The Rejected Alpha's Vengeance

Chapter 474 You Will Always Come Back… Right?

[SICARIO]

"I may be an ass, Theodore, but even I am not that much of an ass to be cruel to my newly fated mate," Rio said as he pulled Theo into a hug.

The Sicario high warrior was not expecting to get a hug from his mate, even as Theo hugged him close and tightly like he was scared of losing the warrior.

This was all so new for Theo and he wouldn't pretend and say that this was anything close to what he had expected. It wasn't, and he probably would take a few business days to process the truth of this all.

"But—"

"I have been to a few wars myself, Theodore. I have probably lived longer than you have and seen worse than you have. But of all the wars I fought, and all the chaos that got me to this point;

"... none of them have been as important to me as seeing you be brave and ready to fight one so huge. You won't have to do this alone, Theodore. I will be there, right beside you, and protect you above all else.

"You can fight to protect Sicario, but I will fight to protect you, regardless of the outcome. And if it happens that I die in the war, don't mourn me for long, Theodore. You can mourn me in passing, but not long enough to get your life on pause.

"You deserve to live and love. You deserve to be loved, regardless of what time it is, or what position it is you hold," Rio said and Theo was continuously concealing that this wasn't the man he had known in the past few days.

Where the fuck was the arrogant Rio who always looked like he wanted to punch Theo square in the face and force the warrior into an early grave?

Where the hell was the sailor who looked at Theo like he despised the man and where the hell was the man who had always strived to leave the pack he considered a hell hole?

What had happened to that man? Because this one right here sounded a lot like a mate and like someone who would truly fight for Theo.

The Sicario high guard had never had someone truly dedicate themselves to fight for him and it was so new that it was fucking with his head. If this was a game, then it had to be the costliest game of all time.

"What if it's not worth it? What if all I am bound to bring into your life is chaos seeing as we found each other in the chaos? What if your fellow sailors fall and you hate me?

"What if this is all just a dream and we will both wake up from it and go back to being indifferent?" Theo asked and Rio felt truly his heart shatter for the young wolf. He had been so protective of his fellow sailors that he had made his mate feel like he didn't matter.

"I know anything I might say right now will sound like a lie, because we are going to be in the battlefield, but I swear, nothing was as devastating as knowing they were my mate and finding out that you had an impending war.

Theodore had always been undefeated in the battlefield and he knew there was a chance that this would be the same too, but that didn't make him feel any less scared of the immortal army that was headed their way.

"I'm scared I might lose you," Theo admitted and Rio looked at his mate like he had unlocked a new level on the easter bunny competition.

This day sure was filled with so many surprises, because he had never thought that there would come a day when he heard the great warrior of Sicario, talk about being scared to lose him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Theodore. You and I, we're going to go out there and fight, and then we're going to go on that date, remember?" Rio said, as he traced his hand down Theo's face.

The warrior's face was filled with scars, and battle reminders but it was easily the prettiest face Rio had ever seen.

"Yeah... The date. Sounds like a good idea," Theo said, his face; lighting up a bit.

It was like he was giving himself a chance to be happy just one more time, even though was truly scared that this was a battle he would lose. It scared the hell out of him, but with Rio, he was feeling like a lot was happening already.

"I don't want to let go," Rio said after a long silence. He had been breathing in Theo's woody scent and it was addictive as fuck. He wanted to spend more time with his mate, but then the circumstances were not letting them.

Perhaps this was the ultimate test of their loyalty to each other but was that even it when the battle was already here with them?

This wasn't about choosing where to be and when to be, but about what they had to do to keep the realm steady, what they needed to do to make sure that the night bloomed into the morning, however bloodied it would get.

It was a risk they were taking, but a strike worth it either way.

"Me too. I wanna stay here, with you. I want to tell you about my day, about everything that goes on in my head, about how you make me feel and how things are around me. I want to tell you more than I ever told anyone;

"... but I worry I might just push you away and even worse, that I might lose you... I can't lose you, Rio," Theo said, his voice cracking at the end.

This was Theo letting himself be raw around Rio, even though he wasn't sure that the fates would ever make their dream of finding their way back to each other a reality. It was a cruel assumption, but what could they do?

"Is it too soon to say I want to spend every passing day with you, and that you're the love of my life?" Rio said and Theo just chuckled.

"Is that a confession?"

"What if it is—" Rio began, only for the bells to ring.