Mated To My Alpha Stepbrother (A Sunwoo ff) ✓

Chapter Fifty-Eight

˚₊໒🌙꒱Sunwoo₊˚

Sunwoo tried relentlessly to reach out to Jihyo, his body healing from the battle Jacob and the rogues had given him.He felt she was close, but he couldn't get up just yet.

His dad raced over and examined him closely. "You'll be fine. You're healing," he mumbled.

Sunwoo watched pain travel over his father's face. "He's dead?" Sunwoo asked.

He nodded. "Jihyo ended him."

Sunwoo could only imagine the pain his father was feeling. Sunwoo didn't have any children, but he could only imagine the pain he was going through now that one had passed away. That heartache of losing part of yourself.

Sunwoo touched his father's hand. "I had no idea..."

"We'll talk about it once you're better," he mumbled. "Jihyo needs you."

Sunwoo craned his neck to follow his father's line of sight. Jihyo was laying on her stomach underneath a giant oak, her hand outstretched toward him.

The jolt of adrenaline his wolf pulled out of his ass surprised him. Sunwoo crawled to his feet against his father's wishes, and began to walk to Jihyo.

She was breathing, but exhausted from the fight. Sunwoo fought back tears of joy.

She was okay. His mate had made it.

He glanced a few inches away to where Beomseok's lifeless body sat. Part of Sunwoo felt bad for him, and the other part was glad it was over with. He'd hated to see so much rage in his eyes.

With weak legs, Sunwoo picked Jihyo up in his arms and scanned the area. There were wolves helping the injured, and some fatalities around the field. He marched toward the middle, and stopped. "Search the surrounding areas to make sure that there aren't any injured wolves. Grab anyone in need of the infirmary, and I'll call a meeting soon."

He passed the wolves trying not to meet their gazes since more were hanging on for dear life, and others looked pissed from the fight. It seemed like an hour walk towards the pack house. Jihyo stirred periodically, mumbling and jerking in his arms.

The pack land was damn near vacant, only a few wolves bringing in the injured to the infirmary, when they made it back.

Sunwoo carried Jihyo up the stairs toward their room, and sat her down on their bed. Sunwoo walked toward the shower, and slipped inside. Pressing his palms against the wall, he let the hot water soak his skin, and wash away the blood and dirt from his body.

Sunwoo felt numb to the fact that his brother hurt so many of his wolves, and wanted power so badly he didn't care how he obtained it.

On the other hand, he felt relieved that it was finished.

The shower door opened, and Jihyo stepped inside with him. Sunwoo turned to check on her but she buried her head into his shoulder and hugged him tight.

Her breathing against his chest warmed him from the inside out. Sunwoo stroked his fingers over her hair, and held her there. Loving the way she felt in his arms. "Is it over?" she asked softly.

"I think so. Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Fine, considering," she whispered. "How many are injured?"

"Shh," he whispered, shaking his head. "We're not going to worry about that right now. We'll look at the damages later. Right now I want to make sure you're really okay."

Jihyo pulled away and glanced down at her body. "I'm fine. I've healed, just still a little exhausted."

"No," he whispered. "I mean up here," he said, pointing toward her head.

"Are you okay here. Have you ever killed someone before?"

Jihyo's face turned ashen white, and she whispered. "No."

Sunwoo ran his fingertips against her bottom lip, and down her neck to her shoulder. "You were defending yourself," he said. "i know it's hard. It was hard for me the first time. Believe it or not it was when our packs fought that I killed my first wolf. It felt wrong to kill another wolf."

Jihyo nodded. "Like a betrayal to our kind," she said. "I get it. It felt really strange for me because it was Seojun─Beomseok, and I knew him. I cared about him once in my life."

"I understand. I hated fighting with my brother, too. For different reasons, but it's all the same. That feeling we have, the one that makes us guilty is what keeps us human. It's what differentiates us from our beast. We are our beast to a point, but there is a human side that trumps over the beast. It just mean you are normal."

Jihyo nodded. "Will the feeling go away?"

"Eventually, but not fully. You may go months without it, and then it hits you, but it'll fade."

Sunwoo turned Jihyo around and massaged his hands into her hair, working out the dirt, and shampooing and conditioning until it was cleaned. They washed each other carefully, and didn't let go of one another until the water turned cold.

Sunwoo and Jihyo dressed slowly, and found themselves downstairs in the midst of the storm. Jihyo's mother raced toward her and pulled her into a hug.

Sunwoo felt the tension in the room from the fight. Some wolves were pacing and others silently weeping in the loss of someone close.

Jihyo's Dad stood in the doorway to the hallway staring at Mrs. Lee, and Sunwoo realized that was another battle they had to face. Mrs Lee's mate was back, and she was promised to his father.

He slid his palm down his face and cleared his throat. "I know some of us are hurting and angry, but this is over with Beomseok, as you all know, is dead and Jihyo killed him. I see we're missing some faces. One being Jacob, who betrayed me. He was the mole, and that hurts me worse than Beomseok's betrayal. I trusted Jacob."

"What about the rogues that got away!" Eric yelled from the back. "What are we going to do about them? I say we track them down and kill them all!"

Other wolves joined in on his banter, but Sunwoo shook his head. "We fight to protect our land. Protect each other. Our pups and shewolves. We don't fight to be spiteful. They retreated, and if they come back, that is when we hurt them. I'm not sending what wolves I have left out to kill them. It's pointless."

Eric folded his arms over his chest, but nodded.

Sunwoo needed to speak to him about becoming his Beta, but truth be told, he wanted to spend the night no thinking about anything. "Whoever is in charge of dinner, get it ready. We're going to have another bonfire tonight and the pack is going to spend time together. We need to relax. We have preparing to do tomorrow. I need to find replacements for the ones that are missing, and their roles in the pack. Can someone tally that up for me, and get it to me in the AM?"

One of the sheowlves ran to get a pen, while Sunwoo stared at the pack. "Go get showers and get cleaned up. We'll eat and then we'll meet out back at sunset."

Sunwoo knew the battle was finished, but there were still decisions to be made in the pack, a potential wedding and the promise of forever with Jihyo.