Chapter 263 - I'm Tired...

"I assured myself that I would keep my distance from her and will make sure that she's safe. I was determined to never appear in front of her before her eighteenth birthday, but things changed when I finally found her." 

The wolf listened silently while he kept his eyes trained on the Supreme Immortal. It was so new and weird to see someone so powerful showing such vulnerability.

"In the years that I was preparing to break my bond with her without causing her any severe damage, I was also looking for a potential mate for her. Someone who could keep her safe and happy. That's when I find out about the Sullivan Empire that was rapidly emerging alongside the Alessandro's. I also got to know about the blessing of the Moon Goddess that the Sullivan family has been carrying. I immediately knew that Kaiden was the perfect replacement that I was searching for." 

"So, I did what I considered was right. I transferred the essence of my soulmate bond to Kaiden. But of course, using a forbidden magic always brings consequences. Besides, just like I said, Princess and my special identity makes our soulmate bond way powerful and different than the usual bonds shared by the other Supernatural."

"I failed in transferring the entire bond to Kaiden and as a result for using a forbidden magic, the rest of the bond got locked in me." The last few words came out in whispers but the wolf clearly heard everything but it still remained silent. 

The news about Emily sharing a bond with Shadow wasn't new for the wolf. It had find out about this a very long time ago. What it didn't know was why there was such an imbalance in the bond that Emily and Shadow shared and why the former never felt the existence of the bond while the latter never brought it up. Now after finding about the truth, everything finally made sense.

'What happened after that?' The wolf asked as there was still a lot remaining to find out.

"I was also at a loss back then. But then I thought that since a huge part of the bond was already transferred to Kaiden, my rejection won't cause her too much pain. It was around the time when I dreamed about her and then decided to find her to make sure that she was alright." Shadow resumed the story.

"My plan was perfect. I would keep her safe till her eighteenth birthday and then refuse the bond so that she and Kaiden can start their happy life together. How foolish I was!" Though a chuckle escaped Shadow's lips at the end of the sentence, there was no humor in it. 

"The moment I saw her, I already knew that things won't end up like I planned. Still, because of my foolish belief that I can handle a mere soulmate bond that was almost one-fourth of the real bond, I continued with my plan. But my plan got changed when Daniel got attacked."

"I never planned to save him that day. My only mission was to keep her safe till her eighteenth birthday. I wasn't responsible for her family. But that horrified look on her face that day, the way she looked broken and full of fear and grief, it made me do what I shouldn't have. Not only I ended up saving Daniel but even appeared in front of her and took a job as her bodyguard to keep her safe."

The look on Shadow's face made it appear like he hated himself for all these choices that he made. While he was happy to save Daniel's life, he was also angry at himself for appearing in front of Emily and deciding to stay beside her when he should have stayed miles away from her to keep their bond cold and lifeless.

"After that... I was a goner. It didn't took me long to learn just how much she needed me beside her. Our bond started coming to life but I was too worried about her to stay away. Every day I learned something new about her and it didn't took too long before I realized that she was struggling with a darkness that resonated too much with mine."

"At first I didn't look into her past because I didn't want to delve deeper into her life and just wanted to keep her safe. But later, it was because I wanted to respect her privacy just like she was respecting mine." 

Shadow stopped speaking when he felt the wolf rubbing its face against his shoulder. He was too lost in his emotions that he didn't even notice the wolf coming closer to him. It was only when the wolf looked up straight into his eyes did Shadow realise that a single tear had rolled down his cheek at some point.

He quickly brushed it off and looked away from the wolf because it seemed like it was staring not into his eyes but deep into his soul.

'You love her.' The wolf stated as it kept its eyes trained on Shadow's who was now once again looking at the moon. 'You love her more than anyone else, even more than yourself. You want to create a perfect world for her but you can also destroy this entire world for her. Your love for her is even stronger than the love that Kaiden has for her, or the love that her brothers hold for her.'

Shadow didn't turn to look at the wolf while the latter kept speaking those words and by the time it finished, tears were already rolling down Shadow's cheeks as he started breathing heavily. It's true that he had fallen for his mate, a mate that he never wanted and had already lost. He had fallen too deeply that now her loss was hurting him and his heart.

"I'm tired..." He whispered the words before closing his eyes and letting his body fall behind that made him fell on the ground with a good thud.. But because his heart was already making him hurt with immense amount of pain, the fall barely created any pain.