Chapter 127 - What's on Luke's mind - Part 2

"Yes, love?" I turned back to her, seeing how her purple eyes were staring directly at me. Despite her struggle to keep her eyes open, she raised her body and sat up. "Did I wake you up?" 

She shook her head weakly and rubbed her eyes, sending me a small smile. "Did you just come back from the office? I didn't notice you coming in." She then scooted over, patting the space beside her for me to sit. 

I did as told and sat beside her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead upon arriving. A sheen of pink immediately bloomed on her cheeks. "It's late. You should go back to sleep." 

"What about you?" She turned her gaze at me, a little frown forming on her face. Before receiving my reply, she let out a yawn, her shoulders slouched. Her eyes were heavy with drowsiness, as if the effort to open them had been too much for her at the time. But she kept her eyes on me regardless. 

Was it because she was sleepy? She appeared ten times cuter than usual, and I was having a hard time holding the urge to pinch her cheeks. Not even a pup was as cute as she was. 

"I'm going to shower and eat my dinner before joining you in bed," I said, eventually giving in to the urge to pinch her cheeks. She stared at me, looking as though something was bothering her mind. "What's wrong?" 

She answered me with her silence before a huff escaped her lips. She then—very unusually—drew me into an embrace, leaning her head against my ċhėst. Though a little taken aback by the unusual occurrence, I wrapped her small frame between my arms, warming her with my own body heat. 

"I had a nightmare," her voice came as a soft gush, small but as captivating as ever. When I told her I knew about it, she glanced up while still leaning her head against my ċhėst, asking, "You know?"

"You had a frown on your face," I hummed, gently ċȧrėssing the back of her head. "I couldn't help but wonder why you were muttering my name while you were having a nightmare. You should've called my name with a bright smile, but instead, you called it with a groan."

"But you were the only good thing in that dream," she defended herself, her body vibrating along with her chuckle. 

"Obviously," I replied, knowing that fact all too well. Her chuckle quickly faded away as the memory of her nightmare rushed in, and I could feel her clutching my shirt. "What is it about? The nightmare." 

"About the black witches," she began. "There were tons of them, and they had this really dark magic around them. It was the darkest color I'd ever seen in my entire life. Darker than the shades of night," she shuddered at the memory of the black witches. "They were standing on top of a heap of dead bodies, and those were the bodies of people dressed in white gowns." 

Even without her telling me, it was obvious that those people were white witches. She must have had a dream about the mural we found back in the church. 

"And among them, I found you." She held me closer, as though she was afraid of me letting her go. I stayed quiet, allowing her to continue her story. "You were... bloodied, wounded. The shine in your eyes was no more. You were controlled—and they were trying to put an end to you." 

Put an end to me, huh? Of course, no matter how hard I tried to laugh such things off, death was inevitable for most of us. Even now, I am at risk of dying if I didn't find the antidote to my poison. Well, to tell the truth, I don't fear death. But I'm afraid of what will happen to Violet—to the people I will leave behind when I die.

What will those people think and feel when they look at my grave? Will they suffer because of my passing? Though the sorrow of death was proof of love and the bonds that existed between us, I'd rather not have them suffer because of my death. And, I will not die before I can ensure the safety of my people. I'd only leave when the world is safe and peaceful—when there is no longer any danger or suffering.

I wanted to be remembered as someone who brought peace to the world—if that was not too much to ask. 

"I don't want that to happen," she added, her voice small, almost a whisper. 

"Of course, that won't happen," I chuckled. "Who do you think I—"

"The strongest Alpha wolf," she cut me off, as if she'd heard me say it too often. I could almost guess that she was rolling her eyes right now. "But even the strongest of men will be able to get hurt. You're always going around protecting people—protecting me, but who's there to protect you?" 

"I don't need anyone else's protection," I said, sounding a little too smug even though I didn't mean to. She glanced up at me, a pout on her lips. She then poked my cheeks. 

"Even you, the strongest man in the entire world, will find it difficult to protect both others and yourself at the same time. We feel pain all the same, so why can't someone protect you as well?" She pulled away, but her gaze remained fixed on me. "Which is why, I decided to learn how to fight more diligently and learn how to use my magic correctly. I'll be the one to protect you while you protect others." 

"That's... really nice to hear," I laughed, couldn't contain the amount of joy I felt upon hearing it. "Are you confessing your love to me right now?" 

Her eyes went wide, not even realizing that her words sounded a lot like a love confession. Though she'd never explicitly stated her feelings for me, I could tell that I held a special place in her heart. I was no longer the man she'd accidentally stumbled into while fleeing her house—but I was the man she'd looked for every now and then throughout her day. And that was enough for me. 

"I... that's just how I truly feel," she lowered her gaze, faltering. "You're not the only one who doesn't want their mate to get hurt. After all, you're—you're my whole world," she said, blushing. "The moment you saved me that night, you became my everything. You showed me a lot of things I'd never seen before, took me to beautiful places, and taught me things I didn't know even existed. Every new experience I've had in my life has been with you, and now I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you. That's why... I want to protect you."

"Is that... really how you feel about me?" I went into a trance, unsure of how to express how I'm feeling right now. To think that I thought I was fine with her not telling me how she truly felt about me. To think that I thought everything I received from her was more than enough. 

I didn't know words could make me feel this happy—this delightful. It felt like I was the happiest man on earth, and there would be no one in this entire world who could be happier than I am now. She nodded shyly, and I quickly pulled her back into my embrace.

Was this why the Moon Goddess bestowed upon us a mate? I thought the day I met her was the happiest day of my life, but now I knew there was more to come that would make me feel like I could fly. She told me that I was her entire world, but to me, she was my whole universe—my entire being.

"You should do this more often, rabbit," I said, feeling her hugging me back. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. From now on, you don't need to be shy and just tell me everything about you. I feel like I'm the happiest when you're being honest with your feelings."

"Can I really tell you everything?" 

"Why can't you?" I chuckled. 

"Well, I haven't told you this, but people back in the days used to tell me that I shouldn't let them know what I was feeling," she mumbled her words, and I immediately knew who those people were. "When I told them that I was in pain, they'd tell me that I was weak. When I told them I was sad, they'd tell me that I was ungrateful. I thought what I'm feeling was not important, so I tend to keep them to myself. Not every time, but, well, a lot of times."

It was my first time hearing about this. I thought she was only being shy about her feelings, but to think that there was something like this too in her head. 

"Violet, listen to me," I pulled away, holding her shoulders. "Those are the words of foolish people. Don't listen to them, but listen to your heart—to what you truly wish for. Don't let others define who you are, because only you can define yourself.. Remember, you're the owner of your own life."