Saving Her For The Price of Death

[JIHOON]

"If you're worried about what I heard—'' Jihoon let out in the hope that Rania would let him help her.

She was worn out from all the hurt and punching she had been doing, but even then, her tongue still had the fire in it. It was almost like she hadn't ever managed to ask for help from anyone.

Rania looked at Jihoon, before staring at the sky, almost like she wanted to have a one-on-one talk with the moon goddess. She wanted to know why the fuck her life had become this complicated when all she ever wanted was to be a girl with a peaceful life.

She hated what was happening, but that didn't mean she was going to start warming up to Jihoon. The man was her enemy and if he didn't kill her first, then she would gladly do it. It was all just a matter of time.

"I don't give a shit about what you heard. If you have questions, you can ask Paloma yourself. Now leave. Run along and sleep, we still have to find a way out of this place and get back to our mission," Rania added and Jihoon just sighed.

He knew she was stubborn, but even he had hoped that she would take a break from it all. Then again, he hadn't been there all the times that Rania had been hurt or ridiculed by Obren. He hadn't been there when everything was falling apart and Rania only had Dalrae to return to.

No one was there for her save for her best friend, so right now, whatever Jihoo was thinking of, could end in one of two ways; Rania transforming into a wolf and beating him up, or Rania leaving the damned mission.

"I just don't understand if your head truly needs fixing Rani,'' Jihoon said defeatedly, the scorn in his voice so clear. He was done trying, because clearly, Rania didn't want his help. So he wasn't going to keep trying to offer his help.

He would go his own way anyway because the longer he stayed beside the damned woman, the higher the chances were of him lashing out at her, but right now, it wasn't worth it.

'Walk away,' Jihoon said to himself as he made slow steps away from Rania, his front facing her while he made backtracks.

It was crazy how this woman grew wilder every day.

"Don't call me Rani, you little shit. That's something Dalrae only uses, now don't pretend we are close," Rania said and Jihoon just smirked at her before saying," happy crawling, dear Rani."

"Oh goodness, I'll strangle you if you don't leave," Rania warned and the fire in her eyes was so evident.

Jihoon should have been scared, instead, he wasn't. He was an alpha like Rania and nothing about the woman screamed fear. Maybe because they were of the same caliber, but was it that or was there something more?

Rania was frustrated by all that was happening. She hated that she had fallen prey to the rogues, and worse, to Paloma. She hated that she had met Paloma, and if Rania could turn back time, she could have agreed with Jihoon and crossed the Valley of the Whites.

Even if it exposed them and their secrets. Right now, they had wasted four of the five days they were to use to cross outside of the Valley and head into Drarun, the vampire land.

The words Paloma had spoken while she walked away were stuck with her and Rania wanted to understand what Paloma had meant by, " I hate what they turned you into, my love. I'm so sorry.''

Surely the queen of rogues didn't feel bad for Rania right? But then with Paloma, there was always more. Rania wanted to be done with the stupid mission and leave Obren, but she knew she had to heal.

Her bones were so broken that she couldn't even crawl with ease. She hadn't eaten in a while, so she wasn't even that strong enough. She was literally a helpless werewolf alpha and if someone dared to attack her right now, Rania would be a goner.

Granted she would be able to put up a fight, but she knew she would fill this time. Maybe this was how her life would end.

'I should have accepted his stupid help,' Rania scolded herself when she realized she couldn't even make a step without feeling like she was breaking her bones all over again.

Her whole body hurt, and her head hurt worse. Of course, being a werewolf alpha should have been an advantage and had her healing fast but Rania was weak in every sense right now.

She knew it would take her days to heal and since she hadn't eaten anything, it would take longer than she could ever think of. She knew that because she had felt her system start to reorganize itself.

The bones gently snapping into place were going to hurt, and so Kim Rania braced herself for the longest night ever, before falling unconscious. She hadn't even tried to fight it, she just let the darkness consume her.

Maybe this was the one time she didn't need to fight anymore.

***

[Three Days Later]

The forest between Obren and The Valley of the Whites was a huge one.

It was home to creatures of all kinds and anyone who had come here, knew just how complicated this place was. It was no wonder that the rogues had managed to live in this forest and in different sections, even though they were being hunted.

Even at that moment, they had already left their previous spots and had gone to a different part of the forest altogether.

Paloma had left with her people, and she had left Kim Rania to die, because that woman was a stubborn little shit, with secrets that were lethal to anyone who ever came around her.

Somewhere in this forest, was a very frustrated alpha who wanted to punch the living shit out of anything and everything that could help him release his anger. his mission had delayed. All this could be attributed to his tardwit partner, a woman who was more stubborn than the king himself.

How she managed to be a pain in the ass to everyone she met, was something Jihoon wasn't going to look into.

he was currently in a cave with the stubborn little shit, hoping to the goddess that she could get better soon, but at the same time, restraining himself from punching the stubborn alpha. Why was it so hard for Rania to follow the damn rules and live a normal life?

Fuck.

"How is she?" Jihoon asked the old man, Han Seong, who was with him in the cave.

When Rania had sent him away, Jihoon figured he would need a place to stay the night. He would need to replenish his strength while he waited for the stubborn woman to heal herself. He had gotten in touch with one of his old friends, and currently, they were at the cave.

"She's still hurting. I wonder why she would do this to herself. Isn't she supposed to be strong or something?" Han Seong asked angrily.

When Jihoon sought him out, Han Seong knew it had to be a dangerous situation, because that was the agreement. They would call out for each other in the event that they were overpowered by an enemy.

Hopelessly, a tired Han Seong had showed up for his friend, his face full of fear that something had happened to Jihoon. However, what he saw had made him want to spank the young Calindra alpha.

There in the cave was Jihoon with an unconscious Rania. Of course, Han Seong's first instinct was to blame Jihoon for her state, but Jihoon had explained the whole mad ordeal to him, leaving old Han wondering what the fuck Rania had been on all this while.

Today was the third day since he had begun administering treatments to Rania and she hadn't even woken up.

Of course, Han Seong knew that the bones were almost completely exhaled, but still, he needed to know for sure that Rania would wake up and if so, how much time he needed to wait it out.

"Yes she is, but she is also stupid. She did this to herself," Jihoon said disappointedly.

It was almost like he wanted to wake Rania up and spank the living shit out of her, but there were higher chances of the woman clawing him to death, than him getting his vengeance.

And so the young werewolf alpha decided it was a good idea to keep his hands to himself.