Don't lose HOPE [COMPLETED]

Chapter 20

"I was at first, but then I thought that it might be better to get slaughtered by a bear than to take the leap of the cliff. I had to make that decision myself. The bear would just do it for me," I say, looking down.

Zeke lifts me up on his lap, making me straddle him. He hugs me tight and puts his head in the crook of my neck. I feel him sniffling too.

Is he crying?

"I was so close to losing you," he whispers. "If you had killed yourself, it would've killed me too."

I look up at him. "What do you mean?"

"If your mate dies, a part of you dies. You can still live on, but that part will always be missing. It's worse for me, though."

"How come?"

"Do you know how packs of wolves work? They have a leader⸺an Alpha⸺and the others have different ranks."

I nod.

"That's how a werewolf pack works too. My dad is the Alpha and mom is the Luna. A Luna is the Alpha's mate. I'm the next in line, and when I turn 20, I'm going to take over as the Alpha. I'm already counted as an Alpha and have started taking over some responsibilities, like pack training. Chris is my Beta, Ryan is my Gamma, and Ben is a Lead warrior. We will all take over the pack later on and you will be the pack's new Luna. You will be my queen," he says, smiling, but then gets serious again. "Since I'm an Alpha, my mate, my Luna, is more important to me than any other wolf's mate. An Alpha needs his Luna to complete the pack, to complete him. An Alpha needs to be strong and a good leader. He can't do that without his Luna by his side. It would kill him eventually."

I throw my arms around his neck and put my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," I say, sniffling.

"It's not your fault," he says, stroking my back. "It's your parents and everyone around you that's at fault. I'm just glad that I found you in time."

We pull back, wipe our tears and look at each other.

"I'm glad that you found me too."

"So, you won't try to do anything like that again?" he asks me a little worriedly.

"No, I promise," I say, giving him a small smile.

He lets out a sigh. "Good, because I can't lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either."

He leans in and kisses me softly and I kiss him back. I'm not afraid that he's going to leave me anymore. We are meant to be together, made for each other, as crazy as that sounds.

It's late and I'm getting exhausted. I guess Zeke can feel it, because he lays us down with me still on top of him. I lie down with my head on his chest and arms on his sides. He's so warm, like the most comfortable pillow. I feel so safe, and it doesn't take long before I fall asleep.

I wake up just as comfortable, still on top of Zeke. He's got his arms loosely around me and is still sleeping. I don't want to get up, but I really have to pee. I try to wiggle out of his grip, but he tightens his arms around me and starts growling.

I'm stuck.

I lie there for a while, thinking about my options. I could wake him up, but it's Saturday and I want to let him sleep. I'm not strong enough to get his arms off me. If I peed on him, he would definitely wake up.

I start chuckling to myself. That would be a sight.

"What's so funny?" Zeke says with a raspy voice.