Sungmin's POV
I soon found myself standing next to Jiah. How did she ever think that I would let go of her? I know that she would be mad at me, and yes, she had every right to, but it wasn't just my fault. I needed some space. From the secret corner of my eyes, I assessed the boy who had just joined our clan. From what I saw, I do not think he is a wolf. What on earth would a child who is supposed to be sucking his mother's breast be doing in our clan? Are you sure there are no mix-ups somewhere? I just didn't like that child. I can't say exactly why I didn't like him, but something felt odd about him. He noticed the way I gazed at him, and he did not feel comfortable with it. I saw his eyes turn black.
"Huh!" My eyes widened. No member of our clan had black eyes. There's something about him! He quietly walked away from my side to meet Jiah and rested his small skull on her chest. I fumed with jealous anger. "What arrant nonsense is this?" Jiah rubbed his head, trying to get him to sleep. I grabbed her to her feet. "What do you think you are doing?" I asked angrily as I fixed my gaze on her. She pulled away forcefully. Yangmu stood watching us from behind Jiah.
"Leave me to my things! It's none of your fucking business!" she spat at my face, her eyes full of rage. I perceived pain. I need to be calm to get her to listen to me.
"Look, Jiah, I just think we need to talk outside, alone. Away from the stranger," I said, pointing a finger at the boy. Tracing my finger, her eyes stopped on him. "Are you calling him a stranger?" she mind-linked me.
"What else do you think he is, you dumbass!" Sungmin, leave me alone. Go and meet Nara. She is the one who matters the most. Did she not remind you how many times both of you made love?" I said aloud, not in the mind-link. Oh! Now I get where this nonsense is coming from.
"I have told you that Nara isn't my mate. She was imposed on me by my father. You are my mate. Not just my mate, my fated mate!" Just as I said the last word, Jiah landed me a slap and hurried off with Yangmu at her speed. "I followed her, but how did she do that? I was the only one in our clan who could run with another; she wasn't made for that. A lot had changed about her.
"You need to listen to me, Jiah!" I said when I got a hold of her.
"She says she doesn't want to listen to you!" Yangmu interrupted with his little voice, sounding so innocent.
"Be quiet before I smack you! You shouldn't be part of this discussion, kid," I said, raising a hand as if to hit him, but Jiah was too quick to stop me, even though I did not mean to hit him; I only wanted to scare him. I paused to stare into her eyes for a second.
"What do you think you are doing?" I asked. And then she dashed out of my sight. I observed her speed—it was faster than usual. She must have learned to be better while I was away, perhaps to impress me. I blazed after her.
"Can you just stop this and listen to me?"
"I have no time for this, Sungmin!"
"I came here because of Yula! Nara has agreed to release her to Dad and…"
"I said, I do not want to hear it!" My bones became weak, like the bones of an old person.
"I am sorry, Jiah. Believe me when I say, I have nothing to do with Nara."
"If this is true, then why didn't you reach out to me when Nara kidnapped her? Why did you decide to sort this out yourself? Nara has decided to release her to your dad, like you said… because you have made love to her again, huh!" she said these hurtful words to me! "You left me without a word in the middle of my fears. When I needed you the most, and now you stand here to tell me that Yangmu is a stranger and that Nara has agreed to release Yula. Nara doesn't do such a thing if she hasn't gotten what she wanted. You cannot fool me," she continued, bloody tears rushing down her cheeks.
"I remember everything she told you, how she convinced you that she was your fated mate. And yes! I think she is right. You have had enough time with her, and now you are here. To do what? Have you rejected her? You fucking asshole!" she cried, hitting me again and again as I stood like a piece of monument. My emotions drained. I felt nothing. I stood there—cold and helpless. Who had been feeding her with all these? Jiah seemed not to care about her clan anymore. I found my hands trying to stop her from hitting me any further, but she continued, even harder. Tears dropped down my eyes at the same time.
"So I think you should leave now. It is obvious she doesn't want you here anymore," Yangmu said. I looked at him—weak and broken. I turned to leave, my heart pounding with heavy pain. I felt like they were about to explode.
"Go!… Go away!" she yelled at me. I darted out like a wolf on the hunt. As I was running, I felt my strength fading away. The words she said kept playing in my head. I heard her crying in my head. "He doesn't know that I love him, but he hurt me so much, Yangmu. He hurt me. Sungmin was still seeing Nara, behind my back and having sex with her. This hurts so much. After all we have been through together? Do you believe that Sungmin left me? He didn't even hand over the diamond stone to me to help direct my path. He just left, and the most painful part was that he didn't even look back, not once. He claims he loves me, yet he doesn't make me feel like he does."
"What diamond stone are you talking about?" Yangmu asked. It looks like he was more interested in that.
"The one he got from Guyong. I know you do not know who Guyong is, but soon you will. Up till now, no one knows how he managed to get the diamond stone out of Guyong's territory. A territory that is spiritually and physically guided." Yangmu listened without interrupting.
"I don't think I want to say more about this!… I will take you to Hayan so that we can ask her the way forward in getting back our guiding star." I sensed Yangmu nodding in agreement.
I had already stopped and sat somewhere, thinking about my life when my phone rang.
"Son, I am on my way to see Nara. You said you would get back to me, but I waited for your…"
"Dad!" I cut in sharply. "I apologize for saying that I would get back to you without doing so. I just had a lot to deal with."
"I hope everything is fine with you over there, son?" he interrupted.
"Yes, sure, I am fine, and everything is fine too. I will talk to you later. I have something important to attend to," I said and hung up. Someone just passed, and he looked so much like Guyong. My heart raced. I swallowed hard as the look on my face darkened.