The room fell into an oppressive silence, the kind that weighed heavy, pressing against the very walls. Hizuki's gaze bore into Jushin like a blade—sharp, unreadable, dissecting every word spoken. It wasn't fury that simmered in his eyes, but something colder, more calculated.
Jushin swallowed hard, his usual confidence faltering under the Alpha's unrelenting scrutiny. He had seen Hizuki like this before—calm on the surface, yet carrying the crackling energy of a storm just waiting to break.
Without a word, Hizuki rose. His movements were deliberate, the slow unfolding of his tall frame commanding the room's attention. The firelight cast shadows that danced across his face, accentuating the sharpness of his features and the flicker of something dangerous in his eyes.
He turned his back to Jushin, standing still as stone, yet his presence seemed to expand, filling every inch of the space. The silence stretched, unbearable in its intensity, until at last, he spoke.
"Is that all?"
Jushin hesitated, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. The knot in his throat tightened. "I—"
"Absurd." The word sliced through the air, quiet but cutting, each syllable carrying the weight of his disdain.
Jushin exhaled, his shoulders sagging slightly, as if the word alone had drained him. "Right, it's absurd," he muttered, more to himself than to Hizuki.
The suggestion of marriage was, indeed, laughable. The she-wolf in question—a Gamma—was strong, the strongest in the immediate lands, but even that was inconsequential to Hizuki. Strength, while the currency of their kind, meant little to him. Beauty? Perhaps, but Hizuki had long since grown immune to superficial enticements.
There were stronger wolves in distant territories, wolves whose power could rival even the fiercest of Alphas. But none of them mattered. None of them were her.
"What do we do?" Jushin's voice broke the silence, tentative.
Hizuki turned his head slightly, his voice smooth but edged with finality. "The usual. Ignore them."
Jushin nodded, though unease lingered in his stance. He had been Hizuki's Beta for decades, long enough to know that his Alpha's resolve was unshakable. Yet this particular matter left him unsettled, like an itch he couldn't quite scratch.
Hizuki's stance softened slightly, though his tone remained firm. "No one but my mate will ever sit beside me as Luna. That's final." His words carried an almost painful certainty, a vow forged in the fires of centuries of longing.
"But…" Jushin began, his voice trailing off. He shifted awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Hizuki's gaze snapped to him. "What now?"
Jushin hesitated, his smile sheepish, though there was an edge of nervousness to it. "We have a little problem."
Hizuki's presence became heavier, more imposing. "What problem?" His voice was calm, but it carried a quiet ferocity that made Jushin falter. "Is it connected to one of the five foreign scents that stepped into the domain?"
Jushin let out a small laugh, though it sounded forced. "Er… yes," he admitted. Of course, Hizuki had noticed. It was impossible to hide such things from him. The Alpha's senses were unparalleled, and the presence of four strangers, in addition to the Salutary, was like a beacon in the night.
"None of them pose a threat," Hizuki said, sitting back down. His movements were precise, deliberate, as though dismissing the entire matter with a single gesture. "The Gamma-level wolf among them is the only one worth monitoring, and even then…" He trailed off, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "My hunters and scouts can handle it if necessary."
"Umm, about that…" Jushin hesitated again, his smile turning awkward. "That Gamma? She's… the hopeful bride."
Hizuki froze, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Excuse me?"
"The Gamma-level wolf you mentioned keeping an eye on," Jushin repeated. "She's the princess I was talking about. The one who wants to be your bride."
For a moment, Hizuki said nothing. Then, softly but firmly, he repeated, "Absurd."
"She volunteered to escort the Salutary," Jushin explained, shrugging. "But let's be real—she's here to make her presence known. To try and impress you."
A flicker of irritation crossed Hizuki's face, though he quickly masked it. "If she thinks her presence here will change anything, she's sorely mistaken."
Jushin chuckled, sensing Hizuki's growing impatience. "Too bad for her. All that effort… wasted."
Unbeknownst to the world, the Alpha of the Shadow Wolf Pack wasn't reclusive because he enjoyed solitude. He was rarely seen because he was always on the move, driven by a singular purpose. Through his logistics business, Hizuki had crafted a reason to travel the world, searching endlessly for his mate. It was a tireless quest, one that had spanned over a century, and yet she remained just out of reach—an elusive dream that kept him moving, never resting.
"I don't care what her intentions are," Hizuki said, his voice icy. "As always, no one is allowed near my residence. If the Wind Pack is willing to risk losing their Gamma's head, she's welcome to test my boundaries."
His words hung in the air like a dark promise, leaving no doubt about the consequences of defying him.
"How is your grandmother?" Hizuki asked, his voice softening as he shifted the topic.
Jushin blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in direction, before letting out a small, knowing laugh. "Well, you know her. She wasn't exactly thrilled when she found out I went to the Wind Pack to get her a doctor. Said it wasn't necessary and nearly socked me in the eye for the trouble."
Hizuki chuckled—a rare, genuine sound that momentarily eased the tension in the room. His mind wandered to an image of a little girl with pigtails, her face scrunched in determination as she stood her ground against the boys who underestimated her. That stubborn tomboy from his memory was the same feisty grandmother Jushin now spoke of.
Technically, she was younger than him. Yet, unlike him, she had been born after the curse was laid upon their kind, her bloodline diluted and unable to sustain the agelessness that he had retained. Hizuki, untouched by the ravages of time, still bore the youthful appearance of a man in his early twenties, while she, like the others of her generation, had aged as humans do.
"She hasn't changed a bit," Hizuki said, a faint smile lingering on his lips. There was no hint of sadness in his tone—only a quiet fondness for the stubborn girl who had grown into a formidable woman.
Jushin nodded, his own expression softening. "That's true. She might be old now, but she still acts like she's invincible."
"And she might very well be," Hizuki remarked, his tone laced with a touch of humor.
The room, once heavy with unspoken tension, felt lighter now. For a fleeting moment, the weight of responsibility and endless searching seemed to lift, replaced by the warmth of shared memories and the unchanging bond between two old friends.