Leah's POV
As I was sitting on the bench, the warmth of the afternoon sun enveloped me in a gentle embrace. The light danced across the trees, casting intricate patterns on the ground beneath my feet.
My brother had already left, leaving me to enjoy a moment of solitude. I knew he didn't want to leave me alone, but I insisted.
I had already stopped crying, although the tear marks on my face were still there. I felt so ashamed of myself, crying in front of everyone like a child. But at the same time, I did feel deeply frustrated, knowing that I may never get my mate's love in my life.
The wind gently blew, bringing me waves of the fragrance of pine and cedar from the snow-covered mountaintop. They stood there, for thousands of years, being side by side with their adjacent companions, so close, yet so apart.
As always, nature always manages me down, for every werewolf is nature's child.
I took a deep breath, taking the beauty of the world around me.
Then, a tall, dark shadow cast on me. I turned around and saw Finn standing against the sun, and it was as though the light itself was drawn to him, caressing his handsome face and highlighting every detail. His raven black hair was tousled in the gentle breeze and the glint in his azure eyes lit up his features, making my heart skip a beat.
What can I do to save you, my sun-kissed lover? If we were in love right now, it would be the most romantic thing in the world. I blushed and lowered my head, feeling self-conscious under his gaze.
"Leah, I'm sorry," he said in a deep, smooth voice.
Then, he sat on the bench, right next to me, stretching out his arm and wrapping it around my shoulder.
I lifted up and stared at him in surprise. He looked completely different from his terrified self a moment ago. He looked very comfortable holding me like this as if every single curve of his arm was specially made for me.
He drew himself closer, buried his face in my hair, and took a deep breath.
"You smell so good, Leah." He mumbled. Then, he took my hand and pulled me close to him. His eyes locked on mine and I felt my heart racing.
Looking into my eyes, he said softly, "I miss you so much, Leah. I shouldn't have left you this morning."
"Finn, do you remember? Do you recognize me now?" I asked him in a trembling voice.
He nodded slightly and held me tightly in his arms.
Tears rolled down from the corners of my eyes. It was tears of joy.
I lifted my head, kissing him all over desperately. I needed to let him know how I felt for him. It was simply impossible for me to put all my feelings into words. There was nothing in the world that could express a woman's love to a man better than a kiss, but at that time, I wasn't sure if he could receive my overwhelming affection for him.
To my great relief and pleasure, Finn lowered his head and held my face gently in his hands.
"I miss you, Leah." He whispered.
"I miss you, Fi..." I didn't finish saying his name, because he had already pressed his lips to mine. Our mouths met in a soft, tender kiss, like the fluttering of butterfly wings.
All of a sudden, I felt warmth spread through me. As I slowly stroked my fingers through his hair, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me even closer as our lips moved in unison. With each passing second, our kiss deepened. And our bodies melded together in a blissful embrace. I could feel his heart beating against my chest, matching the rhythm of my own. The sweetness of his taste sent a shiver down my spine, and I knew at that moment that I would never ever let this man go away in my life.
Finn whispered with the softest voice to my ear, "Leah, please tell me, what can I do to make you happy? I will do everything for you."
"You stay with me for the rest of our lives. That is something that will make me happy," I said.
"Then, I'll stay with you for the rest of our lives. I will never ever leave you," he replied in a gentle voice.
I looked up into his eyes and saw some sparks in his eyes. For a brief moment, he looked so distant and alien again. But it was just a split-second flash and then it was gone. I told myself it was a reflection of the sunlight at that moment when I should have known it was his pain and sorrow.
Looking back, I know I should have done a lot of things differently if I had known what Finn was trying to hide from me. But at that time, I was too blind to see the truth, because I was overwhelmed by the great chemistry of love and connection between me and my new boyfriend.
My love and my true mate. My second chance in life of doing everything right.
Jalin's POV
"Tell me what I'm looking at," Lucian said in his signature detached voice.
"We're hiding in the bush, looking at your sister fooling around with her new boyfriend and scheming to murder him. So I guess this is college all over again," I replied.
"20 years have passed," Lucian sighed. "That's fast."
"A lot of people die when they hit 40," I said.
"Are you trying to make a point or something?" Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"I'm just saying, your 40th birthday party is coming." I shrugged.
"And you've got a tip that someone is going to kill me at that party?" Lucian frowned.
"Not yet. I will definitely let you know if there is one. Anyway, my point is, it will be the perfect chance for you to introduce Finn to His Majesty."
"Why?"
"Well, let's just say he can't shout at you in front of a full house of guests."
"My Father will not know the existence of Leah's new boyfriend until we figure out who this guy really is," Lucian clenched his jaw.
I stared at Lucian and raised my eyebrows.
"What?" Lucian looked annoyed. "I need his last name to introduce him to His Majesty the Lycan King."
And then, we shifted our sights to the two lovebirds. They were holding hands. He sat way too close to her and held her way too tightly by any standard.
And then he started kissing her.
"Give me a reason for not killing this guy," Lucian bit his lips.
"I can give you a thousand reasons to kill him," I said with a grudge. "Actually, I'm going to kill him right now."
Lucian stopped me and said, "OK, Jalin, I understand that you're frustrated as I am. But I really need you to put down your dagger and take a deep breath."
I immediately put the dagger back into its sheath and inhaled more fresh air into my lungs. Hell, I didn't even know when I pulled it out in the first place.
"You're supposed to prevent me from doing mad things. Not the other way around," Lucian said.
"Sorry, Alpha. But I guess Leah's every bit as much of your sister as mine," I said.
Then, Leah and Finn started cuddling together. She lifted her head and he kissed her back. I hated to admit it, but the sight was so breathtakingly lovely that I almost believed that that fucking idiot Finn was really in love with Leah.
I thought Lycidas was a great actor, but what he's done in those award-winning films couldn't compare with what Finn's doing right now.
"Isn't this what we want?" Lucian sighed. "Leah finally found someone whom she's really in love with and he loves her back."
"So why are you bitching about it?" I asked.
"I guess I just don't expect this day to come so soon," Lucian mumbled and walked off.
I was about to follow him when Finn saw me.
I gave him a dark look, and he immediately looked scared, holding Leah tightly in his arms.
Nah. Finn isn't in love with Leah. Not yet. He was just faking it because he's afraid of me killing his so-called pimp brother.
But Leah doesn't have to know anything about this, because she's a lovely girl and it won't take long for her mate to fall in love with her.
Lucian doesn't have to know about this, either, because that's the decision I made as his Beta and best friend.
It's for his own good. I have it all under control.