behind while she was glaring at her, shooting flares through her gaze.


    "You bastard! Ho-How dare you! How dare...ughhh!" Grumbling in a husky voice, she whimpered in pain.


    "I didn''t expect you to regain your senses back in 2 hours after that sharp hit! I guess you are much stronger than how frail you look, Miss Ricci..." He tossed a wide heinous chuckle while scanning her from head to toe.


    "LET ME GO BASTARD! LET ME GO--"


    "SHUT UP!"


    All of a sudden, he grabbed her by the cheeks quite harshly forbidding her from speaking a single sentence anymore. He further clenched his grip on the back of her head and tears of immense throbbing pain rolled down her eyes which she was enduring though.


    "I will rip out your tongue out if you dare to scream, you little bitch! I don''t like loud noises!" Grumbling in a dense sonorous pitch, he whispered those harsh words right in her ears which caused a shivering chill down her spine.


    "Why...Why...are you...doing this...to me? What...did I do wrong? It''s the first...time...I have met you today...Then why..." Her quivering voice trailed off as she started to sob bitterly in fear, squirming helplessly. Tossing a wide evil seer, he released her soft cheeks and her hairs from his grasp and stood up straight on the ground.


    "You really think we have just met today?" He proudly proclaimed aloud, gawking at her.


    "Huh?"


    "You are such a naive woman, Miss Ricci... It was quite easy for me to capture you into my trap...haha!"


    Hearing his vicious vague remark, she gulped her saliva while surging her eyeballs at him. Quivering in dread, she mumbled in a gruff voice, "wh-who...who are you?"


    Immediately after her question, a dark black wave of flash surrounded him all around, and within a flash of a second, right before her eyes...Mr. Beck was standing instead of Thomas in the exact same attire which she had foreseen earlier in the station, holding a devilish smile that surfaced on his mandibles.


    "Surprise!" He clapped his hands aloud in the air. His voice sounded much delightful with his shimmering eyes gleaming in happiness.


    Eva was deadpanned in shock and horror to watch Thomas transforming himself into Beck just in the flick of a second. Swallowed in awe, she started panicking while trying to fidget her arms from the hold of the rope tying her too hard.


    Tears started rolling down her reddened cheeks while helplessly she tried to glimpse around them. But not a single soul was present there apart from both of them in that dense woods.


    "How...How is this possible? What''s happening... here?" She uttered in dismay.


    "This is called... shape-shifting, baby!" He promptly answered, chuckling wider, staring at her.


    "Shape...shifting?"


    "Nothing is impossible when it encounters the mysterious side of this world, sweetheart. You should have been well aware of it since you are dating a non-human creature too." This time the smile he had on his face all along faded, occupied by a creepy expression on his face as he tilted his neck while ogling at her.


    "You...You know about Ze...Zeus?" Gulping her saliva, she murmured her query.


    "Of course! I had to know everything about you before I could pounce on you..." He took a bold step closer to her and hearing his dark proclamation, Eva shuddered in fear shoving herself back from his approach.


    "Don''t...Don''t come closer to me! Ze...Zeus would tear you into pieces if he knows about what you did to me..." She growled aloud, frowning her grimace.


    "Really? Did you think your warning would actually scare me? Hahaha...What a fucking joke!" He continued stepping closer.


    "I am warning you...stay away from me..." She was scrambling herself on the ground backward, looking all around the woods restlessly.


    "Awww, you seem so darn helpless right now. Your frightened small face is exciting me too much to torment you furthermore!" Scowling his grimace, he licked his lips with his muscular long tongue.


    All of a sudden, he halted his movement, and with a flash of blackish-red flame, her purse where she had kept all her belongings appeared right on his hand. Eva noticed her purse in his grip and screamed out in panic, "my purse!"


    Beck took a small glimpse at the purse and raised his chin up smirking at her. Looking all calm and composed, he opened it and took out the hematite pendant, clenching it tightly.


    "Your beloved lover must have thought that he has succeeded to protect you from my approach just because of this darn pendant... But little did he know, you are too naive to remove it on your own...Haha!" His intense laugh echoed in the entire woods as he twirled the pendant on his hand, showing it to her.


    Helplessly looking at the black sparkling pendant, she was clenching her fist behind, rustling on the grass.


    Without uttering any more words, he gripped the necklace tighter in his hand and threw her purse on the ground. Boldly he walked straight towards the heap of woods that were piled up just a few steps away from her and turned his neck behind giving her a spooky smirk before responding. "Now you will see...what happens to your shield..."


    "Wh-What are you doing with my pendant? What the heck do you intend?" She screamed aloud, sounding extremely distressed.


    "You will see now..." Quickly, he shifted his gaze back to the wood and a spark of black fumes appeared on his spare arm. Immediately, he steered the blaze towards the woods and in the count of three seconds, a massive fire ignited the timbers turning the entire dark area glowing red as hellfire!


    "What do you plan to do? Why are you lighting up the fire?" She shrieked again.


    "Say goodbye to your precious pendant...little bitch." Viciously he grumbled out his words and tossed away the pendant into that anomalous firewood leaving her deadpanned in shock.


    "NOOOO! NO!!" She yelled out in a screeching tone trying to stand up from the ground pouring her entire strength, bawling her eyes out as he threw her cherished necklace into the fire. "NOOO! PLEASE NOOO!" She continued screaming as her shivering legs couldn''t gather up the strength to stand up from the ground, while her head was throbbing in immense pain.


    "Now... who will spare you from me...little bitch?" He turned around back to her, proclaiming his heinous voice with a dark proud smile on his face. "His dark eyes immediately transformed entire black without the scleral part, making his appearance fierce as a monster sending chills all over her spine as she looked up at him.


    "No...I can''t die like this... I have a reason to live...I have Zeus in my life now... Please... Please let me live..." She pleaded inside her mind, sobbing in terror.

 Chapter 139 - Rescue

    TAP! TAP! TAP!


    Each approaching footsteps was stirring up her core with the wave of uncontrollable fear as Eva started sobbing bitterly, scowling her expression. She was desperately looking around everywhere hoping for a dim hope of survival but in the glowing flares scattering amidst the woods, the place had spine chilling appearance of horror.


    Soon, Beck reached his target holding the monstrous face and the devilish eyes, gawking at her. It was too horrific for her to even look at his black eyes so she lowered her eyes down, trembling in palpitation.


    "Since you were ignorantly obedient to me...I will grant you any last wish. Tell me. Do you have any?" An evil sneer escaped his roseate lips as he kneeled down on the ground, leaning himself a bit closer to her.


    Tears were dripping down as she was lowering her eyes down while she clenched her tied arms behind her. "Why...Why are you doing this...me? I...I had tru...trusted you..."


    "And that''s the reason you are here today." Abruptly he answered, snarling his grimace at her. "Kindest fools like you always earn cruelest ends...That''s how the world works...merciless as ever!"


    Hearing his sonorous deep voice, a rage of regret and pain, filled up her heart as she continued weeping, averting her gaze down.


    "Ahh, alright. I have decided. I will give you an easy death, Miss Ricci. Don''t worry, it won''t hurt much. All you have to do is just look at my eyes." Forcefully he grabbed her by the cheeks and gawked straight at her. Trembling in angst she was forced to raise her chin up and stare back at him.


    "Wh-What?"


    "Keep looking in my eyes and in a few seconds...your heart will collapse, Miss Ricci." He grumbled in an intense tone chuckling a sinister sneer while his monstrous eyes shimmered in the dark, mystically.


    "What?" Shuddered in fear, she started struggling hard shoving him away from her. "NOO! LET ME GO! NOO!" Striving hard to free herself from his tight grasp, she was hustling her head backwards but Beck was gripping her cheeks roughly.


    "Stay still or I am gonna slit your throat right now! Damn...without that pendant...your scent is making me lose my mind..."


    "NOO!!"


    "If you don''t want a painful death, lock your gaze into me. That''s the only mercy I can have for you right now." He leaned his face a bit closer to her and swirled his eyes.


    Eva could sense an awful smell emitting out from him which was the exact sewage scent that she perceived that day within the cafe. The disgusting smell was sickening her insides. The more she tried to thrust him away, the more he was forcefully pushing himself on her. Compared to his terrific strength, Eva wasn''t able to resist him anymore.


    "Please Zeus... save me...Please...Zeus..." Sobbing in tears, squealing inside her mind, she was forced to keep her eyes wide open and helplessly she looked into his eyes, trembling in fear.


    ...


    All of a sudden, the entire forest ground vibrated with a strong intensity causing a wave-like motion. The force of vibration was so powerful that the wave that flung from the ground viciously shoved Beck away from Eva several feet apart. The intense firewood started to ignite fiercely and the tall trees were swinging in motion with the sudden quake that disturbed the entire area.


    .


    Gasping heavily, Eva was crying too hard while she raised her chin up to look at the place where the tremor emerged from. To her shock, standing before those blazing flares of fire, Zeus was glaring at Beck gnashing his jowls and clenching his fist in anger. His deep eyes were glowing red in color with his face looking extremely vengeance, unlike the kind face she had always encountered with.


    "ZE...ZEUS!" Screeching out, she started bawling aloud as soon as she noticed him standing before those blazing fire sparks.


    Beck had been shoved away several feet away, thrown amidst the dark woods along with vibration. Scraping his neck he slowly came walking out holding his devilish smile on his face. "I was waiting for your arrival...Zeus Romano! I knew it...you would definitely come for your muse!" He smirked.


    "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY EVA! HOW DARE YOU BASTARD!!" Yelling out fiercely in his dominant voice, in the flash of a second his razor-sharp, shimmering silver long claws emerged out from his arm and he dashed at him.


    Cleverly he tried to dodge his attack using all of his strength but Zeus was too meticulous in catching his prey! Violently, he grabbed him by his neck and slashed his face through those sharp claws.


    "AHHHGGRHHH!"


    He screamed hard in pain restraining himself from his grip, falling down on the ground. His entire face was covered in blood while he was whimpering down.


    Quickly, Zeus dashed towards Eva and untied her arms with his claws slashing the grip. As soon as she gained freedom, she jumped into his arms crying her heart out in fear by grasping his muscular shoulder.


    "I...I knew...I knew you would find me...wahhh...argh... I was so scared... I thought I would never get to...see you again..." She was trembling in fear, clasping him tightly.


    "Eva...listen to me..." He gripped her by the shoulder and pulled her away from his body. He stared straight into her eyes and spoke in a deep low pitch, "you have to run away from here. I will smash that jerk but you gotta run away for your life. That vile creature is too evil! He would definitely try to approach if you stay here in this danger..."


    "But...How can I leave you alone in this grave danger? This monster will try to harm you too!" She cupped his face, objecting fiercely.


    "I will take him down. Don''t worry about me...I know how to deal with this lowly beast but...I can''t let you stay here on the battlefield. Eva...you are my only weakness. So please, go away and let me fight this battle."


    "Awww! Such a lovely pair!"


    All of a sudden hearing the sudden sonorous voice behind, both of them shifted their gaze towards the north and saw Beck was already standing up from the ground, gawking at them. The scar implanted on his face from his claws had magically disappeared as if nothing had happened! The sight shivered Eva in fear as she clenched his arm tightly.


    "No...I...I won''t leave you! He will hurt you! If...If you look into his eyes...you can die, Zeus! He is too dangerous--"


    "Eva...I promise I will come back to you safe and sound. I won''t die in the hands of this beast, I promise. But please...go away from here now."


    "No...I don''t wanna---"


    "LISTEN TO ME EVA! PLEASE!" This time his voice sounded intense and coarse while his expression looked a bit enraged, while he clenched her shoulder tight. Sobbing in fear of losing him she lowered her head down clutching his arm as tight as ever.


    Zeus understood her anticipations quite well. Holding a grievous heart, he patted her head before assuring her in a bold voice, "I swear, I will come back safe and sound. Please...run away to the west. That''s the road to the highway. I will deal with him till then...trust me."


    "Don''t...Don''t break your promise!" Slowly nodding her head with a remorseful heart, Eva stood up from the ground along with Zeus. Holding a sad smile, he indicated him to run away and shifted his glare towards Beck.


    "I am your enemy so just deal with me, bastard. Don''t meddle an innocent human in our fight." He grumbled at him aloud, slowly restraining his grasp over Eva.


    "Alright. Then let''s fight with our real selves, Zeus Romano." All of a sudden, he surrounded himself in the mesh of a dark mysterious flame while glaring at him. As soon as the flames disappeared in the air after a few seconds, they saw his entire appearance had changed drastically. His snout grew longer like an animal and ferocious canines emerged out. His ears were pointed like an animal and his entire neck, shoulder, and arms were coated with black thick fur. The awful smell was filling up the entire woods as he tossed a malicious smirk towards him.


    "Eva, don''t waste any more time. Go!" He murmured again and bolding walked a few steps closer to him. Unable to come up with a defense, she fidgeted for a few seconds and turned behind. Holding a distressed heart, she started running towards the west just as he directed her.


    Her body was too weak to even move but gathering up her courage, she chose to do just as he directed. While running, she was sobbing too hard in fear but something unexpected was awaited for her.


    "OWOOOOOOOWOOOO!"


    A loud, terrifying growl filled up the entire forest which immediately halted her motion. Her feet stopped, she panted heavily and swirled her eyes in terror. This growl was too familiar to her since it''s the sound she despised the most in her entire life.


    "Wolves! It''s...It''s the wolf''s howl! That means...a wolf is here? What if the wolves snatch away my Zeus too?" Mumbling in a husky voice, she turned behind looking at the way she came through.

 Chapter 140 - Transformation

    The Romano Mansion:


    The night was dark and desolated. The enigmatic tallest mansion of Rione Monti was surrounded by frightful clouds of mystery. As soon as Czar gallantly stepped inside the mansion bearing a gallant eloquence, he noticed both Aelia and Antonio were impatiently strolling on the hallway, squabbling among themselves. Several house guards were lined up in the corridor bowing their head down as if they were waiting for their command.


    Abruptly hearing those giant footsteps at the entrance, Aelia shifted her gaze towards him and scowled her face in anger.


    "You punk! Why are you back alone? Where the heck is my son? Where is Zeus?" She grumbled at him in a loud voice, gritting her teeth in rage.


    "What?" Furrowing his eyebrows, Czar glared back at her not having a clue of anything that was going on inside the mansion.


    Antonio firmly walked a few steps closer to him and stood in the middle between Czar and Aelia as a barrier. Holding a displeased expression, he swirled his eyes while looking at him intensely, "Czar, both of you brothers were missing for the past two days. We had assumed earlier that perhaps...both of you are together. But looking at you coming home alone is quite an upsetting sight for us. Where is Zeus?" He inquired.


    "Zeus hasn''t come back home?" He too sounded much bewildered at his statement and kept glancing at him in awe.


    "Don''t act all innocent you brat! I know...I know you must be behind his sudden disappearance!" She grumbled fiercely, trying to stomp her feet towards her but Antonio stood in the middle forbidding her from approaching him in such a fit of rage.


    "How would I know where is Zeus? I had my own reasons for not coming back here but...I--"


    "Who the fuck cares about you, brat? It would have been better for us if you had never come back here!" Before he could wrap up his words, Aelia snapped viciously at him. Her sudden loud proclamation startled every single soul gathered at the hall room as they were staring at themselves impertinently.


    Antonio seemed much disturbed with her loud reaction and turning his neck behind, he tried to calm her down holding an agitated look in his deep eyes.  "Aelia, I think you are going overboard now. Czar is too a member of this house!"


    "No! Not for me! He never belonged in my life nor he will ever belong to my family!" She sounded as harsh as usual.


    Hearing out her loud declaration before the other people gathered in the room, absorbed with a surge of sorrow, Czar tossed a painful smirk towards her before responding back. "I know about it quite well Miss Aelia. And to be honest...I never considered you as my mother either...Because you are such a lowly woman to be given such a precious position. Sadly...you had been a horrible mother to my big brother too and that''s why I pity him a bit."


    "How dare you answer me back...you illicit scoundrel--"


    "BOTH OF YOU...SILENCE!!"


    Antonio shrieked out aloud reverberating the entire room as an echo with his sonorous voice. To pause the intense bickering that was barging in between them, he had to cut off the conversation with such a loud dominant growl of an alpha, looking extremely irked. "I am already enough puzzled with many worries running inside my mind. Both of you...don''t pester me anymore and go back to your rooms!"


    "But honey...you saw how this punk shamelessly replied me back--"


    "Aelia, go back to your room! Now!"


    Before she could finish her intense whining, he snapped at her frowning his face, and shifted his glare towards Czar who seemed already perturbed with the dense atmosphere.


    Squirming in rage, she swirled her eyes while gnashing her teeth fiercely. "If something happens to my Zeus... I won''t let you stay alive, punk." She mumbled inside her mind and stomped her feet hard on the ground before heading back like a rush of the storm.


    While she was gone, Czar shifted his gaze towards the house guards at the corner of the hallway and scrunched his eyebrows. "I wanna have a word with my father. Leave now. Everyone of you." He proclaimed.


    Hearing his intense proclamation, they obediently towed their heads and disappeared in thin air following his command.  As soon as they were gone, Czar stared sharply into his eyes and chose to walk inside, closer to his father.


    "What do you want to talk about?" He asked him first.


    "Dad... I wanna let you know about something." Czar crossed his arms over his chest and gazed distinctly at him furrowing his eyebrow ridge. He had a small smirk lingering on his lips and stood in front of her, looking much braver than usual. "All my life...I had been a wicked, vile creature who has devoured countless humans for my own pleasure. But...for the first time ever, I have reached a conclusion about what my heart wants." He conversed.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I just wanted to be honest with myself and hence I took this decision. I won''t let that woman die." His deep firm voice resounded as an echo inside the silent giant hallway as he declared.


    "What?" Frowning his face, Antonio glanced at him in awe as if the statement was inconceivable for him. Such a wicked emotionless lycanthrope like him was trying to defend a human boldly which was beyond imagination for him.


    "You have already heard me, dad... I won''t lie... Supporting you in this heinous act would have been solely favourable for me...but...I don''t want that innocent woman to die a brutal death on our hands when your son was the first one to chase after her! If you want to stop Zeus...you can do it by your own ways, I won''t bother about it. But...if you try to harm her by your people, I would stand like a guard wall before the troop." He rolled his eyeballs mystically with a small sneer sparkling on his brave grimace.


    "Do you have an idea about what you are talking about now? It doesn''t makes any sense. Will you go against us for that woman? Are you following your foolish brother''s footsteps?"


    "No. This time, I am listening to my heart. All my life I had been living with the nail of regret pierced in my heart... I couldn''t protect my mother from the evil...But this time, I would fight back with all my might. So, I just wanted to let you know about it prior." Averting his sad gaze away from her, he tried to walk away from him heading straight towards his room, leaving his father behind standing stunned with his answer.


    "Are you in love with her too?" Antonio gnashed his teeth, charging him straight in a deep low voice.


    His sudden inquiry halted his motion for a few seconds. He stood still, lowering his eyes down and clenching his fist hard. His heart was throbbing in anxiety but keeping his silence, he chose to walk away from him without uttering a single word.


    Antonio stood still like a rock pillar, looking extremely enraged from his gesticulation. He stared at the cold dark sky outside, grumbling on his own, "I...have to meddle within..."


    .......


    "Do you think your howl will scare me? Do you think...making her escape from here would protect her life?" Hodling a devilish sneer on his lips, Beck tilted his neck a bit while murmuring in a loud voice, clenching his shimmering giant claws which were emerging out from his paws.


    Zeus had a stern fierce expression on his face but his question left a small smirk on his face. "I didn''t howl to scare you but to awaken the true blood wolf inside my core. And before going after Eva...you will have to defeat me, you filth." Promptly he replied.


    "Alright, then shall we let''s finish the fight just like animals?" He smirked at him.


    "Of course...I am waiting to rip apart your chest with my claws!" All of a sudden, the intense vibration on the ground again emerged out from Zeus while he was locking his devilish sneer on him.


    His appearances began to transform in the flick of a second. Abruptly, he ripped out his black shirt from his body. His firm abs over his abdomen were shimmering in the dark with his muscular broad shoulder giving him the potent look of a fierce alpha he was!


    But soon enough, silver black hair sprouts began to grow all over his bare upper body which were thick and smooth as fur. His bright red pupils dilated like a predator eye''s glowing out of his eye sockets. Long white canines started to emerge out from his mouth as he was gnashing in teeth. His entire body started to mold into the werewolf shape, much taller than his usual size and somewhat slouched. His ears transformed into pointed wolf ears unlike his human form. His dazzling bright face started to contort as it pushes forward and splited as snout on his lower jowls to complete his entire werewolf transformation. Looking a ferocious devilish lycantrope, drastically different from his usual form, he prowled like an animal venturing to take a step towards him.


    "Ze...Zeus?"


    Suddenly, the quivering husky voice behind him halted his motion forbidding him to step ahead. A surge of dread rose inside his heart as he sneaked a look behind.


    Eva was standing just a few inches apart from him, swirling her eyes in horror and tears of anguish rolling down her eyes as she was looking at him.


    "E...Eva?" He blurted out in awe.


    __________________


    **Mass release will be coming for you all this weekend, but till then keep voting for me.


    If I reach 500 votes: 7 chapters will be awarded for you all :)

 Chapter 141 - My Real Self

    An absurd, deep silence persisted between Zeus and Eva as their eyes locked into each other, gasping heavily. She seemed shocked, petrified with the unexpected revelation of his real self. Somehow, the gaze she had directed towards him was filled with horror and disgust as she kept gawking at him forgetting to blink her eyelashes for a moment.


    The situation was turning more and more intense between both of them while they stood facing each other a few meters apart. Never in his mind, he had dreamed once to be exposed in such a manner right before her eyes which led to the throbbing of his heart in fear. Twitching his canines, he swirled his illuminant red eyeballs before breaking their bitter silence.


    "Wh...Why did you come back? Why are you here again, Eva?" Looking extremely perplexed, Zeus growled at her in a displeased voice. His gaze seemed sullen with a glance of fear immersed within them. From his gesture, he looked restless fidgeting his claws.


    But it seemed as if a prodigy of silence had possessed Eva completely. She was absolutely numb, gawking at him opening her eyes wider. Her gaze was perturbed as if she was still striving hard to process the harsh reality standing before her own eyes. Her throat was suffocating with a surge of despair but for a moment, she even forgot to shed her tears!


    "Ahhh, so this bitch is back again!" Exclaiming in a jovial voice, Beck clenched his paws and whirled his monstrous black eyes at her. In the flash of a second, he gnashed his jowls and tried to dash fiercely targeting her.


    Quickly enough Zeus discovered his heinous intention and before he could approach her, he rushed towards him attacking him prior. Pinning him forcefully down on the ground he choked his throat with his firm grasp while he continued struggling vigorously to free himself from his confinement.


    "EVA! DON''T JUST STAND THERE! RUN AWAY! RUN!" Looking madly concerned for her safety, he peered back at her once more, panting heavily. His loud desperate echo reverberated the whole dark woods amidst that murky night.


    "LEAVE ME...GAWKK!" Beck shrieked out in a gibberish tone, forcibly trying to thrust him away from him, ogling maliciously at her.


    But it seemed Eva had already turned out to be deaf and dumb in extreme shock facing the painful reality. She didn''t utter a single word and stood like a motionless object observing the intense chaos happening right before her. After a few seconds of anticipation, her legs gave upon the strength as she plopped down on the ground looking absolutely devasted, lowering her eyes down.


    "EVA!?" Zeus screamed out again but before he could utter his remark, Beck pierced his poisonous sharp fangs deep inside his arm in his desperate attempt to free himself from his clutch.


    With the sudden painful bite attack, Zeus was startled a little but immediately he shifted his fury gaze back to him on the ground.


    GHAWP!


    Tightening the grip around his neck, fiercely he shoved his razor-sharp claws straight into his abdomen as dark reddish-black blood splattered all over his face and body. Beck released his canines from his arm and his body quivered in pain as the claws tore his insides making a slushy sound.


    "I know it well...who has sent you after Eva... But you should have assessed your strength before targeting the love of an alpha, bastard!" He whispered under a dubious sonorous voice, glaring his dominant red eyes at him taking his claws out of his abdomen.


    "BUHAHAHHAHHA!"


    All of a sudden in a striking loud pitch, he started snickering hearing his dubious warning. Surprisingly, the muscles and tissues on his abdomen where Zeus had shoved his claws inside started to heal on their own miraculously. Scrunching his eyebrows, Zeus continued glaring at the perilous sight.


    "Did you think...you would kill a hellhound like me so easily? Haha! Such a moron alpha you are..."


    Snorting with a sly chuckle, in the flick of a second, he flung his shimmering silver claws straight in the air towards his face to shove him off from his body that was pinned down. Promptly, he dodged his abrupt attack meticulously and pushed him in the opposite direction away from where Eva was still ceasing down on the ground.


    "No matter what you aim off...an alpha will never allow a lowly beast like you to touch his sacred love!" He grumbled out, caressing his blood dripping arm where he had bitten him tearing off a piece of flesh. The hellhound poison was gradually affecting his body arising a stinging pain all over his firm body but he chose to stand still as the guard wall, protecting her with all his might.


    Beck stood up from the ground, smirking devilishly and wiping out the blood droplets dripping from the corner of his mouth. Sneakily he stole a look at Eva who was still sitting all motionless on the ground and a vile wide smile appeared on his face. "It seems to me...that your woman is in a dismayed state watching your monstrous form which is drastically opposite from your usual handsome appearance! Damn...this human must be regretting her life choices--"


    "Don''t you dare look at her! Or...I might tear out your eyes from the socket!" Furiously tensing his jowls, he snapped at him.


    "The way you are protecting this human, is she even worth of it?" A wicked smirk escaped his lips as he shifted his eyes straight on Zeus, twitching his arms and taking a step forward.


    "You bastard... I will rip out your annoying mouth first!" Gnashing his canines in rage, Zeus dashed towards him at the speed of light but meticulously Beck was digging his attacks by shifting his body positions flexibly.


    Intensified with the assumption that he was heading straight to approach Eva, he distinctly observed his motions for a few seconds with his sharp wolf gaze. In a quick spree, when Beck was trying to approach her, Zeus forcibly grasped him by his shoulder and in the flick of a second, sliced out his throat with his claws splattering blood all around.


    "Ughhh!" Clasping his blood-slit area, he cried out in pain dropping down on the ground. His whole body was trembling hard as he vigorously started coughing out blood from his mouth.


    "Fuck! My body can''t resist so many severe attacks from a true blood bastard! Fuck! I will really die at this rate!" Cursing inside his mind, he raised his gaze above and tried to peek a glance at Zeus. He was raising his paws higher up in the air attempting to finish his entire existence.


    "Let''s pause... it here... today. I will come back for you...soon." Blabbering in a jolt of a second, blazing dark black fumes surrounded him all over and amidst the fumes, he disappeared in thin air.


    Perplexed at the sight, Zeus gazed all around him desperately as he didn''t expect that he would still possess the power of escaping away in such a grave injured state. He had encountered many hellhounds previously, but Beck was undoubtedly the creepiest one!


    Taking a deep sigh out, slowly he turned back towards Eva who was still fixing her eyes at the ground, doomed in distress. Anxiously clasping his wounded sting arm, in slow steps he marched a bit closer to her, intensely staring at her. As soon as he reached nearby, finally, she raised her gaze up from the ground and looked at him holding a dismayed expression.


    "Eva...why didn''t you run away? You know how dangerous that monster is! Why did you stay here?" He inquired first.


    Without uttering a single word she chose to stare at him distinctly, trying hard to hold back her tears.


    Watching her despaired grimace, he understood it evidently that the disclosure of his real self was the reason behind her numb silence. Clearing his throat, he tried to convey his emotions, "I...I can understand the reason behind your silence... I...I am sorry for keeping my real self away from you till now but...this is who I am...Eva. I...I am a werewolf... I am the alpha of my pack..."


    A drop of tear dripped down her eyes as she still chose to stay silent, gawking at him painfully.


    "I know it must be too hard for you to...to find me one among the creature who has caused you so much pain...The Zeus you have seen until now is nothing but my outer shell...But, trust me... I...I never tried to fool you, Eva. My emotions, my feelings were always honest for you." He continued to take tiny slow steps towards her murmuring in a sad voice. "Even...I have always despised humans but I am the one who chased after you...I am in love with you...I am willing to cross my boundaries just to stay by your side. I will guard you with all my life, Eva. I was afraid that you might leave my hand if you get to know about my truth...But, I know...I have faith in our love... I have faith in our relation---"


    "Don''t...Don''t come near me!" All of a sudden, a few ice-cold words escaped her lips as she frowned her face, gritting her teeth before he could wrap up his words.


    "Wh-What?"


    "I said stop coming near me!!" She grumbled out aloud resounding her voice as an echo.


    Her brutal words stabbed his heart intensely as he halted his motion, stood still, and gazed at her painfully, "Eva? Wh-What are you talking about?"

 Chapter 142 - Abandoned

    Wiping her tears-soaked eyes, slowly she stood up from the ground in a dismayed state. Zeus was still awe-struck at her harsh declamation, standing motionless and gawking at her intensely, surging his dilated pupils wider.


    "Eva...wh-what are you---"


    "Was it fun?"


    Before he could finish his statement, an ice-cold stern voice escaped her lips as she charged him all of sudden.


    "Fun?" Gulping his saliva, he reciprocated her words back.


    "Was it fun to toy with my emotions? Was it fun for you to make a fool out of me?" Gnashing her jowls, she screamed out bitterly with tears of anguish swelling her eyes. She was clenching her fist, looking devasted with the revelation and trying hard to choke her tears in.


    Momentarily, Zeus stood all silent bearing her harsh words that stabbed him deep inside his heart. With a piercing agony tearing him up from his core, he took a deep breath out and murmured his words, "my feelings has been always honest with you, Eva. I never intended to toy with your emotions. I was even terrified to live in a world where you won''t stay by my side..."


    "Then why? Why did you keep it hidden till now? Why didn''t you reveal yourself to me before? Why did you let me stay by your side when you already know it...I despise wolves... I hate them from my core!!" She snapped.


    "I...I was about to confess everything honestly...Eva. I was scared of our future ahead but...I was looking for a proper opportunity to let you know what I feel about you! I never wanted to build our relationship on the root of a lie." Sounding emotionally drained out, he took a tiny step forward to approach her slowly.


    "Stop right there!!" She shrieked out aloud immediately retreating a step back, gazing at him with her eyes filled with disgust.


    Her actions were too hurtful for him to bear. Swirling his eyes wider at her unimaginable response, he uttered in agony, "E...Eva?"


    "Don''t...Don''t come near me! Stay away!" Bitter tears of angst rolled down her eyes as she continued retreating away from him slowly stepping backward.


    "Eva...do...do you disgust me now?" His throat choked in tears as he whimpered out in a crooked voice. His feet halted and he didn''t try to approach her furthermore.


    "I...I can''t trust you anymore... I...just can''t..." She quivered.


    "You...You are the only one I...will cherish in my heart...Eva. I...I really love you..." Tears rolled down his eyes as he chose to blurt out his painful words, standing all numb.


    Staring at him intensely with her teary gaze from a few meters apart, without uttering a single word she turned behind and started to run away in the direction opposite from him with her staggering footsteps. Zeus stood there motionless and distressed while painfully watching her fleeting away from his sight.


    "Don''t...Please... don''t go..." Sobbing bitterly, he murmured those hoarse words on his own while watching her from behind.


    Soon enough she disappeared amidst the woods in the west direction just as he directed her earlier, leaving him behind all alone in grief.


    The absurd sensation from the hellhound poison was making his mind quite dizzy as with one arm he clenched the injured area tighter. But his heart was throbbing badly absorbed in immense pain. Watching his beloved one looking at him with her eyes filled with disgust was the most painful thing he ever faced in his cold, dark life. Deep down in his heart for even once he didn''t think about the cruel abandonment he would have to face from a person he had chosen to treasure forever with all his might.


    .


    "I knew it all along...exactly...this would happen."


    All of a sudden, the dark mysterious voice coming from behind flinched him hard. In the flash of a second, he turned shifted his gaze and to his surprise, Ivory came out from behind a large Eucalyptus tree. Crossing her arms over her chest she was looking at him with a pitiful gaze.


    "Ivory?" He mumbled in awe.


    For a few seconds, she continued gawking at him, and taking a small sigh out, she walked closer towards him tapping her shoe heels aloud. Soon, she reached near him and quickly peered a glance at his blood-soaked wounded arm.


    Taking a deep huff of breath out, she tried to hold his arm but Zeus retreated a small step back.


    "What are you doing here? Why are you here?" Frowning his eyebrows, he probed her first.


    Ivory stood still with a displeased expression on her face and quite forcefully grabbed the arm where he was critically wounded. Softly caressing his arm, she raised her chin up and whispered to him.


    "I knew it already...that...this would happen, Zeus. I knew it, once, she gets to see your real self...she would run away from you. I knew it, ultimately you will be the one who will be left behind with a broken heart. Look, wasn''t I right?"


    A surge of immense pain choked his throat as he tried hard to swallow his tears in. His eyes were devasted and as he lowered his gaze down from her, a drop of tear bearing his heavyweight of emotions dripped down from the corner of the eye.


    Ivory stared deep into his eyes for a moment and took a huff of breath out. Slowly she cupped his side face and tried to soothe his grievous heart.


    "I know...you must be broken badly from inside today. I know...how purely you had devoted your heart to that human... I have always known every little thing about you Zeus.


    And that''s the reason I have loved you with all my heart. No matter what happens...I will never abandon you. I can accept every scar of yours. She is s human, Zeus. She can never accept the way you are but...I can! I can love you the way you are! Just...allow me to get into your heart, Zeus. That human...isn''t worthy of your sacrifices. Allow me to be your mate," she asserted her bold answer looking straight into his eyes holding a sad gaze towards him.


    Zeus stood still, holding his deep silence lowering his wrecked eyes down on the ground with drops of his painful tears dripping down.


    ...


    It was around 5 am in the early morning. The murky sky was about to radiate with the sunbeams illuminating the brightness all around. Clara was sleeping peacefully in her room but she didn''t have a clue of the storm approaching her soon.


    DING DONG!


    Her doorbell rang aloud all of a sudden making a loud, startling noise in that absurd, early morning. Flinching hard with a sudden jolt, she almost jumped on the bed squirming with an annoyed grimace.


    "Darn it! It must be Mr. Czar again! Ughh...why does he always have to bother me in such weird timings! Fuck, it''s annoying!" She whined on her own, looking extremely irked being bothered by her deep sleep.


    DING DONG!


    The doorbell rang again as if someone was desperately trying to wake up from her slumber. Taking a sigh of agitation out she stepped down from her bed and gallantly walked towards the door, taking giant footsteps.


    In a few seconds, she reached the door and frowning her brows, she clutched the doorknob open.


    "Why do you come here in the odd times Mr. Cz..."


    Suddenly, her voice trailed off with the startling sight which was just right in front of her eyes.


    Looking wrecked down, devastated, drenched in sweat and tears Eva was standing at her door, helplessly staring at her surprised face. She was biting her lips trying hard to stop herself from breaking down but as soon as she saw Clara, unable to hold back her emotions, she jumped into her arms bursting into bitter tears.


    "E...Eva? Why are you here at this hour?" Shocked to have her in such a wrecked state right before her, Clara blabbered out her words tapping her shoulder a few times. She was wailing her heart out in her embrace, gripping her shoulder tightly.


    "You...You were right...Clara... I shouldn''t have loved him... I shouldn''t have dreamt of a future with... him...hic...I...ran away... I ran away from him...Clara! I...I lost my everything today...hic..."


    Awestruck at her teary confession, quickly she gripped her shoulder and pulled her away from her. "Eva...you are making me anxious now. What''s wrong? Why are you in such a sobbed state--"


    "He...He is a... werewolf...hic...He is a wolf!" Whimpering in pain, she lowered her head down while confessing her grief to her.


    All of a sudden, her heart throbbed in anguish hearing her shocking exclamation. The bitter truth that she was fearing till now was right before her face! She was spellbound at her response and gulping her saliva, she whispered, "how do you...know about it?"


    "I saw his... transformation all by myself...hic...He...he wasn''t the Zeus I fell in...love with... He looked...scary... He looked just like them...who attacked our car that night... Why? Why did he have to be a wolf... How can I love a wolf...hic..." Clenching her fist, she was mourning intensely.


    Clara stood still like a rock watching her shedding tears helplessly. Slowly she lowered her gaze down, wondering inside, "I knew...It won''t end well for them...''

 Chapter 143 - Wrecked Inside

    Making her sit over the couch of her living room, Clara slowly brought her a glass of water with a small bowl of some cookies to calm her down. Eva was still sobbing silently, lowering her head down with a dismayed look prevailing all over her face.


    "Have something. I bet...you haven''t consumed a drop of either water or a piece of food until now." She placed the tray before on the table anxiously looking at her.


    "I...don''t want it..." She declared.


    "Eva, what you will get from torturing yourself like this? Why don''t you ever listen to me--"


    "I am scared...Clara..." Before she could conclude her words, her sonorous pitch sounded much intense and husky. She sat still, squirming her fingers and trying hard to endure the inner turmoil she was striving through.


    Looking at her with a sad gaze, Clara slowly sat beside her on the couch and tenderly tapped her arm to comfort her. "Eva, I can understand what you are feeling inside..."


    "I am so...fucking scared...Clara. I...I am afraid of is going back to my lonely dark life... Zeus, not only had saved my life but he was the reason for my life. I had thought...we would be each other forever... We were so happy in our own small world we had built-in...


    Where did it all go wrong, Clara? Why did my world crumble down as if...it was all just a dream? How am I going to live with these hurtful memories?" She whimpered, clenching her fist in anguish.


    She sat still for a while and didn''t utter a single word to her as a response. Unable to find the correct reciprocation of her laments, she was being fretful for her.


    "Clara...I had always believed that mythical creatures do exist in our world. I didn''t even flinch when I came to know he was a non-human... I was prepared to accept his every form but why... wolf? Why did he have to be a werewolf? Clara, you know...how despicable these animals have been always to me. They snatched my family! They took away my happiness! Even...I had told Zeus how much I despised those malevolent creatures... Still why? Why did he keep it all hidden? What am I going to do now?" She started sobbing again sounding devastated, doomed in distress.


    "Eva, don''t stress yourself too much..." She gently grasped and drew her head over her shoulder to console her broken heart responding softly. "You are not alone. You can stay here no matter how long you want, but...I will be always next to you. I will hear your whining, your pain but don''t bottle up everything inside. I will make sure to cheer you up in every possible way, so don''t feel lonely and scared, okay? You have me...always and forever..."


    Shedding warm tears on her shoulder while gripping her arm tight, she was grieving quite hard closing her eyes. "Hic... I am sorry...I am so sorry for treating you badly...Clara... hic... I don''t know...what did I do to...deserve all these? Why does my...happiness always gets snatched away from me...hic..."


    "Misfortunes are like unwelcomed guests in our life. They always come out of the blue when we least expect them. It''s not your fault, Eva." She patted her head, softly whispering her words sharing outside the window with a blank gaze in her eyes.


    ...


    "Zeus? Where have you been, my son?" Aelia screamed out aloud as she gushed down the stairs, rushing towards the entrance as Zeus and Ivory walked in slowly inside. Antonio too followed her with a frown grimace since they all were quite worried about his whereabouts followed by his sudden disappearance.


    Zeus had already attained his usual human form but from his facial eloquence, he seemed badly devastated. His upper bare body was covered in dust and bruises from the intense fight within the woods. The portion of the arm where he was bitten by the hellhound was wrapped with a bandage sopped in blood. Ivory was holding his arm tight providing him support while he was strolling at a staggering pace.


    "What happened to you, son? Why is your arm injured? Did you fight with someone? Where have you been past 2 days? Why didn''t you come back home?" She solicited him so many queries, looking extremely perplexed.


    "Aunt Aelia...umm, I guess Zeus needs a bit of rest now. He has already suffered a rough patch today...and these queries might puzzle him a bit more." Ivory came to his rescue as he stood still, lowering his gaze and absolutely silent.


    "But--"


    "Aelia, let him rest for some time. Save your questions from later." Antonio forbade her from bothering him any further and quietly shifted his gaze towards Zeus frowning his brows. "But Zeus, you do have to answer us some certain questions." His voice sounded stern and sonorous.


    Without uttering a single word, Ivory quietly directed him inside, straight upstairs towards his room. While he was heading orderly, Czar clutched open his door, came, and stood outside his room glaring at him looking irked. Both Zeus and Ivory halted their pace as he was about to speak out.


    "Why the heck you didn''t come back home? Your beloved parents were charging me for your disappearance! Why the hell I have to be blamed every time?" He snapped.


    "Czar, can you please bicker with him later? He isn''t in a state right now to be blamed for your issues! Give him some space." She abruptly answered his charges in a serious note, groped him tighter, and started heading again towards his room.


    For a while Czar stood still, gawking at them from behind since his gestures were piquing up his curiosities. Scrunching his brows, he murmured on his own, "what the heck has happened to him? Why did he look like a corpse?"


    ...


    As soon as they stepped inside the room, Ivory made him sit up on the bed supporting his back against a pillow. Zeus was all mute, holding a despaired expression, and didn''t even budge to glance at her, even once.


    "Zeus, have some water." She stretched her arm holding the glass of water and sounding concerned about him. His heart was badly bruised inside and turned him into all numb in pain.


    He didn''t answer, neither tried to grip the glass from her. He sat still, lowering his gaze, and sighed out heavily.


    "Zeus, I know you are suffering a lot inside. But...the poison would start affecting you badly if you don''t keep yourself hydrated at least--"


    "Ivory." All of a sudden, he murmured out.


    "H-Hmm?"


    "I want to be alone...for some time." A husky, dismayed voice escaped his pale reddish lips as he whispered out his wish.


    She kept looking at him for a while, surging her eyes wider. From his answer, she seemed a bit offended, quivering her jowls a bit.


    "Zeus...I don''t want you to be alone in such a wrecked state. You have me! I can stay by your side and console you--"


    "I don''t want anyone to be my side." His cold voice pierced her heart sharp as he mumbled it out. Slowly, he raised his chin up and gazed into her eyes. His dark eyes were glistening in tears and it seemed he was trying hard to hold himself from breaking down in front of her. "Please...I want to be alone, Ivory."


    Hearing out his heartfelt plead, she didn''t object anymore and unwillingly nodded her head, looking much glum.


    "Alright...if that''s what you want. But...don''t you dare feel yourself all alone. You can cry on my shoulder as much you want. Nothing matters to me in this world, more than you Zeus. Hope...you will understand it someday." Her deep low voice sounded sullen as she continued peering at him with a sad gaze.


    Zeus didn''t utter a single word and turned his gaze outside the window, gawking at the murky endless sky. Slowly, Ivory walked out of the room followed by his silence.


    Warm droplets of his painful tears dripped down his cheeks as he stared at the dawning sky. His mouth was speechless, but his insides were stirring in pain but he was unable to scream out aloud expressing the agony. Quietly looking at the sky, his heart was reminiscing all the beautiful memories he got to spend with Eva. Her smile, her soft voice everything flashed out right before his eyes wrecking his heart into countless pieces.


    "Even after knowing how would things eventually end...why did I still hope for a happy ending? Why do people have to change..." He sought himself, swallowing his tears.


    .......


    Clara was preparing some bean sprout soup for Eva inside the kitchen while she was lying down on her bed. She was looking all pale and numb and that''s the reason Clara decided to feed her first with something.


    "Why are you still awake?"


    "Huh? Aaaaahhh!" All of a sudden she shrieked out in surprise, hearing the sonorous deep voice just behind her in the kitchen. Gulping in shock, she saw Czar was standing right behind her, crossing his arms and staring into her eyes.


    "Why did you scream out?" He sounded a bit displeased.


    "Master? Why are you here so suddenly? What are you doing here?"


    "I was feeling bored so I decided to wake you up from your slumber with my sudden visit. I teleported myself here but I didn''t expect you already wake this early morning. It''s 6 am right now--"


    "Why are you here without telling me prior, master? You shouldn''t have come here!" She interrupted him, looking all perplexed.


    "Clara? Did you just scream aloud? Is everything alright?" All of a sudden, Eva probed her in a loud voice from her room as she heard some footsteps approaching towards the kitchen. Czar was quite surprised by the unexpected response from Eva as he looked at her face in confusion, gulping down.


    "Little duckling is here?"


    "Shit! She is gonna find out about you!" Swirling her pupils, she murmured out in fear.

 Chapter 144 - Reason

    "Clara?"


    "Ye-Ye...Yes?"


    Stuttering anxiously while breathing hard, Clara quickly responded to Eva as she walked into the kitchen holding a curious gesture. In the jolt of a second, Czar had opted his invisibility power and quietly stood next to her, gawking at Eva impertinently. While she could envision him right next to her in his camouflage state, but she was terribly anxious about getting caught in the act by Eva.


    "Clara...did you just scream a moment ago? I think...I heard some commotion going on here...Has anything happened?" She furrowed her eyebrows glancing around the kitchen.


    "H-Huh? Sc-Scream? Hahaha...No...It...It was a spider! I just happened to see a spider! That''s all." Hysterically she laughed out aloud.


    "Spider?"


    "Yes! A big black spider was just here! Th-That''s why I screamed out... But now it''s go-gone! Haha...I-I am sorry for startling you, Eva." She was constantly peering her glances at Czar who was standing just next to her, snarling his grimace at her absurd response.


    "But...you were never afraid of bugs, Clara. Are you really alright?" She reciprocated dubiously.


    "Errr... I am fine, Eva! I am really fine! You can go back and have a rest till I prepare your soup. Go now," she was trying to shove her away towards her bedroom afraid of Czar that he might react imprudently in front of her.


    A bit skeptical of her irrational behavior, she unwillingly headed back to her room where Clara was literally straining her away out of the door. As soon as she left, Czar reappeared again from his invisibility and frowned his face at her.


    "Hey, did you just call me a spider?" He tried to grumble aloud but she immediately indicated to him to lower his tone by putting her finger over her lips.


    "Shhhhh! Keep it low, please master! Her ears are really sharp!" She whisper-shouted at him.


    "But why are you so scared to see me here? What worse can happen if she finds me? I am not at least a stranger to her!" He was sulking his face, looking a bit vexed at her.


    "And that''s the reason I am scared of, master! No...at least she mustn''t find you here! You should really stay away from her now!" Peeking her gaze in concern at the room, she mumbled in a low pitch.


    "And why must I accept your silly request? What''s the reason?"


    "She...She knows..."


    "What?"


    "She knows that...your brother...is a werewolf..." Her voice crooked a little as she mumbled quickly, seeming much concerned about her.


    "What!?" Surging his dark brown pupils wider, he blurted out in a hoarse pitch, looking stunned with her revelation. For a few seconds, he didn''t utter a single word and kept gawking at her.


    "Things have probably ended between them in a rough patch. I mean...I knew it from the beginning...she won''t ever accept a werewolf since she despises them from the core. Wolves snatched away from her everything, there was no way she would overcome the trauma. That''s the sole reason...I agreed to be your slave to keep my identity a secret." She continued, lowering her eyes down from him.


    "Things...ended between them?" Gasping a deep huff of breath, he reciprocated her answer looking baffled.


    "Well, it does seem so. But since the moment she arrived here, she hasn''t stopped crying. She looks wrecked from inside. I haven''t seen her mourning this hard for anyone after the funeral day of her parents. She had cherished your brother with all her heart and looked very happy to have him by her side. I believe, her love for him will never fade away and that''s what breaks my heart. I knew this day would come but I didn''t expect it to come so soon..." Her voice sounded remorseful as she lowered her eyes down, taking a deep huff of breath out.


    Momentarily, Czar was spellbound with the revelation and stood numb, intensely frowning his eloquence. He was squirming in aghast while so many emotions were running wild inside his mind.


    After a minute of awkward silence persisting between them, she raised her chin up and gazed at him with a sad gaze. "Master... I beg of you, her deep scars are ripped open once again. Till the day she finally musters up the strength to face you again like before, please...give her some time to heal. Please." She pleaded.


    He didn''t utter a single word and directed his fretful face towards the ground. Taking a heavy sigh out, before she could hinder him any further, quietly he walked out of the kitchen and stood at the door of the room where she was staying in.


    Holding a blank glum look in her deep brown eyes, she was leaning her head on the windowpane, gazing at the endless sky. Drops of warm tears bearing her weight of emotions were dripping down the corner of her eyes. He didn''t make a single noise anymore and silently continued to observe her from behind. Somehow, he felt a sharp stinging pain arising inside his heart watching her in such a state of despair. He clutched his fist and stood absolutely numb.


    "So that''s the reason why did Zeus look like a corpse. Though I had always wanted to be amused by the situation he is doomed right now but...why can''t I feel any happiness? Watching her suffering in pain...is wrecking my heart too... Is that what it feels to get emotionally entangled to someone?" He wondered, staring at her with a sad gaze.


    Clara didn''t bother to stop or interrupt him from his gawking and quietly stood at the door of the kitchen. Crossing her arms, her eyes were fixed on Czar from behind. Unknowingly, a small gloomy smirk appeared on her lips as she murmured inside, "watching him sad doesn''t make me happy either...Ah, how troublesome..."


    _______________________________


    **Every scenario I am putting in depicts the emotions of my characters. Either their emotional turbulence or their helplessness.


    It''s up to you all for imaginations :)

 Chapter 145 - The Proposal

    It was around 8 am in morning.


    The weather seemed much blissful with birds chirping outside in a mellow rhythm. The sky was almost clear with a few small soft cottony white clouds flocking on the horizon. Mild sun rays were blessing the entire neighborhood while beautiful flowers bloomed along.


    But...the broken heart of Zeus was dark and despaired with unbearable grief shattering him from inside. His happiness had abandoned him. The realization was harsh and so painful that he couldn''t even cry out aloud and swallowed his tears silently.


    Dressed up in his formal office attire, he walked down the stairs at a slow pace holding an ice-cold expression on his face. Taking a deep huff of breath, he was about to head straight outside towards his car but soon, bold footsteps approached him from behind.


    "Zeus?"


    His motion halted with the sonorous call behind him who was no one other than his father, Antonio. Abruptly he turned back and saw both Antonio and Aelia were standing next to each other, gawking at him intensely.


    "Yes?"


    "How''s your arm right now? It was quite injured deep." He retaliated directing a stern gaze towards him.


    "Where are you heading this early morning getting all groomed up, son? You should sleep properly in your room!" Aelia walked a step forward, sounding concerned for him.


    A cold sad smirk escaped his lips as he lowered his gaze down from both of them. "This wound is nothing compared to the stirring pain in my heart which is killing me from inside." He wondered.


    "Zeus, we would like to have a few words with you. Join us in the breakfast." Antonio''s voice reverberated like an echo as he mumbled it standing amidst the giant hallway. Soon hearing his words, a few maids and butlers abruptly served the freshly prepared meals courteously on the table for them.


    "I don''t have an appetite, dad. I will join you some other day--"


    "Zeus I didn''t ask for your opinion. I have commanded you to do so." Interrupting him in a loud grumbling pitch, he stared intensely at him holding a strict posture.


    Momentarily he stared back at his father with a displeased look all over his face and took a deep sigh out. As soon as he concluded his command, he walked gallantly towards the table followed by Aelia who seemed a bit perplexed too. Without objecting to him any further, Zeus quietly headed towards the table and grabbed the seat next opposite to his father.


    "It''s been so long since our family had breakfast like this...all together." Grabbing the for, Antonio whispered it first.


    Zeus sat still for a moment and chose to reciprocate him in a gentle voice. "Dad, our family isn''t complete without Czar. If we are having a meal together, you must ask him too--"


    "Stop it, Zeus!" Sounding very enraged, Aelia grumbled at him interrupting his sentence viciously. She was scowling her face just by hearing his name and directed her stern glare towards him, "don''t ruin the atmosphere by mentioning that brat here! He never belonged to our family! He was always an outsider, Zeus!"


    "Mom, no matter how hard you try to prove your point, but Czar will be always my brother. He will be forever part of our family and that''s the ultimate truth!" Scrunching his eyebrows with an irked look, he snapped at her.


    "How long you are going to defend him over your own mother? Why do you even consider that wicked brat as your brother--"


    "SILENCE!"


    All of a sudden, Antonio shrieked out aloud in a furious tone cutting off their conversation halfway. Both of them shifted their gaze towards him while he was already glaring at both of them.


    "I didn''t invite Zeus here so that you can bicker with him questioning Czar''s existence, Aelia! We have some serious discussion here." He charged in a bold voice, staring sharply at him.


    "Dad, you can come to the point straight. What do you want to talk about?" Glaring back at him holding a skeptical expression, he reciprocated.


    "Were you with the human lady for the past 2 days?" An ice-cold, stiff inquiry probed from him which startled him in the first place.


    "Why do you ask?" He queried him back.


    Antonio stared viciously at him for a few seconds and leaned back on the giant wooden chair he was sitting on. "I am quite amazed by your audacity, Zeus! You do have the guts to inquire me back--"


    "If anyone tries to invade in my personal matter, I would ask him the same...dad." Straightening his back against the chair, he sounded much bold which even surprised Aelia who was gawking at him.


    "But your personal matter involves a human, have you forgotten this fact?" Frowning his grimace, his tone sounded much vexed. "Meddling with a human has never done any good to either member of our pack. Being an alpha of Romano, shouldn''t you keep it in mind and try to act a bit responsible at least?" He continued his charges.


    "It''s not worthy of me to disclose Eva''s identity before them. After all, I no longer have the right to intervene in her life. All I did till now was causing troubles for her..." Lowering his gaze down he was lost in his thoughts concerning her.


    The atmosphere was growing a bit intense and Aelia chose to interfere within. She softly tapped his shoulder before murmuring her remark. "Zeus, a human can never be worthy of us! I know...it must be a fleeting emotion for you but you should know to control your feelings! How could you just sacrifice your life and endure a wolfsbane attack for that darn human? You should have let her die--"


    "That''s not a fleeting emotion for me, mom!" He objected to her boldly, snarling his deep round pupils towards her. "My emotions for her were always true. It was never a fleeting one---"


    "But that doesn''t matter anymore, Zeus!"


    All of a sudden, their conversation halted with the unexpected sonorous voice from behind. Ivory was standing at the entrance holding a calm and composed posture, glancing at him. Soon, she slowly walked towards them near the table and stood just next to Zeus.


    "Ivory?" Zeus scrunched his eyebrows at her intervention.


    "What do you mean by it doesn''t matter, Ivory?" Aelia sounded very curious, looking at her with an impertinent gaze.


    She tossed a small witty smirk at her and firmly directed her gaze towards Antonio who was a bit surprised with her visit. Clearing her throat, she chose to declaim in a bold voice, "Uncle Antonio... you can hold the engagement ceremony of Zeus and mine anytime soon which was postponed earlier."


    Utterly shocked at her proposal, Zeus jolted up from his seat and proclaimed aloud, "what?"

 Chapter 146 - Signaling

    Startled at his loud fierce reaction, both Antonio and Aelia were spellbound for a couple of seconds. Gawking at Ivory raising their chin up Antonio gulped in confusion and took a glance at Aelia who was already looking at Zeus.


    Zeus seemed very baffled at her sudden proposal, as he jolted up from his seat and snapped at her viciously. He looked infuriated and glaring at her he whisper-shouted at her, "are you out of your mind? Do you even know what you are asking for?"


    Ivory standing all fearless shifted her gaze towards him. Holding a small smirk on her lips, she murmured, "don''t overreact, Zeus. I know what am I doing---"


    "What the heck is going on here?" Snarling his face, Antonio straightened his posture over the chair and grumbled at them angrily.


    "Uncle Antonio, I know what am I saying. Both of you wanted us to get engaged as soon as possible, isn''t it? Let''s do that." She continued holding a witty smile.


    "Ivory you---"


    All of a sudden, before he could protest aloud, Ivory groped his arm tighter signaling him to keep silent through her facial eloquence. Confused at her absurd gesture, he was fuming in anger glaring at her intensely.


    "What''s with the sudden proposition?" Aelia reciprocated her words looking much perplexed as she stood up from her seat, looking at her intensively. "From his gestures, he clearly seems to be against your proposition, Ivory. It is very unexpected."


    "Aunt Aelia, Zeus was with me from the past two days." Keeping a stern look in her eyes she boldly answered her. Her abrupt lie flinched him in surprise but she continued the grip on his arm tighter, signaling him to keep up with the act.


    "What?" Antonio stood up from his chair and stared intensely at her furrowing his eyebrows.


    "Yes, Uncle. We were together for these two days. A small accident happened to occur in our way which injured his arm. But, I was there to take care of him."


    "Then why does he seem so reluctant about the betrothal? It seems that he is absolutely against your proposal, Ivory." He tossed a sharp inquiry looking a bit skeptical about them.


    "He is just nervous about it, uncle." She was handling the situation quite wittily forbidding him to speak any objection regarding them. "We have been friends since our childhood. It''s just that he is anxious to take our relationship to the next level."


    "But...don''t you know about his emotional turbulence regarding that human?"


    "It doesn''t matter anymore uncle. I believe no one can care about him the way I do. And what matters to me is staying right by his side and supporting him with all my might. Together, we will be the strongest pair our pack ever had."


    Hearing her proud declaration, both Antonio and Aelia gaped at each other''s faces with a perplexed look in their eyes. Watching Zeus breathing quite strongly with a fierce glare in his eyes towards Ivory, she gently tapped on his shoulder before asking.


    "Zeus, are you really alright about it?"


    Ivory clutched his arm tighter as soon as she finished her query, staring intensely in his deep bigger eyes. Slowly she tilted her head a bit indicating him to say yes to her question despite knowing that from his blazing gaze that with her each lies his anger was surging several folds higher.


    "If you both are really fine with it, let''s do that. After the upcoming lunar eclipse in the next 15 days, I will arrange your engagement ceremony in our holy Mountain God shrine." Before he could proclaim his answer, Antonio boldly declared it in a loud voice causing a sharp reverberation in the giant room, leaving everyone startled with his decision.


    Unable to suppress his fuming rage anymore, Zeus gripped her arm back and grumbled furiously in a low pitch. "We need to talk."


    Before she could respond to his declaration, he almost dragged her infuriatingly marching out of the entrance with fuming tapping footsteps. Both of them were intensely gazing at them from behind as they dashed outside.


    As soon as they left their sight, a sly small simper appeared on Antonio''s proud face while Aelia looked very bewildered with the situation, shifting her gaze towards him before articulating her worries.


    "Honey, you also have understood it distinctly, don''t you? She was lying about everything! I bet... he was not with her for the past two days!"


    "Even I wonder...why does she want to be betrothed with a man who has another woman in his heart! But... I do know, she must have a specific reason to do it." Gazing firmly out of the entrance, he mumbled his response.


    "Then should we follow her proposition? What if Zeus runs away again--"


    "He won''t, Aelia. I believe, no one in the whole world will be ever compatible with Zeus in every aspect compared to power and strength. And this time she must have a reason for which Zeus was bound to keep his silence throughout the discussion."


    Furrowing her eyebrows, she was squirming her fingers anxiously. "Then...should we just act accordingly?"


    "Of course, Aelia." A dubious wide smile escaped his lips as he declaimed it aloud. "Right now after us, if anyone has the gallant audacity to smash that human bug out of our son''s life is only... Ivory. I trust the holy alpha blood she bears in her veins. She is chivalrous enough to fight any danger for his sake. I know and I have witnessed...how devoted she has been to our son since their early childhood. Where would we ever find such a noblewoman for our alpha who will hold the future of our pack? Even you too have faith in her, don''t you?"


    "Yes." Politely she nodded her head lowering her gaze down at the ground, scrunching her eyebrows. After a moment of absolute silence between them, Antonio boldly walked out of the room heading straight upstairs holding a meek smile on his face. She stood still for a while and took a deep sigh out, looking outside the entrance perplexedly.


    "I guess...history is repeating itself again... We alphas are born for the sake of others...not to live for ourselves. Hope you would understand it soon, son." She murmured on her own.


    ...


    "Zeus, loosen your grip it''s hurting me!"


    Snapping at him with a vexed gesture, Ivory scowled her face at him while he fiercely dragged her out at the giant yard of the mansion. After walking away a bit far from the building, he unleashed his grip from her wrist and viciously turning his face towards her.


    "Hey, do you want to die?" Immediately he snarled his grimace, shrieking out aloud at her. His dilated pupils transformed into dominant red color as he started clenching his fist, unable to contain the wrath in himself.


    Watching him getting all hyped up, a small bold smile escaped her roseate lips as she took a small step closer to him. "Do you want to kill me now for the sake of that darn human?" She charged him back.


    "You have crossed every limit today, Ivory! How...Just how could you blurt out the ridiculous proposal in front of mom and dad? Have you lost your mind or you are intentionally provoking me that much?"


    "So...should I have blurted about your lady love right before them? Should I have let you speak out everything so that your father will crumple her entire existence? Have you been blinded by your ignorance that you can''t even realize that all I did was to protect both of you! Why can''t you ever discern my emotions for you, Zeus! Why are you always skeptical of everything I ever do for you?" Swirling her wolf-like blazing eyes at him, she vexed further.


    For a few seconds, he stood still and tossed out a heavy sigh of frustration stroking his hair above his forehead. "Ivory...I can''t accept this! It''s impossible for me to accept this betrothal when I have Eva in my heart! I can''t...I absolutely can''t!" Holding a sad gaze, he fussed his objection towards her.


    "So are you gonna keep waiting for her till eternity?" Offended at his proclamation, she asserted further. "That human abandoned your real self heartlessly and you are gonna keep suffering inside for her sake? How can you become so naive in love, Zeus?"


    "It was my choice to stay by her side despite knowing how things would come to an end! It was my fault to hope for a happy ending even though we had our own faults in the stars! We both are suffering today but...we are too helpless to admit it! I...I don''t want to cause more trouble in her life but...how can I forget the woman I loved with my whole heart and give you her place? If you would stand in my shoes, won''t you have done the same?" His eyes returned the usual black color, glistening in tears as he whined his painful verdict.


    Ivory stood still like a rock, staring deep down in his eyes and squirming in anxiety. She took a huff of breath and reciprocated her reply, "do you think anyone would ever accept the daughter of a traitor of our own pack? Aren''t you aware of the kinds of danger a hybrid has to bear in the world of werewolves? Then why didn''t you step back first from the moment you knew her truth? If I was in your shoes...I would have stepped back for your sake!" She reverberated in a low, intense pitch.


    Startled at her response, he swirled his pupils in awe. "How...How do you know about her truth?" He murmured.

 Chapter 147 - Challenge

    For a moment, Zeus stared intensely at Ivory frowning his grimace at her. All of a sudden, a sudden spark ignited in his gaze as his eyes became quite murky.


    "Were you tailing both of us? Were you the one who sent that nasty hellhound after her?" He grumbled.


    At her accusation, Ivory couldn''t help but smirk wittily taking a heavy sigh out. "Zeus, I don''t need to hire a lowly beast to finish that maiden! I am powerful enough to terminate her existence barely in a few seconds. I wasn''t tailing her at all."


    "Then how do you know about her truth?" He charged.


    "It''s because...I was present right there when you visited Miss Violet last night. I was tailing you since then. I heard each and every bit of your conversation with her." Crossing her arms over her chest, she replied in a hoarse voice.


    "What?"


    "You had grabbed our sacred ruby and fox fur from Miss Violet last night before rushing to save her life. Didn''t you?" The gaze in her deep eyes was blackened intensely as if she was getting a bit irked.


    Nervously putting his cold, anxious hand inside his suit pocket he clutched the shimmering golden bracelet ornamented with the spiritual ruby and red fox fur that he had obtained for Eva. But it was deeply unfortunate that he was unable to give it to her before all the mishaps happened that tore them apart. Watching him getting perplexed, a vexed displeased simper escaped her lips.


    "So, did you ever realize how heinous of a sin you have committed our alpha, Zeus? How could you take such a grave risk securing our divine gemstone to offer it to that human? Do you know how deadly you could face the punishment if the secret comes out? Only her wellbeing matters to you over your own life?" She snapped out quite aloud.


    Lowering his gaze down from her and taking a deep huff of breath out. "Yes. Her life matters to me the most, more than my own. I know...I could be punished for scoring our divine ruby and giving it to her, but I still chose to do it. I am willing to sacrifice my own life by keeping her safe, that''s how deep my love is for her." He mumbled.


    "You are willing to give up on your life for a maiden who abandoned you without giving it a second thought! Yet you are too blindfolded to look at the person who has stayed by your side in every up and down for more than a span of 100 years! You are willing to turn your back against the person who can give up on her life for your sake! How...How can you be so cruel to me, Zeus? You asked me to score the hematite for her and I willingly followed your wish! And now...this ruby? How could you commit such a sin without even asking me once?"


    Facing her fierce allegations, he stood like a rock for a few seconds, without uttering a single word. Holding a glum expression on his face, he chose to turn back and walk ahead towards his car but immediately she gripped his arm from behind and stopped him from leaving.


    "Now you are avoiding me too? If...If you love her this much, why did you chose to let her go? Why did you stood still and watched her leaving? Why are you bearing every pain alone? Zeus...the one who loves the more always loses the other one! Your boundless love is the major reason behind your suffering--"


    "Aren''t you doing the same?"


    All of a sudden, his fierce response paused her sharp remark as she rolled her eyes, gawking at him intensely. "Wh-What?"


    "You are willing to get betrothed with a man who has devoted his heart to someone forever. In our relation, aren''t you the one who is losing everything by loving me more?" His sonorous voice reverberated like an echo that pierced deep down in her heart.


    "Ze-Zeus?"


    "It was my decision to let her go. I didn''t want to confine her with me to cause her more pain than she already bore in her heart. My granny once told me, it takes greater love and courage to let someone go away rather than holding on. I just wanted her to lead the rest of her life happily and that''s why I chose to bear my pain inside alone.


    But what are you doing, Ivory? With each passing day, your pure love for me is turning into a grave obsession! Someday...your love will itself turn into an obsession making you lose everything all at once...There is still time left, get a grip over yourself, Ivory. Eva isn''t with me anymore that doesn''t mean I will forget the beautiful memories I made with her!


    Right now, think of a proper plan to break off the betrothal proposal because I am not going to get engaged to you." He unleashed his arm away from her grasp quite rashly and walked straight towards his car taking bold footsteps ahead.


    Standing alone behind, she was blazing her teary gaze towards him fuming in rage. Clenching her fist, her arms were shivering in wrath and her dilated pupils obtained the dominant red color glaring at him.


    "How...How could you hurt my emotions so bad, Zeus? That''s all because of your darn human? That damn wench! But...I still feel pity for you. You have lost your senses, Zeus.


    Fine... I like to be challenged and this time I won''t back off!


    I won''t break off this engagement! Not only this, I am willing to face you head-on without retreating back! Let''s see...who will have the last victorious grin!" She murmured on her own, tossing a vicious dark smirk.


    ...............


    The Romano Organization Main Office:


    As soon the driver opened the car door for Zeus, he gallantly stepped out removing his dark black sunglass from his face. His mood was already irked enough due to the vexed argument he had with Ivory and frustrated from his core, he chose to head inside. Holding his iPad in one hand, he seemed to be in a hurry to walk inside.


    But soon enough, someone yanked his arm from behind intending to stop him from heading in. With the sudden interruption, he shifted his gaze back and it was no one other than Czar!


    He was holding an impatient eloquence over his grimace, looking very fretful. That kind of expression was quite rare to find in him and it wasn''t imprinted on his face last night when he came back home last night. It piqued his curiosity and he halted his motion, gulping anxiously.


    "Czar?" Zeus scrunched his eyebrows staring deep into his eyes.


    "We need to talk, big brother." Standing at the entrance of the office, he declaimed in a low pitch.


    "I have an important meeting to attend in a few minutes--"


    "Have things really ended between you two?" He tossed his query in a sharp pitch, blazing his glance at him intensively.


    Startled at his unanticipated question, Zeus flinched in surprise and gawked back at him. "What do you mean?"


    "You know what I mean! Don''t try to play innocent!"


    Hearing his loud response, keeping his silence for a few seconds he answered him back. "How do you know...about it?"


    "That''s none of your goddamn business! Give me the answer! Aren''t you both together anymore?" With each passing second, Czar was losing his calm palpitating quite anxiously, clutching his grip on his arm.


    He lowered his dark, devasted gaze down and gulped his surge of pain inside. "You heard it right." A cold, small answer drifted from him.


    Swirling his pupils wider in shock he was spellbound for a couple of seconds, glaring at him. "What? Are you fucking serious?"


    "Each moment I have spent with her...they have been the most beautiful memories I ever got to live in my life. But...a deep fear has been persisting inside me all these time that...it would end badly... And...unfortunately, my fear won over my love..." His voice sounded crooked as if he was trying hard to resist his tears from swelling up.


    "So you would just let her go like that? You would just let her leave? Why!? Why the fuck you don''t tell her everything regarding her own family''s truth!?" Czar grumbled out in frustration, clenching his grip harder.


    "She must be suffering through hell after knowing about me... The truth about her father would increase her pain thousand folds higher! How can I intentionally make her life more miserable than it has been already due to me?"


    "Then would you just keep suffering alone keeping everything inside? Are you a saint? Or an airhead? How could you just stay behind watching her leave? How can you stay calm like this? Why didn''t you go after her, stupid?" His harsh accusations sounded much grievous as he roared at him.


    Looking at him getting all hyped up Zeus tossed a painful smile at him and mumbled his words in a gentle tone. "She deserves to live a good life ahead. Meddling with me...would bring her nothing but sufferings...


    I...I can bear my pain alone as long as she could move on and become...happy..." His eyes were shimmering in tears and he averted his gaze down. "I never wanted to dominate her. Walking away was her choice and...loving her silently will be my decision.


    But I am surprised. Why are you so worried about me? Weren''t you always wanted to see me suffering? Why do you look more sadder for me now?"


    Czar didn''t answer a single word and slowly left the grip over his arm. Taking he deep sigh, he mumbled inside, "this damn airhead..."

 Chapter 148 - Set Up

    Slowly but steadily ten days passed by...


    After shedding tears of anguish by keeping herself confined in her room, Eva tried her best to sober her broken heart. In this anticipated period of over a week, Clara tried her best to cheer her best friend in such a tough phase of her life. She was careful enough never to mention Zeus in front of her. She tried to indulge herself in watching movies, series while Clara was away at her work so that her mind and heart won''t be left empty alone. Even though doing the best she could, some pain is always unforgettable.


    At night, though Clara used to share her bedroom along with her, every day Eva couldn''t get a blink of sleep in her eyes until late at night. Tears of despair rolled down the corner of her eyes as she glanced at her phone screen wallpaper which she still couldn''t change. The amicable wide smile of Zeus was even heartwrenching for her to look at but it was the only solace in her grief.


    All those beautiful memories lived and cherished together used to flash in her vision. The happy memories were abundant enough to make her lament with the agony of regret and despair. Though her heart couldn''t let go of him...but she was scared of admitting her true feelings for the person because each time she tried to embrace her emotions, the scars embedded deep down in her heart throbbed in pain.


    Helplessly covering her mouth with her palm, trying hard not to make a sound while weeping bitterly she tried her best to let out that emotional turbulence at night. Little did she knew, every single day Clara would observe her mourning silently from behind. Her heart would break apart to see her suffering in hell every night while she tried to stretch out her arm and tap her shoulder to console her broken self...but her arm would stop in the midway.


    A heavy glum period of 10 days was finally over. Clara finally decided to come up with a plan to help her fall out of the situation and she was preparing herself to confront her at the breakfast table.


    Seated right opposite to her, Eva was gulping down the croissant she had prepared for her. It was one of her favorites and she was well aware of it.


    "Umm, Eva...I...I want to tell you about something..." She sounded nervous, squirming her feet beneath the table.


    "Yes?"


    "Errr, I...want you to meet someone today." Gulping down some water, she hurriedly spat it out.


    "Someone?"


    "Well, look...don''t get me wrong. But...the person is a really good man, Eva."


    Hearing her answer, all of a sudden Eva stopped eating and raised her chin up gawking at her sharply. Her eyebrows were scrunched and somehow her words sounded very skeptical to her. "Clara, could you be a little clear about it?" She seemed very palpitated.


    Taking a deep huff of breath out, she continued her explanation. "I am talking about Mr. Eric, he is my colleague and possibly we are 2 years apart in age. He is one of the most hardworking men I ever encountered in my life. Not only that, he is overly ambitious and this month he is being promoted to our Chief Manager of the Sales department. Look, he isn''t a workaholic at all! Based on his handsome yet elegant appearance, almost every month any female colleague will get a huge crush on him but he prefers to stay aloof--"


    "Clara, why are you telling me all these?" Before she could complete her sentence, Eva laid her back against the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Somehow she sounded a bit bothered while tossing her query.


    "Umm, yes...I mean... Mr. Eric is really a gentleman, Eva. I have worked with him for over 5 years and the person really has a kind heart too! To be honest, he...he is looking for a stable relationship and I want you to meet him today." Trying her best to stay calm, she answered her.


    For a few seconds, an awkward silence persisted between them which transformed the calm atmosphere into quite intense. Eva was glaring at her with a displeased expression on her face while Clara was trying to avert her gaze away from her.


    "So it means, you want me to go on a blind date with that man, don''t you?" Quite distinctly, she asked.


    "Ye-Yes."


    "Sorry, but I decline it." Taking a deep huff of breath out, she answered quickly in a thick, domineering tone.


    Somewhere deep in her heart, Clara was expecting the kind of answer from her. Silently she gulped the rest amount of the water from the glass and straightened her back against the chair.


    "May I ask why?" She reciprocated.


    "Huh?"


    "Why won''t you go? What''s the reason?" This time, her voice sounded quite irked.


    Eva quietly gawked in her eyes looking a little surprised at her reciprocation. She took a huff of breath in and mumbled in a low pitch, "you know the reason quite well, Clara. How can I go on a blind date when I am not prepared myself?"


    "So are you going to cry over him every day and night, regretting your life decisions and torment yourself to the core! Is this all you want?" She snapped.


    "Clara...I don''t mean it--"


    "Eva if something is causing you such unbearable misery, you should let go of that pain! Why are you willingly torturing yourself and expecting me to sit back and watch you ruining yourself all over? Bottling up your emotions like this...how will you survive ahead? How can I let you breaking into pieces every day little by little?"


    Hearing her loud yet fervent grumbling, Eva stared at her with her dark eyes glistening in tears. She lowered down her head with a guilt-stricken face and tapped her feet, palpitating in anxiety.


    "Eva, think rationally! Zeus is not the only man left in this world! If you can''t accept him...why don''t you let him go? It''s not sinful to seek one''s own happiness! It''s not immoral to seek a fresh start! Why don''t you give your heart a new chance and meet that man? Trust me, I won''t set you up with any weird guy! Mr. Eric is really a good man and your broken heart will be mended beautifully if you stay with him!" Her voice sounded very ardent as she mumbled it aloud, desperately trying hard to convince her for the blind date.


    "I...I can''t do it, Clara... I need some time to make myself prepared for it..." She murmured anxiously, lowering her gaze down from her.


    Staring intensely at her for a few seconds, she took a deep breath in and stood up from the chair. Eva was still sitting nervously and looking at her, she muttered her remark.


    "Eva...if you keep holding onto your pain like this, you will forever live with regret. We are solely responsible for choosing our happiness. Don''t deprive yourself of seeking it. Mr. Eric will be waiting for you past evening in the Marino cafe. I leave it to your decision whether to meet him or not... I won''t force you, Eva. I will head to my work now. See you later, bestie." Her facial eloquence looked a bit sad as she turned her face away, slowly walking towards the entrance.


    She still sat all numb on the chair alone facing her eyes down which were glistening in tears. As soon as she walked past the door, a drop of warm tear dripped down the ridge of her nose as she clenched her fist, helplessly.


    ......


    It was almost 7.30 pm. Sitting inside his giant cabinet, burying his face within files and his iPad, Zeus was staring at some papers flicking a pen in his hand. He wasn''t aware of the time it was already and solely focusing on his work.


    Since the day Eva walked out of his life, the majority of his time he was investing in the office. Most of his time he was devoted to his work. With a vague excuse that keeping himself busy would help his broken heart to mend itself, he was pushing himself too hard. But not even a single moment passed by when he didn''t reminisce of the one he silently cherished in his heart.


    His time schedules were messed up. He had developed a severe addiction to smoking to cope up with his inner torments which were directly affecting his mental and physical health. While shifting his gaze up from the iPad screen, he grabbed the packet of cigarette lying beside him on the table and picked out one from it.


    KNOCK KNOCK!


    When he was about to lit up the cigarette with his metal wolf-head crafted lighter, the sudden door-knock on the door of his cabinet bothered him a bit too much. He was already in a bad mood since the morning and the interruption further elevated her grumpy temper.


    "Damn...now who is here to piss me off?" He wondered, frowning his eyebrows while removing the cigarette from his mouth.

 Chapter 149 - Who Is He?

    "Come in."


    An annoyed, cold sonorous voice escaped from his pale, roseate lips while he fixed his eyes at the door.


    Clutching the doorknob open, a tall, slender and gracious lady walked inside, tapping her feet quite boldly. She was no one other than Ivory, dressed up in a violet-colored muslin silk embroidered chiffon gown, side slit from the knee. Her shimmering dark brown hairs were wavering down her shoulder and even with minimal make-up on, she looked none less than a goddess.


    But Zeus wasn''t pleased to find her there at such an unexpected time. Frowning his eyebrows, he grabbed the packet of cigarette again before asking, "why are you here?"


    She quietly walked in wearing those dark purple heels and rested on the chair just opposite him. "You are still working? Gosh, it''s almost dinner time--"


    "I said why are you here?" Liting up the cigarette with his wolf-head curved metal lighter, he sounded heavier.


    She continued looking at him with her deep brown pupils dilated wider. Taking a heavy sigh out, she reciprocated, "Zeus we are meeting almost after 10 days. Aren''t you glad to see me even if it''s a little bit?"


    "Ivory if you are here for some casual talk, I suggest you can come back later. I have some work to finish right now." He turned his chair a bit left towards his laptop, averting his gaze away from her, intentionally trying to act much blunt.


    Her facial expressions immediately became quite surly as she sharply glared at him for a few seconds. Clenching her fist and trying to calm down her exasperation, she responded intensely, "I am not here to waste your time. I guess you are too distracted to even remember that today is your parents'' marriage anniversary. They want us to accompany them to dinner at the Grand Dior hotel. That''s why I am here to pick you up and head towards the place."


    A bit surprised at her exclamation, Zeus paused for a moment and grabbed his mobile right next to him on the table. Indeed, there were countless missed calls from his mother but his mind was too disoriented that he even neglected to pick it up.


    Along with a huge sigh, he emitted white fumes of smoke before crashing the cigarette into the astray. Caressing his hair, he seemed a bit perplexed.


    Sharply, Ivory picked a glance at the astray, and it was almost full piled up with the remainings of his cigarettes. Frowning her face, she whined at him, "it seems that you are smoking too often, Zeus. The whole room reeks of the absurd smell. The environment isn''t amicable at all!"


    Keeping his tight-lipped silence, he stood up from the chair and grabbed the suit coat hanging on the metallic stand. Wearing it over, he declaimed in a grumpy tone, "Then we should head to that place first. I guess, they must be already going impatient for me now. Let''s go." Intensely he walked straight out of his cabinet leaving her behind sitting on the chair. His neglectful behavior was hurting her brutally and making a frowned grimace, she took inhaled her wrath in trying to soothe herself.


    .


    Both of them were seated next to each other at the back seat of his car. An awkward, extremely intense silence persisted between them as if they were at a loss of words of communicating with one another. Slowly, she stole a small glimpse at Zeus who was gawking out of the window, watching the night scenario holding a glum expression all over his face. His face was pale, his puffy eyes looked tiresome and he was breathing quite heavily. She was unknowingly lost in him, without even realizing it for a few minutes.


    "Zeus, are you even eating properly?" She chose to break the silence first, asking him.


    He didn''t shift his gaze at her, instead kept looking at the scenario slightly nodding his head.


    "You have developed deep swollen eye bags beneath. Your face looks haggard, filled with sadness. It seems as if you aren''t eating or sleeping and just pushing yourself to become too exhausted to even realize it." She whispered, scrunching her brows in concern.


    A small sad smirk escaped his lips as he huffed out aloud. "C''mon, it''s not like I am going to die off I just skip my meals for a few days." He reciprocated thinly.


    "Are you intentionally trying to die?" Her voice crooked a little, sounding very deep.


    He stayed silent at her sharp query, holding the sad smirk leniently. "I wish...I could..." He wondered.


    "Zeus, it seems that you have lost the will of your life. She has been away from your life for merely a few days and you are already so hollow! What would have been happened if this ill-fated relationship continued and merely after a couple of years she died? You do know, that humans don''t get to live a long life like us! What could possibly have happened to you, then? Weren''t you living before meeting her? How could your entire life depends on her?" Her eyes were blazing in sadness, looking irked at him she grumbled her anticipations.


    He still stayed still, lowering his gaze down from the window. A wide smile covered his grimace but the smile was deeply indulged with agony.


    "Before meeting her...I was just existing since we are destined to a long life. But...after meeting her, I learned how to live my life. She taught me to find joy in the simplest things. She taught me how to survive a hectic crowd in a public bus...or consuming a bitter medicine despite resisting hard! She was my inner peace which has hold my serenity against roughness.


    Now...when she is gone... I...am back to my life where I just used to exist...I don''t want to imagine the life I had to lead without her in the future...but as long as I have her memories cherished in my heart, I can keep existing." His voice sounded thick and dense, reflecting the immense pain he was holding within.


    Ivory didn''t utter a single word anymore and turned her neck around, shifting her gaze outside the window. She took a deep huff of breath in and clenching the gown over her lap, she tried to stay still holding her patience within, intending to quell the discussion.


    ..........


    Marino Cafe:


    At the extreme right corner of the cafe, on the table placed right next to the giant glass walls of the cafe, a handsome, well-groomed charming man wearing a navy blue suit was peering on a weekly magazine holding it in his arms. His shimmering deep brown hair was properly styled with gel and with the bright dazzling face, he was attracting the attention of quite a number of women present within the cafe. The man seemed calm and composed, sipping his coffee and glancing at the magazine while sometimes taking a peek at his wristwatch.


    "Err, are you Mr. Eric?"


    A modest, cordial voice interrupted him from behind. Quickly he closed the magazine and turned his gaze behind, looking a bit impatient.


    Dressed up in a deep brown laced full sleeve top with a black down the knee-length skirt, holding an anxious face Eva was standing right behind him while gripping a brown handbag. Her hair was tucked behind her ears clipped with a small hairpin and overall she was looking an absolute beauty in the simplest attire.


    "Yes. Are you Miss Eva Ricci?" The man smiled widely at her, with a wide smile prevailing on his face.


    "Oh." Nervously she walked towards the chair and pulled it out taking the seat opposite to him. "I am sorry, I am a bit late in arriving here." She placed her phone over the table and spoke coherently in a gentle voice.


    "It''s fine that you have arrived at least." Peeking a glance at the wristwatch, he whispered in a meek tone. "For a moment, I was dubious whether you would actually arrive or not."


    Trying to project an awkward smile, she softly nodded her head. She was indeed 1.5 hours late for the date but watching his cordial reaction, she tried to act at ease.


    "Would you like to have a coffee? Do you prefer strong or mild?"


    "I...I am fine. Thank you."


    "Miss Ricci, you don''t have to be so nervous around me." He tossed a kind smile at her and straightened his back against the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don''t have to act like we are on a date. Just think of me as your acquaintance and try to loosen up a little. Don''t be so dense." His mild tone sounded quite soothing while he was trying his very best to tranquilize her anxious self.


    All of a sudden her phone screen blinked once with the advent of an unknown text message. Quickly she took a glimpse at it and as soon as the screen flashed out, Eric could evidently see her wallpaper consisting of both Zeus and her. Staring at the picture for a few seconds, he frowned his eyebrows before raising his chin up to look at her.


    "Who is he, Miss Ricci?" A stern query in a deep voice escaped his lips.


    -----------


    **Hello, my dear readers,


    From the past few days, I am encountering quite a number of my readers who seem disappointed with the flow of the story. As a writer, I have already thought of my plot and every little thing I am designing here has a definite reason behind it. If you all have trusted me till now, I hope you will realize my reason very soon too!


    It breaks my heart to face your disappointed criticism because right now you all don''t know what''s gonna happen ahead. Please bear with me and watch it on your own how the story directs.


    I bet, you won''t be disappointed very soon. Right now, I am getting very few votes from you all which is also demotivating my strength.


    Please keep voting and please keep cheering for me. Thank you.

 Chapter 150 - Memory Lane

    Startled at his sudden blunt question, Eva quickly turned the phone screen off. Looking a bit palpitated, she lowered her eyes down and tried to answer him holding a straight face, "umm...He...He is..." Her voice trailed off looking very hesitant and fidgeting her fingers.


    Eric has been always a sharp observer and quite evidently he noticed her perplexity in answering his query. The ambiance in between them was turning out to be quite uncomfortable and he could sense it. Taking a small sigh out, he chose to divert the mood into a lighter one.


    "Leave that question, Miss Ricci. Pardon me, I didn''t intend to make you much stiffer around me. Let''s talk about something else." Projecting a kind simper in his puffy lips, he sounded much cordial.


    Eva could understand it distinctly that he had already sensed her troubled silence regarding his query. Making a modest face, she nodded her head silently but her inner palpitations were growing much worse.


    Eric ordered two black coffees for both of them to continue their date. Soon enough their orders were placed and politely he handed the coffee over to her. He was indeed a gentleman accurately performing the table etiquettes even when she wasn''t paying exact attention to him.


    Just on the table next to them, a cute teenage couple was having their sweet date. Their laughs and giggles were distracting her a few times as she peeped at them a few times.


    "Miss Ricci, I guess, Miss Clara has already told you much about me. But, I would like to introduce myself to you and I want you to do the same. Since today we are meeting for the very first time." Taking a small sip on his coffee, he further reciprocated.


    "Ye-Yes." She nodded.


    Eric started to define himself from the very start of his career in that Multinational Company. His voice sounded very genial and tender. But, Eva wasn''t paying proper attention to him since her mind was distracted towards the couple who were having slices of Blueberry cheesecake and Americano for their date. They were feeding the cake to each other using the forks and had a blissful smile on their faces, looking deep down in each other''s eyes.


    ...


    [Memory flashback]


    "Zeus, do you like this cake? You know, it''s my favorite combination. The cake tastes too good here!" Watching him taking a small chomp of blueberry cheesecake by sitting opposite to him in a cafe, she murmured fondly, looking at him with her love-filled eyes.


    "Yes. It''s good. It even tastes better when I am with you." Tossing a meek smile, he happily nodded in response.


    "Gosh...you are such a flirty! You know...sometimes I wonder...if I am really your first!" She rested her chin over her palm, fixing her deep gaze on him.


    A small smirk appeared on his lips as he was cutting a small slice of the cake. "Why? Are you skeptical about me?" He reciprocated.


    "No...I mean...You are perfect in every aspect. I am surprised by the fact that you had never fallen in love with any other woman before! That''s why... I am kind of...possessive about you, Zeus. I don''t want any other woman to hear the things you relate to me. Umm, am I sounding very selfish?"


    "Haha!" He chuckled out at her troubled answer, covering his mouth with his broad palm while snickering.


    "What? Why are you laughing? Do I sound that awkward?"


    "No... You are cute." Softly chuckling, he mumbled his answer resting his chin over his palm while staring at him.


    At his sudden answer, Eva was flustered shy, and trying hard to control her gummy smile, she reciprocated further, "what are you talking about---"


    "Everything you say or do... I find it damn cute. You are such a cutesy that I want to run away somewhere far holding your arm tight."


    "Are we a teenage couple or what? You are such a cheesy boy..."


    "But I have only reserved my cheesy side for you, Eva." Gripping a slice of the cheesecake with the fork, his voice sounded a little heavier than the casual tone he was expressing with. "You are my first and you will be the last woman I ever tell these things to."


    Hearing his deep sonorous proclamation, Eva silently stared at him for a few seconds in awe. His eyes were shimmering with a bold resolution and gawking at him, a small pleased smile escaped her lips.


    "I know I am your first...But...How can you say I will be your last?"


    "Because I will never allow myself to fall for a woman who isn''t you. I just want you to stay by my side...forever." Stretching his arm to feed her the slice of cake, he replied fondly.


    Her heart was fluttering in bliss hearing his passionate confirmation and she smiled widely. "Then do you promise to feed only me with cheesecake in our lifetime?" She whispered.


    "I do. You will be the only one, Eva."


    Gleefully assuring her query, he tossed a tender sneer when she chomped the piece of cake from the fork. Both of them giggled as their eyes met while holding each other''s hand on the table as the epitome of their enamored promise.


    .....


    "Miss Ricci? Hello? Miss...Ricci?"


    "Huh?"


    All of a sudden, she winced at his loud, dense call which revived her senses back. She was lost in the memory down the lane, forgetting about the bitter reality. As she blinked her eyes a few times, she saw he was intensely gazing at her looking very concerned.


    "Miss Ricci, are you alright?" He inquired in a stiff note.


    Taking a small sigh out, she nodded her head, "yes."


    "No. You are not okay at all. Why are you pushing yourself too hard to stay alright?" He tossed a quick blunt interrogation, fixing his intense gaze on her.


    She was lowering her eyes down and with his sharp query, she raised her chin up to look back at him being baffled.


    "P-Pardon?"


    "You weren''t even listening to what I was talking to you all this time. If you are really alright, why your eyes are teary?" Crossing his arms over his chest, he sounded a bit glum.


    "Huh?" Eva was so lost in her thoughts that she didn''t even realize her eyes were watery! Quickly she tossed a glance at the side table where the sweet teenage couple was sitting on and saw the table was empty already! The couple was gone...just like the blissful days of her life were gone too, leaving behind the bitter reality to endure.


    She lowered her teary eyes down and a drop of tear dripped down her cheek. Quickly she wiped her eyes grabbing a tissue while Eric was staring holding a poignant gaze towards her.


    "You didn''t even touch the coffee that I had ordered for you, Miss Ricci. Yet, you still call yourself alright?"


    "I...I am sorry for...making the ambiance...uncomfortable---"


    "No, you are honest this time, Miss Ricci." Before she could utter her words, he interrupted in a deep penetrating voice staring at her glum eyes.


    "Honest?"


    "Though you tried too hard to toss a fake smile, to act calm and persevered, you weren''t happy at all in this date and it is evident in your grimace, Miss Ricci. You didn''t make me uncomfortable, but after all this time, you are finally honest with your emotions now." He mumbled.


    She was awe-struck at his ideal representation of the inner turmoil she was fighting inside. Her throat choked with the surge of crying out loud, but she held it in lowering her eyes down from him in guilt.


    ...............


    "Stop the car."


    All of a sudden, shrieking out in a loud pitch, Zeus hoarsely commanded the driver to halt the car in the middle of the road while his eyes were fixed outside. He immediately obeyed his command and clutched the break suddenly. His unexpected hoarse reaction startled Ivory too as she shifted her eyes towards him.


    "Hey, what''s wrong? Why did you stop the car?" She sounded a bit bewildered.


    Zeus sat still as a rock, gawking outside the window with a sullen gaze in his dark eyes. His reactions were odd and kind of skeptical for her. She chose to lean her head a bit towards the window curiously to watch what he was looking at.


    All of a sudden, she rolled her eyeballs in awe startled at the sight she ogled at. Zeus was sadly gazing at Eva through the glass walls of the cafe where she was seated on the corner table, along with a man opposite to her.


    She couldn''t accurately notice the man she was sitting with as the portion of the glass wall in his side was blurred as the design. But Eva was vividly noticeable through the glass which tossed a canny smirk on her lips.


    "Woah! What a sight! Isn''t this your Eva, Zeus?" Her tone sounded a bit tantalizing as she was gawking at her through the car.


    He sat numb without uttering a single word to her response, locking his eyes outside the window at the glass wall.


    "Just look at this traitor! It''s been barely a few days since she ditched you and yet she found herself a new man already! Woah! Such a rat! And here...you are ruining yourself all over for her?" She scoffed at him.

 Chapter 151 - Hunch

    "Stop it."


    All of a sudden, in an irked cold voice, Zeus dropped the anchor on her consistent charges on Eva, which pretty much surprised Ivory to a greater extent. She flinched, shifted her gaze towards him, and grumbled out, "what?"


    "I said stop your nonsense! Stop talking shit about her!" Roaring in a deep voice, he glared back at her.


    "You are telling me to stop? Woah I can''t believe it, Zeus! That sly fox found herself a new man throwing you away and yet...you are grumbling at me to stop?" Looking exasperated from the core, she hissed at him.


    "She didn''t found herself a new man. Stop blaming her so cluelessly!" He snapped aloud.


    "What?"


    "I can see it in her eyes!" This time had a bit of quiver which evidently pointed out his hidden agony deep down in his heart. His eyes were gleaming with a sad gaze, but he had a strong impactful expression on his face while sounding intense. "The glow...the happiness...the serenity she used to bear in her eyes every time she looked at me, can you see it in her anymore? She...She looks all hollow inside! She didn''t even smile at the guy for once but with me...she used to had a broad smile on her face! How can you conclude about her so easily when I can look straight into her heart?"


    Hearing his loud, bold proclamation, Ivory swirled her eyeballs in awe and tossed a canny smirk at him. "Woah! It''s so vivid right now that you are indeed a naive non-human beast from your behavior, Zeus. Unlike humans, who would never even bother to trust someone so blindly even if they were in love with the person!"


    "The epitome of love is always built on trust, Ivory. Though...after finding out about me, Eva may not believe in me anymore but...I...still do trust and love her." Choking his sharp aching arising in his heart, he sounded very firm averting his eyes from her out of the window to have a peek at Eva, painfully.


    Sitting numb looking extremely irked at his declarations, she took a heavy sigh out and diverted her eyes away from him. "So what you are gonna do, Mr. Romeo? Will you forever keep defending her right like this when she will move ahead with her life kicking you out forever?" Her tone seemed a bit tantalizing.


    For a few seconds, he held back his silence and continued looking at his beloved one from the other side of the path. "I won''t budge in her life even if she finds happiness with some another man... All I want her is to be happy... But, I won''t hold it back whenever anyone talks shit out of her, not even you, Ivory!"


    "Enough, Zeus!" She scowled her voice in a fury, which reverberated sharply inside the deluxe car they were sitting in. Her dark brown pupils were transformed into illuminant red in color, her jowls were quivering and she looked almost ready to throw a fit of anger at him.


    "We have known each other since our childhood! I know each and every little thing about you, Zeus! Our friendship has crossed even a period of 100 years which isn''t even comparable to a human''s age! And yet...for this mere woman whom you barely met a month ago, you are on the edge of ruining our friendship? How could you change all of a sudden? What spell that wench has cast on you that you can''t think anything rationally anymore!" She shrieked.


    "Exactly, you are right, Ivory." His tone sounded cold as ice yet very intense while he looked straight into her eyes. From his gesticulation, it seemed as if he was fuming in a hidden rage inside. "All these fights and turmoils are doing nothing well and ruining the pure friendship we cherished once... That''s why I think I can''t cope up with all this shit anymore.


    Let''s confess every single thing before mom and dad tonight and end the agitations growing between us. No matter what, I can''t portray this fake act of engagement anymore. I will tell them everything about my and Eva''s relationship and...you will be free from all this trouble." His sonorous tone sounded stern and quite rigid.


    "What if I don''t want that?" Her eyes returned to their usual human form and were shimmering in tears, gazing at him painfully. "You may not care about your life! But do you even know what can happen if the truth comes out? You may be imprisoned in the realm of hellfire by our ancestors for the sin of scoring our pious hematite and ruby for a mere human! I...I am doing all these fucking things just for the sake of your life! I even killed Mr. Tylor to keep it a secret forever that the human had stepped in our mansion for you--"


    "What?" With the surprising revelation, he swirled his pupils gawking at her in awe. "You...killed Mr. Tylor?"


    "Yes! I had to kill someone of our own pack just for your sake! He was the only witness and...without my will I had to terminate him just to keep you safe from any dreadful inquisition! None...None of our alpha has ever committed the sin of falling in love with a human except you! Why do you never realize the road you are opting to walk on will bring you nothing but destruction! And...all these I am doing because I fucking love you, damnit! I have always loved you with my whole heart! I can''t see you ruining your life for that human! I just can''t--" Her voice choked while warm tears weighing her emotional upheaval rolled down her eyes.


    He stayed calm without uttering a single word in reciprocated, looking at her glum eyes silently. Keeping his anticipated silence for a while, he took a deep breath out and lowered his eyes down. "Ivory, I know you are doing all these for the sake of protecting me before the pack, but you mustn''t be doing all these! You can''t wrap it over for your whole life. Someday, this truth will be exposed before the world. I have committed a beautiful sin and I am bold enough to accept whatever the outcome will be...


    Ivory, you can''t expect the same kind of effort you are putting on from that person when it comes to love. I have always treasured you as my friend and the one I have solely in my heart is Eva. So...before our relation turns more bitter, let''s confess everything today before them." He mumbled.


    "No." She wiped her eyes, glowering her eloquence and sounding frigid as ice. "I will never commit a single thing which can put you in any danger. I will never admit it on my own and leave you all alone!"


    "Then if we can''t confess it today, I am not going to the dinner party." Crossing his arms over his chest, he sat straightening his back against the seat and staring in the forward direction.


    "So is that all you want?"


    "Yes."


    "Fine. I am getting off your car. Goodnight." Clutched opening the knob, she hoarsely stepped out of the car, holding her immense trepidation inside. Moreover, she slammed the door back quite aloud indicating the grudge she was fuming with and started walking in the opposite direction from him.


    Zeus sat still inside, crossing his arms and for the final time looked at Eva from afar. Taking a deep sigh out, he pulled over the window glass and firmly ordered the driver, "drive me to the mansion."


    .....


    THUMP! THUMP!


    All of a sudden, Eva''s heart throbbed real hard with an intense palpitation arising in her body. In the blink of a second, she turned her face and looked outside the glass wall towards the giant street scrunching her eyebrows. Suddenly, her chin was quivering a little as she looked quite restless.


    She saw a big magnificent black car drove away from her sight as she looked outside. Fidgeting anxiously, she tried to take a glance of the car till it disappeared from her gaze but it was tough to view staying within the walls.


    "What''s wrong with me? Why did I have the sudden hunch that...Zeus was here? But...how can he possibly come here? Am I going really crazy?" She wondered.


    "Miss Ricci?" Eric called her out in a deep intense voice while she was desperately gazing out on the street. Retrieved back into her reality with his call, she chose to be calm.


    "Yes?"


    "I have asked you several questions already, but you didn''t answer any of them. It...really seems that you didn''t have any willing from the beginning to come here as my date." He murmured with a sad smirk.


    "No...It''s not like that, Mr. Eric...I...I can explain..."


    "To be honest, Miss Clara had described a lot of things about you which I admired to hear, Miss Ricci. She told me that you are a strong-willed, joyous lady but...I am finding you the exact opposite of what I have heard about you. Right now, in front of me...you are a woman who is numb, completely empty from inside, dubious about your own emotions, and trying hard to put on a fake mask of serenity. Aren''t you?"


    She was listening to his declamations which evidently pointed out the inner turmoil she was enduring.


    "Just a few moments ago I asked you about the man you have in your wallpaper. You chose to stay silent, but your eyes screamed out aloud. You really love that guy the most in the world...don''t you?" He whispered to her, tossing a kind smile.

 Chapter 152 - Thief?

    Raising his chin up, looking at him with her tear-filled, dark sullen gaze she held her anticipated silence for a few seconds. Eric was intensely gazing straight into her eyes, owning his small sad smirk and crossing his arms over his chest.


    "You do love him so much, don''t you?" Watching her all mute, he repeated his words again.


    "How...do you...know..." Her voice trailed off as if a surge of crying out aloud choked her throat.


    "Look at the picture and monitor the smile you had on your face when you were with clicking the picture with him. From the moment you are here, I can''t even see a glimpse of this beautiful wide smile on your face, Miss Ricci." He conversed, taking a deep huff of breath out, shrugging his broad shoulder.


    Holding a guilt-stricken expression on her face, she clenched her fist and lowered her eyes down from him. She was clutching her skirt on her lap, keep her quivering lips silent.


    "Miss Ricci, why are you pretending so hard to act okay when you are absolutely not? I won''t lie, it definitely irked me when I saw your screen wallpaper. But... I still deliberately wanted to see that smile of bliss on your face that has disappeared completely. I realized, the only person who can make your heart happy is...that guy. Isn''t it?"


    Hearing his deep heartfelt answer, Eva couldn''t suppress her tears anymore and burst into tears, wailing out bitterly. She covered her mouth with her hand, lowered her head down, and whimpered tearfully, "I...I...am sorry...hic... You...You are right...I...I am not happy at...all! I am not okay from the inside! I...I still love him... I mi...miss him so much that...It...It hurts me so bad...hic..."


    "Finally...Finally, you are honest with yourself, Miss Ricci." Watching her wrecking down into tears, he tenderly laid a soft white handkerchief right in front of her on the table, seeming a bit sad for her. Neither she touched his handkerchief, nor she raised her chin above. Lowering her head down, she continued grieving heavily.


    "Loving someone truly doesn''t mean the way of destiny would be always full of roses and bloom. Sometimes, loving someone also means you gotta take a few steps back from each other to know what your heart actually wants! Either the two of you can one another more deeply than earlier...or you can grow toxic towards each other. That''s the only outcome we will be always left with."


    He was whispering in a soft tone, looking deep down at her grimace which was facing downwards. "In your case, I guess, both of you might have a bad breakup. But you must have realized until now, that the only person who can be the reason for your true happiness is that person, confined in your screen and also in your heart. And that''s why, I also think you shouldn''t have come here, Miss Ricci."


    "I...didn''t want to disappoint...Clara by rejecting her offer brutally... After all, all she wanted is to... see me happy...hic... For my whole life...I have been nothing but... a disappointment towards others...I...I have even hurt the man I love in a brutal way a person could! Although...I still know... he will choose to bear his...every pain alone without bothering me once... And...that''s what is breaking me from inside...


    I love him so much...but I can''t run towards him... I feel I am...tied with unseen shackles of pain around my feet and...that''s why...I am striving hard...to find the answer within myself... I am broken from inside... I want him back but...I just can''t muster the courage... I can''t..." She was groaning in pain, wiping her tear-soaked face lowering her eyes down.


    "There must be some grave reason behind your anticipation, Miss Ricci. But...you have to honest with yourself. If your heart can''t be happy around others, you will never be able to love someone again apart from that man.


    If you want to start over or walk away forever, the choice will be solely dependent on you. But...you can''t fool yourself with lies and consolations. Love doesn''t work that way." His proclamation sounded quite impulsive and sentimental towards her feelings.


    Nodding her head in obeyance, Eva took a deep breath in and raised her chin up to look at him vividly. Softly, she tossed a small sad smile on her face but this time, her sneer was pure and sincere which he could feel. Eric smiled back at her a bit wistfully and chose to stay numb for a while, looking at each other.


    ....


    Soon, both of them stepped out of the cafe in gentle, cordial footsteps, walking right next to each other. While they reached outside, both of them stood opposite, facing each other much bravely than being awkward.


    "So, Miss Ricci...I hope you will never attend blind dates like this till the day your heart would finally choose to heal. Be the strong-willed woman you were in your life and...always be honest to your feelings." He was murmuring with a meek simper on his face, putting his hands back into the pocket and gawking at her.


    "Thank you, Mr. Eric...for making me realize that I wasn''t being honest with myself at all... I...I will keep your advice in mind and will never attend blind dates unless I will really be able to move on with my heart." She reciprocated, sounding much comfortable around him than before.


    "Alright, then should I call a cab for you?"


    "No...it''s not much far from the place I am staying in. Again...I am sorry, Mr. Eric."


    "That''s fine, you don''t have to be sorry so many times. I feel...I am being constantly rejected by you in that way, haha." A modest chuckle escaped from his lips as he scraped his neck, trying to avert his gaze from her. She smirked at his humble gesture and politely nodded her head.


    After waving their arms at each other, both of them started to walk away on the contrary path, this time holding a pleasant appearance on their eloquence. Eric halted his motion for a second and took a glance back at her from behind while she was strolling slowly a few steps far from him. Tossing a heavy huff of breath out, he looked away from her.


    "Mr. Eric?"


    All of a sudden, he was startled by the sudden call from her and quickly peeked his glance back. Eva was standing and gazing at him with a fond smile, gripping her handbag tighter.


    "Yes?"


    "You are a good man, Mr. Eric. I hope, you find someone who will be good enough for you too." She whispered her kind wish and waved her hand at him softly.


    Eric stood still watching her with a smile and nodding his head in response. Slowly she turned around and kept heading in the forward direction. He was gawking at her from behind and took a deep breath inside.


    "She is a nice woman too. I wonder... if I am gonna stay single forever at this rate..." Wondering inside with a soft chuckle, he took a step forward but all of a sudden, his feet halted as his eyes ran down the ground, startling him hard.


    On the ground at a distance far from the cafe, there was lying a purple shimmering small ladies'' purse which looked quite expensive enough at the first glance. Curiously he bent down and picked up the purse, impertinently gazing at it.


    But soon, his eyeballed surged wider in shock as he looked at the brandmark and he gulped his saliva anxiously.


    "A Gucci purse? I doubt...it will be crazy expensive judging from the fashionable look! But... what is this purse doing here lying in the middle of the road? I wonder...if someone has dropped it by mistake... Damn, that owner must be so perplexed right now..." He was mumbling all by himself, gazing at the purse sternly.


    .


    "HEY!"


    Suddenly, he heard a loud, vicious roar of a woman from behind which flinched him harder. Bewildered at the loud tone, he quickly shifted his gaze behind and it seemed as if his heart paused for a moment.


    Flaunting her shimmering beautiful wavy hair down her shoulder in the night breeze, Ivory was standing behind looking like an ethereal goddess, utmostly beautiful. Eric was staring at her dazzling bright perfectly crafted grimace keeping his eyes wide open in awe. For a moment, his heart seemed to stop beating when she gallantly walked a few steps towards him.


    "How dare you touch my purse, you damn thief!" She grumbled out furiously.


    "What? Thief?" Reviving his senses back at her loud accusation, he gulped his saliva anxiously. "Do you mean by this purse? Is it yours?"


    "Don''t try to be freaking innocent! You picked my purse trying to steal it away and now acting like a fool? Wait...I am gonna sue you!" She roared at him, impulsively glaring with her fierce eyes.

 Chapter 153 - Bad For My Heart

    "Wh-What? Sue me?" Startled at her fiery response, he blurted out his words in awe, scrunching his brows anxiously.


    "Yes! I will sue you! I saw you with my own eyes when you picked it up from the ground! You were definitely trying to steal it right away, don''t you? Give it back!" Furiously snapping at him in a loud voice, she almost seized the handbag straight from his arms leaving him more palpitated.


    "He-Hey, wait a minute! I guess you are getting it all wrong! I didn''t pick it up with such a nasty intention." He was nervously trying to defend himself, looking a bit restless.


    "Then why did you pick it up when no one even bothered to glance at it?"


    "Because...I was thinking of submitting it to a cop so that...the owner can find it! I was wondering that the owner would be too worried about losing such an expensive thing! That''s why...I just wanted to help!" His deep voice sounded a bit ruffled, while he was deliberately defending his pure intentions.


    Ivory quietly gazed at him for a while and a blunt, canny smirk escaped her slender, roseate lips. "Woah! Do you think you can fool me with such a deceptive response? Do I look like an air-head to you?" She grumbled.


    "I am not lying...Since others didn''t bother about and I intended to pick it up to help you...how can you be skeptical about my intentions?" He was frowning his face, opposing her boldly.


    "Why should I trust a human like you?" Narrowing her gaze, she fussed at him.


    "Human like me? Then do you want to trust animals?" Blinking his eyelashes in wonder, he reciprocated back.


    "Whatever! I don''t even want to converse with a thief like you! Wait, I should inform it myself to the cops!" Suddenly, she grabbed her phone and impulsively tried to dial a number.


    All panicked at her furious response, he took a step closer to her and tried to grab her arm intending to stop her from calling the cops. "Please wait a minute, you are getting it all wrong! Do I look like a thief to you?"


    Swirling her eyeballs in rage, she hissed at him, "don''t you dare touch my arm--eeekkk!"


    All of a sudden, her sharp long toe-heel slipped on its own, and losing the balance she was about to fall on the ground hitting her head hard. Quickly, Eric grabbed her tightly by the waist, holding her in his broad arms. He protected her from falling down and intensely kept looking at her. Grasping his suit with the sudden stumble, she seemed a bit startled but for the first time, their eyes tightly locked on each other.


    Resting in his arms, she looked like a frail woman, soft as a feather. As both of their faces were in close proximity to the other one, unexpectedly, his heart started to beat like crazy as if it could burst anytime out of his chest. His jowls started to quiver and while locking gaze with her, his feet started to temblor anxiously. He started breathing quite heavily and clasped his grip around her small waist.


    "Why is my heart pounding so fast? Why am I feeling so nervous? Damn...her cologne...smells so good... She is so close to me right now...why do I feel like I am going crazy? Calm down...please calm down my heart! Don''t beat so fast! I am gonna get a heart attack at this rate!" He was mumbling inside his mind gulping his saliva anxiously.


    "Get the fuck away from me!!" Suddenly, she shoved him away from her thrusting him with her elbow and shrieking in a loud voice. She was catching the attention of a few passersby who were whispering among themselves watching these two.


    Getting rid of his clasp, she scowled her face angrily while he seemed more concerned than ever.


    "Why the fuck you held me in your arms? How dare you!"


    "But...I just saved you from falling down! You stumbled on your own and how can you blame me for protecting you from tripping?"


    "I hate it when humans touch me! It irks me so much!" Glowering her fiery eyes at him, she was gnashing her jowls in anger.


    "What''s wrong with her? Why is she rebuking me so unnecessarily? And why does she is always mentioning humans?" Wondering inside his mind, he made a fretful face before responding to her.


    "I am sorry if you felt uncomfortable that I pulled you so suddenly...and from now on, I won''t touch you without your consent... No touching, okay?


    And... I really didn''t want to steal your purse because if it was my intention...I would have already run away with it rather than standing here in front of you. Madam... Not all humans carry an evil intention. So...you can be a bit less angry around me." His voice reverberated softly while he was trying to explain his remark, staring at her with a fond sneer.


    "What the fuck? He looks like a complete dumb freak! I guess I mustn''t involve with him anymore..." Wondering inside her mind, slowly she took a step back and frowning her face, she muttered out, "I don''t wanna see your face anymore. Stay out of my sight from today!"


    "Huh?"


    Surprised at her harsh declaration, he saw her grumpily walking away from him tapping her heels aloud. While he was about to stop her from leaving, all of a sudden his phone rang out loud and quickly he took it out of his pocket turning it off.


    As soon as he put the phone back inside, he raised his chin up and got deadpanned in shock! Just a few steps apart she was walking away from him a second ago but when he looked in the direction again, it seemed as if she had disappeared in the thin air! All the passersby were minding their own business, everything as usual as before but only she was missing!


    "Wh...What is this? Did she just evaporate in the air? Did she really disappear?" Impulsively looking around him, get gulped his saliva while rolling his gaze. "Damn it! I didn''t even get to ask her name! I was thinking of asking for her contact information...Shit! Where did she go?"


    Mumbling on his own, for a few seconds he tried to glance around but his attempts were of no use. She was nowhere to be seen and hopelessly taking a heavy sigh out, he was sulking his face.


    "Damn that phone call! Why did it have to interrupt me at that time! If I didn''t look away from her...perhaps...I could have at least known her name... Now where I am gonna find her again? Shit...what a terrible luck I have..." Helplessly, he stared in the direction for a while before walking away with a glum face.


    "I have never encountered such a wild woman like her... Something was truly special about her! And...damn...my heart was almost about to burst out of my chest when I held her in my arms... That kind of emotion, I have never felt in my life. Is it possible...that...I already have a crush on her? Damn...I guess...she is really bad for my heart!" A small, canny smirk escaped his lips while he continued staring at the direction Ivory walked by.


    .....


    A bit far from Clara''s house, Eva was fidgeting anxiously standing under a giant streetlight, frowning her face. She looked intensely worried while squirming her toes in concern.


    "Damn it! Mr. Eric must have already told Clara everything about that awful date. Shit... She must be too frustrated with me. I don''t have the courage to go back to her house but...I don''t want to stay alone in my home. Arghh, what should I do?" Muttering in a perplexed tone, she was stroking her hair looking very intense. Biting her nails, her knees gave upon the strength and she squatted down on the ground, taking a deep sigh.


    "I have caused her so much trouble already... She must be having a hard time because of me... But... I am not ready to move on yet... Everything... Every little thing around reminds me of Zeus... I still love him with my whole heart... Then...How can I accept a different man when someone is still residing?


    Damn, how am I going to live with these painful memories? I am going back and forth tangled in between my emotions! I shouldn''t forget they are the ones who snatched my family from me... I am all alone in the world today just for those heinous creatures...


    Yet after knowing everything and...running away from him... Why does he still matter to me the most? Why do I remind of his smile whenever I close my eyes? How can I love a wolf...Why can''t I forget these painful memories? Darn..." Tugging her head inside her elbow groove, she was mumbling her worries stroking her hair in palpitation.


    .


    "Then...should I help you this time?" A deep, intense voice summoned while someone stood right in front of her, tapping bold footsteps.


    ...............


    ****Sometimes, we all just have to keep patience and wait for the right person to show up...who can actually change us for the good.


    So, please keep voting :)

 Chapter 154 - His Approach

    Hearing the sudden familiar voice at such an absurd hour in that desolated night street, Eva slowly raised her chin up from the ground. A person wearing black shimmering shoes was standing right in front of her and slowly she looked up above, only to become frozen in shock.


    Czar was gawking at her intensely, holding a small canny smirk on his lips. His eyes were glistening in the dark and putting his arms inside the pocket of the oversize coat he was wearing in, he took a step forward.


    "Should I help you, little duckling?" He whispered again in a bold voice, fanning himself.


    With a heavy jolt, Eva jumped up from the ground and retreated a few steps back from him quickly! Her eyes and expression looked appalled enough, gulping anxiously.


    "Wh-What are...you...doing he-here?" She was stuttering in fear peeking a glance around the street which seemed absolutely desolated at such a late hour.


    Watching her getting all panicked, he smirked uncannily and stared deep at her before tossing his blunt query. "Now that you know we are the werewolves...are you scared of me too?"


    She couldn''t give a straight answer to his question and frozen in fear, she continued gazing at his dark eyes. Czar was approaching closer to her slowly but he didn''t want to give her any more trauma than the ones she was already enduring. Halting his motion, he stood at a distance from him, smiling meekly.


    "I know...I have threatened you a few times, purposely, in our last meeting too. That time you weren''t a bit scared of me but now circumstances are different. However, to be honest, I had never intended to hurt you. Or in other words...I don''t want to hurt you, little duckling." He assured her.


    Peeping at him with her dubious eyes, she was silently gawking at him without uttering a single word in response. Battling her inner turmoil, she took a deep huff of breath wondering inside, "my heart wants to trust him...but...he is a wolf too... What if...he always had motives towards me? Or...his emotions are really honest towards me? What should I do?"


    "I can understand your palpitations, little duckling." While enunciating his words, he slowly raised his head up gawking at the night sky with a blank gaze in his eyes. "Standing in front of the animal whose lineages have destroyed your entire family... any human in your place would exactly treat us with extreme bitterness, or loathe us from their core.


    But...I am thankful enough, that you aren''t at least screaming or running away from me. I saw you baffled badly in your inner conflicts and thus came forward to offer my help. That''s all." He sounded much tender than his usual hoarse tone.


    His answer sounded much impulsive and comforted her anxiety a little. Taking a deep breath in, Eva mustered up a bit of courage and slowly took a step forward towards him. "Wh-What kind of help you want...to offer me?"


    "Should we sit somewhere and talk? I don''t think this is a suitable place to discuss all that stuff. I can teleport us to somewhere fitting--"


    "There is a public park a few meters away from here. We can talk there." She interrupted his suggestion quite intensely and pointed her finger in the opposite direction towards the street. A bit startled at her intervention, he didn''t try to object anymore and obediently nodded his head.


    ...


    Soon after an anticipated walk of 10 minutes, both reached the park which was indeed desolated at that time. While strolling, she had kept her constant distance from him being overly cautious. After arriving at the venue, both of them sat on a wooden public bench. While hoping on, Eva sat on the extreme end of the seat as she kept much distance in between them. Her mind was still skeptical around him and she seemed much fretful.


    Czar noticed her gesticulation and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Don''t worry too much, little duckling. It''s not like I am gonna attack you here."


    "The police station is just near the park, it''s not exactly desolated. If something happens, I can easily scream out for help." She was lost in her thoughts, fidgeting on her own.


    Czar peeked a small glance at her and indeed, sitting under the endless murky sky along with her seemed much soothing for him at that moment. The calm night breeze was waving her fine hair threads over her face and unknowingly, he was absolutely lost in her that he forgot to speak for a moment.


    "You...wanted to say something, Mr. Czar?" She sounded a little perplexed, glimpsing at him.


    "Ah, oh yes." Hearing her dense voice, he cleared his throat and quickly averted his eyes away from her to avoid eye contact. He didn''t want to get caught in the act by her and deliberately tried to act much composed while responding.


    "I...saw you that time, squatting down on the ground and regretting about painful memories... So I guess, things have really ended between you and Zeus, isn''t it?"


    Flinched at his intense question, she hastily glanced at his straight face gulping anxiously. Her arms were quivering and nervously, she lowered her gaze down.


    "Don''t worry, I can assure you that whatever will be discussed between us won''t be conveyed to Zeus. Your answers will be safe with me." He murmured taking a small peek at her while she was squirming.


    She stared at the ground for a few seconds holding her anticipation in. Gathering a bit of courage, she chose to break the silence persisting between them.


    "I... I was the one who ran away from him... Zeus... didn''t leave me and...kept standing there, all alone." She whispered in a broken voice, sounding remorseful.


    "Do you regret it now?"


    "I don''t know... I am just running away from my emotions and I do know it well...how much it must have wrecked him to watch me leave. Sometimes...my realistic situation seems unrealistic to me... I don''t understand why...and how did all these happen to me? I...do...not regret my decision but...it...it shatters me from inside whenever I think of it. I...I don''t know how long I will keep running with these painful memories condensing my mind! I am just...puzzled." She stroked her hair, sounding extremely thwarted.


    Czar was continually gazing at her silently and watching her getting all perplexed, it indeed hurt him too. He lowered his eyes down, choosing to be silent at her response.


    After a momentary numbness, she impertinently shifted her gaze towards him and asked first, "is...Zeus...doing well? How he has been?"


    "He is just badly broken like you." A cold, sullen voice escaped his lips as he continued his answer, raining his chin up at the sky. "Drowning himself in cigarettes and work, he is just trying to push himself too hard at the verge of breaking down completely. Since the day, you walked out of his life, he seems living like a corpse or...a walking dead to me."


    Eva had presumed this kind of answer from him but still, hearing it so loud and clear, throbbed her heart with immense agony. She clenched her lips and her throat was choked with the surge of wailing out.


    "But, it''s not entirely your fault, little duckling. I know, this period must have been weary and harsh for you too. But the truth was that both of you didn''t have a future together from the very beginning. I had tried to warn you several times...but you were persistent, so as it goes for him too.


    Both of you dared to defy destiny and fell in love with one another. But it was impossible from the very start... How can a werewolf and a human coexist in their parallel worlds? We treat humans as our prey and...our alpha...foolishly fell head over heels for a woman and for her...he had almost died once.


    You know...though I bear grudges against him somehow, I look at him with a pitiful gaze now. I had always envied him for having a family right next to his side but...somewhat I can realize now...that he has been always a lone leader..." He concluded with a heavy sigh, spilling the words from deep inside his heart.


    She couldn''t suppress her tears anymore and warm drops of emotions overweighed, dripped down the corner of her eyes as she painfully clenched her fist with a guilt-stricken expression.


    Czar didn''t expect her to start crying all of a sudden and looked badly panicked, he tried to console her, "h-hey? I...I didn''t want to make you cry... If...If my words have hurt you then I am sorry..."


    "You are right...hic... I knew...I knew that he has been always alone...yet still... I broke his heart so bad...hic... But...I feel as if, I have shackles of my past tied on my feet...which won''t let me escape my past..."


    Watching her sobbing so bitterly was breaking his heart. Slowly, he moved a bit closer to her on the bench and politely handed his handkerchief to wipe her tears, "please stop crying. I...I don''t like to watch you so sad... After all, I...I don''t want to make you sad." He murmured.


    "Why? Why are you worried about me...hic... I am a selfish woman...why do you still bother?" She whined tearfully.


    "No! You aren''t selfish! You are the kindest woman I ever met in my life and that''s why I like--" His intense voice trailed off before he could speak further.


    "You like?" She frowned her eyes inquisitively, grabbing the handkerchief from him.

 Chapter 155 - Restart Of Life!

    "I like you! I...do have feelings for you!! It''s the first... time I have been drawn towards a person in such a way... that... I tend to go berserk whenever I find you sad! My heart is aching to see you cry! I wish I could scream it right before you!" Inside his mind, he was mumbling aloud but helplessly, he had to keep his mouth tight-lipped without uttering any remark.


    "Mr. Czar, why did you stop?" She reciprocated again, staring at him in awe.


    "I...I meant that... Ze-Zeus like you so much... And...I know...in your heart...you carry the same emotions too..." Trying to avert the topic, he sounded a bit restless, fidgeting on his own.


    She lowered her eyes down and took a deep sigh of glum. "To be honest... I am still in love with him... And that''s what hurts me the most..." She mumbled bitterly in a deep voice. Her answer caused a sharp ache in his heart but holding a simper, he continued looking at her.


    "I am not in a position to meddle in but...all I can say that...both of you are torturing yourselves. You should know, there are some people who don''t want their loved ones to be sad." He whispered, averting his eyes from her, fidgeting his fingers as he indicated his emotions regarding her.


    But she couldn''t understand his unrequited feelings and continued fretting her grimace for Zeus.


    "I know about that. I...I must have caused a hard time for Clara too... But... I am wrecked by my own feelings... You know Mr. Czar, every time I...I try to imagine Zeus in that vicious werewolf form...I get chills over my body... I get terrified... I know...he is the one who didn''t even budge to sacrifice his life for me...but...I can''t forget the memories of that dark night embedded in my heart... Those...Those blazing eyes of the wolves who attacked our car... My parents...my brother...everyone was murdered by them... Hopefully...someday they would come for me too...


    I... I am reminded of that painful memory vividly every time I try to think about him...And yet my heart shudders in fear with accepting my feelings towards a wolf... I know I may sound selfish this time...But...my fear of wolves had been stirred up again from the day when I saw him in that form... I...just can''t cope up with the painful memories anymore... Even the moments we got to spend with each other appear right before my eyes whenever I try to forget about them and...it''s shattering my heart...


    I am running out of words to explain the pain that''s...too unbearable..." She clenched her skirt, sounding much distressed, lowering her gaze down towards the ground.


    Czar continued glancing at her from his side view momentarily and took a deep sigh out. He scrunched his eyebrows and reciprocated in a rugged voice, "that''s why... I wanted to ease your pain a bit..."


    His dubious response seemed a little startling for her as she quickly caught a glimpse at him. "Ease my pain?"


    "Those blissful memories that both of you cherished once, are the reason of your suffering today. So...you can probably restart your life again if the memories are gone, right?" He swirled his pupils, sounding much sonorous.


    "Wh-What?" Surprised at his extremely unexpected answer, Eva gulped her saliva and surged her pupils at him. "What d-do you mean?"


    Czar straightened his back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest before speaking. "Little duckling, don''t be surprised. Look, according to the law of the divinity... Someday everyone is always bound to loose something in their life which they have protected deep in their hearts. Sometimes, to protect ourselves...we gotta make the tough decision all alone."


    "Mr. Czar...what do you mean?"


    "I can erase your memories, little duckling." Sharply glancing wide in her eyes, his voice reverberated murky and dubious in that desolated night, amidst the sound of crickets.


    "What?" Surging her dilated eyeballs in fear, she shrieked out aloud, looking much awe-struck.


    "Relax, not your entire memories. But the ones you have with Zeus."


    "The memories I have with Zeus?"


    "Since the first day, you met him... I can erase him from every corner of your memory and trust me, it will be all for your sake." He asserted in a bold voice, holding a stern expression on his cast.


    "Bu...But, why would you do that?" Gulping ardently, her inquiry sounded quite fervent as she glowered her face.


    "Then do you wish to live forever with those burdensome memories?" A canny smirk escaped his lips as he shrugged his shoulders. "Little duckling, not everyone gets the chance to delete the memories that torments them. I am giving you the perfect option to restart your life leaving every painful recollection behind. You should grab the option without giving it a second thought." He murmured, glancing at the endless dusky sky glistening with small stars.


    She was awe-struck by his declaration which was evident from her startling eloquence. Gawking at him intensively, she inhaled a huff of breath while mumbling on her own, "will...will you erase...Zeus''s memories too?"


    "No, I don''t have the power to do that. Only our celestial ancestors have the divine endowment to erase a werewolf''s memory which hasn''t happened to anyone within our pack for almost 1000 years. So, I believe, Zeus would have to live with these memories forever because that''s the only way he can cherish you forever." He smirked, but somehow the smirk was filled with an unspeakable glum which she could discern.


    "Then...won''t I be able to remember him ever again? Won''t I ever remind of him even if he comes in front of me? How is that possible?"


    "You can trust my proposal and see it yourself, little duckling. Besides, humans are meant to be with humans. You shouldn''t defy your destiny anymore and live your life without any regrets. I think Zeus would want the same wish for you... So, do you accept it?" Shifting his shimmering dark eyes towards her, he murmured his query.


    "Wa-Wait...I...I need some time to...think about it... It''s...It''s a very harsh decision for me to take..." She stuttered, fidgeting her fingers ardently.


    "Alright," holding a small chuckle on his grimace, Czar stood up from the bench and shoved his hands inside the pocket of his coat. "The great lunar eclipse is after 5 days and I will come for your answer on that day. I guess, 5 days will be able for you to think and make a proper choice. Then...see you soon, little duckling." His voice sounded much deeper when he turned around to walk away from her.


    "Wait!" Abruptly she sprang up from the seat and seemed very restless. "Mr. Czar, won''t I be able to remember you too? Will we go back to being strangers again?"


    He halted, stopped for a moment holding a painful sour face. Softly he turned back towards her and tried to hide away his sadness faking a wide grin.


    "I will delete every werewolf from your memory and yes, that includes me too. C''mon, remembering us would never bring you any good. You are a good woman and you deserve to be happy, rather than sticking up with us in all these messes. We are the cursed, bad guys... you must stay away from us, little duckling." His smile was quite broad, but it couldn''t hide the sadness he was holding in.


    Eva poignantly looked at him for a few seconds with a teary gaze, looking all numb. Trying to choke her tears in, she asked him in a husky voice, "wh-why are you helping me? Why are you still being kind to me?" She was confused, guilt-stricken from inside gawking at him anxiously.


    Tossing a small sad simper, he lowered his eyes down and took a sharp breath intake before responding in a timid voice. "Some questions...don''t need an answer to define, little duckling. See ya..."


    Walking away alone from her in gentle slow steps was quite hard for him. His heart was growing heavier as he could perceive her sharp, glum gaze on his back from behind but...he swore himself not to turn back. His resolve to free her from the painful memories was a pure sacrifice which was the least thing he could do to revive her happy life. But it would turn them back to strangers was a thought which was already breaking his heart apart.


    After strolling away from a far distance from her, his feet halted and he fanned himself. Softly he rolled his arm inside the pocket and took out the dried tangerine peel he was still keeping along with himself. But today, it was quite grievous for him to gaze at it holding in his tears.


    "You should throw it away, Czar. After all, you were never the part of her story... What''s the use of still holding on to it?


    Damn, I never knew, I could ever grow feelings for a human who could ache my heart so badly... I guess...that''s the punishment I have to atone for the life for being a wicked wolf.


    But why the fuck I am growing in to be a good guy?" A smirk escaped his trembling lips. A warm teardrop rolled down while he carefully put the peel back inside his pocket again.


    .................


    **Hint of Spoiler:


    A backstory related to the major reason behind Clara and Eva''s friendship coming from the next chapters. The part will have a serious issue discussion and a heartwarming one. So prepare your seat belts and enjoy the ride  :)

 Chapter 156 - 17 Years Ago

    The next morning...


    It was around 7 am. Birds were chirping tenderly outside with the mild sunrays warming the entire atmosphere. But Clara''s morning sleep was intruded with the crackling sound of utensils as if someone was already up in the early morning.


    Making a frowning face, she blinked her eyes slowly gazing beside her. Indeed, her hunch was absolutely correct. Eva was missing from the side bed and she was the one who was already working since the morning.


    Rubbing her eyes nonchalantly, she put on her slippers and walked out of the room heading towards the kitchen. Eva was quite focused on doing the dishes and that was which making the chaotic sounds in that early morning.


    "Eva? Why are you up so early?" She called her name, in a bit loud tone.


    With the sudden summoning behind, she flinched in surprise and took a glance behind. Clara had a displeased expression on her face, rubbing her eyes nonchalantly.


    "Oh? Clara? I...I am sorry...But did I wake you up? I just wanted to help you in cleaning the dishes from last night."


    "Yeah, the crackling sound of the platters was enough loud to wake me from my slumber. But my question is why are you up so early doing..." Suddenly, her sonorous voice trailed off when glanced at the side of the kitchen sink where several pieces of broken platters of her favorite dish set were accumulated together in a corner.


    "Wh-Why are there so many broken platters?" She squealed out in awe.


    "I...am sorry Clara, but...those platters broke when I tried to wash them...I am sorr--"


    CRAAACK!


    Before she could jumble her words, a newly washed plate slipped down from her hand and immediately crumbled into pieces making a loud sound. Both of them were surprised at the ongoing ruckus, but it took Clara a few seconds to get a hold of herself. Quickly she moved forward and gripped her arm tight.


    "Eva...leave those dishes right now! You come with me."


    "I am sorry... L-Let me clean the crumbled pieces from the ground first or you may injure--"


    "I will do it later, you come with me first!" Sounding a bit stern, she almost dragged Eva to her living room against her will. Leaving her inside the kitchen would cause more ruckus than ever and the thought was already perplexing her.


    Making her seat on the couch, she handed her a glass of water and knelt down before her on the ground. Taking a deep huff of breath out, she softly gripped her cold hands and mumbled, "Eva... what''s wrong?"


    "No...I am fine... I just wanted to help--"


    "Eva, I know you better than yourself. You have been always perfect in doing the chores and committing this kind of ruckus is unlike you. Something...must be causing a storm inside you which is evident from your clumsy actions. Besides, these big dark circles are proof that you couldn''t get a wink of sleep last night. So...What is bothering you from inside?" She reciprocated, fixing her deep gaze on her.


    Eva sat quietly for a few seconds, lowering her head down like a sinful person. Her eyes were shut for a moment and her hands were trembling a little. Clara''s concerns were growing intensely for her as she gripped her arm tightly.


    "Everything... Everything is slipping from my hand, Clara. My life...My hopes...My dreams... My world is crumbling apart before my own eyes and all I do is sit still and watch like a powerless creature... I... I feel so fucking helpless, Clara. The regret that has been tormenting me for the last 10 years is too aggravated now... Why did I have to be left alive on that accident night? Why did the wolves didn''t kill me?" Her dense voice crooked a little as if she was trying to choke her tears in.


    "Eva, stuck in the past trauma would cause you no good... Maybe...Maybe a divine miracle protected your life that night... Maybe you were left alive for a definite reason decided by your destiny..."


    "Fuck destiny..." A sad smirk escaped her lips while she murmured those words in a tantalized voice.


    She could clearly read the agony on her face that she was trying hard to conceal within. Fanning herself, she softly tapped her shoulder trying to console her wounded core, "Eva, everything happens for a definite reason. Maybe the separation was necessary to protect you from certain misfortunes in the inevitable future. I know, it''s hard for you...but don''t push yourself hard to constrain your inner turmoil. Whatever happens, you still have me."


    She slowly raised her chin up and gazed deep into her eyes while she was already looking at her. Her eyes seemed sunk in sadness and somehow she felt sorry for imposing her troubles on her. "Clara, I must be so stressful for you... Those platters were your favorite ones yet... I broke them... You even set up Mr. Eric who seemed like a good man...yet I ruined everything--"


    "Ah, who cares about the platters? I can buy them again. And don''t worry about Mr. Eric, he is a sensible man and I comprehended it earlier that it won''t gonna work between you two. Above everything and everyone, you matter for me the most, Eva.


    Don''t think so lowly of yourself. If you didn''t hold my hand at that moment 17 years back...I would have ended as a depressed shit.


    You didn''t leave me alone even though I had such a nasty attitude towards you! So don''t expect me to leave you alone in such a tough phase of your life, okay?" She pinched her cheeks replying in a meek voice deliberately trying to cheer up her sullen mood.


    Glancing at her with her teary eyes, she nodded her head tenderly as tears dripped down her pale cheeks. Clara tugged her in for a warm embrace holding each other tightly as she tapped her shoulder.


    "I will never forget, what you did for me, Eva... We werewolves never forget the courtesy once done for us till the rest of our lives." She wondered, resting her chin over her shoulder.


    ....


    {17 YEARS AGO}


    .


    Saint Lorella Junior High School, Trastevere;


    After moving to the new town Trastevere with her family, Eva was quite nervous for the first day of middle school. The town was based a bit far from the countryside and moving to a new place, she had no friends to communicate with. Though, being a merry, lively kid, she had abundant confidence to adjust to the new environment and making a ton of friends she had back in her elementary school.


    But...soon her hope wrecked into pieces when she entered the classroom opening the door inside.


    ...


    At the extreme last bench of the class, a bunch of kids was gathered around someone mumbling and giggling among themselves. A young tall kid around her age was holding his pitcher filled with water and somehow seemed like the leader of the kids gathered around. Other children were holding several crooked paper balls, pencil shavings, peels of fruits, and some small frozen food cans. The atmosphere seemed very shabby and intense to her at the very first glance.


    Hearing the door unlocking sound, the kid who was holding the pitcher took a small peek behind curiously. Eva was frozen in shock watching the murky atmosphere and couldn''t even move from her place as their eyes met. Watching her trembling nervously before grabbing her seat, somewhat amused the kid as a wide vile chuckle appeared on his grimace.


    "Are you a new transfer student?" He mumbled out in a loud tone.


    Hearing his call, all the children gathered around him immediately turned their faces towards Eva mumbling among themselves. Somehow, the kids had an absurd look on their casts which caused a surge of intense fear in her heart.


    "Are you deaf or mute?" The boy summoned her again, this time his voice sounded a bit rebuked.


    "Ye-Yes, I am the new tr-transfer student, E-Eva Ricci." Stuttering anxiously she murmured her words in a quick spree, fidgeting her fingers.


    "Oh? So your name is Eva...Nice... Welcome to our class, Eva Ricci." The boy cheekily answered her suddenly starting to wave the pitcher in his hand, smiling atrociously. The other kids around him also started to smirk at her.


    "Am I overthinking or they really seem creepy to me? What''s wrong with this class?" Frowning her eyebrows she was wondering, scrunching her brows deeper while looking at them.


    "Since you are new here, let me introduce you to our plaything. Hey guys, move aside." The boy shoved his hand in the air indicating them to clear the gathering. The other children were making cryptic faces and slowly, they stepped a bit away clearing the passage.


    In the dead-end corner of the class, a young girl with black long hair waving down her shoulder, holding a devasted worn-down grimace, covered with fruit wastes, pencil shavings and dust was sitting like a statue lowering her face down.


    SPLASHH!


    As soon as they cleared the passage, the boy immediately took off the pitcher lid and splashed the entire bottle of water on that girl, drenching her from head to toe. The whole class started laughing devilishly watching the heinous sight.


    Shocked in horror while dilating the pupils, Eva covered the mouth with her small palm, starting to breathe heavily. The whole class was echoing with the giggling noises whereas the girl sat still, numb and lowering her soaking grimace down.


    "They...They are bullying this girl!?" She murmured in her mind, frozen in fear.


    _______________________


    **NOTE:


    Bullying is a serious social crime which many children have to go through that makes their lives more complicated than ever. It needs to be discussed more on social platforms but sadly, we neglect it quite badly.


    Clara and Eva''s story started painfully in this context, and I will take you all to the ride of the past.


    This way, you can understand the depth of a character furthermore.

 Chapter 157 - Plaything

    "Raise your head up and greet our new classmate, mutt."


    That impish boy had a vile sneer on his face while he threw his command on that girl who was sitting still on the desk. Eva was jaw-dropped in shock with the cruel atmosphere, stood like a rock at the entrance without taking a step forward. Even looking at the girl in that pathetic state was causing chills all over her body. The other classmates seemed to be amused with the atmosphere and mumbling among themselves.


    "Yeah mutt, you must greet her. She will be one additional member of our group starting from today." A young girl of their age with ginger hair, waving her little ponytail replied in a cheeky voice, pointing her finger towards Eva who was standing like a statue.


    "Why are they calling her a mutt? What''s wrong with them?" Gulping her saliva, she was wondering while glancing at them.


    The girl didn''t even budge to follow their command. She sat still, lowering her face down with her drenched hair threads hovering over her face. As she didn''t show a single response, that evil boy walked a step closer to her desk and slammed on it very hard making a loud reverberating noise.


    "Do you want to disobey my command? Then should I just ask my dad to stop providing your tuition fee? Then you will be kicked out from here and will live your life on the streets like an abandoned mutt. Do you want it?" In a vicious grumble, he scowled his face while glaring at her.


    For a few seconds, she chose to gaze downwards but she was fidgeting her small fingers. After a moment of pause, she slowly raised her chin up from the ground and gazed at Eva who was already gawking at her from the distance.


    Her eyes were deep brown, bigger like almonds but looked cold as ice. Her gaze was barren as if she was an empty vessel with no emotions left behind. Drops of water were dripping down her jawline which was sharp and well-built. Her skin was bright porcelain white. Anyone could easily mistake her for a child model but Eva was spellbound to watch the cruel reality of her life. Their eyes met each other for a few seconds, and slowly, she lowered her eyes down again with the unfazed look on her grimace.


    "Well done, mutt. I know you aren''t going to disobey me, haha!" The boy tossed out a burst of hoarse laughter and roughly rubbed the back of her head as an appraisal for her response. The whole class seemed to be enjoying the ongoing scenario and nodded their head to his remark.


    "Wh-What is going on he-here?" Unable to suppress her dismay anymore, Eva yelled out aloud gathering every ounce of strength left in her frail state. Hearing her sharp query, the boy boldly walked towards and chuckled with a victorious grin.


    "I am sorry if you are too surprised with us. Let me introduce myself first, I am Travis, the only son of the Chief Trustee of this school. Also, I am the class president so you can bring your every complaint to me.


    Since you are the new member from today, we present you with this adorable mutt who will obey your every command. You can treat her however you like, okay?" He indicated his finger towards that girl who was still lowering her eyes down, soaking wet.


    "Wh-Why are you treating her like that? Why is she in such an awful state? Th-This is horrible!" She objected in a nervous tone, shifting her glance towards her.


    A wicked, canny smile escaped his lips hearing out her gallant objection. He crossed his arms and stood firmly before her. "What''s the problem with the way I am treating her?"


    "What''s the problem? You don''t find any insanity in this behavior? Why are you calling her a mutt? What did she even do to be bullied like this?" She growled at him fiercely, unable to suppress her burning rage anymore.


    "We call her a mutt because she is a mutt. She has no family and no money. Besides, I was the one who asked my father to pay for her tuition fees since she was about to get kicked out of the school. I was the one who did favor on her and that''s why I have the right to play with her. I think you have mistaken Eva. We don''t bully her, she is just our plaything." Shamelessly sounding all proud, he proclaimed his words in a sonorous voice while the rest of the class nodded to his point.


    "I can''t believe this! You are treating a person worse than an animal and yet you are proud about it? This is unbelievable!" Her throat was choked in rage as she sounded a bit husky, looking at the desk helplessly.


    Standing still for a moment, the boy tossed a small sneer and boldly walked a few steps closer to her. Acting brazen, suddenly he gripped Eva by her shoulder which flinched her in surprise. Bringing his face a bit closer, he swirled his pupils and ogled holding a dark intense gaze.


    "Eva, you are talking a bit too much. You have come here just today. I have encountered many like you but soon enough, they join our group with their own will. I know, you will also join us very soon so...don''t bother about her much. If you want to survive here...you will have to become one of us. And, you are smarter enough to learn it soon." His dark voice resonated in a deep echo as he whispered closer to her.


    Shoving away his arm and unleashing her shoulder from his grip, she snarled her face at him fuming in wrath. Smiling victoriously, Travis walked out of the class and the rest of the herd followed him outside like a magnet. In that giant classroom, Eva was left alone with that girl who still had an unfazed look on her face even with all the ruckus going on.


    Rushing closer towards her, she immediately took out her handkerchief and stretched out her arm to give it to her standing before her desk. "Here... please wipe your face and your head. Y-You will catch a cold if you stay all soaked. It''s already November!" Her voice sounded much concerned for her.


    "Go away." An ice-cold answer escaped her trembling wet lips as she still gazed down.


    "Wh-What?" Surprised at her response, she murmured in confusion.


    ..........


    **Please keep voting and commenting for me :) :)

 Chapter 158 - The Filthy World

    "I said...go away." This time her tone sounded a bit irked and profound as if she was getting bothered by her intervention.


    Standing still like a concrete pillar, Eva took a few seconds to process her blunt rejection but clenching the piece of the handkerchief, she decided to approach her again.


    "I...I know... you...you must be disgusted from inside. But...it''s already the beginning of winter and you shouldn''t stay in this drenched state. I promise I won''t bother you after you take this." She stretched out her arm again, replying much boldly without backing off.


    Slowly, the girl stood up from the desk. She shoved away a banana peel that was stuck on her shoulder, making a dismayed expression on her cast. Her eyes were cold and piercing as ice, and raising her chin up, she intensely locked her eyes with Eva.


    "Today you are offering me this handkerchief, tomorrow you will offer me chocolate, out of pity and the next day you will become just like them. Stop this fake act of sympathy and be yourself." Murmuring her distraught words in a rugged voice, her blank gaze seemed to be filled with an undeniable void. Taking out a small sigh, she walked past her out of the door leaving her alone in the room, standing alone.


    Though her words sounded much harsh, but...she could clearly perceive her wrecked heart behind that unfazed look on her grimace. She was shattered in pain and the realization was crueler for her to bear silently.


    She clenched the handkerchief tighter on her hand and narrowed her eyes as if she was already thinking of a plan to execute for her sake.


    .


    Standing outside the Staff Room holding an anxious expression look on her face, she took a heavy sigh out before knocking on the door. After an anticipated wait of a few minutes, a deep feminine voice from inside summoned her to come inside.


    As she walked in, their homeroom teacher Mrs. Bonita sitting on a nearby desk quickly took a glance at her and smiled tenderly, "Oh Eva? How is your first day going here?"


    "Ma...Ma''am, I...I am here to...file a complaint." Fidgeting her tiny fingers, she frowned her small oval face before mumbling in.


    Hearing her answer, she whirled her eyeballs in surprise as if it was something entirely unexpected from her on the very first day. "Complaint?"


    "Ma''am... some...some of the classmates along with that arrogant boy, Travis were bullying a girl of my class. Th-They were calling her a mutt and...throwing water and garbage on her. It was something...horrible for me... I don''t know her name--"


    "I understand, you are talking about Clara." Before she could interpreter her point, she replied quite promptly scrunching her brows and taking a huff of breath out.


    "Clara...But... wait... how did you understand ma''am that I am talking about her?" She asked.


    "Because we are aware of the bullying incidents that have been happening since the past few months. It''s the first time someone actually came here to lodge a complaint." Scowling her grimace, she lowered her eyes down on a notebook and started scribbling something on it.


    "You...You knew about it?" Rolling her small almond-shaped eyes, she blurted out in surprise looking completely confused.


    "Eva, you are new here and I believe you are a bright student. Don''t bother about such stuff and I would advise that keep your distance from that unfortunate poor girl. Try to focus on your studies and score good marks, okay?" She murmured while solely focussing on her work.


    All of a sudden, her heart started to ache terribly hard hearing the harsh conclusion from her teacher. She had an immense amount of hope buried deep down to score some help for the sake of that girl but apprehending their conclusion, she gnashed her teeth bitterly fuming in anger.


    "But ma''am, how can I keep calm about all these? Tr-Travis tortures her way too much and it''s even unbearable to witness! The whole class supports this wrongdoing and...you are asking me to keep my distance from her?" She protested aloud.


    Looking a bit irked at her response, she quickly flipped over the notebook glaring at her eyes quite rashly. "Eva, you are just a middle school kid. The whole life ahead is awaited for you. We have our own reasons for supporting Travis because his father supports the funding of our school. And... if it was way too much unbearable, Clara should have transferred to any other school. She chose to stay here and cope up with everything and that''s why we adults shouldn''t meddle between kids." She asserted.


    "She...She is enduring everything maybe because...she has nowhere to go..." Lowering her teary eyes down, she tried to put on her objection.


    "Eva, be the smart child you are and focus on your studies. Don''t bother about this stuff. You may leave now." She opened the notebook and started scribbling something again, turning her down in the most bitter way.


    ...


    Standing in the middle of the giant hallway towards her classroom, Eva stood still lowering her teary eyes down. Her heart was suffocating to see this harsh side of the world where the grown-ups were favoring the side of evils. She clenched her fist, murmuring on her own.


    "Should I just change this school? I think... I must tell daddy about all these. I must shift to a new environment. This place is horrible..."


    Her voice trailed off suddenly when her eyes locked on the sight of the school playground from the window of the first floor. It was the recess period, most of the children were playing activities on the ground. But at the corner of the field, on a worn-down wooden bench, Clara was sitting alone. She looked completely lonely and a lost soul amidst the herd of the crowd, holding an emptiness in her gaze.


    "But...what worse can possibly happen to her if I am gone? How...How can I leave her all alone?" She wondered, looking at her with the saddest gaze reflected on her eyes by the mild sunrays trespassing through the windows.


    ...


    After a moment of silence, Eva wiped her tears and started rushing downstairs towards the ground. Her face was lit up with a smile as she murmured on her own, "I...I will stay by your side. I choose you, Clara."

 Chapter 159 - Promise To Myself

    "Clara?"


    All of a sudden, hearing the sudden tender voice behind her, she flinched hard. Quickly, glancing back by turning her neck around, she saw Eva was standing right behind the bench she was sitting in.


    She couldn''t respond a single word and continued gawking at her, surging her pupils wider. She stayed numb, frowning her brows and looking a bit perplexed.


    "Your name is...Clara, right?" Crossing her arms in the back, she walked a step closer to her holding a wide smile on her small lit-up face.


    She didn''t answer a single word and gulped her saliva, glowering her grimace at her. Many emotions were running down inside her heart. She was bewildered and confused since it''s the very first time in the school, someone actually intended to call her by her name.


    "Why aren''t you saying something Clara?"


    "H...Huh?" She sounded startled.


    "Well, we haven''t properly introduced ourselves yet. I am Eva and...I really...want to be your friend, Clara." Scraping her neck making a modest face, she blurted out her remark in a bold voice staring deep down in her eyes.


    "F-Friend?" She repeated being awe-struck at her sudden proclamation which was evident from her expression. Her remark was something extremely unexpected for her to process because, in that spiteful place, no one ever bothered to say those kind words to her before.


    "Yes, I want to be your friend, Clara. Can I?" Her eyes were shimmering in gleam while glancing at her holding that blissful smirk crafted on her puffy lips.


    "Wh-What is a friend?" Frowning her eyebrows, she tossed out an ice-cold response gazing deeply at her. Such kind of question was kind of unexpected for Eva but she chose to answer her tenderly, walking closer to her beside the bench.


    "Well, friends are someone whom we should never abandon. They stay with us through our good and bad times and they become our family. Clara, didn''t you have a friend before?" She leaned her head while standing right next to her, asking curiously.


    Lowering her head down holding that fazed look on her face, she shook her head horizontally stating her answer.


    Her cold response somehow ached her soul, as she continued gawking at her in wonder. Not having someone by her side, facing all the cruelties alone but not giving up yet... this gallant act of hers'' increased the respect several folds more that had bloomed in her heart for her.


    "Then...can I be your first friend?" Fondly, she stretched out her arm towards her intending for a formal handshake. Clara raised her chin above from the ground and continued glancing deep down in her eyes, fidgeting anxiously.


    .


    THUUD!


    All of a sudden, a soccer ball hit Clara straight on the temple part of her head making a loud noise. The attack was so sudden that for a moment, her vision blurred out and she started to feel dizzy.


    "Clara? Oh no!!" Eva quickly grasped her forearm tightly, as she looked like if she was about to fall down from the bench.


    .


    "Hey, mutt! Pass the ball here!"


    Suddenly, a loud growl came straight from the field especially in the direction from which the ball flew towards her. Shifting her blazing eyes, Eva noticed that it was no one other than Travis who had intentionally attacked her with the ball. Travis and his fellow classmates were snorting among themselves making amused faces while Clara was caressing her forehead due to the sharp hit. Her face seemed to be in pain as she scrunched her eyebrows.


    "Mutt, have you gone deaf? Pass the ball right now!" He called her out again, but his tone was sounding much tantalizing than earlier.


    "Hey! Why did you attack her with the ball? She hit her head so hard with it!" Eva snapped fiercely standing at a distance, gritting her small jowls.


    "We didn''t attack her. We were just playing our game, newbie. And by the way... what are you even doing in the corner with that mutt? Come here and cheer for us." His brazen face had a cunning smirk while he mumbled those words to her.


    "This shitty brat..." Cursing him inside, she quickly turned her glance towards her looking terribly concerned about the hit. "Clara, are you alright? Should we go to the nurse''s office?" She was asking deliberately.


    "Mutt, are you trying to disobey me again? Are you provoking me?" This time, his angry vicious tone reverberated like an echo on the field as everyone was already glaring at Clara, intending to attack her at any moment.


    "This mutt, how dare she disobey our Class president? This mutt has forgotten its place. She needs a good beating actually! Yes... she needs a lesson to be taught! This newbie is also being too rude to Travis, what does she even think of herself? An angel? Humph!" Several mumbling and whispering started circulating among the other children after the loud growl from Travis which was vividly audible to Eva.


    Slowly, Clara stood up from the bench, holding a painful expression in her cold eyes. They looked dark, stuffed in agony while she picked up the soccer ball from the ground flinching Eva, who was already staring at her.


    "Clara... you don''t have to do all this--"


    "You humans... are...all same... Worst than animals..." Tossing a small sad smile she walked towards the field holding the ball in her tiny arms.


    All those kids chortled with loud victorious grins as they succeeded in their motive to let her obey their command.


    Eva continued looking at her from behind as she kept walking ahead. That smile she had on her pale face was the saddest smile she ever saw in her life.


    Clenching her fist in anger, she murmured to her own self, "not all people are bad, Clara. I will prove it to you. I will...definitely win your trust, no matter what. That''s my promise to myself."


    .


    Little did she knew at that time, she would end up as the major turning point in Clara''s life.

 Chapter 160 - Angel

    Clara''s POV:


    Since the day this girl showed up in my life, it''s been never really the same. She always keeps messing with me even if when I am telling her to get away. At first, I thought...she was just playing with me like the other scoundrels, but... she keeps chasing after me even if I try her to shove away deliberately.


    But I am way different from these humans since I am a werewolf... or to be precisely an abandoned werewolf. I...don''t know from where I belonged since each and every past memory was erased.


    But all I know, when I opened my eyes on a rainy murky day, I was lying down near a worn-down deserted warehouse, with a small backpack placed right beside me. I couldn''t even remember how old am I since when I woke up, I found myself as a small girl. Inside the bag, I could find a few notes where it was mentioned my name was Clara and some other relevant information needed to survive in the filthy world.


    With no memories and completely shallow from inside...I could precisely understand, somebody... abandoned me intentionally as if they tried to get rid of me somehow. All I could remember was that my powers weren''t awakened but never had I imagined, I would be discarded away from my pack. I had thought, abandonment was a sin only humans could commit but I was wrong... Cruelty exists within animals too...


    .


    Since the day I was left all alone, somehow I tried to survive within that wrecked warehouse. There was some food and water left for me for a few days inside the bag which indicated that I would have to live on my own afterward. With no idea about how the human world works, I was thrown here like an abandoned mutt.


    .


    Mutt... That''s the first term I was given by these filthy kids, which I disgust the most!


    I tried to get into a school since all human kids do the same before growing up... but with no money and no status, none of the schools in Trastevere accepted me. Hopelessly, when I was turned down from this school too, it was Travis who first walked towards me with a ray of hope in my doomed life.


    But I was wrong again... It was the shackles of tortures and bully that were tied on my feet as compensation for the tuition fee his father agreed to pay for me. This world had a harsh policy of give and take. I had to return the favor by becoming their amusement object just...to keep surviving in this world.


    It''s not like I didn''t try to get rid of all this harshness. I tried to kill myself plenty of times. Tried to jump from rooftop buildings, tried to starve myself to death... but deaths aren''t easy for us. Helplessly swallowing my tears in, I accepted my bitter fate like a powerless creature desperately willing to survive here.


    But everything shook up in my small world since the day Eva showed up! Not only following me inside almost around everywhere, but she also started chasing me after school!


    From a few days, I was noticing it quite vividly after the school she keeps walking after me from a distance holding her deep silence. Even though I had tried several times to act much indifferent. Ignoring her I kept walking ahead with a thought that soon she would get tired of me and run away, but persistently without showing any sign of back off, she continued her chasing.


    "Hey!" Today, impertinently frowning my grimace, I stopped strolling and fiercely turned around towards her. She seemed startled with my sudden loud declaimation, and halted her motion fidgeting anxiously.


    "Y-Yes?"


    "Why do you keep following me everyday?" I grumbled at her, looking very irked.


    "Um... Th-This is the way I walk back home..." She murmured in a low, squirming voice.


    "Lier! I saw you everyday retreating backwards after I step in my warehouse! Why are you doing all these? What do you take me for?" I was unable to suppress my grudge today and spat my fury over her. I was angry, frustrated with the world and all I could do was venting out my anger on her.


    "I...didn''t mean to stalk you--"


    "Do you pity me for having such a terrible life? You want to be my friend, seriously? Do you think lowly of me since I don''t have anyone for me? Do you see the world with tinted roses around it, but can you even put yourself in my shoes and then bear my pain? Can you do it? No! You can''t! You just put up a fake show of sympathy and that''s what pissess me off the most! Why can''t you bring out your vile side? Why are you kind to me?" Tears streamed down my eyes when I was yelling on her helplessly. Clenching my fist, I tried to avert my gaze away from her when I saw she was slowly walking towards me, lowering her eyes down.


    "I am sorry, Clara. I...didn''t meant to make you feel uncomfortable with my actions... I just...followed you everyday after the school since I was worried for you if Travis and his gang would bully you again. I...just wanted to be assured that you are safely reaching home..." She was fidgeting her fingers, sounding very perplexed.


    "Why? Why do you bother to be worried about me? Why can''t you ignore me like those bastards do? Why do you...always stand up for me? Why?" My tone was harsh while I was charging her. I was hurting her quite badly. I was well aware of it but I couldn''t resist anymore since my emotional turbulence was out of control.


    My tone was so severe that she her eyes were swelled up in tears, indicating that she was hurt by me. But still, she didn''t run away and came closer to me, gripping one of my arm tightly in her hand.


    "I really want to be your friend, Clara... I know the world is being harsh to you and I feel so angry that I can''t stop them from picking on you. But, I don''t want to leave you alone. I promise...I will become someone you can always rely on. I...I will be the best friend who will always have your back. Pl-Please... give me one chance. Please...don''t chase me away anymore." Her deep big eyes were glistening in tears as she held my hand, pleading in a tender voice.


    I was gawking at her being awe-struck at her actions. Even after I rebuked her harshly, she still wanted to stay with me! Besides...she had a strange sweet smell emitting out from her which I had never sniffed from any humans. I was curious and amazed with her kindness. After a long wait... I found someone who willingly wanted to stay with me.


    For the first time someone held my hand so tenderly. She was warm as the coldness in my bruised heart was shaken up with her arrival. I became greedy, hoping for a bit of happiness in this world and it was the moment I knew, she was the only angel sent for me by the heavens above.


    I wasn''t alone anymore.

 Chapter 161 - Awakening Of Power

    Days were passing in much tranquility amidst the chaos since the new friendship bloomed between Clara and Eva. Both of them started to accompany one another almost everywhere finding solace in each other''s presence. Though she was hesitant at first to trust a human but Eva was finally able to break through the closed door in her cold heart.


    The ray of hope to take her out from the miserable hellish life that she had been desperately searching for finally came true when Eva walked into her solitary life. She wasn''t empty anymore from inside. She even started to smile around her finally rejoicing her life leaving behind that desolated state.


    Besides, Eva was becoming her strength when she finally mustered up her courage to disobey Travis and his ill-disposed commands. Even they were shocked to watch her growing all intrepid and it was all possible from the warmth and support she was receiving from Eva.


    It was the recess period. Eva used to bring homemade lunch for her in the school since she had found out her habit of starving herself. Both of them would chit-chat about little things looking much gleesome around each other.


    It was just an ordinary day like the other but little did Clara knew, it would be the turning point of her life.


    The ginger head boastful girl who used to follow Travis all around entered the class holding a bin bag of trash and a wicked smile on her face. Sharply she took a glance at Clara who was eating together with Eva and devilishly walked closer to her.


    From a distance, Eva noticed them progressing towards Clara haughtily and immediately assumed something horrible is gonna happen to her next. Shuddered in fear, she tried to stand up and stop them from approaching but in the flick of a second, that girl fiercely emptied the trash from the bag all over Clara, standing behind her.


    "What the hell are you doing!" Eva screamed out aloud at them, rolling her pupils in awe watching her spattered with wastes from the sneaky attack. She couldn''t even get to finish her food and covered in rubbish garbage, she sat there still, frowning her face in anger.


    They exploded out in crackles of victory especially the ginger head who was maliciously glaring at her from behind. Clenching her fist, she hit Clara on the back of her head and grumbled out her words, "serves you right, you piece of trash! How dare you try to disobey us, you dirty mutt! You should be always covered in garbage like this. I think we should make you our new trash can, doesn''t it sound good?"


    "ENOUGH OF YOUR RUBBISH!" Fuming in rage, Eva roared at her and fiercely pushed that girl away from her, gritting her lower jowls. "How...How dare you throw garbage on Clara? What the hell you people think of yourself?"


    "You nasty bitch, how dare you to push me?" Scowling her oval face, she growled back at her pacing a step closer.


    "Bitch? If I am a bitch then you all are a piece of rotten shit! You all deserve to rot in hell--"


    SLAP!


    A loud, fierce slapping sound reverberated inside the giant room causing a sharp echo. The girl violently slapped Eva right on her face in front of everyone causing a red painful hue on her soft cheeks. Clara immediately raised her chin up from the ground and abruptly stood up from the chair. Watching the burning redness on her cheek due to the tight slap, all of a sudden, a storm of fury started to rise in her heart. This kind of wrath, she had never sensed in her heart until now! Her whole body started to shiver in rage, making it difficult for her to stand still.


    "You talk too much, bitch. This slap deserves you right. You are the one who is spoiling our mutt so much with your unnecessary pampering. I hope, this slap would remind you before you dare to object us again." Proclaiming in a boastful tone, the girl abruptly turned around holding a victorious grin on her face, intending to head out of the class. Eva was standing still, lowering her head down in shame and distress, holding her tears in.


    "HEY!"


    Everyone in the room flinched quite hard with the sudden piercing shrill from Clara. She was glaring viciously at the ginger-head kid from behind while they were walking away. Halting at her loud summon, she took a haughty breath out and turned behind, smirking devilishly.


    "Wow, our mutt can scream aloud too! Nice."


    "HOW DARE... YOU HIT EVA!?" Rolling her wide brown eyes in wrath, she grumbled in a thrilling voice which even startled Eva who was standing right behind her. Quickly, she stepped closer and tried to grip her arm pulling her away from the chaos.


    "Clara, don''t worry I am really fine. Please don''t involve with them anymore--"


    "Ohhhh, so our mutt is angry with us. Yes, I have the guts to hit her, and I don''t mind slapping her again if she runs her mouth too much." She crossed her arms, gallantly walking a step closer to her.


    Burning in wrath, she shoved her arm away from Eva and intensely walked closer to her, piercing a fiery gaze deep down in her eyes. "Apologize." She roared in a low pitch.


    "What?"


    "Apologize to Eva for what you did." She reciprocated again in that dark, atrocious manner swirling her pupils.


    "Hahaha, what? Apologize? This mutt has gone crazy I guess, buhahaha!" She was crackling into laughter indicating her mockery towards her remark.


    "If you don''t apologize...I will kill you..." Clenching her fist, she murmured her threat in a bold voice, ogling at her with an absurd expression on her face.


    "Really? Wow, you wanna kill me? How? Show me, you stupid mutt?" She sounded quite brave, walking extremely closer to her.


    "I am warning you... for the last time..."


    "Really? Then I guess you need a tight slap too for reviving your senses back!" Bluntly she raised her hand up to throw a slap straight on her face but before she could do it, in a fraction of a second Clara grasped her wrist holding a diabolic gaze in her eyes.


    "Wh-What the heck?" This time, she sounded a bit panicked as she was gripping her arm tightly enough that it could leave a painful scar.


    "I have warned you already. Now prepare." Immediately, she twisted her arm brutally behind her back which made a sharp creaking sound as if her arm just broke at the junction of her elbow!


    "AAHAHHHHHHH! MY ARM!!! EKKKK!! AHHHHHH!" She was crying, moaning out vigorously in pain and her voice shuddered every kid present in the room including Eva to witness this diabolical side of Clara!


    "YOU USED THIS ARM TO SLAP HER, DIDN''T YOU? I...WILL MAKE SURE... YOU CAN NEVER USE THIS ARM AGAIN..." Whispering those malicious words in her ear, she pushed her away with a fierce thrust, and shocking everyone in the room, she crashed against a desk landing several meters away from her, hitting her knee hard.


    "MY ARM!!! MY LEG!! AHHHH! HELP!! SOMEONE HELP!!!" She was groaning in pain and all the girls ran towards her shivering in fear to witness the violent diabolical strength of Clara.


    Eva was shuddered in shock and taking slow steps, she walked closer to her, "Cl-Clara... y-you broke her arm? H-How could you b-broke her arm? W-Why did you do? What have you done!?" She gulped, stuttering in panic.


    Clara, standing with a tranquil expression, quietly tossed a sharp glance at her hand and a wide satanic smile appeared on her pale face. She started chuckling on her own, holding a creepy eloquence mumbling inside her mind, "so this what it feels to possess our demoniac powers... It...It felt amazing! I guess, my powers...are awakening up! Finally!!"

 Chapter 162 - Interruption

    The dread Eva has been apprehending all this time finally came true. Watching such an aggressive form of Clara who never stood up for herself, broke the arm of that bully just for Eva. She could evidently understand her loyalty towards her but she was blaming herself for all the chaos created within the school after that incident. She was shuddered thinking that something awful was on its way to happening to her.


    But to her surprise, Clara was absolutely serene amidst the chaos. She showed no sign of panic. Instead, she started to smile more often. But somehow, her smile wasn''t pure like before. A diabolical shade of dubiousness started to project through her grin as if she seemed quite satisfied after what she had done.


    Instantly on that day, everyone present in that room during the incident was suspended from school for a week followed by a submission of a written apology. Though the school authority didn''t terminate Clara, Eva knew it well, it wasn''t the end of their catastrophes that were coming on their way.


    A week passed by with much anticipation and anxiety. Eva confessed every little thing to her parents that have been happening in that school. They were shocked at first but especially her father, Stevan decided to stand with Clara no matter what. She was overwhelmed to get such huge support from her family and was waiting to confess everything to her bestie till they meet.


    .


    After a week, Clara joined the school again holding her usual tranquil eloquence looking much braver than usual.  But with her arrival, the cast of the other kids of her class seemed to be much terrified. The ginger-head girl was critically injured and hospitalized for major surgery. Conscious of her vicious attack, the rest of the kids didn''t dare to pick on Clara anymore and held their silence before the approaching storm.


    But, Travis didn''t seem to be any restraint. He seemed much restless, palpitated from earlier, and continued glaring at her surging his wide black eyes as if he was plotting something heinous against her.


    .


    Soon enough, Clara was summoned by their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bonita who was holding a frowning face glancing at some records. As soon as she walked in, she raised her chin up and gawked at her scowling her eyebrows.


    "Submit your written apology." In a cold voice, she commanded her.


    "For what?" Scrunching her pointed brows, she narrowed her gaze at her.


    "For what? How can you have the audacity to ask that?" Mrs. Bonita shrieked out slamming the records hard on the table. "We were kind enough to not terminate you from the school yet you still haven''t a bit of shame for what you did?"


    "That''s what I am asking ma''am... What did I do wrong?" She reciprocated boldly, standing straight before her.


    "You darn brat!" She jolted up from her chair and snarled at her angrily. "You broke the arm of a student! She is in a bad state right now and yet you are so brazen to defend your deed before me? How disgustful!"


    Clara quietly glanced deep down in her eyes and a painful small smirk appeared on her lips. "I have been bullied by those people over a period of a year. Every teacher, every member of the school knew about it but no one tried to bother. No one even tried to punish Travis when he hit my forehead with a metal can, causing my head to crack open. I was bleeding profusely, crying bitterly in the nurse''s office...but none of you teachers decided to stand up for me or even ask for a written apology from him. I guess you can still see the scar here?" She stroked her soft hair bangs up from forehead and a clear, dark scar was still evident on the temple portion just above her left eyebrow.


    Letting her hair down, she smirked at her. "This time, when I did the right thing which should be done to a bully, you are asking from me a written apology letter? Ma''am, aren''t you all being too unfair on me? Just because I don''t have a status or a family, you people treat me worst than an animal? Should I submit my written apology or should you all atone to me--"


    SLAP!


    All of a sudden, before she could interpret her words a tight slapping sound rang among the walls which were quite unexpected for her. Scowling her jowls angrily, Mrs. Bonita was fanning herself in anger after hitting her quite violently. Clara stood still like a rock, lowering her grimace down with her fury dark eyes blazing in wrath.


    "How dare you talk back to me? You are such a disgrace to our school! Either you submit the letter today or---"


    "I won''t apologize to anyone. I was never wrong and I don''t regret anything..." Her dark voice sounded cold as ice as she murmured it. The storm of anger started to consume her inner core and her facial expression turned fierce as an animal. She clenched her fist behind her back and unknowingly, her arm started to tremble hard.


    "You won''t? I have never met such an awful kid like you in my entire life! If you won''t write the letter then you are terminated from the school starting tomorrow. Today will be your last day here. Got it? Now leave!" She turned her face away from her walking back to her desk fiercely after spatting her harsh words.


    All of a sudden, the arm that she was hiding behind her back started transforming against her will! Thick greyish white fur started coating her small arm and long, razor-sharp nails started to emerge out from her paws, in a fraction of a second. She wasn''t sane anymore and her inner wolf was finally taking over her body.


    Fiercely raising her chin up, she gnashed her teeth in anger and mumbled inside her mind, taking a step closer to her. "I will kill you... I will kill every nasty human here before I leave--"


    .


    GRASP!


    All of a sudden, someone quickly grabbed her fur-coated small arm in the back while she took a step forward stopping her from moving ahead. She raised her chin up and saw a tall, handsome man with dark brown hairs covering his forehead was standing beside her gawking distinctly. His charcoal black enigmatic eyes seemed very skeptical while he clenched his grip tighter over arm thickly coated with fluffy fur. The sudden interruption was so quick that Clara was awe-struck for a few seconds.


    Mrs. Bonita turned around distracted by bold footsteps that emerged in. Abruptly, she surged her eyeballs blurting aloud, "Mr. Ricci? Why are you here?"

 Chapter 163 - New Family

    "She doesn''t need to be terminated from this hellish atmosphere, Mrs. Bonita. I am gonna take her out of this school along with my Eva. These kids did nothing wrong to deserve all this shit happening to them." Holding her arm tighter behind, he sounded very firm with glistening black eyes gawking at the lady.


    Clara was surprised to hear such a bold confirmation from that man as she rolled her eyeballs. Besides, immediately perceiving his touch, she evidently understood that he was a wolf disguised in the human world...just like her! The man was trying to protect her from getting exposed by gripping her arm tight.


    But the fact which shocked her to the core was that he was Eva''s father, which means, she was the daughter of a werewolf! Baffled with the realization, she fidgetingly lowered her face down.


    "Err, umm, Mr. Ri-Ricci... why are you dragging your daughter in this mess? I...I do believe that she will be a sm-smart kid..." She was stuttering anxiously, trying hard to divert the conversation.


    "Mrs. Bonita, I had assumed you to be a sensible teacher but you have proved me horribly wrong. You all knew about the bullying that was happening to Clara but still supported the crime instead of teaching those kids a strict lesson? Just because she doesn''t have any family by her side that doesn''t give anyone the right to torment her mentally and physically! I... just can''t blame those kids because the major culprits are you all who are nurturing the sins." Frowning his eyebrows, he sounded very stern, with his blazing dark eyes fuming in wrath.


    Clara slowly raised her small oval-shaped face and looked at his grimace painfully. Her eyes were swelled up in tears and she was biting her lips to stop herself from crying out. It was the very first time, a grown-up man was standing up for her in that heinous environment that was driving her emotional turbulence. Slowly, the rage that was storming in her heart returned to a serene state, and the thick furs that started to coat her arm disappeared gradually.


    "Mr. Ricci, why do you even bother about this girl? Do you even know what she did?" Fretting her nose bridge, she sneaked a glance at her before snapping out. "She broke the arm of a kid and she is in a critical state right now. And...she isn''t even embarrassed about her wrongdoing--"


    "Wrongdoing?" A canny smirk escaped his bright face when he lowered his eyes down and stared at Clara''s small face. "I think she is much kind enough to let her stay alive. If I had been in her shoes, I would have probably killed her because she dared to touch my Eva. That''s why I am beholden to her." Hearing his immense support, a small pleased smile appeared on her face as she stared back at him.


    She swirled her eyes in disbelief, taking a deep sigh out. "Mr. Ricci, I can''t believe you are taking this kid''s side? You are a grown-up man and you must know the limits we are bound with!"


    "I am a grown adult but I am not greedy unlike you all. Just for the sake of the funding, you people quietly sat back and watched a kid getting harassed by her own classmates. You people are the reason why the world has turned so disgraceful to live in." Steve had a dark, skeptical expression on his face while he declaimed those words in an intense tone. Slowly, he held her small hand tighter in his bold grip and stared deep at the woman.


    "Mrs. Bonita, starting from today Clara is not alone anymore. I regret that my daughter should have let me know about all these much earlier. But...we will be her family and I bet, she will be a ton times happier than striving in this awful environment. I will transfer both the kids from this school so today will be their last day here. And from now on, try to be an honest human being rather than living as a greedy, miserly person. Have a nice day."


    "He-Hey, Mr. Ricci how can you be so disrespectful to talk with a woman like that..."


    Before she could complete her irked response, Steve boldly gripped her small arm and walked out of the room leaving her fuming in wrath alone.


    As both of them walked out holding hands in hands reaching the giant hallway passage he halted his motion and slowly unleashed his grip on her hand. Softly he turned around and saw raising teary swelled up big eyes, small Clara was looking at him from behind looking much bereaved from her expression.


    Glancing at her, Stevan smiled with a saddened gaze in his dark eyes and knelt down on the ground before her petite body. "Are you alright?" In a timid voice, he asked her.


    Suddenly, the tears that she had been holding in desperately started streaming down her pale cheeks as she started sobbing bitterly lowering her eyes down. "No...No one ever asked me...this... hic... No one ever... hic..."


    His heart was aching hard to see the small child weeping helplessly before him. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and tenderly wiped her tears with the piece of cloth. "I can understand, you have suffered through a lot... All I can say is sorry...on behalf of this world who has been so merciless to you..."


    "Hic..." She continued grieving.


    "As you must have already sensed, I am a wolf too...just like you, Clara. You know, life hadn''t been kind to me either but I didn''t give up. I continued striving and finally, I am blessed today with a beautiful family. I had to hide my real self from my children and the world because...we can''t expose our true self before these humans. And... that''s the reason I stopped you today from attacking her. You were intending to ravage her, don''t you?" He frowned his eyebrows, speaking in a gentle note.


    She slowly nodded her head to his query, making a guilt-prone expression on her face.


    "Clara...your powers are awakening up. To continue striving in this world, you have to learn to get a grip on your abilities. You can''t attack any human storming in anger since it''s a threat to our existence. But... I am proud of how you stood up for my daughter because bullies are needed to treat them with their own medicine." His cheerful assurance made her smile widely as she stopped crying.


    Tossing a kind smile he fondly held her left cheek and whispered to her, "Clara, since you must have already understood that my Eva is different from the rest of the kids, so many evil beings would come after her and the thought about it puzzles me a lot.


    I can''t predict the future...but if... someday I fail to stay by her side when she needs me the most, you have to fill up that space and hold her strong in your embrace. We are all a big blessed family now and I will be always counting on you...okay?"


    She firmly nodded her head in assurance and grasped his arm with her tiny palm. "Yes. I will take care of her, uncle. It''s my promise." Hearing her bold pledge, he softly patted her head as their eyes sparkled in bliss amidst the mild sunrays, looking at each other.


    ...


    While heading back to the class, Clara was glancing out of the giant balcony and suddenly watching a sight, her feet stopped in awe. She saw Eva heading upstairs towards the large terrace which was a forbidden area for the kids to visit!


    "Wh-What the hell? Why is she going up there?" She wondered anxiously in fear.

 Chapter 164 - Provoked

    "Travis, why did you ask me to meet you here?"


    Frowning her deep big eyebrows, Eva grumbled at him fiercely reaching the top of the terrace. Travis was standing firmly, crossing his arms over his chest and devilishly smiling at her. He was leaning his back against the boundary wall of the terrace with a dark gaze towards her.


    "I was waiting for you, eagerly." He casually replied in a murky voice tossing a small smirk.


    "Why? Are you plotting something against Clara again?" She gritted her jowls in anger, snapping hard at him.


    Travis stood quietly for a few seconds and skeptically started chuckling aloud at her sharp query. His facial expression grew much intense as if he was indeed plotting something heinous.


    "Why is this punk laughing out like a maniac? Damn... I am feeling worried about Clara." She gulped fretfully, staring invincibly at him.


    "You are right, Eva. I have used you as a bait to summon my mutt here and I bet, she must be coming any moment now." Putting his arms in his pocket, he walked a few steps ahead and picked up a thick piece of a wooden bar that was lying on the terrace.


    "Wh-What?"


    "You really thought I wouldn''t punish her after what she did with my best friend Stephie? How naive of you to think that I would let her leave the school without paying a hefty price!" Soon enough he reached Eva walking a few steps closer and tossed a cruel smirk at her, gripping the bar hard on his hand.


    Shuddered in fear, she immediately something dreadful was going to happen to them. She tried to take a step back to reach towards the door behind but Travis sensed her intentions quick and forcibly gripped her forearm hard.


    "Aeeek! It hurts---"


    "I have competed in the national judo tournament, so don''t try to analyze my strength. If you don''t want me to smack your head with this rod, stay still and wait here till she arrives." Glowering his face, he scrunched his eyebrows before whispering to her.


    "No...don''t hurt her! Please, I beg of you...don''t--"


    "LEAVE HER ALONE!"


    All of a sudden, hearing the loud shrieking voice, both of them turned their gazes towards the door and saw Clara was panting hard as if she had reached there running out of breath. Her dark eyes were blazing in wrath as she screamed fiercely at him again, "let her go!"


    "Clara please go away! I...I can deal with him...You don''t have to come here!" Shivered in fear and palpitation, Eva cried out in a crooked voice while Travis was clenching her way too tight.


    "Awww, you made such a loyal friend, mutt. I feel like I have raised you well." He stirred a tantalizing look in his eyes, murmuring out hoarsely.


    "Don''t mess with Eva... I am warning you, Travis! Let her go!"


    "Only on one condition. Come near and kneel down on the ground before me just like my obedient mutt." He remarked with a small simper.


    Hearing his provoking words, her whole body was shivering in immense rage building inside her core just by looking at the way he was gripping her hand. The wolf residing in her was getting badly exasperated by him but following Steve''s words, she tried to hold herself in.


    "If I do so...you won''t harm her, right?"


    "Of course!"


    Taking a deep sigh out, she walked closer to them and knelt down on the ground obeying his command. She lowered her eyes in shame and distress which Eva could notice evidently.


    "Clara, why are you following him again? Why aren''t you running away? Go!!" She squealed as her heart was breaking apart for her.


    "Good job. Now rub your nose on the ground and beg for mercy for what you did to Stephie." A wicked chuckle appeared on his lips as he fired those words at her.


    Clara was tolerating the disgraceful humiliation just for keeping her safe and obeying Steve''s words. Clenching her fist in rage, she lowered her head down and indeed rubbed her nose ridge while mumbling in distress, "I am willing to accept any punishment from you...but don''t drag her in. You can do anything to me, but don''t hurt her."


    Eva was sobbing bitterly to watch her friend going through such disgrace just to keep her safe. Watching Clara kneeling before him, Travis laughed out spitefully and blurted out, "alright. So when you are willing to accept, I am gonna smash your nasty head now. This will be my farewell gift to you, mutt."


    In the flick of a second, he hauled Eva away from him and raised the baton high up in the air before hitting her. Clara shut her eyes tight and lowered her head down tumultuously.


    WHAACK!


    Suddenly, Clara opened her eyes and froze in fear to watch the sight. Eva jumped right before, hugged her tight, and tried to protect her from the attack guarding with her frail body. But indeed, the wooden baton hit the back of her head quite hard that she immediately started to feel dizzy with the sharp blow.


    "EVA!" Clara screamed aloud, holding her tight as she was whimpering in pain, shaky and dazed out. Travis looked a bit confused as if he didn''t expect Eva to get hit instead of her. The baton dropped down his hand and gulping his saliva, he frowned his eyes.


    Slowly, Eva lost her consciousness and the part of the head where she was hit was throbbing in pain. This was it! The barrier which was holding Clara''s wolfish fury against the world finally smashed down watching her blacked out in her arms. Her body started to shiver in wrath and scowling her face, she raised her blazing eyes at Travis.


    Travis could sense it evidently that he had already provoked her to the extreme limit and started squirming in fear. His heart started to pound aloud in dread as he started to retreat back from her.

 Chapter 165 - Will You Still Allow Me?

    "He-Hey, I didn''t want to beat her... She jumped right before you, it wasn''t my fault!" He sounded a bit nervous looking at her. Clara had a diabolical absurd expression on her face and with her trembling body, she stood up from the ground.


    "I...I had warned you..." She firmly took a step ahead, sounding dark as hell.


    Watching her satanic eloquence, he shuddered in fear while retreating his step back. "Hey, you can''t fool me with your hellish expression. I can fight you, mutt!"


    "You dared to hit Eva... You tormented me to the core of breaking apart... Now... You will pay the price with your life!" A demonic wide grin curved on her lips as she swirled her eyes at him.


    Immediately Clara''s dark brown pupils dilated and transformed into a wolf''s eyes. Both her arm covered up with greyish white fur and long chisel-shaped claws emerged out from her small paws. Her neck area also started veiling with the thick fur. Her long white sharp canines emerged out from her mouth.


    "Wh-What the heck! Who the hell are you!? What''s happening?" He shrieked out in horror, looking absolutely terrified from the core, glancing around desperately. His fear further elevated while his feet hit the giant border wall behind which indicated he had already reached the edge of the roof.


    "Go...to...hell..." In the flash of a second, she dashed towards her at a phantom speed and pierced his small neck with her sharp claws. Splurt of thick gore blood droplets immediately sprayed on her face as he whimpered in pain aloud.


    "AEUUKK--"


    "Goodbye, you nasty human..." Grabbing by his neck, she pulled him up above the ground and viciously pushed him down from the terrace.


    "AAHHHH!"


    That was the last squeal heard from him before his head smashed down on the ground from the rooftop. Taking a small glance down, she saw him lying in a pool of blood. Her right-hand claws were smeared with his thick gore blood and holding a ravenous wide grin, she licked the warm blood diabolically. Immediately, the color of his dilated pupils changed into illuminant blue as she finally obtained her real beta form.


    ...


    "CLARA!?"


    Suddenly, she flinched with the loud sharp call behind her and turned back. Eva was swirling her eyes with a petrified expression on her face, gawking at her in dread.


    Clara was stunned to see her awake and gulped anxiously. Squirming in panic, she called her again, "Wh-Who are you? Where is Clara?"


    All of a sudden, her inner wolf started to diminish right away as she was gaining back her human form. Looking at her with a sad gaze, she slowly walked towards her while she was frozen in fear squatting down.


    "Eva... This is my true self... I...I am sorry... I have to hide it from you..." She murmured while kneeling down on the ground before her.


    "Wh-What? Wh-Who are you? Ar-Are you a monster? Did you just kill Travis? Why did you kill a person?" She was stuttering.


    "I gave him what he deserved... Tasting his blood, I attained my real form, Eva."


    "Wh-What are you talking about? Where is Clara? Who are you?" She started sobbing bitterly, shivering in fear. Her frail body was trembling in panic.


    Her heart was breaking apart watching her in such a bereaved state. Taking a deep sigh out, she lowered her head down and smiled painfully.


    "You don''t have to remember me in this fiendish state, Eva." She murmured.


    Hearing her remark, Eva was startled a bit and raised her chin up looking at her. "What?"


    Tenderly, she placed her hand on the top of her head and her dark eyes transformed into a bright blue color.


    She stared deep into her eyes and murmured in a broken voice, "forget everything you saw today, Eva. You don''t have to remember my true self... I am sorry... But I have to erase this part of your memory..." A mild blue flame surrounded them all around while she was eradicating her memories.


    For a few seconds, Eva stared into her wolfish eyes but couldn''t hold any longer and lost her consciousness.


    As she collapsed down again, Clara softly held her arm looking at her with a sad smile. "I am sorry Eva...I will have to keep it a secret from you...from the world...


    But from today, you will be my first and only priority. I will destroy the ones who will dare to mess with you. I swear...I will protect and stay by your side till the very end. It''s a promise from a wolf to my best friend, Eva." She whispered while a warm drop of tear dripped down her cheek.


    .......


    "Clara? Hey, Clara?"


    "Huh?"


    She flinched all of a sudden with the loud call and revived her senses back. She was lost down the memory lane sitting on the breakfast table, opposite Eva who seemed frowning her face, looking concerned for her.


    "Clara? What were you thinking so hard? You aren''t even eating the sandwich I prepared for you. Does it taste that bad?" She tossed several questions at once, furrowing her brows.


    She smiled as her heart was filled up with happiness and sadness emerging out from the past memories she was lost within. "No...I was just thinking about the time when we found each other. I...was so different way back then..."


    Listening to her soft answer, holding a sad gaze towards her she tenderly gripped her arm on the breakfast table. "Does the past memories still hurt you, Clara? Are you still haunted by the tortures you went through?" She inquired.


    "Nope. I have left them back a long time ago. And...I really don''t bother about anything else since I have you. We are each other''s family." She smiled wider, trying to assure her concerned heart.


    Eva nodded her head fondly at the answer, looking a bit pleased. Taking a small sigh out, she further reciprocated, "only the unexpected thing that happened back then was the one who used to bully you...died a tragic death. It was very shocking for the whole school... What''s his name...Ahh, Travis. Yes, I still remember that brat."


    Suddenly, Clara was frozen with an unknown fear squirming inside her heart as she nodded her head to her remark. She didn''t utter a single word anymore and nervously, continued chomping the sandwich.


    After a moment of silence, she lifted her chin up glancing at Eva with a sad gaze who was looking away from her.


    "If you come to know...I have killed Travis that day... I am a werewolf you disgust the most...


    Will you still allow me to stay by your side, Eva? You are all...I have in this world..." She wondered, taking out a deep sigh.


    ________________________


    **I bet you all must be sympathizing with Clara as whatever she did was for Eva''s sake...


    Please do comment and let me know about your views.

 Chapter 166 - The Scars

    It was around 9 am. The weather seemed glum today compared to the blissful springtime. The endless skyline was filled with dusky clouds as it indicated that the rain could start pouring heavily at any moment.


    Waking up from his bed holding a pale, sleep-deprived look on his face, Zeus trussed the waist belt of his dark blue silk nightrobe. He had an irked expression on his face resembling a bit restless. He was continuously scratching around his necklines and tapping bold giant footsteps, he walked straight towards the huge dressing mirror crafted over his sumptuous cupboard.


    As he peered a glance on the mirror at himself, a tinge of fear and palpitation swirled his core. Surging his dilated black pupils wider, he gulped his saliva and continued monitoring himself, fretting his face.


    The lower portion of his neck, just above his collar bone had a quite number of small reddish-brown scars forming on their own. Just by glancing at those scar marks, his heart throbbed with angst, and with a still gaze, he continued staring at them. Softly, he raised his cold palm and tried to touch one of them apprehensively. But, as soon as his fingertips brushed against them, a painful burning sensation stirred within him, causing him to immediately shove his hands away.


    "Fuck! The lunar eclipse is still a day away and these scars have already started to appear... I guess... I can''t escape the curse after all... But...


    If I fail to survive this time... what would happen to Eva? I bet...those nasty brutes would keep coming for her... If I am gone... who would be there to protect her? Fuck! How am I gonna get out of this trouble? Fuck that bastard...I should have dodged the attack! Fuck!!" Slamming his fist hard against the wall, he stroked his messy hair up from his forehead, grumbling in a serious deep voice.


    He was looking extremely frustrated as his wide eyes were blazing in anger. Every time he glanced at himself, the number of scars forming around his neck was increasing in number. Some of those reddish marks had already started to grow around over his chest muscles which were concerning him quite bad.


    ...


    KNOCK KNOCK!


    All of a sudden, the knocking sound on the colossal metal door of his room flinched him out of blue. Quickly, he clenched the knot on his nightrobe and turned behind.


    "Who''s this?" In a thick voice, he growled.


    Clutching the doorknob open, Aelia walked into his room with a frown, intense look on her face. Her appearance seemed a bit pale and she was fretting her brows, walking near to him.


    "Mom?"


    "Why didn''t you arrive at the dinner party? You didn''t even pick up my phone, Zeus!" She fussed at him, looking much vexed from her cast.


    "Mom, I was late from work. Besides--"


    "I had asked Ivory to pick you up from your office. But even she ditched the party we threw to introduce you both to our guests! I bet... both of you must have a fight regarding some issue." Before he could finish his remark, she sharply intervened crossing her arms holding a stern posture.


    "Mom... I really don''t have time to spare like that. And... Ivory had separate reasons to ditch the invitation. Both of us had our own personal reasons." Taking a deep sigh out, Zeus tried to turn away from her but she quickly observed his fidgety behaviour and grasped his arm, intending to stop him from leaving.


    "Wait!"


    "Now what?"


    "Your neck..." She trailed off and scrunched her eyes, filled with awe.


    "It''s nothing."


    "The scars! The scars have started to appear, Zeus!!" All of a sudden, she shrieked out aloud looking badly panic-stricken. Clasping his forearm tighter, she was gawking impatiently all over his body. "Where else they have appeared? C''mon, show me!"


    "Mom, calm down! Don''t panic like that." Holding her arm with a purpose to cool her down, he reciprocated in a low, considerate voice.


    "Don''t panic like that? How can you say this so easily to a mother? Do you even know what does that means? The...The eclipse is still a day away and they have already started appearing! I...I can''t imagine what can possibly happen on the red moon eclipse itself! Yet... how can you be so calm about it?" She grumbled in a loud angst voice, furrowing her brow ridge.


    Zeus momentarily kept his silence for a few seconds and tried to hide the inner turmoil he was battling within. Clenching his fist, he took a huff of breath out murmuring out, "it was my fault, to begin with... I should have dodged the wolfsbane yet I failed to do so. Thus... I have to face the consequences."


    "Dodge the wolfsbane? How can you pathetically lie with that straight face of yours!?" She was irked, her whole body was shivering in rage as she glared at his eyes erectly. "You jumped before the darn human girl and willfully chose it just to save her life! You knew how dangerous wolfsbane can be to the true blood alphas...right? You knew it all... still you put your life on the line just for a human? Have you really gone crazy?"


    "Don''t fret too much, mom. Everything will be fine after I survive it through this blood lunar eclipse--"


    "That''s what I am worried about, son! If you survive! There lies a big mountain of uncertainty and even the thought of it is shuddering me from inside! Two of our alphas had failed to endure the tremendous pain you will have to go through! What we are gonna do if it happens to you too!?" She was gritting her jowls, while her big brown eyes were glistening in tears as she was staring at him, holding his arm tight.


    "Only two of them had died till now, mom. The proportion of fatality is very low. And you know it already, I am a strong alpha. This curse, won''t kill me." He tapped her arm once, trying to console her grievous heart with his words. Though he was trying hard to hold a fake smile on his grimace, his left arm was shivering a little indicating that he was quite apprehensive from inside.


    She lowered her head down and tenderly punched on his chest trying to depict her inner palpitation. Tears rolled down her cheek as she mumbled on her own, "it''s all because of that human! Your life is on the line today just because of that human! You can''t even understand my trepidation after watching these scars!! I had a tiny hope that you might be excluded from the curse but...no... Shit! Why? Why did you do it? Why did you have to be so reckless?" She was knocking his chest muscle, sobbing in grief.


    His heart was growing heavier to watch her drowning in her angst. Tenderly, he gripped her arm and responded in a benign tone, "I can understand what you are feeling now. But...if I face the same situation today...I will opt for the exact same choice I have done earlier. Protecting her will be always my priority, mom." He concluded in a bold, assertive voice.


    "What?" She lifted her teary eyes up and gawked straight into him. "What do you mean?"


    "I love her." A small sad smile appeared on his lips as he stared back at her, firmly confessing his truth.


    "What? Zeus, have you lost your damn mind?"


    "Mom, I know you have known it all along. Yet you still tried to turn a blind eye on the truth, just because you don''t want to accept that it has really happened. Don''t you?" He frowned his brows, answering in a sullen tone.


    "Zeus, I won''t allow you to ruin your life purposely for that girl! I absolutely decline---"


    "It doesn''t matter to me if she can ever accept me in her heart, but I am and I will be always in love with her. And that''s the reason, I can''t get engaged to Ivory. I am sorry, mom." Gently unleashing her arm from his grip, he murmured those words quite intensely.


    She was awe-struck for a few seconds hearing his bold proclamation. Opening her mouth wide, she was gasping in angst looking at him with disbelief in her eyes. After a moment of silence, she gripped both of his forearms and mumbled out, "Zeus...you have really lost your senses! Don''t let your emotions take over your mind! Liking a human is...is a sin for us! You know the consequences quite well! And... I can''t let it happen to my one and only son...


    No...Let''s think about it later, first, we need to deal with this curse and...I will look for some way to help you. I think...we should go to our Mountain Spirit together. I know he can somehow help you a bit---"


    "No one will be allowed to even come near me on that day!" Before she could complete her words, he declared in a bold, affirmative manner, ogling into her eyes.


    "What? But!"


    "You know how deadly contagious it is! I don''t want any one of my pack to even get a glimpse of me that day. Mom, I will go alone to the forest and I will fight it alone... I will make sure to survive..." His voice grew heavier, as he tossed the remark with a sad sneer on his face.

 Chapter 167 - Fluttering Emotions

    After parking the red Porsche at the outer parking premise of her office, Clara was heading inside quite hurriedly as she was already late for her work. Usually, she dodges to take such a swoon-worthy precious car to her workplace to avoid unnecessary gossips among her colleagues. But, since she was already late for today, there was no other choice left.


    While going inside, she saw Eric was parking his car and was about to head too. Somehow, he seemed a bit different from his usual days. He was very sophistically groomed up wearing a black deluxe suite with a creamy white shirt inside. A golden rose brooch tugged on his chest pocket. His dark brown hairs were styled upwards delicately and nevertheless, he appeared more handsome than ever.


    "Wow, Mr. Eric! Are you going to a prom after work?" Startled at his office attire, Clara couldn''t help but inquired him, smiling meekly.


    As both their eyes met, Eric gently tossed a warm smile towards her looking a bit modest at her compliment. "Well, am I looking handsome today?" He adjusted his shirt collar, reciprocating her back.


    "Of course! I bet...every lady inside would be drooling over you today," she chuckled.


    "Ahh, c''mon, Miss Clara... you are exaggerating now." He was scraping his neck, looking flustered red from her appreciations.


    "Okay...Okay... I won''t pull your leg anymore. But umm, Mr. Eric," her voice sounded a bit dense as the smile on her face faded a little. "Eva has told me everything... the way you encouraged her to be true to her emotions is indeed a sign of a true gentleman. I am sorry, the date... didn''t go well between you both. I...shouldn''t have asked you to meet her in the first place..."


    "Miss Clara there''s nothing for you to feel guilty about. Besides, I am actually thankful to you both because... I got to meet her due to the date!" He had a blissful eloquence on his face while murmuring in a cordial manner.


    "Her?" She raised her chin up, furrowed her brows impertinently before asking him.


    "Umm...well... Miss Clara... I think I have finally found the one for me." He scraped his neck again, making a shy face.


    "Huh? What? Are you already dating someone?" She seemed much surprised at his unexpected response.


    "No... To be honest... I don''t even know her name... But it was after the date I bumped into her! So... I am gonna visit the same place today and wait for her because that''s the only choice I am left with. Maybe, by waiting at the same place, we could collide with each other. And that''s when I will ask for her name and other contact details. That''s my plan." He mumbled.


    She was gawking at him in awe hearing his unusual revelations. After a moment of pause, she gulped her saliva and spoke coherently, "so basically it means that you have kind of a crush on an unknown woman and you don''t know any details about her...right?"


    "Umm...Hmm." He nodded.


    "But how can you just vaguely hope to find her again by visiting the same place? Maybe...she was just randomly passing by there yesterday. In this big town, how you are gonna find that girl whom you lost in the crowd?" A witty smirk escaped her lips as she tossed her point.


    All of a sudden, his face darkened a little. The gleam of happiness completely faded from his grimace and fidgeting in angst, he opposed, "Hey...don''t take that hope away from me. My life depends on this tiny anticipation now. That''s the only way I have to find her again..."


    Clara was ogling at him in wonder to notice the sudden change of expression on his face. Taking a deep sigh, she mumbled, "do you like her that much? But...didn''t you meet her for the first time yesterday? What kind of woman she is.. innocent, cute, soft type?"


    "Umm, well, she is the exact opposite of the type you just mentioned."


    "Huh?"


    "She has a loud, harsh mouth and also seemed to have anger issues. She didn''t seem to be a weak one because of the way she pushed me off with her elbow, her strength was pretty amazing! She rebuked me so much and to be honest, I have never met a woman who insulted me this way on the first meet. Besides, her eyes seemed to be very furious from the way she was glaring at me. It was indicating from her gaze that she was about to kill me at any moment!" He was vividly mentioning every feature about her with his hand gestures, sounding much bolder.


    Clara was surprised to hear such weird characteristics regarding the woman and forgot to even blink her eyes. Gulping anxiously, she retaliated, "Mr. Eric, what kind of woman you have actually met? Is she a thug or a criminal? Shouldn''t you be afraid of that kind of woman?"


    "Umm...no...surprisingly, her gestures made me very curious at first... But...when our eyes met each other...ahh, damn! A spark of fire ignited inside my heart as it started to pound like crazy! I was feeling as if I am gonna get a heart attack at this rate but I was lost in her wide, big...brown eyes.


    She was so beautiful with a charismatic aura around her which immediately hooked me badly... To be precise, perhaps, it was love at first sight from my side... And, that''s the reason I have groomed well today as because I don''t want to look plain in front of such an elegant goddess..." His eyes were glistening in joy while he was busily reverberating his emotions regarding the woman, holding a bright smile on his face.


    "I guess, he has gone crazy...I can''t believe the sensible Chief Manager Mr. Eric is behaving like a love-sick airhead! Do people really go crazy when they fall in love or...it only happens to these dork humans?" She was frowning her face, lost in her thoughts inside.


    "But Miss Clara, keep it a secret from everyone alright? I...I am gonna tell you the remaining details once I find her again. And...I won''t give up on my love even if she beats me to death! I am really confident this time. So...See you later," mumbling in a cheeky tender voice, he waved his arm at her and swiftly entered inside the building.


    "Woah...I can''t believe it... How could he fall head over heels for someone just like that? He doesn''t even know if the woman likes someone else or not... What a crazy moron..." She smirked, looking at the way inside, wondering inside.


    ...


    "Do you like this man?"


    "Huh?"


    All of a sudden hearing the deep low voice behind her, Clara flinched in shock and turned around. Czar was standing with an impish look over his face, gawking at her intensely dressed up in formal attire, looking like a dashing model with a perfect physique.


    "Ma-Master? What are you doing here? Why do you always suddenly appear around me?"


    "Umm, I wanted to give you a surprise visit to your workplace. But you were quite busy chitchatting with that dork. Do you like him?" He raised his eyebrow, asking her bluntly.


    "What?" A disgusted annoyed look prevailed on her face hearing his absurd question. "How can you even come to such a silly assumption, master?"


    "But...you were all smiley when talking to him... I thought you used to smile only around me but I guess...you are pretty friendly with everyone else." He was sulking his face while whining like a small child in front of her.


    A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she glanced at his deep, dark eyes. "Master, were you...jealous?"


    "Huh?" Frowning his grimace, he tossed a sharp gaze towards her walking a step closer. "Why would I be jealous?"


    "Well...you sounded a bit displeased so...I kind of assumed it..." She whispered.


    Holding a small impish smile, he leaned his face closer towards her and stared intensively into her eyes. Their nose tips were just an inch apart from touching each other as he murmured in a deep voice, "why would I have to be jealous when you are already mine? I do have the right to claim you anytime I want..." He sneered cheekily.


    THUMP!


    Suddenly, with the unexpected closeness arousing between them, her heart pounded out aloud making her palpitating from inside. She was flustered red with his deep voice reverberating like an echo in her ears and trying hard to hide her shy expression, she pushed him away with her arms.


    "Wa-Wait, do-don''t come closer to m-me." She was stuttering.


    "Huh? What''s wrong, wild kitten?"


    "I...I have to head inside. I am already very late for today. I really need to go now...master." She quickly peeked a glance at her watch, intending to head inside to escape from him.


    "Aww man, I thought of asking you for a coffee... Well, never mind, let''s meet next time then. Bye..." He softly poked her cheek with his fingertips, turned around, and gallantly walked out of the premises.


    While he was heading away, Clara was continuously peering at him from behind with a palpitated expression on her face. Her heart was still pounding hard and tapping her chest a few times, she tried to calm down herself.


    "Damn... he must be really an experienced Cassanova to make my heart flutter with his cheesy lines... Calm down Clara, get a hold of yourself. Stop pounding so hard whenever he comes a bit closer! Control yourself, you stupid heart!" She mumbled.

 Chapter 168 - An Unusual Sight!

    Standing frozen before the entrance of the public park where she visited last with Zeus, Eva was hesitating to take a step inside. The park was filled up with crowds of people and unknowingly, she chose to visit the place filled with their happy memories, despite her disinclination.


    "Damn...why am I even here? I...I will feel more down once I enter inside... I...should really go somewhere else..." Anticipating her thoughts, she was striving hard against the conflict between her heart and mind. Her heart wanted to revive those memories she spent with her beloved one whereas her mind wanted to run away from them. After a moment of reluctance, much hesitatingly she took a step inside.


    As usual, the park was crowded with countless couples walking next to each other holding hands in hands. While walking alone holding a grievous, wrecked heart, it was painful for her to even look at the couples who seemed much jolly and fulfilled in love. Quietly, she chose to walk towards an empty public bench and took her seat taking a deep huff of breath out, lowering her face down. Indeed, her gleesome memories spend with Zeus were flashing before her vision making her sadder than ever.


    "Umm, aren''t you the young lady who danced with the handsome man that earlier day?"


    Suddenly, a polite voice startled Eva as she quickly raised her chin up to look at the person who summoned her. It was an old, kind-looking woman probably in her late 50''s, who was smiling standing in front of her. She seemed unfamiliar to Eva and hearing her sudden remark, she was startled.


    "Pardon ma''am... A-Are you asking me?"


    "Yes. Aren''t you the pretty woman who danced here earlier with your man gracefully? You both were shining beside each other." She sounded very amicable, softly taking her seat next to her on the bench.


    A small curve of a sad smile appeared on her lips as Eva lowered her head down. "Thank you..." She uttered slowly.


    The woman continued glancing at Eva for a few seconds and took a heavy sigh out. "Hmmm, judging from the situation now, both of you must''ve fought with each other... I was quite surprised when I saw the young man, sighing here alone."


    "What?" Surging her dilated eyeballs wider, Eva almost shrieked in surprise. "Ze-Zeus came here?"


    "Yes. I have seen him around almost every day I came here. But he didn''t seem the same person glowing in happiness when he was with you... Instead, his cheeks were gaunt, his face looked haggard with swollen eye bags beneath the eyes just like yours. I was a bit surprised to find him alone here without you...but right now, watching you in the same state...I think I can conclude that you both must be striving a rough patch." Gazing at the cloudy sky emitting a glum aura, the woman whispered to her.


    Engulfed in wonder, Eva was completely spellbound hearing her tender reciprocation. She was rolling was dilated eyes, breathing heavily while fidgeting her fingers anxiously over her lap. "Did...Did he look sick? Was...he in a bad state...madam?" She quivered.


    "Both of you seem barren and distressed without having each other by your side, my child." She smiled, turning her face towards her mumbling in a soothing voice.


    Eva quietly stared at her for a few seconds and lowered her eyes down. She was squirming from inside but chose to keep her silence momentarily.


    The woman looked away from her and stared at the murky sky again with a blank gaze in her wide eyes. "You know, when I saw you both dancing happily in arms of each other, it seemed as if I was looking at my good, old happier days with my husband... We were just like you. We fought a lot with each other and most importantly, we fought a lot to be with each other..." A sad small smile escaped her lips as she was narrating her own story.


    "Good old days? Aren''t you...together with him...anymore?" Curiously frowning her brow ridge, she mumbled to her.


    "We were together till death parted our ways, my child." She chuckled with a glimmer of sadness profused in her eyes. Her voice grew heavier as she took a deep breath out. "It has been three years already since I am adjusting to this life without him. Our families were against our relationship... At some point, it seemed as if we won''t be able to stay right next to each other... But our faith and love kept us going through the tough times. We endured many happy and sad aspects of life staying together till our forever..." Her voice crooked a little.


    Eva was quietly hearing with a deep gaze towards her, watching her grimace engulfed with sadness as she was talking about her late husband. Tenderly, she grasped her arm and tapped a few times consoling her, "it must be...so lonely for you to live without the person you loved with your all heart...right?"


    "Hmm... I won''t lie, it''s quite suffocating sometimes...But the only thing that keeps me going on is the precious memories that we spent with each other."


    Apprehending her tender answer, a wave of glum stirred inside her soul. Her heart twitched with an unavoidable pain as she took a deep huff of breath in, gasping heavily. "Aren''t memories painful for you to bear?" She asked.


    "They are. Memories are the ones that make us happy and sad both at the same time. But...without memories, we will be the same as a lifeless person. That''s why it''s important to keep holding onto memories." She turned her chin towards her, gawking with a small sad sneer.


    Eva was quiet and numb with her answer, nodding her head in response. Her heart was filled with countless worries, especially the proposal from Czar that was tormenting her the most.


    "My child, I may be not in the position to say this, but your smile will be the evident proof when you find the right one for yourself. The way your eyes were glowing in bliss holding the arm of your beloved one, they seem so hollow right now.


    Well, fights and disagreements do happen when two people try to stick with each other. But everything depends on how you find the way back to each other once you realize your happiness depends on the other one.


    Life is too short my child... You know, your forever will be over soon before you could even realize it. So...be honest to your heart and do what it says..." She softly patted her head tossing a warm smile at her. Slowly, she stood up from the bench and walked away in the opposite direction from her while she was gawking from behind, holding a sad gaze.


    "Perhaps...everything between us would have been normal if both of us were just powerless humans...I know...I will probably be never happy without him with these existing memories...but...why? Why can''t I run back to him just the way I did earlier? Everything feels so fucking messed up..." Swallowing her tears inside and wondering inside her mind, she stood up from the bench and was about to head away outwards.


    But a startling sight locked her gaze immediately! A small kindergarten kid was running towards the giant highway, holding a football in his petite arms. His mother was busy chatting to someone over the phone by standing at a distance a bit away from him, looking at the opposite side. A huge truck was fiercely coming towards the child while he was heading that way!


    "Oh...Oh my God! The child! The child gonna get into an accident!" Shocked at the frightening sight, she shrieked out in fear and started running in the direction. But she was a bit far from that sight which was happening on the other side of the street and her heart was throbbing in fear! It was just a matter of few seconds when the truck almost reached the child running in the middle of the street.


    But something miraculous happened at the exact time! With a huge rushing speed and grabbing the child in his broad arms, Zeus almost jumped over on the side of the street saving him from that dreadful accident approaching the child! Trembling in fear, the child started to cry bitterly, and instantly with the sudden ruckus, his mother noticed it with her wise eyes and came rushing to him. A few people gathered around them when Zeus quietly released the child from his hold to his mother.


    Eva was shocked to witness such an unimaginable scenario that happened right before her eyes in a matter of few seconds. Zeus, who never even bothered to glance at a human, willingly saved the life of a small child from being run over by a truck. Frozen in awe, Eva was gazing at him intensely with a profound longing in her sullen eyes, standing on the other side of the highway.


    "Is he the Zeus I know? Is he...really trying to change himself for me? Since when...he became sympathetic towards humans?" She mumbled on her own, ogling at him.

 Chapter 169 - Watching You Leave

    "My child! Oh...Oh my God! Th-Thank you, sir! Thank you for saving my boy! I...I can''t explain how much I grateful to you! Thank you! Thank you..hic..." The mother started sobbing bitterly, seizing the child tightly in her embrace. For a moment, the small kid seemed a bit startled with all the ongoing ruckus and kept glancing around him.


    Making a straight face, Zeus was quietly standing still there where the people around were busy praising his gallant effort. His pale face looked a little perplexed as if he was being a bit uneasy getting suddenly crowded by humans.


    After a moment of anticipation and calming down in his mother''s arms, the child ran towards Zeus in his tiny steps and held his broad palm with his little fingers, looking up to him.


    "Mister...are you a spiderman? How did you just save me so quickly!? Can you fly? Do you have powers?" Peeping his tiny eyes, he tossed many queries at once.


    A small smirk escaped his lips hearing his innocent questions as he lifted his chin down to glance at the kid. Softly he knelt down before him on the ground and caressed his head before reciprocating back. "No, I can''t fly, kid."


    "But you were so cool when you saved me. When I will grow up, will I become like you too, mister?"


    "Don''t become like me, kid... Don''t lead a...miserable life like me... Stay as human and lead a peaceful life..." Tossing a soft sad smile and patting his head, he stood up from the ground. Glancing with an irked gaze towards his mother, he sounded a bit gruff, "you should have paid more attention to your small child than your phone. Something disastrous could have possibly happened to him if I was not around!"


    "I am sorry, sir... I...I am really so sorry..." Folding her arms, she was conveying her apologies to him, sobbing in grief. The people gathered around were whispering and rumbling between them stealing glances at Zeus who stood out among every single person present there.


    "Did you see? This man indeed jumped like a superhero at the last moment saving the child from getting run over... No human can exactly do this! Does he really has some special powers?" The whispers circulated amidst the crowd in the low voice which was making him a bit irked. People were being skeptical about his honest intentions which were making him more puzzled.


    Looking at him from afar, Eva was so lost in him that she even forgot to blink her eyes. A warm smile of pleasure appeared on her face watching him actually changing himself of his own will. She tried to take a step forward to reach him on the other side of the road but something unexpected happened!


    A deluxe big black car came out of the blue and stopped on the roadside next to where Zeus was standing still. The car door opened quickly and Ivory walked out of it holding her usual, imperial yet graceful appearance.


    All the attention of the people quickly shifted towards her. As she stepped out, while closing the door she took a sharp glance towards Eva who was standing on the opposite side of the road, all frigid and composed. As their eyes met, a cold death stare from Ivory shivered her insides before she turned away her gaze after a few seconds.


    "She...She saw me! I...I am definitely not mistaken! She indeed gave me the death stare!" Gulping her saliva anxiously, she glanced at them narrowing her gaze impertinently.


    Zeus looked a bit surprised to find Ivory arriving there all of a sudden. He frowned his eyebrows and before he could ask her, she quickly groped his arms tight which made him flinch way hard.


    "Let''s go somewhere else, honey. We need to talk." Holding a wide fake smile on her face before those people, she tried to cling to him intentionally. Eva was shocked to witness her getting so close to him and continued gawking at them in shock.


    "What are you doing? Why are you groping my arm?" Looking a bit perplexed at her reaction, Zeus tried to unleash his arm away from her grasp but she further clenched her grip tighter.


    "Get in the car. I need to talk about something to you." She whispered in his ears and almost tried to pull him away forcibly towards the car.


    "Wh-What the heck? Why is she...holding his arm so tight? Wh-Why isn''t he moving away from her? What''s happening? Is...Is something really ongoing between those two?" Swooned in angst, Eva was clenching her fist while the several fretful thoughts were invincibly filling up her mind.


    Zeus quickly glanced at Ivory hearing her deep dubious words and she indeed had a serious look on her face. Without objecting any further, he slowly followed her into the car. The people were intensely gazing at her radiant aura and murmuring among themselves.


    "Why did you have to save a human''s life? Have you lost your goddamn mind? Do you want to expose our powers before the world? They were already becoming skeptical of you and your silence was worsening the situation." She grumbled at him as they took their seats at the back.


    "It was a small child. He would have been run over if I didn''t hurry and..."


    All of a sudden, his voice trailed off as his dark gaze locked on the wing mirror glass of the car. Swirling his eyeballs in shock, he could evidently see Eva standing a bit far from them, gawking at the car from behind. Her eyes were teary, she was gasping heavily and clenching her fist in anguish.


    "E...Eva? It''s Eva!?" Blurting out with a huff of breath, Zeus quickly tried to step out of the car and rush towards her. His heart was pounding like crazy and for a moment, he forgot about the rest of the world as his eyes solely focussed on her.


    "Wait! Don''t go!" In a flick of a second, Ivory gripped his arm tighter forbidding him from rushing out.


    "What?" Glaring at her with his dark gaze, he objected her aloud, sounding much vexed.


    "Aren''t you making her life too hard? Isn''t this what you... wanted to let her go? Keeping her by your side would always endanger her life. Do you want that?" Flinging out her words in a deep hoarse pitch, she clasped the grip over his arm further glaring with her skeptical gaze.


    "But..."


    "Your relationship with her has been always ill-fated and you knew about it too! A human is meant to be with a human! At some point in life, you were obliged to let her go. When she has done it prior...respect her choice. Don''t chase after her, Zeus!" She cited in a deep voice, swirling her glistening brown eyes.


    Apprehending her bitter words, a wave of profound sadness stirred him from inside. Helplessly clenching his fist, he tried to look through the wing mirror again and this time, he found Eva walking away from the spot slowly, at an unsteady pace. Choking his surge of tears in, he kept glancing through the mirror.


    "It''s...It''s better for you Eva to...walk away from me... I...I don''t want to jeopardize your life anymore... You deserve to live a good life with...with a human... not with an animal like me... But...It fucking hurts so bad...to watch you...leave..." Murmuring inside, he unleashed his arm from her clasp, holding a bereaved face.


    Ivory had a stiff expression on her face while glancing at him as he shoved away her arm. Slowly, he turned her grimace from him and indicated the driver to start the car.


    .


    "Zeus, I know you must be irked with me. But...everything I am doing is just for your sake...just to keep you safe. Hope you would realize it someday---"


    "What did you want to talk about?" Grumbling in a dark voice, he interrupted her sentence before she could even finish it.


    She fanned herself and shrugged her shoulder before responding. "Judging from the turtle neck shirt you are putting on, your scars must have started appearing. Tomorrow is the red lunar eclipse. Zeus, I think we both should head today to our Mountain Spirit. I have a tiny hope that you might be cured there!"


    He silently sat still for a few seconds and murmured in a thick voice, "No one will be allowed to come near me starting tomorrow. I don''t want anyone from my pack to put in danger for my sake."


    "What? But you don''t have the slightest idea about how painful it''s gonna be--"


    "I am quite accustomed to bearing every pain since a long time, Ivory. Besides, I have told mom that I am not gonna get engaged to you." He answered in a cold voice.


    "What? You did what?" Swirling her eyes wider in shock, she shrieked at the unexpected revelation.


    "I don''t know what''s gonna waiting for me ahead, but I have chosen the one I oath to love and that is Eva. So, I think you should give up on me and try to live your life instead. Don''t fret about mom and dad...Everything will be fine once this trouble is over." He declaimed with a frigid look on his face and commanded the driver in a loud voice, "stop the car."


    The car stopped at his command. Ivory was still deadpanned in shock while he opened the car door and stepped out. Before closing it, he turned his face towards her and proclaimed in a deep voice, "it''s the alpha''s command. Don''t even try to find me starting from tomorrow. I promise...I will survive and come back safe. Till then, try to think of yourself. And...thank you for putting me out of that awkward situation today. You were always have been my good friend...but you won''t be anything more than that."


    He closed the door.


    "Wh...What the fuck? Does this fool even realize how dangerous the curse is? How is he gonna survive it alone?" Mumbling in fear, she continued glancing at him from behind as he walked away.

 Chapter 170 - A Favor

    "Miss Clara?"


    Hearing the sudden soft voice behind her, Clara lifted her chin up from her desktop and glanced at Maria, her colleague, who had summoned her.


    "Oh, Maria? Yes?"


    "Well, someone is asking for you in our office lobby." She had a mystic smile on her face while murmuring her words.


    "Looking for me? Who?" She frowned her brows, seeming a bit startled since it''s the very first time someone from outside was looking for her in the office.


    "The person is deadly handsome! How you are always surrounded with handsome men around, Miss Clara?" She winked answering cheekily before heading back to her desk.


    Clara skeptically stood up from her seat and quietly started walking towards the lobby. Her mind was crowded with several anxious thoughts as she was fidgeting.


    "I am sure it''s not Mr. Czar since Maria already recognizes him... So who is it this time? Damn...I am getting a bad feeling about this..." She was wondering.


    All of a sudden her feet halted as she reached the lobby. Her jaw dropped in surprise, swirling her eyeball wider she heaved a deep breath out.


    In front of her, wearing a long oversize coat along with a white turtle neck shirt and blue denim, Zeus was standing right before her resembling an extremely charming masculine man. His face, with his hair down and gaunt cheeks somehow seemed a bit pale. But amongst every other man passing around them inside the office, he stood out the most attractive.


    "You...You are..." Her stuttering voice trailed off as her throat was already choked with awe.


    "Miss Clara, I came here to see you." Watching her getting all anxious, he murmured out first.


    "You are...Zeus Ro-Romano, right?" She narrowed her gaze before asking him bluntly.


    "Yes. It''s the first time we are meeting each other. Eva told me...a lot about you." He asserted with a small simper.


    Clara was fidgeting anxiously scanning him from head to toe with her skeptical gaze. "Why are did you come here, Mr. Zeus? Wh-What business do you have with me?" Her voice sounded a bit gruff as if she was somewhat displeased with him.


    "Well... I have a favor to ask you." Gently he put his hands inside the pocket and straightened his posture, gawking at her intensely. "It''s an important issue and...I don''t have much time left. So...I had no other choice rather than coming here." His sullen eyes seemed much darker as he cited his remark.


    "Don''t have much time left? What is this punk talking about? Is he going somewhere away from Eva''s life?" Furrowing her eyebrow ridge, she was wondering deep inside.


    .


    "WOAH! Who is that man? Oh my gosh...he looks like a model! Maybe he is a celebrity... Should we ask for his number? Damn...he is so hot! Just look at his face...oh gosh! I am already falling for him..."


    .


    All the whispers and mumbling started circulating around them among the female workers gathered around the lobby. Their mumbling voices were so clear that both Clara and Zeus could hear them evidently. Glancing around the area, she saw several female employees were walking past by them shifting their hungry gazes towards Zeus. She turned her grimace and noticed he was getting quite uncomfortable by the awkward atmosphere.


    "Errr, I think we should...go somewhere else and talk there. We won''t be able to focus here with so many desirous women craving for you." Her voice was deep and low as if she was getting annoyed with those mumbling and mutterings.


    "Yes." He nodded.


    .


    They chose to head inside the cafe located a bit far from the office to avoid the unnecessary attention of women from her office hovering around him. It was already past the afternoon, the cafe was quite desolated and the atmosphere was perfectly suited to hold a serious conversation between the two.


    Sitting opposite to each other ordering Americano, both of them held a deep silence for a few seconds before beginning any conversation.


    "Well... I...think...we won''t be interrupted here..." Clearing his throat, Zeus chose to break the deep silence.


    "What did you want to talk about? I...can''t stay out for a long time since the workload is pretty heavy." She asserted hoarsely, taking a sip of her Americano.


    He lowered his head down and squirmed his feet beneath the table, looking a bit nervous. "Is...Eva...doing well?" In a low, fidgety voice he asked.


    Eva frowned her temple and sharply raised her chin up to glare at him. Looking pretty vexed, she snapped out, "she has been bawling her eyes out every day and every night with those memories buried deep in her heart... Is it evident for you to understand how she has been living or should I elaborate it furthermore?"


    "I know...you must be offended with me, Miss Clara. But--"


    "Offended? Hah! I am so damn pissed off with you! Why the fuck you approached her even after knowing she disgusts wolves? I...I know you have done so much for her already...but... you knew it...she would never be able to accept a lineage who had snatched her family! Then why...why did you have to break her heart like that? How badly she has been wrecked by your truth...do you have any idea?"


    Apprehending her intense grumble, he stayed silent for a few seconds taking a deep sigh out. "I wanted to confess the truth by myself...but...I never realized it would happen at such an unfortunate timing... I know she must be broken from inside but, I never intended to move our relationship forward keeping her in the darkness. As a wolf yourself, I know you can understand how painful it has been for me to watch her getting scared of me!" His voice crooked a little.


    All of a sudden, hearing his intense proclamation, she flinched a bit, clenching the moonstone bracelet lingering on her right hand. She lowered her eyes down, sighing heavily.


    "It must be tough for you too to conceal your real self and stay beside Eva. There are certain times, we can''t suppress the wolf within us and the same thing happened that night when my inner wolf emerged out right before her eyes... I...I know this all might sound like vague excuses but...I really love her more than my life! I know you can understand my turmoils...Miss Clara." His dark eyes were immersed in the gloom as he whispered.


    She lowered her eyes down momentarily and took a deep sigh out, looking a bit distressed. "I know, I have been deceiving her keeping myself hidden from her but I have no other choice left within! Can you imagine what would be her reaction if she ever comes to know that she herself belongs to a wolf lineage? I know someday everything will come out but still, I wanted to keep her away from this world of wolves! Her father...wanted me to take care of her because he had sensed it earlier that the wolves won''t be kind to his beloved daughter. To be honest, Eva is the only family I have left in this world and I am scared of losing her. So I don''t have a choice rather than keeping my disguise.


    But...you have your own family, your own pack! You are the alpha of Romanos! You have a whole freaking life ahead of you! Then...why you had to fall for a human? Meddling with a human is forbidden in the world of werewolves! Despite being an alpha, how could you neglect such a crucial law? Why did you have to make her life harder than it''s already been? And why didn''t I realize earlier that she is gonna commit the same mistake as her mother? Oh gosh, it''s so darn frustrating!" She stroked her hair upwards tugging her face in her palms, looking much perplexed with the situation.


    He had a guilt-stricken expression over his face as he lowered his eyes down before reciprocating. "I am sorry... But...I love her so much that, I won''t even flinch if I have to sacrifice my life for her... You know it well, once our heart chose someone as the mate...we will cherish the person till eternity... Even if she disgusts my presence, I am devoted to loving her..." He had a small sad sneer on his roseate lips while reciprocating his answer.


    Clara continued contemplating deep into his poignant gaze as somehow, her heart was throbbing with a stinging pain watching Zeus confessing his emotions helplessly in front of her. Straightening her back against the chair taking a deep sigh out, she slowly mumbled, "what favor you wanted to ask me?"


    He softly placed his arm inside the pocket and took out a golden, shimmering bracelet. He stretched his arm over the table and placed it right in front of her. Clara was intensely gawking at the bracelet and saw it was embroidered with a shiny ruby stone in the center with red fox fur thread surrounding it as a lace.


    But something else piqued her curiosity when she witnessed several reddish burnt scars on the backside of his right hand. The scars were quite scary to look at and wearing a full long sleeve coat, he was trying hard to cover them.


    "Here...I want you...to give this bracelet to Eva..." He mumbled out, looking at her.


    Fretting her face, Clara raised her chin up from the bracelet and sharply stared into his eyes. "Hey, aren''t those wolfbane scars on your arm?" She asked.

 Chapter 171 - He Deserves

    A bit startled at her sharp observation, Zeus kept his silence for a few seconds sitting still facing her opposite. Taking a deep huff of breath, she chose to ignore her query meticulously while she was still gawking at him impertinently.


    "This spiritual ruby...will protect Eva from approaching danger. It will also keep that bastard hellhound away from her." His voice sounded very intense.


    "Hellhound?" Frowning her eyes with a shade of dread, she interrogated him quickly in a blunt note.


    "Eva was kidnapped by a hellhound." He murmured, lowering his gaze down from her.


    "What!?" Shrieking out in shock, Clara swirled her eyes gasping a heavy puff of breath. "What on the earth has been happening around Eva?"


    Watching her appalled expression, Zeus stayed calm for a few seconds, shifted his face outside the cafe with a blank gaze in his dark eyes. "I guess, there are many things you still don''t know about yet, Miss Clara.


    But...Eva needs to be protected...I am evident enough that he would come back for her again. I can sense a greater conspiracy behind it.


    That''s why I want to make sure he won''t lay a single scratch on her even if I am no longer here..." He was expressing his concern in a polite note, staring at the murky clouds up intensely.


    Clara stayed still for a few seconds trying to process the unexpected revelations looking extremely perplexed. Stroking her hair up from her forehead, she took a sip of the coffee to calm herself down. "I...I can''t believe it! A hellhound? Gosh...I never expected it to happen..."


    "In the forthcoming future, maybe...she would be targetted by other beasts. As both of us know, she is a special hybrid from a pureblood... It''s just that, she herself isn''t aware of the capabilities she owns... But, her strong sweet fragrance indicates that she does have a mystical possession of power. That''s why...she has to be protected no matter at what cost..." He asserted deeply.


    "So that''s the reason...her father wanted me to stay and protect her forever... Maybe, he had sensed it earlier!" Gulping her saliva she lifted her chin up and intensely looked down deep into his eyes which were fixed at the outer scenario. "I am amazed by you, Mr. Zeus!"


    "Huh?" He quickly shifted his glance towards her, fretting his brow ridge.


    "Your own life is on the line right now and yet...you are still madly concerned about Eva! The way you ignored my question... proved that my hunch was indeed right. They are wolfsbane scars, isn''t it?" She probed.


    A small sad smirk escaped his chapped lips while he took a heavy sigh out. "Indeed, I can''t escape a wolf''s gaze..." He retaliated.


    "Tomorrow is the red lunar eclipse..."


    "I know...That''s the reason, I decided to ask you for the favor a day before, Miss Clara."


    Hearing his calm and composed response, she was further startled. Rolling her dark gaze, she grumbled out intensely, "how can you be so tranquilized about such a dreadful situation? You might lose your life if you can''t bear the pain... You know it''s one of the most horrific curses in the world of wolves! You are a true-blood alpha...the effect might worsen on you!


    Yet, you are still only worried for her? Shouldn''t you worry about yourself at least now?"


    The smile he had on his face faded completely as he lowered his head down. He tossed a heavy sigh out before responding to her.


    "I have brought it all on myself so I don''t have a choice rather than bearing the consequences. Yet...I am worried about my pack and...Eva..." While answering, he raised his gaze up to look at her perplexed face and sounded much morose. "Miss Clara, if...I can''t make it this time... you have to keep the promise you made once with her father. Don''t make her feel alone again... I wish forever to see the happiest dimples on her face when she smiles..."


    "She will...never be happy without you, Mr. Zeus." A sad gaze shimmered in her sullen eyes while she whispered those words to him. "In this world, no one can make her happier than you and that''s what aches my heart the most."


    GRUMBLE!


    All of a sudden, a hoarse, loud rumbling sound came out of those dusky clouds piled up on the murky horizon. The weather seemed much gloomy which further intensified the depth of the agonizing situation persisting between them.


    "It looks like it would rain at any moment... Miss Clara, you should head back to your workplace now." Gently, Zeus stood up from the seat and sadly glanced at the bracelet on the table placed before her. "Please don''t forget to give it to her... And... Please take care of my Eva..."


    "Fuck! Why does this request sound like a goodbye?" Her heart throbbed a little with this thought and abruptly, she stood up from the chair staring deep into his gaze, fretting her grimace. "You are a powerful alpha of your pack. You have to survive this curse and come back...at least...for Eva''s sake. O...Okay?"


    A wide smile appeared on his face hearing her honest concern. He was about to turn back and head outside but suddenly, he paused for a moment and looked back at her.


    "Also...whatever the conversation happened between us...I want you to keep it a secret. I...I want to see her so bad but I am afraid, she would break down if she ever hears about this curse. So...even if I am gone, you have to protect your secret...okay?" He murmured.


    "It feels so fucking awful to keep it hidden from her but she is already devasted enough...I don''t want to shatter her entirely..." She wondered silently averting her eyes down.


    "Also...keep our meeting as a secret from Czar."


    "Huh?"


    Hearing his unexpected command, deadpanned in shock she flung her eyes up to gawk intensely at him. He had still a small smirk lingering on his face as he mumbled those words out.


    "Wh-What do yo-you mean?"


    "Are you wondering about how I know about you both...right?" He reciprocated, putting his arms in his pocket.


    Ogling at him nervously, she gulped her saliva and stuttered anxiously, "I...I wanted to keep us a secret from the others...How come you know about it? As...As far I know, wolves can''t read each other''s minds, right?"


    "I didn''t go that far, Miss Clara. It''s just...I saw Czar''s Porche parked at your workplace. I didn''t expect him to gift his favorite car to anyone." He retaliated in a deep, calm voice.


    "Favorite car?" She scrunched her eyebrows, reciprocating him nervously. "But he had told me...it was...one of his unused cars that he had been bored off..."


    "He lied." A chuckle escaped his lips as he remarked at her assertion. "It''s the car he loved the most and...he gave it to you. So...you must be holding a special place in his heart, Miss Clara."


    "What?" Baffled at his answer, she forgot to even blink her eyelashes, staring all numb.


    "Czar is the type of guy...who likes to hide his emotions from the rest under his fake witty smile. He won''t budge about anyone except the ones he truly cares about. He may be arrogant to you or likes to throw unnecessary tantrums to annoy you, but he indeed has a kind heart. I...I know, he just likes to act tougher. That''s all...


    See you again if destiny permits... Miss Clara." Tossing a warm smile at her, he slowly turned away and started heading out of the cafe with giant footsteps.


    She stood still watching him from behind with a deep, dark gaze profused with sadness.


    "Why? Why is fate so cruel to this person who always puts others before himself? Darn! He deserves to live! Both of them deserve to be happiest together!" Mumbling on her own, she glanced at the bracelet while a tingling pain stung deep her heart.


    "Damn it! How am I going to give it to her? I don''t wanna give it to her as his remembrance...Ahh, it''s so freaking painful for me..." She quivered clutching the bracelet tighter in her grip.


    .............


    It was around 7.30 pm...


    The dusky clouds had gathered thicker on the skyline giving the atmosphere a darkish resemblance before the lunar eclipse. Eva was sitting in the living room turning the lights with countless thoughts crowding her mind in the darkness. She had a frown face, with her eyes fixed on the window outside.


    "Both of them looked good next to each other... I...I was always a frail woman who caused so many troubles to him... She is powerful, beautiful, and stronger enough to stay right next to Zeus in his need...


    Perhaps... a mere human like me was never worthy for him... I...I was living in a dream until now..." She was wondering inside when a loud door unlocking sound interrupted her thinking.


    Walking inside the darkroom, Clara turned on the lights and saw she was sitting on the couch looking much distressed. She too had an agonizing look on her face and as both their eyes met, they stared at each other for a while.


    "Eva, why are you sitting in the dark?" She inquired first, walking slowly towards her.


    "Well...It''s nothing... But, you are a bit late today. The weather is quite unpleasant outside, so, I was worried for you, Clara." She stated in a polite voice.


    Taking a deep sigh out, Clara slowly sat on the couch and her glance shifted to Eva''s phone which was kept on the table near her.


    Quietly she grabbed the phone and stretched her arm to hand it back to her. "Here...make...make a phone call." She stuttered.


    "To whom?" She probed curiously.


    "Zeus." A cold husky voice escaped her trembling lips.

 Chapter 172 - A Peaceful Choice

    "Wh-What?" Spellbound at her remark for a few seconds, Eva frowned her grimace and continued gawking at her in awe.


    Clara seemed much perplexed with her gestures but still managed to stretch her arm towards her sounding all firm. "I said...call Mr. Zeus and talk to him. Now."


    "Why I have to do that? Cl-Clara are you fine? Do you even know what you are asking me right now?" She was baffled at her response, scrunching her brows.


    "I know... It''s fucking painful for me to keep everything concealed from you...But, it''s a tough time for him too. At least, I can do this much for him." Mumbling inside her mind, she took a deep breath out and further concluded, "I know what am I asking you. Since that night...I know you haven''t been contacted him for once."


    "Ex-Exactly. So...why would I have to call him up right now? It...It doesn''t make any sense. You are appearing very weird..." Fidgeting her fingers while grabbing the phone from her clasp, she placed it over the couch sounding a bit displeased.


    Clara frowned her brow ridge and sharply glanced at her with countless thoughts worrying her up to the core. Seeming a bit reluctant, she put her arm inside the purse and took out the shimmering golden bracelet placing it on the table.


    Eva was quick to notice the ruby embroidered bracelet. Swirling her pupils, she chose to interrogate her,  "what''s this?"


    "Zeus asked me to give it to you." A cold, frigid response escaped her lips as she murmured.


    "What!? Zeus? He has met you? Why?" Several queries were tossed by her at once as she looked extremely surprised with the revelation.


    "Were you kidnapped by a hellhound?" Abruptly, she charged her looking a bit irked.


    "Huh?"


    "Why didn''t you tell me anything regarding it? You are facing every pain and sorrow alone when I am right by your side? Is this what friends for?" Clara''s shrieked in a loud voice as she appeared much vexed at her.


    "I...I just didn''t want to make you worry furthermore..." Fidgeting anxiously, she lowered her head down holding a guilt-stricken face. "But why are you bringing this up now?"


    "The hellhound or any creepy beast might attack you again. I know you are deeply hurt by him but he really keeps you over his own life, Eva... I know, after running away from him that day...things have ended badly between you both.


    At least...I want you to talk to him once and end things on a good note. I think...he deserves an apology from your side after what sacrifices he has made for you." She was trying hard to convince her mind deliberately.


    Eva seemed getting perturbed at her response as she raised her chin up, glancing at her infuriatingly. "So you think I didn''t make any worthy sacrifice to stay with him?"


    "No Eva, I didn''t mean that--"


    "Clara you knew it, I always...wanted to live a normal life! I...I accepted his supernatural abilities despite knowing that he isn''t a human! I didn''t even budge and chose to accept the way of life destiny had prepared for us...


    But...a wolf? How could he hide it away from me despite knowing...how much it would agonize me from inside? How could he break my trust when I..." Her husky voice trailed off as she took in a deep breath, trying to choke her tears inside.


    Holding a morose look on her grimace, she softly took her seat next to her on the couch and grabbed her arm tenderly, staring deep into her eyes. "I know... I know you are fussing about him right now because you are deeply hurt from your core... But...even in this tough time...all he could worry about was about your safety from this cruel world--"


    "Tough time?" All of a sudden, she interrupted her remark and ogled her eyes, looking a bit intense. "What do you mean by tough time?"


    Hearing her bold query, Clara resembled a little palpitating, tapping her feet on the ground. "No...I...I mean...this...separation time..." She was fumbling.


    Eva continued gawking at her wriggling footsteps and watching her getting all nervous, she clearly understood something was indeed off. Frowning her brows, she retaliated, "Clara do you think you can lie to me on my face? You always wriggle your feet whenever you are nervous... I am sure, you must be hiding something from me."


    "No...Eva... It''s not--"


    "Please don''t torment my emotions anymore, Clara! I beg off of you! Please spit it clearly." She groped her hand tight, answering in a deep voice.


    Clara intensively stared profoundly in her eyes, gulping fretfully. Her mind was shrouded with countless thoughts which were stirring up her insides.


    "She would go berserk if I tell her about this curse... But...I can''t lie to her... Damn, what kind of freaking situation I am stuck in!" She was grumbling inside her mind.


    "Will you please shred off your silence and answer me--"


    "He...He is going...somewhere far tomorrow..." Suddenly, she murmured out aloud looking very perplexed before she could even wrap her words. Eva seemed much startled at her confession and slowly, left her grip over her arm.


    "Going...far?"


    "Y-Yes. He...He didn''t want to hurt your emotions anymore that''s why instead of putting this on you, he asked me to hand it over...Just for your sake, Eva." Her voice sounded much gloomy, as she lowered her eyes down mumbling softly.


    "Wh-Where is he going? When would he return? For how long he is gonna be away?" She appeared very restless, asking her several questions at once in a hoarse, frigid tone.


    "How can I tell you that possibly...he might never return again..." Wondering inside her mind, taking a deep huff of breath in, Clara quietly gripped the bracelet from the table and placed it right before her. "I don''t know about it...all I want you to just...talk with him once... before...you regret it later... And, keep this with you forever..."


    "Regret it later? Hey...Clara... You are definitely keeping something off from me, don''t you? Why are you being so skeptical?" She shrieked out impatiently, swirling her eyes helplessly.


    "I will leave it up to you, Eva. I can''t impose my wish on you...I just conveyed what he asked me to do...That''s all." Turning her face away from her, she stood up from the couch and tried to head straight towards the kitchen leaving the conversation incomplete. It seemed evident from her gestures that she was trying to skip her intense queries.


    "Fuck!" Fuming out of extreme frustration, Eva jolted up from the couch and dashed outside stomping her feet in rage. As she rushed out in a fit, Clara slowly looked back towards the door she marched out, gasping heavily.


    "I am sorry Eva... But... I can''t tell you about the curse... You are already going berserk just by hearing that he will gonna be away for some time... I can''t imagine your state if...you know about his approaching danger...


    Lord, please...please help Zeus this time... Please...make him survive at least..." She mumbled, sighing out deeply lowering her grimace down.


    .....


    It was around 8 pm...Walking at a staggering pace, Eva was looking all grievous while strolling by the footpath. The atmosphere seemed pretty dense as if it was about to start raining in the blink of a second. Without even realizing it, she was standing at the side of the giant Via Del Corso Street.


    The street was thickly packed up with countless traffic heavily running through. The traffic seemed a bit heavier since the weather was awful, all the netizens were rushing hurriedly back to their family. Watching the running cars with an empty gaze in her eyes, she was all swooned in silence.


    "It all...It all started here...This was the place where I was standing pathetically to take away my own life... If...Zeus hadn''t saved me that night, I would have been already run over...


    Today...I am here again, all hollow and empty from inside... Now, Zeus will be gone from here tomorrow leaving me behind... Tomorrow is the lunar eclipse...If, I accept Czar''s offer and get my memories erased, will this emptiness disappear from my heart?


    No...I don''t think...I will be happy ever again... I am just a hopeless woman full of bad luck... Then...what''s the point of suffering all this misery? I am...fucking tired of getting hurt."


    SHHHWAAAAA...


    While she was lost in her perplexed thoughts, heavy rain started pouring down the sky with a grumbling sound amidst the clouds. She had rushed out of the house empty-handed without an umbrella. So there was no other option left for her other than drenching in the fall.


    However, she saw several pedestrians running down the street carrying their umbrellas in a rush to head back home. Standing within the heavy rainfall, she was noticing them with a sad smirk on her face.


    "My life has been so empty that...I don''t even want to rush back home... All I am doing is causing trouble for Clara... He is still worried about my safety and yet...I have badly hurt Zeus...


    Then... why am I living like this? Isn''t death a peaceful choice at this moment?" Lowering her gaze down for a second, her rolling tears mixed up with the rain soaking her pale face within.


    Clenching her fist, she marched a step ahead towards the street, whimpering silently.

 Chapter 173 - Why Cant You Hate Me?

    The void of emptiness in her heart had been swallowing her entirely from inside. As she took a staggering step ahead towards the street, the intensity of the rainfall further increased heavily. Completely soaked in the fall her eyes were gawking towards the cars running across the street.


    All of a sudden, the traffic light at the zebra crossing turned red. All the cars lined up on the road next to each other as soon as she was about to take a step on the street. She halted, lifted her chin up, and stared on the opposite side of the street blinking her teary eyes.


    An unexpected sight dropped her jaw in shock as her pupils were dilated! Surging her gaze wider, she saw on the exact opposite side, holding a black umbrella Zeus was standing tall, looking at her with a well-defined gaze of longingness in his eyes. As soon as the cars halted, he quietly started marching closer to her via the crosswalk with his giant bold footsteps.


    Eva was standing numb like a rock, all stunned watching him staring her eyes wide open. She was gasping heavily and tried to blink her eyelashes a few times as if the sight was too unbelievable to believe. This was the same site where they found each other for the first time. At the same site again they discovered each other again carrying the profound feeling of yearning buried in their hearts.


    As soon as he crossed over, the traffic signal turned green indicating the cars to start their rush again. Walking closer to her with a deep poignant gaze towards her, he continued staring at her keeping his silence for a few seconds.


    "Is it real? Is he really standing before me? I...I am not dreaming right! This is indeed true! This is really Zeus standing before me!" Mumbling perplexedly in disbelief inside her mind, her sad gaze was fixed on him.


    Frowning his face, he quietly placed the umbrella over her head, preventing her from getting drenched further. His face looked deeply saddened and taking a deep breath inside, he chose to break their silence first.


    "Why...are you here again?" He whispered in a gloomy, dark voice.


    Eva was so stunned to find him there that even his words seemed unreal to her! Holding her numb posture, she continued staring at him as usual.


    "What were you trying to do, Eva?" His voice resonated quite deeply as an echo ringing in her ears.


    She still couldn''t answer a single word, stood numb and still. All of a sudden, her pale roseate lips were trembling on their own as if she was on the verge of breaking down bitterly.


    Watching her all trembling in angst, he continued peering at her with his sad gaze. Softly, he held her arm to pass the umbrella over to her. She was surprised at his kind gestures, swirling her eyeballs wider in awe.


    "Don''t get drenched in rain. You will catch a cold at this rate." He whispered fondly looking at her tear-soaked gaze.


    In the flash of a second, he hurriedly took off the long black coat that he was putting on and placed it around her shoulder covering her soaked white floral top which was being a see through dress from getting saturated. His love and concerns regarding her were still overpouring which she could notice evidently.


    "Don''t take off this coat and don''t get further wetted--"


    "Why are you doing this to me?" In a cold, husky voice rolling her eyeballs at him, she charged him.


    It seemed that he hadn''t expected such a question from her. He stood like a rock getting himself drenched in the fall.


    But Eva looked extremely restless, fuming in angst. All of a sudden, she tossed away the umbrella from her arm and broke down into sobbing. Fiercely, gripping his shirt over his sturdy chest, she shrieked out aloud desperately, "why are you still kind to me? Shouldn''t you be angry? Shouldn''t you hate me? Shouldn''t you curse at me? I...I hurt you so bad and yet you are still being good to me?"


    Her loud shrilling voice caught the attention of a few pedestrians passing by them. Watching her getting all grief-stricken, Zeus tenderly gripped both of her arms trying to calm her down, "Eva...please calm down..."


    "Why the heck you still care about me? Why did you bring the bracelet? Why my safety still matters to you more than your own damn life! Fuck! It''s so painful! Why? Why can''t you despise me? At least hate me so that I can get over you!! Please hate me! I don''t deserve your kindness! Don''t do this me...hic..hic..." Mourning out aloud, she leaned her head closer to his chest clenching her grip tighter over her shirt. Both of them were standing amidst the heavy rainfall, absorbed in their glum.


    "How can I hate you...when it was my choice to love you till my eternity..." Mumbling in a sad voice, Zeus tenderly placed his arm over her back shoulder tapping a few times while she was grieving heavily on his chest. He didn''t try to stop her from crying. Instead, he wanted her to get rid off her emotions which were piling up her insides.


    "The moments I got to spend with you, were undoubtedly the best moments of my life, Eva. You blessed me with a beautiful world even though our moments were short-lived... Loving someone truly means no matter how much pain they cause to you...no matter how hard you try, you can''t bring yourself to hate them... I know...you hurted me badly that day because deep inside, you were wrecking in pain too... I have indeed caused you a lot of trouble... I am sorry for that..." He whispered tenderly holding her in his arms while the tears mixed with rain water rolled down his cheeks.


    "Don''t be like this...Don''t torment me with your kindness, Zeus!" Drifting herself a bit away from him, she slowly unleashed her grip over his shirt mumbling tearfully while staring at him.


    A soft sad smile prevailed over his face as he fondly placed his palm over the right side of her cheek. "Don''t come here again. Don''t look back anymore... You don''t have to wear the bracelet if you don''t want...just keep it along with you as it will keep protecting you from evil approaches...


    And lastly...I...I am sorry for loving you. But...thank you for reciprocating my love even if it was for a brief period...


    I just want to see you happy...even if the happiness no longer includes me... I will still keep loving you, forever..." Slowly he pulled his hand apart from her face and tossing a warm smile, he started walking past her trying to hide his tears away from her.


    Sobbing bitterly she quickly turned back and to her surprise, she noticed that he had already disappeared in thin air... She was standing alone amidst the heavy rain with the umbrella lying down at the side of the footpath.


    "Are you just going to disappear on me like that? How can I be happy without you? How! Just tell me how can I stop loving you? How can you just leave me behind just like that? Hic...Why!? Why!!" Her knees gave up on the strength and clenching the coat placed over her shoulder, she knelt down on the ground crying aloud...


    ........


    Amidst the heavy showers, Ivory was sitting on a wooden bench at a public park with her heart shrouded in anxiety. She was immensely worried about Zeus and unable to cope up with her inner turmoil, she decided to get drenched in the rain cooling her head down.


    "Found you!"


    All of a sudden, she flinched hard with the unexpected shrilling noise in front of her. She lifted her chin up and noticed Eric was standing before her holding an umbrella over her head and panting heavily as if he was running out of breath.


    "You! Aren''t you my purse thief! Why are you here!?" Growling at him angrily, she stood up from the bench and tossed away the umbrella he was putting over her.


    "Errr...umm...I am not a thief... And... I was looking for you since the evening! I almost went to every places seeking for you and finally found you here sitting in this heavy rain. But...you might catch a cold at this rate..." Anxiously, he mumbled, huffing intensely.


    "Why do you bother about me? Gosh! Such an annoying punk!" Snapping at him furiously, she tried to walk past by him to avoid his presence.


    "Wait!" Suddenly, he grabbed her arm from behind intending to stop her from leaving. "At least let me know your name---"


    THUDD!


    "EEEEEEKK!"


    Before he could complete his words, Ivory fiercely twisted his arm and thrashed him on the ground with a vicious kick on his abdomen. The attack was so sudden in the flash of a second that Eric started whimpering in pain on the ground, clenching his stomach.


    "If you dare to touch me again...I am gonna break your arm next time! Remember it!" Threatening in a deep dark voice in that intense rainy night, she turned around and headed straight out of the park tapping her high heels.


    "Augghhh, wa-wait...ughhh! My stomach!" He was groaning on the muddy ground watching her slowly disappearing from his sight.


    Tossing a heavy sigh of defeat he wondered on his own, "darn it! Why the heck she is so violent? Maybe...she really have a problem with touching... Ugh, I still couldn''t know her name...


    But...


    Why am I finding her counterattack so sexy? Damn! I must be really blinded by love!"

 Chapter 174 - Tempting Method

    Entirely soaked in the fall with water drops dripping down his sturdy body, holding a staggering pace Zeus returned back to the mansion before midnight. He had a bereaved expression on his face with an empty dark gaze in his eyes. From his motion, it seemed he was physically unwell but trying hard to endure every suffering within.


    As soon as he was about to head upstairs, suddenly, he heard bold footsteps just behind him which halted his motion.


    "You seem very weak, big brother. Has your condition already started to deteriorate?"


    A tantalized hoarse familiar voice inquired him from behind. It was Czar. Dressed up in his nightrobe twirling a glass of wine in his right arm, he came closer to him and stood below leaning against the silver railing covering guarding the staircase.


    With a distressed look in his grimace, drenched Zeus turned behind to look at him. A dim yellowish chandelier was illuminant in the giant living room. Within the mild light, Czar noticed that indeed his condition was worsening.


    Reddish black burnt scars had almost covered his neck along with his arms which was visible through the turtle-neck white rain-soaked shirt. Moreover, those scars had sprung up to appear on his jawline which wasn''t evident till the morning.


    "Woah! The scars are forming pretty quick over you," taking a sip of wine he mumbled those words with a sly gaze towards him.


    "Czar...I am gonna leave the mansion before sunrise... I am exhausted right now so...let''s save our conversation for later..." He mumbled.


    "You sure that you are gonna survive this eclipse?" A quick witty question jumbled out of his mouth as soon as he finished his remark.


    He stood still for some time and slowly averted his eyes down. Without uttering a single word he was about to turn back to head upstairs towards his room.


    "And...Are you just gonna let her go like this?"


    All of a sudden, the unexpected intense query from Czar halted his motion as he froze. Glancing sharply at him, he swirled his eyeballs while mumbling, "what do you mean?"


    "I am talking about Eva... Are you just gonna disappear from her life like this? What will happen if you never come back? Ahh...your undefined calmness makes me wanna snatch her away from you, big brother..." A cunning smirk lingered on his lips as he chugged down the remaining amount of wine from the glass before tossing it away.


    "Are you...trying to provoke me, Czar?" An ice-cold response flung from him, while he was frowning his eloquence.


    "You can take it however you like...but...I am gonna be honest with you today, Zeus." Holding a firm posture before responding, he climbed a few steps up to head closer to him. A wide smile occupied his face while he rolled his pupils at him, "I do have feelings for her."


    The bold confession from his mouth pierced through his chest causing his heart to bleed inside. A stinging pain churned his insides profusely while he glared intensely at him clenching his grip on the silver railing. "What?"


    "She reminds me of my long-lost mother. No...Actually, she is way similar to her... Maybe... the kind of woman I always wanted to love affectionately is actually her... Isn''t it weird? Somehow, she makes my heart warm. I feel a strange kind of solace when I right next to her side. Like this, I have reached my conclusion that I do like...no, I love her. I want to cherish her..." He murmured those words straight on his face, gawking in his eyes deeply.


    Zeus was getting extremely perplexed hearing his proclaimed confession. His heart was throbbing with a feeling of agitation as he clenched the railing way tighter. Holding a growling look in his dark eyes, he indeed seemed quite enraged.


    "What? Are you getting angry or insecure, big brother?" An evil sneer escaped his lips as if he was amused to see that kind of look on his face hearing his honest response. "But your calmness has further provoked my feelings. You know it already, I am not a composed wolf like you! If I like something, I tend to snatch it right away! I don''t fucking wait for any consent or all..."


    "Can you keep her safe?" Murmuring in a deep voice calmly, Zeus took a deep breath in staring profoundly at his dubious gaze.


    "What?" He swirled his gaze in awe as immediately his sneer faded into darkness.


    "I asked if you can protect her with all your might. Remember what we have taught till now, attack and protect. So...are you bold enough to protect your loved one?" He reciprocated his words gently without showing any signs of hyping up.


    "What is this fool asking me? Why isn''t he getting enraged with my confession? I am trying so fucking hard to provoke his instincts but...what the heck?" Wondering inside his mind, he clenched his fist glaring back at him ardently. "What kind of response is this?" He growled.


    "I am not giving up on her, Czar. I love her with all my might and won''t even hesitate to die for her... If you claim to love her, you gotta protect your cherished one with everything you got. If...I fail to come back safe...I hope...you will protect her the way I did till now...


    But, if I come back...you will gotta fight me... Till then, I will be counting on you." Softly he tapped his shoulder once before mumbling the words of encouragement kindly to him. Though he was trying hard to stay all fine, his face looked miserable, stuffed in pain as he tossed a small sad smile at him.


    Slowly he turned away and marched towards his room upstairs with a staggering posture. Czar stood numb behind him watching him intensely with a concerned look evident in his eyes.


    "Wh-What the hell? I...I didn''t expect such a kind of cold reaction from him! I tried hard to tempt him so bad but... Has this fool already given up on his hope of survival? Darn, what am I gonna do with this airhead?" Gritting his jowls with immense frustration, he whirled his dark gaze glancing upstairs towards his room.


    ........

 Chapter 175 - The Day Arrives

    "Woah... Mom, Dad you both look so young in these pictures... Were you both still teenagers?" Happily glancing at the album sitting right next to her mother Eleana, young middle-schooler Eva asked her meekly.


    A wide smile of pleasance appeared on her face as soon as she heard the question. Gazing at the picture she nodded her head softly, "well...I was around 18 when I first met your dad. This is our first picture taken together." She whispered.


    "Really? Then...Was dad your first love, mom?"


    "Yes. We both were each other''s first love, Eva." She tenderly caressed her hair sounding very warm.


    "But..." Suddenly, her small face stiffened a little as the smile on her lips quickly disappeared. "I read a quote in a story...that...first love never works out, mom."


    "Haha... That''s all false belief, Eva." Holding a warm smiley gaze, her shimmering brown hair was shimmering in the sunlight coming through the giant windows beside their couch. She softly placed her arm around her small shoulder and patted her head, "there is nothing such as a perfect relationship, Eva. In every love story, there will be indefinite struggles. Your dad and I didn''t have an easy path either...The sufferings were so intense that at a moment, we really thought we have to give up on each other...


    But we chose to stay strong and fight together. And look, today we are blessed with such a beautiful family... I can''t imagine my life without Stevan and I know, he feels the same. The struggles and fights actually prove your worth to save a relationship from falling apart. It''s just you have to choose with whom your heart wants to bear the struggle with..."


    Eva had a proud smile on her face while looking at her with a gaze of devotion. Tenderly, she held her arm with her small grip and mumbled, "mom, will I ever find someone who will love me like the way dad loves you?"


    "Your destiny must be already waiting for you, my child. It''s just a matter of time till your heart chooses the person who will be right for you... Once you find him, never let him go, Eva. Because, if you do...all you will be left with immense regrets..." She placed a soft peck on her forehead, whispering her soothing answer.


    .


    "But I am never gonna allow my Eva to marry someone else!"


    Both of them flinched hard with the sudden voice before them. Stevan was standing holding a sulky grimace, fondly looking at both of them.


    "Dad?" Eva smiled brightly with her brown eyes gleaming in joy.


    "Stevan...since when you were listening to us? And how long you are gonna be a possessive father?" Eleana tossed a gentle query, glancing at him with her affectionate gaze.


    "No matter what happens...I will never allow my Eva to go to any other man..." Gently he walked towards them and took his seat on the couch in the middle of Eleana and Eva. He gripped both of their arms tenderly and whispered again, "no one will be ever allowed to leave me. I am very possessive for my Eva, especially."


    "Aww...I am also never gonna leave you, dad. We will always stay together...forever..." She snuggled in his embrace, reciprocating his proclamation in the most gentle way possible.


    "Watching you both father-daughter duo, my heart feels warm. I hope...the divinity will always keep us together..." Eleana tenderly leaned her head on his shoulder, mumbling in a low sonorous voice.


    .


    "And what about us?"


    Standing in front of the door, young Felix and Clara were smiling at them while asking in a surly way. Glancing at both of them, Stevan spread his arms wider inviting them to his warm embrace.


    "How can I forget about the members of my family? Of course, you both are also not allowed to leave me either! Our family will be strong as a rock... Come here, my little children..."


    All of them giggled in a jubilant manner as both of them rushed towards the couch. The sound of their joyous laughter reverberated the entire room as an echo.


    ....


    All of a sudden, Eva opened her eyes. She was lying alone on Clara''s bed and with the mild sunrays barging in the room. It seemed as if it was already morning. Tears were dripping down from the corner of her eyes as she looked at the ceiling with the pain of loneliness breaking her heart apart.


    "Since how long I got to see such a happy dream? But those words mom told me once...why do they seem too deep?" Wondering deep inside her mind, she wiped her tears and slowly sat up on the bed. Her head was being heavy with feeling dizziness twitching inside. Leaning against the cushion, she slowly glanced outside the window at the sunny weather. The intense rain from yesterday had stopped and the horizon was pretty clear. It was around the end of springtime so the temperature was quite rising high.


    .


    "Are you feeling better today?"


    All of a sudden, she noticed that Clara was standing at the door with a warm smile on her face and bringing a coffee with some cookies for her.


    "Y-Yes." Eva slowly nodded her head.


    "Yesterday you returned home completely soaked in rain. Luckily, you didn''t catch a cold but your head might feel heavy. Here, drink this and take a good rest today." She placed the coffee on the table beside the bed, mumbling gently.


    Eva stayed calm for a few seconds and lifted her chin up to look at her. "Umm, Clara... The coat I was wearing--"


    "I know, it belongs to Zeus, right?" She reciprocated quickly before her she could finish her words.


    "Yes..."


    "Don''t fret, I have dry cleaned it too. Just take a good rest and unnecessarily don''t step outside. Today is the red lunar eclipse." She tapped her shoulder once, whispering in a sonorous voice.


    Quietly she nodded her head to her response and lowered her head down. "So...5 days are already over." She thought.


    "Eva, I might be late today from work. I am gonna apply for leave by this weekend. Let''s go for a short trip by that time to relieve our stressful life. Okay?" Clara had a small simper on her face while she was trying her best to cheer her gloomy self.


    "Yes."


    "Alright, I have to head for work. Breakfast is already prepared. Don''t overthink too much and...don''t go outside today, okay?" Somehow her voice sounded a bit intense as if she was trying hard to keep her away from any uninvited danger.


    As soon as she walked out of the room, Eva glanced at the desk near the bed.


    The golden bracelet was kept carefully on it and staring at it, she mumbled on her own, "why is she telling me to stay outside? Is she scared that I might invite any new trouble?


    Or... Something is gonna happen today?"

 Chapter 176 - A Date With You?

    "CZAR!! CZAR!!!"


    Startled by the loud call, Czar flinched hard while buttoning up his shirt when Ivory dashed into his room in the flash of a second. She slammed the door hard before rushing in, huffing intensely and looking all petrified from her eloquence.


    "Woah! Why are you screaming out so loud in my ears? Damn...I was panicked for a second." Frowning his face, he turned away from her focussing his glance back on the dressing mirror.


    Ivory was gasping heavily glancing all around the room. It seemed she had arrived there running all the way and took a while fanning herself to calm down.


    "Czar, do you even know what''s happening here? Ze-Zeus isn''t in his room! Everyone is freaked out downstairs! Aunty Aelia and Uncle Antonio are immensely frustrated! Our members have been trying hard to search for him in every possible way...but...we can''t find anything--"


    "Zeus has left." Before she could wrap up her words, he declared in a cold, sonorous voice fixing his hair while looking at the giant mirror. His voice sounded all calm, without showing any sign of palpitation.


    "Wh-What?"


    "Zeus has left the mansion. Today is finally, the Red Lunar Eclipse." He mumbled.


    "He left? What? Where did he go? Didn''t he tell you anything before leaving?" Several fretful questions were fired from her while she was looking extremely tensed, swirling her large greyish-brown eyeballs.


    "I didn''t ask about that. It''s his choice to leave or stay...or whatever he wants." Spraying his cologne over his collar, he was still focussed on grooming up himself.


    But Ivory appeared to be on the edge of holding her patience. Gritting her jowls, she furiously grabbed by his arm and turned him around to glance face to face. She was clenching him tightly and grumbled in a hoarse voice, "why the fuck you seem so calm about it? Do you even realize the depth of the situation? Why don''t you seem a bit worried for your own damn brother?"


    "Half-brother! Don''t misinterpret our relation." Declaring in a bold pitch, he unleashed his grip from her clasp and scrunched his jowls looking a bit displeased. "Why should I be worried for him? It was his choice to be stabbed by the wolfsbane. He brought everything on himself and now there is no option rather than bearing the consequences." He uttered while turning back again towards the mirror, to focus on grooming.


    "Czar! Zeus has always cared about you honestly! How...How can you be so heartless towards him? You do know that what he is gonna face through today...still! Just how can you be so cruel--"


    "If you are done venting your frustrations on me, then I would like to leave now. I have an important date fixed today." Grabbing his car keys, he turned behind facing her while fixing his black Armani shirt collar. He seemed very unbothered with the ruckus she was causing on which further provoked her agitation higher.


    "Woah! Your brother might be suffering so hard for his life and all you worry about is your ridiculous date? How...How the fuck you can be so brazen, Czar?" She snapped, glaring furiously at him.


    "The date is...very important for me today, Ivory. I am sorry, but I have to leave." Holding a witty small smirk on his face, he conversed his remark staring deep into her fiery eyes.


    She continued glaring viciously at him for a few seconds and took a heavy sigh of agitation out. "It...It was absolutely worthless of me to hope for help from you... I feel pity for Zeus to have been blessed with such an awful brother like you! I...feel disgusting!" She turned around hoarsely and took gallant steps to walk through the door fuming in wrath.


    "If you really feel pity for him...shouldn''t you have stepped behind until now?"


    As soon as she was about to step outside, his ice-cold sonorous voice halted her motion. She stood still for a while and sharply glanced back. "What do you mean?"


    "You are smart enough to know what I mean, Ivory." He had a dark sneer evident on his grimace as he took a few steps closer towards her. "Or shall I elaborate?"


    "Spit it clear." She swirled her eyes, gawking at him with an intense stare.


    "Zeus loves another woman. You know it well, that, he will never look at you the way you want. But still, you are hopelessly chasing after him forgetting your boundaries. If you had really felt pity for him, shouldn''t you have already stopped that?" Firmly straightening his tall posture, he inquired bluntly.


    The question was quite unexpected for Ivory as she seemed startled by it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she tossed a tantalized irked smirk at him while reciprocating, "Woah...look who is talking? The person who is shamelessly going on a date while his brother might be suffering to death...is questioning about my love for him!"


    A vexed grin escaped his lips as he walked further closer to her, facing each other intensely. "This is not love, Ivory. The love you had for him is now rotten to dark obsession. You are...just badly obsessed with Zeus and before you realize it, this obsession will push him away from you. The beautiful friendship you cherished with him once will be turned to dust. It will become...all worthless..."


    "STOP IT!" All of a sudden, she viciously grasped him by the collar shrieking aloud in angst. Her greyish brown eyes were transformed into bright red. Her beastly instincts were provoked immensely by his remark which was quite evident from her fiery rage.


    Czar stood all unbothered, gazed deep in her red swirling pupils holding his witty smile while answering, "truth always sounds bitter, Ivory. There is still some time left... Save your old relation with Zeus before it all falls apart. This obsession will bring you nothing good."


    "I met him first before that darn wench! I knew him first! I liked him first! I have loved him for so long! I did everything for him!! Doesn''t that matter?" Her illuminant eyes were glistening with a tinge of sadness evident, as she screamed out clenching her grip over his collar.


    "You are a fool, Ivory. Things like that never matter when it comes to love... It''s all about whom your heart chooses in the end and...Zeus has already chosen Eva." Unleashing his collar from her tight clench, he pulled her away from himself mumbling in a sonorous tone. "You have been always a wise and brave woman of our pack who has been the ideal of other wolves. But you are ruining yourself all over by being a pushover. I know, it''s painful to walk away from someone you love so much but, you can never force anyone to chose you... Stop living in the world of denial and accept the truth that''s in front of you. That''s all I can say for you."


    Tapping her shoulder once, he tried to walk past her leaving her gasping her vent. Her eyes returned to their normal form and seemed swelled with bitter tears. She stood silent for a few seconds and as soon as Czar was about to step out of the room, she turned behind growling intensely, "are you brave enough to do that? Can you let go of someone you loved with your whole heart?"


    Her snarl paused his motion for a few seconds. He stood numb but didn''t turn behind to face her. Sternly lifting his chin up with a dark gaze in his eyes, he took a deep sigh out and walked away from her, leaving her behind all alone.


    ......


    It was around 12 pm. The sun was radiant enough emitting warm rays in the atmosphere. The leaves of the trees roadside were rustling with the mild breeze blowing softly. Standing at the public park where they met the last time, Eva was glancing at her wristwatch impatiently. She was wearing a long white, full sleeve silk slit gown clenching her handbag on her arm. Wearing minimal makeup with her plump lips painted into soft pink color, she seemed a bit anxious glancing all around frowning her face.


    "Did you wait long?"


    A tender genial voice startled her from behind as she quickly turned behind. It was Czar, looking all handsomely groomed up wearing a long grey coat over his black shirt and white denim to match his elegant look. He had a warm smile on his face while approaching her in the most cordial way possible.


    "No...I...just arrived here." She seemed a bit nervous, reciprocating in a timid note.


    Czar invincibly observed her for a few seconds and a broad sneer appeared on his bright face. "Are you still dubious of me that I might harm you?" He mumbled.


    "No...It''s just...I have made up my mind, Mr. Czar. I finally came to a conclusion." She was clenching her handbag anxiously, mumbling in a crooked voice.


    "Wait, a minute!" All of a sudden, he scrunched his eyebrows a little looking a bit restless and stopped her from speaking further. His unexpected reaction startled her a little as she kept gawking deep into his eyes.


    "Before you respond to me with your answer, I would like to request something from you." He conversed in a deep bold voice.


    Eva looked all surprised at his remark as she frowned her jowls, asking him back, "request from me?"


    "Your time."


    "Huh?"


    "I am asking you for a date with me, Eva. Please...Spend the rest of the day with me until...the sunset..." He was holding a wide sneer on his face but somehow, his dark eyes seemed sadder while asking her cordially.


    "What? A date...with you?" Shocked at his remark, she mumbled aloud.

 Chapter 177 - One Last Time

    The Grand Mariotte Hotel...


    Both Eva and Czar were sitting right opposite each other on a sumptuously decorated private table inside that glorious exquisite hotel. A mild soothing violin consonance was playing at the side of the hallway creating a peaceful aura around them. They were served with succulent Wagyu beef steak along with the super unique Romanee-Conti wine. The entire date was planned quite flamboyantly which surprised Eva pretty much. Sitting inside such an exquisite environment, she was twitching the fork holding in her hand, glancing around nervously.


    "Does the steak tastes bad?"


    "Huh?"


    Suddenly, she flinched hard hearing the sonorous call from Czar who was staring at her smiling on his own. She abruptly shook her head in denial, placing the fork back on the platter.


    "No...Not at all... The...The steak tastes so good... I...I never had a delicious steak like this in my life..." Her timid voice sounded much skittish as she reciprocated his query.


    "Well, it''s the Wagyu beef which is quite an exquisite dish in the world. Also, this special wine I have solely prepared for you to savor." He twirled the wine on his glass, resounding meekly.


    "Oh, I see... But..." She gulped quickly glancing around the restaurant they were sitting in. All the other tables were empty and apart from them, no other customer was present there. This absurd desolateness piqued her curiosity as she mumbled, "why are there no other people here other than us?"


    "Because I have booked the entire restaurant for today."


    "What?"


    "I didn''t want to have any unnecessary interruption from humans, so I chose to book this place just for us today. Aren''t I smart?" Holding a wide sly chuckle on his jowl, he winked at her whispering fondly.


    Eva was getting more startled with every passing moment but couldn''t bring herself to speak out her palpitations. Slowly she lowered her head, nodding to his verdict.


    "You must be wondering, why am I being so considerate towards you today, right?" Resting his chin on his broad palm, he continued looking at her perplexed grimace intensely.


    "Yes...I was. But...I couldn''t ask you about that," cutting a small slice of the lush steak she muttered her response in a deep note.


    Czar straightened his back on the chair and softly glanced outside through the giant glass walls. His blank gaze was fixed at the endless horizon while he responded, "the best thing I ever enjoy in my life is...having a meal with someone. I have been always accustomed to eating alone, so...whenever someone joins me...it pleases my appetite."


    Eva slowly lifted her chin up from the platter and silently looked at him while his dark gaze was fixed outwards. His eyes were profused with an undefined sadness which she could visibly notice.


    "To be honest... I have never treated a woman wisely on a date. I was horribly rude or brazen around them but never intended to show my considerate emotions to anyone. But for today...I wanted to become the best cordial person who can treat you in the best possible way a man should be towards a woman...


    And, only you are allowed to see this side of me just...for today." His dubious voice reverberated like an echo while he shifted his deep glance back towards her with the mild sunrays shimmering his brown gleaming eyes.


    "What does it mean? Damn...he is confusing me so much." Clenching the glass of wine in her hand, she wondered silently with an anxious gaze towards him.


    "Ahh...I don''t want the sun to set today... I wish...I could stop the sun from setting down..." Looking a bit rattled from his eloquence, he whined those words gulping down the rest amount of the wine in a go.


    His gestures were baffling Eva quite immensely as she stared at him without uttering a single word. "He is being very weird today... I don''t know...but why did he plan all these? I can sense that he is...not his usual self today..." She was thinking, scrunching her brows.


    "Eva?" All of a sudden, he called her name aloud while she was immersed in her thoughts.


    "Y-Yes?"


    "There is still some time remaining till the eve... Let''s go grab some ice cream somewhere else after we finish the meal." He asserted softly with a small sneer.


    "Huh? Pardon?" His absurd request indeed flinched her hard, as she swirled her eyes peering at him.


    "Well, I really love to savor sweet desserts after a meal and for a long time...I wanted someone to accompany me to my most favorite places. Let''s have a lot of sweet dishes. It''s... not an impossible request for you, right?" He asked her in a tender utterance, holding a jovial expression on his face.


    Her mind was getting suspicious towards his strange sincere gestures but she chose to stay calm rather than opposing him to provoke his anger instincts. Slowly, nodding her head, she looked outside the walls at the endless bright sky. Since the beginning of the day, her heart was throbbing with an unknown anxious feeling arising inside. She thought with a concerned heart, "has Zeus...really left the city today? I wonder...what is he doing now..."


    ....


    The HeaveHorth Tropical Forest, South-west of Rome;


    It was one of the ancient and thick forests with large, mysterious giant trees growing very close to each other. The forest was so dark and dense that even the daylight can''t penetrate inside through the intense tall trees. It was the home for several wild animals along with other beastly creatures who cohabitated together in that shady forest for ages.


    Humans had been always tentatively avoiding the forest due to a rumor of getting disappeared.  Several people who had entered the forest to gather Timberwood didn''t return back because they were either lost or gobbled up by a wild animal. People also named it the "Forest of Death" since the probability of coming back alive is almost negligible if you lost the direction.


    Walking barefoot at a staggering pace, Zeus was panting heavily as if he was suffocating to breathe in. Covered in perspiration and grabbing the stem of a giant tree, he tried to lean against his back fanning himself hard.


    His shirtless bare muscular upper body was incised with deep countless reddish-brown burnt scars increasing in number with each fleeting moment. The portion near his abdomen where he was stabbed with wolfsbane had formed a large chisel-shaped wound mark that was bleeding profusely.


    The scars engraved over his arm and below his neck region had also started to bleed on their own. The blue jeans he was wearing on were stained with blood droplets dripping down the abdomen portion. Moreover, the scars had also started to grow enormously all over his face and his barefoot. Those burnt marks were causing an unimaginable painful scorched sensation over his body.


    "Fuck... I...I can''t breathe properly... The pain...it''s suffocating my insides..." Tapping his chest a few times, he growled intensely staring up at the darkish sky-rise trees. Huffing hard, soon enough, his legs gave upon the strength. His knees arched on their own and he fell down on the ground hitting his side face.


    "Damn...why... is it so painful? I can''t feel my strength anymore...I can''t feel anything...


    No...No...I can''t lose hope! I...I can''t die like this... I am the true alpha! I am the strongest among all! A...A mere curse can''t kill me... I have to live...I have to stay alive for...for my pack...for...Eva..." A warm drop of tear bearing his heavyweight of emotions dripped down the corner of his eyes as he wondered, staring with an empty gaze within that desolated forest.


    All of a sudden, a strange scathing sensation rushed inside his body with a terribly sharp pain near the chisel-shaped scar. Groaning in pain while clenching that part, he tried to sit on the ground but suddenly, he started coughing out loud covering his mouth with his palm.


    His soul shuddered with dread to witness a terrible sight! He was coughing out dark blackish-red thick lethal blood. Worst, his nose started to bleed profusely which shocked him furthermost.


    Sitting numb for a few seconds after witnessing this horrific sight, he slowly lifted his chin up trying to glance at the skyline. His vision was turning dizzy and clenching his fist, he mumbled on his own, "It must be eve already...The eclipse... has begun..."


    ........


    Walking next to each other on the subway of the street, absolute silence was persisting between Eva and Czar. Although, he was holding a small sad sneer on his face while stealing glances at her simultaneously.


    While strolling, she took a small glance at the eve sky and noticed the red full moon slowly getting veiled by a black umbra. Swirling her eyes in awe, she whispered out, "wow, the eclipse has already started!"


    Hearing her words, the sneer on his face immediately faded into the dark and he glanced at the skyline scrunching his brows. All of a sudden, his motion halted holding a serious expression on his grimace.


    Eva noticed him halting quite abruptly with a stern appearance. She stopped walking too and standing before him, she inquired gently, "Mr. Czar, is there something wrong---"


    Before she could even complete her interrogation, Czar discordantly marched towards her, tugging her within his warm embrace. The hug was so unexpected and sudden that she rolled her eyes in awe, and tried to push him away from her.


    "Mr. Czar!? Wh-What are you doing!?"


    "For the first time in my life...I had a precious blissful time with you today, Eva... Thank...Thank you for making me happiest My heart...feels really light..." His voice crooked a little as if he was trying hard not to sob.


    Standing numb and petite within his arms, she was deadpanned in shock hearing his unusual answer. "Mr. Czar? Wh-Why are you behaving so weird today? Wh-What did I do? You planned this date so...why you are thanking me? You are confusing me..." She muttered anxiously.


    Tossing a small sad smirk, he took a heavy sigh out before drawing her apart from him. "Before you give me your answer, let me take you somewhere...for one last time today..." He murmured softly grabbing her right arm tight.

 Chapter 178 - The Choice Of Destiny

    In the flash of a second, grabbing her arm tight, Czar teleported both of them before she could even oppose. As she blinked her eyes, both of them were standing on a desolate, giant road with a thick dark forest on both sides. A dim white light post was illuminating some parts of the road and both of them stood below the light, facing opposite to each other. The area seemed quite scary with the hooting sound of owls and crickets filling up the entire place.


    "Wh-What is this? Where are we?" Horrified by the spooky atmosphere around them, Eva shoved her arm away from him shrieking aloud. She was swirling her gaze desperately around them, looking very palpitated.


    He stood quiet for a few seconds and took a small sigh out fixing his gaze over her. "Eva...calm down a bit."


    "Why are we standing amidst this shady place? Wh-What do you intend to do?" She reciprocated her anticipation in a shrilling tone.


    "What?"


    "Mr. Czar I have been already betrayed too many times!! Don''t you dare try something ridiculous with me again--"


    "Zeus is here." Before she could even wrap up her words, an ice-cold voice interrupted her hoarsely with a stiff look in his dark eyes as he glanced towards the right side, inside the thick forest.


    "Wh-What?" Startled at his unexpected answer, Eva seemed to choke her breath in, standing numb for a few seconds. "What d-did you say?"


    "Zeus is here, inside the forest." Slowly he raised his arm and pointed his index finger towards the right side of the darker woods holding a stiff expression on his face.


    Eva swirled her eyes in disbelief and glanced in the direction keeping her anticipated silence. She was squirming in angst and mumbled in a crooked voice, "is this...true? Is he here? Wh-What is he doing here in this thick woods?"


    "You know...Eva, werewolves have been always above the humans compared to strength, loyalty, and other facts... But the deities...they always consider humans as superior to every beast kingdom... Do you know why?" Lowering his arm down, he asked looking back at her.


    "Huh?" She scrunched her brows resembling as if she was unable to process his query.


    "Because...only humans...get to choose their own destiny. Creatures like us have to walk on the path the divinities choose for us but...only humans are able to choose the path themselves..." He walked a step closer to her, mumbling with an intense stare deep down in her eyes. "I knew it from the beginning...that you won''t let me erase your cherished memories. But still, I wanted to be a little selfish...keeping you along with me for a bit of time..."


    "If...If you knew it already, why did you play dumb with me? Why did you have to take me on a date? Wh-What the hell is happening? You are confusing me, Mr. Czar!" Fretting her face, she grumbled out her remark, breathing heavily.


    "I wanted to spend a happy day with you...even if it''s just for the last time..." He wondered with a sad smile on his face, averting his gaze down. Taking a huff of air in, he whispered to her, "if I didn''t keep you along with me, how would I have brought you here?


    "So...tell me! Why is Zeus here in this dark place?" Her voice sounded very impertinent as if she was on the edge of her patience.


    "He is enduring his curse." Making a displeased frown grimace, he mumbled it out.


    "What? Curse?"


    "When a true blood alpha is stabbed with wolfsbane, on every red lunar eclipse, his body will be deformed with the incision of painful burnt scars growing all over him. The pain is so cruel that...two of our early alphas have failed to endure it and breathed their last...


    Zeus had almost died after getting stabbed with it...so, the aftereffects would be perhaps worse over him than he imagined... He must be in a critical state right now." He explained in a surly tone, with his eyes looking much concerned.


    "What..." Hearing his harsh revelation, her breathing suffocated for a few seconds with a sharp throbbing pain churning her insides. Clenching her chest, she gasped heavily while answering him in a teary expression, "he...he jumped before me to...save my life and...got stabbed with it... So...it means...it''s all happening because...of me! I am the reason behind his misery today! He is...facing it...all alone just because of me!!"


    "He wouldn''t allow anyone of us to go near him... But...still...I wanted to bring you here to decide your own choice... I know, he must have wanted to keep all these as a secret from you. So...I will let you choose. Either...you can run away from this path or--"


    "Run away?" She screamed out impatiently aloud while intervening in his sentence hoarsely. "How could you think I will run away today? I...I was so selfish and ignorant all this time! I ran away from him without fighting my own trauma when he was there just for my sake! Yet...today...he is battling for his life just all because of me! Fuck...I...I don''t even deserve his kindness!


    But...not today...I am not going to leave him here on the brink of death! I will...definitely bring him back!" All of a sudden, she turned back and tried to rush into the deep woods on the right side. But as soon as she was about to leave, Czar came forward and grabbed her arm from behind, intending to stop her.


    "The situation is not that simple! There are many wild animals roaming inside the forest who can attack you at any moment! Besides... the scars from the curse are lethal and contagious! Even if...somehow...Zeus manages to save himself...if you get those scars, you won''t be able to survive! Besides...the chance is zero of coming back alive if you...lost the way inside these woods!" His sonorous voice reverberated like an echo in that desolated place.


    "I don''t care about my fucking life anymore! I can''t sit back still after knowing my beloved one is striving through such misery! It''s all happening because of me! And...there''s no point in living this life anyway if I lose Zeus...


    So...don''t stop me! Please!" Her eyes were shimmering in tears while her jowls quivered as she uttered those painful words. She was trying hard to hold back herself from breaking down and it was evident from her morose eloquence.


    Gawking straight into her eyes for a moment, slowly, Czar let his grip loose over her arm. He tossed a small sad smile and lowered his eyes down before reciprocating, "I knew it from before that...I have to let you go... I was prepared for it. Go...


    Go to your loved one... Go and find him..."


    Hearing his sonorous voice, she didn''t waste a single second and dashed into the woods, running aimlessly. Czar stood behind all numb, watching her disappearing from his sight with tearful eyes. His vision was turning all blur as he clenched his chest tight. His heart was wrecking down in the sharp pain of letting his beloved one go. Slowly, he knelt down on the ground and started weeping all alone covering his face.


    ..........


    The woods were scarier and darker much more than he had described to her. After entering inside, all she could hear was the shrilling of owlets along with crickets which were further intensifying the dark night.


    After running arduously for an anticipating moment, her feet halted as she was huffing quite harder. She looked around herself and mumbled on her own, "I...I can''t see anything in this darkness! It''s...too murky! I...I should turn on my phone!" Immediately as thought, she zipped open her handbag and tried to turn on her phone hoping for the flashlight. But her hopes all went into vain when she desperately tried to turn on the screen but it was all black.


    "Fuck! No!! How could I forget to charge it! Fuck! Fuck!!" Regretting her life decision, she stomped her feet hard on the ground trying to hold herself from wailing out.


    Helplessly looking all around her in the dark, she wiped her teary eyes taking a deep huff of breath in. She tapped her chest a few times and screamed her lungs out desperately,


    ZEEEEUSSSSSSS!!! CAN YOOUU HEEEAAARRR MEEEE? ZEEEUSSS!! HELLLOOOO!!! ZEEUSSSS!!"


    Her screeching voice reverberated as a loud echo inside the thick woods which caused a thrilling vibration all around. No response came as the reciprocation of her screams. Her confidence shuddered inside and unable to suppress her palpitation, warm tears started rolling down her cheeks.


    "W...Where am I going to find him? Th...These woods look way deeper than I imagined!! All the directions look the same! Where am I going to find you, Zeus? Where are you...hic..." Sobbing in angst, she was looking all around turning her neck sidewise.


    All of a sudden, her teary vision witnessed something sparkling at the extreme right side of the woods which had a narrow small way directed deeper inside the forest. The bright white sparkle was illuminating the small area which immediately caught her attention while she was standing a bit far from it. As she started to observe minutely, she noticed that it was coming from a living object!


    "Wh-What''s...that?" Gulping her saliva, she marched a step closer to the shimmering figure fearfully.

 Chapter 179 - Guidance

    Tapping her footsteps slowly towards the sparkling object, she took a sharp glance around her breathing heavily. Inside the thick dark woods, she was completely alone and helpless. Nervously clenching her fist, she continued walking towards it holding a dreadful heart. The more she was marching closer, the more she found the glowing was going more intense with illuminant white light scattering around from it.


    "What am I going to do if it''s some kind of evil creature? What if it pounces on me hard? No...No Eva! You can''t afford to complain! I...I have no other clue in these damp dark woods! To find Zeus...I am left with no other option...Even if it costs my life this time, I won''t back off!" She was mumbling alone to herself, strolling fretfully across the grassy path continuing to reach the thing.


    All of a sudden, after reaching the close proximity of that sparkling thing, her feet stopped. Her eyes swirled in awe, wider. It was a rabbit! A small, white rabbit that had a glowing illuminance around itself. The white radiance was the only source of mild, soothing light in that thick darkness shrouding the woods.


    The rabbit was softly licking its toes while Eva was staring at it intensely. It didn''t try to run away from her, rather than kept its calm, sitting still.


    "Wh-Why is this rabbit glowing in the dark? Is...Is this some kind of evil beast? It...It doesn''t look like a normal rabbit though..." Gulping her saliva, she minutely observed it for a few seconds before taking a step closer to it.


    Immediately, the little animal straightened its posture and started running deeper into the forest through the narrow path beside which it was sitting still. Watching him galloping into the dark, Eva aimlessly started rushing behind it into the wild.


    "Wait! Please don''t run so fast! I don''t want to lose you in this woods!" She screamed out aloud while chasing after it with all her might.


    Unexpectedly, the rabbit stopped galloping forward! It paused and fondly turned its neck back, gaping at Eva with its tiny sparkly eyes. It seemed that it stopped running after apprehending her loud plea.


    Huffing hard after an intense moment of running, she was spellbound to watch that little rabbit obediently stopping after her command. She gasped hard while halting her chase and mumbled while panting, "you...can you...understand what I am conversing to you? I know it sounds rubbish...but...you are my only hope here!!"


    The rabbit sat still momentarily looking back at her startled face. After a moment of pause, it slowly nodded its head vertically responding to her.


    "Woah...Woahhh!!! Did...Did you just respond to me? Wow...it means...I am not dreaming! I...I don''t know...what special kind of rabbit you are! I have never seen such an animal like you... But, you are indeed trying to help me here, don''t you?" Her voice sounded a bit jubilant as if amidst the thick darkness she had unexpectedly discovered a tiny ray of hope.


    Hearing her remark, the glow around its small body intensified brightly. It started to rush again deeper inside but this time, its speed was comparatively slower since Eva was finding it quite hard to catch up to it.


    "I can''t lose its sight here! I have no other choice rather than trusting this mysterious animal...Darn it...


    Right now, Zeus''s life matters to me...more than my own!" Wondering on her own while wiping the sweat droplets concentrated on her forehead, she took a deep sigh in following after it again, clenching her white gown up in her arms.


    ...


    After an intensive racing period of around half an hour into several narrow lanes within the dark deeper woods, finally, the rabbit halted its motion reaching the threshold of a wide grassy path leading deep inside. Eva was gasping heavily after all the fervent chasing but didn''t lose her sight from it. She indeed desperately followed it till the end and as soon as it stopped, she rested her feet too, fanning herself.


    "Wh...Why...Why are you stopping here suddenly? Wh...What''s...wrong..." Her voice sounded husky as if she was struggling to breathe hard after that ardent rushing. Her frail body was trembling in angst and grasping the trunk of a giant tree, she was trying to seek support to maintain her stature.


    The bright flash of white illuminance around it dimmed a little and softly, the animal raised its right paw pointing towards the wide giant path heading forward. Numb and startled, she carefully looked at it for a few seconds trying to process the indication the animal was trying to give her.


    "Ar...Are you telling me to proceed through this path?" Frowning her eyebrows, she asked in a low sonorous voice.


    Again it nodded its head answering back to her agreeing to her remark. Swirling her gaze wider, she gulped her saliva tentatively gawking at it.


    "You...You are not trying to fool me, right? Look...I don''t know what''s happening with me but...I have been betrayed way too many times! I...I trusted and ran after you even though you are just a small animal! So...you are not trying to betray me, right? I know you can understand me...Please...Please don''t deceive me... I...I just want to...find...my Zeus...hic...Please..." Her voice trailed off. Unable to suppress her emotional turbulence, she started sobbing bitterly clenching her fist on the trunk and lowering her grimace down.


    The rabbit stayed still for a few seconds watching her grieving out helplessly. Slowly, it retreated a few steps closer towards her feet and continued looking at her raising its head up. Softly, it stretched one of his paws and tapped her feet once. It seemed as if the small animal was trying to provide her the moral support while she was on the verge of breaking down.


    Perceiving its soft touch, Eva slowly glanced at it while it was sitting still beside her feet. A small sad smirk appeared on her glum face. She knelt down on the ground for a minute and tried to touch it softly with her quivering fingertips.


    "I...I am trusting you with all my might, okay? I...hope you aren''t betraying me.... I...I hope I will find him there...I don''t know who you are...but thank you for helping me till now, little one."


    Whispering while rubbing its small head, she stood upon the ground and took a deep breath in. With a firm determined grimace, she started to rush hurriedly into the thick forest leaving the animal behind peeping at her.


    But something miraculous was yet to happen! As soon as Eva disappeared deeper into the woods, a bright flash of white light surrounded the small rabbit from all around. Immediately, the tiny animal transformed into a tall, beautiful, elegant goddess wearing a white silk shimmering gown. She had wavy lustrous long black hair curling down her shoulder. On the top of her head, she was wearing a diamond embroidered tiara with a sparkling crescent moon emblem carved on the middle. Her bright white skin was glowing in the dark and she had a small smile on her face while looking at the way where Eva just rushing inside.


    She was the sacred Moon Goddess of the wolves, Selene, who was disguised all this time as the petite animal.


    "My duty was to only guide you to the path where you can find your destiny, my child... For the rest of the path, you have to walk on your own.


    Even, deities are helpless when it comes to the strength of pure love.


    The journey won''t be easier for both of you...but...as long as you are determined to fight for the sake of each other, we can''t intervene between your fate." She whispered softly before a flash of light made her disappear amidst the dark.


    .........


    Covered with blood and those painful burnt scars carved all over his body, Zeus was lying down on the ground breathing intensely. The deep scar incised near his abdomen was profused with blood. Dark blackish-red venomous blood was spilling down from the corner of his mouth, also down his nostrils. His face was scorched with those deadly scars deforming it completely. His body was burning severely with fever and a painful shriveled sensation. His long white canines were emerged out of his mouth and his pupils were transformed into wolfish red eyes.


    He was trying hard to endure the pain on his own but slowly, his whole body was becoming numb due to excessive bleeding. His veins were congested with the lethal blood which was killing him from inside.


    "I...I don''t think...I can hold it...any longer... Aargh... it''s...so painful... I...wish...just for...one last time... if...I could see...Eva... Just...Just before closing my...eyes..." Mumbling under intense breath, a small sad smirk carved on his chapped blood-smeared lips as he stared up at the skyline with a blank gaze in his eyes.


    .


    "ZEEUSSS!!"


    A sharp, shrilling familiar voice rang in his ears which flinched him for a second. Holding the sad smirk, he continued murmuring, "maybe...I am hallucinating Eva''s voice... Maybe... it''s really...the end..."


    "ZEEUSSSS!!!"


    This time the voice grew much sharper and intense. He could sense the voice was coming closer to him and it was definitely not his hallucination! Gasping hard, he slowly tried to turn his gaze towards the direction of the call. In his blurry weak vision, he noticed a tiny figure indeed rushing towards him from afar!

 Chapter 180 - Go Away!

    "ZEEUSSS!! IS IT YOUUU!!?"


    A loud, painful shrilling feminine voice reverberated within the desolated dark woods at such an absurd period during the eclipse unexpectedly.


    Zeus understood it evidently that it wasn''t his hallucination at all. Someone was approaching him when he was already giving up on the hope of survival. Slowly, he mustered his whole strength to sit upon the ground, shivering feverishly. His vision was blurred up but narrowing his wolfish gaze, he tried to observe minutely towards that direction.


    A throb of fear aroused inside his heart. Clenching his hand, he mumbled on his own, "it...it can''t be... it can''t be her..."


    But his fear indeed came true! Gasping out of breath, finally, Eva rushed out towards him covered in sweat and dirt. Her dress was torn beneath the knee-length and near her feet, she had a fresh bruised mark. It indicated that she might have fallen on the grassy terrain while running vigorously to reach him. Standing at a distance a few meters away from him, she halted her motion swirling her eyes wider while looking at him.


    Zeus seemed deadpanned in shock with the unbelievable sight happening right before him. For a few seconds, he forgot to breathe in and gawked at her with awe. The person he was longing to see for one last time was standing just a few meters apart from him!


    But...this is not what he desired! He didn''t want to let her see him in such a miserable cursed state! He had forbidden everyone to catch a glimpse of him within the dangerous ecliptic period. But watching Eva standing all alone, defenseless within such a horrific environment, shook him up from the core.


    "Zeus...hic...I...I found you!! I finally found you... Wh-What on the earth has happened!? Why are you covered in blood!! Why is this...happening to you?? Why didn''t you tell me anything...hic... I...I am so sorry...hic...I...found you...quite late...hic...I..." Her crooked grievous voice trailed off as she broke down into bitter tears, painfully glancing at him who seemed all startled with her sudden arrival. To watch him in such a state of misery, enduring every suffering alone, was the most agonizing thing she ever faced in her life.


    He didn''t utter a single word in response. For a few seconds, a distressing silence period persisted between both of them who were lost on each other. After a moment of realization, all of a sudden, he flinched hard and tried to stand up on the ground with his trembling posture. Watching him striving hard just to stand up, Eva tried to run towards him sobbing hard.


    "DON''T!!"


    All of a sudden, a striking intense loud command escaped his quivering lips which caused a reverberating sensation amidst the dark, desolated woods. It was the Alpha''s command. His voice caused such a shrill in the woods that immediately, her feet halted and she flinched hard in fear.


    "Ze-Zeus?"


    "DON''T...DON''T COME NEAR ME!!" His intense wolfish red pupils were shimmering in the dark as he screamed out at her, fuming in anguish. Trembling with a staggering posture, he slowly tried to wipe off his thick blackish-red nosebleeds with his right palm, breathing heavily.


    Eva was shocked to see him getting all hyped up even in that severely injured state. It was the very first time, he shrieked at her so intensively which even squirmed her in trepidation. Gulping her saliva, she tried to ask him timidly, "Zeus? W...What are you saying?"


    "Why are you here? What are you doing here at this hour!? How did you come here? Who asked you to come here!!?" Retreating his wobbling steps back from her, he snapped at her resembling quite agitated. Even in that disastrous moment, all he wanted to stay away from her, just for her own sake, without considering his emotions.


    "Zeus...why didn''t you tell me anything? Why...Why do you always suffer every pain all alone? Why did you left me back and came here to torment yourself! Should...Should I have stayed still after hearing you are in so much pain? Should I have done that?" Tears of despair rolled down her cheeks as she yelled back at him in a crooked voice, restrained in misery.


    "You...You fool! You shouldn''t have come here!! D...Don''t look at me anymore!! Just go away! Go back...Errrghh! *COUGH *COUGH!"


    Before he could even wrap his words, suddenly, his insides stirred up with sharp pain and instantly he started coughing out darkish blood! Blood droplets splurted all over the ground while he tried to hide his deformed face from her, especially his ferocious canines.


    "ZEUS!!" Shivered in fear to watch such a horrific sight, Eva impatiently tried to rush towards him but as soon as she tried to march closer, he took several steps back glaring at her infuriatingly.


    "I TOLD YOU...STAY AWAY, EVA!! WHY DO YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME!?" He grumbled.


    "How can I stay still when you are in such a disastrous state? Do...Do you expect me to run away from you again? Did you think my love for you was all a lie?" She sobbed, protesting against his command deliberately.


    Hearing her teary loud palpitation, he stood numb for a few seconds. His heart was wrecking down to see her crying helplessly before him and it was equally painful for him not being able to even hold her in his arms to stop her from crying.


    Clenching his paws, trying hard to hold himself strong from breaking down in tears before her. Taking a huff of breath out, he chose to answer her in a quivering voice.


    "Th...These scars are lethal... This blood is venomous! Even if...somehow I manage to survive this shit...you won''t be able to do it, Eva. I would rather kill myself but I can''t watch anything happening to you! You must stay away from me! Please...Have mercy on me, Eva! Please go away!!" His intense plea sounded very agonizing.


    "And what''s the point of living this fucking life without you, Zeus?" She whimpered grievously, retaliating him back. "Why don''t you ever think from my view? You...You are all I have!! I can''t stay away from you when--"


    "Have you forgotten who am I!?" Before she could interpret her sentence, Zeus screamed out aloud, doomed in angst. His roar frightened her again as she continued staring at him, squirming anxiously. "I am the creature you despised the most!! I am a wolf, damnit! Then why are you still looking out for me?" He vexed.


    "I don''t care about anything anymore, Zeus!! I can''t live without you! I fucking love you so much! I don''t care about anyone! If...If I am sinning against my family for choosing you...I am willing to atone for my sin for my whole life! But...I just want you to stay with me! I can''t lose you... I can''t!!" She declaimed her loud bold confession breaking into sorrowful tears that were dripping down her sweaty perplexed grimace.


    Her bold, teary confession scuttled his heart with throbbing pain of helplessness. For a moment, he wanted to rush towards her, tugging her grievous frail body into his warm embrace. He wanted to shed his poignant tears on her shoulder to wipe off every trace of the pain both of them were enduring. But...fate was being quite cruel to him...


    Choking his grief inside, he took a deep huff of breath in, mumbling while gasping hard, "Eva! I am begging you for one last time--"


    "Even if you ask me the thousand times, my answer will be the same! I...I selfishly left you behind that day...like a coward! I was so cruel to you!


    But now...no one can ever shake my bold determination for you! Not even you!" Wiping her tears, she firmly declared walking a step closer to him.


    "You have left me with...no other choice..." Mumbling on his own with a sorrowful gaze towards her, he clenched his fist harder.


    "Right now, your well-being matters to me more than my own life, Eva! Till I am breathing...I can''t let anything miserable happening to you..." As soon as he wondered those doleful words deep inside his mind, silver-white thick fur started to emerge all over both of his feet. His human leg was gradually transforming into a wolf with sharp chisel-shaped giant claws emerging out from his toenails. He was huffing very badly and with the ounce of strength left in his body, he tried to oppose her approach with all his might.


    "If you don''t leave right now...then...then I am gonna...attack you!" In a dark heavy voice, he threatened her swirling his dilated eyes, gulping his lament helplessly.


    A sad wide smile carved on her chapped lips as warm tears dripped down her chin. "Even...if you slit my throat with your claws...I am happily willing to give up my life for you...rather than leaving you, Zeus." She conversed firmly in a dense sad voice, marching a step forward.

 Chapter 181 - The Flame

    "You...You aren''t in your right senses, Eva...You got me left with no other damn choice!!" Shrieking with an immense splurge of frustration swooning his core, he screamed out loud at her, trying hard to hold himself from wrecking down. Eva didn''t even budge to stop marching towards him holding a small bereaved smile on her face.


    All of a sudden with his furry inhuman legs, Zeus stomped his right feet hard on the earth causing a turbulent vibration all over the ground. The intensity of the vibration was so strong that Eva was forcibly shoved several metres away from him, falling down on the ground. But, as a result of using his superhuman strength in such a critically injured state, the incised scar near his abdomen started to bleed profusely again, causing a stinging parching sensation all over his body.


    Eva seemed a bit startled with the sudden attack from him which was absolutely beyond her conscience. But, it was evident that all he had to act that way helplessly, just to prohibit her from getting close to him, for her safety. Raising her head up from the ground, she slowly tried to stand up again even after hitting her elbow hard.


    "If...If you don''t stop there right now...I am gonna harm you even bad... I...I am warning...you, Eva..." Clenching his trembling blood-smeared palm over the scar, huffing intensely, he mumbled those words towards her.


    She distinctly observed his deep wound had rip opened again after he stomped his feet hard, causing him to bleed abnormally. Gulping her saliva and straightening her posture after standing up, she again started to walk upright towards him. "I don''t care even if you take away my life, but I won''t leave you." She declared.


    "EVA!" Rumbling his voice intensely with a teary gaze towards her, he clenched his fist quickly retreating several staggering steps back from her. His head was feeling extremely dizzy, his whole body was burning with tremendous fever making it difficult for him to stand still.


    "Fuck! If she keeps getting close to me like this, I might infect her too! No...I have to chase her away... I must..." Wondering inside while fanning himself hard, his vision was becoming completely blurred. Slowly as he opened his clenched fist, a reddish warm flame appeared over his palm as if he was intending to use his strength again.


    But as soon as the flame appeared on his arm, after a few seconds of flash, it disappeared on its own! Zeus understood, his wolf energy was too low to even permit him for using another supernatural strength which indicated that he was already at his limit.


    Lifting his chin up, he tried to peek a glance with his blurred gaze at her who was still persistently marching towards him. Walking a few steps back while wobbling, he took a deep sigh out thinking inside, "I can''t use my energy anymore...Got no choice, I gotta run away..."


    Abruptly, he turned behind to rush backwards deep into the woods to avoid her at any stake. But the burning fever had reached the threshold limit and slowly, his lower part of the body had already begun to paralyze forbidding him from fleeing.


    "Damn! I have to run! I have to..." His voice trailed off as he took a few trembling steps to escape from her anyhow.


    "NOOOO!"


    All of a sudden, Eva hastened fast and hugged him from back, locking his blood-smeared chest in her frail arms. With the sudden embrace from her, Zeus was horrified in dread and tried to unlock her grip over his body.


    "EVA! What are...you doing--"


    "Please don''t leave me!! I...I can''t let you go! I won''t let you...hic..." Burying her face over his scar incised bareback broad shoulder, she broke down into bitter tears, holding him tighter in her embrace.


    "YOU FOOL! YOU MIGHT DIE IF YOU STAY WITH ME!! GO... PLEASE! EVA!!" Unable to suppress his inner turmoil anymore, Zeus started sobbing hard while desperately trying to unleash her grip over his chest.


    "I don''t care about this shitty life anymore--"


    "Don''t touch me, damnit! Go away, please...I beg you...(COUGH) (COUGH)" Before he could interpret his words, thick blackish blood started to spurt out again while he started coughing invincibly. A few spits of that lethal blood also spattered on Eva''s hands while she was grabbing onto him from behind.


    "THEN LET''S END IT TOGETHER!!"


    All of a sudden, her sharp shrilling teary voice reverberated aloud inside the dark woods strongly. Hearing her sorrowful scream, for a moment he stopped resisting hard in her arms and stood numb, silently.


    "What''s the point of living my life without you? I...I don''t want such a life! Let''s...Let''s end everything together, Zeus...hic... I...I will pray to the divinity to...bless us with an afterlife again... I will pray to the Lord to make you a human like me next time! We...We will definitely be happier together... This time...let me...stay with you till the end... Let me get infected! Let me die with you, Zeus!!" As she screamed miserably in a broken sonorous pitch, he could perceive her warm tears shedding on his shoulder.


    He was trying hard to unknot her grasp from his body but hearing her painful verdict, he couldn''t bring himself to shove her away from him. She was bereaved, helpless just like him which moved him into tears. The arm grip he was deliberately trying to push away, he held it tenderly, lowering his grimace down while warm tears rolled down.


    "I love you... And...I will only love you...till my end, Zeus... I know...you feel the same... So...I am...I am willing to leave everything for you...but not you! I can''t do it..." She whispered, placing a soft kiss of promise on his broad shoulder soaked in tears of anguish, holding him tight.


    But...it was already beyond his limit to endure the torture. A sudden blackout prevailed before his eyes. His knees arched on their own and unable to hold his stature, he was about to collapse on the ground. Immediately, Eva shuddered in fear to watch him wrecking down before him. She gripped her arm around his shoulder kneeling down along with him, placing his head over her chest and mourning grievously.


    "Zeus!!! Wh-What''s happening!! What''s going on?" Tapping his chin a few times, she cried out aloud glancing at his half-closed eyes which were still fixed on Eva. His canines had disappeared and his eyes were gradually attaining their dark human form. A drop of tear rolled down the corner of his eyes as his blood-smeared lips quivered softly.


    "You...You are a fool... Why...didn''t you...leave..." His husky voice trailed off while he was breathing intensely. His dark murky eyes were filled with a void of emptiness which indicated he was hallucinating already.


    "Nooo...Nooo... I...I won''t let you go alone! I...I won''t allow you to leave me! You promised!! You promised me that you would stay! Don''t...Don''t leave me behind!!" Clenching her grip around his shoulder, she tapped his jowls a few times desperately trying to revive his senses.


    "I...I wanted...to...die in your arms...Finally... I...will...get my peace..." A sad smirk escaped his lips as he closed his eyes with a thin line of blood dripping down the side of his chapped lips.


    "NO!! NOOO! PLEASE! ZEUS!! DON''T CLOSE YOUR EYES!! PLEASE!! PLEASE!!! PLEASE DON''T LEAVE ME! YOU WERE ALL I HAD!! PLEASE NOO!! I CAN''T LET YOU GO!! NOOO!!" Shattered in disbelief, she leaned her head over his face as her warm teardrops swirled down over his grimace. His breathing was slowing down and holding him tighter in her embrace she was wailing helplessly, trying hard to defy their destiny.


    .


    All of a sudden, while she was sobbing hard closing her eyes while tugging him closer, she could sense a strange warm sensation arousing inside her chest. For a moment, she was startled and seemed as if she was hallucinating too but with every passing second, the warmth was intensely prominent to feel. Covered in sweat and tears, she tried to peep her eyes open and as soon as she sneaked a glance, her jaw dropped in surprise.


    Indeed a greenish-blue flame was visible arising from the center of her chest as if someone had set her body on fire! For a moment, it seemed as if it was the effect of the curse Zeus was talking about...but...it wasn''t painful at all! A peculiar solace feeling was thriving with the strange flame inside her body!


    Before she could even react, a wave of the exact same greenish flame appeared and surrounded both of them all over. Zeus was lying unconscious on her lap, completely numb. The flame over her chest area was igniting brightly surrounding them all over and she was trembling, sitting in the middle.


    "What...What''s happening now? What''s this?" She murmured, gulping her saliva and gripping him tighter.

 Chapter 182 - The Healing!

    Soon enough, the whole greenish glow of flame surrounding them started to ignite voraciously all around, illuminating the entire darkness-shrouded woods. But, the fire didn''t give a burning sensation at all, rather than it was soothingly calm which Eva could sense evidently.  Petrified to watch the horrific sight sitting in the middle of the fire blaze, she was grabbing Zeus firmly in her embrace without showing any intention to let him go.


    But something even strange was yet to happen!


    The greenish-blue flare which was inflaming over her chest area suddenly started to spread all over her body. She gulped anxiously and watched the flares appearing on both of her palms while they were grasping onto Zeus''s unconscious body. Her right hand was laid over his cold, bruised chin and. As soon as the flame touched the area of his grimace, miraculously, his burnt scars started to disappear slowly, restoring his fair skin to normal!


    The shocking sight frightened her to the core! Her jaw dropped in surprise, she started gasping heavily with countless uncertainties springing up in her mind. For a few seconds, she couldn''t even blink her eyes and continued gawking at the portion of his right cheek which healed on its own, just by coming in contact with the blaze that was flashing on her trembling arms.


    Gulping her saliva, she took a deep breath in and tried to touch his forehead which had burnt scars incised over. The exact same effect happened! Wherever she was touching him with the strange flame blazing on her palms, the scars were disappearing restoring his parched skin to his natural.


    "What the heck...is happening? Am...Am I using...magic? Was I a wizard all this time? How...How is this possible? No...probably... I am still hallucinating... But..." Wondering inside her mind perplexedly, she softly grabbed his broad right arm. His body was turning out to be all cold and stiff when he lost his senses, but miraculously, she could feel the warmth in his body again! It indicated, he was indeed returning back to normal from the disastrous stage which had almost pushed him to the brink of death.


    "I am not dreaming at all! It''s all happening! It''s all real! I...I don''t know what''s happening...but...these flames...they are healing my Zeus!!" Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks as she mumbled on her own, while holding his arm tight.


    Suddenly her narrowed gaze locked over the chisel-shaped deep scar incised on his abdomen. It was profused with thick gore blood and seemed immensely painful just to look at. It was the exact same spot where he was stabbed with wolfsbane that fateful night.


    Holding a pitiful gaze towards him, she slowly touched that part of his body with her blazing arm a bit anxiously. But as soon as her palm pressed against the scar, the greenish blue flame surrounding them all around surprisingly ignited voraciously changing into reddish flame.


    The blaze of flame radiant on her hand changed into illuminant red in color and all of a sudden the area near her chest portion where the flames appeared first, started throbbing in pain. The pain was growing so severe as if her ribs were breaking inside causing an agonizing trauma. But still, holding firm determination on her mind, she didn''t remove her hand from the profound scar and chose to endure the terrific pain all alone.


    After an anticipation of a few minutes, a bright bizarre spark of red flame emitted out from his entire body which freakishly dissolved every single burnt scar carved on him, including the deep chisel-shaped one. Immediately the flares surrounding them all over disappeared into thin air including the flames illuminating out from Eva''s body. The surrounding around them returned to its usual darkish form after the disappearance of those flames.


    But, Eva''s insides was throbbing with a strange feeling of sharp pain. Her mind was becoming dazed with immense weakness prevailing all over her body. Clenching her chest area while breathing quite intensely, she plopped down on the ground right next to Zeus holding one of his arm tight.


    His burnt deformed body had been restored to his normal self and it seemed as if he was unconsciously sleeping by her side. A wide blissful grin appeared on her face with a warm drop of tear dripping down the corner of her eyes as she softly caressed his face with her trembling fingertips.


    "The curse...I think, it''s broken! I...I saved you Zeus! I...don''t know...how everything happened... I don''t know what''s wrong with me... Why am I feeling so worn down, my insides are throbbing in pain but...I am happy to see you safe... I don''t care about anything anymore... Even if I am gonna die, I have no regrets...


    Instead...I am grateful to the God for not taking you away from me... I am so grateful...


    I love you...Zeus...now...and forever..." A sad trembling smile escaped her quivering lips while she whispered those words to him before losing her senses, closing her eyes.


    .........


    It was around 12 am in the midnight. Perplexed and looking extremely palpitated, Clara was continuously dialing Eva on her phone, biting her nails while marching back and forth inside her room. She was continuously glancing at the clock holding a petrified dark gaze, clenching the moonstone brace twirling in her arm.


    But she was unable to connect to her which further intensified her worrimets regarding her. The lunar eclipse period had already ended an hour back ago but she still didn''t return home. Her mind was filled with countless absurd assumptions and without wasting any further moment, she decided to look for her everywhere.


    .


    While she headed to fetch a coat from her closet before heading out, all of a sudden her phone rang aloud. In the flash of a second she rushed fast to grab the call hoping that it would be from Eva but, it was from Czar! Impatiently she picked up the call answering impertinently.


    "Hello? Master? Do you know where is Eva? She...She hasn''t come home yet! I can''t even connect to her phone--"


    "She is safe." A cold, sonorous voice answered her from the other side seeming a bit calm.


    "What?"


    "She is back with Zeus... I have...let her go back to her beloved one..." Taking a deep huff of breath, he reciprocated while his voice sounded quite glum.


    Baffled hearing his response, Clara stood numb for a few seconds trying to process his answer. Exhaling a deep sigh out, she clenched the phone before mumbling to him, "is...is she with Zeus right now? Are they both safe? Is everything alright?"


    "They are safe. I had a hunch that...you might get worried sick about her sudden disappearance. So, I wanted to let you know once..."


    A sad small smirk appeared on her lips as she heard his timid response, standing still. "Even in the miserable moment, you thought about me...thinking about it makes me happier..." She wondered without uttering a single word.


    "Well, I gotta go now. Will elaborate you everything when we meet next time. Gotta hang up now--"


    "Wa-Wait, Master!" Before he could wrap up his words, sounding all impatient, she asserted her restless tone. "Are you alright? Are you safe?"


    An awkward numb silence persisted between them for a few seconds before he disconnected the call without giving her any answer. However, his silence was more evident than the words he could barely speak at that moment.


    "I know Czar...how terribly your heart must have ached to let go off Eva...whom you loved so dearly. There''s no way, you will be fine after watching her leave...


    I am glad...she is back again with the person who loves her...more than his own life! I bet...no one can cherish her the way Zeus does... Indeed, they belong to each other despite every pain and suffering they have endured till now...


    But...I will be more worried for her from now on... Things are gonna get..much complicated..." She took a deep huff of breath out while wondering inside, sitting up on the couch of her room looking at the golden ruby bracelet which was still shimmering on her desk, even in the dark.


    ...........


    It was already morning. Birds were chirping outside with mild warm breeze wavering inside the room through the giant window beside her bed. Soft gentle sunrays were invading the room, also reflecting on her pale face which gradually caused her to wake up from the deep slumber.


    As soon as Eva opened her eyes, she found herself sleeping inside the bedroom of her own apartment wrapped with a warm blanket. She still had a terrible bodyache but what shocked her the most, she was completely alone in the room. She jolted up on her bed, looking all around anxiously.


    "What''s going on? I...I remember that...I passed out in the woods but...how did I end up here...in my home? Where is Zeus?


    No...was it all a dream last night? Did he leave me again?"


    Wondering inside her mind while shuddered in fear, she sprang out of her bed. With a wobbling sore posture, she rushed out of the room.

 Chapter 183 - Acceptance

    Slamming the door open, breathing heavily, Eva rushed out of the room at a wobbling pace. She seemed terrified, her jowls were quivering and her feet were all sore, bruised making her unable to even stand properly. Moreover, she had still the same white outfit from the last night which was smeared with dust and blood at a few spots.


    As she stepped inside the living room, being unable to suppress her angst anymore she looked around herself with tears streaming down her trembling chin. "Did you leave me again!? Why? Where are you? Zeus!?" She screamed frantically.


    "Yes?"


    Flinched at the sudden deep sonorous voice just behind her, she turned around, gasping in awe. To her shock, Zeus was standing tall at her back wearing an unbuttoned purple loose shirt to cover his upper bare body. From his expression he seemed a bit surprised, frowning his grimace while peeping his wider eyes at her.


    "Ze-Zeus?" In a broken bereaved voice, she muttered looking all teary.


    "I am sorry, did I wake you up? I just...went to the other room to find something and...got this shirt of the closet. Does it belong to your brother or...your father?


    But...


    Why are you crying? And I heard...you were screaming my name quite aloud... Um, did something happen?" Gently taking a step closer to her, he tried to button up his shirt sounding a bit impertinent.


    Without wasting a single second anymore, Eva almost rushed towards him, jumping into his arms while crying bitterly. Watching her sudden absurd reaction, Zeus seemed very startled while she firmly clenched her arms around his shoulder, tugging her sobbed face on his bare chest.


    "Ev-Eva? Did I...do something wrong? Why are you crying?" He asked in a cordial manner while tapping her back shoulder twice. He intended to comfort her to stop crying so hard.


    "I...hic...I am so happy... Thank...Thank God! Thank God...hic...it wasn''t a dream! Thank God for sending you back to me... I...I am so happy...hic..." Clenching her grip tightly around his broad shoulder while mumbling, she further tugged herself inside his warm familiar embrace, sobbing quite aloud.


    "Please don''t cry so bad... My heart...aches to see you like this... I...I have always wanted to see you smiling, Eva. Please don''t cry too hard..." Resting his chin on her small shoulder, he softly caressed her back taking a small sigh out.


    After a moment of heartfelt grieving, slowly she drew herself away from his embrace looking deep into his eyes with a teary small smile. Holding his side face, she whispered to him, "never go out of my sight from now on! Even...Even the slightest thought of losing you chokes my breath! I...I can''t live without you anymore...Zeus. I...I am so grateful that...it wasn''t a dream. You are...indeed all safe now standing before me..."


    For a while, he tenderly stared deep into her eyes holding a warm smile lingering on his roseate lips. Curling his arms around her waist, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and tried to wipe her tears with his broad fingertips.


    "It is indeed hard to believe we are right next to each other like this now... It all feels like a dream... Yesterday, I really had given up on the hope of going back to life... The pain...The torture was so miserable... And...watching you coming closer to me was...haunting me too much! I was...so scared for you, Eva!" His voice grew a bit intense, as he mumbled his anticipating thoughts.


    Looking ardently into his eyes for a few seconds, she pouted her face and pulled his left cheek a bit rough with her tiny fingers. "You even tried to chase me away with that stupid stomping vibration! I hit my back hard on the ground due to it! Also...You were also planning to flee away from me, weren''t you?" Her tone sounded a little offended.


    "Owww, it''s hurting, Eva..."


    "If you ever gonna try something stupid like that, I am really gonna break your legs! Don''t you ever try to escape from me! I...I acted ridiculously when I committed such a blunder that night, but...I have understood the importance of your presence in my life.


    Your happiness...your sorrow...your anger...your pain..your curse...everything involves me too... No matter what happens to you or...what happens to me... we will face everything together. We will fight for each other and make it work, but...never try to disappear from my life ever again, okay?" Her dark brown eyes were shimmering with a void of sadness as she conversed her response, softly caressing his grimace.


    "Doesn''t my identity...bother you anymore?" He asked in a sonorous low pitch, seeming a bit impertinent.


    Hearing his blunt deep query, for a while she was speechless averting her gaze down from him. Watching her growing all silent, a tinge of pain throbbed in his heart while he lowered his eyes down too.


    "I won''t lie...Zeus... I won''t tell you that all of a sudden I have become fond of wolves. No matter...how much I try...but...I can''t erase the fact that...they were the ones who murdered my family! I can''t forget about it... but..."


    "But?"


    "But your love has taught me one thing, Zeus... Not every wolf residing in our world is cunning at all. There are also...wolves who are like you...who put their loved ones before their own life! You...endured every pain for me without even expecting anything in return... You know, such kinds of pure emotions are rare to find among humans but...I found you a precious gem like you, Zeus.


    Even if you are a wolf...my feelings for you never lessened a bit! Though I tried to walk away from you it made me understood evidently, no one in this world will make me happy...except you. That''s why I really don''t care about anything anymore if you are together with me." Holding one of his arms tightly, she raised her chin up mumbling with a teary smile on her face.


    Her honest answer immediately brought a wide blissful grin on his face while his every insecurity faded away from his heart. Eva had accepted him for his real self and the fact made him the happiest person on the earth at that very moment.


    "I promise...I will never let go of your hand too, till the day I die..."


    "Will you please stop talking about death for God''s sake? Do you even know how badly I was terrified to watch you almost dying!! Gosh...just thinking about it is enough to give me goosebumps! It''s...a miracle that you came back to me!!" She sounded much concerned, whispering in a low impulsive pitch.


    He frowned his face hearing her response and stood quiet for a few seconds as if he was wondering something inside. After a while, he decided to speak it out, "Eva, that''s what I was thinking of asking you... How did this miracle happen? How did I come back alive? As far I remember, my body was completely deformed by those scars! So...how did the curse break?"


    Hearing his sharp query, she lowered her head down fidgeting anxiously. She seemed a bit palpitated and murmured her answer slowly, "will you actually believe me if I say the truth?"


    "Huh?"


    "Zeus...I think...I am a wizard!" She swirled her eyebrows, whispering in a dubious manner.


    "What?"


    "I know you may find it crazy...but...it was me who actually healed you! Even...I still can''t believe it myself! I can use magic! Maybe...I am a successor of some kind of witch or shaman..." She gulped her saliva, seeming all baffled from her expression.


    Zeus was petrified to hear such absurd responses from her which further provoked his concerns. Groping her forearms tightly, he stared deep into her eyes sounding very intense, "Eva, please speak it loud and clear. What do you mean by all these?"


    "I don''t know Zeus... But... When I was sobbing helplessly while holding your unconscious body in my embrace, something strange happened!


    A...greenish-blue kind of flame emitted out from my body and it illuminated the entire area around us! And...the flares weren''t painful or hot but they seemed strangely solace and magical! The scars over your body diffused on their own when I touched them with the flame ignited on my hand.


    But...it was so strange! I was scared for a moment Zeus! When I touched that chisel-shaped scar over your abdomen, the...greenish flame turned into bizarre red color and...my insides were breaking apart with a sharp painful sensation! It seemed as if my ribs are gonna break apart and---"


    Before she could wrap her words, Zeus pulled her suddenly into his chest, hugging her as tightly as he could! His facial eloquence seemed extremely terrified! He was clenching his muscular arms around her shoulder which even startled her for a second.


    "Umm, Zeus? What happened?" She quivered staying still inside his embrace.


    "I knew it! I knew it since the first day! The smell...it wasn''t of an ordinary human! She isn''t any normal human hybrid...instead...she is the gifted one!" Taking a deep huff of breath in, he wondered silently.

 Chapter 184 - Honest Emotion

    Resting his chin on her frail warm shoulder groove, he took a deep sigh inside, swirling his pupils. From his facial expression, he seemed a bit perplexed while he clutched his grip tighter around her slender soft waist.


    "It must have...hurt you a lot... I...I am sorry you had to go through all these sufferings for me..." He mumbled, making a guilt-stricken expression on his grimace.


    "Zeus? What are you even saying?" Sulking her face, she hauled him a bit away from her and caressed his side-face. "At that moment, I was almost prepared to trade my life just for your sake. I know, I have hurt you way too much on that fateful night...but nothing in the world can compare to the boundless love I have for you! Even when I passed out, I kept holding onto your arm, Zeus." She whispered staring deep into his wide eyes.


    "Passed out?" Frowning his face, he asked her abruptly.


    "Yes. After I suffered from the sudden traumatizing attack inside, I passed out right next to you holding your hand. After that...I really have no idea what happened to both of us."


    "That''s strange!" Lowering his grimace for a moment, he seemed quite anxious about her honest reciprocation. "When I revived my senses back in the morning, I found myself on your bed tugged with you while you were peacefully sleeping next to me. I was worried, how did you manage alone to bring me here but..."


    "What? Of course, that''s impossible! How was I able to bring you back here from that dark scary woods all alone?" Eva fretted her jaws, sounding quite perplexed about his assumptions.


    "If both of us were knocked out, that means someone was still there who helped us to come back safe..." Mumbling under a deep sonorous pitch, his voice reverberated like an echo inside the living room. Shifting his firm gaze sharply towards her, he responded hoarsely, "Eva, how did you get to that dark woods last night? I am quite sure...it''s impossible for you to find me alone! Someone must have taken you there."


    Gulping her saliva, she averted her eyes down looking a bit nervous wondering about whether to confess him about Czar''s deal towards her or not... Fidgeting for a few seconds, she murmured with an uptight manner, "well...you see...it happened..."


    .


    "Gosh! You both are pathetic fools, to be honest!"


    Flinching hard with the sudden bold, resonant interrupting them from behind, both Zeus and Eva turned around to peek a glance at that person. It was Czar, sitting slackly over the couch dressed up in a white formal shirt with blue denim. His facial expression seemed a bit worn out with swollen eye bags beneath. It indicated as if he was unable to get a wink of sleep. Beside him on the couch, a bouquet of freshly bloomed yellow tulips was placed delicately.


    "Mr. Czar?" Gasping a deep huff of breath out, Eva swirled her eyes ogling at him intensely. Zeus seemed equally shocked judging from his facial expression, stood numb for a few seconds, gazing at him back.


    "Looks like I have surprised you both with my impromptu visit. That''s how I bear a mysterious aura around myself, isn''t it amazing?" He tossed a witty smile towards them, resonating his words quite boastfully.


    "How did you get in here, Mr. Czar? What the heck? You didn''t even knock on the door!" Her voice sounded still baffled.


    "Well, we can use simple teleportations, you know, little duckling. Besides, I find it amazing to surprise others with my unexpected entrance." Standing up from the couch, he answered calmly holding the witty gaze towards them.


    "Why are you here?" An ice-cold deep query reciprocated from Zeus as he took a step closer towards him, scrunching his eyebrows. "It''s quite an uncivilized act to barge into someone''s house without even knocking it, Czar."


    "Ugghh, you and your never-ending lectures still irk me, big brother." Pouting his jowls, he sounded a bit grumpy staring at him invincibly. "I didn''t intend to interrupt your sweet romantic moment. Rather than, I am surprised how you both didn''t get the simple clue about how difficult it was for me to bring you both here! If I didn''t use teleportation...probably, you would have been already eaten alive by those wild creatures." He grumbled, fretting his face.


    "What? You brought us here?" Walking a step closer towards him, Eva swirled her eyeballs, blinking ardently at him. "That means...you followed me inside the woods, Mr. Czar?"


    Zeus seemed extremely shocked hearing the unexpected revelation right before him. Gulping anxiously, he shifted his gaze towards Eva asking him in an intense voice, "don''t tell me, was he the one who took you there to find me?"


    "Of course, you airhead brother. That was the last option I had to seek." Taking a deep sigh out, he calmly put both of his arms inside the pocket of his denim murmuring genially. "You had forbidden us with your stupid command even to go near you. So...I had no other choice rather than to bring little duckling to that shady woods. Though, I tried to concern her about the jeopardizing situation there but, you already know her persistence. And gladly, my plan worked."


    "He is right, Zeus. He was the one who brought me there so...I can run towards you. Without him...I don''t think we had been happier together right now." Tenderly nodding her head, she whispered after him looking at Zeus who was gawking at Czar with an emotion of disbelief in his dark eyes.


    Tossing a broad chuckle at her answer, Czar quickly picked up the bouquet of yellow tulips and firmly stretched his arm to hand it to Eva before responding back to her. "I know I am kind of a jerk guy, but I never seek to find my own happiness by trampling over the bliss that belonged to someone else from the very first.


    I am glad, you both fools are back to each other. So...I brought these flowers as a token of my congratulation gift. Don''t ever be such dumbheads again or try to separate from each other. Because...I won''t be helping you next time. Understand?"


    Holding a wide peaceful smile on her grimace, Eva tenderly held the flowers in her arms nodding her head obediently. "Mr. Czar, I had already told you and I still stick to my words. Though you try hard to be a pretentious arrogant guy...but you are a good person from the inside. And...this sharp attitude of yours actually suits you way better than the sweeter side you showed me yesterday. Thank you...for...bringing us together again..." She mumbled softly glancing at those flowers in her arm with a bright simper.


    For a moment, Czar continued staring at her intensively while she reciprocated her tender reply. But, his deep gaze towards her seemed to be profused with a void of immense sadness which he was trying hard to conceal from her. His heart was throbbing hard with a tinge of sharp pain piercing him inside. "Don''t worry, I will never show that side of mine to anyone...not even you, Eva." He wondered inside.


    Averting his gloomy gaze from her, he tossed a fake smile intending to hide his inner void. "You are exaggerating too much, little duckling. I...couldn''t leave you both to die in the middle of the woods by the hands of any other vile creature.  Besides that, it wasn''t...any big deal. I am a...cool man, you know?" His voice crooked a little while Zeus was looking intensely at him, monitoring his expression.


    Smirking at his haughty response she took a small glance at Zeus before answering. "I will find something to place these beautiful flowers. You both can sit and chit-chat on your own." Sounding quite impertinent, Eva almost rushed to the next room holding the bouquet tightly in her arms.


    .


    As soon as she left inside, both Zeus and Czar stood still facing each other with an awkward silence persisting between them. Exhaling a gasp of air out, he chose to break the silence first while he was ardently gazing at him.


    "Anyway, I know you must be annoyed by my interference here today. I won''t bother you both anymore since I had just come here to bring these flowers to little duckling---"


    Before he could wrap up his words, Zeus boldly rushed forward and tugged him into a warm embrace, tapping his shoulder. Czar was shocked by this sudden unexpected hug from him since it''s the very first time, he was bold enough to show his affection for his brother.


    Gasping heavily, he frowned his brows before quivering, "h-hey, Zeus? Wh-What are you ev-even doing--"


    "Thank you, my brother." He tapped his shoulder once again, intending to show his true compassion for him without hiding it anymore.


    "Hey, it was not a big deal to bring you both back here...Why are you being so corny today!" Czar was flustered red in shyness, trying hard to resist his embrace while he was holding him tighter.


    "You sacrificed your love for me... didn''t you?" A sad smile lingered on his lips as he whispered those words to him.

 Chapter 185 - Unexpected Meet

    "Wh-What?"


    "You butchered your sincere emotions to bring us both back together...isn''t it, Czar?" Resting his chin over his wide broad shoulder, his sonorous voice resounded heartfeltly.


    Czar stood still like a rock embraced within his arms surging his brown pupils wider. From his eloquence, he didn''t seem to expect such a blunt query from his brother who could easily notice the inner turmoils he was trying to hide behind his haughty expression. For a moment, he stopped resisting to break free from his snuggle.


    "Hey, stop... spilling out nonsense... Zeus. Why would I be... such a generous guy?" He stuttered a little, trying to come up with a fake excuse.


    "You have tried so hard to prove your disgust towards me, but...even though I tried to act indifferent towards your behaviors, silently, deep down inside, you were always concerned for me." He tapped his shoulder once, with his voice crooked a bit.


    "What the heck are you telling me? Let go of me, it''s awkward!" He fidgeted nervously trying to shove him away to escape from his tight bear hug.


    "Letting go of someone who had made you aware of your hidden emotions isn''t something a weak heart can do, Czar... Being romantic takes a lot of courage...and...it causes an incurable scar deep in your heart to watch someone go whom you loved above yourself. It...It takes a lot of strength... And, I never imagined you would be the one who will set an example of eternal sacrifice, despite being a stubborn beta."


    Hearing his soft gloomy whispering piercing through his heart, Czar didn''t conflict back with a single word. Zeus was evidently putting out his buried emotions which was making his heart shudder with unspeakable immense pain.


    "Thank you...would be a smaller abbreviation for what you did for me, Czar. And...I am sorry, I couldn''t be the perfect brother who could protect you from this cruel world. I don''t know...if you can forgive me ever in this life but for me...you will be always the best brother I could ever ask for." He tapped his shoulder mumbling his warm appraisal, tossing a wide sad smile, closing his eyes taking a deep sigh out.


    All of a sudden, the emotions which he was trying to suppress within himself broke out hearing those heartfelt words from his elder brother for the very first time in his entire life. He shivered a little with his tearful eyes dripping a drop of a warm tear rolling down his chin. His cheeks stung with an immense urge of crying out loud like a small child in his arms forgetting every boundary coexisting between them. Clinching his shoulder, he was trying to choke his tears in which Zeus could evidently sense from the backside.


    "You can cry out...if you want, Czar."


    "Wh...Who said...I...I...want...to cry... Wh-What a load of...bullshit..." His crooked, shaky voice was honest enough to point out the unavoidable urge of mourning he was enduring inside.


    For a moment, both of them immersed themselves within their long-awaited embrace before Czar noticed Eva who was standing at the doorstep of the room she rushed into, gripping a beautiful wooden vase with those yellow tulips delicately tugged inside. She was holding a warm teary smile on her face watching the two brothers cuddling each other fondly like small innocent children.


    Flustered at the sight of noticing her, Czar immediately pushed him away quite forcefully intensely trying to hide his embarrassed face. His ears and the tip of his pointed nose had turned all red which indicated he was too modest to even glance into deep in her eyes.


    "Wh-Why the hell you were snuggling me so tight? Ar-Are you a pervert brother? Tha-That was so damn frustrating! It was annoying the sh-shit out of me!" He was fumbling nervously, pretending too hard to hide his exact embarrassment from both of them, especially from Eva.


    She chuckled watching him getting all shy and tenderly walked closer to them, placing the vase over the table beside them. "Don''t fret, Mr. Czar. I will pretend...that I didn''t see these two grown brothers nestling each other with a warm bear hug." Whispering softly, she tried to tease him a little.


    "Hey! I didn''t hug this giant airhead! It was him who was gripping onto me tightly! I didn''t like it a single bit as it was frustrating!"


    "Yeah...Yeah...I can understand it, Mr. Czar." She smirked wittily peeping at him.


    "Hey, are you teasing me right now? And how long you are going to address me formally? I am gonna call you as little duckling even if your lover disagrees to it!" Desperately trying to hide his modest expression, he was bickering with Eva like a small child. Their innocent squabbling indeed put a warm smile on Zeus who was silently ogling at both of them with a blissful gaze in his eyes.


    .


    DING DONG!


    Their tiny bickering was interrupted by the sudden doorbell noise approaching the main door of the apartment. Flinched at the loud sound, Eva quickly rushed towards the door to find out who exactly had approached the at that very moment.


    As soon as she opened the door, her eyeballs swirled wider in surprise witnessing the person standing at her doorstep. It was Clara, dressed up in a black short knee-length gown, holding a wide jovial smile on her lips with a box of chocolate tugged in her fingertips.


    "Clara?" Surprised at the sudden greeting, Eva rushed in her arms hugging her as tighter as she could. She tapped on her shoulder a few times, nuzzling her chin on her shoulder.


    "I was so worried for you...that...I couldn''t stop myself from coming here at this hour. Are you alright?"


    "I...I  am so sorry...I couldn''t inform you anything last night...My phone died and...I couldn''t even come back home. Sorry...for troubling you so much always..." Making a guilt-stricken face while pouting her lips, she clinched her grip tighter on her waist."


    "As long as you are fine, I am okay with everything, Eva. Also, I believe, Zeus must be here too. Is he alright too?"


    "Yes! Come inside," quickly drawing herself away from her, she gripped her hand intending to welcome her inside. But as soon as Clara took a step in, her jaw dropped in surprise watching both Zeus and Czar standing upright before her.


    From his facial expression, Czar too looked startled at her sudden visit, gawking at her intensely. Clara gasped a deep breath in, surged her pupils wider, and mumbled out aloud without even realizing the situation, "master?"


    "You''re here too?" Narrowing his intense gaze, he enunciated back in a low tone.


    "Wh-What? Master?" Hearing their absurd response, Eva mumbled out turning her neck back and forth glancing at both of them in awe. Momentarily they seemed to be oblivious of their situation around but apprehending her baffled tone, Clara quickly tried to act normal getting a hold of herself.


    "Do you both know each other already?" Scrunching her brows, Eva gazed at her querying in a blunt note.


    "Ahh...no, we...we just know each other from a short time...haha... It''s nothing biggie..." A peal of abrupt nervous laughter escaped her lips as she tried to respond to her probing. Czar seemed a bit perplexed too, fidgeting his arms while Zeus stood still, monitoring their anxious state with an amused face.


    "Why are you addressing him as ''master''? Are you sure you aren''t hiding anything from me, Clara?" Sulking her face, she poked her arms sounding a bit skeptical.


    "It''s just the way I tease him... It''s really nothing--"


    "You are overthinking way too much, little duckling." Watching her getting all palpitated from her sharp queries, Czar came forward to her rescue answering Eva on her behalf. Both of them seemed to be a bit startled at his sudden sonorous response, turning their gazes towards him. "You shouldn''t stress your mind with these unnecessary abbreviations. Rather than, take good care of yourself and your foolish lover." Muttering in a keen voice, he shifted his glare towards Zeus who was already glancing at him.


    "Take good care of her. If you slack next time, I won''t mind snatching her away from you, okay?" Whispering haughtily to him under low breath, firmly he walked straight towards the door intending to step outside. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he stood silent, watching Czar leaving out first.


    "Wait...are you already leaving? We can grab breakfast altogether!" Eva tried to interrupt his motion, responding to him.


    "Next time. See you later, little duckling." A small smirk escaped his lips as he sneaked a quick glance towards her while walking past by. But not only Eva, momentarily he looked deep into Clara''s wider eyes evoking a mysterious gaze in his dubious eyes.


    While he was leaving, Clara turned her neck around gazing at him from behind quite sincerely. Her honest deep gaze seemed profound with impassioned sentiments as she could understand, he quickly left the scene before just to save Clara from any unnecessary probing.


    While she was gawking at him silently, Eva stared deep into her eyes with a small simper on her face. Taing a sigh out, she wondered on her own, "your eyes really can''t lie, Clara."

 Chapter 186 - Brother

    "Are you...doing a bit better now, Mr. Zeus?"


    Sitting opposite to him over the couch of the living room, Clara inquired him first. Eva was preparing some tea for both of them while she took the chance of having a quick chit-chat with Zeus.


    "I am better and healed up now. Moreover, Clara, you can drop the formals. After all, we belong to the same species." He politely answered.


    "Ssshhh, please don''t utter directly like that!" All of a sudden, she sounded a bit palpitated in a low tone, glancing around the kitchen where Eva was still busy with her duty. "Eva''s ears are really sharp! You mustn''t underestimate her audible powers."


    Hearing her freaked-out response, he took a deep huff of breath in leaning his back against the cushion. "Until...how long you are going to hide your true self from her?" He whispered frowning his brows.


    She sat still, lowering her gaze down like a guilt-stricken subject, and started clenching her moonstone bracelet out of anxiety. "I really don''t know... My mind feels numb even just with the thought of confessing the truth...Gosh, she would really think of me as a traitor. We had been together for near about two decades yet...I deceived her all the time... I am in such huge trouble..."


    "But I think... She might understand why you hide it from her. If you can''t bring yourself to tell her everything, do you want me to spill out the truth on your behalf?"


    "Are you crazy!?" Panicked at his blunt reply, she whisper-shouted at him quickly peeking a glance at Eva to assure if she wasn''t hearing their conversation. "She might kill me if she hears such a big truth from anyone else! You...You may be the most important person existing in her life right now, but still, I will forever belong to a special safe place in her heart. No one can take my place, not even you." A tinge of jealousy was evident in her sulky attitude as she mumbled out.


    Watching her quirky mood, a small chuckle escaped the edge of his lips as he lowered his eyes down. "I don''t intend to steal your position from her heart, but...the longer you hide the truth...the more it will hurt her. Sooner or later, everything needed to come out clear and white. As for now... her powers had already awakened." His voice sounded a bit dubious.


    "What? Really? When? How?" Swirling her eyeballs in fear, she almost choked her breath rattling her queries.


    "She was the one who broke my curse that no ordinary wolf can do! Though she is born as a human, her destiny can''t be changed that she carries a pure wolf line in her blood. I could sense in our first meet that she is a special being because some of my powers didn''t work on her. I am not well aware of what exactly happened, though, I am sure...the intense desperation needed for her awakening has already happened when she saw me on the verge of death. But...now...she might be in more danger as...many evil creatures might want to misuse her gifted powers." His dark voice sounded a bit hoarse as he was enunciating his answer, looking very concerned for her.


    "Gosh...This is crazy! I...I really wanted to keep her away from all these troubles! Then...maybe...the wolves who attacked her family might...come back for her too!? Oh gosh...this shouldn''t be happening in her life! What kind of critical fate she has been born with?" She seemed extremely perplexed, squirming her fingertips in angst.


    "I can understand your anticipation. But...we can''t change our destiny. These situations were bound to happen someday...Our way ahead will be tough but as long as I am alive, I will protect her. " Lifting his chin up, he stared straight into her eyes sounding very firm.


    Clara slowly raised her eyes apprehending his bold answer. She politely nodded her head and keeping her silence for a few seconds. From her facial expression, she seemed much concerned for her but all of a sudden, her gaze locked on the fresh yellow tulips delicately placed on the table nearby.


    "Yellow tulips?" She frowned her eyebrows gazing at it while her eyes seemed a bit poignant at the sight.


    "Czar brought it for her." He affirmed abruptly holding a small simper on his face. "You know what yellow tulips signify, right?"


    Nodding her head softly, she whispered in a glum manner looking at the flowers still. "Unrequited love."


    A sad smirk carved on the edge of his lips as he further leaned his back against the couch. "Eva seems a bit slow when it comes to noticing these small yet major indications. Czar sacrificed his first love just for our happiness. He chose to stay silent, bearing his own pain alone but...as his brother...I can realize...how hard it must be for him... You too already knew about how he feels for Eva, right?"


    "I don''t know what kind of a guy he had been all these time but...I could evidently notice, his emotions were...always sincere for Eva..." She lowered her head down, exhaling a heavy sigh of grief out.


    "Yet...you still chose to like him secretly..."


    "What?" She flinched out, hearing his reciprocation.


    "Look, Clara, my brother may not be honest with his words but...he likes to show it via his honest gestures. Till now, you must have realized that he cares about you. But...it''s that...you have to give him some time to deal with his deep wounds which must be tormenting his heart quite bad. And, I believe, no one can handle such a stubborn guy like him better than you...I have that hunch." All of a sudden, a quick reciprocation tossed out from Zeus who was gawking at her intensely holding a small simper on his grimace.


    "Wh-What are you tal-talking about? We...We don''t have th-that kind of re-relation... I...I don''t feel an-anything for him e-either..." She was stuttering anxiously, averting her eyes down with her ears turning into flustered red.


    A warm chuckle escaped his lips watching her fumbling like an innocent kid. Holding his laughter, he tried to comfort her a little as she was already growing nervous. "You don''t have to try so hard for lying right before me. All I want to say is...as far I know, you don''t have anyone in your life apart from Eva. But...I can be your big brother too, just like I am for Czar. And from now onwards...I will try my best to prove myself as a better brother for you both because...I will be sincerely rooting for you two. Okay?" He tenderly tapped her fidgety arm placed on her lap, smiling fondly at her.


    His warm words sounded much reassuring to her as it was the very first time...someone willingly wanted to be her big brother. The familial love which she had been mysteriously devoid of, was finding her on its own which left a soothing feeling on her heart. She reciprocated back his words with a broad smile on her face.


    .


    "What are you two gossiping about?"


    A soft mellow voice interrupted them from behind while Eva walked closer to them holding a tea-tray with a broad smile on her face. Both of them shifted their gaze towards her as she took a seat next to Zeus on the couch.


    "We were waiting for you to join amidst our conversation." Putting his arm around her shoulder, Zeus tugged her closer to him mumbling softly.


    "Really? By the way, I almost forgot to ask you about it. How did you two meet each other? Because...you already look pretty compatible with each other. As far I am aware of her aloof personality, I am surprised to see Clara quickly opening up to you Zeus." Turning her neck back and forth to glance at both of them, Eva muttered in a curious note.


    "He was the one who first came and found me at my workplace for giving me your treasure," answering in a tender voice, she promptly opened her handbag taking out the golden ruby bracelet and handing it over to her carefully. "Here...it belongs to you, Eva. Cherish it preciously and take good care of my brother. Don''t make him much distressed." She smiled peeking a glance at Zeus.


    "Brother?" Startled at her response, she surged her pupils wider immediately turning her gaze towards him who had a broad smile carved on his lips hearing her answer. "Since when...you became a brother to her? She didn''t even call Felix her brother even for once!"


    "Starting today. Not only do I have a stubborn brother but a stubborn sister too." He smirked fondly.


    "And take good care of this foolish girl you too brother, or else, I might punch you so bad." She mumbled with a witty grin on her grimace looking at both of them.


    "Woah...you two are behaving so suspiciously! Are you two keeping secrets from me or something?" She frowned her eyebrows, pouting her jowls.


    Softly, Zeus gripped the bracelet from her arm and patted her head once before asserting his remark, "Eva, for a few days, let''s go somewhere far from this world...where...no one will be able to find our whereabouts."

 Chapter 187 - Different Aspects Of Emotions

    Heading out of Eva''s apartment with the eloquence of satisfaction, Clara was walking towards the direction on her way back home humming a mellow tune. Her mind was filled with several thoughts but watching both Zeus and Eva happy together after such a harsh torment was finally giving her inner peace. But after marching a few steps ahead, all of a sudden her eyes locked on a surprising sight halting her motion immediately.


    Leaning his back against a giant white tinted wall a few meters apart from the apartment, Czar was smoking a cigarette fixing his dark glum eyes at the blue summer sky. A mild breeze was wavering down the neighborhood which was flinging his brown hair bangs curled over his forehead. Without even doing anything, his simple aura seemed magnificently handsome.


    "Master?" Impatiently, she rushed towards him hastily with a small simper unknowingly appearing on her face. She was happy to find him but didn''t realize it herself. "What are you doing here? You didn''t leave?"


    "I was waiting for you," a short cold response emitted back from him as he shifted his gaze towards her blowing out a puff of smoke.


    "Wh-Why?"


    "Let''s go for a drive. I brought some chilled beers." He murmured with a kind smile on his face averting his eyes down. The gaze in his eyes seemed much darker filled with unknown blues. Clara could evidently understand he wanted her to accompany him in his tough time and it was his indirect method to ask for it.


    Tenderly nodding her head in approval, she responded.


    .


    Sitting next to him inside the magnificent black Rolls Royce, Clara glanced at Czar softly while he was focussed on driving himself. An awkward silence was persisting between them. She knew it well that he didn''t like to drive himself but watching him all quiet and numb, she was fidgeting in anticipation. Sneakily, she was stealing glances at him while he seemed unbothered.


    "Umm, well, master...shouldn''t I be driving the car for you?" Perplexedly, she tried to communicate first.


    "That''s fine."


    "But--"


    "Today I am not bringing you up with me as my slave... You...will be my escort." A deep sonorous voice escaped from the edge of his lips as he gripped the steering wheel tight.


    Spellbound, Clara quietly apprehended his verdict glancing at his stern face. She didn''t intend to bother him with further explanations but couldn''t suppress her query about the venue.


    "Then...where are we going?"


    "You will see it soon." He whispered back.


    ......


    Groping the shimmering crystalline glass of scotch sitting inside the sumptuous bar alone, Ivory had a solemn expression on her face glancing at the screen of her phone. Her brownish wavy hair was curled down her shoulder and she was dressed up in a white, side slit gown wearing long white heels. However, her dark, intense eyes seemed much frigid as she gulped the entire drink in one go. A melancholic piece of melody was playing in the background of the peaceful ambiance with a few other people enjoying their drinks.


    Her dark eyes gawked at a message that was flashed on her screen.


    "Zeus is safe and sound. He is happy right now. You don''t have to bother him anymore with your presence, let him enjoy this blissful time with his beloved one after such a hassle.


    Reflect on the true bitter words that I have spoken to you, Ivory. Eventually, you have to let go of someone who never belonged to you from the very start. It''s too hard...but not impossible.


    -Czar."


    ...


    "That annoying brat! Who the heck is he to command my emotions? I...I want to rip out his annoying tongue! What does he even know about my feelings? Has he ever loved someone so much? All he did for his whole life was...fooling around with maidens! How the heck he would understand me?" Grumbling by herself, she hastily poured some drink on her glass looking quite agitated. Gritting her jowls, she gulped the whole drink again, flipping her phone on the table.


    .


    "IS IT YOU!?"


    All of a sudden, hearing a loud jubilant voice just behind her, she quietly sneaked a glance back looking pretty annoyed. Immediately her eyeballs swirled in shock to watch Eric groomed up quite handsomely, standing right behind her.


    "What the fuck? This punk is here too?" Wondering inside, she gasped out a deep sigh of frustration.


    "Oh...Oh my gosh! I can''t believe it! This is...purely fate!! I can''t believe I am finding you right here before my eyes when I didn''t even search for you! I...I was feeling a bit down so I decided to come here for a drink but...gosh! What a beautiful coincidence!" Rushing towards her table, he hurriedly grabbed the seat opposite to her sounding quite delighted.


    Already irritated with his interference, Ivory decided to leave the place at once but the ambiance was quite soothing. Moreover, it was her favorite unique scotch as well as her favorite bar. The bottle was still half-filled and she was in desperate need of a drink to calm down her intense worries.


    "A pretty goddess like you shouldn''t be drinking here alone. Should I join you for a drink?" He tried to grope the bottle with his fingertips but immediately she shoved his arm away, gnashing her jowls at him.


    "Don''t you dare touch my drink! Don''t ruin my peaceful time here...just...go away..." She sounded very gruff glaring at him invincibly.


    "Ohh, okay." Eric seemed a bit anxious watching her getting hyped up already. He could understand that she was pretty sensitive at that moment.


    "Well...you do seem a bit worried today...Did something happen?" Frowning his face, he inquired quite politely.


    Slamming her hand hard on the table, she turned her fierce glare towards him. "Why are you always bothering me everywhere I go? Who the heck are you? And...why are you concerned if I am worried or not! What do you want from me?" She growled out in a dense voice.


    Sitting quietly for a few seconds, fidgeting on his own he lifted his chin up looking deeply at her wide almond-shaped frowning eyes. "Do I...need to be straightforward with you?" He asked timidly.


    "What?"


    "I...like you." Taking a huff of breath out, he declaimed in a bold, loud voice gawking intensely into her eyes.


    "What!?" Swirling her pupils wider in shock, she was almost about to spill her drink as soon as he dropped the unexpected revelation. "What did you say?"


    "I don''t know why and how this happened...But...from the first day, I saw you...the moment our eyes locked with each other, my heart was pounding like crazy as if I was getting a heart attack! A spark ignited inside my core which I have never felt towards any woman in my entire life...not even towards my first love! I don''t know your name...I don''t know anything about you but...I couldn''t stop thinking about you. That''s the reason I started seeking for you helplessly just so that...I could see you again...but not today! This is indeed a beautiful coincidence which I still can''t believe...


    But...


    I...I really like you so much..." Blabbering out in one breath, he huffed out perplexedly gulping some water from the glass placed on the table, loosening his necktie. He seemed extremely nervous with the confession but somehow managed to let his emotions outflow.


    Ivory seemed spellbound, numb and shocked with his confession sitting like a statue gawking at him in awe. For a moment she forgot to blink her long eyelashes and watched him fidgeting anxiously after spilling his inner turmoils out.


    "This human is...absolutely...crazy..." She mumbled inside her mind, gulping the scotch fretfully.


    ...


    A giant wide sumptuously crafted room with crystalline glass floor was stained with thick gore black blood droplets in several spots. The room was partially dark and a dim yellowish chandelier was illuminating only the center portion of the room. At the edge of the room in the dark beside the two giant glass fenestrations, a tall man groomed up with a blue suit was sitting upon a magnificent cushioned chair, tapping his feet on the floor. Beside him, two tall, giant muscular men were standing still amidst the darkness. They seemed to be bodyguards of the man sitting slackly on the seat.


    Just below the chandelier over the blood-stained floor with both his arms were tightly restrained behind with a metallic chain, his bare upper body was covered in severe black blood and bruises, Beck was lying down on the floor panting heavily. He seemed to be brutally abused with fresh black blood spilling down the corner of his lips.


    "Have...Have mercy...on me...Master... Please...Please let me live... Please...I beg of you..." Moaning in pain, he pleaded in a husky voice glancing at the person who was seated in the dark.


    But the person still sat all slackly for a few seconds glaring straight at him. Slowly, he lifted his right arm, and with a sharp flick between his fingers, he indicated those two men behind him to approach Beck.


    "Please wait...MASTER!!"


    As they were about to approach him, a sharp shrilling palpitated feminine voice from the doorstep of the giant room averted halted their motion.

 Chapter 188 - The Last Chance

    Hearing the sudden shrilling feminine voice that mysterious person seated upon the cushiony cathedra straightened up his posture looking at the direction from where the voice interrupted in.


    Frantically running inside, a beautiful young woman in her late twenties dashed in. gasping out of breath. She was dressed up in a charcoal black denim jacket and jeans with her shoulder-length shimmering straight hair wavering down. Her radiant porcelain white skin seemed pretty pale as if she was intensely distressed from the core regarding something.


    As soon as she crashed inside the room, she headed straight towards Beck who was lying down on the floor with his side face touching the ground. He was bleeding severely and judging from the heavy breathing, it seemed as if he was counting his last moments.


    One of the tall giant bodyguards who was about to approach Beck, standing behind that mysterious guy was holding a long, pierce silver sword on his right arm. The lady who rushed inside the room firstly peeked a glance at the sword then shifting her gaze to the person sitting on the throne-like chair.


    "Meghan? What a beautiful surprise to see you here." A witty, deep sonorous voice escaped from the lips of that guy sitting amidst the darkish platform as he folded one of his legs over the other.


    The woman seemed to be extremely petrified, trembling in palpitation as she was gawking at the person with a narrow gaze. All of a sudden, she knelt down on the blood-smeared ground next to Beck who was almost on the verge of death.


    "Please...Please master! Please let my brother live! Please don''t kill him!! I have no one in this world apart from him... Have mercy...Master..." She whimpered out aloud, lowering down her head with tears streaming down her cheeks.


    "Do you think...I am a sage?" A devious chuckle reciprocated from him immediately watching her kneeling down on the floor beside her dying brother. He leaned his back slackly against the cushiony seat mumbling out further, "if we were some charitable organization, then I guess, I would have accepted your pleading. But for me, failure has only one penalty...death."


    "Master...I know...I know my brother has failed on his mission... I...I have no right to complain about the torments he had to face here...But, please...please let him live..." She cried out, folding her arms.


    "I have already given your brother enough chances to prove his worth! I had put my trust in his hellhound spirit but...I guess I was proved wrong!" He asserted quite coldly, gawking sharply at her sobbing grimace.


    "Master..."


    "Your brother was assigned to kill a human! Just a human! He even had enough chances to finish her off when she was alone...but his foolish boasting attitude ruined my entire plan. Now...how can I let live someone who beat my trust? I am...not that kind...you know--"


    "What if I kill that human?" All of a sudden, a loud grumble stirred out from her quivering lips as she lifted her chin up, ogling at him. Her sudden proposal was quite unexpected which even quelled that supercilious guy.


    "What?"


    "What if I kill that human, master? Then...Then will you let my brother live?" She sobbed, folding her arms helplessly.


    "Hahahaha! Oh my gosh... Do you think it''s that easy?" He burst out with a squeal of arrogant laughter glancing at her grievous face. Straightening his back against the chair, he tilted his neck. His white glossy teeth were shimmering in the dark while he was grinning.


    "I...I don''t think it''s easy to master, but---"


    "Though she is a human, she has a nasty alpha always hovering around her. Ahh, that jerk is the root cause of ruining my plans." He tossed out a deep sigh while muttering his words.


    "Then...should I...go for that alpha?"


    "Nope!" His high-pitched shrilling noise quelled her mumbling as he sounded very intense inside the giant room. "I will kill him with my own hands...but...I want to watch him suffering first... And that human...is his only weakness right now. What a fool!" He clenched his fist rattling his ardent words.


    Meghan sat still for a few seconds and sneaked a quick glance at Beck who had already lost his consciousness at that moment. His condition was going severe with every passing moment and she could realize it evidently.


    "Then...I...I will take down the human, master! I will do every possible thing to finish her off... Just...Just please have mercy and let him live... Please..." She bowed her head on the ground, whimpering in a crooked voice.


    "How can I trust a small girl like you?" Leaning his posture a bit closer towards her on the chair, he smirked wittily.


    "I don''t have a choice, master! I...will do every possible thing to...to finish her off... But... if I do so, will you let my brother live?"


    "Awww...you are such a worthy sister of your worthless brother." Calmly, he stood up from the seat and walked beside the glass fenestration that was covered with a blackish-green curtain. Heftily, he shoved off the curtains, and the bright radiant sun rays through the glass walls illuminated the entire room.


    The man had a porcelain white bright skin, pointy nose, almond-shaped big eyes, and roseate plump lips. His jawline was extraordinarily sharp giving him an elegant masculine appearance. He was wearing an ocean blue luxurious suit with his dark black wavy hair curling over his forehead. A small cut scar was evident on the side of his right eyebrow that shimmered in the bright radiance.


    He opened those giant windows and breathed a huff of fresh air flowing inside with a mild breeze. Putting both of his broad palms inside his suit pocket, he further continued, "well, to be frank, I don''t wanna waste my time further by trusting a frail girl like you... But...you kind of remind me of my own sister, Meghan. She was...so stubborn, just like you... However, I have never granted a second chance to anyone who failed prior but...this time...I will make an exception."


    In the jolt of a second, she elevated her chin up from the ground gawking at his firm broad posture from behind. Gulping anxiously, she muttered out, "ma-master, are you really...giving me a chance?"


    "You can consider this as your final chance, Meghan. Can you really finish her off?"


    "Yes, master!!" Declaiming out in a bold loud voice, she sprang up from the ground with her jowls trembling in angst. "I will...I will do everything possible to kill that woman! I swear on our Lord!"


    "Then you will be given the time of a week. I won''t touch your brother for the time period but..." Whispering in a mysterious note, he firmly turned around to face her from upfront. Immediately, his brownish-grey eyes transformed into illuminant red in color with a devious smile spreading on his grimace before he grumbled. "The moment your time is over, your brother will breathe his last. And not only him... but you also will face my wrath. As I am kind of a cruel beast you know."


    She was fidgeting in angst looking extremely fretted as she took a quick glance at her brother lying down motionless on the floor. "I...I understand. I won''t disappoint you, master. I will find her and make sure to do my duty. Till...Till then...please let him live..." She folded her shivering arms, pleading before him.


    The guy didn''t utter a single word anymore and smiled viciously turning his face towards the fenestration again. As soon as he turned around, the girl quickly took the last glimpse at Beck, and sobbing heavily, she rushed out of the vast room.


    While she dashed away, the person who was carrying the silver giant sword in his arm shifted his glance towards him tossing a heavy sigh out. Lowering his eyes down, he mumbled, "master...do you really think...that small girl will be a worthy opponent of that bastard alpha? Why..Why did you grant her a second chance?"


    "Have you heard the phrase, Griff? Pain...makes you desperate!" He whispered to him fixing his eyes on a tall building right in front of his view. "Though she may be a young girl...but...watching her brother on the brink of death will provoke the beast residing inside her. By anyhow, she will try to save her only remaining family and that''s what I am looking ahead for! So...let''s see how it goes."


    That guy stood silently for a few seconds averting his eyes down anxiously. Taking a small huff of breath out, he took out his phone from his pocket, turned the screen on, and stretched his arm to hand it over to her. "Master Calix, here''s the picture of the individual you wanted me to explore."


    Calix firmly grabbed the phone from his hand and glanced at the picture with a vile sneer on his face. His dark brownish eyes swirled out wider dubiously as he mumbled on his own, "long time no see...my dear sister... We will meet soon, hopefully."


    That was the picture of Clara, wearing a white formal shirt with an innocent smile spread on her face.

 Chapter 189 - Long Awaited Realizations

    After an anticipated ride of 2 hours, the car stopped near the bank of the Arno river. The area seemed extraordinarily beautiful with several colorful flowers blooming on the shrubs growing all over the place. It was already past afternoon, the sunrays were shimmering in the silver glossy river water flowing down the stream. Moreover, the area was completely desolated without a trace of any person apart from both of them.


    Czar first stepped out of the car and walked straight towards the giant riverbank with a blank gaze in his dark eyes. Following him, Clara walked out and stood beside the bonnet of the car. She was watching his broad posture standing all alone from behind, gazing towards the flowing stream.


    "Isn''t the place...beautiful?" Taking a heavy sigh out, he mumbled out glancing all over the area with a small smirk lingering on the edge of his roseate lips. "This place hasn''t changed a bit...I am glad, that it''s the same as before."


    Hearing his soft proclamation, slowly Clara walked closer to him and stood right next to him, glancing at his grimace. "It''s beautiful. Have you come here before?" She asked him.


    "This is my secret hideout. Whenever...I wanna run away from this fucking world I choose to come here and let my grief pour all out. You...are the first person... I brought here along with me." His sonorous sad voice reverberated in the desolated area mildly.


    Clara stood still for a moment, ogling at his vulnerable expression with a sad gaze in her eyes. Though, her heart was feeling a tinge of bliss hearing his declamation that indeed she was the first one to accompany him there.


    "Let''s sit here and booze with all our strength." Quickly he hopped down on the grassy land tapping on the ground with his right arm. Clara obediently followed his command with a small simper on her face as he was asking her to grab her sit next to him.


    Both of them chugged down some beer from those chilled cans which they had brought along with them. Clara was drinking a bit slower than her usual capacity. But she watched him gulping down the drinks quite hastily.


    "He must be really sad," she wondered sneaking a small glimpse at him. As he was a bit light-drinker, she could sense that intaking such a load would cause him physical trouble. She took a small sigh out and chose to interrupt.


    "Master, you can slow down a bit---"


    "Ahh, you are refrained from calling me master today, I have already told you prior." He sounded pretty dense.


    Getting intervened by his dense proclamation, she slowed down a little and muttered softly. "Err...Drinking so hastily can cause you trouble... I am worried you won''t be able to handle it..."


    "Pffftt!" A sudden loud smirk escaped from the curvature of his lips apprehending her rustling voice. "Are you worried about me? How strange! It''s the first time...I am hearing it from you... And what delights me the most, we were fighting like fiery vixens just on our first meet. You were already ready to pounce on me viciously. Haha... the memories seem like it all happened just yesterday..." Though he had a smile on his face while rattling those words but his eyes were profused with a void of sadness.


    She smiled a little listening to his meek words. Averting her gaze down, she fidgeted her fingers while clinching the grip on the beer can. "Well, to be honest... it''s like...I kind of misunderstood you as a perverted creep the way you blackmailed me on our first meeting. But...


    The more I get to know you now...the more I feel embarrassed about the way I behaved with you earlier that day... You...You are really a good person and I am proud of what you did for both Zeus and Eva. It takes a brave heart to sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of someone else... Not everyone can do it." Her timid voice sounded much soothing amidst the whirling river breeze they were sitting in.


    A wide, sad smirk broadened on his face as he lifted his chin up to glance sideways at her. His eyes were dark but seemed much expressive to convey those glum emotions he was enduring inside. Inhaling a deep breath in, his eyes were barred on the clear blue sky as he murmured, " fuck...why is it that...the more you want to say...the harder it becomes to speak out..."


    "Because your heart is wounded inside." Abruptly she enunciated shifting her glance at the whirling stream of water before narrating her mild voice. "When your heart is deeply hurt, no words can express the amount of suffering you are striving with. Involuntarily, we become quieter than usual."


    Listening to her soothing answer, for a few seconds, a calm silence persisted between them. Gulping down some amount of beer he murmured in a timid pitch, "how can you depict my emotions so clearly? Can you actually read my mind?"


    "A person who notices someone''s sadness must be always sadder from inside. That''s the reason...I can feel you...Czar." A gloomy small smile spread on her jowls as she fixated her deep gaze towards him, rustling softly.


    For the first time, hearing his name out in her soothing voice unknowingly put a simper on his face. He clinched the can on his grip, took a heavy huff of breath out, and whispered, "you know... all my life I had acted as a troublesome brat towards Zeus, but...he didn''t even complain to me once. I...I always carried a burning flare of vengeance buried inside my soul which made me turn a blind eye to all the things he selflessly did for me without expecting anything in return. I had assumed that the anger fuming inside me would be calmed down if I...just watch him suffering badly...


    But...I was wrong...


    I was furious, enraged, and perhaps jealous of noticing the love he was showered with by the whole pack while I was battling my lonely dark life. Even when we were small kids back then, whenever he was would receive any present, he always reached out to me first for sharing that little happiness with me, but as usual...I brutally insulted and chased him away.


    And you know what, the next day again, he would come to me acting as if nothing happened the earlier day...Even when he started the Romano Organization, he shared half of the company shares with me despite neglecting everyone''s objection.


    Though I realized it late I...mistook his kindness and continued hurting him shamelessly... I wondered if causing him the pain would dissolve my agonies inside but...it never helped." A warm drop of tear dripped down his flustered cheeks with his empty eyes fixing at the horizon and a small trembling smirk carved on his grimace.


    Holding a teary poignant gaze towards him, she sat still for a while. Slowly, she raised her arm and tapped his shoulder intending to soothe him a bit with her gestures.


    "I was just a mere small kid when I watched my mother sacrificing herself to keep me safe. That immense trauma of losing the only person I ever had in my life had almost snatched my will of life at that very young age. For my whole life...I had blamed Zeus for not helping me at that moment to save her without realizing that...he was not in a position to help me being a kid himself. It was...all the nasty conspiracy plotted by his mother but...the anger inside me blamed him always for almost nothing...


    When I look back now, I realize, I have spent such a long life already hurting him so bad...that...I can''t even bring myself to say all these to him... The rift between us had been widened a lot...but... it''s the very first time, I did something for him by letting go of someone I wanted to be with...


    It''s not like I didn''t want to be selfish this time...but...strangely...the burden I had weighed on my heart all these years feels a bit light with my sacrifice." Stroking his teary eyes tenderly, he tried to smile wider to hide his emotional turmoil behind his firm sneer.


    She silently apprehended his heartfelt confession with a small pitiful beam on her face. Somehow, his agonizing tale reminded her of her own despairs that happened years back.


    "The ones who can hurt others are the ones who are actually more hurt inside. My behavior was probably 10 times insolent than yours when I met Eva for the first time. I brutally chased her away, acted boorish towards her kindness but she didn''t give up on me...


    Now when I look back at myself...I realize that...all I did was to evoke the rage of abandonment that I faced at such a young age. My past memories were erased, I didn''t have a clue of myself who I am or what I was doing there...and that pushed me to the brink of my frustration. But...throwing my fit on others in the end only hurt me, it never helped..." She tossed out a heavy sigh.


    Immediately, Czar shifted his glance towards her and continued looking at her sad smile frowning his brows, "your entire past memories were erased? Then...do you realize it now that it was purely intentional...perhaps...it was done by your own family?" He probed her curiously.

 Chapter 190 - Circumstances

    "I know... As I grew up...I had my realization that...I was intentionally abandoned...by my pack...especially by my own family. I was just left with a sack of food and a pitch of water along with some spare clothes and my name written on a small piece of paper in a completely unfamiliar place. When I woke up, I saw myself in a young girl''s figure and couldn''t remember a single thing about myself.  I guess those who abandoned me didn''t expect of my survival in this nasty world." Her voice crooked a little as she took a deep sip of the beer, huffing out intensely.


    For a moment, there persisted a fervent silence between them. Czar slowly turned away his gaze towards the front and continued ogling at the flowing silver stream. "It must have hurt her so bad..." He thought inside being lost in deep worries.


    "You know Czar... not knowing anything about your existence is a kind of scary thing. I don''t know...what did I do to deserve such a gruesome abandonment. At first, it used to bother me so much...but while I accustomed myself to this new life...I understood that... I didn''t do anything wrong, it was my own world who turned their back against me." She enunciated in a rustling voice, slowly caressing a tiny grass flower that bloomed next beside her.


    "What would you do if someday...your family comes back for you?" Frowning his eyebrows impertinently, he asked her.


    "I will smack and beat the shit out of those bastards!!" Gritting his jowls in immense anger, she twitched her frows looking at him with an irked expression. "They left me with approx survival stuff that lasted barely for a few days hoping that I would die out of starvation. They did such horrible things to me and if they have the guts to come back after what they did...I am gonna kill them!!" She clenched her fist, grunting hard.


    "You are not alone in this boat. I am gonna kick their asses too if they approach you after what they have done. Because...I am sure...you are happy with your new life and new family." A small smirk appeared on his face as he whispered those words tenderly.


    For a moment Clara widened her eyeballs and peered at him with a small pleasant simper on her face. She lowered her gaze down, tenderly nodded her head, and responded back, "you are right. I am not alone anymore... In this new life, I have my own family who cares for me... and...I also have you."


    Apprehending her fond voice, a soft smirk escaped his roseate lips as he continued staring at her for a few seconds.


    "The same goes for you too...You weren''t wrong. You were boorish and harsh towards your brother but the ugly world and the terrible pain of losing your beloved one at such a young age made you do so. But deep inside, you have a precious heart that led you to do such a sacrifice of your cherished one. Instead, I must say you are...very brave, Czar." She tapped his shoulder again reverberating her brave words to soothe him.


    "She reminds me of my mom..." A sad smile widened on his jowls as he gazed up at the blue clear sky with an emptiness in his eyes while he continued. "She is warm...naive and easily trusts people...just like her. I...I have to live this remorseful life with the guilt of being incapable of protecting my mom. I couldn''t even find her dead body to hug her for the last time. But... I want to do everything that''s possible for her sake this time. I don''t wanna leave any regrets, Clara. I want her to be happiest in this life even if the happiness no longer includes me. Even if we are animals, we can never hurt the ones we love- that''s what you had told me on our first meet."


    Patting his arm with her frail fingertips she was peering at his vulnerable grimace. "Your mother must be proud of you today as...she indeed gave birth to a precious son. Not only she...but...even I and your brother must be proud of you too." She rustled sipping down the last amount of drink remaining in the can. Her cheeks and ears were becoming flustered red that indicated she was getting tipsy.


    "Being with you soothes me too. I like it when you accomplice me, Clara. I want to stay with you like this for a long time...so...don''t ever catch any feelings for me." Chugging down the remaining beer in a spree he mumbled out surprisingly aloud in a sonorous voice.


    Hearing his abrupt declaration, all of a sudden her heart throbbed with a tinge of sharp pain. Clinching the can, she fretted her jowls before asking, "what...if I do?"


    "Huh?"


    "What... if I really fall for you?" Her voice was a bit shaky and ardent while she was gawking at him.


    For a while, scowling his brows Czar continued glancing at her serious face looking a bit perplexed. Her objection had already troubled his mind that was evident from his eloquence. He didn''t utter a single word in response.


    The calm atmosphere that was persisting between them suddenly turned into an intense situation with a throbbing silence. Both of them continued staring at each other''s faces and Clara understood it evidently, the circumstances were growing heavier.


    "Hahaha! I got you!!" Suddenly, she burst out into a squeal of laughter tapping her arm on the ground leaving him completely surprised. She resumed grinning aloud for a few seconds and paused a bit later, "Woah! Just look at your shocked face! I...I was just joking...haha! Don''t fret..." She was trying hard to put out the fake laughter to dissolve the intense arising situation.


    "Ohh! Ohh gosh! You really scared me for a moment!" Exhaling a deep sigh of relief he brushed his brownish hair up with his fingertips from his forehead, tossing a small smile. "Though...I fell for Eva without even realizing myself...but...I am not prepared for any commitments. I have...my separate goal of vengeance in life and...don''t wanna raise someone''s hopes higher for me. And, to be honest, we gotta part our ways according to our deal if that happens... It won''t make me happy." His soft echo whirled in the area along with the mild summer breeze beside the silver stream.


    "I...understand..." She sighed out with a small sad smile.


    "So let''s keep our relationship the way it is till you want to keep your identity hidden from Eva. Let''s stay the way we are now. Okay?" His smile widened on his sharp jawline as he whispered his wish.


    Nodding her head, Clara continued peering at his grimace with a sad gaze in her eyes and a throbbing impulsive heart. Clinching the soft grass with her trembling fingers she wondered on her own, "do I already have fallen for you? Then...am I going to lose you forever?"


    ..........


    The sky was moderately blue and clear with soft cottony white clouds patched up at a few places above the never-ending blue Mediterranean Sea. The weather was pretty pleasant and comforting. That west side area of the magnificent Ostia beach was completely desolated without a trace of any other person.


    At a measurable distance from the beach, there stood a tall, sumptuous and magnanimous La Marinella Deluxe Resort elegantly decorated with several flowering shrubs from outside in front of which their car halted its motion.


    As soon as both Eva and Zeus walked out of the car, her eyes were shimmering in gleam noticing such a beautiful view of the blue sea. Unknowingly, a small smile appeared on his face watching Eva getting blissful expressions.


    "Woah!! This place is so beautiful, Zeus! Look at the sea...it''s so blue...But...why this beach is so empty?" Glancing all around curiously, she mumbled out.


    "This resort belongs to me. However, I have booked this entire place for us, Eva." Gently gripping his wide arm around her shoulder, he reciprocated back. "I don''t want any disturbances till we are here. Did you like the place?"


    "Wow! My boyfriend is indeed a crazy rich guy! I love it here!" softly poking his abdomen with her elbow she tossed a sly smile. The air was indeed very fresh and soothing which uplifted their delighted mood gracefully.


    "Master Zeus?"


    Suddenly, both of them were interrupted with a kind voice behind them. An old, kind-looking lady in her late 50''s was standing behind them near the entrance wearing a maid outfit. As both of them looked back, she bowed respectfully before Zeus.


    "Eva, meet her, she is Lady Olie...the best caretaker of this resort. She has been here for a really long time." He replied glancing softly at her.


    "Master, I see... You have finally found your loved one. I feel so relieved to witness this sight. Also, Milady is indeed very beautiful, perfectly suited for you." The lady smiled at both of them, peering especially at Eva.


    "Hello, ma''am. Nice to meet you too." Fondly Eva greeted her with a blissful smile on her face looking quite happy at her compliment.


    "I have prepared your rooms already. Please come inside, our butler will guide you." She stepped aside and both of them casually walked inside holding each other''s arms tight. As soon as they headed in, Lady Olie was about to follow them from behind.


    But all of a sudden, someone grasped her shoulder tightly from behind with a soft arm that flinched her quite badly as she turned back.


    Just behind her, dressed up in a complete black gown, Meghan was glaring at her holding a vile smile on her pale face.


    "Wh...Who are you?" She gulped anxiously, trying to free her shoulder from her clasp.


    "I am sorry Lady Olie... But...I need to borrow your body for my mission." She whispered.


    "What?"


    "May your soul rest in peace..."A cruel wide smile spread on her face with her canines emerging out. Her eyes completely turned into the black demonic form as she took a step closer to her.

 Chapter 191 - Skeptical Issues

    THUD!


    Hearing the sudden noise behind them near the colossal entrance of the resort, in the flick of a second Eva shifted her gaze back turning around her neck. Her motion halted, she frowned her eyebrows and continued peering at the way steadily.


    To her surprise, Lady Olie was missing at that scene! She was about to follow them from behind but in the jolt of a second, she disappeared nowhere to be seen as she was impertinently swirling her glances all around.


    "Eva? What happened?" Zeus was quick to notice her perplexing behavior and probed her softly, caressing her gripped arm.


    "Zeus? Did you hear a noise?" Her glance was still fixed towards the way out.


    "Noise?"


    "I...I don''t know...but...it seemed I heard of something. And...where is Lady Olie? She was about to follow us inside, right?" Her voice sounded a bit shaky as if she was anxious over an issue that arose out of blue.


    Apprehending her query, Zeus curiously glanced all around the way out frowning his brows. Indeed, Lady Olie was missing from there where she was standing a few moments ago.


    "Maybe...she had some other works pending before she came to greet us," politely he replied.


    His answer didn''t seem much reliable to her due to several cynical doubts crowding her mind. Her life had been quite a ride due to all the traumatizing events she had been encountering which had further made her suspicious of every little inconvenience. Fidgeting on her own, she gulped her saliva and stared intensely at him lifting her chin up.


    "Zeus... is she a wolf too?" She quivered anxiously.


    For a moment, Zeus stood still glancing at her dubious expression with his narrowed gaze. Taking a deep sigh out, he gripped her hand tighter and with his other arm, touched the right surface of her face before responding to her. "Are you worried that I have brought you here among wolves?"


    "No...I just..."


    "Eva, you remember what I told you earlier, right?" His eyes seemed a bit glum as he whispered tenderly holding her arm tight. "So much stuff has already happened to both of us...I just...want to spend some peaceful moments with you here without any interruption or commotion. That''s the reason, I brought you here so far from Rione Monti. And...she is a human, just like you. Besides, none of the workers here are wolves so you don''t have to be scared of anyone...okay?"


    Though he tried to act all firm and calm before her, she could easily notice his deep concerns evident for her. Clasping his palm, she nodded her head before answering him back, "Zeus...it''s not that...I am unable to survive with wolves around me. As long as you are holding my hand, I can go through anything.


    But...I just wanna halt for a moment. I am exhausted of all the sufferings we had to bear... You are all I have... So, I just...want to live a happy life with you, that''s all I wish for. And...that''s the only reason I feel so anxious with the slightest issues."


    "I believe...nothing bad won''t happen to us till we are here, Eva. These are all my trustworthy people. And besides, I am here with you, right by your side." Placing a soft peck on her forehead, his soothing voice tried to dissolve the immense worriments she was striving inside.


    "Master?"


    Apprehending the sudden deep sonorous pitch behind them, they sneaked a quick glance in the direction. A tall, old, masculine well-dressed butler, seeming to be around the same age as Olie greeted them with a polite simper on his face. His eyes were gleaming in happiness as he was ogling at both of them.


    "Mr. Graham, are you doing well?" Immediately, a wide smile appeared on Zeus''s face as he turned his face around, glanced at him clasping her hand tightly.


    "Yes, master. But above everything, I am relieved to see you being finally completed with your partner. You seem really happy now, master. I wanted to see you like this for a long time." He grinned jovially, bowing his head respectfully before him.


    Eva seemed a bit confused with the ongoing blissful conversation between them but she waited patiently before Zeus introduced her to that person. Holding her shoulder with his broad arm, he told her in a meek voice, "Eva, he is Mr. Graham our senior butler here and also, the husband of Lady Olie. Both of them are working here for almost 30 years."


    "Hehe, a pleasure to meet you, ma''am. Well, we were quite young when we started working here but now...we have become an old couple. But strangely, our Master has been always the exact same we saw him since the first day. It feels that perhaps he has stopped aging, hehe." He towed his head politely before her mumbling quite cordially.


    Hearing his unexpected answer, Eva noticed a dark expression occupied on his face while he lowered his eyes down for a second. It seemed as if the realization that he has been always drastically different from humans when it comes to aging, strength or any other capabilities was tormenting him mentally, especially when she was standing right next to him.


    Gripping his arm tightly, she bowed her head to offer her cordial greetings to that old butler. Holding a small smile carved on her plump rosy lips, she murmured to him, "even if he can''t age or even if he is way different from others...my love for him will be just the same."


    Hearing her affirmed response, Zeus slowly uplifted his eyes up from the ground and glanced at her in awe for a while. She could easily read his anticipations without even conversing and that''s what startled him the most. Perhaps, that''s what soulmates are meant for!


    "I am so pleased to hear that, ma''am. I wish...both of you stay together forever happier than ever." With a small bright simper on his face, he glanced at both of them who were ogling at each other fondly. "Well, I have prepared both of your rooms upstairs, master. Please follow me --"


    "That''s fine Mr. Graham, I can take Eva there. You can go now." A bold sincere smile appeared on his face as he held her arm tight before walking upright through the staircase. Eva was obediently following him from behind looking all pleased to see him being happy again.


    .


    As both of them disappeared right from his sight, Graham slowly turned behind to head towards the kitchen. But his feet halted as he swirled his eyeballs watching Olie anxiously walking inside the resort looking a bit perplexed.


    "Olie?"


    Hearing his sudden loud call, she flinched hard for a second and took a heavy sigh out pausing her pace. Frowning his face, he almost rushed towards her who seemed trying to smile at him.


    "Olie, where have you been? You just welcomed them from outside, right? Then what took you so long to come inside?" He probed her with many questions at once.


    "Now who is this old fart? Why is he asking me so many questions? I guess, he must be her husband...or something..." Gulping her saliva, Meghan wondered with a fretful face while she had completely possessed  Olie''s human body after killing her off.


    "Olie?"


    "Well...I was just taking a walk outside... The air feels quite fresh here..." Nervously faking a small chuckle, she uttered out fidgeting her fingertips.


    "What? There have been so many works pending here... Master has come here after such a long time with his ladylove, we have to make sure every arrangement remains perfect... But how can you waste your time by roaming outside like that?" His irked voice sounded a bit gruff as he charged her.


    "I...I am sorry...honey," squirming perplexedly, she tried to put a wide smile on her face before rustling.


    Apprehending her soft plea, for a few seconds, Graham stood still gawking at her face intensely. "Honey? But... Olie never liked to come up with any nicknames... Today why is she all of a sudden calling me honey?" He wondered while scanning her from head to toe with a sharp gaze.


    "Olie...is it my mistake or do you really seem a bit young today? And...why are you wearing your wedding ring on your right arm?" Furrowing his thick black eyebrows, he tossed a blunt query.


    Immediately looking a bit panicked at his interrogation, she took off the ring from her right arm before putting it anxiously on her left ring finger. She nervously chuckled again before reciprocating him back in a considerate voice, "haha, darling, what''s wrong with you? Why are asking me so many questions today? I...I wore it in the wrong arm by mistake...haha, don''t fret. I...I will head to the kitchen right now. It''s getting late..." Blurting out quickly, she almost tried to dash away from him tapping her bold footsteps ahead.


    "This old fart will gonna cause trouble for me here...damn...I must do something about him!" She wondered inside.


    "I am sure...there must be something wrong with my Olie today..." He muttered inside his mind watching her leaving from behind silently.

 Chapter 192 - Observation

    "WOAHHHH!"


    As soon as Eva stepped into the sumptuously furnished giant room holding Zeus''s arm, she dropped her jaw gasping in awe. The room was elegantly core interior designed as a luxurious suite with giant glass fenestrations facing the beautiful blue sea view. Soft cottony white clouds were racked on the blue sky which was gorgeously visible from the room. The fresh breeze of summer breeze was whirling inside with the white cotton curtains swirling in the air. Beside the magnanimous deluxe bed, a bunch of fresh red roses was placed on a beautifully crafted wooden vase. The view was quite heavenly which further startled Eva from her core.


    "Did you like it?" Glancing at her surprised face with a tender smile on his face, Zeus wrapped his arms around her shoulder asking softly.


    "I...I am speechless! This place...this view...everything is so beautiful, Zeus!" Chuckling with a wide simper, she sounded pretty delighted. Gently, she walked a few steps ahead towards the giant windows and enjoyed the scenic beauty ethereally.


    She was glancing all-around at the sea, the beach lost in the beauty of nature. Soon enough, he followed her slowly from behind and fondly hugged her from the back, resting his chin on her soft shoulder.


    "I am glad...I could bring you here. This is my favorite place, Eva." He rustled.


    "I am amazed, it seemed you had beautifully plotted to surprise me by bringing here, didn''t you? Were you always this romantic kind of person or I am a special case?" She poked his cheek with the tip of her nose, trying to tease him tenderly.


    "Of course I had to plan everything perfectly before bringing my loved one. Also, I had specially designed our room as a dreamy suite." He whispered softly, locking his grip around her waist from behind.


    "Our room?" Curiously, she inquired him.


    "I had already promised you, Eva, I am going to stick annoyingly closer to you always. So there''s no way, we gonna use separate rooms till we are here. Besides, this will be our love nest." A sly small chuckle escaped from his lips while reciprocating as he nestled his chin on her shoulder.


    "Love nest?" Hearing his honest declamation, she seemed flustered in embarrassment, standing frozen within his warm embrace. Her cheeks and ears were turning red with the peak of shyness as she quickly sneaked a glance at the deluxe royal bed of that room.


    "Just now, you thought of something perverted by glimpsing at our bed, didn''t you?" Cheekily, he tried to pull her leg tightening his grip around her.


    "What? Wh..What are you saying!?" Turning into a shy goofball, she was fidgeting in his arms trying hard to hide her bashful appearance from him.


    "Though you are denying, we both know you just thought about something, right?"


    "No, I didn''t..."


    "Ahh...I know you are just lying--"


    "C''mon, you are making me shyer..." Her lips were quivering as she was averting her gaze away from him while bickering with him fondly.


    "Pfftt," he chuckled emitting a warm huff of air as he rested his head on her shoulder holding her tight. Both of them seemed to be yearning for their lovable serene moments for a long time which was evident from their sincere soft gestures.


    "Zeus, my heart feels so happy to be with you again... By staying apart from you for the time being...it made me realize, I just...can''t live without you... Your scent...your presence...everything soothes my broken soul." She rested her head over his grimace, closing her eyes while mumbling in a delicate tone, caressing his arm.


    "And I am gonna make sure, we never have to be apart again... Thank you, for coming back to me, Eva." Placing a soft kiss of eternal promise on her forehead, he whispered in her ears nuzzling closer.


    .


    (KNOCK KNOCK)


    All of a sudden, hearing the sudden door knocking sound interrupting their soothing moment, they turned their gazes at the back impertinently. Unleashing her from his strong grip, he proclaimed out in a loud voice, "who is it?"


    The door opened partially as both of them witnessed Lady Olie standing at the doorstep holding a white silk cloth cloaked food tray. She had a small mysterious simper on her face ogling at both of them.


    "Lady Olie?" Zeus walked a step ahead of Eva, narrowing his gaze at her.


    "Master...I am a bit late...but I bet, you both must be quite starving after such a long drive up to here. Here, I prepared super delicious spaghetti with bacon steak for both of you. Please savor it." Steadily, she walked into the room while responding to him cordially towards the small table that was etiquette placed for their meal purpose.


    While she was meekly communicating with Zeus, Eva had her sharp gaze following her around in the room. Though she was smiling and seemed pretty normal, something off about her poked her inner worriments.


    "Eva, come with me," Tenderly grabbing her hand, he led her walking towards the table before cordially letting her grab the seat first. Olie was standing beside them serving the dishes on the table following proper etiquette manners.


    While she grabbed the seat, sneakily she took a small glimpse at her. Indeed, she seemed somehow a little different to her from their first meet at the entrance. Her face seemed quite pale as if she was seeming a bit bloodless!


    Her lips were looking extraordinarily reddish and much plump which wasn''t evident at their first encounter. As far she remembered, she had chapped lips which seemed quite different from now on. She had wrinkles fringed on both the sides of her eyes which had completely disappeared! Moreover, she seemed a bit younger from their first encounter that happened a few moments ago.


    Lost in her appearance, Eva frowned her face gawking at her intensively. Olie could feel her sharp gaze hovering on her and fidgeting a bit nervously, she shifted her glance at her asking timidly, "Mi...Milady... Do you need something...from me?"


    Not only she, but Zeus could also perceive her intense gaze locked on her as he was glimpsing at her. Tenderly tapping her arm once on the table, he whispered, "Eva, is there something wrong?"


    "She seems...quite different from earlier... Am I overthinking or...something is really wrong?" She gulped, wondering inside her anguished mind silently.


    "Eva!?"


    "Huh?"


    Flinched at his sudden loud call, Eva averted her glance away from her and perplexedly peered at him. From his facial appearance, he seemed quite concerned about her sudden absurd silence.


    "Eva, are you feeling sick? What happened?" He asked her again, this time pressing her arm firmly.


    "Umm...no...it''s nothing..." Dubiously she shook her head in denial trying to suppress her inner turmoils from him. "Zeus has earnestly planned this vacation just for me... I mustn''t spoil our trip here. He said they all are his trustworthy people, so...I...I must be really thinking too much! Before I reach any decision, I should try to observe her a bit more. I shouldn''t ruin our blissful time with my irrational assumptions!" She tried to calm herself down wondering inside while gulping some water from the glass.


    "Milady...are you alright? Are you having any inconvenience here with my serving?" She quivered anxiously resembling quite restless.


    "It''s nothing, Lady Olie. I was just...lost in some thoughts...Don''t fret about it," she tried to divert the topic tossing a small fake smile so that Zeus won''t be too concerned for her again. Though she tried to act serene, she was being a little restless around her which he could evidently notice.


    "Eva must be hiding something from me... what is it this time?" He exhaled a heavy sigh out, thinking inside.


    "I had assumed her to be a naive fool but...I guess...she is way too sharp in observing others! She must have noticed something different in me! Damn! I can''t get caught here off guard... I gotta win her trust first before wrapping up my mission here.


    No matter what, I won''t let my brother die because of you...little wench!" She murmured deep inside her mind, narrowing her fiery gaze at her sneakily.


    .......


    "Do you even have the idea what rubbish you are spitting out now?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned her back against the chair tossing her glare towards Eric who seemed badly anxious before her.


    "I...I know what I am uttering... Liking someone...isn''t a crime..." Scraping his neck with a bashful expression, he mumbled out.


    "You like me? We have barely met two times before! I even smacked at your abdomen pining you down last day! After all these...how can you like me after witnessing my harsh response for you? What do you even know about me?" She grumbled out, clinching the glass of scotch in her grasp.


    "I am sorry...if...my confession made things more awkward between us. But...I just wanted to be straightforward with you." Fidgeting his fingertips, he tried to defend himself nervously. "Also...it took me...barely five seconds to fall in love with you when our eyes met for the first time---"


    "I love someone else." Before he could wrap his words, all of a sudden Ivory declaimed her verdict boldly, staring at him invincibly.


    "Wh-What?" Startled at her answer, he stuttered.

 Chapter 193 - Protect

    "I have someone I love with my whole heart! Not only that, I can go beyond any limit to stay by his side... That''s bigger my love is for him... without any boundaries..." Chugging down the remaining portion of the scotch poured in her glass, she proclaimed in a firm tone, glancing straight in his awestruck gaze. Though she mumbled out quite aloud and bold, there remained a void of emptiness profused in her dark, wide brown eyes.


    For a moment, Eric sat still facing her all numb and silent hearing her honest declaration. He seemed to be at a loss of words, fidgeting his arm and breathing quite heavily.


    "Look, I didn''t want to be involved with you in the first place. I could have left from here without giving you any explainable reason...but I didn''t want to give you any false hope to hold onto. I guess, my answer should be enough for you to give up on me---"


    "No." Before she could enunciate her words completely, he answered in a sonorous low pitch, lowering his eyes down from her at the table.


    "Huh? What?"


    "I won''t give up on you." He rustled his opinion softly.


    His answer was completely unexpected for Ivory to process in! She was startled, numb for a while, and continued glaring at him with her fiery gaze. "Hey, are you really stupid or you are just trying to play dumb right now?" She snapped.


    "I believe...your love isn''t reciprocated by that person...isn''t it?" A small smirk appeared on his glum eloquence as he slowly lifted his chin to look deep into her eyes.


    Apprehending his sincere soft voice, a tinge of sharp throbbing pain stirred into her heart silently. Her words stuck in her mouth, for a moment she even forgot to breathe in and rested still like a statue. He could easily point out her deep pain in such a smooth manner. That''s what surprised her from the core as after a moment of pause she stuttered out, "wh-what?"


    "If you had been loved by that person back, your eyes wouldn''t have been so empty and cold." His whispering mild voice echoed in the gentle ambiance while he was lost deep in her wide sad eyes. "Besides, you haven''t been drinking here all alone if that''s not the case."


    "Wh-What rubbish you are...bl-blabbering out?" Swirling her dilated pupils while trying to suppress her grief inside, she tried to oppose his words in a fidgety manner.


    "He might be your first love...but...I intend to be your last love...no matter how long we can be together next to each other. And, I mean it." Holding a bold small smile on his face he crossed his arms over his chest, resounding quite firm.


    Clenching her fist, a rush of emotional turbulence swooned her inside as she sat still, fixing her scowling glare at him. The more she was getting vexed, the more he seemed tranquilized.


    "I know...I may sound too desperate...but...I believe I still do have a chance for you. If...the person you love reciprocates your feelings, I promise, I will walk out of your life without any budge.


    But...if that''s not the case... let me stay beside and love you with all I have." His warm declaration echoed like a blissful melody amidst the serene ambiance where they were sitting facing each other. The smile he had on his face widened further which indicated his emotions were truly sincere for her.


    "Wh...What the heck..." Awe-struck at his passionate confession, with a sudden jolt she stood up from her seat looking quite perplexed from her eloquence. As she stood up, Eric quickly followed her action and rose from his seat too.


    "You have lost your darn mind! Who the heck are you to decide about my life? Stop daydreaming because...it''s never gonna happen! And stop chasing after me before I break your limbs!" Grumbling with an intense low pitch, she steadily turned around and tried to walk away from him in the direction towards the exit.


    But as she took forward a few steps from him all of a sudden, he dashed towards her speedily and groped her arms from behind, pulling her back towards him with a heavy jolt.


    With the sudden rush, both of them lost their balance to stand still. Both of them bumped down on the ground with Ivory, being completely shocked at his action landed over Eric''s chest as he held her tight in his arms.


    "Hey, you freak---"


    CRASHHHHH!! RUMBLE! TRINGGG!! DRUMMM!


    Before she could shout at him, in the flick of a second, the giant chandelier which was hung at the center of the bar crashed down on the ground shattering the crystal lights into pieces, scattering all around the floor! The noise was extremely thrilling! Deadpanned in shock, all the workers gathering around them quickly. Just for a fraction of a second difference, Eric saved her from facing such a dreadful accident groping her in his arms, laying down on the ground.


    As he tried to save her by pulling back, while bumping down on the ground, Ivory had heard a loud thud sound. It was Eric who had hit the back of his head hard on the ground while trying to protect her from hitting the ground with his body as a shield.


    "OH MY GOSH! SIR! MA''AM! ARE YOU BOTH ALRIGHT! OH GOODNESS!" Screaming out aloud in fear, the manager rushed towards them trembling in angst. "HELP THEM TO GET UP! QUICK!!" He shrilled at the workers.


    Squirming inside his arms, Ivory slowly raised her head to sneak a glance at Eric. Her head was throbbing quite hard with the unexpected ruckus caused by the accident but she was curious about him a bit.


    As she rose her head up from his chest, she saw Eric was breathing quite deeply with his eyes closed halfway. His face had turned quite pale and both of his brows were twitching involuntarily.


    "Hey...Hey? You...okay?" Quivering slowly, she asked him.


    "At...At least...you...are safe...." Mumbling under heavy breath with a small shaky simper on his lips, slowly he closed his eyes appearing to be losing his consciousness!


    "You...You are still worried about me? Are...Are you nuts? O...Open your eyes! Why did you have to shield me like that? What the fuck? Hey, you jerk? Don''t die like this..." Panicked to watch him going all motionless, she tapped his jowls a few times with her fingertips trying to wake him up. But it was of no use despite her several attempts.


    He indeed had lost his complete senses and within a few seconds interval, the emergency medical help arrived.


    ....


    After coming out of the shower wearing a soft white bathrobe, Eva was gently wiping her water dripping wet hair humming a blissful melody. As soon as she stepped into the room, to her surprise, it was empty with Zeus being not present there.


    Curiously glancing all around her, she frowned her eyebrows. He didn''t tell her prior about leaving somewhere else but his sudden absence somewhat puzzled her a little.


    "Now...where has he gone? He didn''t even tell me anything about leaving--"


    Her whining voice trailed off when her gaze locked on the big basket which was placed on the top of the table beside the bunch of roses. The basket was covered with a silk linen cloth and curiously, she walked towards it.


    Slowly, she removed the cloth and gasped in awe to witness the sight. Beautiful red silk embroidered gown was placed inside of it with a small handwritten letter. She picked the dress up in her arms and continued to read the letter.


    "My love,


    Here''s a small present for you from me. After finishing up your shower, wear this gown and come meet me at the beachside. I will be waiting there for you...


    Don''t make me wait too long... I am quite an impatient lover.


    -Zeus..."


    ...


    A wide blushing smile appeared on her face as she finished reading the letter. "Gosh, I can''t understand this man... Since when did he plan all these to surprise me? How can such a romantic man never had a lover before?" While mumbling on her own with a small chuckle, she softly caressed the red gown placing a kiss over it. Her eyes were shimmering with a gleam as if she had longed for such beautiful moments with him for a long time.


    .


    Soon enough, she groomed up herself perfectly in that red gown. Standing in front of the giant dressing mirror, she was monitoring herself for the perfect date making a bashful face. Her long, wavy brownish hair was curling down her shoulder, whirling with the summer breeze. Putting two small earnings, she was trying to match up to her look before leaving.


    .


    All of a sudden, she could sense a chilling sensation on her back! For a moment, she felt as if a pair of sharp eyes were watching her from the peephole on the door. She quickly glanced at the door, flinching hard in fear.


    "Wh... What''s that... Is it my illusion again?" She wondered.

 Chapter 194 - Dreamy Moment

    As soon as she fixed her sharp gaze towards the peephole, her left hand started to tremble on its own. The hair comb she was clinching onto dropped down on the ground. Taking a deep gasp of breath, she tried to approach the door but her feet were frozen in fear. After all the things she has been into, she was terrified to take a step forward and check the door once. But her senses were indicating to her that someone was indeed watching her through the hole.


    At the moment while she was anticipating trepidation, all of a sudden her phone kept on the desk beside her rang aloud flinching her quite hard. Rushing quickly, she glanced at the screen and saw it was Zeus calling her!


    "He-Hello?" Muttering quite anxiously, she answered.


    "Eva, aren''t you dressed up yet? I am already going impatient to see you..." A soft, meek voice answered her from the other side of the call. He sounded to be in a pretty good mood as she assumed.


    "Ye...Yes, I am...done already..." Gulping her saliva and glancing at the door she tried to act calm not to make him further concerned. Besides, she didn''t want to ruin his happy mood.


    "Then why are you still up there? Come down, quick."


    As soon as he finished those words, Eva sensed as if the sharp gaze that was watching her from outside shifted elsewhere, away from her. She perceived that it was his phone call that saved her at that moment from getting approached by an intruder.


    "Ze-Zeus, can you come and take me down there?" She was too anxious inside, trying hard to act calm before him but still scared to step alone out of the room. She clenched her phone tightly, peering at the peephole again.


    "But I want you to come here alone and see me first. Don''t fret darling, I will be with you over the call till you reach here. So...please come down." His voice sounded quite solace while he mumbled his plea in a considerate tone.


    Unable to decline his polite request, Eva took a deep gasp of breath and started walking towards the door. Before grabbing the doorknob, her hand was still trembling in fear but she didn''t want him to know about her trepidations on their special day.


    "I shouldn''t be afraid like this...Zeus is with me. I know...He will never let me get hurt... I should be stronger, I am his soulmate after all!" Trying to motivate her terrified self in every possible way, she clinched open the door and boldly stepped outside.


    To her surprise, there was not a single being present right there! It seemed to be an illusion what she perceived, but her strong senses were indicating that indeed someone was watching her from afar! She glanced everywhere around her to make sure of it and swirled her eyes skeptically with several doubts conflicting in her mind.


    "Eva, are you coming?" Zeus was still on hold over the call and detecting the sudden silence from her side, he impatiently asked her again.


    "Yes. I am coming to you," a small grin appeared on her face as she started walking straight down the stairs towards the exit.


    ........


    It was almost the time around sunset. At the extreme west on the beachside, she arrived as she was told over the call. It took her almost 10 minutes to reach the place before he disconnected the call first.


    But as she reached there, her motion halted to witness the surprising sight before her! The ambiance was quite alluring and peaceful. Alongside those blue sea waves whirling towards the shore, there were five floral archways decorated amidst the beach. Those arches were beautifully adorned with fresh red roses along with colorful ribbons and red heart-shaped balloons. Soft cottony red transparent curtains tucked with the archways were drifting along with the breeze forbidding her view mysteriously towards further inside.


    The whole sand passage through the archways was embellished with fresh red rose petals as if the whole area seemed to be a blossoming paradise in that dreamy sunset view.


    "Wh-What''s all these?" Shocked to see the ethereal arrangement especially prepared by him, her feet were frozen in wonder. She couldn''t take a step forward and stood still, gasping breath heavily.


    .


    "Did I surprise you again?"


    Flinched at the unexpected soft voice behind her, she quickly turned around and saw Zeus standing tall, holding a blissful expression on his radiant happy face. He was groomed in a cherry red velvet shimmering tuxedo suit, putting one of his arms inside the pocket, glancing at her with his love-filled wide black eyes. His dark black hair was curled over his forehead and amidst the magical orange sunset, he looked no less than that of an elegant prince peering at his princess.


    "Ze...Zeus?" Her voice trailed off appearing as if she was at a loss of words, witnessing all these heavenly decorations. A small chuckle escaped his lips watching her standing all innocently still as he tenderly walked closer to her.


    "Looks like, I have indeed surprised you again. And...I will keep surprising you for the rest of my life. I give you my word today, Eva..." Softly caressing the right side of her face, he whispered looking straight into her eyes.


    Hearing his heartfelt verdict she smiled at him with tears swelled in her eyes. She was immensely happy to witness a never-expected magical moment like this in her life with her beloved one standing next to her side. Without even realizing a warm teardrop of immense joy filling her heart rolled down her cheek with the smile widening on her grimace.


    Tenderly Zeus took a step forward and gripped one of her arms tightly. Mildly, he wiped the tears from her eyes touching with his fingertips. "I will make sure to wipe your tears like this whenever you will feel down. That''s also my promise to you." His soft voice sounded quite firm.


    Politely nodding her head in approval, she further gripped his arm tight. As soon as she reciprocated his grip, holding her with utmost tenderness both of them started walking through the beautiful floral archways over the rose petals garnishing their beautiful steps ahead. There were five floral archways prepared by him.


    "Eva...these arches represent the beginning of our new journey together from now onwards. Even if we come across the hard times, you will find me next to you holding your hand as tight as ever. That''s my word to you."


    Eva was quietly listening to him with a wide grin spread out on her jowls. She was immersed in the ethereal and feeling every bit from it from the core of her heart. It was all a dreamy romantic event beyond her imagination. The soft sound of waves whirling with the breeze even made the ambiance more soothing to experience.


    Soon enough they crossed every archway holding arms in arms walking over the flower petals. But the surprising event was getting more intense with every passing minute.


    As soon as they came marching forward, Eva swirled her eyes further wider to witness the sight before her. Gorgeous freshly bloomed fragrant roses and daisies decorated table for two date setup along with white silk curtains surrounded on every side was arranged at the center of the beach under the beautiful sunset blessing the peaceful ambiance. Alongside it, a big heart-shaped platform prepared with aromatic red rose petals was also flashing its beautiful appearance.


    Gripping her arm tightly, he straightly walked towards the platform with a mystical smirk on his elegant face. Eva was completely awestruck with the charismatic arrangements and glancing all around her following him obediently.


    His feet halted as soon as both of them reached the rose platform. It was the perfect sunset moment with the blissful orange aura scattering through all over the beachside. As he halted, quickly she lifted her chin up, curiously ogling at him from behind.


    "Umm...Zeus?"


    Softly, he unleashed her arm from his grip and turned around to face her with a wide grin carved on his lips. Somehow, he seemed a little nervous but tried to act quite calm right before her.


    "It''s the...very first time in my life...I have prepared these arrangements for someone who means everything to me. Every decoration...I have done it with my own hands just for you. So...Did I...succeed to stand up to your expectations, Eva?" He mumbled gaping into her shimmering eyes.


    "Expectation? Zeus...it''s...it''s so beautiful that...it''s beyond my imagination... It all feels as if I dreaming everything and I don''t ever wanna wake up from this... I...I am shocked, you did all these on your own? Wasn''t it tedious? I...I am...really at a loss for words right now...I can''t believe you did so much for our date--"


    "It''s not just our date, Eva." Before she could finish her words, Zeus took a step closer to her with a gap of few inches persisting between them. "I have...something else to ask you."


    "So-Something else?"


    "I wanna surprise you like this for the rest of my life. You are the one with whom I want to watch each sunset of my life... You are the one beside whom I want to wake up right next to every morning...


    So...


    Will you grant my wish?


    Will you...marry me?"


    A soft, teary smile escaped his lips as he asked her his heartfelt desire.

 Chapter 195 - The Oath Of An Alpha

    Rolling her dark dilated pupils wider, looking absolutely stunned at his unanticipated confession Eva stood frozen for a few seconds, completely still. Somehow, Zeus had assumed her surprised reaction and slowly took a slow step forward fixing his affectionate gaze deeply at her.


    "It looks like...I have surprised you again, my love." A wide sweet smile spread on his sharp jawline with the yellowish-orange mild sun rays reflecting on his face a few moments before the sunset.


    Eva still couldn''t utter a single word at all, gasping breath heavily looking intensely at him squinting her awe-struck gaze.


    Slowly Zeus rolled down his right hand inside his suit pocket and deftly took out something clenched in his grasp. Fondly he stretched his arm before her and there lied an ethereal platinum ring, beautifully engraved with an extremely rare, 2.26-carat heart-shaped purplish-red diamond at the center. The super rare diamond ring seemed especially prepared for her as the symbolization of his neverending pure love for her.


    Eva choked her breath for a second watching that valuable gemstone right before her eyes. In the whole world, there have been only 20-30 red diamonds known to exist. Almost a carat of this unique gem costs around 1-2 million dollars which were beyond her imagination. And to her surprise, the most beloved person of her life was holding that inestimable gem which unconsciously made her eyes swelled with tears of ecstasy.


    "You...prepared...all these for me?" Her voice crooked a little as she bit her lips softly to stop herself from sobbing.


    "To be honest...I had prepared this ring for you for a long time already." A sad smile escaped his murmuring soft lips as he lifted his eyes down to glance at the ring shimmering on his hand. "Eva, I had been yearning for a long time already to express my heartfelt desire but...my truth of existence was unknowingly stopping me to take a step forward.


    But...


    When we had to part our ways from each other after my identity was exposed to you...I had...really left the hope of seeking my long-awaited happiness with you... Every day, I used to carry this ring with me almost everywhere with the dim hope of giving it to you someday.


    When it was the time of my wolfsbane curse, I had prepared myself for every possible worst consequence. Even I had to disappear, I wanted you to find happiness in life even if it doesn''t include me... But...perhaps the deities answered my prayers and...I found you back to me again..." A drop of tear bearing his heavyweight of emotions dripped down the corner of his eyes with a warm smile spreading over his grimace.


    Her heart was inflamed with a painful sensation hearing his bereaved words, staring straight into his eyes with a teary vision. She was trying hard to control herself from grieving down but the emotional turbulence inside her heart from all those miseries they had to go through was making it difficult for her to repress.


    "Ahh, I shouldn''t enunciate about these sad kinds of stuff on our special day," he quickly rubbed his eyes to wipe those glimpses of his tears out, smiling widely at her. Spreading his palm towards her, he murmured in a soft voice, "I was...quite nervous about today to plan everything secretly without your knowledge...


    My legs...are still shaking but...it''s also...the happiest day of my life when I can express my long-waited wish to you freely without hesitating about my dark identity...


    Will...Will you hold my hand and...walk together with me on our path of life? Will you marry me...Eva?" His mild voice trembled a little as a small sad simper escaped the edges of his teary eyes.


    As soon as he wrapped his sincere words, without wasting a further single second Eva almost jumped inside his embrace hugging him as tight as she could, bursting out into tears of immense joy. She was shivering, breathing heavily wrapping her arms around his broad shoulder, tugging her teary grimace on his chest.


    Zeus didn''t seem surprised with her reaction as if he had somehow anticipated an emotional response from her. Holding her tightly in his arms, he took a deep sigh of relief resting his jowls on her frail shoulder.


    "I had never expected...I...I...would be able to witness such a magical moment of my life, Zeus... After...After I heard about Felix''s death, my life ahead had become all dark right before my eyes... I...I had lost everything I had at once but...you...you held my hand and forbade me to give up...


    You gave a meaning to my dark life, Zeus... And...you are all...I have in this world right now...So why ask the obvious?" Mumbling in a husky mellow voice, she slowly drifted her head away from his chest holding his arm with that ring inside his grip.


    Suddenly, she lifted her chin up, closed her eyes for a second, and pressed her soft lips against his plump lips generating a passionate yet fond kiss of promise in the flick of a second surprising him a little.


    "YESSS! YES YES YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES! NOT ONLY IN THIS LIFE... I...I WANNA MARRY ONLY YOU EVEN IF I AM BORN AGAIN IN ANOTHER LIFE...  ALWAYS AND FOREVER...EVA WILL BELONG TO YOU, ZEUS!" Chuckling out aloud with a blushing wide smile spread out on her meek grimace, she responded out quite aloud with her bold voice holding his arm tightly. Her voice echoed in the entire solace beachside with the mild whirling sound of waves sloshing to the shore.


    Witnessing her delighted honest reaction, a flustered giant smile appeared on his radiant face. Softly he leaned his head towards her, caressing the tip of her nose once with his pointed nose ridge to express his sincere affection at her response. Both of their eyes were swelled with tears of bliss while feeling the most special moment of their life from the core of their wounded heart. They kept their heads inclined towards one another for a few seconds, standing still, with the soft winds nuzzling their hairs on their faces as they breathed slowly.


    After a moment of peaceful silence, Zeus tenderly held her left knuckle and placed the ring in her small ring finger with utmost delicacy. Tears rolled down her eyes, as her hand trembled a little while he was putting the ring onto her.


    Holding her arm in his grip with the diamond shimmering elegantly, he stared at her finger for a few while smiling on his own. After a moment of ecstatic silence persisting between them, he raised his chin up and tightened his grip on her hand.


    All of a sudden, a radiant flame of red flares started appearing around them encircling them in the middle while the sun had almost set down at the horizon of the sea. Amidst the yellowish-orange aura around them, the flares seemed quite strange! Flinched with the sudden happening, she quickly sneaked her glances all around whereas his gaze was fixed still upon her. Somehow, she could feel his arm was turning quite hotter with the touch as he was holding onto her.


    "I...ZEUS ROMANO...THE TRUE-BLOOD ALPHA WEREWOLF OF THE ROMANOS... AM SWEARING THE OATH OF MY LIFE!" Unexpectedly, reverberating aloud in his loud dominant voice as his dark eyeballs started turning red obtaining his dominant form. She could sense, it was him who was caused the wave of flames to appear around them.


    "I AM CHOOSING EVA RICCI, A MORTAL HUMAN, AS THE ETERNAL MATE OF MY ALPHA LIFE HAVING THE OCEAN, THE SKY, THE WIND, AND THE EARTH AS THE WITNESS OF MY IMMORTAL OATH...


    IN MY WHOLE LIFETIME... I WILL NEVER LOVE ANYONE APART FROM YOU. YOU WILL BE THE LUNA OF MY PACK AND ALSO MY ETERNAL RESPONSIBILITY. I WILL GLADLY ACCEPT THE DIVINE PUNISHMENT IF I FAIL TO CHERISH AND PROTECT MY LUNA BREAKING OUR DIVINE OATH OF LOVE... I WILL IMPETUOUSLY FIGHT AGAINST OUR OWN RULES BUT WILL NEVER LEAVE HER SIDE. FROM TODAY, NOW, AND FOREVER... YOU WILL BELONG TO ME AND I DEVOTE MY EVERYTHING TO YOU.


    HEREBY TO THE MOON GODDESSES WATCHING ME, I DECLARE HER AS MY MATE AND I WILL FOREVER CHERISH MY ONE AND ONLY LUNA."


    While he declared his verdict in his loud dominant tone, she stood still in an ecstatic manner gawking at him in awe, rolling her eyes wider. With the completion of his words, the fire around them started to ignite more vigorously created an illuminant aura all around them. The sun had already set down the horizon and the sky was slowly turning darker.


    Slowly, Zeus started leaning his face closer towards her while being a bit nervous, Eva shut her eyes tightly. Straightly he brought his grimace over her neck groove and sniffed her scent for a second. She could sense his warm breath on her shoulder as she flinched quite hard.


    All of a sudden, his long canines started emerging out from his lips as the red illuminance brightened on his pupils. Softly, he bit a small portion on the right side of her neck with his white canines, gripping both of her arms tightly. The bite wasn''t painful, it was rather soft and gentle but for her, it was quite unexpected. Her heart started throbbing aloud absorbed with an unknown fear as she could feel the presence of his sharp canines near her neck.


    "Did he just...bite me?" She wondered, opening her eyes all of a sudden in fear.

 Chapter 196 - Violin

    As soon as Eva blinked her eyes open, looking a little gasped in fear she noticed that Zeus had already drifted his head away from her neck, gazing at her with a blissful wide smirk. His eyes that were shimmering in illuminant red blaze, had returned to their normal human form. His canines had disappeared and with those curly black hair bangs stroking over his forehead along with the mild breeze floating by them he seemed extraordinarily handsome like an ethereal prince, holding one of her arms tight.


    Looking a bit nervous and fretful, she glanced all around and noticed the red igniting flames that were surrounding them a moment ago had disappeared completely. Everything around them seemed to be normal with the peaceful desolated ambiance around them.


    However, she could sense a slight tingling sensation on the portion of her neck where he had just bitten her a few seconds ago. While touching the part with her trembling fingertips she could feel a kind of scar being bruised on that part.


    Slowly, Zeus stole a quick glance on her neck and immediately, the smile he had on his face widened. It was a small, star-shaped golden-red-hued shimmering mark that was magically gleaming on her porcelain white bare skin.


    "Zeus...did...did you just...bite me? What...just happened around us now?" Baffled with the intense situation while making a clumsy gesture, she murmured her query, lifting her gaze up.


    "I marked you mine," softly caressing her few hair threads away whirling on her beautiful face and tugging them on her ear back, he whispered in a sonorous, jovial tone.


    "Marked...me?"


    "We are animals, Eva and...we mark our mates just like the way I did to you." Slowly he unleashed the grip on her hand and stroked that shimmering with his broad fingertips looking quite proud from his expression. "Wolves need to mark their territories which belongs to them. And...as you already know, I am the Alpha of my pack. By marking you mine today, I swore the oath before our Moon Godessess of declaring you as my only mate and also the Luna of my pack." He continued.


    Apprehending his genial voice, making a confused face she stood still gawking at him with a fretful face. "Luna? I...I am a luna of your pack? But...that''s a sacred position to hold and...I...am just a human..."


    "A wolf can only chose one mate for his entire lifetime, Eva. And...my heart has already chosen you despite you are being born as a mortal human. I don''t bother about any consequences anymore. Now...all I have to do is...declaring our relationship before my pack and introduce you to their new Luna to them before...we get married." His dark eyes seemed shimmering with a gleam of happiness as he asserted his words to her. His affable glow on his gaze was evidently visible even within the darkness prevailing around them after the ethereal sunset.


    Though from his gesture, he seemed to be quite happy, a tinge of worriment swooned her insides making her quite anxious than before. She was fidgeting her fingers, feeling quite restless as if something was bothering her deep inside.


    "Eva? What''s wrong?" He evidently noticed her palpitations, as he took a step closer, putting an arm on her side face.


    "Zeus...what...what we are gonna do if your pack doesn''t accept me? I...I am just a human...while...you are their strongest alpha... How will they accept a feeble woman like me as their luna?" She frowned her face, uttering her anticipation.


    For a moment, Zeus stood still looking fixed into her eyes with a poignant gaze towards her. Tenderly he cupped her small face within his grip and mumbled in a sad voice, "Eva, you trust me, right?"


    "I do trust you Zeus...But...I can''t help but get worried about...the wrath you have to face from your beloved pack just because...you chose a human. I bet...they must despise humans too just the way you did before...I can''t even imagine how bad they are gonna react when they will see me--"


    "Even if the whole pack revolts against me for choosing you, I will still stick by my decision. An alpha can never turn back on his words, Eva." Before she could mumble out her answer, he interrupted her verdict by a stern declaimation from him. She looked quite surprised resting still in his hold being stormed away by his hoarse answer.


    "Zeus?"


    "I loved you despite knowing the boundaries existing in our worlds. It was my choice to go after you. I earnestly waited for you to accept me for who I am...and now...when that has happened...I am bold enough to claim you mine before our world! Eva...if you trust me...you must already know I am willing to sacrifice my everything to stay by your side. But...I will never let you go. I have sworn to love and protect you forever and I will keep my words, till my last breath. That''s why, don''t fret about the consequences anymore... if you have faith in me." He replied intensely in a pitch, scrunching his brows.


    "Why do you love me so much...Zeus?" Wondering deep in her mind while looking at him, she tried to swallow the surge of crying rising inside her throat. A small sad smile appeared as she nodded her head tenderly holding both of his arms with her frail palms. "I believe in you. Whatever you have decided...I will follow you, Zeus."


    As soon as she concluded her words, the whole area on the beach side illuminated up with bright yellowish lights attached over the floral archways as well on the dining table arrangement for their romantic date. Beautiful white lights crowded them around the rose petals platform where they were standing holding arms into each other. Within the night ambiance, the place seemed more beautiful decorated with colorful lights and flowers along with the sound of shoring waves. Eva seemed quite ecstatic while she was gawking at the majestic decorations turning her neck all around.


    "So let''s celebrate the first step of our new journey of life forgetting every worries, at least for today." Fondly clutching her arm tight, he started walking towards the table decorated for their joyous celebration. Zeus drew out the chair for Eva to make her seat first then grabbed the chair right next to her.


    As soon as both of them grabbed onto their seats, two tall, handsome young men holding two violins gently came walking towards them. Politely they bowed their heads before them and stood right next to them. Immediately after them, three more butlers from the resort marched towards their table carrying several dishes on silver plates on their hands. Cordially, they served those royal majestic dishes which Zeus made it especially prepared for Eva along with an exquisite champagne placed over an ice-bucket.


    Eva was completely awestruck with those sumptuous arrangements he had exceptionally arranged for her. As she took a glimpse over the dishes, her eyes widened in delight. They were all her favorites which Zeus had accurately kept in his mind to surprise her for their special day. But above all, she was more pleased to see those violinist guys.


    "I can''t believe...you...must have worked so hard to arrange all these for me...Zeus. And what amazes me the most, I didn''t even had a clue of all these preparations..." She chuckled.


    "I wanted everything to be perfect for our special day today...Besides...I believe...you are really happy to see these violinists, aren''t you?" A small smirk escaped his lips.


    "Did you just read my mind, Zeus?"


    "No... But back in your home, I saw an old, rusty small violin in the corner of the room when I was searching for a shirt to put on." His tone hollowed a little as he continued gawking at her face, caressing her arm softly. "You must have...loved to play that violin once in your life...isn''t it true?"


    Hearing his soft voice, all of a sudden, the wide smile she had on her face shrinked a little occupied with an unidentified sadness. She lowered her eyes down from him, stayed still for a moment and breathed out with a heavy sigh of grief.


    "My father...gifted it to me on my 10th birthday. He really loved it whenever I played any melody on it. He wanted me to become a renowned violinist and...even I had the dream buried inside my heart.


    But...


    My every dream shattered into pieces that night when...my parents...died...leaving me alone with my brother with an unbearable regret. Since that day...I never played that violin, not even once. Just having a glance at it...shudders my heart with pain..." She sounded quite bereaved, trying to hold her tears in.


    "But...it was your father''s dream to watch you fulfilling your ambition...isn''t it?" Leaning his face a bit closer, his low voice whirled along with the soft breeze.


    "I...still...can''t play that violin anymore...Zeus..." She rustled.


    "Alright, but you can play a new one right?" As soon as he responded, Mr. Graham walked into the place towards the table holding a brand new violin in his arm. It was exquisite and seemed crazy expensive just from its outer case as he handed it over to Zeus cordially.


    "Zeus...what''s...this?" She sounded awe-struck, rolling her eyes wider.


    "Happy birthday, my love. Here''s your birthday gift...a new violin... the instrument you love the most..." A broad grin engraved on his jowls as he tenderly stretched his arm to hand it over to her proudly with a smile.

 Chapter 197 - Togetherness

    Immediately, her eyes swelled up in tears to watch that exquisite beautiful violin tenderly gripped by him in his arms. Squinting her gaze being completely awestruck at his statement, she mumbled out unknowingly, "you...you knew about my birthday today?"


    "Of course, how can I forget the important day when this world was blessed with my beautiful mate?" His smile widened as he rustled those words softly towards her. "Even if you never told me your birth date...did you think you can hide anything from me?"


    "But how did you know about it?"


    "I have my own sources..." Making a sly face, he winked at her tossing a jovial simper carved on his plump lips. She sat still looking at him, unable to rustle a word out of her mouth in awe.


    "Eva...I know...life hadn''t been kind to you. You had to bury your dream with a heavy heart. I know...it must have been hard for you never to touch that violin which had always reminded you of your dark scars...but please...think of it once... Your father would be so happy to watch her daughter from the above doing what she has always loved!


    That''s why...I came up with this idea. Though...it''s your 27th birthday...but I think it''s never late to start what you love! Hereby, start reviving your dreams again making a fresh start with this one I have picked for you among thousands of violins.


    Not only your dad...but I will be happy too if you do so...


    Even... I want to see my Eva becoming a world-renowned violinist... Is it...really that hard for you to accept my plea?" He was trying his way best to console her broken heart, holding a warm smile on his face drawing his gift towards her.


    Her eyes were all teary, she was too emotional to speak out at that moment. Lowering her gaze down from him, she tried to wipe her eyes while the warm tears started shedding down her quivering jowls.


    Watching her suddenly bursting into tears, for a moment, Zeus seemed a bit panicked. Quickly placing the violin before her on the table he held her arm tight, leaning his worrisome grimace closer to her.


    "Eva...did...did my gift made you sadder? I...I am sorry...I didn''t mean to make you feel more miserable...I just...I just wanted to see you making a fresh start to pursue your dreams...Please forgive me if I hurt you even more... My heart aches to watch you sobbing like this--"


    "I am...happy....that''s why I am in tears, you fool." Seeing him getting all confused, a sad, small smile escaped her lips as she averted her gaze up to look into his concerned eyes. "To be honest...you have never hurt me...not even once, Zeus. Sometimes...watching your kindness makes me fall into disbelief that whether you really belong to that same lineage who murdered my parents! You seem more human to me than the rest of the people I have encountered in this cruel world...


    But... the more this realization hits me...the more it aches my heart just thinking about...how badly I must have broken your heart that night... You...came to protect me yet...I abandoned you..." Her husky voice shook a little as her cheeks stung with the pain of grieving out aloud.


    "Those are all in the past, Eva...You don''t have to feel sorry for me anymore. Even if I had been in your place...perhaps...I would have done the same." Caressing her hand, he placed a soft kiss on her knuckle trying to comfort her bereaved heart, peering into her tear-swelled eyes. "Besides, I just want to see you smiling with your eyes. It pains my heart whenever you shed tears, Eva. I like you so much that...I just want to fill your life with all the happiness you deserved in your life..."


    Hearing his mellow voice, the smile she had carved on her sad face widened a little while she nodded her head fondly. Glancing at the violin, she softly opened the case to take a peek inside of it.


    The brown colored sumptuous violin seemed magnificently beautiful to look at! It has golden strings attached to it and even at the left edge on the surface of the violin, her name was deeply carved in golden-red Italic letters. The simper on her face broadened while she tenderly stroked her fingertips over it, gawking in awe.


    "After...Felix passed away... I had assumed perhaps this year... would be the darkest birthday I ever witnessed in my life... Never did I imagine...you would rather fill my dark and murky day with so many lights, flowers, and surprises to even count...


    Maybe...my mom, dad, and my brother had sent you as my angel who would rather look after me forever... Thank you...for existing for me, Zeus...Thank you for...choosing someone like me who has nothing to offer you except my love and life...Thank you..." She gripped his warm hand with her soft palm, smiling meekly as she murmured her heartfelt declaration.


    "Maybe this way...I could atone for my sins for not being able to protect your father despite being the alpha, Eva.


    Perhaps, Uncle Steve would really be proud of me when we will face each other for sure someday for fulfilling his unfinished duties...Eva." He wondered silently putting a sad simper on his face and placing a soft peck on her forehead closing his teary eyes.


    ........


    "Why are you walking me home, Master? You had to park your car at a long distance and you had to walk through this narrow lane..." Clara asked in a genial voice sneaking a glimpse at Czar who was strolling next to her, putting his arms inside his large coat.


    "I have told you already...you can call me by my name and I will call you by yours... Besides, we really had a hefty amount of drink together. A man shouldn''t leave a woman alone in that state." He whispered, sounding quite considerate rolling his glance at her.


    "Woah...though you have been always a Cassanova...but you are really true to your virtues! That''s impressive..." She smirked tossing a sly remark at him. "But...aren''t you a light drinker? I am amazed that you are still stable after gulping down so many chilled beer cans..."


    "I...don''t feel tipsy no matter how much I drink whenever I am too sad..." While strolling, he took a deep sigh out as a sad smirk escaped the curve of his lips. For a few seconds, she didn''t utter anything hearing his downhearted remark, peering at him softly. "Today...I had to let go of the one I unknowingly caught feelings for... Reality is quite harsh but...we don''t have a choice rather than to accept it... But thanks to you...for accompanying me on such a gloomy day."


    Apprehending his glum-filled opinion, she huffed out a deep sigh peeking a glance at the night sky filled with countless stars shimmering in. "Today is...Eva''s birthday..." She whispered out unknowingly.


    "What!?" Suddenly his motion halted as if her answer was quite unexpected for him to process at that moment. Squinting his eyeballs, he frowned his grimace at her, "today...is her birthday?"


    "Yes." She paused her movement standing opposite to him while looking into his dark sad eyes. "After the demise of her brother this year...I was truly worried for her. I had hoped...perhaps...this year her grief would be inconsolable... but...all thanks to brother Zeus... I have put my faith in him... I know, he will really try his best to make her the happiest than ever today."


    "Brother Zeus?" Czar repeated her words raising his brows a little impertinently. "Since when did he become your brother too?"


    "Pfftt! You sound like a little envious brother, Czar...Hahaha..." Covering her wide smile with her palm, she tried to control her squeal of a chuckle before his baffled expression. "Don''t fret...even if I call him as a brother...but it''s true that he indeed loves you the most!"


    "Hey! I am not jealous---"


    [PHONE RINGING]


    Suddenly, their squabbling got interrupted as her phone rang out quite aloud, flinching them quite hard. Quickly, she took out the phone and to her shock, it was Eva who was face timing her at that moment!


    "Eva...Eva is calling me!" Murmuring with a baffled face, she hurriedly picked up the call while Czar was standing opposite to her, seeming quite surprised too.


    "Eva? Hey!" Waving her arm at her screen with a warm smile on her grimace, she watched both Eva and Zeus were face timing with her at that very moment. Both of them had a blissful glimmer on their expressions while Eva heartily waved back at her.


    "Clara! Are you outside right now?" Her loud jovial voice over the phone reverberated in the silent neighborhood they were standing in. Hearing her pleasant voice, Czar shifted his glance towards the phone from behind.


    "Ye-Yes, I am. But...why did you bother...to call me now...rather than spending your birthday with your...special person?" Clara acted a bit perplexedly as she was getting a bit concerned for Czar.


    Suddenly, Eva started chuckling out aloud and flashed her ring finger over the phone to make it visible to her clearly. "Guess what? I am finally engaged!! Zeus has proposed to me, today...Clara!"


    "Wh...What?" Shocked at her sudden proclamation, she immediately lifted her chin up from her screen glancing at Czar who had a painful smile on his face hearing her response, while trying to hold his tears in.  "Shit! I really didn''t want him to make even sadder today than he already has been..." She wondered, looking at him wistfully.

 Chapter 198 - Fake Smile

    "Clara? Hey!? Helloooo!"


    "Huh?"


    Flinched at her sudden loud call, Clara averted her eyes away from Czar and perplexedly stared back at the phone. From her facial expression, she seemed quite fidgety as she was concerned about his broken feelings deep inside.


    "Hey!? Did you hear me, Clara?" Impatiently, Eva responded aloud over the call again leaning much closer towards the screen.


    "Ye-Yes!" She nodded.


    "Yes? Only yes? What kind of cold reaction was that?" She frowned her brows, murmuring in a displeased tone while glancing at her. Next to her, Zeus was seated calmly crossing his arms over his chest holding a meek smile on his face while looking at Eva tenderly and savoring their chit-chat.


    "I expected you would jump with joy hearing about it! But...instead...you sounded so cold and pale... Are you really okay? You don''t seem like my Clara at all!" She pouted her lips, whining at her.


    A warm smile escaped the edge of her lips hearing her whining like a small child. She nodded her head again expressing her sincere reply, "Who said I am not happy? Gosh, I am spellbound, to be honest! I am running out of words to express my feelings today...


    I knew this day would come sooner or later because...from the day I met him...I knew it already, you both will always belong to each other no matter how hard you try to drift apart. Congratulations my best friend! I can imagine your happiness today...you must have waited so long for this big day to come...


    And...congratulations to you too, brother Zeus! Thank you...for vowing to take care of my troublesome bestie... I know, I can always trust you. Thank you...for making her birthday this year memorable than ever..." She retaliated her tender response holding a jovial expression on her face but somehow her heart was still getting concerned about Czar''s emotions.


    Softly, she raised her chin up to peek a glance at him and saw, he was trying quite hard to get a hold of himself. Putting both of his arms inside his coat, he was staring up at the night horizon listening to their conversation while retaining a sad smile on his face.


    "I knew it...You will be most content to hear about it...That''s why I couldn''t hold myself in from letting you know right now by face-timing at this hour... Clara...I...I am so happy today! He...He even gave me a violin today... He wants me to pursue my dreams which I had buried deep down in my heart long ago... My...My life feels so complete right now... I...I am still in disbelief that it''s all actually happening to me..." Her voice crooked a little while she was reverberating aloud. It seemed she was trying hard to contain the turbulence of her emotions experiencing the long-awaited happiness she eagerly waited for.


    "I...I feel so content right now...Th-Thank you brother Zeus...I knew...you won''t disappoint me..." For a moment she gazed still at Eva widening her gaze. However, she still managed to peek glances at Czar who seemed completely still, standing at a measurable distance from her.


    However, Zeus inclined his face closer towards the screen while wrapping his broad arm around Eva who seemed a bit emotionally sensitive. Reacting to her soft response with a warm smile on his grimace he replied, "don''t worry. She is my eternal responsibility from now on... I will do my very best to be someone worthy of her..."


    "Clara...what you are doing outside now at this hour? It''s quite odd for you to step out alone. Are you with someone right now?" All of a sudden, Eva peeped her eyes at her asking in a cordial manner.


    "Me? Why? N...No! I...I am not..." Looking quite perplexed, she tried to lie with a straight face, gulping her saliva down. Hearing her sudden interrogation, Czar too seemed a bit startled as he shifted his gaze towards her, locking their dubious eyes for a moment.


    "But...then why are you--"


    "Err...Eva...I think...you must spend your quality time together with him...Don''t bother about me... Make some good memories when you are on vacation... And...do come back safe... Happy birthday my bestie...once again." Before she could interpret her words, she proclaimed aloud in a loud impertinent voice intending to hang up the call first.


    Both Eva and Zeus could clearly monitor her unknown anticipation but didn''t inquire her furthermore. They smiled blissfully at her, waving their hands back before the call got disconnected. Turning off the screen while taking a deep sigh out, she lifted her chin up looking at Czar who was still standing absolutely tranquil.


    Taking a step closer to him she was peering at him intensely. Though she thought of communicating with him normally but...deep inside her heart, she was well aware of the incursion feelings of his broken heart he was trying to suppress within hearing about the betrothal of the one he treasured with his whole heart.


    "She sounded...really happy...isn''t it?" Averting his heartfelt gaze away from her, his sonorous voice sounded quite glum as he exhaled a deep sigh.


    "Are...Are you alright?" Fidgeting out of concern, she stared deep into his eyes mumbling slowly.


    "Of course! Why I shouldn''t be alright? In fact...I am rather happy that those two fools are finally together. They indeed have gone through a lot but definitely...they belong to each other''s happiness." He rustled with a serene grin trying hard to conceal his grievous heart behind the fake smile he had put up.


    "I don''t think...you are alright... at all. Also, the smile you are putting on also seems quite fake..." She lowered her eyes down looking a bit glum from her eloquence. "I...just want to say that...you don''t have to try too hard to portray yourself all fine. It''s okay to be sad...It''s okay to express what you are feeling inside." Squirming her fingers, she whispered haltingly.


    A small chuckle escaped his plump lips hearing out her sincere remark. Towing his face down a bit closer to her, he sneered making a witty face. "Since when did you started to worry about me way too much? Your precious best friend for whom you considered to be my slave is receiving her long-awaited happiness. You should be happy for her but instead, why are you putting up a sad face for my sake? Haha...This is quite unlike of you!"


    Immediately a tinge of agonizing realization surged inside her heart hearing his honest proclamation. Unknowingly, her words halted, she stood like a pillar, all numb and awe-struck.


    "That''s strange! But...he is right! I should be forgetting about everything else and be the happiest today for my Eva! But...why can''t I do that? Why does his sad smile aching my heart so bad whenever I am glancing at him? Why...Why am I caring about his grief more than my joy? That...That''s unlike me! What the fuck is going on with me?" Twitching her jowls, she was lost in her worriments looking very concerned.


    Watching her troubled face for a few seconds, a wide smile spread out on his grimace. He gently raised his arm and patted her head tenderly, which even flinched her in wonder.


    "Don''t over-stress your heart for my sake, Clara. I am fine... From the very beginning...I knew it well that she won''t be mine... But still, I chose to defy my fate to some extent which made me realize...I am...certainly not the one for her. As long as...she is happy with that fool...I am pretty satisfied. And this time, I am honest with my words. Go...and get some rest. Okay?" He enunciated in a gentle voice, holding a small kind simper.


    Apprehending his heartfelt response, she couldn''t utter a single word but a wail of tears rolled inside her throat urging her to cry out aloud. But owning a sad smile on her face, she continued staring at him for a moment trying to suppress her grief.


    Slowly after consoling her, Czar turned away from her and started walking back all alone in the dark. While walking away, he could perceive a pair of sad eyes were watching him from behind but he didn''t have the courage to turn behind and face her as...he was afraid of being wrecking down in tears. While strolling with a sad sneer on his grimace, slowly he took out one of his arms from his coat pocket holding something in his grip.


    It was the dried tangerine peel that he still carried with him almost everywhere. Caressing it softly in his hand, all he could visualize was Eva''s tender smile when she had handed him the tangerine which became a bittersweet memory in the end. Unwillingly, warm tears started streaming down his dark eyes.


    .............


    THE PEARLESS HOSPITAL:


    Slowly and steadily, blinking a few times, Eric tried to open his eyes trying to view his surroundings through his blurry vision. The back portion on his head was throbbing quite hard which further twitched him in pain.


    As soon as he opened his eyes, to his shock, he was lying still on a hospital bed with Ivory holding an impertinent gaze was sitting right next to him on a stool. His eyes rolled wider in awe as their eyes met for a moment.


    "Hey...you are awake?" In a cold voice, she inquired first.

 Chapter 199 - Your Name?

    "Huh?"


    With a sudden hard flinch, Eric tried to sit upon the bed but his head was throbbing too hard making it unable to move. Watching him jolting all of a sudden with excitement, Ivory quickly groped his forearm forbidding him from doing so.


    "Hey! Don''t move! Your physique is still in a weak state!" Frowning her brows, she sounded quite grumpy looking at him narrowing her eyes.


    "Wh-What just happened to me? Wh-Why am I here in a hospital?" Seeming quite perplexed, he stared at her widening his gaze, muttering fretfully.


    "Gosh! You don''t even remember it now?" She fussed, resembling a bit irked while gawking at him.


    "Err...I..."


    "Why did you had to shield me heroically from that chandelier falling down with such a weak physique? You...You could have died back then...you fool!" Her deep, low sonorous grumpy voice reverberated inside the whole room loud. Though she resounded quite irked with him...but somehow her dark, wider, restless eyes seemed a bit concerned for him.


    "Well...I...do not have a weak physique...I actually workout...regularly..." Mumbling in a gibberish way, he tried to defend himself from her acting quite nervous.


    "Workout? I can''t believe your ignorance... You shielded me with your body and tripped down hard! Your head would have cracked open! You might have died on the spot! Why did you do it--"


    "To...protect you." Before she could wrap her charges, he interrupted in between her remark sounding pretty tranquil and bold.


    "What?"


    "All that was going in my mind at that moment was to protect you from getting hurt... So...I...kind of recklessly did whatever I could just to save you...And I really don''t regret it..." Holding a small simper on his face, while proclaiming his sincere response, staring straight into her eyes.


    "Hahh? A mere human like him wanted to protect an alpha like me? What a fucking joke!" A spoofy smirk faltered on the edges of her rosy lips as she crossed her arms over her chest before alleging him further. "Look...death isn''t easy for everyone to attain. Even if the chandelier would have tripped over me, I wouldn''t die.  But, that''s not your case. Why the heck you put your life on the edge for my sake?"


    "Because...I am in love with you..." A wide smile spread out on his face as his eyes gleamed with infinite joy while peering at her softly. His bold answer somehow made her speechless for a moment as she stood still, squinting her eyes at him.


    "What the heck--"


    "Loving someone also means...you gotta protect that person with all your might. I...I might be weaker than your strength, but even if I had to give up on my life today...I wouldn''t regret it for you." His soft whisper mended with the whirling night breeze that was flowing through the giant window beside his bed.


    Rolling her eyes wider in surprise, for a moment, she gazed at him in wonder unable to utter a word in response. She could evidently understand his sincere emotions towards her which even throbbed her heart with an unknown palpitation. As the unanticipated silence persisted between them as they lost in each other''s eyes for a few seconds.


    "You don''t even know anything about me... How could you be so naive toss away your precious life just for anyone?" Fretting her grimace, she inquired him bluntly.


    "You are not just anyone for me...I fell for you first...Even though there''s no reciprocation from your side, I must...bear my consequences." He answered sounding much resolute.


    The more she was hearing his bold declamation, the more she was running out of her words. It was the first time in her long, tiring life that a human was showing his sincere emotions towards her despite how harshly she treated him. Eric didn''t even think twice before risking his life which was troubling her bad.


    "Look...I would be honest with you... We both belong to two different worlds that can never co-exist along with each other. I can be pretty more brutal towards you from next time to make you give up on me because...that''s better for you. You have a pretty good life before you, find someone who can reciprocate your love honestly.  Besides, I already have someone else in my heart for a long time.


    Also...Don''t risk your life stupidly just for anyone. Humans...really have a short lifespan so spend it wisely. Stop wasting your time on me." Taking a deep huff of breath out, she muttered her words in a condensed manner.


    Resting his head still over the pillow, Eric flickered his eyelashes for a few seconds scrunching his eyebrows looking a bit displeased at her remark. "Are you rejecting me again? I...I don''t know....why are you referring both of us to a different world and I really don''t care about it but...it''s the very first time I have felt like this for a woman... The person you love so dearly doesn''t even care about you...so...what must I do more to deserve a chance from you?"


    "That can never happen." She snapped out aloud seeming quite sour from her expression. "Stop living in illusion because...no matter how much you chase me, I won''t be able to trust you. Humans...aren''t worth of faith..." Her lips quivered a bit as she murmured those words in a low pitch.


    "Why does she speak in such a manner as if...she isn''t a human herself?" Frowning his grimace, he seemed quite baffled at her remark wondering inside.


    "I brought you here and stayed next to you till you regained your consciousness. I have repaid your kindness so do me a favor...forget about me like a nightmare. The hospital authority will inform your family and they will get you back home. I am leaving now." Proclaiming her words aloud, she was about to turn away from him to head outside the room leaving him behind stuck with several questions.


    "Wa-Wait!" As she was about to leave, he groped one of her arms from behind intending to stop her for a moment. With his sudden touch, Ivory quickly turned around with a hard flinch.


    "Hey why are--"


    "At least tell me your name!" Before she could snap at him, he mumbled his earnest plea sounding quite desperate. Rolling his eyes wider, he looked quite impertinent.


    "What?" She was surprised at his sudden response.


    "I am lying in this hospital bed sick and pale... You even rejected me twice... My heart is already hurt from my sad love...so at least...let me know your name before you leave... That''s all, I can ask for..." He was sulking his face trying to put up a sad act sounding quite morose while mumbling his appeal towards her, peering at her with his puppy eyes.


    "What a nuisance! He is making me more irked..." Thinking while annoyed at his sudden request, she shoved her arm away from his grip and uttered in a dark, sonorous voice, "Ivory."


    "Huh?"


    "I don''t like to repeat my words. Stay away from me now onwards..." Tapping her heels loudly, he walked out of the room like a fiery storm waving her curled hair down the shoulder. Eric raised his head a bit up from the pillow to gaze at her from behind earnestly as she walked away out.


    As he rested his head down, a wide jovial smile spread out on his face as he stared straight at the ceiling with his glimmering eyes. "I have never seen such a fierce woman like you...how can I walk away when my heart is stuck on you so bad?


    Looks like my puppy eyes did the wonder...I at least...I got what I wanted to hear...


    Ivory...what a strange...yet beautiful name..." He mumbled sneering with a red hue of shyness spreading on his cheeks.


    ...


    Walking barefoot on the cold sand holding in arms with each other after a warm dinner date, both Zeus and Eva were staring at the moon that was shining ecstatically on the up above. Her untied, wavy hair curling down her shoulder was whirling with the night breeze softly while the mild sound of the calm waves was making the ambiance even more romantic to breathe in, staying next to him. As she sneaked a glimpse at him once, he looked no less than a majestic night prince carrying a special magical aura around himself.


    "The moon looks so pretty today..." She uttered with her gleaming eyes, filled with delight.


    "You are way prettier than the moon." Immediately he responded.


    "Pfftt!" A sly smirk escaped her plump lips as she shifted her gaze towards him. "Zeus...you never miss a chance to be cheeky with me...don''t you?"


    "I am not being cheeky... For me, you are indeed the prettiest one in the entire universe." He smiled innocently, staring at her brightly.


    "Gosh...your words like that can''t help but make my heart flutter...any more compliments you wanna give me?" She seemed a bit modest at his honest response, trying to avert her gaze.


    "I do have something to give you." All of a sudden, his motion halted as he replied abruptly which even startled her for a second.


    "What? You already gave me so many things today Zeus...What more you wanna give me?" She frowned her grimace, sounding a bit curious.

 Chapter 200 - Sworn

    As she was glancing at him, quietly, he placed his hand inside his suit pocket and took out the golden shimmering ruby bracelet embroidered with fox fur that he had specially arranged for her. Making a stiff look on his face, he gently grabbed her arm before putting tying it on her wrist.


    "Eva, can I ask you for something?" His voice sounded a bit serious as he lifted his eyes up to stare deeply at her.


    "Ye-Yes." She nodded.


    "Never ever...take it off from your arm... no matter what happens... I am forbidding you from doing so and that''s my command for you. Not only of my pack...I am also your Alpha starting from today. So...You won''t disobey me, right?" His eyes seemed much darker as he enunciated those words tying the glinting bracelet tenderly on her frail wrist.


    For a moment, she stood still as he finished doing it glancing at her sharply. Slowly, she lowered her eyes down and gawked at the sparkling ruby stone beautifully engraved at the centre of it. The red fox fur embroidered thread also resembled pretty sophisticated.


    "I...have always put you through so much trouble...isn''t it Zeus?" A sad smile curved on her lips while she whispered those words in a bereaved voice. "Last time too...I brought all the trouble on myself by taking your necklace off...I...even watched your precious gift being destroyed right before my eyes... I am such a...troublemaker indeed..."


    "Eva...Look, you don''t have to think about all that happened in the past---"


    "But I won''t do the same mistake anymore." She raised her eyes firmly up peering at him sounding quite resolute from her eloquence. "I have learnt my lesson already, Zeus. As your luna, I am giving you my word too...Till my last breath...I won''t ever take off this bracelet and the ring on my own, no matter what happens to me. I will treasure them with my life this time...Rest assured." Her firm gaze was fixed deep into his wide, rolled eyes with a soft sneer spreading on her grimace as she asserted.


    Hearing her heartfelt confession a broad, proud smile grew on his expression as he slowly moved a step closer to her, cupping her face with both of his palms. "Till you have them with you...my endless love will protect you from the touch of any evil spirit growing malicious intentions towards you. I will make sure to spend the rest of my life...fighting for you. Rest assured." Whispering his pledge in a warm note, he softly placed a kiss on her forehead showing his sincere affection.


    "The fate of our love is so sad...yet...the most beautiful thing I ever witnessed in this cruel world. Thank you...for giving me a new life..." A teary smile tossed on her lips as she wondered inside her mind shutting her eyes for a second to feel his warm embrace. Slowly she opened her eyes and witnessed, he was already looking at her with his love-filled enlarged eyes.


    "I love you..." His fond whisper amidst the mild whirling sound of those blue ocean waves seemed the most ecstatic fairy-tale confession to her enlightening her with a broad delighted smile.


    Her heart was pounding hard lovingly as she tenderly leaned her face closer to him, engraving an amorous kiss on his plump lips. "I love you too...darling." She mumbled, turning flustered red in modesty.


    Abruptly hearing her heart fluttery shy reciprocation, a mischievous grin occupied his jowls and passionately he groped her waist, tugging her closer to his chest. His eyes were intensely locked on her while she was fidgetingly trying to avoid his ardent gaze.


    "I had vowed to myself...that...I won''t touch you till you accept me for who am I... And since...you have already accepted me, there is no point in staying apart anymore...isn''t it?" Sneakily he leaned his lips closer to her flustered red left ear before rustling those words to tease her.


    "Wh...What do you mean..." She seemed to be trying hard to hide her shy grimace from him, squirming in his outstretched strong arms.


    "You know what I mean...in fact...you had tempted me too bad the time when we were drunk... So...I don''t have to restrain myself tonight, right?" He whispered again in his intense, sonorous voice.


    "But..."


    "No but...sshhhh..." Quickly he placed his right index finger on her soft cherry red lips forbidding her to utter any word. Breathing heavily, she was lost deep in his wide, dark eyes as he was gawking at her. Slowly he inclined his face closer and nervously, she closed her eyes and perceived his warm breath on her grimace. Drifting his finger, he placed a fervent kiss on her trembling lips, gripping her waist intensely. It seemed that for a moment, the time had stopped around them with those two lovebirds immersed in each other''s warmth.


    In the blink of a second, slowly moving an inch away from her, momentarily he stared at her as she was wriggling nonchalantly in his arms, lowering her eyes down from him. Tossing a sly wide smile, instantly he picked her frail body up in his muscular arms, holding her waist tight. His sudden romantic move in that steamy night ambiance even startled Eva quite hard as she was being already bashful from the ardent atmosphere blooming between them.


    "Ze...Zeus?"


    "Let''s go back to our room. I will carry you in my arms...my princess..." He whispered in a mellow voice, clenching his grope around her waist. Before she could rustle anymore, he walked back straight towards the resort firmly.


    .......


    As soon as Zeus and Eva left the shore premises, a shadow-like figure slowly marched out forward from behind a massive giant rock placed a few meters away from them on the eastern side. The figure who was monitoring both of them with a sharp gaze was no one other than Meghan owning the physical appearance of Lady Olie. She was dressed up in a complete black loose chiffon gown, holding a malicious smile on her face. Her eyes were in entirely black hellhound form, devoid of the whitish scleral part. Crossing her arms over her chest, she drifted her wavy untied hair rustling down her shoulder while walking boldly towards the blue waves.


    "Do you think...that darn bracelet can keep me away from her, Master Zeus? But have you forgotten that...we are the shapeshifters? Haha!" Eliciting a squeal of mocking, devious laughter aloud, she raised her pale face up ogling at the giant moon shimmering on the clear night sky. "Well...I can''t touch her in my inherent hellhound form...but...how will you forbid my human form from approaching your beloved one, you nosy alpha! I will make sure to make good use of this old woman''s body to fulfill my target. I won''t allow all the struggles I am enduring in this old body to go in vain...


    Spend some quality time together tonight...before I rip apart her throat..." She whispered on her own, gritting her jowls in anger.


    .


    "Who are you?"


    All of a sudden, the cold, sonorous voice behind her startled her while she was rustling on her own. Quickly transforming her eyes into normal, acting all calm she turned her neck behind. She noticed that Mr. Graham was standing a few steps apart from her, holding a brusque expression on his pale, wrinkly face.


    "Ahh...honey? When did you come?" She tried to act all tranquil, despite getting anxious inside.


    "Don''t try to fool me anymore." His eyes seemed darker than usual, tossing a stern gaze towards her. "Who the heck are you?"


    "What are you talking about, honey? I...I am your wife...Olie..." Sounding a bit fervent, she tried to take a step closer towards him. Watching her approach, immediately, he stepped back.


    "Stop your worthless performance...no way...you are my Olie..."


    "What are you talking about--"


    "Why did I find this necklace buried in the backside yard of the resort?" Suddenly, he flashed a small shimmering silver necklace with a sparkling crystal crucifix pendant hanging on it. The necklace looked quite pretty as well as spiritual in that moonlit ambiance.


    Witnessing the necklace in the most unexpected way, she rolled her eyes wider in surprise, gulping her saliva ardently. Clenching her fist, she stood still gawking at that pendant.


    "My Olie...My Olie had promised me that she will never take off this divine necklace that I had gifted her to protect from any evil approach. She had given me her word that she would carry it to her grave... Then...


    Then why is the necklace was buried in the yard? Why did I find it there? There...There''s no way you are my Olie! Who...Who the fuck are you? What have you done to my wife? Where is she? Don''t you dare try to fool me anymore!" He screamed out frantically with teardrops streaming down his grievous eyes, clinching the pendant in his arm.


    "Gosh...you are such an old annoying man... Your wife was...quite better than you!" A wicked smirk spread on her lips as she squinted her gaze at him.

 Chapter 201 - We Are One

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT AHEAD]


    Holding her soft, warm body in his muscular, broad arms, Zeus carried Eva all the way to their room just like a modern-day fairy-tale prince. His passionate gaze was intensely hooked towards her while wrapping her arms around his shoulder, she tried to stay still amidst the tempting ambiance.


    As they reached their room, unlocking the door open he firmly strolled towards their large, squishy cushioned bed clinching his grip around her waist. Reaching their love lair, he slowly placed her down on their bed unable to take off his ardent eyes from her.


    Eva seemed a bit sweaty and anxious as he laid her down in the most tender way possible. Small droplets of sweat were covering her forehead and wriggling on her own, she kept lowering her face down, unable to look straight into his gleaming fervid eyes.


    He placed her head over a red soft pillow and softly caressed a few fine threads of hair falling on her grimace. Holding a small innocent smirk on his plump lips, he confined her in his embrace by guarding both of his arms beside her, hovering over her on the bed.


    Inclining his face a bit closer to her bashful fidgety grimace, he stroked her chin once with his fingertips before whispering to her.  "Won''t you look at me, Eva?"


    She was still trying to avert her gaze away from her, sneaking her timid smile from him. "I...I am...too shy to...look at you now..."


    "Why? Do...I...seem weird to you right now?"


    "No..." Tenderly drifting her arm away from his shoulder towards his chest she softly murmured fixing her gaze down, "your charm...is too bad for my heart... My...My heart beats like crazy...whenever I am with you...especially now..."


    The smile carved on his radiant grimace immediately enlightened with happiness hearing her fond confession. Groping her hand that was placed near his chest muscle, he leaned further closer to her, ogling passionately at her before reciprocating back, "hearing such words from you...also races my heart ardently, my love... Do you think...it''s possible to hold myself back when you rustle such tempting words to me?"


    Turning into flustered red in embarrassment, she slowly raised her eyes up this time to look straight in his love-filled enlarged eyes. Gulping her saliva intensely, she tried to mumble out something in a husky manner, "I...I...actually...want to...say something..."


    "Yes?"


    "It''s...actually...my first...time..." With quite a difficulty, she tried to mumble out her nervous enunciation holding an anxious, restless gaze towards him.


    A small chuckle escaped his lips apprehending her anticipated remark. Slowly, he stroked his fingertips against her rosy cheeks and muttered back, "you thought...I wouldn''t know about that?"


    "No...I mean..."


    "Not only yours...tonight will be my first time too." Before she could mutter her words, he replied in a genial tone peering at her intensely. "All my life...I had given up on the hope of finding my mate...little did I knew...an angel will be in my arms like today...and forever..."


    His delicate voice saturated with the mild breeze whirling inside their room by the giant sea-facing windows. Lost in each other''s eyes for a brief moment of time, she smiled with her eyes gleaming proudly.


    "I will be gentle." He nodded his head, blinking his long beautiful eyelashes.


    Immediately she groped her hand around his wide shoulder and pulled him closer to herself. Seeming a bit ardent, she placed a fervid passionate kiss against his lips, closing her eyes in awe.


    This time he didn''t back off. Holding her body tightly in his arms, he strongly reciprocated her kiss in an intense position. One of his arms slowly rustled above from her waist towards her torso as he fervently sucked on her luscious lips shutting his eyes tight to feel the warmth of her.


    Their bodies were impatiently wrapped around each other while their tongues were fighting profoundly for seeking dominance over one another. Both of them were completely lost in every second, unaware of their surroundings. They were engulfing each other like two hungry beings seeking their beloved for a long time. The way amorously they were exploring every edge of their thirsty lips, for a moment, both of them forgot to breathe in the air! After a while, slowly they drifted their slimy wet lips apart with a thin string of saliva adjoining them as a bridge.


    Gasping out of breathing, both of them panted hard for a moment looking at each other impetuously. Abruptly, Zeus sat up on the bed straightening his posture, and quickly took off his red velvet suit tossing it away from him. Similarly, in the flick of a second, he unbuttoned his shirt all by himself throwing it away on the floor while staring at Eva with his hungry gaze.


    For the first time ever, she watched avidly his bare strongly built figure in such a passionate moment. His fair white, clear radiant skin along with those six-pack abs looked like creamy moist buns that allured her shrewd intentions to a greater extent. Unknowingly without realizing it, she lifted her arm up to caress his Greek-God physique, especially his masculine abs.


    But before she could caress it, he gripped her arm tight and drew over his chest muscle, just above his heart. Eva could evidently feel his heart pounding like crazy which even trembled her core for a second.


    "Can you feel my heartbeat right now?" Huffing out air, he uttered those sonorous words gripping her arm tightly on his chest in a sensuous voice. "It''s the first time...my heart is beating like this for a woman...It''s the first time...I am feeling as if I am on cloud nine having you in my arms..."


    Her heart throbbed hard for a moment hearing his sensual confession. Glancing at his perspiring, fervent grimace she slowly perched upon the bed caressing his bare skin with her quivering fingertips.


    "It''s the first time in my life too...I...am yearning for a man so bad that...my heart...will almost burst out of my chest. My mind feels all blank at this moment...I...I just...want to make you mine...Zeus." She whispered in a timid pitch, ogling her dark eyes at him.


    "I...am and I will be...always yours." Answering to her sincere admission of her running turbulent emotions without wasting a single second he pulled her closer to his chest initiating an intense smooch again. But this time, he didn''t seem much wild like before, continuing to kiss her roseate lips intently in his embrace. She gave in without any hindrance, drawing her arms over his shoulder while engulfing him passionately.


    Both of them laid over the bed again wrapped within each other. After a minute of ardent kiss he softly drew his face up from her. Tenderly placing a gentle peck on her forehead, his fingers rolled down her short silk sleeve of the gown she was putting on. While stripping her sleeves, his lips impatiently placed an impetuous kiss around her neck groove. She could intensely feel his warm breath shivering her whole body which made her lock her grasp over his bare shoulder much tighter.


    Drawing his lips further down, he fondly continued disrobing her silk dress exposing her pair of plump bossom wrapped in a beautiful red lingerie. Trembling in shyness, she tried to hide her undies from him but before she could cover them, he exposed her bare perky breasts with a quick brazen attempt.


    "Ze...Zeus..."


    "You are beautiful...Eva..." Stroking his fingers around one of her pinkish areola throbbing with immense palpitation, he mumbled those words before placing a tender kiss on it. Shivering with his sensual touch, unknowingly she moaned out in pleasure, "uhghhh..."


    "It was my...long awaited dream...to watch you moaning for me..." Impishly he placed a strong fervent kiss this time on her other areola making her shiver again. Unable to suppress his intense cravings, he started to tickle her bare smooth skin with the tip of his thick, slimy tongue slowly reaching towards her bellybutton.


    "Ahh...Zeus...I...I can''t hold...it anymore..." Biting her lips impatiently to stop herself from crying in pleasure, she quievered out aloud running her fingers amidst his dark black hair. Immediately she could sense a huge buldge forming around his crotch that was throbbing against her soaking wet genitalia while closing her eyes tight.


    As soon as she tried to peep her eyes open and glance at him, she noticed he was already unleashing the leather belt that was holding his tight pants. He was panting heavily looking at her with his impatient gaze. As soon as he finished unzipping his lower part, his thick, long muscular veiny rod elicited out standing straight against her vulva. Just by glancing at it, a chill of cold sweat ran down her spine.


    "This...This big thing will enter inside me?" She wondered, gulping her saliva.


    "I can''t hold it anymore either...Eva... Can...Can I enter inside you?" Huffing out of breath, he asked her prior leaning closer towards her bare shivering body.


    Looking at his amorous eyes for a second, the fear that was building inside her mind vanished out immediately. Putting her arms around his neck, she further pulled him closer assuring with a small smile, "come."


    Tossing a tender sneer on his grimace, he slowly caressed her throbbing wet vulva with his giant fingers before putting his rod inside. Making sure of she is wet enough, he gently pushed it inside her vulva thrusting his hip once with a slight of pressure.


    "Aughhhrhh!" A trembling quiver escaped her lips as her body crooked in desire, raising her legs up in the air to lock his lower portion in her embrace.


    "It...It will hurt a little...Please...bear...with me..." He huffed, rustling in her ears.


    Warm tears of bliss rolled down the corner of her eyes as she opened her eyes, tightening her grip around his thick shoulder. Taking a gasp of breath out, she slowly mumbled in a teary voice, "now...we are...finally...one..."

 Chapter 202 - Rising Concern

    Warm, homey sunrays were gleaming inside their room with the rustling mild ocean breeze filling up their love nest with a romantic ambiance. It was already morning. Birds were meekly chirping outside. The aura of happiness was evident around them while both Zeus and Eva were wrapped in a cozy chiffon blanket were deep asleep, holding each other in their arms.


    Slowly and steadily, Eva was the first one to wake up from her long-spun snooze after such a magical night. As she peeped her eyes open, blinking nonchalantly to sneak a glance around her, she noticed that one of his broad arms was acting as a pillow beneath her head. She was resting all this time hugging him tighter in her sleep, while his other arm was wrapped around her waist assuring to make her feel safe in his arms.


    As she peered her gaze wider, she observed Zeus was still asleep facing towards her, breathing softly. He had a blissful appearance on his grimace even in his slumber. His fresh morning look seemed ethereally innocent as well as charming with those soft hair bangs covering his forehead. Their bare bodies were closely embracing each other''s warmth as if they were keenly waiting for this day for so long.


    Unknowingly, she raised one of her arms up above his chest and gently caressed his sleepy face with her frail, small fingertips. She was stroking his cheeks, his nose, his jowls as well as his plump red lips being mesmerized with his divine irresistible charm.


    "Last night...it wasn''t a dream... It was all real! I...I really did it with Zeus...Gosh...I still can''t believe it even now... It was such a beautiful night..." Lost in her thoughts, she was admiring his handsome artistic grimace, brushing with her fingertips.


    "Are you falling in love with me all over again?"


    "Huh?"


    Suddenly, she flinched a little as his lips moved on their own mumbling his soft words towards her while she was lost in the daze. As she quickly drew her fingers back, holding a warm broad smile on his face, Zeus opened his eyes blinking his lids nonchalantly for a few times while gazing at his ladylove.


    "You...You were awake?" Nervously, she uttered out.


    "Well...I had been awake for a long time already...but...I was pretending to be asleep to savor your soft morning touch. Am I that handsome that you can''t stop admiring me?" He chuckled.


    "Ahh...such a sly man..." Pouting her lips with a sulky expression, she immediately turned around on her other side facing her back towards him. Watching her turn around on the other side, he became a little impatient moving further closer towards her while hugging her soft body from behind.


    "Why are you looking away from me...honey?" Leaning his chin on her small shoulder groove, he whined in a sonorous deep pitch.


    "Why did you fool me with your sleepy face?" She sulked.


    "Because I was immersed in your soft touch...I want you to caress me like this...every morning when I will be wake up next to you." Placing a gentle peck on her blushing left cheek, he whispered to her.


    Hearing his soothing confession, a blissful simper widened on her lips as she tried to hide her bashful smile from him. He could evidently notice that she was flustered red in embarrassment and further intended to tease her even more.


    "Is your body alright, Eva? Was I...a bit rough...last night? Is your lower abdomen still hurting?" He casually asked many queries at once, tightening his grip around her tummy.


    She turned into a flustered red ball of shyness hearing his brazen queries at once. Her ears, nose ridge as well as her puffy cheeks were turning roseate while she whimpered at him, "hey...what are you...talking? You shouldn''t ask a lady about all these so directly..."


    "What''s wrong in asking about that? It was our first-time last night...I am concerned if I was being a bit out of my control overpowered with my emotions..."


    "Ahh...stop it...I am getting shyer with your questions...I am alright...Don''t fret too much..." She tapped on his arm over her tummy once indicating to stop him from rustling, grinning with a modest expression.


    [Phone Ringing]


    Their blissful giggles got interrupted with the phone call that rang out aloud placed on the table beside him. Getting a bit irritated with the disturbance caused, he further clenched his grip around her intending to avoid the call.


    "Aren''t you...going to pick up your phone?" She whispered getting a bit curious.


    "Nope. I want to sleep with you like this without any interruption. I want to enjoy our cozy moments." He firmly replied.


    Hearing his bold answer, Eva frowned her rows a little as she turned her face towards him. The phone was ringing continuously a few times which even piqued her curiosity.


    "Zeus...you are not only my fiancee...but also the alpha of your pack. Maybe...one of your pack members might be stuck with any trouble..that''s why they are seeking for you." She tried to console his grumpy mood.


    "But..."


    "Zeus...not only me...but also it''s your responsibility to look after your pack. Maybe...someone needs your help...so...I think you must pick up the call." Softly caressing his side face, she mumbled in a tactful manner.


    For a moment he stayed still looking deep into her eyes with a displeased appearance on his face. Unwillingly, he squatted upon the bed followed by Eva seated next to him tugging the blanket to cover her bare body. Taking a deep huff of breath out, he glanced at the screen before picking up the call.


    "Hello?" He sounded a bit gruff.


    From the other side of the call, it seemed someone unknown was conveying something serious to him in an impatient behavior. Immediately his facial expression molded into an appalled look as he rolled his eyes before shrieking, "what?"


    She flinched hard hearing his sudden loud voice as he was indeed looking very disturbed. Gulping her saliva, she tried to inquire him first as he disconnected the call almost immediately.


    "Wh-What happened...Zeus?"


    He stayed absolute still for a moment, fretting her brows looking very tense. After a moment of anticipated silence, he murmured out, "Mr...Mr. Graham...committed suicide..."


    "Whaatt!?" Choking her breath, she screamed out in fear holding a fretful gaze towards him. For a while, she forgot to blink her eyelids exhaling a huff of air intensely.


    He couldn''t utter a single word seeming quite offended with the unforeseen turn of the situation. Clenching his fist, he kept dropping his gaze down fretting his thick black pointed brows.


    "How...How could this happen..." Her petulant voice trailed off.


    "I... can''t believe it myself too..." He whispered out, sounding much bewildered. "Mr. Graham has worked here over two decades... I have always known him as a wise and strong-willed man... He seemed to be fine just till yesterday...so...how could this happen?" He seemed a bit baffled.


    "Did...Did he drown himself?" She peeked her gaze, scrunching her eyebrows.


    "No...he was found this morning on the extreme west of the beach, smeared in blood. The other members of the resort who has found him have presumed that...he had slit his own throat with a knife he was clinching onto..." He expressed his words holding an intense, serious face.


    Clenching the blanket tighter in her grip, Eva slowly lifted her chin up to gawk deep in his dark eyes before reciprocating ardently. "I...I can''t accept it, Zeus."


    "Wh...What?"


    "Something is terribly wrong here, Zeus! His eyes were filled with happiness when he greeted us tenderly... How...Just how can that person take away his own life the next day? This...This doesn''t seem sane at all!" Scowling her petrified grimace, she fussed out aloud, holding onto his arm.


    "I can understand your anticipation...I didn''t expect our misfortunes to follow us even here when we came here to seek solace...


    But...Eva, I can''t sit still anymore here...I need to go and see by myself--"


    "Wait...what if something goes wrong? What if..." Her fearful voice trailed off for a moment before she could respond further.


    "No...I am scared, Zeus... I...I don''t want us to be apart anymore... I don''t want something dreadful happening to you..." Grasping his arm impatiently she murmured staring deep into him with her teary gaze.


    Looking at her, he softly cupped her side face to wipe her teary eyes holding a small simper before consoling her scared heart. "Don''t fret...I swear... I will come back safely to you...before sunset. But...you must stay inside here and wait for me. We will head back home once I settle things here..."


    "But...what if..."


    "Your love will protect me, Eva. Don''t worry...we won''t be apart anymore... Trust me...okay?" Placing a soft peck on her forehead, giving his word, he slowly headed towards the washroom. Though he tried hard to reassure her concerns but deep inside she could feel, he was equally perplexed about the unexpected incident.


    ...


    As soon as he left, she grabbed her phone from the desk beside her bed. But... a text notification on the screen alarmed her.


    .


    "Happy birthday...little duckling...


    -Czar"


    .


    She was surprised to see the message from Czar and gasped in awe for a moment lost in several thoughts.


    "How did he know about my birthday?


    Zeus was together with me, he possibly hasn''t told him... Then...it means...


    Clara is definitely close to him!! But...why did she lie to me about him?


    Gosh... Just how much stuff I am still unaware of around me? It''s... frustrating..." Exhaling a deep sigh of angst, she wondered with a blank gaze outside the window.

 Chapter 203 - Harsh Reality

    The weather seemed much pleasant along with the endless sky resembling clear and blue. The morning tide soft sun rays were beaming all around the atmosphere with mild mid-summer breeze towing those flowery bougainvillea shrubs covering the giant, beautiful yard of her villa. Standing still, alone, at the giant yard, fixing her glare at her phone screen Ivory was scowling her grimace. She seemed pretty irritated wearing a chiffon sleeveless white nightgown from the last night.


    She was desperately trying to contact Zeus but the result was the same for her every attempt. She was incapable to contact him, not even once due to his network issues. The constant failure was making her even more annoyed than ever. Her long wavy brown hair was rustling with the soft breeze while clinching the phone hard on her hand, she lowered her gaze down at the small green grasses.


    "Where the heck he has been since yesterday? He...hasn''t even returned to Romano Mansion! It''s not like...such a giant man will disappear in thin air... Where the heck he has been staying all along hiding from the world? Does he ever realize how much his foolish actions make me anxious for him!? That stupid jerk..." While she was grumbling out her palpitation, all of a sudden her sonorous voice trailed off for a few seconds. She frowned her eyebrows, turned off the phone screen, and mumbled on her own, "is that means...Czar wasn''t lying to me...he is indeed...staying with that human!? What the fuck? How could he just toss away everything else and live with the--"


    "You are worried about him again?"


    All of a sudden hearing the unexpected bold remark that interrupted her rumbling from behind, she turned around in the flick of a second. Wearing a loose white t-shirt with blue denim, looking quite fresh in the early morning, Czar was standing still, holding a witty smirk towards her. As their eyes met each other for a moment, the smirk on his grimace widened as he waved his arm to greet her, "Yo! Morning!"


    "Why are you here?" Fretting her brows, Ivory sounded quite gruff as she tossed her sharp query towards him. She had a displeased expression on her face to witness him at her place but he seemed a bit unbothered, casually walking towards her with a smile.


    "Oops...looks like, I have displeased you with my sudden visit! But I must say...your yard is so beautiful to even admire..." Glancing around him rolling his eyes wider, he mumbled while gently walking closer to her.


    For a moment she stood still glaring her fiery eyes at him keeping her anticipated silence. As soon as he reached closer to her, she took a heavy sigh out before charging him back, "are you here to mock me?"


    "What?"


    "You must be very amazed to watch me stuck in such a ridiculous situation! Go ahead...and laugh at me. It must be... fun for you." A sad smirk appeared on her roseate lips with her dark eyes evoking the rage she was enduring.


    "I...might have been a wicked wolf in the past...but...I despise making fun of someone''s deep scars." Exhaling a small sigh out, he stared deep into her eyes sounding quite firm.


    "Then why are you here? What do you want Czar!?"


    "I had already sent you the text prior stating you to hold back your emotions, Ivory. But...sadly...it looks like, you still haven''t given up on him." Scrunching his brow ridge, he asserted his cold response.


    Her jowls started quivering all of a sudden as she narrowed her gaze before rebuking him hoarsely. "Give upon him? Hahh...Do you think...it''s that easy to...let your feelings shrink when you have loved that person over ten decades? Can you ever realize how...how am I bearing this heartache? Can you ever put my shoe and apprehend my emotions?"


    "I am well aware of how you are feeling and...to be honest...I feel pity for you, Ivory." Slowly, he lifted his gaze up at the clear sky, taking a deep sigh out. "Though...you are not in your right senses...but I know, you do have a considerate heart though you try to act all indifferent. You were always kind to me...like a sister... that''s why...despite your hard feelings on me, I came here to state something clearly once in for all."


    She stood like a rock, ogling at him in wonder while he continued his remark, holding a glum look in his eyes towards her.


    "Stop being so stubborn... The love...you had for Zeus has rotten into obsession. There is no use anymore...waiting for an alpha who has already marked his mate." He conversed firmly.


    "Wh...What?" Twitching her brow ridge while squinting her cryptic eyes, she uttered out being awe-struck with his unexpected answer.


    Before continuing, he exhaled a deep glum sigh out meeting her shocked eyes with his murky gaze. Slowly he took a small ahead, responding back in a low pitch, "I know...your heart will be broken to pieces. Trust me...I know it well how awful it feels to endure that unbearable pain inside..." Pointing his index finger towards his heart, his voice crooked a little as he continued, "but you have to understand, Ivory...Some people are meant to stay in our hearts forever but...sadly not in our fate. He is already betrothed to Eva, so...just stop waiting for him."


    Hearing out his cold proclamation, it seemed as if a huge sharp sword stabbed her heart brutally. Standing absolutely speechless for a few seconds, she was unable to process his words. Her mind was going all dizzy and the strength on her knees to stand still started shuddering. "Be...Betrothed?" Her breath choked.


    "It will be hard for you to accept...but losing your longtime friend on the hands of your obsession, it''s better to accept this bitter reality we are living in---"


    Before he could wrap up his words, she furiously grabbed his collar with her arms gritting her teeth in rage. The frustration, pain, and resentment that she was battling inside was evident in her ardent gaze as she shrieked out fiercely, "wh...what the fuck you are blabbering out? Have you lost your mind too? How...Just how the fuck he can be betrothed to a worthless human? How...How could he choose that darn traitor''s daughter over me? How is this possible? What the hell you are prattling nonsense!? How dare you!" While yelling out aloud, warm teardrops of agony streamed down her eyes involuntarily.


    Watching her wrecked state of mind, he didn''t try to escape her leash and stood still, gawking at her with a sad face. "I won''t tell you to calm down today...I know it will be hard for you to feel all alone. So... just scream, cry aloud, curse, or do whatever it takes to heal your heart...and ultimately...prepare yourself to let him go." He held by her forearms consoling her in a soft voice.


    "Why...Why the fuck you are telling me all these? What the hell!? Why couldn''t you hide this from me? Why did you have to break my heart...darn...fuck!!" Bursting out into tears, she lowered her grimace down unleashing her grip from his collar, biting her lips to stop herself from being more miserable before him.


    "Because...I don''t want you to be a third woman in their story." Suddenly, his deep voice sounded much cold as he whispered in a gruff manner, looking sharp into her eyes.


    "What?"


    "I am the son...of a third woman." His eyes darkened with a void of sadness as he continued responding out firmly. "Trust me...it feels awful when your own pack steals disgustful glances at you just because...you are given birth by the helpless woman who couldn''t get acceptance from her partner just because of this fucked up society! It feels terrible...when they call you an illegitimate child but you can''t tear their throats apart just because...we belong from the same pack. That''s why...I don''t want you to become a woman in their story who will never get recognition for her pure love. Step aside...and let go of him.


    Someday...you will find someone who will accept you the way you are, not the one you want them to be... Till then, live your life as your own. Stop...waiting for him like a miserable woman. You are not the fearless, brave Ivory...I have always admired." Concluding his words in a cold voice, slowly averting his gaze away from her, he started walking straight out of her villa without looking back anymore.


    She stood still all alone behind, rolling out her teary eyes wider while staring at him from the back. Clenching her fist, she quickly dialed a number uttering out her dark voice.


    "I am giving you an hour...Find out where is Zeus hiding. If you fail to do so...I am gonna tear your chest out!"


    She disconnected the call immediately after conveying her command. While gritting her jowls fuming with rage, her dark eyeballs transformed into illuminant red as she grumbled out, "I am not gonna wait for you anymore...Instead... I will face you, Zeus."

 Chapter 204 - Head-on

    [THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED IS NOT RESPONDING, PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER]


    "Urrghhh! Why isn''t he answering me at least once!?"


    Frustrated from getting the same response every time she dialed Zeus, she tossed away the phone perplexedly on the bed while constantly walking back and forth inside their room. She seemed extremely impatient, glancing outside through the glass windowpanes while biting her nails. Her mind was clouded with several cynical thoughts, she seemed much restless fidgeting with her worriments.


    "No...I can''t stay here inside like this... What...if he...he is facing something dreadful again!? My...heart is shaking right now, I can''t sit idly. No..."


    Mumbling anxiously, she groped the red floral jacket from the closet putting it over her white jumpsuit, and stormed out of the room frowning her eyebrows perplexedly. But, in that disturbed state of mind, she forgot to take the phone along with her that was left on the bed.


    As soon as she dashed outside, she was a bit startled. The giant hallway of that magnificent was entirely vacant with no trace of a single person serving in the resort, not even the maids. Impertinently, she rushed down the stairs seeming a bit concerned while glancing around her. As she was about to head outside the entrance, luckily she saw a timid, nervous-looking young girl dressed up in a maid attire was carrying some white clothes inside the staff''s room. Just by peeking a small glance at her, she felt a little relieved and curiously rushed towards her.


    "Ex...Excuse me?" She called her out aloud.


    The girl seemed to flinch hard with her sudden call and quickly turned around. As soon as their eyes met each other, she bowed her head down lowering her eyes. From her facial eloquence, she resembled quite tensed.


    "Yes...Milady?" She quivered.


    "Why...Why is this place so empty? Where are the other people? Where is...Zeus?" She tossed several queries at once, looking very ardent.


    She gulped her saliva and seemed to be a little fidgety with her sharp queries. Lowering her eyes down, she chose to mumble politely, "Milady...Mr. Graham...has committed suicide... A few of our members are preparing for the funeral ceremony whereas the rest of us...are leaving this place."


    "What? Leaving the place?" She blurted out aloud, being quite surprised.


    "Ma...Master Zeus has commanded every one of us to vacate the place within today. While half of our members are preparing for the funeral... the rest of the others have already started leaving... Well, I am waiting for my mother, once she arrives...we will head out too..." Her eyes had darkened, holding a skeptical gaze she was uttering nervously.


    "Why would he ask everyone to leave the resort? That''s strange... But...it seems...he has suspected something dreadful might happen to these innocent people too if they stay in here! Gosh...I was right! Something was definitely off around here..." Wondering inside her mind, she cleared her throat before asking her back. "Where is Zeus?"


    "I don''t know...Milady..."


    "What?"


    "After he ordered us to leave, I... had seen him once around 3 hours ago when he was carefully examining Mr. Graham''s body by himself. After that, he hurriedly rushed to the west side of the coast and...I lost his sight after that..." Fidgeting her fingers, her chapped lips mumbled out the answer.


    "Westside? Why would he go there?" Scrunching her brows, she continued her interrogation.


    "That''s where the graveyard lies...Milady. The funeral...would be held there..."


    Her answers were short and cold while she looked very anxious just from her expression. It was evident, all the workers seemed to be worried about such a kind, senior strong-willed person''s sudden death. Besides, Zeus''s unexpected command to leave the place further puzzled them from the core.


    Suddenly, a thought struck her mind like a lightning. Keeping her silence for a few seconds  she fretted her grimace, inquiring her in a low voice, "have you seen...lady Olie?"


    Abruptly, the girl looked a bit apprehensive hearing her name from Eva. Restlessly surging her eyeballs, she gulped her saliva replying with angst, "Today I...have just seen her from afar once..."


    "Wasn''t she there at the funeral ceremony?" Taking a small step closer to her, she asked her impertinently.


    The girl slowly shook her head in denial looking much concerned from her appearance. Retreating a step back from her, she whispered, "I suggest...you should...stay away from her, Milady. My...My mother said she has been acting a bit strange since yesterday."


    "Strange? What do you mean by--"


    Before Eva could charge her interrogations at her, the girl immediately rushed inside the staff room aiming to avoid her queries for some certain skeptical reasons. Watching her leaving in such a rush, she stood still for a moment, thinking hard to deal with the absurd situation.


    "I think...I should head towards the west too! I know...there must be some certain issues going on which is Zeus trying to hide from me! Also...I must find out...why this girl ran away when I asked her about Lady Olie..." Mumbling on her own while fretting her face, she rushed out of the entrance heading straight towards the west side looking very tensed.


    ...


    Time was flying quite fast. It was almost past afternoon around an hour or two before the sunset. As she wandered several meters away from the resort premises on that desolated beach, all of a sudden her motion halted as she precisely heard a pair of firm footsteps following her from behind on the sand. She understood, someone was mysteriously approaching her and with a jolt, she turned around.


    Her eyes rolled wider in surprise to watch Lady Olie standing a few steps behind her holding a dark, cryptical small sneer. She had put on attractive chiffon embroidered long black gown. Surprisingly, her oval-shaped small face seemed very pale as if she was becoming severely anemic. But, her lips were specifically painted with a thick dark red lipstick with her black long hair tied up as a top bun supported by a pretty hairpin. She was wearing minimal makeup which Eva could clearly recognize from her pale display. Overall, she seemed to be perfectly groomed up.


    "Greetings...Milady." Tossing a sly small smirk towards her, she bowed her head a little while whispering gently.


    Eva was a bit startled to see her neatly groomed appearance on such a darkest day of her life! She gulped anxiously and continued scanning her from head to toe frowning her brows.


    "She...should be mourning now over her husband''s fatal death...but...it seems, she isn''t even bothered much! They have been together for almost 30 years...why does she seem too normal? There isn''t even a tinge of sadness reflected in her eyes." She was wondering inside.


    "Milady...are you going somewhere?" She slowly walked a step closer with that cryptic sneer on her grimace.


    Keeping her anticipated silence for a moment, she nodded her head in approval responding to her query, "I was heading to the funeral ground of Mr. Graham. But...I am surprised, Lady Olie. Shouldn''t you be there grieving for your husband for the very last time? What...are you doing here?"


    The smile she had on her face shrank a bit as she took a deep sigh out, gazing up at the clear blue sky. "Well...we don''t have control over anyone''s lifespan, milady... Even if I wanted to stay with him...ultimately, we were meant to say goodbye someday..." Her deep voice darkened as she murmured.


    Somehow, a certain off feeling stuck in her mind while she was monitoring her gestures sharply. Though she tried to sound all morose and heartbroken, her eyes seemed very mysterious as if...she was trying to fake her feelings at that very moment!


    "Why did...such a strong person like him took away his own life? What caused him to make such a bitter choice?" She chose to inquire her again, fretting her brow ridge holding a fixed gaze towards her. The sound of the waves crashing down the shore was further intensifying the situation both of them were in.


    "Life is bitter for everyone...milady. You never know...what''s waiting ahead of you in the blink of an eye! The same reason...goes for him too." Wittily she answered quickly while reciprocating her fixed gaze in a dubious low pitch.


    "Something is...off with her! I can sense it...something isn''t right--" Immediately the thoughts clouding her mind paused for a moment when her eyes witnessed a shocking sight right before her. The sun was slowly setting down the horizon but the bright rays were still evident on the beachside. While standing firm facing each other head-on, she noticed that her shadow wasn''t reflecting back on the sand! It looked as if she was a person without a shadow which was absolutely impossible in terms of humans!


    Shuddered in fear she gulped her saliva slowly raising her chin above from the ground to glance at her. She still had a carefree smirk on her grimace, minutely observing Eva with her rolled dark eyes.


    "Milady, what''s wrong? Why did you suddenly turn so pale--"


    "You...You are...not Lady Olie..." Shivered with cold sweat, she retreated a step back mumbling in a husky voice.


    "What?"


    "You are...not a human... Stop...with your...nasty act of disguise... Who...Who the heck are you? Where is Lady Olie?" She screamed out aloud, surging her eyes wider in rage.

 Chapter 205 - Fire

    All of a sudden, the small smirk on her cryptic pale grimace widened into a wicked big sneer hearing Eva''s fervent scream at her on that desolated coast side. Standing still facing each other with such an extreme situation striking between them.


    "Oooh ouuu...My bad... I guess I have undervalued your sharp senses since...I had assumed you to be a bit dumb than that nosy alpha." Mumbling coarsely with a vile smile broadened on the edge of thickly stained red lips, she slowly took a step towards her.


    As she approached, instantly she retreated a step back on the warm sand frowning her face with a fiery glare towards her. "Cut out your...bullshit blabbering! Who...Who are you? Where is Lady Olie? What have you done to her!?" She shrieked out again aloud.


    "I killed her." A cold, short response flew away from her as she halted her approach, gawking at her with an amused expression.


    "Wh...What?"


    "Since you have already discovered it...there is no point in fooling around anymore." Crossing her arms over her chest, she shrugged her shoulder before declaring out firmly. "Well...the body you are seeing now belongs to Lady Olie...but I have already sent her soul away to the far above... And...I am here just trying to make good use of her poor, frail body."


    Hearing out her brazen loud proclamation, Eva was frozen in shock for a few seconds, rolling her dark pupils in wonder. She was unable to utter a single word abruptly and seemed to be in disbelief with her announcement, gawking at her.


    "That old lady didn''t struggle much before giving up her body for me. Well, she really seemed to be one of a kind human...actually, much better than her nasty temperament husband." She continued calmly.


    Wh...What the fuck you are blabbering out!?" Quaked in fear, choking on her breath for a second she tried to grumble out her words difficultly. "You...You evil one...You have possessed her body for your own spiteful intentions?"


    "Bingo!" She smirked slightly nodding her head in approval. Immediately, she untied her top knot bun removing the wooden hair stick and her long dark black hair curled down her shoulder, giving off an undeniable mystic aura around her.


    "Ho...How brazen of you--"


    "Well...I couldn''t enjoy her death since I had to keep her body intact for my own use. But...damn... I enjoyed my heart out to kill that nosy annoying old man... It was so fun...to make him slit out his own irritating throat... But I still wish...if I could have tortured him a little before sending him off to his dear wife. That''s my little regret." The dark expression on her pale face turned out to be horrendous with the malicious wide smile spreading on her jowls as she murmured her cruel words.


    Eva''s heart was throbbing hard with immense pain as tears of extreme regret streamed down her eyes as she stood like a rock before her. Her body was shivering on her own. Clenching her fist with grief, she gritted her teeth trying to control her bitter cry, "I...I wish if...if I had told Zeus about my hunch! I...I was right! My sense was indeed right...Fuck...


    Why...Why the fuck you did it? You...just took away two innocent lives for your own fun? How...despiteful! What made you do so? Why the fuck you killed them? What did they do wrong? Answer me you disgusting evil!?" She screamed aloud being pent up with her emotional turbulence.


    "They died...because of you." Tossing a wicked smirk at her, she answered in a cold manner, squinting her dark gaze at her.


    For a moment, the time around Eva stopped hearing out her ill-disposed allegation on her. Swooned with shock, she stuttered her voice, "wh...what? For...me?"


    "I am here to take away your life...so...think rationally. You are the one responsible for their pitiful demise."


    A sharp tinge of pain rose in her chest as she staggered a little taking a step back from her. Rolling her fist, she yelled out maniacally sobbing with agony, "if...if you wanted to kill me...why didn''t you attack me prior? Why the fuck? Just why the hell you had to butcher their innocent lives?"


    She took a small sigh out, shifting her gaze down from her eyes to the shimmering bracelet tucket on her wrist. "Because...that stupid bracelet hanging on your wrist won''t let me touch you. So...I had no other choice rather than using this old body to fulfill my mission. As because...the shield that your nosy alpha has given you...won''t protect you from any human approach." She whispered, in a dark voice, piercing her gaze sharply.


    "What?" Quickly sneaking a glance at the golden bracelet, her face turned immediately pale as she restlessly fidgeted for a moment. Rising up her tear-soaked chin, she whimpered bitterly, "what...just what have I done wrong? Why everyone wants me to die!? Why can''t anyone let me be in peace? Why?" Helplessly, she started sobbing again.


    "If you don''t die...my brother will be killed...and...I won''t let it happen." Suddenly, her faint white grimace shrouded with immense darkness as boldly, she walked a step ahead clenching her hands tight.


    "What? Wh...Who are you!? Who is your brother? What have I done to him? What did I ever do to deserve all these disgraceful allegation? Who are you!!" She shrilled with a loud echo.


    A sly smirk escaped her lips as she gawked at her for a moment holding her anticipated silence. The sun was almost settled down the horizon prevailing a dark aura in the atmosphere where two intense souls were standing still. The obscure sound of the waves splashing to the shore further intensified the ambiance to a greater extent.


    "You don''t need to know who am I...But...you will be the one who is going to be dead today, not my brother. That''s for sure." Declaiming her words aloud from her mouth, all of a sudden, she rushed towards her ardently in the blink of an eye and fiercely choked her throat with her strong, inhuman grasp.


    "EEEE...EEEUUKKK!" Shocked and shivered, she tried to restrain her threat from her powerful grip but the more she tried to strive, the greater she tightened the grip of her right fist around her neck.


    "I am not going to give you an easy death, you wench! You are the reason...my brother is suffering so much... I...I am going to grant you a brutal torment before you leave for heaven! Your alpha...won''t be here today to save you from me, bitch! I have made sure of that." She grumbled on her own, gritting her teeth while her dark fierce eyes were transformed into the entire black demoniac hellhound form as she was glaring at her.


    "UGHHH...LE...A...VE...UEEKKK...AAGHHH," her powerful grasp on her neck was burying her feet down inside the sand forbidding her to escape from her. Terrified and struggling with the last ounce of strength left in her body, she was mumbling gibberish while trying to unleash her grasp using both her arms. But slowly, she could feel her breath was getting collapsed with the sudden extreme pressure clasped around her weak neck.


    At the moment when she was thinking it''s all over for her, a miracle befell! The mark on her neck where Zeus had bitten her last night, suddenly flashed out a bright red wave of flare. Immediately, perceiving the burning sensation on her hand, making a sour expression she abruptly drifted backward from her with a heavy large stomp.


    As soon as she unleashed her grip on Eva''s neck, she plopped down on the ground coughing out aloud almost choking on her breath. She was covered in drool and sweat as she squatted down, panting heavily. A red bruise had developed like a ring around her neck with her firm grip as it started throbbing in pain.


    Meghan took a sharp glance at her hand and saw large, painful burnt scars had covered her palm with the mysterious bright flare. Gritting her long canines that emerged out of her mouth, she swirled her eyes ogling at suffocating Eva on the ground.


    "You nasty wench! I...I will rip out your chest and---"


    "AAAHHHHHHGGHHH!"


    Before she could even wrap her heinous threat, a giant wave of bright red flares was projected towards her from behind as her human body started burning in that flame! She was struggling, screaming out ardently for help while panting over the ground, Eva watched her body immediately turning into ashes in the blink of an eye.


    Gasped in extreme angst with a shivered soul, she slowly turned her head around and further froze with shock witnessing the dreadful sight!


    Behind her, a few meters apart, a red glow of igniting flames was encircled around Ivory as she was standing still. Her eyeballs were turned into dominant red illuminant form, with a huge golden brown fur-coated long tail waving on her back. The fire which had burned Meghan was igniting at the tip of the tail. It symbolized the flare was indeed projected from her wolfish tail!

 Chapter 206 - Face Off

    Shocked and gasping out of breath, Eva quivered in fear for a moment watching Ivory flaunting her long wolfish tail in that shimmering red sunset, obtaining the vicious dominant form of an alpha she-wolf. It was the very first time, Eva had witnessed such a powerful form of Ivory. It didn''t even take her 3 seconds to burn Lady Olie''s body into ashes just with the wolf-fire of her large tail! This fearful incident clearly indicated a hint of the inhuman strength she was owning until now. The waves of those bright red sparks that were igniting around her burned vigorously for a moment before slowly things started to turn out normal.


    Slowly, the flash lighting around her started to vanish on their own along with her wavering tail that disappeared in thin air from her back. Her bright red illuminant eyes returned to their normal human form as she gradually obtained the form of a normal woman. Her fair, radiant skin was shimmering in the sunset. Her wavy long hair was whirling with the sea breeze as well as the white long silk slit gown she was putting on made her stand out on that beach like an ethereal goddess.


    "You...You..." Eva was stuttering in fear, squatting down on the ground a few meters apart while scrunching her brows at her. She looked extremely terrified, her body was still trembling on its own and the part of the neck where she was attacked seemed to be swollen and bruised.


    "Long time no see... Hope...you remember me, don''t you?" Standing firmly while mumbling in an intense dark voice, she flickered one of her brows.


    Her bold response further startled her deep inside. She clenched her fist over the sand, seeming very perplexed she chose to inquire first, "why...why are...you here?"


    "Why can''t I be here? Do you own this place? Or...Had you really assumed...you will hide Zeus here in this desolated place and no one will be able to discover? Isn''t it?" Her facial expression turned much sour as she conversed her hoarse words.


    Her sharp, fiery words were obvious to point out the immense hatred she was carrying deep down in her heart for Eva. Lowering her eyes down from her with a grievous look on her face, she tried to stand up on her feet with a wobbly posture. "I...didn''t come here on my own... I know... probably whatever...I will say, you won''t believe me. Then...why did you save me?"


    "Save you? Hahahaha!" A rude, tantalizing loud squeal of laughter escaped her roseate lips as she caressed her brown hair bangs that were falling over her forehead. "How naive of you! I am...just here to rectify the mistakes I have done prior."


    "Mistakes?" She stood still, staring at her with a palpitating mind.


    Suddenly, the smile she had been owning on her grimace faded occupied with immense darkness. Her eyes were shimmering with a devilish look in them as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I couldn''t sit still and watch my prey be snatched away by that lowly hellhound. That''s why I had to meddle in."


    "He-Hellhound?" She swirled her eyes in horror.


    "Sparing your life on that day when you had stepped inside the Romano Mansion...was the biggest blunder...I had committed in my life. I shouldn''t have listened to that darn Czar! I...I wish I could alter my decision back then but...as for now, I am here to finish you off with my own hands because...I don''t wanna live in any regretful choice that I have ever made." She scoffed her dark proclamation at her, glaring fiercely keeping her gaze still.


    Hearing her cruel threat bold and loud, a tinge of agony aroused inside her heart as she stood still for a while, rolling her eyeballs restlessly. Awestruck at her verdict, she tried to mumble out in a husky frightened voice, "you...are here to...kill me?"


    "Including today...I have twice spared your life. So...shouldn''t I be the one owning your life? Since I am the one who saved you a moment ago I can also be the one who can take away your worthless life today. Why? Does it seem unfair to you?" An obscure smile carved on the edges of her lips as she muttered nonchalantly.


    "You own my life? What the---"


    "Besides...being a wolf myself, I have been craving for some human meat for a long time. It''s been a while already...I had devoured a human along with Zeus. So, I guess, you will be able to savor my hunger today." She interrupted her while her glossy brown eyes shimmered with the malicious intention she was holding towards her.


    All of a sudden, her heart almost stopped for a second hearing the despiteful declaration in that nonchalant manner. Frowning her face carrying a disgustful look in her sad eyes, she asserted out, "devoured a human? Ze...Zeus...devoured a human?"


    "We are the mighty wolves, the creatures of the dark who like our claws to be soiled with gore blood, and ripping warm flesh! Did you really expect us to consume...leaves and grasses?" A mocking smirk lingered on her jowls as she casually took a small step forward glaring at her while conversing firmly.


    She stood still, unable to retreat a step back as she moved a step forward towards her. Her heart was aching too hard with a severe, unspeakable pain churning her insides. Her eyes squinted with a dismal look in her eyes as averted her gaze down, taking a heavy whiff of breath out.


    "Why do you seem so disgusted with my answer?" Slightly tilting her neck, she monitored her expression before charging her back. "You did know about his true self...right? You accepted him despite knowing he is a brutal monster...so...why do you seem displeased now? Have you ever...loved him for who he is?"


    Her appalled eyes were swelled up in tears as she slowly lifted her chin up to answer her back, "I do...I do love him for who is he--"


    "LIER!!" All of a sudden, she roared out like a fierce tigress gnashing her teeth at her with immense rage. She was shivering with the fuming wrath filling up her core as she further screamed, "YOU NASTY WENCH! HOW...HOW DARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT HIM? HOW LONG YOU HAVE KNOWN HIM? BARELY...A MONTH OR TWO! IN THIS SMALL SPAN OF TIME, HOW CAN YOU BEWITCH HIM FROM ME WHO HAS BEEN ON HIS SIDE FOR 100 FUCKING YEARS!!"


    Stretching her eyes wider inundated with her shocked expression, she involuntarily blurted out through the trembling edges of her lips, "wh-what? 100...years?"


    Ivory was breathing intensely for a few seconds tossing a fiery gaze towards her. Clenching her fist tight, her dark eyes seemed to glisten with tears of rage as she murmured, "I...have loved him silently for over 100 years... I stood by his side as his friend! I...I had desperately waited for him for my whole life... I...I did everything for him without even asking the reason...He was...always meant to be mine... We were meant to stay beside each other... I have proven my loyalty towards him in every aspect! Then...Then why? How could he just toss me away because he found a wench like you? Can you ever love him the way I did? Can you ever make the sacrifices I chose willingly to do for him? No...Because...You are just fooling him with your innocent face but sadly, these tricks won''t work on me!


    I...I am the strongest she-wolf among our pack. I have always exceeded myself in doing every darn thing! So just...how could he choose a worthless woman like you over me? What...What the hell you have done to our Zeus!? How do you even have the audacity to stand before me?" She screamed out ardently, with a warm drop of tear from her scrunching eyes bearing her emotional turbulence shed down.


    Tears were streaming her eyes hearing her pent-up ardent allegations as her feet froze, making it unable for her to even move an inch. Weeping helplessly conveying the sharp stinging pain throbbing inside her chest, she lowered her eyes down, whimpering silently.


    "Why are you silent? Go ahead...and call your Zeus for help! Go ahead and scream out you brazen trickster! Act all innocent with your pretty face...isn''t that''s how you have enchanted him? Gosh...what else is even expected from the daughter of a traitor? Your existence is itself a sin! Like father...like daughter..."


    All of a sudden, her heart pounded out aloud stirred up with an intense uneasiness swooning her from inside apprehending her bold, dark declaration. She gulped her saliva, frowned her face, and mumbled out in a shaky voice, "Tr-Traitor? Did you...call my father a...traitor? Ho...How do you know my father? How?"


    "Didn''t...Zeus...tell you about your father? Haven''t you really heard from him...or...you are still trying to fool me again?" She grumbled in a low, deep voice.

 Chapter 207 - Choices

    Shellshocked from her core, gawking at her with disbelief in her gaze, her lips trembled a little before Eva charged her back, "Zeus...knows about my dad? Ho-How?"


    Looking at her dismal face, Ivory could sense that indeed the revelation was shocking for her. Taking a deep sigh out, she muttered nonchalantly, "I absolutely can''t trust you, but it seems...you really didn''t know about it. I wonder...why Zeus would hide about that traitor--"


    "Shu...Shut up!!" Before she could finish her answer, all of a sudden Eva shrieked out aloud with her quaky voice interrupting her. Her dark, restless eyes were filled with tears of angst as she was peering at her. "Stop...calling my dad as a...traitor! What...Just what had he done to be defined as a traitor? He...He was the best family man...He was the best father I could ever ask for! Then why...why does he deserve to be treated like this even when he isn''t alive anymore!?" She whimpered.


    "After the things, he has done...your father...deserved his fatal ending... His existence...was sin itself..." Her wide brown eyes clouded with darkness as she murmured those words in a cold voice.


    "Wh-What?" Warm tears streamed down her eyes hearing her abhorrent verdict with an immense surge of anger arousing inside her. "How...Just how can you be so heartless? Didn''t you have a father yourself? How can be so harsh towards someone else''s father?" Her rage splurged out through her fuss.


    Watching her getting all irked, a small tantalizing smirk etched on her slender roseate lips as she rolled her brown, fiery eyes at her. "Does your heart hurts hearing the ill truth about your dad? Exactly...the same way my heart hurts when I am watching the way you are destroying Zeus''s peaceful life! You call me heartless...but you are even more heinous than me! I can sense it...You are making Zeus walk in the same fatal path your father had chosen for himself...and that ring on your finger is the proof of my grudge towards you. You are just...as wicked as your father!!"


    Eva stood like a rock, absolutely still, her feet frozen on the sand with a severe pain churning down her insides. Sobbing bitterly with her teary eyes fixed at her wrath-filled eyes, she wanted to yell at her out aloud but she couldn''t utter a single word. Her heart was throbbing hard to learn such revelations about her father which even shattered her soul into countless pieces. Her body was shivering on its own making it difficult for her to stand still.


    A moment of few seconds of the anticipated silence persisted between those two in that dark ambiance that followed after the red shimmering sunset. Ivory was breathing deeply and soon after the silence, she scrunched her brows while an obscure expression occupied her face. Slowly, she started walking closer towards Eva clenching her fist. From her right arm, her long-piercing chisel-shaped claws suddenly started emerging out from her nails.


    "Nasty wenches like you...don''t deserve to exist either! Every...Every fucking thing will be resolved only if you die and that''s why...I am here to send you off way afar. Go and follow after you dad..." She grumbled heftily taking steps forward. Absorbed with immense shock, Eva couldn''t move an inch to retreat and continued peering at her.


    SWIISHHH!


    Like a sudden strong gush of wind, in the blink of an eye, Zeus teleported himself at the distance lying exactly at the middle between Eva and Ivory. With his unexpected transmit at that intense moment, both of them were very surprised, especially Eva who had swirled her eyeballs, squinting her gaze at him from behind.


    Abruptly Ivory halted her motion as Zeus was standing tall, facing towards her. He had a frowned expression on his face while rolling his dark eyes at her. Watching him ultimately coming to her rescue at the utmost moment, a sad small smirk appeared on her grimace with her brownish eyes fixed still at him.


    "So...you are here...finally! I had been...expecting you to come here soon to protect her..just like a...loyal dog!" Her words sounded very cold as well as harsh with a mocking sneer lingering on her slender lips.


    "Whatever hard feelings you are enduring inside...you should take it out on me. I won''t stop you. But...Keep Eva out of this mess, she has nothing to do with it." Making a grievous face, he thickly murmured in a low pitch.


    All of a sudden, her face darkened with a surge of anger as she viciously glared at both Eva and Zeus, clenching her fist. "And why must I listen to you? Are you even in your right senses to understand what the fuck you are doing?" She gritted her teeth, whining at him.


    "If...you don''t want to listen...then...you have to face me here first before you take a single step towards her. I won''t even budge an inch." He declared, resounding very firm. Standing just behind him, Eva was gazing at him while sobbing silently, standing still.


    Hearing his loud and firm response, the anger that was splurging inside her heart crossed every limit of her endurance. She drastically started walking towards him with her giant footsteps shuddering in wrath.


    SLAP!!!


    In the flick of a second, she placed a tight slap on the right side of his grimace making a sharp, loud sound in that deserted ambiance. Eva was deadpanned in shock to witness such an unbelievable sight and unknowingly walked a few trembling steps closer getting all concerned about him. But, Zeus stayed thoroughly silent.


    Shivering with the fit of her rage, she groped him by his collar with both of her hands and stared deep into his dark eyes. Her eyes were swelled in tears while she yelled at him, "did the slap bring your senses back? Do you realize...what you are doing with your life?"


    He silently peered at her teary eyes for a few seconds. Taking a deep sigh out, he mumbled out, "I know...I have deeply hurt you, Ivory."


    "Just hurt? You are being...awful to me, Zeus!!" Clinching her grope over his collar, tears started streaming down her eyes which she was trying hard to hold in. "Do you even remember what I had to for you all these years? Do you!?" She shrieked.


    "Ivory--"


    "Since the 10 long decades...I stayed beside you because you hated to be alone! I always tried my best to cheer you up because you didn''t have a single good memory with your family! Every time Czar trampled over your feelings, I was the only one to comfort you! I gave you my shoulder to mourn and weep when you lost your granny while the rest of your family blamed you for being a weak child! I had to stay up all night to look after you since you couldn''t sleep due to nightmares! I had to make myself strong enough so that I could protect you from any odds!


    Every time you killed a human...I had to clean up the mess you left behind even though I hated to do it! I...I even had to murder Mr. Tylor from our own pack who was an innocent, father figure to me just to destroy the evidence that a human entered the mansion...It was all for your protection...for your sake damn it!! I gave up my life in the US and came back for you here just so that I can stay by your side and watch over you forever. I have already proved my loyalty towards you since our childhood. I have..sincerely waited for you with all my heart and...this is all I deserve in the end!?


    How...Just how could you fall this hard for a wench you barely met a month or two ago? How could you not feel a single thing for me? How could you be so cruel? How could you disappoint me like this you heartless punk...how could you...hic..." She broke down into bitter tears, lowering her head down while tightening the grip of her arms on his collar.


    He was silently staring at her grievous face with his dismal dark gaze. Behind them, Eva was standing still with a shattered heart apprehending their bitter conversation, being all helpless herself. Her heart was aching hard to see both of them together but she couldn''t take a single step forward.


    "I remember...every bit of your sacrifices...You...You were my only friend in this lonely, cursed life and possibly...the best friend I could ever ask for... But...for me...you were only my friend. I...I am sorry...but I can''t look at you the way you want me to...I am sorry for hurting you so bad...but...my heart already belongs to someone else... You deserve...someone better than me, Ivory." He conversed in a low, dim voice, looking deep into her tearful eyes.


    Slowly, she raised up her chin, breathing heavily with her tear-soaked grimace glaring at him sharply. "Someone loyal like me couldn''t make you mine...but you fell head over heels for the daughter of a traitor? You...You wanna make her our Luna? What a disgusting choice!" She grumbled out aloud shifting her glare towards Eva.

 Chapter 208 - Dark Truth

    "Stop...looking down on my Eva."


    All of a sudden, those intense cold words escaped his quivering jowls as he lifted his dark gaze at Ivory while she was glaring at Eva. Flinched at his profound response, she shifted her eyes back to him, frowning her brows.


    "What?"


    "I said stop...looking down on the person who means the world to me, Ivory." He sounded a bit fervid squinting his brows at her. "We...were bound to found each other. We were destined for each other! She is the one...who saved me from the horrendous curse! If she didn''t arrive for me, I would have been already rotten dead on that fateful night! It''s not her fault that she was born a human... It was me who chose her against the world!"


    Hearing his intensive shrilling verdict, for a moment she stared deeply in his murky eyes swirling her eyeballs restlessly. Slowly, she unleashed her grope from his collar, and a cold small smirk spread on her lips, "despite being the alpha of our pack...you are still willing to choose the dark path her traitor father had opted to..."


    "Uncle Steve did everything for the sake of his love and I can''t blame him for that. Stop...calling him a rat!" Fretting his grimace, he grumbled out looking very offended. But more than anything, Eva was shellshocked to hear out her father''s name from him which palpitated her heart intensively.


    "Whatever you say to defend him, abandoning his own pack was never an option! He did such a heinous sin... everyone had trusted him so much and I can''t believe you are defending him for what he did--"


    "He didn''t have any other choice left rather than protecting the one he loved! What did he do wrong? Wouldn''t...Wouldn''t you do the same for me too?" Taking a deep huff of breath ardently, his cold voice crooked a little as he tried to object to her response. Watching their heated argument mentioning her father''s name made Eva even more helpless, fostering the sharp pain pounding her heart.


    A moment of anticipated silence followed between them as they gazed at each other looking quite fervid. Clenching her fist and staggering a step back, she murmured in a hoarse voice, "until now...in every decision of yours...either its right or wrong...I have supported you without giving a damn to the world. Did you really think I would support you this time too when you made such a ridiculous choice? When you were enjoying your sweet moments with this wench here...I was dying inside worried about you! Just...Just how could you be so selfish? Don''t you feel sorry for your pack?"


    "My pack...has been always important for me, Ivory. That''s why...I have decided to confess everything and let them make the choice. I...don''t want to keep anything hidden from anyone, anymore." He conversed with a serious look on his pale face.


    "And you think, our pack will accept this wench as our Luna? Hahaha...such a ridiculous assumption!" A dark, tantalizing grin escaped her lips as she stole a glance at Eva who was standing still behind, lowering her bereaved face down. "Does she even have the audacity to bear the responsibilities? It won''t take 3 seconds to kill such a weakling like her and...you expect us to accept your foolish choice? Hah... Zeus, you have indeed lost your mind. Right now...you don''t even seem the vicious, powerful alpha I have known since all these years. You are being...just a lovesick loyal dog! But...sadly, you are making me realize...how pathetic I have become for you." Her deep, low voice sounded very gruff with her wide brown eyes beaming in rage.


    A piercing pain of anguish torn his heart as he stood silently for a moment. Taking a profound sigh of grief out, he lowered his eyes down making a guilt-frown expression. "After my granny...and...Uncle Stevan...you were the only one who adhered with me in my good and bad times like a strong pillar. I know, I...couldn''t even come this far if I didn''t have a loyal friend like you from the very start. I will owe you for that forever...


    But...do you too...wish to leave my side now?" His voice became dense and thick as if those glum feelings were filling up his core. He slowly lifted up his dark eyes glistening with sadness peering at her.


    Looking at him with a deep, sad gaze she was absolutely still for a few seconds with her murky eyes filled with tears of agony. Sighing out heavily, a small sad smile appeared on her lips as she whispered, " right now, I earnestly wish if...I could despise you... If I could hate with all my might...If I...could just erase your existence from my soul and my heart but...I can''t do that... Thanks to you...I have to live forever with a sword stabbed in my heart. I never thought I would feel it...but yes, I regret it... I regret loving you so bad...


    I will never accept your choice if it involves this despicable human! And...I won''t forgive this wench either for tearing us apart! I know...sooner or later you will regret what kind of bitter ending you gave to our long, beloved friendship... But...Do me a last favor...


    Don''t ever...show me your face again...That''s all for us..."


    Tears of angst rolled down her grievous face as her voice crooked a little trying to suppress the immerse surge of sobbing inside. Her dark teary gaze seemed much painful as she turned around abruptly and started walking away from him over the sand with an erratic motion. Slowly after walking a few steps apart, she disappeared with a strong gush of wind that blew suddenly along the desolated shore.


    His eyes were all teary as for a few seconds he stared sadly at the direction where she just went off all alone. Clenching his fist, he took a deep gasp of breath out trying to suppress the surge of wailing arousing inside his throat. It didn''t even take 10 minutes to shatter the long friendship they cherished for over a century. The realization was painful for him to bear inside.


    Standing behind him, Eva was silently gawking with her teary eyes at him standing alone in such a bereaved state. She could evidently understand the agony he was feeling deep inside, which made her feel even more miserable than ever.


    After a moment of anticipated silence, slowly he turned towards her and walked a few steps closer. He seemed very concerned while he was staring at the bruised, swelled ring mark on her neck caused by Meghan. Slowly averting his gaze in her deep eyes he whispered in a low voice, "the bruise...looks painful. Are you hurt somewhere else? Did Ivory try to hurt you too?"


    A wrecked sad simper carved on her lips as she stared at him momentarily for a few seconds. Slowly, taking a heavy sigh out, she mumbled, "you had told me...there won''t be anything hidden between us anymore... But...you had lied to me, Zeus..."


    Peering at her disappointed face, he walked a step closer towards her fretting his grimace. "Eva...I didn''t mean to cause you more pain than you already--"


    "How do you know my dad? You know...why did she call my dad a traitor...isn''t it? What has my father done? What else...you have kept hidden from me?" Before he could interpret his words, she intervened in a restless, discontented voice gazing at him still.


    Gawking at her dark sad eyes, he took a slow step forward and intending to hold one of her arms to console her morose heart. "Eva...calm down a little, first. I will tell you everything--"


    "Calm down!?" All of a sudden, she screamed out fervently with those tears of anguish streaming down her pale, pained face. "Two innocent people have died for me! I have ended your years of cherished friendship with her! I am the reason for the immense hate you will receive from your pack! My cursed fate is snatching every fucking thing from you leaving you all alone...And now...I know I am the daughter of a traitor... After all these...you are asking me to calm down?" Groping his forearms she gritted her jowls while sobbing bitterly.


    "Eva..."


    "Tell me about my father! What has he done? Who am I? How do you know about him? I want to know everything!!" She yelled intensely, swirling her teary eyes restlessly.


    Lowering his eyes down, he took a deep huff of breath in before rustling, "he was someone...very dear to me, Eva. He was someone...whom I looked up to...who inspired me to be a good leader and...who loved me very dearly..."


    "Wh-What?"


    "He was the...strongest beta swordman...of our pack." His voice shivered a little as he whispered to her.


    Rolling her eyes wider with disbelief, she unleashed her arms from him and unknowingly retreated a step back. "M-My...My father...wa-was...a...wolf?" Her husky voice quivered.

 Chapter 209 - Punishment

    Lowering his eyes down, taking a deep sigh out Zeus stood silent for a moment, looking a bit perplexed. Seeming quite restless, Eva was impertinently rolling her eyes, gawking at him with an ardent expression.


    "Wh-Why aren''t you...saying anything? It''s true, right? It''s true that...my dad...was a wolf, right? Say something please?" Her tone sounded extremely fervid as if she was on the edge of her patience.


    "YES!" Responding in a deep, intense voice he slowly lifted his eyes up to stare into her with immense sadness in it.


    With the painful admission, she felt as if the world around Eva stopped for a moment. She stood still like a rock, choking breathe for a few seconds. While ogling at his sad eyes, unknowingly tears started streaming down her cheeks as her lips quivered, "I...I am...the daughter of...the lineage, I hated the most? Then...Wh...What about...my...mom..." She stuttered.


    "She was a human... A...normal human...But...your father was one of the strongest wolves of our pack. He was indeed the toughest fighter we ever had...It''s...all true, Eva. You...are carrying our sacred wolf bloodline in your genes." Squirming a bit anxiously, he murmured.


    She lowered her eyes down from him and clenched her fist tight, biting her lips ardently. Her mind was getting clouded with the biggest realization of her life which shivered her from the core. She continued rustling on her own, "that means...I...wasn''t hallucinating that day... The greenish-blue flames emerging around me which...cured your scars...on that lunar eclipse...were my concealed powers? That...means...I am...not a human myself?"


    Zeus could evidently notice how immensely she was getting confounded. Slowly, he walked a step closer to her and groped by her forearm intending to calm her a little, "Eva, you are born as a mortal human. But deep down, your bloodline carries the genes of our wolves. That makes you...a mortal hybrid... The same goes for your brother too...both of you were born as humans...not as werewolves. As far...I have surmised until now...you bear some of our special abilities. I was able to sense it on our very first meet. I could smell a unique scent that a normal human would never possess. That night, I had followed you silently from behind...but my powers weren''t working on you. I couldn''t read your mind, I couldn''t hypnotize you...which would work perfectly on other humans...


    And...on that lunar eclipse...you couldn''t suppress your powers anymore because the surge of your emotions by watching me on the brink of death revealed your hidden self. After you healed my wolfsbane curse which wasn''t possible by any ordinary wolf...I could evidently understand, you must be possessing the ability of divine healing! That...makes you a gifted one, Eva. Among our wolves, the ones blessed with such a spiritual ability are...considered...as the gifted ones, i.e. blessed by our Moon Goddesses. Your father...Uncle Stevan...possessed this ability among us and...now...you are...being blessed with it." He answered in a genial way, staring at her softly.


    Standing absolutely numb, Eva was apprehending his words without uttering a single word. Taking a deep sigh out, she frowned her brows before querying him further, "did...you...know about my dad...from the beginning?"


    "No, Eva!" Declining with an ardent voice, he unleashed his grope from her forearm before responding firmly. "I.Trust me! I..didn''t have a single clue that...you are his daughter... until I saw that giant portrait in your home the night we visited your parent''s grave. I...I was shellshocked with the realization! It made me helpless...guilt and frivolous to learn that...despite being the alpha of the pack, I couldn''t protect him...The regret...had broken me from inside and that''s why...on that rainy night, I went back to their grave to mourn helplessly...I begged for their forgiving for realizing it...so late..." His eyes were concealed with a void of darkness mirroring the profound regret he was enduring inside as he whispered in a gloomy state.


    "Then why was she calling him a traitor?" Suddenly, her dark gaze narrowed a little as her query resounded in a low, intense pitch.


    Slowly raising his eyes up from the ground, he continued peering at her perplexed gesture keeping his anticipated silence for a moment. He seemed a bit troubled from his display, fidgeting his toes in angst.


    "Why aren''t you answering me, Zeus? What has he done to be named a traitor? You...You just said...he was...a gifted wolf. He must have been a special one loved by many, right? So...why did everyone carry such malice on him even after his death? Tell me the truth...Don''t you dare hide anything from me, anymore!?" She squealed fervently.


    Taking out a deep sigh of despair, he slowly lowered his head down before answering her with a saddened grimace, "he had...abandoned his pack..."


    "What?" She widened her wide eyes rolled in awe.


    "For a wolf...cutting off every tie with his own pack by himself is considered to be the most despicable and heinous sin one could ever commit. We are...bound to stay together with our pack until our last day and if someone dares to do so...they are punished by our ancestral celestial alphas. They are...very cruel than the monsters! They punish those wolves either with lifelong imprisonment in the hellish realm or simply...behead them, depending on the severity of the sin..." His voice was choked with anguish, as he muttered.


    "Wh...What?" Her heart throbbed hard as she quivered. She was swooned in fear to hear about such a horrendous punishment which left her mouth wide open, gasping air.


    "To escape from such trial...the ones have to spend the rest of their lives forever in hiding away from the rest of the pack. Until now, sadly Uncle Stevan was the only one who dared to commit that sin which... labeled him as a traitor. Everyone in our pack used to love him very dearly... The part which makes me regret it the most is that...he...he had promised to...meet me someday again... But...I failed to keep it..." His voice sounded very dense.


    She was stunned in shock gawking at him with her enlarged eyes filled with immense despair. Unknowingly, she retreated a step back at a wobbly motion as if her knees were giving upon the strength to keep standing. He noticed that she was devasted with the grief and stepped forward to hold her hand firmly.


    "Eva--"


    "Why did he do it?" Before he could interpret his words, she intervened restlessly in a husky, trembled voice.


    "What?"


    "He must have known the consequences before taking that drastic step. Then...why did he do it? Why did he dare to do it..." Abruptly her voice trailed off and her dark eyes enlarged further. From her facial gesture, it seemed she had come to a shocking realization. "Is...Is it...because...of my...mom?" Her grief-stricken voice stuttered.


    Looking at her painstakingly with his sad eyes, slowly, he averted his eyes down and unwillingly nodded his head a little, "yes."


    "Wh...What?" Her teary eyes were dilated, profused with anguish.


    "For the first time ever...a wolf...defied the greatest law of our existence and fell in love with a mere human...i.e your mother." Taking a heavy sigh out, he continued mumbling in a low, glum voice. "There was no way...their forbidden love would have gotten the acceptance they yearned for their whole life. But, even if the world wouldn''t let them be...they couldn''t stay apart from each other. Hence, he had no other choice rather than to run away from this cruel world of wolves and...seek a little happiness together with your mother. Perhaps, he had to spend his whole life hiding his own identity and trying to live as a human... I still don''t know the reason behind that fatal accident...but I believe, it was an attempted attack."


    Apprehending the painful truth, all of a sudden, tears started streaming down her eyes with a sharp, twitching pain throbbing her insides. Her body was shivering on its own and with a trembled posture, she gripped his arm which he was holding onto her. "Why...Then why didn''t you stop him? Why did you let him leave? If...If he didn''t have run away...perhaps...he would have been still alive... Fuck! Why...Why did you let him go, Zeus?" She sobbed.


    "I had no other choice rather than letting him go, Eva..." His eyes were swelled with tears as he murmured averting his gaze down. "I still...remember his eyes on the last day I met him...I went to stop him but...his eyes were hopeful... He...really wanted to lead a happy life with his beloved one and...Sadly, that was his fate that he had already chosen... It was impossible for me to change his destiny... I...I am sorry..." A drop of tear dripped down his sad grimace.


    Wailing silently at the painful truth, suddenly, Eva swirled her eyes as if her mind was stuck with a grave thought. Seeming very terrified, she whispered fervently, "then...Ivory was right...You...You too are walking on the path my dad...dared to opt!? That means...you will too have to bear those heinous consequences if you leave your pack, right? Wh...What punishment will you face? Tell me...Tell me the truth!?"


    "Since...I am the alpha...hence...I will be...beheaded." A small sad smile escaped his lips as he murmured.

 Chapter 210 - Same Boat

    A cold, mild night breeze was rustling around her while Clara was walking towards the parking lot, heading out of her workplace. It was almost past evening. She had to take care of some urgent business notes which made her stay until late in the office. Frowning her face, she was quietly walking at a slow pace when suddenly, her eyes witnessed an unusual sight!


    At the large green office yard, on a wooden public bench, Eric was sitting still all alone, holding a half-burnt cigarette. He was staring up at the starry sky with a blank gaze in his dark eyes. His facial expression seemed a bit pale accompanied by dark circles beneath his eyes. Compared to Clara''s puffy eyes, it was evident that both of them were sleep-deprived as something there was keeping both of them restless and anxious from inside. Even though Eric was a human, but he was the only person in her workplace, she felt a bit comfortable hanging around with. Unknowingly a small smile appeared on slender lips, as she whirled her short-shoulder length brown shimmering hair boldly heading towards him.


    "Can I have a cigarette too?"


    Hearing her sudden soft voice from behind, he flinched a little turning his neck back to sneak a glance at her. Clara was smiling tenderly while looking at him as she grabbed a seat next to him.


    "Miss Clara? You are still here?" He asserted quickly seeming a bit curious.


    "Well, I had some pending works to finish...but I should ask you the question, Mr. Eric. As far I remember, you had finished your works almost an hour ago. Then, why are you still here?" She reciprocated holding that small smile.


    Lowering his eyes down, a small smirk appeared on his jowls as he mumbled genially, "I was sitting here trying to avoid getting caught by others but I guess...you exposed me, Miss Clara. If I am right, something must be bothering you too from the inside, right?" He stretched his arm grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter while offering her one.


    "Yes." All of a sudden, her facial eloquence turned a bit sour as she blew out a heavy puff of smoke gazing her murky eyes up at the luminous night sky. "That''s the reason I am here to give you some company. But...I had heard from the official gossips that...you had to undergo an accident and were admitted to a hospital? Is it true?" She probed him first.


    "Wow, I guess words really travel fast." He chuckled a little taking a deep puff of smoke out. "It was a trivial accident. Don''t worry, I just had a minor injury at the back of my head but...I guess...it was worth it..." The smile on his grimace widened a little.


    "Worth it?" Frowning her brows, she repeated his words.


    "Well, we met each other coincidentally at a place where the accident occurred...I had to risk myself to protect the one I love... I have also confessed my feelings to her. And...she was the one who took me to the hospital and looked after me till I revived my senses back. Also...I was able to learn her name..."


    A witty little sneer appeared on her face hearing his soft response. Lifting her eyebrows, she tapped his shoulder once sounding very proud, "Woah! I didn''t expect it to happen this quick...but it seems as if things must be working between you two! That''s really impressive!"


    He smirked and shook his head slowly in declination, "nope. She firmly rejected me...also forbade me to seek for her again." His smile looked quite bereaved.


    "What?"


    "She is in love with a person...who doesn''t even bother about her. It seems she has loved that person for a long time..." Taking out a heavy sigh of despair, he tossed away the cigarette on the ground holding a small sad smile.


    "Gosh...I can''t believe it! She is in unrequited love with someone else? Woah...life is really ridiculous sometimes..." She whined in a grumpy tone sneakily glancing at him once while he was lowering his eyes down, sighing heavily. Clearing her throat, she tried to converse in a soft note, "well...so...what you are gonna do now? Are you going to...give up?"


    "I wish...I could..." Slowly lifting his gaze up to glance at her, he continued rustling, "my insides feel hollow whenever I think about her... I wish to forget it all but my heart won''t cooperate with my mind. You know, I have met countless women in my life but it''s the first time...I want to...wait for someone... Deep down inside, she is a sad and lonely woman and she doesn''t want anyone to know about it. That''s why...she pushes people away. I just...want to make her happy."


    "I can feel you..." In a crooked voice, she reciprocated unknowingly glancing up at the horizon with her sad face. Tapping her toes nonchalantly while folding one of her legs over another, she whispered to him, "I know someone like that too...who hides his void of sadness behind his arrogant nature. I...do wish...to see him happy too..."


    Looking a bit startled, immediately Eric shifted his enlarged eyes at her gawking intensely, "don''t tell me...but...are you in the same boat as me?" He asked.


    "If not...I won''t be smoking right next to you holding these huge puffy eyebags beneath my eyes. We both are devoid of sleep and peace...also, the reason is same too..." She answered while peering at him, blinking her long eyelashes nonchalantly.


    "Oh my God..." He sighed making a dull face of disappointment. Squirming with a bit of anxiety, he uttered in a curious tone, "have you confessed your feelings to that guy? Are you...being rejected too?"


    She smiled at his query softly shaking her head in declination. "No...But my situation is probably worse than yours. If I confess my sincere emotions...I am afraid...I will even lose the cordial relationship that is between us right now... Not only I will be rejected...but...maybe...I won''t be able to see him ever again..." Her voice grew heavier as if her throat was getting constricted with all the glum feelings stifling her from inside.


    Ogling at her momentarily for a few seconds with his sad gaze, he scrunched his brows inquiring a bit perplexedly, "but why would he do so when you both are cordial towards each other?"


    "The reason is the same as yours too. He was sincere about a woman who would never love him back. Besides, he had...forbidden me from holding any emotions towards him but...I failed to keep my word and...I..." Her husky, shaky voice trailed off.


    He could evidently understand the immense heartache that was choking her insides. Taking a heavy sigh out, he put his arm around her shoulder patting her once to console her sad heart. "Miss Clara, I have never considered you as a mere acquaintance. Your warm behavior is kind of similar to my sister so...somehow...I can precisely understand your pain. You know...the saddest part of life is we keep falling for someone even though there is no guarantee that our love will be reciprocated the way we want it to be... But...Even though we despise the outcome...we can''t control our feelings..."


    Apprehending his soft voice, she shifted her teary eyes at him keeping a sad smile intact to hold herself from crying out aloud. Nodding to his remark, she reciprocated tenderly, "even though it hurts so bad...but still...we can''t give up on them and wish to see them happy though we will suffer like hell. It sucks...right?"


    "Indeed. So...let''s have a toast to forget about our fucked up life at least for today. So that...we can get a boozed sleep tonight. Okay?" He smiled wider to cheer her up a little, hiding his sorrow from her.


    Nodding her head in response, both of them stood up and steadily walked out of the premises chit-chatting among themselves. As soon as they headed out, a shadow-like figure who was observing them hiding behind a large boundary wall of the office soon stepped out forward. The person who was observing them was no one other than Calix, the ruthless alpha of the Lupos.


    Wearing a full-framed square big goggle, a rolled-sleeve white shirt with blue denim, lowering his brown hair down he had disguised himself as a young man while watching over them. As soon as he walked forward, a wide cryptic smile appeared on his lips as he continued looking at them standing behind.


    Slowly, he took his phone out of his denim and dialed someone quickly. The one on the other side answered him quickly. "Hello, Master?"


    "Don''t kill Beck right now." He commanded in a deep, hoarse voice.


    "But Master...Meghan...is already dead..." The person quivered from the other side.


    "I knew it from the very beginning that...she won''t make it through. Well...to push someone on the verge of insanity...to provoke someone in the cruelest way as possible, you gotta snatch his precious one from him. That''s what I did... I never wanted to kill him this quick before making complete use of such a competent hellhound...but snatched away his only beloved support." He tossed a cruel smile while murmuring his answer.


    "As...As you wish...Master." The voice seemed to be stuttered in fear.


    He disconnected the call quickly and the smile on his face widened further. "So...it''s time I have to step in the game of chase! For that...I must meet you...my little Clara..." He murmured deeply.

 Chapter 211 - Defied The Destiny

    "Wh...What? Be...Beheaded?" In a quivering husky voice, her lips trembled a little as Eva enlarged her shocked eyes while gawking at Zeus intensely. For a moment, it seemed as the time stopped around them while two grieved souls were helplessly peering at each other.


    Slowly, Zeus took a small step forward and groped both of her hands tight. She was a bit shivering out of trepidation which he could sense precisely. Caressing her hand, he tried to project a fake small smile to reassure her first, "Eva...you...you don''t have to think so hard...Nothing...Nothing such as that would be happening to us..."


    "Wh...What?"


    "I will do anything to be with you forever, Eva. I promise...I will...I will do every possible thing to fight against our odd destiny. I believe in the power of love...I do know...we will fight together in this hard journey and work it out... I believe...someday... I will be able to help my pack realize...that how much we...we mean for each other...But, I...I am not going to give up on us...I am not going to leave your side, no matter what..." He was desperately trying to console her terrified heart, in the utmost gentle way as possible.


    "Wh...What is wrong...with you? A...Are you crazy?" Whimpering out in a teary husky voice, her shivering left hand clenched his arm tightly, gawking in awe. "How...How could you ask me to marry you ev...even knowing about our dreadful destiny ahead?"


    "Eva--"


    "How could you chose me even after knowing some...someday...it may cost you your own life? How can you be so blinded in love? Ha...Have you really lost your mind? How can you love me even after knowing the ill fate my father had to face? How could..you..." Her trembled voice trailed off as warm tears of helplessness streamed down her cheeks.


    Softly cupping her side face with his broad, thick palm, he squinted his teary eyes before responding resolutely to her, "you are...everything to me. I don''t care what ahead we gotta face but...I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you, that''s what I have vowed. An alpha...can never go back on his words... I have already chosen you as my other half and I...I will never love any other woman other than you...till my last breath." A sad tremulous smile appeared on his lips while he was consoling her.


    "But I care about you!! I can''t let you do everything on your own even after knowing...what''s ahead of you, Zeus!!" She shrieked out fervently, clinching her grip tighter on his arm. She had started sobbing bitterly with her pale white skin turning into a red hue of despair.


    "We...We both belong to two separate worlds... I...I have finally realized why...why Ivory...Mr. Czar...why they were against our relation! Mr. Czar tried to warn me several times...but...I couldn''t understand his indication...Fuck! I finally understand...it was forbidden from the very start, Zeus! Think rationally...this cruel world will never accept our love! Think about the harsh path...my dad had to choose for the sake of his love! And...And you...you are their alpha! The consequences will be severe for you if you abandon your pack for my sake... In this cruel world of regulations...Ultimately...you will be the one...who will suffer brutally, Zeus!" Shaking his arm out of desperation, she was wailing out glancing at his sorrowful gaze.


    "Even...Even if they never accept us...we can forever live in hiding, Eva! We...We will move somewhere...very far from my pack...where...they will never reach us! I...I will make sure that they never find us! We...We will be truly happy by then...We...We will live an ordinary life...just as you wished for... I will...forever disguise myself as a human if it needs to keep you by my side..." As his lips quivered while answering her, warm bereaved tears dripped down the corner of his eyes. Unknowingly, he tightened his grip on her arm as if the mere thought of letting her go was haunting his mind.


    Watching him all helpless and fragile right before her eyes, she gasped out a huff of air and shook her head horizontally a few times mumbling on her own. "No...I...I won''t be able to survive...if...if something happens to you, Zeus! You shouldn''t have met me in the first place...hic...Why did you have to save me from committing suicide...hic...You should go away from me...Go away...Don''t be with me...hic...I...I can''t watch you bearing these horrendous consequences...I...I will live somehow on my own...but I can''t let you suffer...I can''t let you walk...on the same path of sin...my dad had committed...You should go away! You shouldn''t be with me...Please...go far away...hic...please..." She sobbed squealing helplessly pushing him with her frail arm while trying to shove him away from her.


    The more she tried to push him away, the more he tried to hold onto her tight. All of a sudden, he tugged her in his broad chest hugging her firmly in his warm embrace. Confined in his arms, she was gritting her jowls, sobbing helplessly while he was involuntarily shedding his tears resting his chin on her shoulder groove.


    "There...There is no point in living...if...I lose you, Eva... I...I am sorry...But...I want to be greedy this time...I want to seek my happiness...with you..." Clasping his arm around her slender waist, he mumbled in a tear-soaked pitch.


    After a moment of emotional outburst in his arms being absolutely destitute, slowly she drifted herself away from him by pushing his body against her arm. She seemed bereaved, her grimace was soaked in tears, and watching her shoving him away from her, his heart was pounding hard in angst.


    "Eva?"


    "I...I want to be alone for some time..." Her husky, deep low voice sounded very intense as she was lowering her face down avoiding eye contact with him.


    "But why? Where...Where do you want to go? I...I will go with you--"


    "Zeus, please!!" Before he could interpret his entire words she shrieked in a teary voice raising her eyes up to glare at his vulnerable dark eyes. "I...I said that I want to be alone! And...don''t come after me...please! I beg of you!"


    Squealing out in a loud despaired voice, she slowly unleashed her arm from his grip leaving him absolutely numb for a few seconds. Peering at her with his sad, teary gaze he continued looking at her from behind as she turned around from him. Slowly, at a wobbly distressed state, she continued marching forward barefoot on the cold desolated shore.


    Gawking at her from behind, tears rolled down his dilated, murky eyes as he clenched his fist being unable to take a single step forward.


    After keeping his anticipated silence for a while, he screeched out aloud from behind, "I will wait for you right here, Eva! You...You gotta come back for me! I...I will...wait!!" His grievous voice echoed simultaneously with the mild rustling sound of the waves drifting towards the shore.


    Holding a wrecked heart, she continued walking forward and didn''t even turn behind to look at him once. Standing all alone, he watched her slowly disappearing from his sight enduring the painful heartache inside.


    ...


    "Let her be alone...my child..."


    All of a sudden, hearing the sudden soft voice behind him, with a heavy flinch Zeus turned behind to witness a shocking sight! Right before him, wearing a slit, long white shimmering silk gown, a tall beautiful woman was standing with tender smiley eyes on her divine, oval-shaped face. On the top of her head, she had worn a heavenly sparkling luminous tiara with a crescent moon engraved on it. A soothing white glow was illuminating out of her entire body which made her look ethereally beautiful in that desolated murky night. Zeus evidently understood that she was their divinely sacred Moon Goddess, Selena, though it was his very first time actually meeting her.


    "Things must be very hard for her right now to endure...let her be alone...for her own sake." Slowly, she walked a step closer to him mumbling in a warm voice.


    Watching his own deity right before him, a flare of immense anger surged inside his heart vigorously. Narrowing his teary gaze at her, he grumbled out of wrath, "ar...are you here to enjoy the misery...we are bearing inside?"


    "No...my child..."


    "You...You call us your child...then...why did you have to bless us with such a miserable fate? What kind of destiny we are born with? Why...Why did you have to be so cruel to me!?" He screamed furiously at her, shedding his tears.


    She sadly looked at him straight in his eyes and took a heavy sigh out. Walking a step closer, she whispered genially, "it''s no use of blaming me, my child. It was you...who dared to change your destiny. It was you...who...invincibly altered the lines of both of your fates."


    "Wh-What?"


    "Let me tell you the truth. She was meant...to die on that fateful night along with her parents...But...it was you...who decided to save her... On that fatal night...you sealed a path of misery that was never meant for you. You defied the destiny you were born with...


    Why did you do it, Zeus?" Frowning her brows, she mumbled slowly.

 Chapter 212 - The Memory

    [Flashback]


    "Mom...Dad...Why are we leaving Puglia in such a hush tonight? It''s...not even been long since we came to this town... The people here...the ambiance...everything was so pleasant. Then... Why do we...need to leave again?"


    Before stepping inside the car standing under the cloudy yet murky night sky, 16 years old highschooler Eva queried both Eleana and Stevan who were busy loading several boxes of their packed stuff inside the car. From their facial eloquence, they seemed very intense and palpitated.


    For a few seconds, Eleana halted at her question and stood still lowering her eyes down. Stevan sneaked a quick glance at her and touched her shoulder to comfort her gently, "get inside the car first, honey. You...sit with Eva in the back."


    Closing the car boot after finishing uploading their packed cartons, he slowly walked towards Eva and knelt down before her on the ground. Gawking at her father curiously, she blinked her eyes a few times before he softly patted her head with his broad, warm hand.


    "We will go to a far better town than this one..my princess. I am sorry...but...we can''t stay at any place for...a long period. But...I do believe, one day, we don''t have to keep moving elsewhere anymore and leave our lives together peacefully at a quiet, warm place." He whispered and stood upon the ground taking a deep sigh out. With his hand gesture, he indicated Eleana to get inside the car quickly along with Eva.


    Frowning her face, she obediently followed her mother in the back seat. Exhaling a small sigh, she curiously asked her mother, "what about Clara and Felix, mom?"


    "We still had some packings to finish and...Clara assured us to finish it for us. Felix and Clara will catch up with us soon in a cab so, we thought of heading out first along with you, honey." She mumbled in a timid voice, holding a small smile on her roseate lips. Though she was trying to smile before her, Eva could understand it evidently, both her parents were strongly bothered with something inside.


    Stevan was driving the car quite fast heading straight towards the desolated Bella Cino street. It was around past evening with the hooting sound of owls growing much intense around them. Eleana was consistently checking both the window sides putting her arm around Eva, embracing her softly. Through the front mirror of the car, she precisely noticed that her father was scowling his face, seeming a bit restless.


    "Mom...Dad...why do you both seem so worried? I-Is something wrong?" Unable to suppress her impertinence, she murmured out the question quite bluntly peeping both at them. Hearing her query, an anticipated silence of a few minutes persisted inside the car which even made the situation very dense.


    "Mom--"


    "Eva," before she could interpret, Eleana tugged her closer inside her embrace and placed a soft peck on her forehead tossing a sad smile. "You made our family complete. After Felix was born...we were eagerly longing for a daughter and our prayers were answered when the deities gave you to us. You are very...precious to us...honey." She caressed her hair, conversing her words in a sullen voice.


    Suddenly, a tinge of unknown fear aroused inside her heart as she witnessed her sad wide smile. Groping her arm tightly, she impatiently glanced at her father once who seemed to be looking at Eva through the glass with that similar kind of morose grin like her mother. It was evident that they were indeed concealing something from her which made her even more curious.


    "Wh-Why do both of your smiles seem so sad to me? Mom...Dad...has something happened? Are you really hiding something from me, mom?" Knitting her brows, she sounded a bit fearful.


    Eleana stroked her black shimmering hair with her fingertips and slowly tapped her hand while she was holding onto her tightly. "Honey, I think...I should say this to you now... No matter what happens ahead...always do remember your mom and dad will be always watching over you... Everything we did was to always protect our dear children from evil eyes and...though we were helpless about it...


    But...If...If someday in your life a time comes when you have to become a stronger version of yourself to protect the one you love...don''t be afraid and go for it. That''s what your dad and I have done for our children as well as for ourselves. Don''t ever feel sorry for yourself. Remember, you are our precious angel who blessed us with our happiness, and...we really desired to stay with you until the very last.


    Wherever you will go...we believe you will only bring happiness with you. I am sure of it." Her deep voice shivered a little as if she was trying to hold a surge of tears inside her throat, smiling at her with her dreary eyes.


    Apprehending her melancholic voice, a dreadful thought of suspicion aroused inside her heart leaving her speechless for a few seconds. Clenching her mom''s warm hand, she mumbled out in a quivered pitch, "wh-why does it...seems like a goodbye...to me? Mom...we are only going to another town to start a new life, right? You...You both have promised to stay with me always! Then...why does it sounded so sad? Wh-What''s happening..." Impatiently shifting her gaze towards her father, she stammered out, "da-dad? Why are you s-silent? We...We are just changing the to-town again, right? W-We are alw-always gonna stay together...right?"


    Holding a pair of tearful eyes, he turned his head around to peek a glance at Eva and widened his smile on his pale face, "of course...princess. No matter...where we are...we will be always together. We...are a beautiful family...after all." His dubious low voice was clouded with a dismal look in his gaze.


    "Wh-What? Why are you both---"


    Her panic-stricken voice trailed off suddenly as she noticed a few shadow-like creatures were surpassing their car from both sides on that desolated street! Those creepy creatures seemed like certain animal figures intentionally following them around from the dark forest located on both sides.


    "WHAT''S THESE!?" Shuddered in fear, Eva screamed out aloud sneaking a glance at that spooky figures.


    Enlarging her pupils in horror, Eleana immediately groped her tightly in her embrace. She was trembling in fear and murmured out perplexedly, "do-don''t worry honey...I will protect you...with my own life--"


    Before she could finish her words suddenly, a herd of those shadow-like creatures jumped before their car meticulously. "SHITTT!! NOOO!" Yelling out aloud in fright, Stevan tried to pull off the brakes to halt the running motion.


    CRASH!! SCREEECCCHHHH!


    But with the unexpected commotion created, in the flick of a second, the entire car lost its balance and flipped over the ground with Eleana wrapping Eva in her arms shielding her till the very end.


    ....


    Sitting on a giant rock beside the whirling sound of waves drifting to the shore, Eva was reminiscing the last painful memories of that fateful night when her parents met their dreadful destiny. Shedding tears all alone, she was lowering down her eyes sobbing bitterly.


    "It was all an attempted execution! It was all planned...that night...fuck...


    Both of you...were aware of your approaching dread... Yet...Why I couldn''t realize it earlier! Even in your last moments..you wanted to spend it with me till your end...But...All of you betrayed me! Why didn''t you keep your promise...hic...Why couldn''t I realize your fears at that moment...Why! Hic..." Mumbling on her own she slowly lifted her teary eyes up to glance at the starry sky, gritting her jowls in angst.


    "What am I gonna do now? All I am left within this world now...is him... How...How can I let Zeus do the same thing after...what happened to us? Our...Our beautiful family shattered to pieces...I lost...all of you... So how can let him love me... Tell me at least! What should I do...Mom? Dad!? Why did you all leave me here!?" Whining out her complaints, she was wrecked down in tears, clenching her chest which was aching with tremendous sharp agony.


    .


    "If someday in your life... a time comes when you have to become a stronger version of yourself to protect the one you love...don''t be afraid and go for it. Remember, never feel sorry for yourself. You are...our precious one."


    .


    All of a sudden, her mother''s last words flashed upon her mind while she was mourning hard shutting her eyes tight. Slowly, she lifted her tear-soaked chin up. Taking a heavy sigh out, wiping her teary eyes she gasped out a huff of air looking at the dark horizon with a blank gaze.


    Clenching her fist, her lips trembled as she mumbled, "I...finally understand what you asked me...mom.


    Dad abandoned his own pack...to protect us above all.


    On that night...you shielded me with your body, mom enduring the severe injury alone.


    I...failed to protect Felix...but...now... I...have to protect Zeus, no matter what...


    I won''t sit still this time... I...must avenge your deaths too... Mom...Dad...Felix... There is no time being a weakling..." She scrunched her gaze holding a dense look in her puffy eyes.

 Chapter 213 - The Warning

    "What...What did you...say?" Reversing an unsteady step back from her, Zeus quivered his lips surging his eyes wider at her in disbelief. He had a gravely concerned look on his grimace fading in angst.


    Selena crossed her slender soft arms behind her back and straightened her posture keeping her anticipated silence for a while. Taking a small sigh out, she responded to him mildly, "sometimes...acceptance of some truths are bitter than our entire existence... You heard it right my child. She was fated to die on that dark night along with her parents. But...you dared to commit something even horrible! How could you...challenge your destiny by sealing that poor child in the lines of your fate?"


    "Th...That means...she...wasn''t fated to live this life anymore? Wh...What the hell is that? Ho-How you could decide such a cruel fate for her? How could you bless her with such a short life? What...What would have happened if I didn''t save her that night!? How could you!" He reciprocated aloud at her in his dominant furious tone, swirling his dark pupils.


    For a moment she kept looking at his wrath-filled eyes and a small sad smile etched on her lips. "Fate is cruel to everyone. Everyone has to bear their own part of their misery written in the destiny they are born with. Similarly...Not everyone gets to live a long life either. Millions of people lose their loved ones every day but they accept the pain and live with it forever. It''s the law of this universe you all reside and...no one is ever allowed to defy their fate..." She whispered in a calm and composed manner, walking a step closer.


    "Aren''t...deities supposed to be protecting us?" A scornful sad smile widened on his grimace as he scrunched his brows resembling quite offended at his own deity. "We...Romanos...have served you as our guardian for so long...and...this is what we deserve in return? Alphas...are known as the blessed child of the Moon Goddess... So...I want to ask the divine Moon Goddesses standing right before me...


    Why? Just why did you decide such a cruel destiny for the person who means the world to me? What kind of blessing is this? Aren''t you supposed to be kind towards your children!?" He grumbled out aloud in a reverberated noise that echoed the entire desolated shore.


    She exhaled a heavy sigh out, gawking at him with her sad gaze before rustling to him. "I can feel your sadness, pain, and anger that is stirring you from inside. You...can resent me all you want... But...I indeed wanted to protect you from walking over such a miserable choice of fate, my child. I had granted you another chance to rectify your decision once again."


    "Wh...What?"


    "She had chosen to end her life on her own on that night. But...once again...you intervened between her destiny and tangled yourself with her. Was it a wise choice to let go of your chance again?" Frowning her eyebrows, she inquired him first.


    A sharp piercing pain stabbed his heart hearing out her cold words. Swooned in shock, his eyes swelled up with tears and his jowls trembled a little as he reciprocated, "th-that means...you were the one...who made her feel so damn sick of her own life that...she was about to jump before a car?"


    "It was her choice. I just...stayed silent and wanted to let it happen so that...I could save you from this painful fate, Zeus. But once again--"


    "Do you even deserve to be called a savior?" Before she could finish her remark, Zeus screamed at her aloud, intrigued with immense angst fuming inside him. Warm droplets of tears were rolling down his cheeks depicting the bitter agony breaking him apart. "You...You wanted to give me a chance...by taking away the person who is my everything? How...Just how can you be so cruel to her?"


    "I was afraid...that you will end up saving her life and choosing the path you can never escape from. And sadly...it all occurred. Zeus, you may be resenting me now...but you know it yourself too. Though she carries the sacred wolf bloodline...but...she exists as a human! Humans are meant to be with humans and the same goes for werewolves too..." The white luminescent glow illuminating from her seemed to be brightened a little as if she was quite restless. Her words were cold and appeared much provocative to him.


    He clenched his fist and ardently shook his head in declination, fixing his glare at her. "I don''t care! Even if...the world...the universe turns their back against us...I will still keep on holding to Eva and seek our happy ending! She...is my eternal mate and an alpha can''t turn back on his words!" He snapped hard.


    A stiff small smirk carved on her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest, responding back to him abruptly, "how can a pitiful mortal and an eminent alpha dream seek a happy ending? Don''t you know...what kind of tragic ending awaited for her parents...who earnestly sought a happy life for themselves?"


    "It was a murder!!" Squinting his narrowed fiery gaze at her, he yelled in a dark, hoarse voice intensely. "They...They were intentionally killed! And...on that stormy night, standing amidst the heavy rainfall I had sworn on their grave...that...I am not going to forgive those who...snatched those innocent loved ones from my Eva. I have lived till now with the rage for avenging my granny''s death and now...I will find those beasts who did this them and...butcher them with my own claws! I won''t let Uncle Stevan''s death go in vain--"


    "Will you be really able to do it?" Before he could finish narrating his heartfelt words of vengeance, she interrupted in between holding an ambiguous dark gaze towards him.


    He could evidently notice the mystic expression engraved on her face and curiously pointed it though, "wh..what do you...mean?"


    "What if the truth about the monster you will be hunting for will be too painful for you to bear, my child?" Her timid voice sounded a bit morose including the smile on her face fading away slowly.


    "Wh...What do you...intend to mean?" Gasping out a heavy puff of breath, impertinently he walked a step closer to her impatiently rolling his dilated pupils. he understood her indication pointing towards a big secret which in return made him restless further. "What kind of truth do you mean? Please...Please tell me distinctly!"


    "I can''t." She smiled slowly shaking her head in declination with a pair of sad, dark eyes gawking at him. "Everything...will be happening with its own scheduled time and all we can do is accept it sooner or later. But...I am here today by myself to warn you today for the last time, Zeus. You are walking towards a fiery pit which will in the end ignite you thoroughly.


    Everything you have cherished...will be...taken away from you and you will be left with nothing but regrets... Sometimes, the deities are helpless when it comes to the fates of true love. I admit...both you and Eva have become each other''s sealed fate but the path you will walk together will be filled with pyres. Even after knowing how things will turn out to be... Do...you...still...want to stick to your choice?" Her cold, low pitch voice sounded quite gloomy along with her expression.


    A wide, dismal smirk lingered on his lips hearing her query as he stared invincibly at her for a moment. Taking a deep sigh out after an anticipated silence, he rustled in a timid note, "just now you said...even deities are helpless when it comes to true love... Then perhaps, you were already aware of my answer before even asking me."


    She stayed still momentarily with his answer, looking at him silently with a pained look in her wide shimmering eyes.


    "Even if you ask me a million times... I will stick with Eva till my very end... Even if my efforts turn out to be regrets one day...I will nevertheless sincerely, truly, and always love her. That''s my vow to myself.


    If...you are really concerned about my happiness...then...just...just let me stay with her. Don''t ever take her away from me...that''s all I want to ask for myself from you... Mother." His deep voice trembled a bit with his enlarged eyes glistening in tears as he kept looking at her.


    This time hearing his sincere plea, her eyes were saturated with tears and slowly she walked closer to him. Placing one of her arms over his head, she patted him softly holding a teary smile on her face, "I wish...you could...really become happy someday, my child."


    As soon as she reverberated her polite words, in the blink of an eye, she dissipated into thousands of fireflies scattering all around him. The dark ambiance he was standing all alone was lit up with those luminous flashes from the fireflies which evoked a divine, enchanting aura around him. Bearing with a sad smile, he lowered his eyes over the cold sand as tears streamed down involuntarily.

 Chapter 214 - The Story

    The slow, mild rustling sound of the waves was reverberating the entire beach creating an undefined numbness all around. Steadily barefoot over the cold sand, Eva came walking to the exact same place where she had left Zeus a while ago. Her mind was a bit relieved from all the dark thoughts clouding her intensely and that''s when she decided to return back to him.


    As she approached closer, standing a few feet apart, she noticed that Zeus was squatting down on the sand, folding his knees upwards supported by his arms tight. His soft, shimmering black hair bangs were whirling over his radiant white skin on his forehead. He had a blank gaze in his dark eyes while looking towards the endless sea. However, he seemed quite pained from inside regarding something compared to the dull expression he was holding onto. Taking a small sigh out, Eva slowly walked closer towards him and quietly sat right next to him.


    Suddenly perceiving her arrival, he flinched a bit quickly shifting his eager gaze towards her. She had a small smile etched on her lips and after squatting down she whispered timidly, "did you actually think I...am gonna leave you again?"


    Frowning his jowls, he slowly lowered his eyes down shaking his head horizontally in declination.


    "I am glad you didn''t... Thank you...for always waiting for me." A spark of tears shimmered in her dark eyes as she conveyed her words, tenderly gawking at him.


    Keeping his grimace frowned for a few seconds, he sat still as a pillar. From his gesture, he seemed to be absorbed in some dubious thoughts and she could sense it precisely.


    "Zeus--"


    "You must have...several queries in your mind Eva...isn''t it?" Interrupting her halfway, he chose to speak first.


    She couldn''t deny his interpretation and slowly averted her eyes down. Indeed, her mind was crowded with several queries but she couldn''t bring herself to ask him all. She was worried that her interrogations could further elevate his concerns regarding her.


    "The first question you must be wondering, was our relation always bitter with the humans? The answer is...no." Holding a serious appearance on his pale eloquence, he shifted his gaze back to the rustling blue waves drifting towards their toes on the sand.


    "No?" She seemed quite startled as she reciprocated out quite aloud. "Weren''t you all had the eternal enmity with humans?"


    "We had a deep bond of friendship...cherished with trust and affection."


    "Friendship?" She rolled her eyes in awe repeating after him loudly.


    A small sad smirk appeared on the edges of his lips as he whispered along, "there was a time when...humans and we Romanos used to cohabitate in the same Mountain Village. We didn''t have any boundaries between us. We used to trust them with our whole hearts and hoped that they would feel the same. But...sadly...we were fooled by them, or in other words...they betrayed us brutally."


    "But...why?" Her enlarged eyes seemed filled with glum as she queried him abruptly, gulping down her saliva.


    "Because...those foolish humans chose greed over our sacred friendship." He narrowed his dark gaze seeming very intense from his voice.


    "Wh...What?"


    "At that time...we used to assemble our spiritual gemstones together before trading them with the other packs. We were basically sustained on hunting wild animals but exchanging those gems was an ancient mode of enhancing our physical strength to survive every resistance. However, in the human realm...those gems had a huge cost beyond our imagination. On the full moon nights of every month, the adults of the family would accumulate over the top of the mountains to perform the exchanging. Small wolf children were used to be left alone at home on those nights...


    But... on one such night...those humans...did something horrendous..." His dark voice was growing heavier as if the hidden agony stabbed in his heart was finally paving its way out through his words.


    She was growing quite anxious with every passing moment and slowly moved an inch closer to him. Groping one of his arms to provide him the virtuous comfort he deserved, she inquired softly, "what did they do?"


    "They set our village on fire." He grumbled out densely.


    "What?"


    "Those wicked humans wanted to get rid of those small children who were guarding their houses at that night. So...the easiest way they adapted was to burn them all and disappear with the gems stocked at our houses. Those gems couldn''t be burnt and will be easy for them to obtain, they were aware of this dark truth..." His eyes were fuming in wrath and his voice crooked a little while interpreting her.


    "Th-This is...despicable! Ho-How could they do it!" Quivered in angst, she mumbled.


    "Uncountable innocent small children were burnt alive...screaming and squealing for help! However, their merciless plan of theft backfired on them! The fire spread rapidly amidst the village covering almost every house in the area the wolves resided also spreading towards those human habitations. Painful, desperate cries of young children filled up the entire mountains and finally, the adults realized what horrendous crime was being committed in the village.


    My grandfather at that time was the alpha of our pack and the first one to rush into the village witnessing the bloody red fumes engulfing those small children. We were panicked and frantic to watch our children getting scorched to death! When everyone else was deadpanned in shock, without...caring about his own life, he...jumped into the fire to save the ones who were still alive. Among them...my father too was an innocent small child victim. He had lost his senses after his back shoulders were parched by that anomalous fire blaze.


    Risking his everything, my grandfather saved my dad and several other moderately burnt children of the pack. He...shielded them with his broad body and facing those deadly flames by himself. Those flares left critically burnt scars on the entire upper half of the body that were absolutely incurable. Ultimately...after saving those poor lives...my...grandfather himself suffered a painful death..." He took a heavy sigh out, rolling his dark eyes in despair and gawking at the sea with an emptiness in his eyes.


    Involuntarily, tears streamed down her eyes as she tightly clasped his arm apprehending the story she never dreamed to be true. Twitching her jowls, she slowly quivered, "I...I am so...sorry..."


    "On that night, along with that fire, we lost our biggest strength along with the lives of those small children... My granny lost her beloved mate... My dad lost his father and his guardian at such a young age and our pack lost the greatest leader we ever had. When...he was breathing his last on my granny''s arm... his final painful words were, ''never trust those humans...''


    We all understood who stabbed us brutally in the back and that''s how our enmity began. The price of our pure friendship we had to pay with the life of the beloved leader we ever had." Slowly he shifted his eyes at her while rustling in a polite voice.


    "I...I never knew...you...you had such a painful story behind your hatred, Zeus. Why did you never tell me about it?" Wrapping her small fingers within his cold palm firmly, she murmured frowning her brows.


    "I had heard it all from...Uncle Steve..." A sad smirk escaped his lips as he retaliated to her query. "He too was a survivor from that grave accident on that night." Holding her hand intently, he asserted.


    Immediately, Eva scrunched her brows looking a bit intense from her cast. It seemed as if a certain thought had hit her mind and eagerly, she questioned him back, "my dad had a huge burnt scar mark on his left elbow... So it means...he too was saved by your grandfather?"


    "Both of our fathers survived that heinous execution attempt at the cost of his own life, Eva." He tossed out a deep sigh of dismal, averting his deep gaze away from her.


    Keeping her anticipated silence with a pounding heart, she slowly tapped his arm trying to comfort his bereaved soul a bit. "Oh...Oh gosh...I...I don''t know what to say anymore or how to console your irreplaceable loss...but...I can now evidently understand the hatred your pack bears against humans... And, that''s rational."


    "That invincible agony of betrayal made us bitter...the way we have become now. With his death...it caused a huge scar when we became feeble and unable to put our trust in anyone anymore. And that''s when...the Lupos arose as our biggest rivals." His grimace was faded into a void of darkness as his deep voice grew much heavier.


    "Lupos?" Gulping anxiously, she reciprocated after him.


    "Everyone we trusted...ended up betraying us. The pack...whom we considered as our faithful partners who traded those gems with us, attacked us with their force as soon as grandpa died because we were at our weakest point at that moment. We lost several wolves who died fighting for us and somehow, we were forced to leave that village to save ourselves...


    But soon after...those bastards not only murdered my granny right before my eyes but also...framed Czar''s innocent mother for treason that resulted into...her execution." He mumbled.


    "Tr-Treason? Czar''s mother was...framed for treason!?" She shrieked out loud, gasping in awe.

 Chapter 215 - The Third Woman

    "Yes... Lady Madonna became an innocent scapegoat of a bitter conspiracy that those bastard Lupos plotted against us..." A deep, sad voice escaped his lips as he slowly shifted his dark gaze towards Eva who seemed terribly shocked by his unexpected revelation at that moment.


    "Wh...Why?" Her heart was throbbing hard in palpitation as she murmured.


    "They knew it well... she was my dad''s biggest weakness and perhaps the only woman...he ever loved in his long life..." Making a sour face, he slowly whispered lowering down his grimace.


    She scrunched her brows looking very impertinent from her expression. Drifting her hand from his arm, she gulped her saliva while ogling at him anxiously with a thousand queries rising in her mind.


    "My mom and dad are both alphas paired by our celestial alpha so that...a strong, true-blood alpha could be born who will lead the pack after my father, i.e...me. My grandpa was true blood like me but my father wasn''t because...my granny was a beta. By the law of nature, true blood alphas are considered to be strongest among all. At that moment, the elders of our pack were worried for the future of Romanos after the cruel invasions by our rivals.


    To give birth to me, they had to obey the command of our elders and chose each other as their mates. But...their hearts...weren''t meant for one another..." Taking a heavy glum sigh of despair, he was squirming his fingers over the cold sand, narrating his heartfelt story.


    "That means...they had to sacrifice their hearts for the...sake of their pack? If it''s so then do you mean...they really...never loved each other?" Keeping her anticipated silence for a while, she murmured in a low, curious tone.


    He nodded his head tenderly, approving her query after a small pause. Everything he had to go through since his childhood was a harsh experience of his life and she could understand it evidently, through his silence.


    "Zeus--"


    "But the troubles sparked in their marriage when Lady Madonna came into my dad''s life. She...was a beautiful woman but a weak omega in our hierarchy...who used to serve in our Romano Castle as a lowly maid." A deep sigh of grief rustled out of his mouth as he spoke. Eva sat absolutely still for a moment, rolling her enlarged eyes in awe while apprehending him.


    "How...did they find...each other?" She whispered.


    "That''s called...destiny." He smirked but somehow that smile depicted the sadness buried in. "My dad used to be fond of gardening and my mother never considered his likings as her own. Back there in our castle in the UK, we had a large garden with every seasonal flower blooming with an enchanted beauty. And, she was the one who was in the care of the garden because she liked to cherish that floral beauty by herself. Just like they comprehended each other''s hobbies and fondness towards nature...without even realizing the consequences...they fell into the trap of forbidden love." His grimace grew a bit darker as he reciprocated.


    "Goodness..." She gulped anxiously with the whirling sound of waves turning the dark and silent ambiance a bit dense.


    "Neither it was possible to accept the budding affection between the powerful alpha and a lowly omega nor my father couldn''t abandon his pack. Though I was a young child back then, I could see the yearned happiness in my father''s eyes when he used to be with her. But on the other hand...I could see the immense hatred in my mom''s eyes towards them. It used to make me curious...why the woman he is smiling with isn''t my mother? But...I was too naive to realize that she was his long-awaited bliss." He sighed holding a gloomy expression in his pale grimace.


    Her heart was stinging with a pitiful sensation towards him. Softly tapping his shoulder, he tried to console his grievous soul. "I...can understand...how helpless...you must have felt at that moment."


    "The time soon arrived when the resentment towards them building inside my mom''s heart had crossed every limit. Everyone was already aware of the forbidden love that had been budding within them and was deeply offended by their alpha. Somehow dad helped her to escape out of the castle providing a small shelter for her up in the mountains to keep her safe from evil eyes and that''s where...Czar was born as my beta half-brother.


    She had to become the third woman in his life accepting the bitter truth that their love would never be approved by the Romanos, especially when my dad already had a family of his own. For the rest of her life, she had to live as a sinister, alone up in the mountains but she admitted it all for his sake. But my dad never wanted to turn away from his responsibilities from Czar. Sometimes...he used to take me along with him to see her so that...I could play with my own brother. I was happy to watch him growing up slowly.


    But...fate is...indeed cruel to everyone.


    My dad still had a feeble hope buried inside his heart that someday she would be allowed again inside the Romano Castle but...his dreams were painfully crushed on the hands of Lupos when they murdered my granny..."


    Fretting her jowls with a terrified expression on her faded face she continued gasping out in awe, with her still gaze fixed at him. She was scrunching her brows and clinching her grip on his arm, unable to suppress her curiosity.


    "How...did it happen?" Her husky voice quavered a little.


    "On that fateful day...my granny suddenly wished to meet Czar after visiting our divine Mountain God temple. I was a powerless, small kid who obediently followed her command. But..." His words halted for a moment.


    "But?"


    Taking a deep sigh of despair out, he slowly continued, "on our way towards Lady Madonna''s cottage, we were attacked all of a sudden by a herd of brutal goons sent by the heinous alpha of Lupos back then... They started approaching towards a minor like me and to protect my life, my granny jumped before me." His dark enlarged eyes were clouded with immense glum.


    "Gosh!" Goosebumps started to appear all around her shivering body as she clenched her grip tighter on his arm. Zeus too seemed devasted while depicting his story as if for him, it all happened just yesterday.


    "And those bastards were exactly waiting for that moment! Mercilessly, they started stabbing my granny with their chisel-shaped claws leaving her smeared and ripped with blood. I was crying and begging before them to stop because...I was absolutely fragile before them... But...they didn''t stop.


    When they...finally killed my...beloved granny right before my eyes, I thought...it was my turn next... I shivered and helplessly hugged her blood bathed body with my trembling small arms.


    But...surprisingly, those bastards spared me and retreated from the spot! I was traumatized... I was too ignorant to realize that it...was all their plan plotted against my granny. They...just succeeded with their heinous crime..." His eyes were swelled up in tears as he continued gawking towards the waves, clenching his trembling right fist with the feeling of regret throbbing his insides.


    "Terrible... It was...absolutely terrible! How...Just how could they do that to you? How could they be so wicked!?" Frustrated from her core, she shrieked out involuntarily, impatiently rolling her dark pupils.


    "But it was just the beginning of the terrible incidents that followed after me..." His husky voice sounded very intense as he slowly averted his gaze up at the starry night sky. "At that time...even as a child, I was blamed to be a weak alpha who couldn''t do a single thing to protect the only beloved support I had in my life.


    A few days later... one of those goons involved in that incident was captured by our pack from the mountains."


    "Really? That''s brilliant! Then...did you all give him the death penalty he deserved?" Frivolously, she queried him.


    Suddenly, a dark sad smile appeared on his lips as he exhaled a heavy sigh out before answering. "Perhaps...if he wasn''t caught...then...things...would have been a bit different today..."


    "What?"


    "That jerk...alleged Lady Madonna''s name to be involved in the conspiracy claiming...that she was the one who joined hands with the Lupos to...get her killed... She was framed for the...heinous treason..." He whispered.


    His unexpected answer left her absolutely aphonic, deadpanned in shock for a while. Anxiously she blinked her lashes for a few seconds and quivered out, "th-that''s...rubbish! That makes no sense! It was such a ridiculous allegation! How could she kill the mother of the person she loved with her all might? She...even agreed to be the third woman of his life...Th-That''s so cruel!"


    "We all knew...it was a false accusation... But...everyone from our pack...turned their blind eyes on the truth because...they all wanted to get rid of a homewrecker like her... She cried, objected, and...begged before us to get her out of the prosecution. My dad...was unable to proclaim any verdict at that moment as...he was devastated in shock.


    But then... my mother... stepped in the incident as the former Luna of our pack." His dubious low pitch reverberated like an echo in the desolated beach.


    "P-Pardon?" She seemed a bit baffled.


    "She...together along with the remaining elders of Romanos...decided the death penalty for her..." He murmured, taking out a deep huff of despair.

 Chapter 216 - My Bliss

    "Wh...What? Death...penalty? By...your...mother?" Looking awestruck while rolling her teary eyes wider in shock, Eva slowly repeated his words after him in a crooked voice. She seemed to be in disbelief as her expression faded into mystic darkness.


    He nodded his head, gulping down his saliva. Tossing a heavy painful sigh out, he averted his gaze up at the night sky staring at the luminous stars. "The immense resentment budding up in her heart against my dad and Lady Madonna, finally erupted out like lava when she declared her verdict before the pack, leaving her speechless and shocked.


    Everyone...agreed with her decision except...my father. But...at that moment, it was impossible for him to reject her sentence since it involved his own''s mother''s murder! Helplessly...he begged before my mom to withdraw her decision...but her heart had already frozen from the wrath of his betrayal...


    But...little Czar had to endure the bitter consequences of this cold war. He was just...an innocent toddler.


    Lady Madonna gave up every ounce of hope on her life but...she desperately wanted to save small Czar or else...such a naive kid would have been killed too...


    On the night of her execution, Lady Madonna somehow locked Czar in the cottage she lived alone in the mountains and somehow, sneaked into our castle with utmost desperation to meet my dad for the very last time. And... I have helped her to meet him that night..." His dark voice sounded very gloomy while he sighed.


    She sat still beside gawking at him in wonder holding his hand firmly. Eva noticed that his hand was trembling a little as he was depicting his sad story. Clinching his arm tighter, she stayed silent trying to hearten him with her immense support.


    Tears started streaming down his morose dark eyes as he continued to rustle gazing up at above. "Surprisingly, I don''t regret how I helped her defying my mother that night to sneak into our castle. I was...very... desperate... I couldn''t save my granny but...at least I wanted to save my little brother from getting killed...


    There... she...handed my dad a letter expressing her last wish...asking him to take little Czar in with us since...he was carrying his own bloodline! My dad knew it would be their last goodbye and didn''t object a word at her. Silently they sobbed for a while lost in each other and without wasting a further second, she fled from the castle before anyone notices her as it could have caused a huge hassle...


    Before leaving...she hugged me one last time and asked me in tears...to look after Czar as a wise big brother... I watched her disappear into the woods... That was the very last time I saw her...


    Shortly after that, we came to knew that she was shot by arrows from behind by the castle guards and she slipped down a profound cliff... Her body was never retrieved..." His chapped lips were quivering on their own while he was narrating holding a wretched look in his blank eyes.


    Without even realizing it, her vision turned all blurry as her eyes were swelled up with those bitter tears streaming nonchalantly down. She closed her eyes, lowering down her grimace but her heart was aching in pain for the cruel fate Czar deserved at such an innocent, young age.


    "Since that day...I have never seen my dad smiling wholeheartedly...for even once! But...my heart was torn apart for Czar... When we rescued him from the cottage, crying his heart out like a small kid, he was begging before us to find his mother who was the only support he had hold onto...


    But I had no other choice... I had to act all cold and indifferent to make him strong like a rock... My mother...never accepted Czar for even a day and treated him in the utmost bitter way as possible... My heart ached to see him suffering. I objected to her maltreatment desperately. I have tried my very best to keep him together with us trying to act indifferent towards him before my mom...


    But the harshness he had to face since that age engraved those untreatable burning scars in his heart forever. My outer coldness made him despise me even more and..that''s not his fault at all. He had to suppress all his helpless pain inside and had to live a life he never wanted... Somehow he has learnt to fake a smile but I know it well...how badly broken his heart must have been...


    Eva you know...My regret is...I failed to keep the promise I made to Lady Madonna... She wanted me to become a wise brother for Czar but... I couldn''t...


    I have hurt him so much but...I never wanted to be let go of him trying every way possible to make him stay with us forever. The loathe he bears in his heart towards me, my mom, dad and our pack have turned him into an arrogant prick which he was never since the beginning... I still believe...the innocent and gentle heart inside him must have been alive...hiding somewhere...


    I feel so derelict... It''s so...frustrating..." Biting his lower lip, he was helplessly trying himself to break down into bitter sobbing before her as he asserted in a timid pitch.


    "I believe it too, Zeus!" Clamping his shivering cold arm, she tried to console him with her soft, teary voice. Slowly with her fingertips, she tried to wipe his tearful eyes sounding very calm, "I believe...Mr. Czar still has a kind heart hiding behind his domineering outer self. And I don''t think, he despises you from his core either, Zeus!"


    Hearing her considerate voice, he lifted his chin down from the horizon at her in wonder. "You...think so?"


    "I know so. Deep in his heart, I am sure...he must have been angry with you... Not only you but he must also have been annoyed with this world for all the cruel things he had to go through. But I am sure, he must have been aware of all the sacrifices you chose to bear for his sake until now... He must have been aware of the conflicted relationship you chose to bear with your mother for him! And... just because he doesn''t reveal...it doesn''t mean that he doesn''t feel it himself!


    It was him who took me to you on that night when you were suffering from pain inside the forest alone. He took me there because...he was obliviously worried about you, Zeus!


    I know it well now...He acts all crankier and vexatious from outside but he likes to do things secretively without anyone even realizing it. Even that morning, he arrived at my home to check up on you if you are doing well... He is definitely concerned about you too!" Her voice deflected very firmly along with the mild rustling sound of sea breeze and the waves drifting towards the shore.


    Lost in her shimmering dark eyes, Zeus was spellbound for a while gawking at her unknowingly. He could easily notice her true efforts to build up his confidence when he was on the verge of losing his self-determination.


    "Now I feel...why...he has grown sincerely fond of you, Eva. I think I know now...why he thinks of you similar to his mother..." A sad, trembling smile escaped his lips as he whispered.


    His unexpected answer made her a bit baffled. Blinking her lashes a few times in a row, she curiously asked, "si-similar to his mother? M-Me?"


    "Whenever my dad used to feel low...she would comfort him just like you. I could immediately see the bliss in his eyes which I can feel in my heart whenever I am with you... Perhaps...my dad would have been happier if he would have just fled away with her ignoring this shitty world and the fucked up responsibilities, rather than living his life like a living corpse..." Exhaling a heavy sigh of despair, he gripped her arm tighter mumbling slowly.


    For a moment, she stared at him without uttering a word and lowered her eyes down. She could evidently the pain that was churning down his insides and all she could do was comfort him from his grievous past.


    "But I am not going to let go of you...like my dad did..." Staring deep into her eyes he rustled those words in a tender, deep voice. "I had known today that hellhounds had sneaked into our resort and I just wanted to bid a proper goodbye to Mr Graham and Lady Olie with their funeral. Eva, I am sorry for being a bit late today when that hellhound tried to attack you but...I am glad to see you safe. I won''t be able to survive if something happens to you...


    No matter what lies ahead...just stay with me. All I want...is you in my life to breathe in this cruel world. You are my only hope and happiness for survival...remember it forever." Leaning his head on her shoulder, a sad smile escaped his lips he clutched her small arm with his fingertips emitting out a deep sigh.


    She smiled tenderly, tending her head down upon his head. Closing her eyes to feel the moment of bliss they were together in it. Nodding her head, she slowly murmured, "as long as I have you...I am going to fight with all my might against our fate, just like my dad did for my mom..


    And till my last day...my heart will belong to only you...I promise."


    ............


    But both of those innocent hearts were unaware of the ruthless destiny that lied ahead of them...

 Chapter 217 - Brother

    "Mi..ster... Eric, that woman...is a dumbhead...to reject a sincere...guy like you!! She must have her brain capped in her knees!! Why...are you concerned about her!? You...know...you deserve someone...better...ugh!!"


    After getting completely wasted after several rounds of drink, Eric was grabbing Clara by her shoulder, helping her to walk back home. Her steps were staggering and she was whining out her drunken rant in a loud, grumpy voice.


    "Clara...please get a hold of yourself! You can''t even walk properly...how are you still screaming!? I had advised you not to drink so much...Your head will be cracked open with a shitty hangover headache tomorrow morning!" Looking around the street while getting concerned, he mumbled out holding her hand a bit tighter to control her motion.


    "Ahhhrgghh, I am so fucked up...with this life!! Why...Why did I fall for someone...I was forbidden from? This is...frustrating, ugh! Neither...I can keep him...nor I can lose him!! Do...you...feel my pain, Mr. Eric?" Slowly turning her face towards him, she tried to blink her half-closed eyes making a sad expression while grumbling.


    "Yeah... Yeah... I have heard this almost a thousand times today... Gosh, how long do I have to keep walking being your physical assistance? Is your home still far away?" Intensely gazing across the desolated street they were walking by, he queried.


    "It''s...the last home...of this lane... But... I wanna drink more beers!! I just want to drown...in alcohols...so that...I don''t have to see the next...sunrise!! Please get me...more beers! I want the...pain in my heart to go away..." She whispered to him accompanied by some stinking hiccups.


    "Gosh, I am never drinking with you again! You are literally a troublemaker when you are too drunk! Ughh, I shouldn''t have let you drink like a broken heart fool! Pheww...we are almost near your house. After dropping you safely, I can finally head back home---"


    All of a sudden his rhetoric expression trailed off as his gaze locked upon a sight right in front of his eyes. Just below Clara''s apartment, a mystic, tall person, wearing a white denim shirt leaning his back against a wall. His concentration was fixed on his phone and as soon as he heard their footsteps, he raised his chin up and sternly sneaked a glance at them.


    "Now...who is this guy?" Frowning his brows curiously, he mumbled to himself peering his sharp gaze at him. Hearing his murmur, Clara too inquisitively scrunched her brows to get a distinct view of the person standing there.


    Slowly, putting his phone back into his pocket, the guy firmly walked closer to them holding a stern, masculine posture. He was no one other than Calix, who was impatiently waiting for Clara disguising himself as a handsome, young man. Wittily he adjusted the black-framed goggles on his face and tossed a small smile at them.


    "Who are...you?" Scrunching his brow ridge, Eric snapped out a quick question as he stood right before them meticulously glancing at Clara. She too seemed a bit baffled, ogling at the man blinking her lashes consistently.


    "And...how dare you...to ask me that?" A wicked wide smile prevailed on his lower jowls as he shifted his fierce glare towards Eric reciprocating him hoarsely.


    "Wh...What? How dare I am? What a nasty attitude! Wh-Who the heck are you punk? Wh-What were you doing standing below her home? Hey...spit it out quickly or I am going to call the cops!" Holding her arm tighter to protect her from the creepy guy, he furiously roared at him.


    "Pffftt!" All of a sudden, a squeal of tantalizing simper escaped his lips. Calix quickly covered his smile with his broad palm and responded with a roasted gesture, "Woah...such a mere puny human is threatening me now! You are...an interesting guy indeed!"


    "Pu-Puny human? You called me puny...ho-how dare you nasty prick!? You...You sound like a psycho and you dare to call me punny? Don''t you have manners for elders!? How old are you? I bet...you must be a college student! How much you have seen the life you think? Do you have more experience than me? You nuisance! What business do you have with her?" Fussing out his displeasure at him, he sounded very stern glaring at him from head to toe. While as, Clara stayed absolutely still monitoring Calix sharply with a curious grimace.


    Suddenly, the amused smile on his face disappeared completely and veiled darkness prevailed within his dark brown eyes as he scowled at him. "Are you her date?" He asked.


    "What a ridiculous assumption, you punk! W-We are colleagues! She...is like a small sister to me! How dare you question our relation? And why the fuck you aren''t answering me? Who the hell are you?" He sounded terribly vexed, frowning his face at him.


    Slackly Calix walked a step closer to him and leaned his face a bit closer to his ears. In a dark voice, he murmured to him with a cryptic smirk, "you are like her brother...but I am her blood brother, you annoying insect!"


    Hearing the sudden change in his cold, obscure voice, a chill of shiver ran down his spine. Quickly drifting a step away from him, he gulped his saliva before fretting his face at him, "wh-what? What the heck you are blabbering? She never had a brother! Who...Who are you actually?" Eric was getting intensively concerned for her as he clutched her arm tighter. Learning out his unexpected statement, Clara surged her brown pupils wider while gawking at Calix in wonder.


    Calix held the vicious smirk on his face and deeply stared into his eyes rolling his pupils wider. All of a sudden, his pupils flashed into dominant alpha red color as he invincibly used his hypnotic powers on him.


    "Before I slit your throat in a fraction of a second, get lost from her. I am not in a mood today to play with blood...so I am sparing your life. Be grateful to me and go..." He rustled in a deep note.


    Clara''s senses were returning back from her drunken state and watching him using his supernatural powers on him, she shuddered with fear. Locking his gaze with him for a few seconds, immediately his eyes darkened with his powers and Eric halted his speech. He froze like a rock for a moment and obediently he released his grasp from her arm. Just like a submissive slave, he bowed his head before him mumbling his words, "as you wish...master."


    Watching the drastic change within him, an ardent chuckle escaped his lips as he tapped his shoulder once before answering him. "Good. Humans should always bow down their heads before us. And...you should do the same. Think that you have dropped Clara home and now go back as if nothing happened. Don''t even remember me, okay?"


    "Yes, master." He bowed before him again and turned behind slowly walking away from them. Watching him following his commands like a puppet, Clara unknowingly staggered a step back from him immersed in fear. Calix quickly sneaked a peek at her and tossed a devilish broad smirk.


    "Wh-Who...are you..." Her shivered voice trailed off.


    "How could you even drink with a puny human like him? You are staggering and can''t even stand properly! Such a disgraceful sight...Gosh... Look, werewolves must maintain their superior dignity before the humans!" Sounding a bit vexed, he muttered his answer.


    "Don''t ignore my question! Who...Who the hell are you?" She yelled out, seeming a bit enraged.


    Looking deep into his eyes with a witty gaze, he blew out a puff of air and calmly answered, "I am your dear brother, my little Clara. Have you missed me?"


    A tinge of sharp pain aroused inside her heart hearing his shocking answer. She waved her pupils restlessly looking very enraged, "wh-what a crappy bullshit! I never had a brother! I don''t have a family! Ho-How dare you to try to fool me...you moron--"


    "You always had a family since the beginning...just that...your memories were erased, my sweetheart!" He walked a step closer to her interrupting her grumpy reply with his calm response.


    Her feet were frozen like a rock and she couldn''t move a single inch away from him. Rolling her eyes at him in wonder, she repeated after him, "my memories... ho-how do you...know about it? How do you know...what happened to me..."


    "Because I am indeed your brother." Sounding very tranquil, he hugged her softly in his arms resting his chin on her shoulder. Tapping her back with his broad palm, he rustled in a sly voice, "right now you reek of alcohol...but I couldn''t resist myself from hugging you, Clara. It''s been...17 years but it seems like just yesterday! Gosh... I have dearly missed you. Though I really didn''t hope that you would be alive... but... I am sure...you will be of great use to your dear brother, isn''t it?"


    Unknowingly, her vision turned out all blurry as tears of despair started streaming down her pale cheeks. She stood like a rock in his embrace, breathing heavily, unable to move an inch.


    "Why...Why my heart is breaking into pieces? Why can''t I stop my tears? Why is his scent...so familiar? Why do I feel that I have missed this embrace... Why? What''s wrong with me? What''s happening to me?" She wondered, weeping silently in his arms.

 Chapter 218 - Are You A Wolf?

    GASP!


    Waking up with a hard flinch and a heavy huff of air exhaled out, Clara almost sprang upon her bed, surging her dozy, tired eyes wider. Her untied, loose wavy messy brown hair was covering half of her pale face. She was breathing quite heavily and looking quite anxious, she started to gaze around her surrounding.


    Surprisingly, she was sleeping in her bedroom, wrapped in her cozy warm blanket. She had still the same formal attire from last night, the exact ones with which she had gone to drinking with Eric. Her accessories were placed intact beside her on the corner table and curiously, she was scrunching her brows in wonder.


    "Was...I dreaming...last night? I...can''t remind anything after that weird guy embraced me in his arms... That''s strange... When did I fell asleep? How did I end up here in my room? Ahhrgghh, my head is throbbing like crazy! It''s...very confusing..." Murmuring on her own while shoving off those hair threads from her face, impatiently she sneaked a glance at her phone, kept beside her. There were two missed call notifications from Eric and abruptly, she dialed him back in a second.


    .


    "Clara...Are you awake...finally?" He sounded very calm responding to her call.


    "Mr...Eric!? Did...Did you drop me home last night?" Frowning her grimace, she inquired.


    "Of course! You were too drunk last night... I had dropped you home by myself because you were even unable to walk properly."


    "Is...Is that all?" She quickly reciprocated in a compact pitch, seeming a bit skeptical of his answer.


    "Huh?"


    "D-Didn''t any weird guy came to see me last night? Don''t you remember it? You...were very irked over him!" Fidgeting her fingers, she uttered anxiously trying to reminisce the incident.


    "Clara...it seems like you are still drunk. Quit blabbering and get some sleep. You can take the day off, I will convey it to our boss so don''t fret. Also, don''t get weird thoughts. Take care."


    "Wait, Mr. Eric--"


    BEEP BEEP!


    Before she could interpret her words, he disconnected the call almost immediately. Taking a deep sigh of dismal, she clenched the phone tighter on her hand. It was around 11 am in the morning as she peeked at the clock. The sunbeams reflecting inside her room through the windows were quite radiant and warm.


    "Gosh, this is really frustrating! It seems...his memories from the last night were really eradicated! No...I am certain it wasn''t a dream. The guy...was definitely a wolf but...something seemed off about him!


    Why the heck he was calling me his sister? How did he know about my memories being erased... Was...he really my brother? Ughhh, shit! Why did I fell asleep before learning the truth!? Fuck...


    If...If he was truly my brother then...I should have kicked his ass off! I am certain...they definitely had something skeptical to do with erasing my memories! Damn it...I was so close to learning about myself, why the heck I lost him? Where am I going to find that creep again? Clara...you should just die! You are really the dumbest creature left on the earth--"


    [Phone Ringing]


    Her grumpy self whining trailed off as the phone clinched on her hand suddenly rang out aloud, flinching her a bit. Curiously glancing at the screen, she found out that it was Eva who was calling her at that very moment. That surprised her a little!


    Quickly picking it up, she sounded a bit restless."Hello, Eva? Hey...what''s up?"


    From the other side of the call, Eva sighed out heavily and stayed silent for a few seconds. After a moment of unanticipated pause, she answered quite coldly, "Clara... I wanted to confirm something from you."


    "Huh?"


    "Just answer me with yes or no first. Even...if you say no... I will believe you." Her husky tone seemed quite stern.


    Clara understood it evidently, it was very strange of her to talk with such a serious tone over the call. She could sense something serious had happened and with much trepidation, her heart throbbed hard. "Hey, Eva... What''s wrong, girl? Did you fight with Zeus--"


    "Clara, are you a wolf?"


    Before she could wrap her words, a striking blunt query from her pierced her soul like a gallant thunderbolt. Aphonic and awestruck to hear the question about her existence that she tried hard to hide since all these years with a fear of losing her forever, finally came upfront.


    "H-Huh?"


    "Let me ask you again... Are you...a werewolf, Clara? Just answer me yes or no and...even if you deny, I will accept it and won''t inquire you further. But... I expect the truth from you... at least, for the sake of our long, loyal friendship..." Her cold voice stuttered resounding much gloomy.


    Gripping the mobile tighter in her grasp, she bit her lower lip in anticipation. Her heart was pounding like crazy with all the gushing emotions flowing inside. Her dark surged eyes were glistening with tears and anticipating with a low, fearful pitch, she replied, "y...yes."


    A moment of intense silence persevered between them over the call. Both of them were at a loss for words to depict the agony that was overflowing inside them. Seeming very perplexed, Clara tried to break the silence but Eva chose to do it first.


    "I guess, you must have known that my father wasn''t a human either? You...must have been always aware of my truth of existence. Yet...you chose to hide your real self for all these years. Isn''t it?" She reciprocated her query bluntly.


    "W...Wait, Eva. I...I had my reasons to do so! Watching your immense hatred towards wolves...I couldn''t bring myself to tell you the truth. Yes, I know I have committed a sin. I should have been braver and should have trusted you before encasing my real self to you but...I was really scared. I...had to disguise myself completely among the humans just so that I can stay next to you.


    Eva...you had found me in one of the darkest periods of my life and...I was afraid to lose you. Trust me... I was looking for a proper time to confess everything truthfully after you had accepted Zeus for who he was. I know...it would have taken a much longer time but...I was preparing myself to do it! I swear!" Her response sounded quite desperate, while anxiously she was fretting her brows.


    "Then... it isn''t true either that you are an orphan?" Retaliating with an austere low voice, she seemed very frigid while tossing her queries at her.


    At this question, she paused for a moment, exhaling a deep sigh out. "My...past memories were effaced completely. I...I don''t have a clue about who I am or where I belong and, that sucks!" Her shallow, rustling murmur apparently steered the amount of grief that she had buried deep inside her heart since all these years.


    Apprehending her heartfelt answer keeping an anticipated silence for a while, Eva breathed a heavy puff of air before replying to her confession, "I am glad, that you didn''t deny any of my questions."


    "Eva, I am sorry... I know--"


    "Clara...I should be annoyed with you because you disguised yourself, staying beside me for all these years... It...indeed offended me today pretty much that I wanted to smack you hard. But... somewhat... I can understand why did you had to go so far...


    You prioritized me over your own self and...this is something...anyone barely does in this world. I also know if today Zeus hadn''t told me about all these...then...you still couldn''t have brought yourself to speak the truth with the fear of losing me.


    But still...learning about such a truth after long 17 years of friendship has really disheartened me, Clara. I can''t even scold you properly and it feels frustrating." Her voice reverberated in a distressed manner.


    Holding herself from breaking down in tears, she straightened her posture on the bed and asked her firmly, "I will tell you everything why I have done it. Let''s meet right now. Wh-Where are you, Eva? I will come to you--"


    "I can''t meet you right now." She objected abruptly interrupting her sentence.


    "But why?


    "I am...going somewhere very important right now. Let''s...meet after that. We will talk about it."


    "Important? But where--"


    [BEEP]


    Before she could finish her remark, she cut the call sounding cold as ice. Frustrated with the serialized distressing events, she screamed out fervently throwing an intense rolled punch on the bed.


    "Why the fuck is everyone hanging upon me, today? Gosh... I just wanna die now! My mind is going crazy...ugh---"


    Suddenly, her ardent grumbling ceased for a second. Her gaze locked up on her phone screen as a text notification popped up.


    "I am kinda bored and lonely today...


    Have lunch with me. I wanna take you somewhere today. And...


    Consider it as an order, not a request!


    -Your Master, Czar."


    .


    A small simper unknowingly sliced on her lips as she read the message. Taking a deep breath in while gazing with her sad eyes, she whispered on her own, "right now, you seem like a savior to me... Czar..."

 Chapter 219 - Sunset

    It was almost adjacent to the sunset since the whole day wafted away blissfully. Walking calmly alongside Czar by the steeper mountain road, Clara had a tender smile prominent on her face. A mild summer breeze was drifting across the atmosphere which even eased the clouded anxieties she was enduring inside.


    Putting on a silk white knee-length skirt and a formal peach-colored shirt, she seemed like a divine muse, crossing her arms behind her. Her wavy, loose brown hair was curling around the shoulder, twirling softly along with the breeze. Even with minimal makeup put on, her beauty was ethereally evident. Walking quietly beside one another for a moment, slowly she sneaked a peek at Czar and initiated to break the silence.


    "Where are we...heading to?" Looking curiously up at the steeper road, she mumbled.


    "Don''t worry. I do not intend to kidnap you." He chuckled, putting his arms inside the pocket of the black denim he had put on. Groomed up perfectly in a creamy white shirt rolling his sleeves up, his veiny arms seemed very masculine. His dark brown wavy hair seemed crimped perfectly with a hair-gel over his forehead. His pointed jawline along with his radiant porcelain white skin gave him the appearance of no less than a top-notch celebrity with a serene look on his grimace.


    She reciprocated his answer with a soft grin, sneaking a glance at him. "I don''t worry have to worry about it... I...trust you."


    Hearing her mild rustling, he quickly shifted his gaze towards her seeming a bit surprised at her reply. Flickering his eyelashes in wonder, he murmured, "you trust me?"


    "Uhumn. I do." She nodded.


    "But why?"


    "Huh?"


    "Why do you trust someone like me?" Lowering his gaze from her, his voice appeared distressed this time which even startled her a little.


    "Why shouldn''t I...trust you?" Curiously, she inquired him abruptly.


    "Because...a capricious person like me shouldn''t be trusted." He sighed out aloud, staring straight at the steep road in the front. "I am...basically using your accompaniment for the sake of my own boredom. I enjoy watching people doomed with despair. Such a freak like me...couldn''t be trustworthy to anyone, not even you--"


    "You have grown twisted like that, because...you have been always devoid of happiness. That''s the reason, watching someone happy irks you, Czar." Before he could interpret his words, she whispered out boldly in a mellow voice.


    "Huh?"


    "And...I have also understood it until now, you like to spill out annoying gibberish... but your actions speak otherwise. You do care about me too and that''s what I am pleased about." Looking back at him holding a pair of blissful smiley eyes, she uttered out her comforting words.


    Watching someone who could predict his instincts this accurately, Czar appeared very surprised, absolutely awestruck for a moment. Unknowingly his motion halted for a few seconds as his eyes were fixed at her ecstatic wide smile that reprimanded him of a tender spring breeze, soothing his wounded heart.


    Looking forward, suddenly her motion halted too as her eyes surged out aloud looking quite bewildered. A few steps apart from them, there was a beautiful, old bridge placed on the divergence of the steep mountain road. Standing at the railing of the bridge, the entire beautiful Rione Monti town could be visible like an ecstatic scenario. Moreover, amidst the mild sunset falling down over the town, the ambiance looked divine as well as peaceful with the desolated atmosphere around them.


    Grinning broadly with a pleased glimmer in her eyes, she impatiently ran towards the bridge and stood by the edge of the railing looking at the large town visible in a miniature form. Czar quietly followed after her involuntarily with a smirk carved on his lips as if he was satisfied to see her happy like a small kid.


    "Woah!! Look, the houses seem so small up from here! Oh my! They look so beautiful! The scenery is...so aesthetic..." She chuckled out, pointing her index finger towards the landscape.


    "Do you like this view?" Crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest, he sounded a bit eager.


    "Yes! I loved this view! I never realized until now...the town I am living in...is so artistic up from here!" She admitted honestly, smiling from her wide eyes.


    The smirk engraved on his lips widened a little as he took a heavy huff of air out, looking a bit relieved with her response. "It''s the first time...I brought someone here with me. The sunset falling down over our town clearly elevates the natural beauty of this landscape. And...this place..." His heavy voice trailed off suddenly for a second.


    "Um...this place?" She repeated abruptly, peering at him again.


    "This place...reminds me of the beautiful short-lived memories I have treasured in my life. It reminds me of my mom and...the only home, I ever had up at the mountains..." All of a sudden, his dark eyes were filled with a void of emptiness as he sighed.


    Peeping at him by blinking her eyelashes nonchalantly for a while, she stayed silent seeming a bit hesitant to ask him something. Somehow, she started wiggling on her own and unable to suppress her urge of query, she blurted out in a low tone, "I don''t know if I should ask about it...but... I really wanna know... Why did your mother have to die? What did she even commit?"


    "Nothing."


    "What?"


    "She was innocent." Ogling straight at the endless murky horizon up above, he replied in a hoarse, dense voice sounding much bereaved. "She was framed for a crime she didn''t even commit... Our whole fucking pack accused her wrongly and it all happened... due to those bastard Lupos..."


    "Lupos?" Curiously rolling her eyes wider, she mumbled.


    "Our rival pack and possibly...the cruelest monsters ever existed." Clenching his right fist tighter, his fervent voice trembled a little expressing the immense grudge he had been suppressing inside. "For their wicked connivance...those rascals framed my innocent mother into a treacherous crime which she couldn''t ever commit! And why to only blame them...when my own pack willfully wanted to get rid of her? I...just despise them all...especially...that vicious wench...Aelia Romano..."


    Apprehending his ardent, vexed grumbling silently for a few seconds she lowered her eyes down exhaling a heavy sigh of grief out. "I can anticipate the turbulence you had bear deep inside your heart since all these years... I don''t know much about your pack or about...who are those Lupos... but... I want you to find and punish them brutally for what they did to your innocent mother..." Her low, anxious voice echoed fervently along with the rustling breeze whirling those leaves from the tall oak trees surrounding them.


    "I will." Scrunching his dark gaze towards the ethereal scenery, he fretted his jowls before rumbling, "I have sworn on my life to seek vengeance for what those bastards did to my mother... And those Lupos...I will find and rip off their entire existence as a payback of my fiery outrage. Until...I see my sharp claws smeared with their immoral blood...the fire of angst ignited inside my heart since all these years won''t soothe down..." His dilated pupils were glistening in tears as he whispered in a sad voice.


    She slowly moved a step closer to him and tapped his broad shoulder to comfort him softly. "The day, you will succeed in fulfilling your vengeance, I will be happy for you too. I...really want you to be happy, Czar."


    Hearing her serene words, a sad smile carved on his lips as he nodded his head. "I...usually avoid share my pain with anyone else but...you are a special case. I, somehow feel comfortable when you are with me... And...that''s why I wanted to watch this sunset with you today. Thanks to you, I...had a good time." The darkness that was clouding his eyes deeper, seemed to fade away a little sounding from his rustling words.


    Suddenly, hearing out his honest words, while lost in his beautiful glimmering eyes, her heart started pounding very hard the same way as if a yound maiden was looking at her first love. Gulping her saliva, she lowered her eyes down seeming a bit anxious.


    "I think...we gotta...end our Master-Slave relationship...finally." She whispered, fidgeting on her own.


    "Huh? What?"


    "Because... Eva knows the truth about my existence..." She raised her chin up, gazing at him tenderly while responding.


    "What!? How? When?" Shocked at her answer, he almost shrieked out aloud fervently.


    "Just today...she asked me about it and I have admitted everything. So...there is no point in us sustaining our current relationship."


    "Gosh! What the heck! I was finally having a good time with you... Why did she have to know about it so soon?" Sulking his grumpy face, his gestures seemed very frustrated as he stroked his hair up from his forehead.


    "But I never said I don''t want to have a good time with you... I have also...liked being with you...always. So, I wanted to be honest with you from now on." She quickly reciprocated responding to his whining.


    "What?" Impertinently, he titled his brows gazing at her with a frown face inquiring her bluntly. "What do you want to denote?"


    With the shimmering sunrays blessing the beautiful ambiance, she gulped her saliva and taking a deep sigh out, she gently claimed, "I...I like you, Mr. Czar."

 Chapter 220 - Choices

    "Wh...What?"


    "I have feelings for you...Czar." She murmured with a sad smile evident in her eyes, sounding quite tranquil.


    For a moment, awestruck at her sincere confession Czar stood like a rock, gawking at her with his surged wide eyes. The rustling mild breeze was floating encircling them standing still while gazing into each other, and a few oak leaves dropped down on the ground.


    After a moment of anticipated silence between two fervent hearts, suddenly, his fixated gaze hardened as he scrunched his brows. Seeming a bit ruffled at her, he whispered coldly, "didn''t I...forbade you from doing so?"


    "Yes." She averted her eyes down and nodded sincerely at his question. "But it was my choice. Before even realizing...I fell for you despite the danger signs..." Her husky pitch quavered a little.


    "And must I ask, why?" His cold stare stiffened further along with his tone sounding quite troubled. "Didn''t we both agree earlier on budding a relationship with no strings attached? Hadn''t I inform you about my insecurities regarding a commitment? Don''t you know how badly...I am messed up from inside!?"


    "Yes..."


    "Yes? Despite knowing everything... you fell for a jerk like me? Woah...you are still not aware of my reputation as a Cassanova who used to hunt for new women just for the sake of my apathy...


    Just because...I liked your presence and was a bit nice towards you... did you grow feelings towards me? Haha...Woah... I see... I had a little hope of you might be but sadly, you are no different from that of those vulnerable women I have met earlier..." Answering in a hostile tone while smirking with a frozen, sarcastic look prominent on his face he diverted his gaze away from her.


    "You are wrong." Apprehending his aloof response quietly until now, all of a sudden, she objected to him aloud seeming quite offended at his remark. Her eyes were darkened with a void of despair and rolling her eyes impatiently, she further proclaimed, "I didn''t grow feelings towards you just because you were nice to me, Mr. Czar. If you are thinking of such a summing-up then you are terribly wrong!"


    "Then what possibly could be your reason?"


    "Because you are badly broken from inside... Just like me..." Her dark brown squinted pupils were shimmering in tears as she halted her intense words for a second.


    "What?" Baffled at her response, he frowned his grimace impertinently, lifting his chin up to ogle at her.


    "I couldn''t fell for someone all my life due to the wall I had built around myself for protecting me from getting hurt. But...when I watched you...understood you and spend my moments with you, I could realize that how poorly you have been wrecked inside but still manage to stay brave and firm before this harsh world. It made me curious about you...slowly my curiosity turned into fascination...


    You...were the only one who broke the wall I had spent years making around me. At first... I thought it was just a mere attraction or a fleeting feeling with will swoon away with time but...no! It wasn''t!


    Watching you sad made me worried and anxious... Watching you looking at Eva with those compassionate eyes unknowingly started to ache my heart. I felt restless, guilt-stricken at those moments but...that''s when I realized... that I have broken our deal and fell for you. I even fell for your dark sides before I hold myself back! I...I am sorry..." Slowly warm tears of hopelessness streamed down her pale cheeks as she replied to him fervently, sighing out heavily.


    Standing numb and jaw-dropped while peering at her with his wider, rolled gaze he couldn''t utter a single word and stood absolutely still without moving an inch. The ambiance around them was turning out very intense as for a moment he even forgot to breathe in! The withered sunrays were on the verge of fading into the approaching darkness as the atmosphere was becoming quite murky.


    "Cl...Clara--"


    "It''s alright." Before his words could reach her out precisely, she interrupted him all of a sudden lifting her hand up indicating him to halt through her gesture. "I didn''t confess to you expecting for an answer nor I wanted to pressurize you... I just wanted to be honest today from my heart forgetting every boundary encircling the two of us."


    Hearing her husky, shook pitch loud and clear amidst the rustling soft breeze, unknowingly his surged eyes were filled with tears. Looking at someone who was standing before him, sincere with her emotions and embracing his torn, shameful sides from deep inside her soul left him speechless for a while. Slowly, trying to hold himself firmly, he quivered out, "won''t...won''t you regret liking someone...twisted like me?"


    "I don''t know the answer... Maybe time will tell whether I will regret loving you ever or not...but, I just don''t want to abandon you.


    If you ever reach your hand sincerely to me one day...I want to hold your every broken piece together. I will be looking at you with a possibly brightest smile waiting for both of us to grow and heal together because...we both are sick from inside. You came into my life as a hope and a reason I started to seek my own happiness, not only Eva''s...


    That''s why...I want to wait for the day with the hope if someday...you could summon me sincerely from the deepest root of your heart. And if it never happens, I will consider it as our fate who forced us to part ways. It won''t be your fault.


    That''s all I can say... I...will leave first. Take care...and thanks for spending a good day with me." Bowing her head tenderly before him, slowly, she started walking past him intending to leave first from the place leaving him back there.


    Standing alone behind as she left him slowly, he stayed absolutely numb, clenching his fist battling his inner turmoils. Involuntarily, tears started streaming down his pale cheeks, and biting his lower lips, he murmured on his own, "my heart aches... Why does it...feels...so helpless to let...her go...


    Fuck..."


    ...........


    A giant black Rolls Royce car stopped right before the huge golden entrance gate of the Romano Mansion tossing out a heavy puff of smoke. The mansion guards seemed to rush towards the car hurriedly as if they were quite eager for its arrival. Swiftly, the car doors opened from both sides and wearing a dark chocolate shade sumptuous suite, Zeus first stepped out holding a majestic, elegant appearance adjusting his silver Rolex watch on his arm.


    From the other side, dressed up perfectly in wine-colored silk, embroidered dignified short knee-length sleeveless gown, Eva stepped out of the car slowly followed after him. Her smooth, shimmering hair was gracefully permed into a loose bun supported with a gorgeous golden hairpin. Both of them were looking like a royal couple leaving the mansion guards in awe.


    Steadily Zeus walked closer to her and tenderly held her hand with a small smile on his face. From her expression, she seemed a bit nervous, but trying hard to stay all composed.


    "Eva, are you alright? Are you still intending to head inside? Do you wanna have some more time to think about your choice?" He sounded concerned about her.


    "I am, completely fine Zeus. Don''t worry about me. It is my choice and I am assured about it." She gripped his hand tighter, reciprocating back with a timid smile.


    .


    "Welcome back... Master!!"


    All the mansion guards lined up together and chanted it aloud, causing a sharp reverberation in the dusky atmosphere followed by the sunset. Glancing at them by shifting his gaze, he responded to them kindly, "are you all doing well?"


    "Yes, Master! We all were waiting for your return... We were...very worried about you Master... Thank you, for coming back safely." One of the tall, masculine guards stepped a bit closer to him before replying in a warm, considerate note. Indeed from their pitch, they seemed very relieved to see him again.


    But soon after his greeting, their curious wider gaze shifted towards Eva distinctly. The smile they had on their faces started to fade away, occupied with a troublesome eloquence. All of them started to glance at each other''s faces seeming a bit baffled and fretful.


    Evidently, Eva could anticipate the building confusion in their minds and seemed a bit more anxious, lowering her eyes down. Watching her getting perplexed, he groped her arm tighter before them answering out aloud, "I have an important announcement to make today. I want each one of you to follow us inside. And pass my command to our elder pack members to arrive here now."


    Announcing with a sharp declaration, he walked inside the mansion holding her hand tightly leaving them all confused behind. As soon as they headed inside the yard, one of them whispered looking very perplexed, "isn''t she a human? Why is our Master taking a human inside our mansion?"

 Chapter 221 - The Next Luna

    CREAK!


    Both sides of the magnificent silver wolf-head engraved wooden door at the entrance of the hallway of the mansion opened wider making a loud creak sound. The noise was echoed amidst the entire big hallway. Almost every maid serving inside followed by all butlers immediately gathered at the hall room, impertinently gazing at the door. Hearing the loud sound, both Aelia and Antonio rushed together arriving at the center of the room. Standing beneath the enormous golden chandelier and facing towards the door, they both imprinted a serious look on their grimaces.


    From the exact entrance, holding a stern posture, Zeus gallantly walked inside the hall room holding Eva''s hand tighter. She seemed a bit timid and anxious with all the people gathered around them in a mass, fixing their dubious gazes upon them. Gulping her saliva, she sneakily glanced at Zeus once, who had a frozen gaze forward towards the people, especially at the ones standing at the exact midpoint of the room. She quickly understood, both of them are his parents from the frozen glare they directed towards him.


    Soon, his motion halted as he arrived closer to both of them who were standing next to each other, scowling their faces at him. A few elder people too slowly marched inside, gathering at the hall room. Almost every single person present right there was curiously observing Eva from her head to toe and whispering among themselves. From their gestures, they seemed very confused which further puzzled her more.


    Politely he bowed his head a little before them and rustled in a soft voice, "Mom, Dad...how you have been?" Watching his gestures distinctly, she too bowed her head cordially before them seeming very troubled.


    Evoking a fierce glare towards Eva through her eyes, Aelia took a deep huff of breath out before answering him in a vague note, "what''s the meaning of this, Zeus?"


    "Aren''t you pleased to see me back safe and sound?" He quickly reciprocated gently, holding a glum smile on his face. "I am back alive...it''s all because of her. I owe it to her--"


    "How dare you?"


    All of a sudden, before he could enclose his sentence, he was disrupted by the loud, thundering roar from Antonio. He was darting an immense blaze of wrath through his dark eyes and his powerful rumble startled everyone inside the mansion.


    "How could you let a human step inside our mansion? How dare you, Zeus!?" He snapped at him fervently again.


    Eva was shuddered in fear to withstand such a fierce roar from him amidst the quiet surrounding. Her limbs unknowingly started to quaver on their own making it difficult for her to stand still. Choking on her breath for a second, she tried to breathe out heavily.


    Zeus could precisely understand her mental traumatized state and grasping her hand tighter before all of them, he sharply glared at his father, "she is not just a mere human. She is the one...I have chosen as my mate."


    "What!?" Scrunching her brows at his rigid declaration, Aelia blurted out her gasped words involuntarily, swirling her eyeballs at them.


    Hearing his bold answer, Antonio stood reserved for a few seconds and narrow his vicious glare. "What kind of nonsense you are blabbering now?" His intense voice sounded very dense.


    "It''s the truth that I wanted to confess before everyone in our pack. She is the one, I love with my all might." Mumbling in a stiff tone, he stared intensively at him tightening his grip on her arm.


    "A human as your mate? Have you lost your darn mind, son!!" Screaming out ardently, Aelia tried to approach viciously towards Eva with her giant footsteps.


    Immediately guarding her safely behind his broad posture, Zeus moved forward as her protective shield stopping his mother to reach her. "If you want to approach her, you have to go through me first... Mom." He declaimed aloud.


    "ZEUS!!" Furious at his intervention, his mother yelled at him burning in the blaze of anger.


    Standing timid and helplessly behind him, Eva nervously lifted her chin up to glance at his broad back shoulder that was protecting her at that moment from their profound rage.


    "It''s not her fault from the very start. I was the one who chased after her and without even realizing it, I lost my heart to her. No other woman can take her place in my life..." Gawking sharply at his mother, he rustled out.


    Antonio was quietly observing them for a while and seemed to be pent up with his alpha rage from inside. In an obscure, thick voice he asked him impatiently, "what do you want to conclude with your words?"


    Hearing his blunt query, he took a sigh off and glanced at the other members of his pack assembled around them. Holding a tranquil expression, he proclaimed out, "My declaration is simple yet important to be known by the rest of my pack too...I have chosen Eva as my mate and it means...she will be the next Luna of our pack."


    Every single soul gathered at the hall room immediately froze with his striking declaration unable to utter a single word. For a few seconds, some of the elders among the pack even forgot to breathe in and blinked their lashes consistently in awe. All the maids and the butlers were looking at each other faces holding a shocked expression etched on their grimaces. Both Aelia and Antonio were spellbound for a while, glaring at them with an odious look in their eyes. A profound silence surrounded them all over and Eva could even listen to their intense breathing sounds that turned her much afraid.


    "Ma-Master?"


    A tall, old man almost seeming in his late 60''s, slowly stepped forward from the crowd curiously gazing at Zeus. He bowed his head anxiously before him speaking in a dubious tone, "Master, you mean...her...that is a human being will be our new Luna? We will have to serve a human? Ho-How is this possible, master? What are you even saying to us?"


    "He is right, master!" A middle-aged woman with greyish black hair and wearing a long, silver-colored coat stood next to the man and proclaimed out her objection aloud in a sharp pitch. "We have been forbidden by our ancestral alpha to put our faith in any human! And...I...don''t know if you still remember it or not... I had to erase every memory of an innocent human according to your command just because of the forbidden sin that...we...fell in love with each other! The...pain of losing him still torments my heart till today but I couldn''t disobey your command. And now...you are bringing up a human and asking us to accept her as our Luna? How could you even ask something horrendous like that--"


    AAEEEKKKK! SMAASSHHH!


    Before she could complete her words, all of a sudden a horrific incident happened right before everyone in the room. An illuminant giant blaze of fireball suddenly hit that woman like a thunderbolt ripping out her abdomen splurting out a thick, gore enormous amount of blood! Shocked at the sight, Eva screamed out in fear, shut her eyes tight, and lowering down her head she grasped Zeus tightly from behind.


    Baffled at the unexpected situation, Zeus fervently turned his head beside and observed that the fireball was directed from Aelia''s left palm, which was still pointed towards her. All the people assembled inside the hall room seemed to be shuddered in horror, lowering their heads down moved a few steps back at the corner of the room.


    "Mom!? Wh-What''s this!!?"


    "You should have killed her at the very moment you learned about her horrendous sin! Why the heck...you let her live until now?" Holding a demoniac small smirk on her plump lips, she raised her stiff gaze towards him, proclaiming boldly.


    "What? You...You took away her life...just for that?" Jaw-dropped at her answer, he clutched his grip on her arms with a surge of fear arising inside his heart.


    "The punishment for sin must be the same for everyone, that''s what an alpha should do! How could you slack on your sense of command? But...I can''t be the same towards everyone, especially not when it involves you! I am selfish! If...you hadn''t been my own blood...my own son whom I raised with my might, I could have done the same thing to you! I could have just ripped your chest off for choosing this DARN HUMAN!!" Rolling her dark, murderous eyes filled with rage, she screamed out frantically taking a small glance at Eva. She was shivering in fear behind Zeus, lowering her grimace down and breathing heavily.


    "Pfft!" A malicious little smirk escaped her lips with her intense gaze fixated at her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she uttered out hoarsely, "this hopeless human is trembling just by witnessing a small murder...and you dare to make her our new Luna? What a ridiculous joke!?"


    .


    "At least...she will be a better and wise Luna than a monster like you!"


    .


    Everyone was startled at the sudden interrupting voice coming from the giant entrance door of the mansion and shifted their gaze in the direction. It was Czar, who standing still with a serious expression and a frozen glare towards Aelia.

 Chapter 222 - A Chance

    Czar''s sudden loud proclamation left everyone speechless for a moment in wonder. As he gallantly walked inside the mansion tapping his bold footsteps, he sneakily shifted his Eva. She looked terrified with the dreadful atmosphere, trembling behind Zeus with her small body having difficulty standing still. Holding a teary gaze, she peered at Czar seeming at her edge, trying hard not to break down into tears.


    Watching Eva in such a wrecked state of mind, his anger further provoked at a greater instinct. He shifted his glance away from her and fiercely glaring at Aelia, he marched inside.


    "What did you say...you despicable brat!?" Rolling out her dark eyes profused with wrath, Aelia yelled out in a shrilling voice that echoed ardently inside the giant hall room.


    "I guess everyone here heard what I said just now... or I guess, you are really growing old!" He smirked, mumbling in a mocking note.


    "What!"


    "I believe, Eva will be the wise Luna that our pack deserves to have. She has a pure heart." Standing just next to Zeus, gawking at her sharply, he declaimed in a firm voice creating an intense anticipating silence amidst the room. His bold, sincere support even shocked Zeus who by shifting his gaze, was observing his little brother with a teary small smile on his face. His gallant support towards his brother and his lover even startled both Aelia and Antonio who were frowning their grimaces, scowling at him.


    "Since when did...you became a loyal dog of this human wench?" Marching a step closer to him, she narrowed her fiery gaze while inquiring.


    "I just don''t care whatever you assume about me...But do remember, I am no more a weak small child who once had no power against this merciless wolf world! Now, I have grown strong enough to stand against the evil to protect the innocent ones." Fixing his dark glare deep into her eyes, he boldly approached a step closer to her enunciating his threat.


    "Woah... a mere beta like you want to challenge a former Luna like me? Looks like you want to face your own death, ignorant fool!" Clenching her fist, her sharp claws started to emerge out of her right nails, and intensively she intended to attack him in the flick of a second. But at that very moment, Antonio stopped her motion by pulling her right elbow and meddling inside the heated situation. He seemed very concerned from his expression about if she was really going to attack his son out of wrath.


    "That''s enough! You won''t kill my son, Aelia! You had given me your word! You...must keep it till the end." Rolling his enlarged dubious gaze, he commanded her groping her elbow tight.


    Hold back by him, she couldn''t march fervently towards Czar but continued to project her death glare towards him. Twitching her jowls, she murmured intensely at him, "if you are worried about this weakling...why don''t you take her away with you from my son? I don''t give a fuck whether you get to live or die but at least, an annoying bug, like you, will be out of my sight...out of my family! For me...You will be...as despicable...as your corrupt mother--"


    "MOM!!"


    Before she could interpret her words Zeus screamed out ardently forbidding his mother from cursing any further. Czar appeared seething with the blaze of rage-filled in his dark surged glaring eyes. His hand was trembling in wrath and he seemed to be in the mode of attacking Aelia back unable to suppress his bitter grudge.


    Sensing the situation was going out of control, he stepped between both of them. Pushing Czar a few steps back putting his arm over his chest, he rustled to him, "step back Czar. It is my battle...don''t burn yourself with your rage anymore."


    "Once again... instead of standing with your mother...you are choosing the side of this brat! Have you forgotten...how much pain and heartache his despicable mother has caused to me? How could you be so partial towards your own mother Zeus?" Twitching her lower jowls, she rebuked him bitterly.


    "But her death wasn''t fair either! She didn''t deserve to die out of false accusation, mom! She never wanted to take your position! All...she desired was to have a small place in our family...but...she met with a bitter ending! No matter how much you defy me, as a luna...you have given a wrong verdict."


    "After how she broke us apart...you are alleging me for not giving a place in our family? Hah... I can''t believe my own son is defending her, today--"


    "Stop talking about Madonna! I had forbidden you all never to mention her in any nasty spat!" Gritting his jaws in anger, Antonio warned both of them to halt their heated argument causing a scene before so many people gathered around them. Offended at his intrusion, she unleashed her elbow away from his grasp and made a disgusting expression.


    "I won''t mind it...if you make this human a third woman of your life... but I will never allow a human to become our next sacred luna--"


    "She bears our sacred wolf line in her blood! She is a hybrid!" Before she could decipher her fervent oppose, strikingly Zeus declaimed out the shocking verdict before everyone in the mansion, leaving them gasping out of breath.


    Deadpanned in shock, Antonio glared his brows after hearing out his intense grumble and retaliated in awe, "wh-what?"


    Taking a deep huff of breath out, clinching his grip on Eva''s frail wrist, he responded before them gallantly, "yes. She carries the wolf bloodline from our pack."


    "What rubbish you are spitting out, Zeus!?" Fiercely snapping at him, Aelia circled her restless eyeballs marching closer to him.


    "She is the daughter of...Uncle Stevan." Fixing his dull gaze deep into her eyes, he declared gallantly before them.


    His striking confession impacted as a rumbling thunderbolt that landed straight into the mansion, leaving them jaw dropped and hysteric. All of a sudden, the fierceness imprinted on Aelia''s grimace faded completely into a lush of darkness, along with baffled expression.


    "Wh-What? Wh-Whose...da-daughter?" She strumbled in disbelief unknowingly taking a staggering step back from him.


    "Uncle Stevan...Your...childhood best friend...mom, with whom you once shared such a loyal bond. She bears...his blood in her veins..." His voice crooked a little depicting the pain in his voice when he directed the statement to her.


    In a flick of a second, Eva lifted up her grimace from the ground and stared at Zeus holding a shocked look in her troubled eyes hearing the revelation. "They were...childhood friends?" His statement flashed out in her mind as she swooned in wonder.


    "What!?" A loud grumble reciprocated back from Antonio who glared his infuriated eyes at Zeus quickly hobbling a step closer to him. "She...She is the daughter of that traitor!? And...And you dared to love her? Do-Don''t you know...what his father did to us? Have you forgotten how cruelly he abandoned his pack for the sake of an immoral relationship!! How could you forget every darn thing!?" He shrieked.


    "He...He is right..." Aelia stood like a rock for a few seconds after processing such a huge revelation. Holding a pair of murky, tears shimmering eyes with a vague look towards Eva, she mumbled out in an imprecise note, "the bond we shared once...it all happened in the past... The bitter truth of our friendship implied that...he abandoned every one of us just to be with a human! And...that''s a despicable sin he committed as a courteous beta. That''s the reason...he met with a cruel ending and he deserved it--"


    "My dad didn''t deserve to die!!"


    All of a sudden, Eva shrieked out in a teary, perplexed voice stepping forward rather than hiding behind his broad posture. Her harsh proclamation had incited her emotional turmoils and her loud objection indicated that she was on the edge of her self-control. Holding a heavy heart, Czar silently glanced at her once from the side.


    Frowning his grimace, Antonio narrowed his obscure gaze towards her, "how dare you oppose us--"


    "Falling in love isn''t a sin! My dad didn''t deserve a cruel death just because he loved my mother... I...I know he...he shouldn''t have abandoned his pack...but please do understand, he didn''t have any other choice... Everyone here...must have someone they loved with all their might... And... my dad did the same... The only difference was...he fell in love with a human despite his boundaries...


    For...For everyone here...he might be a traitor...he might be a sinner...but... for me, he was only my father! He was family and everything to me! I...I just didn''t lose him, I lost my everything! And...And it''s not Zeus''s fault... He fell in love with me before learning who am I..." Sobbing bitterly, she wiped her tears and unleashed his grip on her hand.


    Looking at everyone present right there, she addressed them in a loud voice, "I know...why you all have lost your faith in humans. I have heard everything from Zeus about how badly you all have been betrayed... It''s been a long time and... I can''t even apologize for the heinous sin committed by humans.


    But... I am here today before everyone because...I...want to ask something from you all... Please...


    I just want a chance to prove myself... I...want to prove my humanity to you all. That''s what...I want to ask--"


    "HOW DARE YOU!!" All of a sudden, in a fraction of a second, Aelia rushed towards her frantically before she could even interpret her statement.

 Chapter 223 - The Attack

    "EEEKKK!"


    In the blink of an eye, Aelia fiercely grabbed by her throat, with her vicious grasp that almost choked her breath. Her demoniac eyes appeared illuminant red and murderous by the way she attacked her seizing a single moment. Eva was running out of breath, struggling frantically to escape from her fierce clasp trying to shove away from her grip.


    "MOMMM!!"


    Fervently screaming out, Zeus intervened in the middle and pushed Aelia away from her using his extreme dominant strength. As a result of his violent strength, she was propelled away from her forcefully towards the edge of the hall room. It also led Eva to collapse down on the ground, coughing out ardently. She was panting heavily and seemed to be running out of breath!


    Watching the sudden commotion created, almost everyone was gawking at her lying down on the ground exhausted from the attack. Swooned with concern, Czar rushed towards Eva and knelt down beside her on the ground trying to observe her thoroughly.


    "EVA!! Ar-Are you okay? Are you alright!?" Frowning his grimace in fear, Zeus asked her impatiently, wrapping his arms around her frail shoulder to comfort her.


    "Do you need water? Why are you panting so hard?" Czar sounded extremely concerned about her too, facing her with his worried gaze.


    Watching both of them panicking for her intensively, she slowly nodded her head to assure them though it was an aggressive attack, she was alright since Zeus saved her again in the blink of a second from getting her throat split apart. But she was in a distressed state, sweating and breathing heavily in his embrace.


    "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND!? DID YOU JUST WANT TO KILL HER?" Fuming in fierce rage, Czar shouted at her gritting his teeth.


    "MOM, HOW DARE YOU TRY TO ATTACK EVA BEFORE ME? HOW DARE YOU TOUCHED HER!? IF...If YOU WEREN''T MY MOTHER... I WOULD HAVE CUT OFF YOUR WRIST RIGHT NOW!!" Following after Czar, squeezing her firmly in his arms Zeus swirled his death glare at her, shrieking out aggressively in his dominant alpha tone.


    Slowly grabbing the railing of the staircase where she was vigorously shoved by him, Aelia tossed a small demoniac simper while circling her monstrous eyes at him. They had attained their usual human form and she lowered her gaze down on the wrist. By the way, Zeus pushed her, it left a reddened bruise on her wrist.


    "Today...You...applied force on your mother...for of this human?" She grumbled in a low breath.


    "I can even cross my limits further worse if you dare to lay a scratch on her ever again, mom! If you want to reach her...you have to go through me first!" He threatened her lowering his dense voice.


    "And in this war... I am not gonna let anyone hurt an innocent being like her! I...I will never let it happen this time!" Gnashing his jowls, Czar narrowed his gaze at him before enunciating his dark voice.


    "Pffttt!" Slackly walking a few steps closer, with her sharp gaze, she sneakily scanned shook Eva in his arms on the ground and tossed a wicked chuckle before gawking at Czar. "I can understand Zeus''s anticipation since he bears those foolish emotions towards her. But...why the heck you are barking for this human? As far I knew...your hands are stained with countless human blood and it''s strange to face you this way, brat! Is it...possible...that you hold those silly emotions for her too?"


    "Yes!! You are right! I do have feelings for her too! She is way special to me! And that''s the fucking reason, I am not gonna let her get hurt! I...I won''t let you ruin her life just the way you did to my mother!! I am not gonna live with the guilt anymore! Even if I have to face death, I will fight for her this time which I couldn''t do before..." Gawking straight into her demoniac gaze, he stood up from the ground declaring strikingly before the entire assemblage in a booming voice.


    Apprehending the unexpected confession of his feelings, Eva gently lifted her teary eyes from the ground, resting in his embrace. Her eyes were rolled in shock and surged in disbelief! Cradling her close to his heart, holding a dubious, sad gaze in his melancholic eyes, Zeus too stared at him for a moment. Scowling his temple seeming utterly displeased, Antonio clenched his fist, glaring at Czar momentarily.


    "I am pleased to know that!" A vicious smile escaped her lips as Aelia crossed her arms, gawking at Czar sharply. "If you do love her so much...then why don''t you snatch her away and let my son free from this immoral bondage?" She urged.


    "I can''t believe it... You are...really a monster! You are so cruel that you can''t even recognize your blood son''s happiness." Blurting out at her gruffly with a tantalizing expression on his face, Czar politely lifted his chin down looking at the bereaved grimaces of both of them. Taking a deep sigh, he mumbled, "for me...the happiness of my beloved matters to me the most. I do know it well...Zeus is everything to her! All my life, I...was never a reliable brother to him but now...I want to protect both of them this time."


    Staring at him with his teary eyes, slowly Zeus held her tight in his embrace and both of them rose up from the ground. Shifting his intense glare towards Aelia, he muttered out, "I am giving you all a final opportunity to make your choice.


    Either...you give Eva a chance as she asked for to prove her worth...or... I am gonna  abandon this pack too...as well as my leadership!"


    "ZEUS!!" She roared out impatiently, enlarging her glare towards him.


    "Have you lost your senses, you fool!! You are the darn alpha of Romano! How could you even think of such a sinister thought!? How could you!" Gnashing his canines with furious rage, Antonio speedily walked a few steps closer while rebuking him. Every other member gathered around then seemed intensely shocked, looking at each other''s faces perplexedly with the sudden chaotic commotion.


    "This time...I am in my right senses, dad." Wrapping his muscular arms around Eva tugging her closer to his heart, he tossed a dark, gallant stare at his father holding a small sad smile. "I...don''t want to live a lonely and regretful life like yours. Before my responsibilities...I want to prioritize myself and cherish her. At least, I don''t want to mourn bitterly...like you after losing my beloved one."


    "ZEUS!"


    "There''s no use in yelling at me, dad. I have made up my mind and that''s my final choice. You all must be well aware of what''s the cruel consequence that gonna happen to me if I abandon my pack... So...if the pack doesn''t want to lose their alpha and you don''t want to lose your son forever, give it some time and think about it..." He replied with a sad, dark gaze focused on his father. After wrapping his remark with a deep sigh, was about to head outside the mansion holding Eva in his embrace.


    "W-WAIT, SON!!"


    Before both of them were about to head outside, Aelia groped his left arm intending to stop him fervidly. She seemed panic-stricken, swirling her dilated pupils and quivering her jowls, she appealed to him, "I...I won''t allow you to abandon us! You can''t do this to your own mother, Zeus! You can''t give up on your life for this traitor''s daughter..."


    "Mom--"


    "I...I sacrificed...everything I ever had...to have you... to raise you for the sake of our pack! You...are our last hope. I believe...You will definitely be our next Celestial Alpha, Zeus! You...can''t toss away our hopes...our dreams just for running after an illusion! Even though she bears our wolf bloodline...but she is born as a human and that''s her ultimate truth! We...We are never destined to be with humans! You''ve seen the fatal consequences Stevan had to pay! How could you even turn your blind eye on everything---"


    "Let me go, mom." Before she could finish her fervent objection, Zeus slowly unleashed his arm from her grip, shoving her arm away. Holding a pair of teary eyes, Eva evidently glanced at the pained expression on his face while turning his back on his own mother.


    "Ze-Zeus?"


    "Mom, I can''t abandon Eva leaving her all alone either. By trying to attack her today, you have hurt me the most! She is the daughter of the person, I once considered my dearest. I have sworn to myself to avenge his death and not letting go of her. And, there is no turning back. Think about it..." Reverberating his answer making a morose expression, he slowly turned away along with her and walked towards the door gallantly to head out. Czar too followed after them steadily stomping his feet hard on the ground.


    While walking away, Eva sneaked a glance at the blood-smeared body of the woman lying down on the granite floor. Zeus too had a bereaved look in his dark eyes. Trying to choke her tears in, she held his hand and wondered inside, "today...he risked his everything against his own pack for me... Why...


    Why my love is only giving him... loneliness and pain..."

 Chapter 224 - His Kindness

    Igniting a cigarette with the flickering spark from a metal lighter, Eric slackly walked out of the convenience store wearing a casual turtleneck white sweatshirt followed by a comfy blue trouser. By skipping the office with a day-off, he wanted to give himself some good rest to cure those awful hangover aftereffects after such a loaded drinking night with Clara. Blowing a heavy puff of air while strolling alongside the narrow walkaway he was gazing up at the starry night sky making a glum face.


    "Damn... No matter how hard I try...she is all about I can think of even when I am drunk. That''s awful. What I should do to get her out of my head? What will happen if I really don''t get to see her ever again? This is such a mess... It''s so frustrating--"


    Suddenly, his sullen mumbling trailed off as he noticed a startling sight before him! Just a few steps apart on the footpath of the narrow lane, he was walking by, a woman dressed up in a beautiful short knee-length black blue gown, being completely tipsy and looking kind of dizzy was squatting down on the ground, lowering down her grimace. Her loose, wavy long reddish-brown hair were curling down her elegant shoulders, also covering a half portion of her face. But from an intense glance, from her side-face, she kind of looked like Ivory!


    "Is that...Miss Ivory?" Murmuring to himself, perplexed he rubbed his eyes once to get a clear confirmation if he was still seeing insignificant things! But his guess was indeed right, observing from her side-face and her elegant appearance, she was indeed her looking in a distressed, lonely state.


    Quickly he rushed towards him tapping his bold footsteps with gushing emotions inside his aching heart. Gulping his saliva, he squatted down on the ground beside her and tried to touch her shoulder nervously, "Mi-Miss I-Ivory?"


    Apprehending a sudden familiar voice, she slowly lifted her chin up from the ground. Frowning her brows, she tried to peek a glance at him.


    "Miss Ivory...Wh-What are you doing here at such an odd hour by sitting on the street? And...you reek of booze... It seems you are quite drunk!?" Impatiently gawking at her while surging his eyes wider, he murmured out.


    "You..."


    "What? Do-Don''t you remember me?"


    "My...purse... thief!" Followed by a small hiccup, her words sounded quite grumpy while glaring at him with her narrow cold gaze. "Why do I...always find you...wherever I go? Are...you really...a stalker?"


    A small simper suddenly escaped his lips hearing her drunk accusations at him. Somewhere deep down in his heart, he seemed really happy to find her again and that glow of bliss was evident from his expression.


    "Sometimes it''s hard to believe how coincidences always find their own ways to bring us together. Well, you can allege me of anything, I won''t mind. But, an elegant, beautiful lady like you shouldn''t be sitting here on the streets all alone at such an hour! It is quite dangerous!" He whispered.


    "W...What?"


    "There is a public park nearby just a few steps away, at least you should come with me there. It will be relatively a safer place." He tried to hold her arm cordially to help her get up from the street, whispering in her ears.


    "Don''t touch me!!"


    Suddenly, she shoved his approaching arm quite hoarsely, screaming furiously at him. Her shrilling voice was so loud that some of the passersby looked a bit startled, whispering among themselves while throwing suspicious glances at Eric.


    Nervous at the awkward situation, Eric moved a few inches away from her and replied abruptly in a low offended tone, "he-hey, Miss Ivory...please don''t yell like that! People...will get the wrong idea that as if I am molesting you or something."


    "I...will...kill you...if you try to...molest me!! Just...go away and leave me alone!" Scowling her tipsy expression, she snarled back promptly.


    "Gosh...you are so cranky even when you are this much drunk! Alright, you don''t have to go...but I am not leaving you here all alone either. I am gonna stay next to you like this." Sulking his cast he reciprocated in a displeased tone, averting his gaze away from her facing the street.


    Hearing his declaration, she seemed much irked than before glaring at him. She gritted her teeth, as she snapped, "hey...annoying punk! Do you...want to...die?"


    "I am kind of a clingy man to my beloved ones as you must have already understood it now. So...if you agree to my proposal, I might leave you alone as soon as possible accordingly to your wish." Sneakily glimpsing at her while holding a witty smirk, he cleared his throat before asserting his offer loud and clear.


    "Why am I always involved with this irritating human whenever I am alone? This really makes me want to slit his throat right now!" Gnashing his jowls, she cursed him inside her mind fixing her cold glare at him.


    "So, what do you decide? Wanna go there or...shall we both keep squatting down here?" He inquired again.


    "Fine... But as soon as we reach there...you are gonna leave me, alright?" Unwillingly agreeing to his proposal, she pouted her grimace.


    "Sure!" Looking quite delighted at her answer, Eric almost sprang up from the ground and held his arm towards her with a small smile on his radiant face. But Ivory chose to stand up on her own without holding his arm as the support. But she seemed heavily intoxicated! As soon as she stood up, her feet diverted their balance upon the pointed high heels she was putting on. Losing her balance, she was about to plop down on the ground.


    But Eric, quite quickly grabbed her tightly by her elbow preventing her from falling down again. Pulling her closer to him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, seeming lost in her gaze.


    "He-Hey, wh...what you are doin--"


    "Do you think, you can walk on these heels in this drunk state?" Intruding her statement, he clinched his grip tighter on her arm peeking a glance at her pointed heels below.


    "Huh?" Hearing his concerning expression for her, she scrunched her brow ridge at him.


    "I have a quick solution," suddenly mumbling on his own, he knelt down on the ground and tried to take off her heels with his own hands gently. Flinched at his unexpected cordial gesture, she tried to move away from him seeming palpitated.


    "Hey! Wh-What are you intending?"


    "Stay still! I am not gonna run away with your heels, Miss Ivory. Just take them off and you will eventually feel better." Softly, he peeked a gentle glance at her by lifting his chin up and continued taking off her heels again.


    As soon as he succeeded, he rose up from the ground and placed his own comfy slippers before her on the ground while holding her heels with his other hand. "Here, wear my shoes and you will be able to walk comfortably."


    Surprised at his sudden act of kindness, Ivory stared at him momentarily gulping her saliva. Sneaking glimpses simultaneously at his slippers and his smiley face, she blurted out in a husky tone, "wh...why?"


    "Huh?"


    "Why are you being...unnecessarily kind to me?" She probed.


    A small blissful chuckle escaped his lips as he continued glancing deep into her wider eyes, "isn''t it obvious? Walking in these heels at this state would be painful for you and... I don''t want to see the person I like, suffering from pain."


    Suddenly, hearing his considerate soft voice, her heart skipped a beat unknowingly for a second! Looking very anxious, she tried to hide her anxious gaze from him by putting on his slippers obediently.


    "Good. Now I am holding your arm as a support so that you won''t stagger your steps. Don''t be hyper again, okay?" Tenderly, he gripped her wrist with his spare arm and started walking forward slowly with his smiley eyes.


    "Ar...Are you going...to walk...barefoot?" She queried while fixing her cold gaze at his bare feet.


    "Why not? It doesn''t matter about me as long as you are alright." He reciprocated promptly in his warm note.


    .


    While walking slowly after him, her eyes were consistently fixed on his bare feet as it flashed a long lost memory of her childhood on her clouded mind.


    .


    [Memory]


    "Zeus, wear my shoes so that...your feet won''t be hurt in the forest." Giving him tenderly her small leather shoes standing in the middle of their mountain forest, small Ivory smiled widely at toddler Zeus who was frowning his face holding a torn belt of one of his leather shoes.


    "But...if you give me yours, then...aren''t your feet gonna get hurt with those grassy thorns?" He sulked his innocent, little face, sounding very serious.


    "Don''t worry about me. As long as you are alright...I am all good!" She whispered with a glimmer of happiness, glancing at him softly.


    ........


    Her eyes were filled with tears as the bitter memory flashed on her mind. Gritting her jowls, she wondered deep inside gazing sadly at Eric''s bare feet, "fuck...until now...why am I still thinking about that jerk? Why did I love him...so bad?"

 Chapter 225 - Sincere Confession

    Slowly after stepping out of the mansion, Zeus was firmly embracing Eva''s small, trembled body closer to his chest while holding a bereaved sullen look in his wide eyes. She was numb too, unable to enunciate a single word and seeming very shocked with the happenings inside the mansion. Grasping him with her arm, she was walking out silently with a fiery gush of emotions rushing inside his mind.


    Czar was following them at a few steps apart from behind, making a glum face. He seemed quite concerned for both of them, especially a bit for Eva since she looked much traumatized from all those wrathful incidents. All of a sudden, he noticed that Zeus halted his motion forward which even startled her a little. Slowly, he turned back towards him and watching them resting their pace, obediently, he stopped marching ahead for a moment too.


    "Czar, I have to make an urgent call to Mr. Pablo before I leave. So, can you escort Eva safely back to the car? I will be back in a second." Taking a small sigh out, he asked him considerately in a polite note.


    Hearing his request, both Czar and Eva flinched in awe for a second, gawking at him intensely. After a moment of deep silence, he nodded his head in approval.


    Attaining his answer, Zeus tenderly looked at Eva who was already gawking at him, surging her anxious eyes wider. Slowly patting her head to express his immense affection, he rustled it, "don''t worry. I will be back to you in a second."


    Steadily taking his phone out of his suit right pocket, he walked towards the western edge of the yard they were standing in. Staring at him from behind while he was walking away, she took a deep huff of breath out, lowering her eyes down.


    "Why does this fool always keep others above himself? His kindness...sometimes irks me off!" His low dubious grumbling flinched her a bit as she quickly rose her chin up to ogle at him.


    "H-Huh?" She susurrated.


    "Didn''t you realize, little duckling? He intentionally spared me some time to convey certain words to you that were clouding my mind, by walking away himself. That''s how big a fool is he..." Sighing a heavy puff of breath out, he slowly strolled closer to her, and stretching out his hand, he indicated to her, "let''s walk ahead to the car."


    Following his command obediently, she started marching along with him seeming a bit perplexed from her expression. Czar could evidently notice her perplexed gesture and chose to break the awkward silence relaying between them.


    "I have a few things to say first..."


    "Hm...Hmm?"


    Softly, peeking a glance at him a small sad smile etched on his lips as he conveyed, "what I said about earlier...I wasn''t lying at all. I...do have feelings for you."


    Silently gazing deep into his shimmering eyes for a moment, slowly she averted her gaze down, being unable to come up with an appropriate answer for his reciprocation.


    "I didn''t even realize since when and how did it start... but...maybe your undeniable kindness similar to my lost mother budded these sincere emotions for you before I could stop myself. I am sorry...you had to know about it today with such a brazen declaration before everyone... It might have been an uncomfortable situation for both you and Zeus which...I really didn''t intend to cause." His sincere voice sounded very deep and heavy as if he was truly apologizing for his loud declaration seeming a bit perplexed.


    Taking a profound sigh of concern, quietly she lifted her chin up to glance at him before rustling out, "Czar... actually--"


    "But it''s alright!" Suddenly, he proclaimed out aloud before she could interpret her words at him, boasting a wide fake grin on his grimace to conceal his feelings. "From the very beginning, I always knew your sincerity towards Zeus. It was easy to understand...no matter how hard I try, I won''t be able to make you look at me the way you peer at him as if...he belongs to your entire world. Trust me, if I had the power to hold back my emotions...possibly these troublesome circumstances might have never arisen. And...sooner or later I realized...I am not the kind of guy who is built for commitments. I am a reputed...Cassanova among women."


    Hearing his bold and sharp declamations about his outlooks which he was trying hard to project gallantly by concealing his grief inside his wounded heart, unknowingly a small sad smirk carved the edges of her roseate lips as she continued peering at him tenderly.


    "So, you don''t need to feel glum or sorry for me, little duckling. I am perfectly fine! And...it would have been bothersome for me to find you sad and morose if I had imposed my feelings on you. I can actually see your joyous eyes whenever you are together with Zeus and it makes me happier...to see you so...


    Also...I had been always a jerk brother to Zeus who has always offered me nothing but kindness. So... at least once, I wanted to show my solidarity and I know, I made the right choice by taking a step back. Actually, it''s better to watch both of you fools staying together and eventually becoming each other''s happiness. The long road of life that lies ahead may be a way of thorns...but I believe, you will be happy with him. Because...he will cherish you...way preciously than me..." He murmured with a kind smile obvious on his face while trying hard to project his stronger self before her.


    Walking next to each other, soon both of them reached the giant entrance gate of the mansion and before taking a step towards the car, she halted her motion for a second and stood firmly, facing him with a soft smile.


    "Can I tell something too?" She whispered.


    "Hmm?" He lifted his left thick brow amidst the wavy hair bangs curled on his forehead, resembling a bit curious.


    "Do you remember the time...when...you risked out everything to take me out of this mansion?"


    "Huh?"


    "Though...you had always tried to portray yourself as a rude, annoying prick before others but I have always believed that your heart was pure gold. No one else would have done that much for the sake of a human whom your pack disgusts the most...but without caring what others would think, you saved my life. I am glad, I was able to notice your kindness since that day." Her wide, rolled eyes seemed a bit sad as she reverberated her words in the most cordial way possible.


    "It was nothing much--"


    "Also...as you already know me too well... I am sorry for being unable to reciprocate your feelings the way you had yearned. I am a bit late, but I am really sorry." She bowed her head politely before him, pleading her sincere apology.


    "He-Hey...th-that''s fine! You...don''t have to be sorry I already told you! It...It was never your fault, to begin with...and... it feels...I am getting rejecting by you again..." He sounded a bit flustered and awkward, flickering his arm while indicating her to stop for asking apology.


    "I am...very thankful to you." Slowly, she reverberated her words in a low, crooked voice. Lifting her chin up from the ground, she stared deep into his eyes with a teary gaze. "I am grateful...despite this difficult time...Zeus still has your shoulder to lean on for support. I have always believed that your anger had overpowered your sincerity...but thank you...for being the best brother, he could ever have. Thank you...for letting me go."


    Hearing her earnest answer, a sad smile escaped his trembling jowls as he quickly shifted his glance away from her to conceal his sorrow. Slowly, opening the car door for her, he indicated her to hop inside murmuring considerately, "so don''t ever make me regret my decision. Be happy...and...stay with him as his firm support."


    Nodding her head, she looked at him for the final time before heading inside with a slightly gloomy smirk, "I believe...one day you will find someone too...who will embrace your every broken piece by loving you at your worst, just like...Zeus did for me. I will pray for that day to come into your life soon."


    He closed the door kindly and started walking away from the car with several emotions rushing inside his core. Slowly, he took out a cigarette and ignited it with a lighter seeming a bit uneasy from his expression.


    .


    "If you ever reach your hand sincerely to me one day...I want to hold your every broken piece together. I will be looking at you with a possibly brightest smile waiting for both of us to grow and heal together because...we both are sick from inside."


    .


    Clara''s sincere words flashed on his mind as he blew out a heavy puff of smoke. A sad wide smile occupied his pained grimace as he whispered staring up at the luminous sky,


    "will I ever regret...letting Clara go?"

 Chapter 226 - Shoulder

    GROWL!!!


    All of a sudden, Eric heard a huge growling sound from Ivory''s abdomen as he assisted her warmly sitting down on the public bench of the park. The sound was so loud and intense that it even startled him for a moment.


    "Wh-What''s with that noise?" Nervously, he queried her gasping in awe taking his seat beside her.


    Looking a bit shy and timid in that entire tipsy state, she slowly caressed her palm over her abdomen, rustling in a low tone, "I am...hungry."


    "Huh?"


    "Since...yesterday...I didn''t have anything... My stomach...is churning inside... Ugh...I am craving some fresh hot blood. Or some warm raw...flesh... would have been great too" Seeming quite frivolous, she frowned her pale grimace, uttering out aloud.


    "Heh!?" Spellbound at her desire, Eric was deadpanned in shock for a moment, rolling his dark, dilated black pupils wider. Seeming a bit fretful, he wondered on his own, "blood...flesh? Maybe...she is talking gibberish in this drunk state... There is no way any human can actually consume blood and flesh for a meal! Yes, she has lost it, actually." Nodding his head on his own, he abruptly stood up from the bench and she quickly observed his gesture.


    "Are you...leaving me...now? Alright...get...lost... I want some...lone time here... This place...is peaceful." She took a heavy sigh out, glancing at the desolated large park especially at the empty swings that were swirling on their own with the night breeze.


    Without answering a single word, he quickly rushed out of the park leaving her sitting alone and humming a mellow tune softly. Almost, in 15 minutes, he hushed back inside the park panting out heavily. It seemed as if he had come back to her running speedily to save as much possible time as he could.


    Watching him arriving back again, Ivory seemed very startled, fretting her grimace at him. Sulking her jowls, she winced at him, "what? You...are back...again? Didn''t...you agree that you...would leave me alone?"


    "Yeah, I remember our deal. But I can''t leave like this, especially when you are this drunk and starving." Quietly sitting next to her on the bench, he slowly handed her a wrapped packet that had some instant warm food packed in.


    "What''s...this?" She doubted.


    "I am sorry, I couldn''t find flesh and blood for your meal. All I got at this late hour is this chicken hamburger for you...but it''s warm and fresh too." His polite voice sounded very considerate with a small blissful smile carved on his jowls.


    Without resisting further, she quietly grabbed it from him and took a large chomp of the burger that he had brought for her. Indeed it was warm and fresh! Since she was starving for a long time, it felt extremely delicious for her palate. Unknowingly a little sad smirk appeared on her pained face as she lowered her gaze down at the ground.


    "Umm...is it...edible for you?" Curiously centering his gaze upon her gestures, he probed.


    "It''s not good...but I can eat it." Trying to act a bit cold before him, she declaimed in a polite voice.


    "Ahh... I am glad." He smiled wider with a glimmer of bliss shimmering in his dilated eyes. He was someone who could easily find happiness in every small thing. Watching her eating his food willingly, made his heart filled with content.


    "It''s...been a long time...since...someone was kind to me... Though...you are very annoying...but...th-thank you." Softly peeking a glance at him, she whispered with a gloomy smile, gulping her food.


    Staring at her in awe for a moment, suddenly, an anguished look prevailed on his blissful grimace as he took a heavy sigh of grief out. Lifting his gaze up at the luminous sky, he queried to her curiously, "did something...happen?"


    "Huh?"


    "I mean...did something happen between you and...the person who has your heart?" His voice sounded quite morose as he repeated again.


    Suddenly, Ivory stopped chomping the ham and sat like a statue, absolutely still for a moment. Frowning her bereaved face, she narrowed her intense gaze while staring down at the ground as she murmured in a husky note, "don''t...bring about that...fuckin'' jerk...anymore."


    A short, gloomy smirk etched on his slender lips as he continued fixing his gaze at the sky while rustling, "so I was right. Something...indeed happened, eh? No doubt...why you looked so broken and bruised from inside. The scars we bear deep inside the heart are known to be more painful than the ones we bear outside."


    Clenching the ham tighter in her grasp, all of a sudden her eyes turned out to be swelled with glistening tears. Involuntarily, her body began to tremble a little which indicated she was getting quite infuriated. Quickly noticing her change in action, Eric grew a bit nervous and tried to divert her attention a little.


    "Miss Ivory--"


    "I did...every fucking thing...for that jerk...a-and...it all...never mattered to him... Why did I ever love a heartless jerk? No...matter how much I try...but I just can''t stop thinking about him and I fuckin'' hate it!! I hate him so much! I...I just hate him, argh!" Biting her lower lip ardently, she started to sob down bitter tears of anguish, lowering her grimace down. Her expression seemed severely pained and his heart was aching to see her in that mess. Nervous and concerned about her, a bit hesitatingly Eric tried to wrap his arm around her shoulder to console her wounded heart. But, he was intensified trying not to provoke her wrath furthermore.


    But as he slowly placed his arm, he noticed that she didn''t oppose or tried to shove him away. Getting a bit gallant, he firmly wrapped her in his embrace, and to his surprise, Ivory gently leaned her head on his warm shoulder, shedding her aching tears.


    "If you were holding onto so much pain inside...you should have let it flow already! Don''t get too used to concealing your misery amidst loneliness. If...you needed a shoulder where you could vent your grief, you could have asked me already!" Tapping her back softly, he whispered his words sighing heavily.


    "I...hic...I hate you...Zeus...I...just hate you..." She was still grieving on her own, but her voice lowered, humming as an echo.


    "Zeus? Maybe that''s the name of that prick who hurt her innocent heart! Fuck! I wish I could punch him hard for making her cry so much..." Wondering inside while fretting his brows, he blew out a heavy puff of air out.


    "Miss Ivory...is his name...Zeus? Is that''s...the one prick who made you cry?" Scrunching his cast, he queried her inquisitively.


    -SILENCE-


    No answer flew back from her which even made him more curious. Shifting his gaze down, he observed that she was already asleep on his shoulder, breathing heavily. Her face was like that of an innocent child, with a red hue of sadness prominent as she wailed too hard.


    "She must have been...so exhausted...both mentally and physically." Softly caressing her head with a sad smile in his eyes, he whispered on his own. "I am glad...you are comfortable with sleeping on my shoulder. You were already too drunk. But...


    Wait!


    You can''t pass out here, Miss Ivory! I don''t know your address!" Suddenly, his facial expression turned out extremely anxious as he started to wake her up by caressing her side face nervously.


    "Please wake up!! How am I going to send you home when I know nothing about your residence!? I...I can''t leave you here in this state either! That means...do I have to sit here with you for the whole night!? Fuck! Please wake up, Miss Ivory! I beg of you...please~"


    His intense attempts resulted in nothing as she was still unconscious, lost in her tired slumber. Exhaling a huge blow of air out in angst, he rustled on his own, "fuck...I am in huge trouble tonight!"


    ........


    Walking towards the Sur river bridge that was a few meters away from her home, Clara glanced at her phone screen once to check the timing. It was already pretty late and Eva had called her earlier asking her to meet on the giant Sur bridge. It was quite essential for both of them to talk and sort out everything so without giving it a second thought, she headed straight to meet her.


    But, as soon as she was at the nearby distance from the bridge, on the desolated giant road all of a sudden, 15-20 young men dressed up in black suits and seeming quite mysterious appeared before her blocking her way ahead! Their sudden appearance further shocked her because she could sense from their scent, all of them were werewolves! She could sense, something troublesome was yet to happen!


    Suddenly, she halted her motion, glaring at them fiercely as they surrounded her from all over. Gulping her saliva, she clenched her fist before roaring at them, "now...who the fuck are you all?"

 Chapter 227 - Abduction

    Her loud intense grumbling roared like a clap of thunder as she shrieked at all of them. Those mystic wolves were circulated around her with an intention of not letting her escape from their trap, scattered in groups. However, they seemed a bit palpitated, glancing at each other''s faces as she fiercely rolled her brown, fuming eyeballs at them.


    One of them, a tall, handsome, well-groomed muscular man with broad, firm shoulders and dark black soft hair bangs covering his forehead slowly came forward, walking a few steps closer to her. Staring intensely in her eyes, he slowly murmured, "please don''t fret. We don''t intend to harm you."


    "Harm me? Are you fuckin'' kidding me? Surrounding me from all over by your men, you are trying to play all honest before me right now?" Clenching her fist, she snapped at him.


    The more she fumed at him, the more that strange man resembled very calm. Putting his arms inside both of his suit pockets, he took a small sigh out before reciprocating to her, "Miss Clara, as long as you listen to me, we don''t even intend to move a single step towards you."


    "Listen to you?" She frowned her brows, glaring at him with a scornful expression on her face. "Wh...What do you want from me? I can already sense a hideous intention from you all!"


    "You need to come with us, Miss Clara." All of a sudden, a dark, low, intensified response flew back from him abruptly, fixing his deep gaze into her.


    "What!? Where?" She shrieked out again, looking very disturbed.


    "We can''t tell you much info, right now. Our Master has commanded us to bring you courteously to her and we are here to approach you for only that reason. As long as you follow us, we can quickly take you to him." His voice reflected as tranquil as earlier as he enunciated.


    "Courteous? Haha...What a fuckin'' joke!" A tantalized, witty smile escaped her jowls as she firmly glared at him crossing her arms over her chest. Taking a small peek around her, she boldly responded, "all ganged up around a woman to capture her in the middle of such a dark hour, seems courteous to you?"


    "Miss Clara--"


    "Do you think of me as an airhead? Why I must trust a nobody like you whom I have never met before? Even though we are wolves...but aren''t you violating our principle, right now? How dare you all try to indulge me in your trap?" Tossing a fierce hardened glare at him, she charged.


    "We are just following the command which is also a principle of us, wolves. Our approach may seem evil to you, but we are just doing our duty as our Master wishes to see you." This time, his tone appeared a bit irked as if he was getting offended by her fits.


    "Alright. Then tell me, who is your master?" Scrunching her brow ridge, she probed him boldly heading a step closer to him.


    "What?"


    "Are you deaf? Didn''t you hear what I asked just now?"


    Hearing her sharp interrogation, he stood still, frowning his stern face at her. Narrowing his gaze, he grumbled out, "I am sorry...but as I told you earlier, I can''t give you much info right now."


    "Then tell your master to come and meet me here." Seeming very obstinate, she abruptly reciprocated his declination.


    "What!? What are you even asking me? How could you wish for something so insolent?" Looking very irked at her sharp response, he was frowning his jowls which clearly symbolized that he was seething in wrath from her arrogant retorts.


    A witty, mystic smile etched on the corner of her soft lips as she tossed her frozen gaze towards him. She seemed quite amused in successfully provoking him into the irked step.


    "If that''s insolent for you guys to call your Master here, then is it sane, to ask a lone woman to follow you creeps to an unknown place? And, who the fuck your master thinks of himself to summon me? In the human world...this is called abduction!" She stayed absolutely firm, conveying to him.


    The guy had a troublesome expression imprinted on his face while stiffly glaring at Clara''s domineering attitude. He gritted his jowls for a second, fussing out deep in his mind, "indeed he was right! This woman is way too obstinate to be entreated nicely anymore! She is a real pain in the ass!"


    "From your facial expression, you seem to be swearing at me in your mind. Well, I really don''t mind whatever you do...but if you aren''t willing to obey my words, move out of my way. I have some other urgent business to mind." Hoarsely lowering her intense voice, she directed her command while twitching her brow ridge wittily.


    The guy took a heavy huff of breath out and took a step forward, closer to her, in their head-on challenge. "I am sorry, Miss Clara. But I guess I have asked you way nicely many times already because we weren''t looking for any unnecessary trouble. So...if you are still willing to be uncooperative, then we will have no other choice rather than to apply force on you." This time his loud threat sounded shrouded with wrathful darkness as he shot a fierce glare on her.


    "Buhahahahaaha!" All of a sudden, hearing his bold fearful warning loud and clear, Clara burst out into a squeal of sarcastic laughter rolling her eyeballs at him. Her facial expression seemed quite tantalizing as she chuckled out, "and you think...I would stay still and let you have your way, you piece of trash! Though I am used to living amidst humans...but I still have my wolf powers intact with me." Suddenly, her eyeballs obtained the illuminant beta blue form as she tossed a vicious wide sneer at him before roaring, "if you dare to mess with me...I can kick off your asses too!"


    Taking a deep huff of breath, the guy intensely stared at her demoniac blue wolf eyes and seemed a bit irked from his eloquence. Slowly, he raised his arm up in the air and flicking his two fingers, he indicated a fellow young man standing next to him to pounce on her!


    "GRRHGHH!" Immediately perceiving his command, razor-sharp claws started emerging out of his nails, and fiercely making a groaning sound, he dashed towards her. Within a millisecond, her long chisel-shaped claws grew from her nails, and dodging his vicious attempt, with a quick fiery attack she slit his throat splurting out dark, gore blood droplets on her face.


    As soon as she executed him, fuming in aggression, several other wolves raced towards her emerging out their long canines and demoniac claws. Dodging their attacks in the swift of a second, she was desperately trying to fight back for survival by stabbing and piercing their body parts in return.


    That absurd man stood still momentarily watching her cutthroat fights while they were attempting to capture her. Taking a deep huff of sigh, he slackly started heading closer towards her from behind.


    WWHHAAAMMMMM!!


    "AEEUUKK!"


    All of a sudden, a brutal sharp blow with some kind of gigantic metal object hit on the back of her head causing a shrilling reverberating sound in the whole desolated atmosphere! Experiencing the ruthless blow, suddenly, mystic darkness started prevailing before her eyes with her mind becoming all dizzy. A thin line of blood started to flow down as droplets on the right side of her head as if the force was so severe to cause her to bleed!


    She quickly understood that guy was the one who attacked her brutally from behind! Her legs started to shiver in pain and unable to stand still anymore failing her strength, she collapsed down on the ground.


    She was breathing heavily, desperately trying to keep her eyes wide open but it was turning out to be impossible for her. A horrendous sensation of fear was swooning her insides, making her heart pounding aloud. Devastating trouble was awaited for her and slowly she could apprehend intense footsteps approaching towards her from the back.


    "Where...they...are gonna...take...me...


    No...I...I...have...to...meet...Eva... She...She is waiting...for...me... I...need...to...find...her...


    Ev...Eva...


    Some...one...he...help me... Ple-Please----"


    Her quivering low voice trailed off as she lost her senses, closing her eyes tight.


    .........


    THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.


    .


    The same answer from the other side of the call came again and again as Eva was desperately dialing Clara on her phone, making a panic-stricken face. Zeus, standing next to her on the giant bridge under the luminous night sky, observed her gestures intensely for a while and asked her, "Eva, is there anything wrong?"


    "Ze-Zeus... Clara''s phone is not connecting! It''s been already past an hour we have come. This place is nearby from her home. She should have already arrived a long ago. And...Till now...Clara never ever ditched my call whenever I asked her for a meetup.


    Then...what''s the matter with today? I...I don''t know why...but today I am getting a chill on my bones...


    What if something bad has happened...to her?" Rolling her dark eyeballs, she quivered her anxiousness towards him.

 Chapter 228 - Isnt It Strange?

    Soothing chirping sounds of birds were audible outside the colossal, glassy windowpanes. The morning bright rays of sunshine were blessing the entire room, reflecting inside as the large silk white curtains were whirling with the soft summer breeze. The ambiance was warm and cozy to be felt from the deep core. Ivory was sleeping peacefully on a giant, cushiony bed wrapped with a soft blanket. Her face had a blissful aura imprinted on it as she seemed quite tranquil deep inside.


    From the mild chirping noises coming over the shutter of the windowpanes, it made a temperate disturbance of her cozy slumber. Slowly, rubbing both her eyes with her warm palm, she tried to blink open to peek a glance at her surrounding.


    Suddenly, the tranquil expression she had on her face all along faded into immense darkness! Fearful and making a grimacing eloquence, she sprang upon the bed with a heavy jolt. That place was definitely not her villa! The surrounding looked extremely unfamiliar with a soothing touch of interior decorations in the room. She was wearing the same attire from last night and her heels were placed down on the ground, beside the bed. Panicking inside, she turned her neck left and right several times to get an avid detailing of that unusual place!


    Suddenly, a mild knocking sound appeared on the wooden crafted door of the room from outside in which she was sleeping all this time. Immediately turning her gaze towards the door, engulfed with an anxious feeling inside, she stuttered out, "w-who...who is...th-this?"


    The door promptly opened inside hearing her fumbling voice and to her surprise, Eric was standing there dressed up casually in a night suit. Standing at the door, he crossed his arms over his chest and greeted her with a warm smile, "good morning...princess!"


    "Wh-What are you...doing here? Why are you here again!?" Doubtful and baffled with the uncomfortable circumstances, she frowned her face glaring at him with a frozen look.


    At his blunt query, he couldn''t help but smile innocently. Clearing his throat, he softly whispered, "well...this is my home in the first place."


    "What!?" Shrieking out at his answer aloud, she quickly rushed down the bed and gritted her jowls nervously, "then why am I in your room? What the fuck is happening here?"


    Watching her getting extremely palpitated, Eric swiftly strolled towards her and tried to comfort her panicked self. "Calm down, Miss Ivory. Do you remember anything after you passed out on my shoulder last night?"


    "What? I pa-passed out...on your s-shoulder?" Surging her eyeballs hysterically, she repeated after him.


    Eric stood still for a second, gawking straight into her dubious eyes. Taking a deep huff of breath out, he sulked his grimace, "I guess...you really don''t remember anything."


    "Stop puzzling my mind and spit it coherently!!" Her loud crisp voice sounded quite fumed as she roared at him, dashing a bold step closer to him.


    "You were bawling your eyes out and seemed too exhausted from your heartache, Miss Ivory." Rustling his tranquil answer, he lowered his eyes down from her putting up a glum expression. "My...heart was breaking apart to watch you in that distressed state so...I...leaned you my shoulder so that...you can weep all your bitter tears out. Surprisingly, you found my shoulders quite comfortable and passed out in my arms. I tried to wake you up desperately but...you seemed completely drained out...


    So...I had no other choice rather than to bring you here to my home so that...you could at least have a good rest. Did I do...anything wrong?"


    Apprehending his clear and definite answer, Ivory was awestruck in shock. She even forgot to blink her eyes for a second and objected with complexity, "wh-why m-must I t-trust your w-words? How do...I...know...if...you are te-telling the truth?"


    He smiled a little lifting his chin up and gazing at him, expanding his wide beautiful dark eyes. Slowly, he walked a few steps closer to her and leaned his face a bit closer wittily, "you can look into my eyes to see the truth by yourself."


    "Huh?"


    "I know you will never admit it...but...even it''s just for once...your heart must have trusted me, Miss Ivory. Or else...you would have neither wept your tears nor you would have fallen asleep peacefully in my arms..." His voice sounded surprisingly comforting in her ears.


    Suddenly, hearing his gentle whisper, a string deep down in her heart trembled passionately. Holding a pounding heart, she quickly shoved a few steps away from him, seeming very nervous. Averting eye contact with him, she tried to resist his charm, "wh-what a crappy explanation! I...I rested on your shoulder...be-because I was drunk as hell! Yo-You, don''t need to be all...boastful just because of a trivial matter!"


    Watching her getting all palpitated and flustered out, a soft chuckle escaped his lips as he straightened up his posture before her. "Alright...I get it. You can calm down and start the day fresh and new. Also...I have already prepared breakfast downstairs. Come, let''s have breakfast together." He asked her very cordially.


    Gulping down her saliva, she tried to show off her cold attitude again, frowning her brows, "and why must I listen to you? Why the heck I would eat with--"


    GROWWLLL!


    Suddenly, a loud growling sound of her hunger contraction reverberated the entire room causing an absurd silence between both of them. Hearing the sudden noise, Eric burst out into a squeal of laughter while trying hard to cover his mouth with his palm.


    Making a bashful face at the embarrassing situation, Ivory tried to explain herself again, "he-hey...it-it''s nothing! Do-Don''t you laugh--"


    "Your stomach is clearly much honest and sincere than your mouth, and...I find it very adorable. So...please just give up and come downstairs. I will be waiting for you." Still trying to suppress his laugh, he marched out of the room seeming much happier from his eloquence.


    As he headed out, covering her blushed red face with both of her palms, she gritted her jowls sounding very frustrated, "gosh! This is so humiliating! Fuck...why did my stomach had to growl right before him? Arrghhhh, damn it!" She punched the pillow taking a deep sigh out. Slowly, she lifted her chin up and glanced towards the way he just walked outside a moment ago.


    "Isn''t it strange? Why do I...always find you...whenever I have a hard time?" She wondered, gazing at the door with a sad face.

 Chapter 229 - Blind Date

    Sitting next to each other on the breakfast table, Ivory was stealing glances at all the meals Eric had specially prepared for her in that early morning. It included caff¨¨ latte, garlic bread, scrambled eggs with sausages, heavy cream croissant, and stuffed Ricotta pancakes. They seemed extremely delicious just from first sight! She was awestruck for a while gazing at the delightful breakfast over the table with her wide eyes glimmering. For the very first time in her life, someone had put a lot of effort to satisfy her cravings in the most refined as well as a loving way possible.


    "Are these meals okay with your palate or...should I have been prepared something else?" Tenderly serving the meals before her on the table, he asked her in a curious note.


    Hearing his query, she revived her awestruck senses back and boldly shook her head in declination. "Th-These are...more than en-enough! Why did you prepare so much food for me in the first place?"


    He smirked at her curious reciprocation and lovingly lift his chin up, staring deep into her eyes. "It''s the first time...you are...having a meal with me in my home. It seems...like a beautiful dream. That''s why...I wanted to please your appetite with my cuisine skills. Besides..." He trailed off.


    "Besides?"


    "Well," slowly he grabbed the seat opposite to her on the table and wittily smirked at her. "As a normal person, I can''t serve blood and flesh to satisfy your hunger. So...at least...I made food in excess!"


    Hearing his facetious answer, suddenly, a dreadful feeling swooned her insides for a second. Frowning her jowls impatiently, she murmured at him, "wh-what do you mean?"


    He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his back against his chair, putting up an amusing expression. "Don''t you remember what you had asked me last night to get for you when you were starving?"


    "Wh-What did I ask you?" Her face seemed a bit palpitated, gawking at him sternly.


    "Fresh blood and warm flesh!" He smirked cheekily, rolling his eyes bigger while answering. "Are you by chance a cannibal, Miss Ivory?"


    Though he was jokingly asking her all those questions, with his every query a surge of fear was arousing inside her heart. She had already blabbered out her hideous existence in this human world right before him in her intoxicated state, which was puzzling her mind quite badly! Fidgeting her toenails beneath the table, she tried to oppose him, "n-no...th-that''s not I...meant--"


    "Of course, I know!" Before she could complete her words, he reciprocated his answer quite loudly which even startled her anxious self. "You don''t have to explain about such a trivial thing, Miss Ivory."


    "H-Huh?"


    "You weren''t in your right state of mind last night and it''s human nature to speak out any violent wish in a gibberish way whenever they are too drunk. It''s nothing to be embarrassed about and to be honest, as long as I find you satisfied and pleased, nothing matters to me." Holding a wide grin on his radiant charming face, he uttered those words to soothe her anxious expression.


    Ivory slowly lowered her guilty eyes down from him and exhaled a heavy sigh. She was concerned about such a horrendous mistake she committed before a human which had almost revealed her true identity! Things would have turned ugly and severe if Eric wasn''t a simple-minded person, unlike the terrible happenings she had to face in the past! This fact was writhing her from the core as she continued grimacing her face.


    "Miss Ivory...did my joke...offended you somehow?" Leaning his curious face a bit closer, he rolled his puppy eyes wider asking her in a considerate pitch. "I was just messing with you a bit...but...if it hurt your sentiments then...I apologize--"


    [PHONE RINGING]


    Suddenly their conversation interrupted a bit as his phone rang out aloud placed on the table. Flinched at the unexpected loud noise, Ivory raised her chin up to peek a glance at his phone screen.


    Looking a bit startled, Eric gazed at his phone for a few seconds frowning his brow ridge. Eva''s name was flashing on the screen which even made him more uneasy!


    "Who''s that?" Unable to visualize the name flashing upon his display, Ivory shot a blunt query at him in a deep pitch. Watching his bothered expression on his grimace, unexpectedly, it made her even more curious to know about that anonymous person!


    Shifting his glance up from the screen to peer deep into her eyes, he nervously answered, "ah...well...she is a lady...I once had a blind date with..."


    "What!?" Unknowingly his answer made her extremely irked! She swirled her fiery eyes glaring at him invincibly for a few seconds. Somehow, her insides turned out truly vexed and as a result in the flick of a second, she desired to smash his phone into several pieces to vent out her anger.


    "But it was really an awkward date I ever had in my life with someone! We...both were definitely not suitable for each other and I kind of realized meeting her for the first time only. So I was honest with her. But somehow, I am thankful to her." Holding a small smile on his face, his large black eyeballs seemed sparkling.


    "He is thankful? Hah...I want to twist the neck of both of them right now!" Fuming in the wrath of jealousy while cussing inside, she tried to suppress her hidden rage making a straight face before him.


    "Because...that was the fated night...when I met you, Miss Ivory." Turning off his screen, he sounded very gentle while gazing straight into her fiery eyes. "If...I hadn''t met that woman...then perhaps...we wouldn''t have been met each other too! And now when you are right before my eyes, nothing matters to me at all. Because...


    You already have my whole heart reserved for you."


    Apprehending his soft and soothing answer with his blissful smile, somehow the internal fury that was troubling her state of mind disappeared in a fraction of a second! She could easily observe his sincere emotions only for her and that made her way more pleased than ever. Unknowingly, a sparkle of satisfaction glowed in her brown wide eyes as she lowered her gaze down.


    "So...I can assure you for the rest of my life, that you don''t have to be jealous about me ever again..." He smiled cheekily while trying to tease her again.


    "Who said I am jealous?" Putting up an outer cold expression before him, she tried to oppose his answer. "I had already given you my answer way long ago...so what''s the point in getting jealous? You are really annoying!"


    He chuckled and continued observing her flustered face while she was bickering hard with him. "Damn...her every little gesture makes me fall for her again and again...


    Maybe...that''s what we call someone...our forever..." He wondered with a small charming smile.


    ......


    Turning off the screen, Eva took out a deeply troubled sigh as she placed her phone on the table. She was still unable to track Clara even after knowing that she hadn''t returned home since yesterday! Contacting Eric was the last helpless option she was left with since he was her colleague. And when the ultimate option even didn''t work, she stared up at the endless sky with a blank, deprived gaze in her eyes.


    "Eva?"


    "Hmm?"


    Slowly she turned her neck around responding to Zeus who was standing behind her making a serious face. He seemed very concerned about her as she was looking quite pale and anxious.


    "Whom were you calling just now?" Taking a small step closer, he asked.


    "Well...he is someone...I had a blind date once..." Seeming very troubled, she slowly whispered to him.


    "What!? Bl-Blind date?" Rolling his eyes fiercely looking quite furious at her honest response, he shrieked out at her. "Why were you calling that nasty punk? And why do you still have his number!?"


    --------------------------

 Chapter 230 - Since When

    Slowly shifting her intense blank gaze away from the endless sky, Eva glanced at Zeus turning her neck around. From his facial expression, he seemed extremely irked, gritting his jowls in anger while scrunching his brow ridge.


    She could easily assess his fuming rage and in a soothing pitch, she tried to console him first. "Zeus...please calm down..."


    "Calm down?" Before she could finish his words, he grumbled out intensely, narrowing his dark gaze at her. "How the heck I can calm myself after knowing that you...you are trying to contact someone you once had a blind date with! Who is that punk? I bet he must be a human!"


    Hearing out aloud his grumpy whining, Eva tossed a small smirk while looking deep into his spacious eyes. From his speech, it was evident that he was going crazy out of lingering emotions of jealousy that were seizing his core.


    "You have nothing to worry about him...because...he had already rejected me on our first date. It was extremely awkward between us." Tenderly holding one of his palms, she gently murmured.


    "What!?" Squinting his eyeballs fiercely, he gritted his jowl in anger sounding quite vexed. "How dare that trashy punk rejected a goddess like you? How dare a nasty human look down on my precious Eva? Tell me...Just tell me who the heck he is and I am gonna tear his tongue apart!" He fussed at her.


    Even though Zeus seemed crazily infuriated and enthralled by his possessiveness, but the sincere care and pure love were still evident in his big, dark eyes. Smiling softly at his childish grumbling, Eva gently placed her arm over his warm face and caressed him, "do you know why did he reject me?"


    "Huh?"


    "Because I had still saved our first selfie as my screen wallpaper even after walking away from you." Her eyes seemed a bit sad with a glum feeling enunciated on her words.


    Blinking his long, black eyelashes in wonder, he continued peering at her intensely without uttering a single query.


    "He seemed like a nice colleague of Clara and that''s why she asked me to make a new start of life by overcoming my deep grief as a result of our brief separation. But, you know, he could easily understand that my heart only belonged to you even though I was declining to accept the truth by myself. He made me realize that no matter where I go and whoever I chose...I can never find my happiness if it isn''t you, Zeus. And that''s why I am thankful to such a nice man like him who still resides in this bitter world..." Taking a deep huff of breath, her mild voice rustled with the whirling sound of the summer breeze.


    Apprehending her honest response while staring at her in awe, Zeus kept his anticipated silence momentarily without objecting any further. As soon as she concluded, he slowly gripped her arm which was placed over his cheek, and queried fondly, "so...it means...you tried to...contact him for...Clara?"


    "Yes." She nodded taking a gloomy sigh out. "He was the last clue left where I could seek a trace about her but...I failed again, Zeus..." Her voice grew heavier as she slowly departed her arms away from his face looking back at the sky with a void of emptiness in her gaze. "Apart from us, she didn''t have a family either... Zeus, I am really getting a bad feeling. Something...I bet something is wrong here and we are unable to evaluate it! Should we go and seek help from the cops? I...I really don''t know what to do anymore at this state...I am badly stuck... Zeus, I am scared of losing my only friend in this life..." She sounded quite impatient.


    For a moment, he held his absolute silence by glancing deep into her dreary eyes. Wrapping his arm around her soft shoulder, he tried to solace her in this difficult moment, murmuring to her, "if she wouldn''t have been a wolf, then we could have easily asked help from the cops... But right now, if we choose that option and somehow...it discloses her real identity...do you think she would be able to survive in this brutal human world?"


    She sighed again seeming very dismal from her narrowed gaze fixed up at the infinite horizon.


    "Eva...I can understand your concerns for her," caressing her tender arms, he tried to ease her distress a bit through his consoling words. "Think about it, she had to hide her own identity from the person she cherished with her whole heart...just because of a fear of losing you. Now...when the secret has been revealed...she might need some alone time to hold herself strong before facing you."


    "But..."


    "Don''t worry, I have already sent my trustworthy pack members to look out for her in every possible place a wolf can be... And I believe, we will be able to find her sooner enough, Eva." He concluded his declaration boldly while trying to cheer her up in that hard time by staying right next to her.


    Fidgeting anxiously in his arms, she lowered her eyes down for a while, swirling his pupils impatiently. "Zeus...you have already done so much for me... Your pack must have been so disappointed with you especially because of me. Besides, I have even spoken to your mother imprudently and...I doubt...it would further cause troubles in your constraints as the alpha." Her crooked voice shook a little as she was mumbling with a guilt-stricken face.


    Watching her getting more drained out of worries, he cuddled her tighter in his broad arms smiling gently. Placing a soft peck on her forehead, he reassured her in a soothing gesture, "right now, you are the most important constraint of my life. Nothing matters to me before your happiness and well-being. As long as you are by my side, I can fight against the whole world."


    His gentle whisper brought a pleasant grin to her glum face as she raised her chin to glance at him tenderly. "Do you think...Clara will come back to me safely soon?"


    "Of course! I believe it and I will make sure to find her safe and sound...Okay?"


    "O...Okay." She nodded holding a sad teary smile and leaning her head on his broad shoulder.


    As he was stroking her soft hairs with an amicable look on his face, suddenly, in the blink of a second, uncertain grimness prevailed all over his expression. While glancing up at the sky, a dubious, skeptical look appeared in his dark eyes seeming as if he was hit with a harsh, stinging thought deep inside his mind! The smile on his face had completely vanished into darkness!


    "It...It hasn''t been long enough since I came to know about Uncle Stevan''s demise... I bet...no one in our pack ever sought to know about him.


    Then...


    How did mom know about his death? Since when did she know all these? And most importantly, why didn''t...she ever disclose it to me?" The striking doubtful thought pulsed his mind anxiously.


    ______________________________________________________


    ***


    Hello my dear readers, how are you all? I have missed you so much and I am so glad that I can be finally back to you all. These past few months were too hard for me. My editor left, my family fell sick, covid hit me hard and I lost my day job due to a gruesome conspiracy. It had reached such a point when I had also thought if only I could give myself an eternal rest...


    But after fighting with my inner demon, I didn''t give up and I returned for the sake of love you all gave me.


    I am so pleased to announce that, based on the performance of this book, Webnovel has selected me for a new project and here I am coming here with a brand new story for you all. So along with Eva and Zeus...I hope you will also love:


    Aziel and Amelia!


    Some things are still yet to be finalized and the new novel will be released most probably next month. Only your support can make me continue my webnovel journey so please keep supporting me like this :) These two novels will be updated on regular basis.


    Let''s walk together again my dear lovelies :)


    Also, check the pinned comment down to see the cover of my new novel :)


    ''MY DARLING OF THE DARK''