Yeji pulls away and I'm in a daze. I keep my eyes closed to try to calm down and recollect myself. That's my first real kiss. Not a stolen kiss but a real one.
Someone fakes a cough and I see Beomgyu awkwardly looking at us. I give him an apologetic look and I face the crowd again.
"Ryujin is willing to be punished but I'm not going to do that" Beomgyu comments causing everyone to be angry again while I'm surprised.
"It's okay" I tell him, "I can handle it."
"Why should you be punished when you didn't do anything wrong? Ryujin, you blame yourself and take responsibility for everything when you shouldn't. Your life could have turned out differently if it weren't for my father" I see the guilt in his eyes.
I leave Yeji's side to go closer to him, "You're telling me not to take responsibility so why are you taking responsibility for your father's action?"
"I know he's your dad but you have nothing to do with anything bad he did. Just like me, he was used as well. They knew his weakness and used it against him. I didn't want to kill him once I found out everything. I'm sorry" I apologize for killing his dad even though it was against my will.
"To put everyone's heart at ease, I will accept any punishment you give me" I smile at him and he shakes his head.
"I refuse. You've suffered enough and I'm not gonna make you suffer more."
"I can also just leave the pack if that's what everyone wants" I suggest.
The crowd sounds like they're approving the idea.
"No" Yeji speaks up.
"All of you can act like this because Ryujin isn't someone you're close to. What if this was your son or daughter or your friend that's being treated like this? What if they went through the same thing as she did then can you easily punish them?" My mate has a scary aura while confronting everyone.
"Alpha Gunil" she calls someone out, "If your mate or family member was taken at a young age and was lied to so they can convince them to do things then would you punish them? Would you be able to easily get rid of them or kick them out of your pack?"
"How about you Alpha Mark? Do you think Ryujin should suffer more if she was in your pack? All of you have witnessed it yourself how she was taken advantage of! All of you have seen how she wasn't in control and all of you saw how she never stopped fighting to protect us! She hurt a lot of you but she's also the reason why the werewolves still exist right now."
The crowd becomes quiet and my heart flutters with how Yeji just stood up for me.
"She should still leave. We're not comfortable having her be part of a pack, especially a strong one. She was able to be controlled before so who's to say it won't happen again?" someone in the crowd states and the rest starts agreeing with them.
"Her wolf mentality has already been compromised by the vampires" another comment.
"I don't think that will happen" a familiar woman shows out of nowhere to speak up. She was the one I was talking to before I went to go after San.
"Mom, why do you say that?" My eyes widen when I hear my mate call her mom.
"Ryujin, if you don't mind, can you shift to your wolf?" She makes a request and I get confused.
"Why?" I ask first.
"I'm sure you've noticed there was a change in your wolf's look" she smiles at me and she's right. I remember how she didn't recognize me at first considering I'm one of the two black wolves that exist.
I also remember that one werewolf commenting on how I looked.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Yeji ask.
"To show them how I think Ryujin and her wolf were able to get control back from the vampires" she answers. Even I'm not sure how we did it. How can she know?
"Ryujin, will you shift to your wolf?" Yeji's mom faces me again and I give her a nod.
I slowly start taking off my clothes but Yeji stops me.
"Just shift. We will get you new clothes" she says while standing in front of me like she's blocking the crowd's view.
I don't understand what the issue is but I just listen to her. I take a deep breath before I let my wolf take over. For some reason, the last couple of shifts I've done, it still feels sore.
My human bones start breaking and changing into my wolf's bones. I honestly think the cracking noises it makes are pleasing.
Once I finish my shift, I see Yeji looking at me like she doesn't recognize me but at the same time, I don't think she's ever come this close to me in my wolf form.
She stands in front of me and scratches my neck so we release a pleasing growl, enjoying the affection she's giving us.
"Why is her wolf not completely black? And only one of her eyes is white?" Yeji asks her mom but she doesn't stop looking at me.
"I think that's how she escaped their hold on her. The non-omicron part of her wolf fought hard to stop them hence her wolf was reborn. You can shift back now" The woman informs me.
Yeji snaps her fingers and a couple of guys come with a robe. I shift back to my human form and my mate quickly covers me up.
"Reborn?" I ask once I'm covered.
"Yeah, what do you mean by reborn?" Yeji waits for her mom to answer.
"When I saw Ryujin's wolf, I didn't know who she was until she shifted to her human form. After that, I started doing some research on why her wolf's appearance suddenly changed. Turns out that the vampires were controlling the omicron side of Ryujin's wolf. There must have been some sort of internal battle and in the end, the non-omicron won hence giving Ryujin's wolf a new look."
Yeji's mom approaches me, "It must have been extremely painful when you shifted for the first time after breaking free from their control."
"So you're saying Ryujin's only half omicron now?" Yeji ask.
"She was never half" Lisa speaks up.
"None of us were half omicron. Only our ancestors that somehow was able to mate with an omicron. Over time as we mate with normal werewolves, it becomes less and less but the omicron blood is strong that's why our appearance remains the same with the black fur and white eyes."
"So if you're worried about her mentality being comprised then there's nothing to worry about" Chaeyoung now joins too.
I start to feel overwhelmed by the number of werewolves supporting me and defending me.
Beomgyu also turns his attention to the crowd now, "As you all know, my position of Alpha in the Imperial Pack is being challenged."
"Beomgyu" Yeji looks concerned but I don't know what she understands with what he said.
"I'm not letting Ryujin leave the pack unless that's what she wants" he pauses to look at me.
"Is that what you want?" He asks me and I take a look around at everyone supporting me. My mate, my parents, Beomgyu and even Yeji's mom.
I shake my head, "I'd like to be with my family."
He smiles and again he faces the crowd.
"I'm still Alpha of this pack so I get to decide whether Ryujin stays or not. If any of you have a problem with it then be it. If you want nothing to do with this pack then go ahead and disassociate yourselves from us" he announces.
"As for the challenge, if I lose then I have no say then the new Alpha can decide whether Ryujin stays or not but if I win then I don't want to hear anything else about this. Ryujin will be a part of this pack and she will be a part of our community without prejudice."
"Beomgyu, you don't have to do that. I can just leave" I say with wide eyes. Why is he risking his rank like this?
"Are you sure about this?" Yeji ask him instead of stopping him.
"I'll do everything I can to win this fight" he winks at me.
"Did I miss something?" I whisper to Yeji.
"He's the strongest werewolf aside from you" She whispers back then I remembered my altercation with him and how I easily knocked him out.
Yeji chuckles because she must have read my mind, "You're like freaky strong so don't compare yourself to him. To us regular werewolves, he's very strong."
"Thank you" I go to hug him.
He hesitates at first but he hugs me back.
"I'll wait to welcome you home after the fight" he states.
"The fight to become the Alpha of Imperial Pack will happen tomorrow so everyone go home" Yeji announces.
The crowd disperses and I hear Beomgyu take a deep breath so I lose my confidence that he will win tomorrow.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay tomorrow?" I question.
"I'll be fine. Whatever happens, I'll make sure to protect you. If I lose the fight then you and Yeji can start a new pack and start from scratch. It will be hard because I doubt they'll provide resources for you but I'm sure Yeji can make it work" he smiles again. This is the most I've seen him smile.
"Won't you join us?" I ask.
"I can't if I lose. They would have to kill me to claim Alpha status for this pack" he explains.
"What? Then why would you agree?" I frown.
"It's not a choice. When someone challenges you for Alpha then you have to accept it to prove that you're the stronger of the two."
Yeji takes my hand so I look at her. "He's gonna be fine. He's not that easy to kill. Many have tried" she tries to reassure me but I can't help but worry.
Once the werewolves are gone, my parents finally approach me along with Yeji's mom.
"I'm so happy to see you back" Chaeyoung cries out.
I make eye contact with Lisa and she's just smiling at us. "Are you two together?" I ask and she nods.
"And Beomgyu is okay with it?" I look at my brother and he doesn't seem to mind at all.
Chaeyoung finally let me go and Yeji's mom hugs me now. I awkwardly hug her back.
She pulls away and fixes my hair for me.
"I don't think we've properly met. I'm Seulgi, Yeji's mom."
"You're okay with me being Yeji's mate?" I question.
"Of course. I know you can protect her from anything so I'm more than okay" she chuckles.
"Are you doing okay? It's not too much for you to be out here?" Yeji is making sure that I'm comfortable which I appreciate.
"I'm okay for now."
"Do you wanna visit Yuna and Chaeryeong?" She ask.
"They're not mad at me?" I worriedly ask.
She shakes her head, "Not at all. They would be here right now but they're busy with other things. They've taken the role of helping packs get back on their feet after the attack."
"Can I help?"
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. As you know, there are mixed feelings about you so it's better not to create more waves" she looks at me sadly but I understand.
"If they're busy, I can see them another time and apologize. I'd like to see Lia though" guilt creeps up again after remembering what I did to her.
"Sure" she takes me away from everyone to go to Lia.
While Yeji pulls on my hand, I just stare at her from behind. I appreciate her trying to make things right between us. Even though there are a lot of negative feelings in my heart but a part of it feels content because of her and her willingness to show me that she wants me.