You Rejected Me. Remember?
In Love With My Best Friend Chapter 31

Astrea

I didn’t know how much time had flown by. I was left in the mysterious darkness for a long time. At times I felt that I was falling, while other times I felt like I was floating. There were times that I couldn’t remember at all. Perhaps those were the moments I lost consciousness or fell asleep. My tears were useless and my pleas disappeared into the vast expanse. After many tears were shed, I grew tired of begging and screaming. It was meaningless.

There was nothing I could hold onto for comfort. Not even my wolf. She was gone. All I heard in my head was an eerie silence. It was strange. Ever since I turned sixteen, Ash has been with me. I felt so lonely without her. I cried for her to come back at first, yet, as time passed, I accepted the fact that she wasn’t with me. I was on my own, in the unfamiliar world of gloom.

Feeling despair, I let the bizarre world devour me until, eventually, I saw a light. It was hazy at first, yet gradually intensified. Gasping for breath, I ran towards it. I didn’t know what to expect. All I wished for was to evade the dark expanse I was put in. I felt myself being pulled towards the light.

I gulped as I prepared to meet my destiny, whatever it was. I squeezed my eyes shut as the light engulfed me. It was too bright for me to keep my eyes open.

“Astrea?” I heard Ash’s voice for the first time ever since I was stuck in this dimension.

My eyes flung open and realised that I wasn’t covered with darkness anymore. I was now in a white room. The walls, the ceiling and the floor were completely white. There wasn’t any furniture. I knew I was still in the other dimension, but where was Ash?

I frowned.

“Ash?” I tried to link her, yet I didn’t receive a response.

“Astrea,” Ash’s voice startled me and this time I knew that I didn’t hear her inside my head, but from behind me.

I turned around and found a large bipedal wolf who was standing on her hind legs. A little scream escaped my lips as I jolted backwards. My heartbeat jogged as I gulped down hard.

“Astrea,” the wolf spoke.

Wait…

My eyebrows knitted together. That was Ash’s voice. Frowning, I gazed deeply into her eyes and gasped loudly when I realised that this bipedal wolf was none other than Ash.

“Ash! What…what happened?” I asked, shocked.

“I think this is what the vial did to me. I don’t remember anything that had happened. All I can remember is being confused and lost,” she told me.

“You too? And why aren’t you in my head? Why are we separated? Are we… Are we separated forever?” Frowning, I voiced my deepest fear.

Sighing, “I hope not,” she mumbled. “Apparently, we are in another dimension,” she added, placing her paws on my shoulders.

Suddenly, our surroundings started to change. The white room dissolved and I lost sight of my wolf. A gasp of despair escaped my lips as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Ash!”

She wouldn’t be gone so soon. Our meeting couldn’t be so brief. I needed my friend. I needed my wolf, although we were separated and in a different dimension, I needed her with me.

I felt that I was being sucked into a vortex. My eyes darted around, trying to grasp what was happening. Nothing in the vast chasm of darkness made sense to me. All I knew was, this was a place compressed with turmoil. I opened my mouth to scream. However, my voice didn’t come out of my mouth. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fight against what was about to happen. It would reach me and when I did, I hoped to meet my wolf once again.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried my best to take even breaths as I braced myself to face my fate.

Soon enough, the turmoil ceased. I took my time to analyse my surroundings. My eyes were still closed as I chose to relax before seeing what was waiting for me. Perhaps another odd location.

I felt the presence of several individuals, yet the atmosphere was dense with silence. I was certain that I wasn’t alone. An alluring scent started to pull me into a comfortable trance. Mmm… What was that?

I opened my eyes only to realise that I wasn’t in control of the body I was in.

Wait… was I in Ash’s body? My lips stretched as my heart skipped a beat.

“Ash?” I breathed out expectantly, hoping to hear her reply through our link.

“H…hey,” she almost m****d out her reply as though she was being pleasured.

My forehead creased. Was someone lícking her fur?

I froze when I realised that we were in someone’s embrace. And not just anyone… someone special. Sparks were erupting where our bodies were contacted. I stiffened, dreading the possibility of being held by Calvin. Because of the bond he had forced on us using dark magic, tingles erupted whenever our skin made contact.

However, these sparks were soothing. It felt good, unlike the ones inexperienced in the past.

“Ash!” I exclaimed, yet she was too immersed in pleasure.

“That’s enough, Zoro,” a familiar voice stated, adding to my amazement.

Zoro? My heart skipped a beat. And was that the Queen who spoke?

Ash whimpered when she lost contact, yet did not protest. She humbly obeyed the Queen’s command. She turned around. My breathing caught in my throat as I glimpsed the most handsome lycan I had ever laid my eyes on. With lustrous fur as dark as the night, he was a handsome fellow. My heart was racing. Was this Zoro? Leo’s Lycan? Our gazes met.

He was so… enchanting…

When the Queen ordered us to shift back, we did it without any delay. I was fascinated and delighted to see the faces of those I loved surrounding me. My family and friends.

There was one particular scent I couldn’t resist. I sniffed the air. A short gasp escaped my lips when I realised that the scent was coming from Leo, who was standing in front of me. He avoided making eye contact with me. His cheeks were flushed. Was he embarrassed? Anyway, I thought he was looking and smelling great. Yet why wasn’t he looking at me?

I stared intently at him until he finally stole a glance at me. I went completely rigid when Ash screamed the words I had been yearning to hear.

“Mate! Mate!”

My jaw dropped open. Was he my mate? My eyes glossed.

“Mate?”

I managed to whisper despite replaceing it hard to speak.

His eyes darkened as his muscles bulged.

“Mine!”

He growled, making me shudder. That was all I needed to hear. I could have sworn that his declaration was enough for me to melt into a puddle.

“Mate,” I breathed out, as a smile curled on my lips.

My legs started to move and before I knew it, I was in his arms. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent. I loved the way he squeezed my body against his. Laughing and crying at the same time, I held onto his torso with trembling hands, like I would hold onto dear life.

Mine. He was mine and I was his. What could be better than that?

“Mine,” he whispered into my ears and started to pepper k****s on my marking spot, sending shivers throughout my body.

“Yours,” I agreed. Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. He was my mate, the love of my life, my heart throb. He was the one meant for me.

We were lost in our own world until someone cleared his throat. I froze and so did Leo. Right… our friends and family were also here. I had forgotten about them. Ever since Ash screamed out the magical word, all I could observe was my mate. It was as though we had traveled to a place where only we existed while everyone else vanished into the thin air.

I felt my face heat up when I faced Sir Elliot and the Queen. When I saw that they didn’t seem to be disappointed, I relaxed… a little. Sarah was grinning from ear to ear and so were the rest of our friends. When my eyes landed on our parents’, my eyes widened. My mom was already walking towards me, followed by my dad and Leo’s parents.

“Well, s**t,” I g*****d mentally. Biting my lower l*p, I lowered my gaze.

To my surprise, my mom pulled me into her embrace.

“I was so scared, Astrea,” she whispered, her voice quivering.

“So you’re mates,” I heard dad state. Gulping down the lump in my throat, I glanced at him. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be upset.

“Well, it looks like we are family now,” Leo’s dad chuckled.

Once again, my cheeks heated up. I hastily hid my face on my mom’s shoulder and g*****d. She laughed.

“Yup. We are family now,” she agreed as she stepped away. Leo instantly snaked his arm around my waist. A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

Perhaps my life was finally perfect.

We went back to the palace and, as usual, I went to my room. It felt good to be back. I had missed everything so much. I threw the dirty shirt on the floor and jumped into the shower. The cool water felt so good on my skin. It was rejuvenating.

After washing away the dirt and the b***d off my body, I wrapped a towel and stepped into my room, hoping to pick up some new clothes before going downstairs to have some food. Everyone had gone to their rooms to freshen up while the chefs prepared something to eat. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, but since we had returned from a battle, we were going to rest during the day.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed me and pinned me against the wall. From the sparks and the scent, I knew that it was him.

A smile curled on my lips as he buried his face in the crook of my neck.

“Leo,” I chuckled. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Hmmm. I am,” he mumbled against my skin. He had one of his arms placed on my waist, while he sandwiched me between him and the wall.

“So go and eat,” I mumbled, squirming in his arms.

“I am going to eat,” his husky whisper sent shivers down my spine. There was something about his voice that made my core tingle.

He started to run his tongue on my neck. I gasped. I felt a pleasant jolt tremble my entire being with every flick of his tongue.

“But I think I want something different.”

I shuddered. What? My heart was erratic and my breathing was now ragged. I wanted to ask him what he wanted, but before I could, he claimed my lips in a desperate k**s.

I couldn’t resist. How could I? He was my mate. Our lips and tongues danced in synchronisation as I grabbed his shoulder and realised that he was topless. My eyes widened when I realised that the only thing that separated us was the towel that I had recklessly wrapped around me.

Breaking the k**s, “you are shirtless!” I gasped.

He didn’t seem to bother. Without replying, he started to suck on the skin of my shoulder. Droplets of water were still on my body, since I hadn’t wiped them well and his gestures were making me feel emotions I never experienced in the past. Gasping for breath, I glanced at the closed door of the room. He must have sneaked into the room when he saw that I hadn’t locked the door. I smirked, celebrating being held by my mate.

However, my enjoyment was short-lived. I soon remembered that our parents were expecting us downstairs to have some food.

After mustering up all the courage I could, I pushed him away, yet it wasn’t enough. He didn’t budge. Digging his fingers into my waist, he continued to trail k****s and run his tongue over my collar bone, at times deliberately grazing his teeth over my marking spot.

Damn this guy.

I gulped, trying hard to control my ragged breathing. What would my parents say if we didn’t go downstairs to eat with them? Besides, I still needed to wipe my body and get dressed.

“L… Leo…” I stuttered. “Please…. I… I’m wet,” I managed to tell him and he paused. He gradually looked up, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. His eyes twinkled as he gazed deeply into my eyes. He raised an eyebrow, making me frown. My emotions were going haywire. Did I say something stupid?

“Oh?” he whispered.