206 Zero.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leilani.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To make me feel better, Jay decided that we should go and watch some fireworks for New Year\u2019s Eve, and even though I readily agreed, I knew for a fact that that was nowhere close to being enough to make me feel any better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that I wouldn\u2019t feel good if he doesn\u2019t take me with him to wherever the fuck he intended to go for treatments or whatever he intended to do about his spiraling wolf\u2026 and I knew\u2026 goddess, I knew that I couldn\u2019t do without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time we got ready to leave, it was already late at night. He laced his fingers through mine as we headed to his car parked outside, and this time, when I stepped out, I didn\u2019t miss the way his bodyguards looked at me with less hostility\u2026 how they weren\u2019t openly scrutinizing me\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/12\u00a0<\/p>\n
anymore\u2026 and how relieved they seemed to see him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And that made me wonder the extent to which he must\u2019ve been sick\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
It made me wonder how his subjects, that is his pack members, must feel with his whole failing health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Walking beside him has always made me feel\u00a0<\/p>\n
some type of high, so now, when my heart raced with excitement and my cheeks warmed from the attention our closeness was getting, I wasn\u2019t so surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If anything, I revelled in this feeling, loving the way the heat of his arm warmed mine. I loved the way he held me as if afraid to let go\u2026 and I loved how he would occasionally stop to look at me and smile, as if admiring a work of art. I shivered\u00a0<\/p>\n
slightly when a cold wind blew at my face and do you know what he did?\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/12\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled me into his arms, wrapping his around my shoulders as he whispered; \u201cHere, here\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And holyfuckingdammit! I melted right into him!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I soaked in his embrace, sighing when his sweet warmth seeped into my bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon getting to his shiny black mustang, Jay opened the door to the passenger seat and bowed slightly, his dimples deepening due to his smile as he said; \u201cAfter you, my princess.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And goddess, my face burned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few maidservants hanging around chuckled quietly before rushing away, their eyes alight with glee as they looked between Jarek and I.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jarek, on the other hand, seemed like he was absolutely enjoying this! Gosh, sometimes, I tend to forget that his favorite pastime hobby is embarrassing me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He bowed lower when I still wouldn\u2019t move an\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
inen, nis VOI\u00a0<\/p>\n
v\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ising a W 11\u00a0<\/p>\n
VV\u00a0<\/p>\n
as \u0441\u0435\u043d\u0435 \u0430\u0437 \u043d\u0435 \u0437\u0430lu,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lady, is the car not to your liking?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you not like this car? Do you want a chariot instead?\u201d He asked with a smile. And those\u00a0<\/p>\n
words\u2026 Those words seemed to snap me out of my second-long reverie. With a chuckle, I rushed into his car, my face heating up again when he kissed my cheek before shutting the door after\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, he joined me, hopping into the driver\u2019s seat before he slammed the door\u00a0<\/p>\n
shut, turned up the music and began to drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We drove for a long time until we arrived at the bustling middle of Times Square which was now packed full with people who were here for the same thing: to watch the fireworks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart swelled and my face flushed with glee as I watched the people gathered around us, all\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
with smiles on their faces and most of them with their arms tangled between those of their loved\u00a0<\/p>\n
ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wrapped my arms around Jarek\u2019s waist and tilted my head back to watch the skies, enjoying the way the wind blew at my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
-And goddess, I wanted to be here forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted this moment to freeze for all of eternity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I said the words I never thought I would ever say. \u201cI love you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt Jarek\u2019s shoulders stiffen as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth. He stilled, his hold on me hardening. But he didn\u2019t respond right away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Goddess, I would\u2019ve almost thought he never heard me if I didn\u2019t feel the shift in his body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A second passed between us\u2026 and then more. Then he said; \u201cI cherish you, Lani.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/12\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instantly, I knew the difference between those two words. I wasn\u2019t dumb enough to know that \u2018cherish\u2019 and \u2018love\u2019 doesn\u2019t exactly mean the same thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands shook slightly, but I do not know if what I felt was embarrassment or anger, so I turned away from him and faced the crowd of people, hoping that in a way, their infectious excitement would rub off on me\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
And you know what?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zevran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cold wind blew against my face with a vengeance that rattled my bones. And as the crunching of snow beneath our feet filled my ears, plus the excessive murmurs of the people around, I couldn\u2019t help but wonder what exactly I\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:06\u00a0<\/p>\n
was doing here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help but wonder why I was always in this girl\u2019s hair despite my attempts at letting her be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An informant, earlier today had told me about sighting Leilani and a strange man at Times Square, and even though I knew that it was wrong of me to come for her, I still couldn\u2019t help but quickly rush over in fear that she may encounter one of those godforsaken Lycans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
at they would try to hurt her again, or ner head with more lies, so I did the\u00a0<\/p>\n
pernap unthinkable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I decided to be her shadow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To let her live.\u00a0<\/p>\n
et her do whatever she pleases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
t do you know what I have to do in response? Protect her!\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:07\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had to protect her in the shadows, and my brothers who were desperate to be of help in any way had joined in too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So here we were, looking for a particular silver-haired beauty amongst this crowd of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to sniff her out several times and failed due to the large crowd gathered around, waiting for the beginnings of the fireworks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when I was already beginning to give up\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere she is!\u201d Caelum yelled excitedly, pointing in a direction that Kael and I instantly looked in\u2026 and my breath hitched when I found her standing there with her hair floating behind her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing close to her was no other but\u2026 Frostclaw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The motherfucking Frostclaw!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whose arms were wrapped around her waist,\u00a0<\/p>\n
nolding ner close as \u0438 protecting ner rom the\u00a0<\/p>\n
entire universe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His chin was resting at the top of her head while his eyes were trained on something happening in the distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leilani on the other hand seemed content just being in his arms, smiling like the entire world was right underneath her feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart raced with anticipation, but there was something more\u2026 something dark. Jealousy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was jealous. And I wasn\u2019t ashamed to admit it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that she was with him not me or my brothers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that she was smiling at him\u2026 that she was in his arms, soaking in his warmth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt the corners of my eyes sting but I knew that I was not about to cry. That I could never cry\u2026 or could I?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was I that jealous?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes, you are.\u2019My wolf answered in my mind, but I blocked him out, enraged that he sounded like he was mocking me at a time like this. And hating myself more for feeling so vulnerable. So pained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to march up to her and Jarek, and to pull her out of his arms but I could not. Goddess, I knew I didn\u2019t deserve to be this enraged or to do a thing like this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBehave yourself.\u201d A voice said from beside me\u00a0<\/p>\n
and I didn\u2019t need to check to know that it was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael. He muttered; \u201cWe\u2019re here to protect her,\u00a0<\/p>\n
not create chaos.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And chaos was all we brought to her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I do not know why but I found myself forward, closer to her until someone palmed my shoulder and whispered; \u201cDon\u2019t, Zevran.\u201d He seethed, causing me to turn around to meet Caelum\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
stormy gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\u00a0<\/p>\n
206 Zero.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+53\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked just as mad as I was. Just as jealous\u2026 but for some reason, he seemed more controlled\u00a0<\/p>\n
than I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to protect her, okay?\u201d He drawled, sounding as though he was talking to a child.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d I answered coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took a moment for me to calm down, and when that finally happened, I noticed that there was a large screen hanging above us where numbers kept counting down from number sixty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the people around us began to scream out in glee, their voices melting into each other\u2019s as the countdown continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it reached \u2018Zero\u2019, signifying the strike of midnight, my heart plummeted because\u2026 she then turned to him and kissed him on the lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their lips moved in sync and I hated the way my\u00a0<\/p>\n
chest hurt\u2026 the way it felt like I couldn\u2019t breathe\u00a0<\/p>\n
anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And maybe the moon goddess hates me because then, she lifted her eyes- only a little. And then it\u00a0<\/p>\n
met mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart fell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Healing Slowly But Surely By R. Joseph 206 206 Zero.\u00a0 Leilani.\u00a0 To make me feel better, Jay decided that we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chosen-by-none-feared-by-all"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}