Chapter 35: Chapter 35

After several failed attempts to wake Isabel, a worried Dylan carried her bridal style and carefully placed her on his bed. He became alarmed when he saw multiple deep cuts all over her body.

“How could you have been so foolish, Isabel?” He mumbled to his mate’s unconscious body, his voice filled with emotions.

What is he supposed to do in a situation like this? He wondered, going into the bathroom to get a wet towel to clean her wounds.

Xavi, who would’ve been of help to him is currently receiving treatment, and there’s no way in hell he’ll let anyone see his mate in this state, so how does he handle the situation?

“Please, wake up.” He kept repeating as he wiped the blood off her slowly healing wounds.

How will he live without his mate?

They were just beginning to get along, now this had to happen. He shouldn’t have pushed her into helping his pack. Although they were his previous family, these people were mean to him when he had no mate.

He should’ve let them solve their problem by themselves.

“I can’t rule the Pride pack even if you wanted me to.” He began, when Isabel still wasn’t showing any sign of regaining her consciousness.

“I- I do get on your nerves pretty often, but the truth is, I’m a coward… I’m not brave enough to own up to my feelings, not to mention leading a pack.” A stray tear rolled down his cheeks as he grinded his teeth to contain his emotions.

“I don’t want to take your place, nor do I want to lose you, Isabel.”

Dylan was shaken by the whole situation, and couldn’t think of a way to make Isabel wake up since this was the first time he was seeing her in a vulnerable state. He held her hand in his large ones, and brought it to his face, hoping the heat from his skin would warm up her cold hand.

“I didn’t think I’d be saying this to anyone, most especially the alpha of the Pride pack… Isabel… I love you.”

There, he said it.

Dylan had been trying to push back his feelings for Isabel, but he couldn’t do it anymore.

Over and over again she has shown him how much he means to her, and there’s no other way to describe her actions other than love. He may be wrong, but it’s best to think that way if he wants to save their relationship. He’s in love with her, and that’s all that matters.

A light knock on the door distracted Dylan, who was lovingly stroking his mate’s hair. He kissed her hand and placed it gently by her side, covering her properly with the blanket. He went to answer the door, and was shocked to find his mother standing there.

“What do you want, mom?” He asked drily.

“I, uh… I want to thank your mate for saving our pack.” Jane replied in a quiet voice. She was beyond embarrassed to be doing this, after having said a lot of hurtful words about the alpha of the Pride pack in the past, and not so long ago.

Anyone in Isabel’s place would’ve left their pack to its fate, given the fact that it was a rival pack, but she didn’t. Rather, she risked her own life to save the Greenwood pack.

“Really? What happened to your notion about her?... Or are you forgetting that I may have been bewitched by her.”

There was heavy sarcasm in her son’s tone of voice. She deserved that, honestly, but she’s trying her best to be civil, so he should too.

“Dylan, I know I said a lot of unforgivable things, but I’ve come to realize that I was wrong.”

“Right”

“Look… I’m trying to be reasonable here.”

“Wow! That would’ve been of great help some hours ago, you know?”

“I’m sorry.” Jane said with a defeated sigh.

When Dylan noticed the sincerity in his mom’s apology, he decided to let down his guard.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak to you like that.”

“It’s okay, I deserve it… Can I come in now?” She curiously asked, taking a step towards the door.

Dylan was quick to shut the door behind him, to prevent his mom from seeing Isabel in her current state.

“Believe me, she doesn’t wish to see you or anyone else.” He smoothly lied.

There was regret and disappointment in his mom’s eyes which almost made him feel guilty, but his responsibility towards his mate and her reputation was far greater than any regret. Jane nodded in understanding, and was about to leave her son’s presence but suddenly stopped, and turned to him.

“Can we talk?” She asked to Dylan’s surprise.

What could his mom possibly want to talk about?

“Mom, I-“

“Please.” Jane pleaded in that motherly voice Dylan couldn’t refuse.

“Okay.” He sighed, reluctantly gesturing for his mom to lead the way. He stared at his bedroom door for a couple of seconds before following Jane into her bedroom.

Luckily for Dylan, his dad wasn’t in the bedroom, so the conversation wasn’t going to be as awkward as he thought. Jane sat on the bed and tapped on the spot beside her for Dylan to join her, but he refused.

“I’m good.” He said instead, leaning his back against the wall.

Jane was aware that the coldness and distance in her son’s voice was as a result of her bad behavior towards him months back. Dylan was never this way towards her, she was solely responsible for whatever she was getting. She only hopes he comes around with time.

“Desmond loves you.”

“Is that what you brought me here to say?” Dylan angrily asked, staring at his mom in disbelief.

She made him leave his unconscious mate all alone in his room because of this?

It’s one thing to accept his mom’s apology, but it’s a whole different ball game when it comes to his dad.

“First here me out… Maybe, just maybe you’ll understand Desmond better when you listen to what I have to say.” Jane pressed, seeing how uninterested Dylan was in the conversation, or she’d rather say the subject of conversation. She was fed up with the bad blood between father and son.

Dylan grunted something about this being a total waste of his time before folding his arms across his chest and giving his mom his partial attention, as he was still worried about his mate.

“Desmond doted on you from when you were a little kid because his mom, who had a gift of seeing the future, predicted that you were going to be a great werewolf… To be precise, she said you were going to be the greatest werewolf to have ever been born in the Greenwood pack, but only with your mate by your side.”

This story caught Dylan’s complete attention, as he went and sat beside his mom on the same spot he had earlier declined.

“ He was proud to be blessed by the moon goddess with such a pup that he decided he was going to make you the alpha of the Greenwood pack. That’s why he trained you alongside your brother, Daniel.” Jane continued, taking her son’s hand as soon as he settled down beside her.

“As the years went by, and you were yet to find your mate, his hopes of having a great werewolf for a son began to wither cos he was never a believer of prophecies… He became angry and disappointed at everyone and everything. That was his own way of expressing himself.”

“Not at everyone, mom. It was just me.” Dylan corrected, as that was a time in his life he would never forget.

“Dylan, I’m so sorry… Now I get the clear picture of what your grandma was talking about. We both thought they’d want to steal our pack like they did with the Lakewood pack, but we were so wrong.”

Jane was desperate for her son’s understanding and forgiveness because from the looks of it, besides being rival packs, his mate seems to be aware of the strained relationship between Dylan and his dad, and one word from her mate could get Desmond killed in the blink of an eye. Now more than ever, they need to have a friendly relation with the Pride pack, to avoid any future attacks. She’s being selfish, yes, but at the same time that is what the prophecy entails.

“First of all, mom, whatever happened to the Lakewood pack was their fault. Secondly, the Pride pack is a whole lot bigger than ours, so they’d want nothing to do with ours… I love you guys no matter what, and won’t let anyone hurt you, but I think dad should be the one doing the apology and not you.”

Dylan understood that his mom’s intention was good, but he wanted his dad to be the one explaining all of this to him. He was the one who hurt him emotionally and not his mom, so he shouldn’t be having this conversation with his mom. Although, from the revelation, he can now relate to his dad.

“I understand.” His mom gave up trying to convince him to forgive his dad.

He was right, Desmond ought to be the person apologizing in her place.

“I’m going to my room, if that’s all.” Dylan stood up to leave, and Jane immediately copied his action.

She didn’t want him to leave like some stranger, so she held out her arms for a hug, with a nervous smile, in an attempt to find out whether or not she was truly forgiven because she doesn’t intend to let him walk out the door still upset with her.

Dylan stared at his mom’s outstretched arms like he was contemplating, but that was far from the truth. He has a soft spot for his mom and would never deny her anything, except it has something to do with his mate.

His lips curved in a smile and he gave her a big hug.

“I love you, mom.” He whispered into the hug.

“I love you too, sweetie.” Jane ended the warm embrace when she was content.

“Can I see your mate now?” She tried her luck for the second time, but got the same response from her son.

Without wasting more time, Dylan excused himself from his mom’s presence before she becomes suspicious. He rushed into his bedroom and quickly closed the door behind him, locking it in the process so that no one walks in unannounced.

“What’s going on?” The sound of Isabel’s voice shocked Dylan to his bones.

“But, how-“ he was at a loss for words, as he stared at his mate, who was completely healed and was dressed in one of his pajamas sitting on the bed.

Excited to find his mate awake, Dylan took quick steps towards Isabel and crushed her in a tight embrace, surprising her. Isabel put her arms around her mate, smiling to herself.

“What?... You thought I was dead?” There was amusement in her voice as she asked the question.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Dylan said, hugging her tighter.

“I was only healing.” She chuckled, gently pulling away from the hug so that she could properly take a look at her mate.

Staring into his gorgeous blue orbs, she said,

“It would take a whole lot more than some filthy rogues to get me killed.”

Dylan eased a bit at his mate’s confidence in her abilities. Then suddenly it dawned on him that she may have heard his confession earlier.

“While you were healing, did you by any chance hear anything?” He stuttered, standing up from his kneeling position as he couldn’t find it in himself to look Isabel in the eyes.

“Was there something you wanted me to hear?” She asked in a curious voice.

“No, nothing. Forget I asked that.” Dylan anxiously replied, hoping Isabel would listen and just drop the subject. He would find the right time to confess his feelings.

“If you say so.” Isabel gave in quite easily to his astonishment.

“Really?” He couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Make up your mind, Dylan… Do you want to tell me or not?”

“Never mind… I’ll go check on Daniel and Xavi. Get some sleep.” Dylan changed the subject in order to avoid falling for Isabel’s enchanting eyes or giving in to his emotions.

“How are they now?” A concerned Isabel asked, recalling the incident.

“They’re both out of danger.”

She acknowledged Dylan’s reply with a nod, and he took it as his cue to leave the room but Dylan was halfway to the door when Isabel called out his name. She gestured with her index finger for him to come, which he did without objection. She was already on her feet by the time he was only a feet away from her.

Closing the gap between them, Isabel connected their lips for a sweet kiss. The tenderness in the kiss made Dylan almost feel like he was kissing someone else. He deepened the kiss by sliding his tongue inside her mouth and circling his arms around her small waist.

For the first time he felt like he was totally in control, maybe it was because she was still trying to recover from her injuries, or was she letting him have his way since they were in his pack? Either way, he didn’t want the kiss to end.

“This is how you say goodnight.” Isabel whispered against his lips after the kiss.

There was admiration in her gaze, making Dylan wonder what he has done to deserve such look. He should be the one admiring her for her unmatched beauty and abilities.

Never in his life did he imagine himself being blessed with such an outstanding mate, who was worth more than a hundred alphas.

Overcome by his emotions, he blurted out the words,

“I love you.” In a whisper, earning an innocent smile from his mate.

“I know.” She replied also in a whisper.

Dylan went red in the face. He turned away to hide his blush and murmured some words to himself before hurrying out of the room.

Isabel smiled at her mate’s timidity.

Did he really think she didn’t hear every word he said while she was healing? She pretended not to have heard to make him feel less awkward.

Now that Isabel was by herself did she realize what Dylan just confessed.

Did her mate just admit that he was in love with a beast like her?