"Nothing," Syri was quick to respond as he pulled down his shirt, hiding the redressed wound. He turned his head to look out the window he had left open and began counting the stars in an attempt to ignore the intense interest radiating out of the true blood.
"Syri, what is it?" Jae asked as he approached the bed.
Syri could feel the true blood's determination to find out whatever he was hiding from him. "I like you," the zeta spit out suddenly. Syri pursed his lips together and closed his eyes as soon as the words left his mouth. 'What did I just do??'
Jae stopped in his tracks at the zeta's confession. Estan's eyes widened, and he quietly began scooting away from the bed. The gamma was quick to exit the room, leaving the startled true blood with the fretting zeta.
'Well, it's not like it's a lie...but what if he doesn't want me?' Syri turned his head into the pillow as Jae walked over to the zeta's side of the bed. Syri could feel the mattress dip down as the true blood sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes opened as a hand held his chin and turned his face up. The zeta looked up to see the prince gazing down at him fondly. His heart fluttered as the true blood leaned down and kissed his forehead.
"I like you, too...but can you tell me what's really bothering you?" Jae asked softly. His tone was not pushy or demanding. He was patiently sitting beside the zeta waiting for him to open up.
'Wow. How does he know me so well?' Syri looked up at the man gazing down at him in awe.
"It's okay. You don't have to hide anything from me," the prince assured.
Syri swallowed dryly before answering, "Two days. I have two days left."
Jae's expression fell, and his eyes began to glisten. The true blood closed his eyes to keep his tears from falling on the zeta's beautiful face. He gently got onto the bed and gingerly pulled the zeta into his arms. Syri felt himself relax as he breathed in Jae's musky scent. He would have no regrets if he died then and there. Jae wanted him. He was not some freak mutt to him. The zeta could feel the true blood's chest rise and fall as the prince cried.
Syri slowly reached up and placed his hand on the prince's face. "It's okay."
"How? How is it okay? Why only two days?....Why didn't I find you sooner?"
Syri's lips parted slightly as his eyes moistened at Jae's words.
"I could have saved you," the prince said as he pressed the zeta against his chest and held him tenderly. The zeta closed his eyes and soaked in Jae's presence. His calming scent, his strong arms, his gentle touch. Syri loved everything about the true blood. He had been so good to him.
"You did save me," Syri smiled softly. He did not want the true blood to feel guilty or regretful in any way. He was grateful for everything Jae had done for him and was happy that his last days would be spent with the true blood.
Jae pulled his head away and gazed at the zeta intently before closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against Syri's. "Why couldn't we have been mates?"
Tears touched Syri's eyes as he heard Jae's broken cry. Oh, how he longed to be Jae's mate. To feel his presence for the rest of his life. To be loved and protected. Why was fate so cruel?
Syri knew he and the true blood had just met, but no one had ever cared for him like Jae had. Jae made Syri feel completely relaxed and safe like he could face everything the world had to offer as long as he had Jae.
Being a zeta, Syri had often dreamed about his mate and how it would feel to be marked and mated. But his dream was brutally crushed on that fateful day. It was two days after the zeta's eighteenth birthday, when the wolf had become of age and was ready to find his mate. Syri had been sent to the market to buy groceries and was exiting the store when an alpha bumped into him, causing him to drop the bags in his hands.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the sweet zeta apologized as he bent down to pick up something that had fallen even though he was not in the wrong. The small male's eyes widened as he smelled his mate. Syri looked up with a wide smile when he saw his mate for the first time. "Are-are you my mate?" The innocent zeta asked as he stood back up.
The man looked the zeta up and down, his eyes scrutinizing the small male's every feature. "I guess so. Come with me," the alpha demanded as he grabbed Syri's wrist and led him to the alley behind the market.
"What is your name?" Syri inquired, eager to know about his mate.
"Jisue. Yours?" The alpha answered. Though, he only answered so he would get the zeta's name as it is easier to get a wolf to submit if one knows their name.
"Syri," the zeta answered with a smile.
"Syri, submit."
The zeta's smile disappeared instantly. Why would his mate force him to do something so intimate when they had just met? Yes, they were mates, but submitting was usually done only when the unassertive wolf was ready. It was a sign of trust, love, and respect.
"N-n-now?" Syri's eyes turned down, and he shuffled his feet nervously.
"Now," Jisue growled, his eyes turning red. "Submit to me now."