Chapter 7

Zev Wesley stared at the young lady who was keeping a confused look on her face. He was amused at how she could forget something so important that happened the previous night. In all years he was trapped in the heart of the forest where he could only live his immortal life, Zev had never encountered such a disastrous ritual like when his supposed prey turned out to be more ferocious than he was. If not for the curse cast on him, he would have been already killed. And looking at the lady’s innocent expression made him want to kill her. He despised her… particularly those pair of green irises she had. It was no doubt, the lady’s eyes were his biggest weakness as it reminded him of his past… the past he always wanted to forget.

“Keep your mouth shut and don’t make any noise,” he ordered after pushing a pillow on her face. Zev stood up from the round bed and walked towards the window to pull the curtains to the side, not minding his exposed body.

“Who are you? Where did that giant wolf go? I was sure there was a giant wolf here just like wolfie and… and…” she scratched her head while thinking what to say next. “Wait, was it really a wolf or just a dog?”

‘Stupid woman,’ Zev thought while scowling at her. He couldn’t believe that he saved the lady instead of trying to kill her. Now that he brought her to his place, he could only keep her existence a secret. “I told you to shut your mouth. Which part of that you didn’t understand?”

The young lady sat on the bed with her legs folded. She looked adorable in that position but it wasn’t enough to please the man who initially didn’t like her at all in the first place. “Stop giving me that look. If you think I will spare you then you might as well stop thinking cause probably your head is damaged to even think about it,” he said and turned his attention outside the window to check. He was thorough to hide any signs they left last night when he was carrying the lady to his house, but he could tell someone was keeping an eye on him.

When the coast was cleared, Zev closed the curtains again and went back to the bed. He was expecting her to swoon over him after showing off his body but there was no sign of malice in her eyes. She would look at his parts like she was looking at the nothingness that impressed him and at the same time, offended his ego. The only reaction he got from her was when he shifted from his wolf to his human form.

“What’s your name?” He asked, hovering in front of her.

“Layla,” she answered while looking directly at his eyes. He averted his gaze to avoid the surging emotions that had been built up since he met her at the altar.

“Layla?”

“Yes,” she replied fast and short.

“Layla what?” Zev asked her again in annoyance. Talking to her last night was the first time after a long time since he shut himself from the world.

“Just Layla,” she answered. “What about you?”

Zev took a deep breath and moved away from her. “You don’t have to know. Say, do you still want to live? Or you rather want me to kill you just like what you promised last night?”

Layla’s face was more confused than before and Zev couldn’t stand it. He pushed her on the bed and pinned her wrists down with his hand. “Little lady, don’t tell me you didn’t remember everything you did last night? Say yes and I’ll kill you without giving you a chance to know the reason why!”

“I… I really don’t remember at all. Please spare my humble life!” She begged while closing her eyes which was the right choice. Zev was not sure if he could calm himself down when she begged while looking at him with those green eyes she had.

“Fine. I’ll do you another favor and help you remember what you did. Just make sure to pay me back for all the troubles you’ve caused me,” he said and bumped their foreheads together. “Brace yourself.”

A bolt of lightning from the sky struck the huge, white wolf who was about to devour the young lady in her helpless state. The poor angered beast was thrown a few meters away from the stone altar. As the king of the western forest, Zev had never been insulted like that. And if there was someone who had the guts to get on his way, that would be no other than a particular deity who cast a curse on him.

“What do you want?” The agitated beast asked no one in particular as he looked up in the sky. “You made me like this and now you’re hindering me! Show yourself and let’s fight to end this shit!”

Dead silence was the answer to all his rumbling which made the beast madder. He was bounded on the forest and would never be able to leave until he had the cure or at least kill the one who cursed him though the latter was not an option. Zev had no idea who exactly cursed him, other than knowing it was a deity who once guarded the forest surrounding the kingdom. It only happened one day after waking up from an exhausting night of the hunt, when he tried to leave the forest to the nearby town, all of a sudden a barrier appeared and stopped him from doing so. Ever since that day he was left all alone in the western peninsula without having his mate beside him. A mate he was always looking forwards to which he hadn’t even met yet. He also couldn’t gather his pack despite being powerful because of the curse. For decades, he was trapped… alone.

“Ah! Ahhhhhh!”

The lady’s guttural scream pulled him back to reality. The beast sprinted in the direction where his prey was left. There should be no other reason for the lady to cry unless he was tearing her flesh into pieces. Or it could be someone else who dared to enter his territory.

“Wah---ahhhhh!”

Zev was astonished to see the lady shifting into something else. He was sure she was a human when he found her bounded on the altar earlier. After the legend of the ‘demon of the forest’ spread in the kingdom, Zev was only grateful to have the offerings given to him. Well, he was born to kill his prey, and he was not the type to hesitate until he met one who dared to make a deal with him. He was bored, and so he gave it a shot which now he regretted as he could only sense trouble coming from the lady.

The sky was yet again covered with thick clouds though the moon remained visible. The thunders and bolts of lightning grumbled and flashed around the moon but dare not overthrow the moonlight. On the other hand, the lady lost control over herself as she completely turned into another beast.

“Impossible…” Zev muttered while looking at the white wolf descending from above. If he wasn’t looking, he wouldn’t think it was the frail and sickly lady who was supposedly his meal for the night. “Who are you?” He asked while looking at those pair of green eyes. That’s when he remembered that he restored the lady’s severed eye. ‘Did she shifted after absorbing the moonlight? But werewolves aren’t like that anymore. The last time I check, we could shift anytime we want at our discretion,’ Zev wondered.

“Damn! Is this one of that goddamn deity’s scheme?” He muttered to himself. Zev was preparing to launch an attack first to avoid any problem, but he was a few seconds behind. The other wolf had already made a move.

What’s more humiliating was, his opponent wasn’t trying to kill him instead... marking him. Zev tried his hardest to get away from the other’s grasp, but he failed when her fangs pierced through his neck. He bled, and he could feel his blood oozing out from his body. He was left with no choice but to shift back to his human form. When he did, the other followed without letting go of his neck. She slurped his blood like it was the tastiest drink she ever had. He was weak compared to her, not because she was powerful than him, Nah, it wasn’t the case. It was just that, a smirking deity was looking down at him while he was being ravaged by his prey.

“I’ll kill you,” Zev mumbled while glaring at the deity’s astral form. It was the first time he saw her face and those shining green orbs were too bright that almost could blind his scowl. He only got to hear her laugh while vanishing into thin air.

“Kill her first. And if you can, I’ll give you a chance to kill me,” the deity said before she completely faded away. When she was gone, the berserk lady on top of him fainted with a smile on her face. Zev hated her after seeing a satisfied face on her lips after he caused him to bleed.

“I’ll kill you this time,” he whispered and lifted the lady’s unconscious body. When he was about to pierce his claw on her chest to her heart, she opened her eyes and stared at him blankly before falling losing consciousness. It was an emotionless stare, but he felt something weird burning up inside him. Zev sighed and gave up his plan.

“Maybe it would be nice to have someone by my side for the meantime,” he said and carried her back to his mansion.

‘Those green eyes… they look exactly like those of the deity. Did that good for nothing guardian send her to trouble me? Or maybe… to kill me,’ Zev deeply thought.