THE LOVE OF A LYCAN

140 TORAK KNOWS

If there was something, in fact anything at all that she wished to say, they all mattered so much to him. That was why he would give his utmost attention even to the insignificant topic that she wanted to talk about.

Torak's blue eyes stared at Raine deeply. They were blue. It was a sign that he was at peace, and his beast was calm. He pulled Raine closer to him encouragingly, letting her know that she was allowed to talk as freely as she desired. Showing her through gesture, so that she could see that she was safe with him.

"Tell me my love, I would like to hear whatever it is." said Torak persuasively, waiting patiently when he saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"This is about that time when I disappeared…" Raine said, almost whispering. But fortunately, Torak was not a human to begin with. His hearing ability was above average, thus he could hear her just fine.

"Yes?" he kissed her forehead, trying to encourage her to continue what she was about to say.

The first ray of light started to illuminate the room, radiating such a beautiful golden hue to everything that it touched. Raine's pale face was not left untouched, as it was slowly turning to color because of the sunlight.

"I…" Raine hesitated, she was afraid that Torak wouldn't believe her. After all, a story about travelling back to the past wasn't an ideal concept that could be easily taken seriously. Because it sounded absurd in so many ways to anyone who heard about it, even to Raine herself who actually just experienced it not so long ago.

Sensing Raine's uneasiness, Torak leaned over and cupped her face in his warm palm. "I am here, and I am listening to whatever you wish to say. But, I need you to know that if ever you feel you're not ready to tell me about this, I will wait." said Torak sincerely.

Of course Torak really wanted to know where she was going when she disappeared. Deep down he was dying to know about it. But if telling him about it would require Raine to force herself into doing something that she didn't like, then simply Torak didn't need to hear it now.

Because the most important thing for him right now was having Raine in his arms. She was safe and sound. Any other thing could wait.

Seeing how considerate Torak was towards her, Raine gulped hard her doubt as she made her decision. "I…" she stumbled on her own words, but the softness and love in Torak's eyes made it easier for her then to spill the thing she needed to say. "I travelled back to the past."

With difficulty, Raine took a deep breath, trying to ease her mind once more. And then she started to tell him everything. About the Village of Angels, about the lycanthropes that were ordered to gather all the guardian angels, about how they attacked the village that was costing the lives of guardian angels.

However, for some reason, Raine felt the necessity of skipping certain parts of her story. Especially the part where she was forced to unite with a particular shadow warrior, and the time when she witnessed the death of Serefina. She didn't know the reason why she was reluctant to talk about those matters now. Probably, she needed to confirm something first.

The look on his face remained the same, except those pair of blue eyes. They were turning slightly darker when he heard Raine's story. Not wanting to interrupt her story, he kept silent until the girl finished with all the things that she wished to tell him.

"—and then I saw the white lycan who wanted to attack the shadow warrior, and suddenly the time, uhm…somehow stopped." Raine looked up at Torak to observe his expression. She was so afraid that he would think bad about her, that she was just talking nonsense. When in reality, what she just said to him, although hard to believe, but they were all true.

Who in the world could stop the time? As unbelievable as it sounded, that was exactly what happened to her during that life-and-death moment. She was somehow able to stop the time.

"You stopped the time." Torak repeated what she had said.

Raine lowered her head as she nodded. "Maybe it wasn't me…" She became self-conscious under Torak's eyes. "But, the time really stopped."

"And you rushed forward to block the attack from the white lycan?" Torak squinted his eyes and frowned with a clear disapproval.

Raine didn't see the changing in Torak's expression as she kept her head low. "Yes…"

"And then what happened?" Torak's voice suddenly became rigid as his body tensed.

"Well, the white lycan clawed the side of my head, after that, everything turned dark. And I swear, I don't remember anything else…" For one fleeting moment, a complicated look passed her eyes. "...and when I opened my eyes, I was suddenly back at the hospital."

If anything, the things about Aeon the shadow warrior would be the ones that she left untold. Thus, Raine didn't tell Torak about her conversation with Aeon in the shadow realm. This was the first time she hid something from Torak, and she felt so sorry for doing this. Yet, what else could she do? Giving Torak the whole truth, especially about Aeon, would bring out Torak's rage. Clearly, she didn't want that.

There was a brief silence that stretched out between them after Raine's confession, creating a mental distance, although they were eyes-to-eyes close. As the time passed, it made Raine to that point where she became uncomfortable. She raised her head, and looked at Torak with worry. "I know it might sound so unreal, and hard to believe—" said Raine, but in the middle of her sentence, Torak cut her word.

"Why did you put yourself in danger for someone that you don't even know?" Torak's main concern was something else, it was different from Raine's. The girl could feel the tension in the way he talked.

"I…" Raine startled when she finally realized the sudden change of mood in him. "The shadow warrior saved me before...so I…" She began to stutter in her words.

"So you immediately feel responsible to pay him back by saving his life?" Torak's eyes turned darker, though they were still the color of blue as ever. But the slight change of color in his eyes, was a clear sign that for whatever her reason was, Torak didn't like how Raine risked her life for someone else. On top of that, the particular person was a man.

It was crystal clear in his mind, he could still recall to that moment when she was gone. All the nasty things that, he felt when he was on the verge of breaking down because he couldn't find her. Worse, he couldn't even feel her. She was nowhere to be found. But then, he discovered that during all those darkest hours of his life, she was somewhere else, risking her precious life for someone else.

To him, it almost felt as if someone was going to snatch his mate away from him. It was as if Raine had someone else in her heart. It was harder especially for him because the mate-bond only worked on him alone. He had been relying on the fact that Raine was being comfortable with him, and that only. All without knowing what was actually in her heart, if she felt the same way too about him. He felt restless.

Meanwhile, it didn't apply the same way for Raine. She could just leave him if ever she wanted to find another, but Torak wouldn't be able to find another mate. A mate was supposed to last for lifetime for a lycan.

With the brief moment that passed the uncomfortable silence between them, Raine could feel Torak's displeasure. "Are you angry with me?" she asked gingerly. She touched his face, and drew a circle on his cheek with her thumb mindlessly. Without her knowing, that simple gesture could appease Torak's anger slightly, and saved both of them from the impending outburst.

"I am sorry…" Torak shook his head, and breathed deeply, sensing Raine's distress. "The thought of you was being harmed somewhere else where I was not around, doesn't settle well with me, my love." He kissed Raine's forehead.

"I'm alright." Raine smiled softly at Torak, but Torak's next words unfailingly made her freeze.

"Was that the shadow warrior that was paired with you?"