Chapter 102 – Claim
–LIA’S POV–
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“It was really weird,” I said, recalling it. “I forgot most of it, but I think there were, uh, werewolves sort of… worshipping me?”
Zane frowned, climbing off of me.
I quickly sat up, glad for the freedom.
“Tell me more,” Zane said. “Worshipping you how?”
“I think they had their heads bowed.”
“Do you remember anything else?”
I thought about it for a moment, and then it clicked. “Yes. The sky was red.”
“Red?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. How many wolves were there?”
“A lot.”
“Was I there?” he asked.
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“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “There were so many. Like it was all the packs in the continent. Maybe in the world. I don’t know.”
Zane seemed to be in thought for a few moments. Then he narrowed his eyes. “So if you were surrounded by a million werewolves, you wouldn’t be able to spot me among them?”
My eyes widened. “That is not what I mean. I just–”
“You just?” He raised a brow.
I frowned, “I don’t know. No, you probably weren’t there.”
“Key word is probably.”
“You weren’t there,” I said with conviction now.
“Liar.” He scowled. “You don’t know if I was there because you couldn’t recognise me in a group of wolves. All wolves look the same to you, I guess.”
“That’s not—I didn’t say–”
Zane burst out laughing, cutting me off.
I scowled now. “I hate you.” I slapped his arm.
He laughed harder. “I’m sorry. I just love teasing you.”
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“I was talking about something so serious,” I grumbled.
“Come on, love, dreams are never serious, alright?” He chuckled, pulling me into his arms. “Don’t start worrying because of these things.”
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“I can’t not worry,” I said. “You remember when I had that other dream? About a silver wolf?”
“Mhm.”
“I turned into something at night and woke up in a jungle a few days later. What if that dream was signalling towards that? What if this one is too?”
“Goddess, Lia,” Zane sighed, placing his forehead against mine, “you worry way too much, my love. This is not the kind of life I want for you. Always scared, always thinking, always on edge. Please, can you trust me?”
I released a slow breath. “I do trust you, Zane. If I didn’t I would be hiding in my bedroom all day. In fact, I would have moved away to a different country altogether. I trust you, and that’s why I have the luxury to worry about dreams instead of Blake and The Order.”
“Yeah, okay. That makes sense,” he replied. “You’re smart.”
“Of course I am.”
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“Nerd.” Zane chuckled.
I laughed too, playfully glaring at him.
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The subject changed, our conversation turning playful. But I couldn’t shake the dream from my head.
I had a very strong feeling that it was more than just a nightmare. It was another signal, perhaps from the Moon
Goddess, that something big was about to happen. I didn’t know what, and I didn’t know how to prevent it. But I was going to find out one way or the other.
We sat in class, Zane holding my hand under the table, gently caressing it, while the teacher rambled on about geography. This was my least favourite subject at school, especially when we stopped learning about climate and landscapes and moved onto things like population and people. I couldn’t force myself to care about that no matter how much I tried. Especially now that I knew how much we didn’t know and how incomplete what we were being taught was.
Zane turned my hand, making the palm face up, and lightly traced his fingers over my palm. I closed my fist, the sensation ticklish, more so due to the sparks that shot up the skin.
A smirk took over Zane’s lips as he stared ahead. He gently but firmly forced my fist open again, trapping my fingers straight.
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between his middle and index fingers, while his thumb traced my palm again.
I sucked in a breath, smiling, as I clenched my jaw and tried to get my hand free. Zane refused to budge.
“Stay still,” he whispered. “Stop fighting me all the time.”
“I don’t,” I whispered back.
“You do,” he replied. “You still are.”
“I’m no–” I caught myself before completing the sentence. Disagreeing would only prove his statement right. He used the nail of his thumb to scratch my skin, making me flinch.
Zane chuckled softly, before finally freeing my fingers and holding my hand properly.
I smiled as heat rose to my cheeks. I glanced at him, feeling slightly lost in how much I’d grown to love him. He was the perfect boyfriend. One who treated me like a child and a woman. at the same time.
Zane met my gaze, and raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes. twinkling with mischief as always.
I blushed, shaking my head.
Zane leaned closer, glancing at the teacher to make sure he
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wasn’t looking.
“I was thinking, you wanna go for lunch today?”
“Where?” I whispered.
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“A new burger joint has opened up. I’ve been dying to try it for weeks now. Didn’t get a chance with all that was going on.”
I raised my eyebrows, smiling. “When did you get the chance to even find out about it?”
Zane grinned proudly. “I’m a boy, Lia. I’m always hungry. I get the news about food.”
I chuckled. “I’d love to go there with you. But I was wondering if we could also take Christy and the Hounds with us?”
Zane frowned. “Why? You have a problem in going alone with me?”
“No, I’d just like to get to know them better. And I haven’t done anything with Chris in a long time.”
“What do you want to do to her?” Zane narrowed his eyes.
I held back a laugh. “Not to her, with her. I mean we haven’t hung out in forever. You’re unbelievable, Zane.”
He rolled his eyes. “The only thing unbelievable about me is that
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I am your mate and still haven’t claimed you.”
I frowned. “Where did that come from?”
“Somewhere,” he muttered.
“Hey,” I said, taking his hand in mine. “I am yours, Zane. Completely. Why are you… acting jealous?”
“It’s not like Blake,” he said quickly. “Don’t worry.”
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“I know it’s not,” I whispered. “And I’m not worried. I’m just trying to understand.”
Zane leaned in even closer, to my ear. “It’s just that when you find your mate, you want to claim them immediately. And I can’t do that, because I wanna give you time to adjust to everything that’s going on.”
“Right. So? What’s the problem then?” I asked.
“That doesn’t mean that I don’t constantly feel like a part of me is missing. Like I’m not as close and connected to my mate as I would want to be. If we were mated, or at least marked, I would get a feeling when you’d be in danger. Or when you’d be safe, I’d be at peace. Like my body would automatically know it.”
“How does it matter?” I asked. “We’re always together. You literally sleep in my bed.”
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“You could sleep in mine too.”
“Yeah, like Mom and Dad would allow that.” I laughed.
“They don’t allow me to sleep in yours either, but we still manage.”
“You want me to come over?” I asked.
“Of course, I would love that,” he replied, smiling.
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“Okay, I’ll figure something out. For tonight. But for lunch, can we take Christy and the Hounds?” I gave him a sweet smile.
Zane narrowed his eyes, but nodded. “Alright. If that makes you happy, we can take them.”
“Yay. Thank you.” I grinned.
“I love you,” he replied, a small smile taking over his lips.
“I love you too.” I quickly pecked his cheek and sank into my
seat.
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