Chapter 174 - Tempting Method

Entirely soaked in the fall with water drops dripping down his sturdy body, holding a staggering pace Zeus returned back to the mansion before midnight. He had a bereaved expression on his face with an empty dark gaze in his eyes. From his motion, it seemed he was physically unwell but trying hard to endure every suffering within.

As soon as he was about to head upstairs, suddenly, he heard bold footsteps just behind him which halted his motion.

"You seem very weak, big brother. Has your condition already started to deteriorate?" 

A tantalized hoarse familiar voice inquired him from behind. It was Czar. Dressed up in his nightrobe twirling a glass of wine in his right arm, he came closer to him and stood below leaning against the silver railing covering guarding the staircase. 

With a distressed look in his grimace, drenched Zeus turned behind to look at him. A dim yellowish chandelier was illuminant in the giant living room. Within the mild light, Czar noticed that indeed his condition was worsening. 

Reddish black burnt scars had almost covered his neck along with his arms which was visible through the turtle-neck white rain-soaked shirt. Moreover, those scars had sprung up to appear on his jawline which wasn't evident till the morning. 

"Woah! The scars are forming pretty quick over you," taking a sip of wine he mumbled those words with a sly gaze towards him. 

"Czar...I am gonna leave the mansion before sunrise... I am exhausted right now so...let's save our conversation for later..." He mumbled.

"You sure that you are gonna survive this eclipse?" A quick witty question jumbled out of his mouth as soon as he finished his remark. 

He stood still for some time and slowly averted his eyes down. Without uttering a single word he was about to turn back to head upstairs towards his room.

"And...Are you just gonna let her go like this?" 

All of a sudden, the unexpected intense query from Czar halted his motion as he froze. Glancing sharply at him, he swirled his eyeballs while mumbling, "what do you mean?"

"I am talking about Eva... Are you just gonna disappear from her life like this? What will happen if you never come back? Ahh...your undefined calmness makes me wanna snatch her away from you, big brother..." A cunning smirk lingered on his lips as he chugged down the remaining amount of wine from the glass before tossing it away. 

"Are you...trying to provoke me, Czar?" An ice-cold response flung from him, while he was frowning his eloquence.

"You can take it however you like...but...I am gonna be honest with you today, Zeus." Holding a firm posture before responding, he climbed a few steps up to head closer to him. A wide smile occupied his face while he rolled his pupils at him, "I do have feelings for her."

The bold confession from his mouth pierced through his chest causing his heart to bleed inside. A stinging pain churned his insides profusely while he glared intensely at him clenching his grip on the silver railing. "What?"

"She reminds me of my long-lost mother. No...Actually, she is way similar to her... Maybe... the kind of woman I always wanted to love affectionately is actually her... Isn't it weird? Somehow, she makes my heart warm. I feel a strange kind of solace when I right next to her side. Like this, I have reached my conclusion that I do like...no, I love her. I want to cherish her..." He murmured those words straight on his face, gawking in his eyes deeply.

Zeus was getting extremely perplexed hearing his proclaimed confession. His heart was throbbing with a feeling of agitation as he clenched the railing way tighter. Holding a growling look in his dark eyes, he indeed seemed quite enraged.

"What? Are you getting angry or insecure, big brother?" An evil sneer escaped his lips as if he was amused to see that kind of look on his face hearing his honest response. "But your calmness has further provoked my feelings. You know it already, I am not a composed wolf like you! If I like something, I tend to snatch it right away! I don't fucking wait for any consent or all..." 

"Can you keep her safe?" Murmuring in a deep voice calmly, Zeus took a deep breath in staring profoundly at his dubious gaze.

"What?" He swirled his gaze in awe as immediately his sneer faded into darkness. 

"I asked if you can protect her with all your might. Remember what we have taught till now, attack and protect. So...are you bold enough to protect your loved one?" He reciprocated his words gently without showing any signs of hyping up.

"What is this fool asking me? Why isn't he getting enraged with my confession? I am trying so fucking hard to provoke his instincts but...what the heck?" Wondering inside his mind, he clenched his fist glaring back at him ardently. "What kind of response is this?" He growled.

"I am not giving up on her, Czar. I love her with all my might and won't even hesitate to die for her... If you claim to love her, you gotta protect your cherished one with everything you got. If...I fail to come back safe...I hope...you will protect her the way I did till now...

But, if I come back...you will gotta fight me... Till then, I will be counting on you." Softly he tapped his shoulder once before mumbling the words of encouragement kindly to him. Though he was trying hard to stay all fine, his face looked miserable, stuffed in pain as he tossed a small sad smile at him.

Slowly he turned away and marched towards his room upstairs with a staggering posture. Czar stood numb behind him watching him intensely with a concerned look evident in his eyes.

"Wh-What the hell? I...I didn't expect such a kind of cold reaction from him! I tried hard to tempt him so bad but... Has this fool already given up on his hope of survival? Darn, what am I gonna do with this airhead?" Gritting his jowls with immense frustration, he whirled his dark gaze glancing upstairs towards his room.

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