[JIHOON]
"Well, she's been sleeping for three days now. Her bones haven't even begun healing properly. They are fixed, but still, need to heal. It's almost like she doesn't want to heal. I don't understand," Han Seong said and Jihoon sighed.
The woman was stubborn even when she was hurt so badly. Maybe this was why she fascinated him. She was gutsy, even when she was in no condition to.
Jihoon was curious about so many things that had involved Rania, but over the few years he had known her, he had seen her save herself on many occasions. It was understandable that she felt their presence and refused to heal because she wasn't sure where she was.
What could be worse than her being stuck with the queen of rogues who hated her more than life and yet for some reason, cared for her?
"What do you mean?" Jihoon asked. Surely Han didn't mean what Jihoon was thinking right?
"She's giving up, Jihoon. She's scared, which is all-new for her," Han said and Jihoon facepalmed.
It took everything in him not to rush to Han and tell him to save her. His old friend had done what he could and all that was left was for Rania to save herself. She was out of the woods already but right now it was all on her.
"But she can't give up. You don't understand, Han. She's Kim Rania. The bravest of the women in Obren. Surely she can't be pinned down like this. Tell me, what do I have to do?" Jihoon asked, his helplessness showing.
He was worried about a woman who probably wouldn't care for him like he did her. If it were him in that state, then she could have left him to die. That was one thing that Jihoon was certain of.
"The valley of the whites holds all the answers you seek. It's the only way to fix her. From what you told me, she doesn't have a mate, right?" Han asked, almost like he knew something that the two of them didn't.
However, his tone didn't give away anything in situations like this, mates were the perfect way for the alpha wolves to fix each other. Because being beside their mates they would heal faster. They would have something to fight for.
Rest assured if Dalrae was here, Rania would have fought death itself to make sure the smile on Dalrae's face always remained. She could have done whatever it took to ensure that her best friend didn't worry too much about her.
However, right now, they were far away from home, and in the middle of nowhere.
She had no reason to fight the darkness.
She had no reason to hold on, or maybe she did. But she just doesn't want to make it known.
"Yeah, it's a long story," Jihoon sighed defeatedly. He had been there when everyone rejected Rania. He had seen the whole of Obren rally against the woman and the only person who stood up for her was Dalrae.
Rania had been hurt so badly because of the mate bond to the point that she had given up looking for a mate. She was scared that they would reject her just like everyone else. She was tired of her parents ridiculing her for being a loner.
She was sick of the mated wolves in Obren laughing at her for the countless rejections. It hurt knowing that no matter what she did, no matter how good she was, Rania had never gotten a mate that wanted her for who she was.
The worst part about it all was the fact that they rejected her for the stupidest of reasons, and Jihoon knew those reasons by heart.
"Well then, I think the only thing you can do for her, is to initiate a bond with her. The fangs on your neck are hers, I assume, yeah?" Han asked and Jihoon looked at him, wondering where he was going with this.
"She's crazy, my friend," Jihoon spoke and Han Seong looked at the clueless alpha wolf.
The whole of Obren knew better than to mark any wolf that wasn't their mate. If they had to save any dying wolf, there were several places to bite, other than the neck because the neck was the sacred marking point for any werewolf mate.
The fact that Rania had left a mark on Jihoon's neck could only mean one thing, and Jihoon clearly had no idea about it because if he did, then he could have known that there was a high chance that the woman knew something he didn't.
No one in their right mind marked their enemy to save their lives. And from what Jihoon had explained to Han Seong over the three days, it was obvious even to the blind that there was a major reason why Rania had killed Yanna.
Of course, there had to be better reasons, but an alpha female only attacked and murdered to protect that which was hers. And at this point, hers was looking at her calling her crazy.
Han Seong thought of the rough patch that Jihoon had told him they had gone through with Paloma. And what Jihoon had said of the conversation between Paloma and Rania.
The woman had seemed not to give a shit, and it could only mean she was protecting a secret. One that could cause chaos if it was released to the world. The woman in that cave was something else, and she was an intelligent one.
She had the ability to endure the worst of pains that a werewolf could ever get through.
The massive rejections of Rania were known across Obren and beyond the borders, but the one thing that Han Seong and Paloma had noticed in common, was that Kim Rania hadn't suffered like she should have if her true mate had rejected her.
She had survived, and while that could be attributed to her alpha female status, Han knew it was because the one person meant for her hadn't rejected her. The love of her life had no clue that he was that to her and maybe that's why they were surviving all this shit.
Jihoon also hadn't gone through the intense pain that a werewolf went through when Yanna, his apparent mate, was killed. The Calindra alpha should have been incapacitated for years and his beta could have been the one to run the pack, and yet, here they were.
Two mateless alphas, who had lost their apparent mates and had no symptoms of the great depression that always befell broken mates.
The whole kingdom knew that alphas felt emotions tenfold. So was there another reason as to why Kim Rania of Incayon and Park Jihoon on Calindra weren't insane yet?
Han took another look at his old friend, shaking his head at the obvious naivety. This wasn't his secret to tell, and just like Paloma, he would leave the matter untouched. Maybe fate would find a way of fixing the damn mess, but until then, Han Seong wasn't going to do shit.
"It's a temporary bond, but you can use her unexpected mark to heal her. Don't worry, she won't die if you try that. I can see the animosity between you guys, I hope you fix it soon. Goodbye my friend," Han Seong said before they both bowed to each other and bid themselves goodbye.
"Thank you for coming," Jihoon said earnestly. He was relieved that he had a solution for Rania even in her state. He was glad that he wasn't going to be completing the mission alone and more than anything, he was happy that his best enemy wasn't going to die.
"Anything for a friend," Han Seong said before he left and Jihoon walked back into the cave to try what he had been told by Han Seong.
Hopefully, this would fix them both.