Chapter 151 Chapter 151. A Promise
Chapter 151 Chapter 151. A Promise
“Is that really considered thinking too far ahead?” Zoria gave a small laugh. Her voice was so light that it almost seemed to disappear into the air. “I’ve thought even further than that.”
“I’ve even thought about what will happen after I die. I’ll die before you and go to the other side first. I’ll beg God to erase Zephyr from my memories, but still let me remember you. Then I’ll stand beside the gates of Heaven and wait for you. I’ll wait until the day you find me.”
Zoria felt a drop of something hot fall onto her neck. It slowly slid down her skin, burning so hot that it hurt. Then that burning pain seemed to pass straight through her skin and pierce into the deepest part of her heart.
“Zoria, after you give birth to Lior, let’s form a bond.” Lysander’s voice was hoarse, and every word sounded like a vow. “I’ll protect you. This time, I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
Zoria’s entire body was cold as ice. She had already seen enough of life and death, and she had once thought that when the day she truly died finally came, she would be able to face it calmly. But the closer she got to death, the more she realized that she was not calm at all, not even close to how she had imagined herself to be.
She buried her face in the blanket and slowly curled the corners of her lips upward, trying to force out a smile that looked even uglier than crying.
The weather in Whisper Bay was extremely terrible. Cold winds howled day and night without stopping, heavy snow kept falling, and the temperature dropped at an alarming speed. If someone was careless even for a little while, they could easily catch a cold, and their throat would hurt sharply, as if they had just swallowed an entire handful of sharp needles.
This winter had already been destined to become the hardest winter Zephyr had ever had to endure in his life.
Late at night, Zephyr lay on the bed, listening to the painful moans that occasionally came from Shirley’s room. He tossed and turned restlessly, turning from one side to the other, unable to settle down for even a moment. Both of his eyes were already dry and burning from exhaustion, but no matter how tired he was, he still could not fall asleep.
Every time he opened his eyes, all he could see in front of him was endless darkness. The loneliness was like a wild beast slowly creeping closer to him in the dark, getting nearer little by little, biting away at his reason and his ability to endure, until there was almost nothing left.
It took Zephyr a great deal of effort to finally force himself to fall asleep, but after sleeping for only a short while, he dreamed of Zoria again.
At first, whenever he saw her in his dreams, he would still feel happy. He even wished that he could keep sleeping forever and never have to wake up again. But little by little, the Zoria in his dreams became colder and colder toward him.
She was clearly standing right in front of him, only a few steps away, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could never reach her. Every time he moved closer, she would step farther away. Even her familiar scent slowly disappeared, as if the bond between the two of them had been completely cut off.
In the end, the beautiful dream turned into a terrifying nightmare.
Zephyr dreamed that Zoria was carrying a large belly when she suddenly fell to the ground. Bright red blood quickly spread out beneath her body, staining the entire floor red. A small tear appeared on her belly, and then a blood-covered fetus, its tiny form not yet fully clear, slowly crawled out from inside her womb.
Zoria lay helplessly in the pool of blood. Tears kept spilling from the corners of her eyes and fell onto the floor, slowly forming a small puddle. She cried so hard that her whole body was trembling, her voice heavy with pain, as though she were cursing her own fate.
Zephyr suddenly woke up with a start. His back was already soaked in cold sweat, and his heart was beating violently, as if it were about to break through his chest.
After waking from that dream, he did not dare close his eyes and go back to sleep again.
Actually, Zephyr had always been afraid of seeing the despair and helplessness in Zoria’s eyes. He had been like that before, and now it was even worse. Even if he only saw that expression in a dream, he still could not bear it.
In the past, whenever he saw that look on her face, his heart would only ache unconsciously a few times. But now, just remembering it was enough to make his whole heart feel as if an invisible hand were crushing it inside his chest. The pain was so strong that he could hardly breathe.
He missed Zoria.
It had already been two months since he had last seen her. His longing for her had grown stronger and stronger, almost enough to drive the wolf inside him crazy. There were nights when his Alpha instincts urged him to immediately go and find her, drag her back to his side, no matter how much she hated him or how unwilling she was to see him.
Zephyr’s eyes grew dim. He wanted to smoke, and out of habit, he reached toward the pocket of his clothes. Only then did he remember that Shirley had lung cancer, so she had forbidden him from smoking in the room and would not allow him to continue smoking outside either.
Recently, Shirley’s spirits had been fairly good. Perhaps because she knew that Zephyr was about to complete the bonding ceremony with Faye, she had been trying her best to keep herself awake and clear-headed. She seemed determined to stay in good condition until she saw the ceremony completed with her own eyes.
As long as she still had enough strength to wake up in the morning, there was always a smile on her thin, worn face.
The doctor had once said to Zephyr:
“Her wolf core’s ability to recover has weakened considerably. But she is in a fairly good state of mind at the moment. If she can continue to keep herself in this condition, she may be able to hold on for some time yet.”