Chapter 235: 235
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When Raine realized what she had done and witnessed the disappointment in Torak's eyes, she knew in an instant that she had hurt him.
"No… Torak… That is not what I mean." Raine was afraid when Torak put down his hand and stood there, staring at her impassively.
Her heart was beating fast when she watched the way Torak looked at her. His blue eyes filled with discontent.
Torak had never seen her that way before and this scared Raine, she stumbled forward and clutched onto his front shirt.
"No, Torak… I didn't mean to stand up for him…" Raine tried to explain herself, but in her panic state her words failed her.
In the other hand, Torak didn't reject her touch, but he didn't reciprocate the same warm that he always offered to her.
"You just came, you must be tired, rest first." Torak said in flat tone, the disappointment in his eyes had disappeared as Torak stared at Raine emotionlessly.
"No, I don't want to rest… please listen to me." Raine pleaded, she felt her fear welled up in her heart, seeing the way Torak treated her this way.
"Later Raine, we will talk about this later." Torak pried her fingers from his front shirt as he went back to his seat behind his working desk, busying himself with his paperwork.
Raine's body was trembling, she bit her lips.
Later Raine…
Torak called her name instead of using an endearment words such as; my love or angel, like he always did.
Just how upset was he toward her?
Raine didn't dare to approach Torak, because he looked so distance.
She clutched the strap of her backpack tightly as she stood there at the same spot for more than fifteen minutes without getting his attention at all.
Torak ignored her.
Fighting back her tears, Raine finally gathered her courage to say something in voice that like a whisper. "I will cook something for us, let's have dinner together."
After saying that, Raine sprinted out from Torak's study room, she was afraid to hear his rejection.
If he did so, she was pretty sure that she would cry, embarrassing herself thoroughly, showing him how weak she was.
The lycanthropes hated weak creatures.
That sentence repeated in her head as Raine headed to the kitchen and busied herself, preparing food for their dinner.
Would he hate her?
==============
Crack!
The glass in Torak's hand shattered into pieces under the pressure, along with drop after drop of blood that stained the carpet beneath him.
He was very disappointed to say the least.
After Raine went out of the room, he couldn't help but need something to release some steam.
What on earth his mate was thinking to beg for another man's life to him?
Torak didn't want to hear Raine's explanation any further because it was the same thing like he was forced to hear how she viewed another man, talking about the good thing of that man.
Torak couldn't stand it, his blood boiled with anger.
And the worst part of it was; that man was the same person that had been tied to Raine when she was in the village of angel.
Torak comprehended very well how that atrocious tradition rooted in that village. He couldn't be more grateful when he knew Raine had not united with that shadow warrior.
But, that nasty creature kept pestering his mate and now he appeared in front of her.
If it wasn't because Torak's man had stopped him in time, probably he had taken Raine away, after all there was no way his mate could fight him.
Torak had been worn out enough to think about Raine's safety while keeping her oblivious about how the world had been trying to attack her.
However now she had asked him to not hurt the man that, obviously, would take her away at the first opportunity given.
How Torak could stand that when he had to hear his mate spoke for another man?
[Ralph. Is Serefina's condition showing progress?] Torak mind link his Beta.
[No. She still unconscious.] Raphael replied almost immediately. [Belinda had checked on her this afternoon, but there is nothing much she could do.] He said regretfully.
Belinda wasn't as strong as her half sister, thus it was out of her ability to fix Serefina's condition.
Torak opened his palm that covered with blood, but his wound had healed. He complimented for a while before he spoke again.
[Meet me at the porch.]
==============
"Did you cook this for me?" Calleb entered the kitchen and watched as Raine was meticulously preparing two plates of curry rice and a few side dishes.
Raine didn't answer Calleb rhetorical question as she kept busying herself with the food.
"Because if you prepared this for Torak, he will not eat it." Calleb said, biting his tongue while waiting for Raine's reaction.
Raine stopped abruptly and stared at Calleb without words, asking for explanation with her anxious eyes.
"He went outside ten minutes ago." Calleb started. "From what the Alpha and Raphael were discussing, seemingly they will not come back until tomorrow."
Raine dropped the bowl in her hands as it clunked against the table with loud noise before she dashed out of the kitchen and went to Torak's study room.
She pushed open the door forcefully and found no one there.
Fifteen minutes ago, Torak was still sitting on his seat, ignoring her while checking the doc.u.ments on the table, but now he was nowhere to be seen.
"Raine, what happen with both of you?" Calleb's worry voice sounded from behind her as he walked closer.
Raine rooted on the spot, trembling. "Where is he?"
"I don't know exactly where he is going, but this is something related to Serefina." Calleb replied as he rubbed Raine's head. "Did both of you fight?"
Calleb touched on her head reminded her of the way how Torak always doted on her. It similar, but also different because Calleb wasn't Torak.
"I disappointed him…" Raine whispered, hiding her teary eyes behind her hair that fell on the side of her face as she lowered her head.
"Don't worry, he will be fine in few days… just give him some alone time." Calleb knew about the shadow warrior had come to meet Raine this afternoon and watched how his Alpha turned extremely mad by the news.
But, the Gamma was clueless about why Torak fought with Raine. The Alpha treasured his mate the most and this abrupt changed puzzled him.
Seeing Raine now, he wasn't sure if this was the right time to ask her about what had happened.
"Get rest first, I will ask someone to bring something for you to eat." Calleb suggested. Raine had just returned, she must be feeling tired.
"Hmm." Raine hummed, she walked past Calleb without lifting her head, looking so dejected.
"Ck, what happened with them?" Calleb clicked his tongue in annoyance when he heard a dull sound of the door was being closed. He didn't like this kind of atmosphere.
==============
The time had strike past midnight and the sound of howling wind from the balcony was prominent along with the rustling leaves.
Raine couldn't close her eyes, despite the tiredness that she felt. The bed was so big, empty and cold without Torak.
Slowly, she pulled out her phone and slightly narrowed her eyes because of the light that lit up from the screen.
All of her messages had not yet delivered since she sent it six hours ago and when she tried to call Torak's number, it was the machine that repeated the same information that said she couldn't call the number because it was deactivated.
Raine tried to call Raphael, but he didn't pick her call no matter how many times she punched the redial button.
[Torak, where are you? I am sorry… can we talk?] Raine sent the message even though she knew it couldn't reach him for now.
She sat down and hugged her legs while resting her chin on her knees, staring at the dark starry night outside through the double door to the balcony.
Raine felt sorrowful.
She had to admit it that her words had offended him, but she didn't mean to stand against him and spoke for Aeon, yet at the same time Raine didn't want Torak to hurt Aeon too.
Aeon had saved her life more than twice already, of course Raine felt grateful for him because of that. That was what Raine wanted to tell Torak, but he didn't want to listen to her explanation.
Raine felt there was a hollow in her heart.
==============
Tonight Raine didn't sleep at all until the sun rose and the first light gradually illuminated the room.
When it was eight in the morning, Raine lethargically walked toward the bathroom and freshened up herself, ready to go to the college.
Probably after the whole night, Torak's anger would have ceased down by now and picked up her call, but even after she was ready to go, her messages still had not yet delivered.
Maybe this afternoon..
Raine talked to herself, trying to cheer herself up, yet failed miserably.
The way she dressed up today really represented her feeling, she was wearing black shirt under her black jacket that she zipped up to cover herself and dark jeans. There was no color from her whatsoever.
With her face free from make up and tired eyes as result of her sleepless night, her condition was terrible.
The moment Calleb saw her, he couldn't believe with what he was seeing. It took only a single night for Raine's condition to turn from worse to horrendous.
"Raine, are you alright?" Calleb glanced at the room and caught a glimpse of a tray full with foods, which was sent last night, before Raine could close the door of the bedroom. Apparently she didn't touch her food at all.
"Hmm." Raine nodded absentmindedly.
"Where are you going?" Calleb asked softly.
How could Torak make his mate suffer like this? Did Torak know Raine current condition? Those questions flew into Calleb's mind.
"College…" Raine replied ever so softly.
Calleb had to take a deep breath when he heard that, he hated this kind of situation and moreover Raine's retrogression.
"I am sorry Raine, but Torak didn't allow you to go anywhere today…" Calleb informed her carefully.
Raine lifted up her head and stared at Calleb with her sorrowful eyes, it took sometime before she could force a question out of her lips. "Why?"
Yet, before Calleb could answer her, Raine had known the answer.
Torak had told her.
Torak didn't allow her to go to college until Serefina's condition got better so she could do something about the shadow warrior.
Or maybe, until Torak got his hand on Aeon and finished him off, so he wouldn't be an obstacle anymore.
It was only a matter of time until one of the two choices occurred, and the second options bothered Raine the most.
"Torak called you" The light on Raine's eyes dimmed when she asked this question. She had been trying to reach him the whole night, but Torak didn't return her call.
"No," Calleb shook his head immediately. "Raphael sent me a text message last night when you just got to your room. But, afterward neither the Alpha nor Raphael could be reached." He said truthfully.
Raine sighed deeply and tiredly, she thought Torak particularly didn't want to be contacted by her.
"You look not well, why don't you rest for today?" Calleb suggested as he opened Raine's bedroom door. "The Alpha's judgment now is clouded by his temper, he will be in due time, just give him a little bit more space and then he will come to you."
Raine bit her lips. "Really? He doesn't hate me?" She asked in pitiful voice.
"Of course not, his temper is not always good some time, but he definitely will not hate you." The sound of Calleb's voice was so convincing, but Raine had another theory.
"Because of the mate bond." Raine stated and this particular issue resurfaced again, shook her feeling to the core.
"Raine don't say something like that. You seem to resent the mate bond…" Calleb grimaced. He didn't quite understand in this certain thing because he hadn't gone through it yet, thus he couldn't fathom how the exact feeling for having a mate.
Yes, at this point, Raine disliked the fact that the mate bond between her and Torak was the only thing that kept him by her side. It almost like all of his kindness and overprotectiveness wasn't real.
As if Torak was obliged to treat her well because of the mate bond.
Now, the old issue came up again in this situation, Raine couldn't lie to herself if she liked the idea that their relationship was based on the mate bond between them.
"I will take a rest." Raine didn't want to talk about this with Calleb nor she wanted to talk about anything to anyone. She needed her alone time too.
Raine closed the door, slid down and leaned her tired back against it.
Why this happened so fast? The day before yesterday Torak and she still shared the story about how their day went. Torak still teased her whenever he had a chance.
But now, because of her request last night, Torak flipped up and ignored her completely. He even didn't want to listen to her explanation.
Raine wanted to say that she didn't speak for Aeon neither she took his side, she just wanted Torak to know that Aeon had saved her life and it was against everything she believed to repay him that way.
It was mere gratitude, yet Torak didn't want to understand that.
Raine believed when Torak said he would kill him, after all he had done so when Aeon came to meet her in this room, though it wasn't the real him that Torak had destroyed at that time, but Torak wouldn't bat his eyes to do it again, whether it was real or fake.
Raine was also irritated by Aeon, if it wasn't because of him, she wouldn't have had this fight with Torak.
Why he should come to meet her?
Raine was staying at the same position for the entire afternoon and skipped her breakfast and lunch all together.
Ignoring Calleb persuading words for her to open the door.
==============
"Torak, don't you want to call Raine before we leave?" Raphael's brows creased by the Alpha's stubbornness. "I know you are upset because Luna had pleaded another man to you, but I think she didn't mean that way."
Torak stared at Serefina who was still laying on the bad, unconscious, but in Belinda's care, the color of her skin had returned a bit. She didn't look as pale as sheet anymore.
"I don't like her pleading for others, especially the man that harbored feeling for her." Torak's eyes turned black as he tried to keep his beast at bay, the thought of it alone managed to boil his blood with anger.
"Torak, you know Raine. Not like us, she has a soft heart. Even if it wasn't the shadow warrior and it was someone else, she will plead for the same thing." Raphael try to make Torak to see in different view.
Yet, Raphael couldn't blame Torak for reacting that way.
No one knew except him and Calleb, how hard Torak had tried to keep Raine safe or how far the extent of his effort to make sure Raine could have a normal life that she always wanted, since her last eight years of her life was nothing but miserable and chaos.
Even now, when he was still disappointed at his mate, he still thought about how to keep her away from any possible harm no matter how insignificant it could be, Torak didn't want to slack off if it came about her mate.
"I don't like her to plead for anyone, not even for me. I don't want her to stoop that low, she has to live with pride and never bow her head." Torak stated firmly.
Torak was coming from a royal blood of Lycanthropes, hence, even after centuries, the way he lived his life and the pride as the high- born still not ebbing away.
Pleading was a taboo thing for him, so it was no wonder if he expected the same thing from his mate… but, the situation was quite complicated.
"Torak, Raine still needs time to come to your expectation, she just recovered from her trauma and started her new life." Raphael said. "Give her some time to adjust. She is a human and on top of that, has a spirit of guardian angel, it is her nature to against any kind of violence."
Torak sighed deeply, maybe he exaggerated with his reaction, but with the mention of Aeon's name it was enough to irritate him, yet he didn't respond to Raphael's words and just walked out of the room after saying they needed to go now.
"Torak, are you sure, you don't want to make a call to Raine?" Raphael held his phone and was about to give it to Torak, because Torak's phone had ran out of battery since last night and he didn't even want to recharge it.
Torak halted his step and replied casually. "We will go back as soon as possible, she will be fine, Calleb is there."
Raphael sighed, he looked at a lot of messages and calls from Raine since last night. Torak had told him to not reply any of those, so Raphael could only oblige his Alpha's command regretfully.
But in the end, he texted a short message to Raine before he left to follow Torak.
[There is an important problem that arises. Don't worry, Torak will return soon.] Raphael thought that would be enough, and sent it.
==============
Raine was awake with the sound of her phone that notified her there was a massage, she scrunched her brows as she felt she was slightly lightheaded.
It was a text from Sunny that asked where she was and why she didn't go to the campus.
Raine's body ached from being in the same position in long time, she straightened her body and got a relief from the cracking sound of her back, afterward she stood up clumsily and walked toward the sofa near the window.
When she stared at the clock, it was already one thirty in the afternoon, it meant she had been behind the close door for more than four hours, no wonder her body felt like it split into two the moment she moved.
Raine didn't reply at Sunny's text, because it wasn't her message that she wanted.
Once again, Raine checked on her message for Torak and for her grief, it was still not delivered yet.
But, then her screen flashed with light and notification that she received another message and it was from Raphael, Raine abruptly sat down and opened the message eagerly.
It was only a short text that say there was another matter that Torak needed to handle and he would return soon.
But the text didn't explain why Torak's phone was shut down or why Raphael didn't pick up her call?
Almost immediately after she read the message, Raine called Raphael's number, but the number that she called was deactivated.
What happened to both of them? Why their phones were shut down?
"Raine, are you there? Let's have lunch together." Calleb knocked at the door noisily. "Come on out, it is very boring here without you!" He tried to cheer her up by joking around as if nothing happened.
Raine appreciated his effort and stood up from the sofa to open the door.
"You scare me with your look!!!" Calleb exclaimed, being the teasing person he was. "Let's get some food, so you can replenish all the tears that you had squeezed out."
Calleb grabbed her shoulder and pushed her in front of him to walk out of her room and heading the kitchen to get some food.
Once they were inside the kitchen, Calleb immediately served Raine sumptuous seafood dishes and made sure to put each one of them into Raine's plate, regardless she would eat it or not.
"Raphael texted me…" Raine said as she put a spoonful of rice into her mouth, it taste like sand though.
"See? I told you, Torak will inform you about his whereabouts." Calleb took this opportunity to soothe her.
"It was Raphael, not Torak." Raine frowned.
"It's the same, the Alpha has his temper too, but he still cares about you." Calleb said rightfully, without knowing the truth.
Torak indeed cared about Raine, but he didn't ask Raphael to send that message.
Raine sighed, her head throbbed painfully. She didn't know that Torak's rejection could affect her so much like this.
She was used to rely on him and being pampered by him, hence when he didn't even want to be touched by her, the fact shook Raine.
"He doesn't care about me…" Raine said sullenly, a tear escaped her eyes as she tried to swallow her food.
"Easy there…" Calleb gave Raine a glass of water and patted her head. "Now tell me what did you say that angered him."
Raine bit her lips and sniffled. "He misunderstood me…" Raine rubbed her face harshly to fight back the tears. "He thought, I was defending Aeon… but I wasn't." She shook her head to emphasize her words.
"And then?" Calleb prodded.
"I asked him to not harm Aeon because he had saved my life more than twice, of course I can't repay him by having Torak to kill him…" Raine said between her sobs. "But, Torak misunderstood me…"
Calleb sighed again. Knowing his Alpha for years, it most likely his reaction would be when he heard his mate mentioned another man's name.
"Well, Torak indeed has misunderstood you." Calleb patted Raine's head. "He is throwing his temper now. You are not to blame for this."
Raine lifted her head and looked at Calleb with her teary eyes, her pale face and her eyes back were the evidence that this matter not only had bothered her, but also aggravated her self- conscious about her doubt of the mate bond between them.
Calleb had heard this that the mate bond only affected Torak, so Raine didn't feel the pull of it, but seeing how she cried her eyes out now, Calleb didn't think she would need the mate bond at all, she had fallen helplessly for Torak.
It was understandable, after all human was a creature that filled with emotions and once you touched the soft spot of them, most of the case, they would use their heart over their head.
Meanwhile Lycanthropes and the other supernatural creatures have their own nature and unique trait too.
"But, Raine… Lycanthropes are the most territorial among all of the supernatural creatures. What is belong to us we will defend it until our last breath and this trait is worse for the Alpha when it comes to their mate. Not to mention you were talking about another man, even if there is someone from our pack stares at you and harbors an ill intention, the Alpha wouldn't think twice to end their life."
Calleb wanted Raine to know about their nature too, because it would be hard for her to keep up with them, moreover she would be the Luna of the pack.
Though Calleb didn't put his concern on this, but at the very least he wanted Raine to know her position in this largest pack where Torak led thousands of lycanthropes and werewolves along with some other creatures under his wings.
"You knew this." Calleb held Raine's eyes as he spoke seriously. "It had happened when there was a lycan harassed you months ago."
Raine remembered that, how could she not? The first moment when she witnessed with her own eyes how ferocious Torak's beast was and how he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone that got in his way.
"But, Raine… you have to know also that the Alpha always has a soft spot for you." Calleb pursed his lips playfully as if he didn't agree with what he was going to say. "Torak has moved out from his territory for you, didn't kill the witch after all she had said because she still useful for you."
Calleb then leaned his back against the backrest of the chair.
"Whether it is because the mate bond or not, his love for you is real."
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When Raine realized what she had done and witnessed the disappointment in Torak's eyes, she knew in an instant that she had hurt him.
"No… Torak… That is not what I mean." Raine was afraid when Torak put down his hand and stood there, staring at her impassively.
Her heart was beating fast when she watched the way Torak looked at her. His blue eyes filled with discontent.
Torak had never seen her that way before and this scared Raine, she stumbled forward and clutched onto his front shirt.
"No, Torak… I didn't mean to stand up for him…" Raine tried to explain herself, but in her panic state her words failed her.
In the other hand, Torak didn't reject her touch, but he didn't reciprocate the same warm that he always offered to her.
"You just came, you must be tired, rest first." Torak said in flat tone, the disappointment in his eyes had disappeared as Torak stared at Raine emotionlessly.
"No, I don't want to rest… please listen to me." Raine pleaded, she felt her fear welled up in her heart, seeing the way Torak treated her this way.
"Later Raine, we will talk about this later." Torak pried her fingers from his front shirt as he went back to his seat behind his working desk, busying himself with his paperwork.
Raine's body was trembling, she bit her lips.
Later Raine…
Torak called her name instead of using an endearment words such as; my love or angel, like he always did.
Just how upset was he toward her?
Raine didn't dare to approach Torak, because he looked so distance.
She clutched the strap of her backpack tightly as she stood there at the same spot for more than fifteen minutes without getting his attention at all.
Torak ignored her.
Fighting back her tears, Raine finally gathered her courage to say something in voice that like a whisper. "I will cook something for us, let's have dinner together."
After saying that, Raine sprinted out from Torak's study room, she was afraid to hear his rejection.
If he did so, she was pretty sure that she would cry, embarrassing herself thoroughly, showing him how weak she was.
The lycanthropes hated weak creatures.
That sentence repeated in her head as Raine headed to the kitchen and busied herself, preparing food for their dinner.
Would he hate her?
==============
Crack!
The glass in Torak's hand shattered into pieces under the pressure, along with drop after drop of blood that stained the carpet beneath him.
He was very disappointed to say the least.
After Raine went out of the room, he couldn't help but need something to release some steam.
What on earth his mate was thinking to beg for another man's life to him?
Torak didn't want to hear Raine's explanation any further because it was the same thing like he was forced to hear how she viewed another man, talking about the good thing of that man.
Torak couldn't stand it, his blood boiled with anger.
And the worst part of it was; that man was the same person that had been tied to Raine when she was in the village of angel.
Torak comprehended very well how that atrocious tradition rooted in that village. He couldn't be more grateful when he knew Raine had not united with that shadow warrior.
But, that nasty creature kept pestering his mate and now he appeared in front of her.
If it wasn't because Torak's man had stopped him in time, probably he had taken Raine away, after all there was no way his mate could fight him.
Torak had been worn out enough to think about Raine's safety while keeping her oblivious about how the world had been trying to attack her.
However now she had asked him to not hurt the man that, obviously, would take her away at the first opportunity given.
How Torak could stand that when he had to hear his mate spoke for another man?
[Ralph. Is Serefina's condition showing progress?] Torak mind link his Beta.
[No. She still unconscious.] Raphael replied almost immediately. [Belinda had checked on her this afternoon, but there is nothing much she could do.] He said regretfully.
Belinda wasn't as strong as her half sister, thus it was out of her ability to fix Serefina's condition.
Torak opened his palm that covered with blood, but his wound had healed. He complimented for a while before he spoke again.
[Meet me at the porch.]
==============
"Did you cook this for me?" Calleb entered the kitchen and watched as Raine was meticulously preparing two plates of curry rice and a few side dishes.
Raine didn't answer Calleb rhetorical question as she kept busying herself with the food.
"Because if you prepared this for Torak, he will not eat it." Calleb said, biting his tongue while waiting for Raine's reaction.
Raine stopped abruptly and stared at Calleb without words, asking for explanation with her anxious eyes.
"He went outside ten minutes ago." Calleb started. "From what the Alpha and Raphael were discussing, seemingly they will not come back until tomorrow."
Raine dropped the bowl in her hands as it clunked against the table with loud noise before she dashed out of the kitchen and went to Torak's study room.
She pushed open the door forcefully and found no one there.
Fifteen minutes ago, Torak was still sitting on his seat, ignoring her while checking the doc.u.ments on the table, but now he was nowhere to be seen.
"Raine, what happen with both of you?" Calleb's worry voice sounded from behind her as he walked closer.
Raine rooted on the spot, trembling. "Where is he?"
"I don't know exactly where he is going, but this is something related to Serefina." Calleb replied as he rubbed Raine's head. "Did both of you fight?"
Calleb touched on her head reminded her of the way how Torak always doted on her. It similar, but also different because Calleb wasn't Torak.
"I disappointed him…" Raine whispered, hiding her teary eyes behind her hair that fell on the side of her face as she lowered her head.
"Don't worry, he will be fine in few days… just give him some alone time." Calleb knew about the shadow warrior had come to meet Raine this afternoon and watched how his Alpha turned extremely mad by the news.
But, the Gamma was clueless about why Torak fought with Raine. The Alpha treasured his mate the most and this abrupt changed puzzled him.
Seeing Raine now, he wasn't sure if this was the right time to ask her about what had happened.
"Get rest first, I will ask someone to bring something for you to eat." Calleb suggested. Raine had just returned, she must be feeling tired.
"Hmm." Raine hummed, she walked past Calleb without lifting her head, looking so dejected.
"Ck, what happened with them?" Calleb clicked his tongue in annoyance when he heard a dull sound of the door was being closed. He didn't like this kind of atmosphere.
==============
The time had strike past midnight and the sound of howling wind from the balcony was prominent along with the rustling leaves.
Raine couldn't close her eyes, despite the tiredness that she felt. The bed was so big, empty and cold without Torak.
Slowly, she pulled out her phone and slightly narrowed her eyes because of the light that lit up from the screen.
All of her messages had not yet delivered since she sent it six hours ago and when she tried to call Torak's number, it was the machine that repeated the same information that said she couldn't call the number because it was deactivated.
Raine tried to call Raphael, but he didn't pick her call no matter how many times she punched the redial button.
[Torak, where are you? I am sorry… can we talk?] Raine sent the message even though she knew it couldn't reach him for now.
She sat down and hugged her legs while resting her chin on her knees, staring at the dark starry night outside through the double door to the balcony.
Raine felt sorrowful.
She had to admit it that her words had offended him, but she didn't mean to stand against him and spoke for Aeon, yet at the same time Raine didn't want Torak to hurt Aeon too.
Aeon had saved her life more than twice already, of course Raine felt grateful for him because of that. That was what Raine wanted to tell Torak, but he didn't want to listen to her explanation.
Raine felt there was a hollow in her heart.
==============
Tonight Raine didn't sleep at all until the sun rose and the first light gradually illuminated the room.
When it was eight in the morning, Raine lethargically walked toward the bathroom and freshened up herself, ready to go to the college.
Probably after the whole night, Torak's anger would have ceased down by now and picked up her call, but even after she was ready to go, her messages still had not yet delivered.
Maybe this afternoon..
Raine talked to herself, trying to cheer herself up, yet failed miserably.
The way she dressed up today really represented her feeling, she was wearing black shirt under her black jacket that she zipped up to cover herself and dark jeans. There was no color from her whatsoever.
With her face free from make up and tired eyes as result of her sleepless night, her condition was terrible.
The moment Calleb saw her, he couldn't believe with what he was seeing. It took only a single night for Raine's condition to turn from worse to horrendous.
"Raine, are you alright?" Calleb glanced at the room and caught a glimpse of a tray full with foods, which was sent last night, before Raine could close the door of the bedroom. Apparently she didn't touch her food at all.
"Hmm." Raine nodded absentmindedly.
"Where are you going?" Calleb asked softly.
How could Torak make his mate suffer like this? Did Torak know Raine current condition? Those questions flew into Calleb's mind.
"College…" Raine replied ever so softly.
Calleb had to take a deep breath when he heard that, he hated this kind of situation and moreover Raine's retrogression.
"I am sorry Raine, but Torak didn't allow you to go anywhere today…" Calleb informed her carefully.
Raine lifted up her head and stared at Calleb with her sorrowful eyes, it took sometime before she could force a question out of her lips. "Why?"
Yet, before Calleb could answer her, Raine had known the answer.
Torak had told her.
Torak didn't allow her to go to college until Serefina's condition got better so she could do something about the shadow warrior.
Or maybe, until Torak got his hand on Aeon and finished him off, so he wouldn't be an obstacle anymore.
It was only a matter of time until one of the two choices occurred, and the second options bothered Raine the most.
"Torak called you" The light on Raine's eyes dimmed when she asked this question. She had been trying to reach him the whole night, but Torak didn't return her call.
"No," Calleb shook his head immediately. "Raphael sent me a text message last night when you just got to your room. But, afterward neither the Alpha nor Raphael could be reached." He said truthfully.
Raine sighed deeply and tiredly, she thought Torak particularly didn't want to be contacted by her.
"You look not well, why don't you rest for today?" Calleb suggested as he opened Raine's bedroom door. "The Alpha's judgment now is clouded by his temper, he will be in due time, just give him a little bit more space and then he will come to you."
Raine bit her lips. "Really? He doesn't hate me?" She asked in pitiful voice.
"Of course not, his temper is not always good some time, but he definitely will not hate you." The sound of Calleb's voice was so convincing, but Raine had another theory.
"Because of the mate bond." Raine stated and this particular issue resurfaced again, shook her feeling to the core.
"Raine don't say something like that. You seem to resent the mate bond…" Calleb grimaced. He didn't quite understand in this certain thing because he hadn't gone through it yet, thus he couldn't fathom how the exact feeling for having a mate.
Yes, at this point, Raine disliked the fact that the mate bond between her and Torak was the only thing that kept him by her side. It almost like all of his kindness and overprotectiveness wasn't real.
As if Torak was obliged to treat her well because of the mate bond.
Now, the old issue came up again in this situation, Raine couldn't lie to herself if she liked the idea that their relationship was based on the mate bond between them.
"I will take a rest." Raine didn't want to talk about this with Calleb nor she wanted to talk about anything to anyone. She needed her alone time too.
Raine closed the door, slid down and leaned her tired back against it.
Why this happened so fast? The day before yesterday Torak and she still shared the story about how their day went. Torak still teased her whenever he had a chance.
But now, because of her request last night, Torak flipped up and ignored her completely. He even didn't want to listen to her explanation.
Raine wanted to say that she didn't speak for Aeon neither she took his side, she just wanted Torak to know that Aeon had saved her life and it was against everything she believed to repay him that way.
It was mere gratitude, yet Torak didn't want to understand that.
Raine believed when Torak said he would kill him, after all he had done so when Aeon came to meet her in this room, though it wasn't the real him that Torak had destroyed at that time, but Torak wouldn't bat his eyes to do it again, whether it was real or fake.
Raine was also irritated by Aeon, if it wasn't because of him, she wouldn't have had this fight with Torak.
Why he should come to meet her?
Raine was staying at the same position for the entire afternoon and skipped her breakfast and lunch all together.
Ignoring Calleb persuading words for her to open the door.
==============
"Torak, don't you want to call Raine before we leave?" Raphael's brows creased by the Alpha's stubbornness. "I know you are upset because Luna had pleaded another man to you, but I think she didn't mean that way."
Torak stared at Serefina who was still laying on the bad, unconscious, but in Belinda's care, the color of her skin had returned a bit. She didn't look as pale as sheet anymore.
"I don't like her pleading for others, especially the man that harbored feeling for her." Torak's eyes turned black as he tried to keep his beast at bay, the thought of it alone managed to boil his blood with anger.
"Torak, you know Raine. Not like us, she has a soft heart. Even if it wasn't the shadow warrior and it was someone else, she will plead for the same thing." Raphael try to make Torak to see in different view.
Yet, Raphael couldn't blame Torak for reacting that way.
No one knew except him and Calleb, how hard Torak had tried to keep Raine safe or how far the extent of his effort to make sure Raine could have a normal life that she always wanted, since her last eight years of her life was nothing but miserable and chaos.
Even now, when he was still disappointed at his mate, he still thought about how to keep her away from any possible harm no matter how insignificant it could be, Torak didn't want to slack off if it came about her mate.
"I don't like her to plead for anyone, not even for me. I don't want her to stoop that low, she has to live with pride and never bow her head." Torak stated firmly.
Torak was coming from a royal blood of Lycanthropes, hence, even after centuries, the way he lived his life and the pride as the high- born still not ebbing away.
Pleading was a taboo thing for him, so it was no wonder if he expected the same thing from his mate… but, the situation was quite complicated.
"Torak, Raine still needs time to come to your expectation, she just recovered from her trauma and started her new life." Raphael said. "Give her some time to adjust. She is a human and on top of that, has a spirit of guardian angel, it is her nature to against any kind of violence."
Torak sighed deeply, maybe he exaggerated with his reaction, but with the mention of Aeon's name it was enough to irritate him, yet he didn't respond to Raphael's words and just walked out of the room after saying they needed to go now.
"Torak, are you sure, you don't want to make a call to Raine?" Raphael held his phone and was about to give it to Torak, because Torak's phone had ran out of battery since last night and he didn't even want to recharge it.
Torak halted his step and replied casually. "We will go back as soon as possible, she will be fine, Calleb is there."
Raphael sighed, he looked at a lot of messages and calls from Raine since last night. Torak had told him to not reply any of those, so Raphael could only oblige his Alpha's command regretfully.
But in the end, he texted a short message to Raine before he left to follow Torak.
[There is an important problem that arises. Don't worry, Torak will return soon.] Raphael thought that would be enough, and sent it.
==============
Raine was awake with the sound of her phone that notified her there was a massage, she scrunched her brows as she felt she was slightly lightheaded.
It was a text from Sunny that asked where she was and why she didn't go to the campus.
Raine's body ached from being in the same position in long time, she straightened her body and got a relief from the cracking sound of her back, afterward she stood up clumsily and walked toward the sofa near the window.
When she stared at the clock, it was already one thirty in the afternoon, it meant she had been behind the close door for more than four hours, no wonder her body felt like it split into two the moment she moved.
Raine didn't reply at Sunny's text, because it wasn't her message that she wanted.
Once again, Raine checked on her message for Torak and for her grief, it was still not delivered yet.
But, then her screen flashed with light and notification that she received another message and it was from Raphael, Raine abruptly sat down and opened the message eagerly.
It was only a short text that say there was another matter that Torak needed to handle and he would return soon.
But the text didn't explain why Torak's phone was shut down or why Raphael didn't pick up her call?
Almost immediately after she read the message, Raine called Raphael's number, but the number that she called was deactivated.
What happened to both of them? Why their phones were shut down?
"Raine, are you there? Let's have lunch together." Calleb knocked at the door noisily. "Come on out, it is very boring here without you!" He tried to cheer her up by joking around as if nothing happened.
Raine appreciated his effort and stood up from the sofa to open the door.
"You scare me with your look!!!" Calleb exclaimed, being the teasing person he was. "Let's get some food, so you can replenish all the tears that you had squeezed out."
Calleb grabbed her shoulder and pushed her in front of him to walk out of her room and heading the kitchen to get some food.
Once they were inside the kitchen, Calleb immediately served Raine sumptuous seafood dishes and made sure to put each one of them into Raine's plate, regardless she would eat it or not.
"Raphael texted me…" Raine said as she put a spoonful of rice into her mouth, it taste like sand though.
"See? I told you, Torak will inform you about his whereabouts." Calleb took this opportunity to soothe her.
"It was Raphael, not Torak." Raine frowned.
"It's the same, the Alpha has his temper too, but he still cares about you." Calleb said rightfully, without knowing the truth.
Torak indeed cared about Raine, but he didn't ask Raphael to send that message.
Raine sighed, her head throbbed painfully. She didn't know that Torak's rejection could affect her so much like this.
She was used to rely on him and being pampered by him, hence when he didn't even want to be touched by her, the fact shook Raine.
"He doesn't care about me…" Raine said sullenly, a tear escaped her eyes as she tried to swallow her food.
"Easy there…" Calleb gave Raine a glass of water and patted her head. "Now tell me what did you say that angered him."
Raine bit her lips and sniffled. "He misunderstood me…" Raine rubbed her face harshly to fight back the tears. "He thought, I was defending Aeon… but I wasn't." She shook her head to emphasize her words.
"And then?" Calleb prodded.
"I asked him to not harm Aeon because he had saved my life more than twice, of course I can't repay him by having Torak to kill him…" Raine said between her sobs. "But, Torak misunderstood me…"
Calleb sighed again. Knowing his Alpha for years, it most likely his reaction would be when he heard his mate mentioned another man's name.
"Well, Torak indeed has misunderstood you." Calleb patted Raine's head. "He is throwing his temper now. You are not to blame for this."
Raine lifted her head and looked at Calleb with her teary eyes, her pale face and her eyes back were the evidence that this matter not only had bothered her, but also aggravated her self- conscious about her doubt of the mate bond between them.
Calleb had heard this that the mate bond only affected Torak, so Raine didn't feel the pull of it, but seeing how she cried her eyes out now, Calleb didn't think she would need the mate bond at all, she had fallen helplessly for Torak.
It was understandable, after all human was a creature that filled with emotions and once you touched the soft spot of them, most of the case, they would use their heart over their head.
Meanwhile Lycanthropes and the other supernatural creatures have their own nature and unique trait too.
"But, Raine… Lycanthropes are the most territorial among all of the supernatural creatures. What is belong to us we will defend it until our last breath and this trait is worse for the Alpha when it comes to their mate. Not to mention you were talking about another man, even if there is someone from our pack stares at you and harbors an ill intention, the Alpha wouldn't think twice to end their life."
Calleb wanted Raine to know about their nature too, because it would be hard for her to keep up with them, moreover she would be the Luna of the pack.
Though Calleb didn't put his concern on this, but at the very least he wanted Raine to know her position in this largest pack where Torak led thousands of lycanthropes and werewolves along with some other creatures under his wings.
"You knew this." Calleb held Raine's eyes as he spoke seriously. "It had happened when there was a lycan harassed you months ago."
Raine remembered that, how could she not? The first moment when she witnessed with her own eyes how ferocious Torak's beast was and how he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone that got in his way.
"But, Raine… you have to know also that the Alpha always has a soft spot for you." Calleb pursed his lips playfully as if he didn't agree with what he was going to say. "Torak has moved out from his territory for you, didn't kill the witch after all she had said because she still useful for you."
Calleb then leaned his back against the backrest of the chair.
"Whether it is because the mate bond or not, his love for you is real."
When Raine realized what she had done and witnessed the disappointment in Torak's eyes, she knew in an instant that she had hurt him. "No Torak That is not what I mean." Raine was afraid when Torak put down his hand and stood there, staring at her impassively. Her heart was beating fast when she watched the way Torak looked at her. His blue eyes filled with discontent. Torak had never seen her that way before and this scared Raine, she stumbled forward and clutched onto his front shirt. "No, Torak I didn't mean to stand up for him" Raine tried to explain herself, but in her panic state her words failed her. In the other hand, Torak didn't reject her touch, but he didn't reciprocate the same warm that he always offered to her. "You just came, you must be tired, rest first." Torak said in flat tone, the disappointment in his eyes had disappeared as Torak stared at Raine emotionlessly. "No, I don't want to rest please listen to me." Raine pleaded, she felt her fear welled up in her heart, seeing the way Torak treated her this way. "Later Raine, we will talk about this later." Torak pried her fingers from his front shirt as he went back to his seat behind his working desk, busying himself with his paperwork. Raine's body was trembling, she bit her lips. Later Raine Torak called her name instead of using an endearment words such as; my love or angel, like he always did. Just how upset was he toward her? Raine didn't dare to approach Torak, because he looked so distance. She clutched the strap of her backpack tightly as she stood there at the same spot for more than fifteen minutes without getting his attention at all. Torak ignored her. Fighting back her tears, Raine finally gathered her courage to say something in voice that like a whisper. "I will cook something for us, let's have dinner together." After saying that, Raine sprinted out from Torak's study room, she was afraid to hear his rejection. If he did so, she was pretty sure that she would cry, embarrassing herself thoroughly, showing him how weak she was. The lycanthropes hated weak creatures. That sentence repeated in her head as Raine headed to the kitchen and busied herself, preparing food for their dinner. Would he hate her? ============== Crack! The glass in Torak's hand shattered into pieces under the pressure, along with drop after drop of blood that stained the carpet beneath him. He was very disappointed to say the least. After Raine went out of the room, he couldn't help but need something to release some steam. What on earth his mate was thinking to beg for another man's life to him? Torak didn't want to hear Raine's explanation any further because it was the same thing like he was forced to hear how she viewed another man, talking about the good thing of that man. Torak couldn't stand it, his blood boiled with anger. And the worst part of it was; that man was the same person that had been tied to Raine when she was in the village of angel. Torak comprehended very well how that atrocious tradition rooted in that village. He couldn't be more grateful when he knew Raine had not united with that shadow warrior. But, that nasty creature kept pestering his mate and now he appeared in front of her. If it wasn't because Torak's man had stopped him in time, probably he had taken Raine away, after all there was no way his mate could fight him. Torak had been worn out enough to think about Raine's safety while keeping her oblivious about how the world had been trying to attack her. However now she had asked him to not hurt the man that, obviously, would take her away at the first opportunity given. How Torak could stand that when he had to hear his mate spoke for another man? Ralph. Is Serefina's condition showing progress? Torak mind link his Beta. No. She still unconscious. Raphael replied almost immediately. Belinda had checked on her this afternoon, but there is nothing much she could do. He said regretfully. Belinda wasn't as strong as her half sister, thus it was out of her ability to fix Serefina's condition. Torak opened his palm that covered with blood, but his wound had healed. He complimented for a while before he spoke again. Meet me at the porch. ============== "Did you cook this for me?" Calleb entered the kitchen and watched as Raine was meticulously preparing two plates of curry rice and a few side dishes. Raine didn't answer Calleb rhetorical question as she kept busying herself with the food. "Because if you prepared this for Torak, he will not eat it." Calleb said, biting his tongue while waiting for Raine's reaction. Raine stopped abruptly and stared at Calleb without words, asking for explanation with her anxious eyes. "He went outside ten minutes ago." Calleb started. "From what the Alpha and Raphael were discussing, seemingly they will not come back until tomorrow." Raine dropped the bowl in her hands as it clunked against the table with loud noise before she dashed out of the kitchen and went to Torak's study room. She pushed open the door forcefully and found no one there. Fifteen minutes ago, Torak was still sitting on his seat, ignoring her while checking the doc.u.ments on the table, but now he was nowhere to be seen. "Raine, what happen with both of you?" Calleb's worry voice sounded from behind her as he walked closer. Raine rooted on the spot, trembling. "Where is he?" "I don't know exactly where he is going, but this is something related to Serefina." Calleb replied as he rubbed Raine's head. "Did both of you fight?" Calleb touched on her head reminded her of the way how Torak always doted on her. It similar, but also different because Calleb wasn't Torak. "I disappointed him" Raine whispered, hiding her teary eyes behind her hair that fell on the side of her face as she lowered her head. "Don't worry, he will be fine in few days just give him some alone time." Calleb knew about the shadow warrior had come to meet Raine this afternoon and watched how his Alpha turned extremely mad by the news. But, the Gamma was clueless about why Torak fought with Raine. The Alpha treasured his mate the most and this abrupt changed puzzled him. Seeing Raine now, he wasn't sure if this was the right time to ask her about what had happened. "Get rest first, I will ask someone to bring something for you to eat." Calleb suggested. Raine had just returned, she must be feeling tired. "Hmm." Raine hummed, she walked past Calleb without lifting her head, looking so dejected. "Ck, what happened with them?" Calleb clicked his tongue in annoyance when he heard a dull sound of the door was being closed. He didn't like this kind of atmosphere. ============== The time had strike past midnight and the sound of howling wind from the balcony was prominent along with the rustling leaves. Raine couldn't close her eyes, despite the tiredness that she felt. The bed was so big, empty and cold without Torak. Slowly, she pulled out her phone and slightly narrowed her eyes because of the light that lit up from the screen. All of her messages had not yet delivered since she sent it six hours ago and when she tried to call Torak's number, it was the machine that repeated the same information that said she couldn't call the number because it was deactivated. Raine tried to call Raphael, but he didn't pick her call no matter how many times she punched the redial button. Torak, where are you? I am sorry can we talk? Raine sent the message even though she knew it couldn't reach him for now. She sat down and hugged her legs while resting her chin on her knees, staring at the dark starry night outside through the double door to the balcony. Raine felt sorrowful. She had to admit it that her words had offended him, but she didn't mean to stand against him and spoke for Aeon, yet at the same time Raine didn't want Torak to hurt Aeon too. Aeon had saved her life more than twice already, of course Raine felt grateful for him because of that. That was what Raine wanted to tell Torak, but he didn't want to listen to her explanation. Raine felt there was a hollow in her heart. ============== Tonight Raine didn't sleep at all until the sun rose and the first light gradually illuminated the room. When it was eight in the morning, Raine lethargically walked toward the bathroom and freshened up herself, ready to go to the college. Probably after the whole night, Torak's anger would have ceased down by now and picked up her call, but even after she was ready to go, her messages still had not yet delivered. Maybe this afternoon.. Raine talked to herself, trying to cheer herself up, yet failed miserably. The way she dressed up today really represented her feeling, she was wearing black shirt under her black jacket that she zipped up to cover herself and dark jeans. There was no color from her whatsoever. With her face free from make up and tired eyes as result of her sleepless night, her condition was terrible. The moment Calleb saw her, he couldn't believe with what he was seeing. It took only a single night for Raine's condition to turn from worse to horrendous. "Raine, are you alright?" Calleb glanced at the room and caught a glimpse of a tray full with foods, which was sent last night, before Raine could close the door of the bedroom. Apparently she didn't touch her food at all. "Hmm." Raine nodded absentmindedly. "Where are you going?" Calleb asked softly. How could Torak make his mate suffer like this? Did Torak know Raine current condition? Those questions flew into Calleb's mind. "College" Raine replied ever so softly. Calleb had to take a deep breath when he heard that, he hated this kind of situation and moreover Raine's retrogression. "I am sorry Raine, but Torak didn't allow you to go anywhere today" Calleb informed her carefully. Raine lifted up her head and stared at Calleb with her sorrowful eyes, it took sometime before she could force a question out of her lips. "Why?" Yet, before Calleb could answer her, Raine had known the answer. Torak had told her. Torak didn't allow her to go to college until Serefina's condition got better so she could do something about the shadow warrior. Or maybe, until Torak got his hand on Aeon and finished him off, so he wouldn't be an obstacle anymore. It was only a matter of time until one of the two choices occurred, and the second options bothered Raine the most. "Torak called you" The light on Raine's eyes dimmed when she asked this question. She had been trying to reach him the whole night, but Torak didn't return her call. "No," Calleb shook his head immediately. "Raphael sent me a text message last night when you just got to your room. But, afterward neither the Alpha nor Raphael could be reached." He said truthfully. Raine sighed deeply and tiredly, she thought Torak particularly didn't want to be contacted by her. "You look not well, why don't you rest for today?" Calleb suggested as he opened Raine's bedroom door. "The Alpha's judgment now is clouded by his temper, he will be in due time, just give him a little bit more space and then he will come to you." Raine bit her lips. "Really? He doesn't hate me?" She asked in pitiful voice. "Of course not, his temper is not always good some time, but he definitely will not hate you." The sound of Calleb's voice was so convincing, but Raine had another theory. "Because of the mate bond." Raine stated and this particular issue resurfaced again, shook her feeling to the core. "Raine don't say something like that. You seem to resent the mate bond" Calleb grimaced. He didn't quite understand in this certain thing because he hadn't gone through it yet, thus he couldn't fathom how the exact feeling for having a mate. Yes, at this point, Raine disliked the fact that the mate bond between her and Torak was the only thing that kept him by her side. It almost like all of his kindness and overprotectiveness wasn't real. As if Torak was obliged to treat her well because of the mate bond. Now, the old issue came up again in this situation, Raine couldn't lie to herself if she liked the idea that their relationship was based on the mate bond between them. "I will take a rest." Raine didn't want to talk about this with Calleb nor she wanted to talk about anything to anyone. She needed her alone time too. Raine closed the door, slid down and leaned her tired back against it. Why this happened so fast? The day before yesterday Torak and she still shared the story about how their day went. Torak still teased her whenever he had a chance. But now, because of her request last night, Torak flipped up and ignored her completely. He even didn't want to listen to her explanation. Raine wanted to say that she didn't speak for Aeon neither she took his side, she just wanted Torak to know that Aeon had saved her life and it was against everything she believed to repay him that way. It was mere gratitude, yet Torak didn't want to understand that. Raine believed when Torak said he would kill him, after all he had done so when Aeon came to meet her in this room, though it wasn't the real him that Torak had destroyed at that time, but Torak wouldn't bat his eyes to do it again, whether it was real or fake. Raine was also irritated by Aeon, if it wasn't because of him, she wouldn't have had this fight with Torak. Why he should come to meet her? Raine was staying at the same position for the entire afternoon and skipped her breakfast and lunch all together. Ignoring Calleb persuading words for her to open the door. ============== "Torak, don't you want to call Raine before we leave?" Raphael's brows creased by the Alpha's stubbornness. "I know you are upset because Luna had pleaded another man to you, but I think she didn't mean that way." Torak stared at Serefina who was still laying on the bad, unconscious, but in Belinda's care, the color of her skin had returned a bit. She didn't look as pale as sheet anymore. "I don't like her pleading for others, especially the man that harbored feeling for her." Torak's eyes turned black as he tried to keep his beast at bay, the thought of it alone managed to boil his blood with anger. "Torak, you know Raine. Not like us, she has a soft heart. Even if it wasn't the shadow warrior and it was someone else, she will plead for the same thing." Raphael try to make Torak to see in different view. Yet, Raphael couldn't blame Torak for reacting that way. No one knew except him and Calleb, how hard Torak had tried to keep Raine safe or how far the extent of his effort to make sure Raine could have a normal life that she always wanted, since her last eight years of her life was nothing but miserable and chaos. Even now, when he was still disappointed at his mate, he still thought about how to keep her away from any possible harm no matter how insignificant it could be, Torak didn't want to slack off if it came about her mate. "I don't like her to plead for anyone, not even for me. I don't want her to stoop that low, she has to live with pride and never bow her head." Torak stated firmly. Torak was coming from a royal blood of Lycanthropes, hence, even after centuries, the way he lived his life and the pride as the high- born still not ebbing away. Pleading was a taboo thing for him, so it was no wonder if he expected the same thing from his mate but, the situation was quite complicated. "Torak, Raine still needs time to come to your expectation, she just recovered from her trauma and started her new life." Raphael said. "Give her some time to adjust. She is a human and on top of that, has a spirit of guardian angel, it is her nature to against any kind of violence." Torak sighed deeply, maybe he exaggerated with his reaction, but with the mention of Aeon's name it was enough to irritate him, yet he didn't respond to Raphael's words and just walked out of the room after saying they needed to go now. "Torak, are you sure, you don't want to make a call to Raine?" Raphael held his phone and was about to give it to Torak, because Torak's phone had ran out of battery since last night and he didn't even want to recharge it. Torak halted his step and replied casually. "We will go back as soon as possible, she will be fine, Calleb is there." Raphael sighed, he looked at a lot of messages and calls from Raine since last night. Torak had told him to not reply any of those, so Raphael could only oblige his Alpha's command regretfully. But in the end, he texted a short message to Raine before he left to follow Torak. There is an important problem that arises. Don't worry, Torak will return soon. Raphael thought that would be enough, and sent it. ============== Raine was awake with the sound of her phone that notified her there was a massage, she scrunched her brows as she felt she was slightly lightheaded. It was a text from Sunny that asked where she was and why she didn't go to the campus. Raine's body ached from being in the same position in long time, she straightened her body and got a relief from the cracking sound of her back, afterward she stood up clumsily and walked toward the sofa near the window. When she stared at the clock, it was already one thirty in the afternoon, it meant she had been behind the close door for more than four hours, no wonder her body felt like it split into two the moment she moved. Raine didn't reply at Sunny's text, because it wasn't her message that she wanted. Once again, Raine checked on her message for Torak and for her grief, it was still not delivered yet. But, then her screen flashed with light and notification that she received another message and it was from Raphael, Raine abruptly sat down and opened the message eagerly. It was only a short text that say there was another matter that Torak needed to handle and he would return soon. But the text didn't explain why Torak's phone was shut down or why Raphael didn't pick up her call? Almost immediately after she read the message, Raine called Raphael's number, but the number that she called was deactivated. What happened to both of them? Why their phones were shut down? "Raine, are you there? Let's have lunch together." Calleb knocked at the door noisily. "Come on out, it is very boring here without you!" He tried to cheer her up by joking around as if nothing happened. Raine appreciated his effort and stood up from the sofa to open the door. "You scare me with your look!!!" Calleb exclaimed, being the teasing person he was. "Let's get some food, so you can replenish all the tears that you had squeezed out." Calleb grabbed her shoulder and pushed her in front of him to walk out of her room and heading the kitchen to get some food. Once they were inside the kitchen, Calleb immediately served Raine sumptuous seafood dishes and made sure to put each one of them into Raine's plate, regardless she would eat it or not. "Raphael texted me" Raine said as she put a spoonful of rice into her mouth, it taste like sand though. "See? I told you, Torak will inform you about his whereabouts." Calleb took this opportunity to soothe her. "It was Raphael, not Torak." Raine frowned. "It's the same, the Alpha has his temper too, but he still cares about you." Calleb said rightfully, without knowing the truth. Torak indeed cared about Raine, but he didn't ask Raphael to send that message. Raine sighed, her head throbbed painfully. She didn't know that Torak's rejection could affect her so much like this. She was used to rely on him and being pampered by him, hence when he didn't even want to be touched by her, the fact shook Raine. "He doesn't care about me" Raine said sullenly, a tear escaped her eyes as she tried to swallow her food. "Easy there" Calleb gave Raine a glass of water and patted her head. "Now tell me what did you say that angered him." Raine bit her lips and sniffled. "He misunderstood me" Raine rubbed her face harshly to fight back the tears. "He thought, I was defending Aeon but I wasn't." She shook her head to emphasize her words. "And then?" Calleb prodded. "I asked him to not harm Aeon because he had saved my life more than twice, of course I can't repay him by having Torak to kill him" Raine said between her sobs. "But, Torak misunderstood me" Calleb sighed again. Knowing his Alpha for years, it most likely his reaction would be when he heard his mate mentioned another man's name. "Well, Torak indeed has misunderstood you." Calleb patted Raine's head. "He is throwing his temper now. You are not to blame for this." Raine lifted her head and looked at Calleb with her teary eyes, her pale face and her eyes back were the evidence that this matter not only had bothered her, but also aggravated her self- conscious about her doubt of the mate bond between them. Calleb had heard this that the mate bond only affected Torak, so Raine didn't feel the pull of it, but seeing how she cried her eyes out now, Calleb didn't think she would need the mate bond at all, she had fallen helplessly for Torak. It was understandable, after all human was a creature that filled with emotions and once you touched the soft spot of them, most of the case, they would use their heart over their head. Meanwhile Lycanthropes and the other supernatural creatures have their own nature and unique trait too. "But, Raine Lycanthropes are the most territorial among all of the supernatural creatures. What is belong to us we will defend it until our last breath and this trait is worse for the Alpha when it comes to their mate. Not to mention you were talking about another man, even if there is someone from our pack stares at you and harbors an ill intention, the Alpha wouldn't think twice to end their life." Calleb wanted Raine to know about their nature too, because it would be hard for her to keep up with them, moreover she would be the Luna of the pack. Though Calleb didn't put his concern on this, but at the very least he wanted Raine to know her position in this largest pack where Torak led thousands of lycanthropes and werewolves along with some other creatures under his wings. "You knew this." Calleb held Raine's eyes as he spoke seriously. "It had happened when there was a lycan harassed you months ago." Raine remembered that, how could she not? The first moment when she witnessed with her own eyes how ferocious Torak's beast was and how he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone that got in his way. "But, Raine you have to know also that the Alpha always has a soft spot for you." Calleb pursed his lips playfully as if he didn't agree with what he was going to say. "Torak has moved out from his territory for you, didn't kill the witch after all she had said because she still useful for you." Calleb then leaned his back against the backrest of the chair. "Whether it is because the mate bond or not, his love for you is real."
