Love Grows In The Dark

by Eli Lowe

  I reached there earlier than Kazan tonight. The alley was still dark as ever, just like my life with no ray of hope at all. I did not have to wait for long, because in no time the most intoxicating smell came to me again, announcing that Kazan is coming too.

  It did not take much time to feel the same rough and sturdy hands around my body, embracing with all his warmth, while at the same time I was reminded that it was the very same hand which caused me innumerable scars, unknowingly this morning.

  “Mate!” He called me out in the dark but his voice was low tonight. As if he was broken and injured too.

  But I did not have any reason to stop myself anymore, cause it will be the last time ever. So, I lifted both of my hands up only to hold his face in between my palms and did not wait for another second to kiss him deep for the one last time. Though Kazan was a bit moved by my sudden action, he did not stop me, rather he deepened the kiss even more as if he needed it much more than me. As if he was dying to get just one touch of his mate. Mine.

  And I was not at all intended to stop myself tonight.

  Episode 27

  Kazan's P.O.V

  Today was indeed a rough day for me. I had to taint my hands once again but I did something very wrong, I am not going deny.

  I was more disgusted with myself, realising how I could be so blind that I could not even see who was actually wrong and who was not, at all, and ended up venting my anger on someone who was always innocent. Also when I always knew she was someone beyond this kind of treacherous mentality. She was never born to do anything at someone's back.

  Although I knew all these about her since long, today I got ensured once again. Summer was indeed the fearless one who was never scared to face any kind of consequences with heads on, instead of hiding behind. My respect for her had increased even more than before and there is no doubt about that, but with that, the immense disgust in my heart for myself had intensified too at the same time.

  Yes, I could never forgive myself for what I did today, not even when she makes me pay or decides to forgive me.

  I believe, nothing could give me the opportunity ever again to undo the harm that I did to her, without thinking twice.

  Only today I got to realise how could someone win ever so greatly even after losing a battle.

  Yes, even though my swords cut her innumerable times while I stayed untouched and unharmed, she made me feel defeated today, ever so miserably.

  I lost.

  And I am ashamed of myself for the first time in my life.

  It was like, she got hurt but all her pain came to me, which I could not even endure at all, even if I wanted to.

  The pain was intense.

  And it was making me helpless, indeed.

  I wished only if I could let out my grief to someone else, just like others do to lessen their misery. I wished if someone was there to say to me that it was okay to do mistakes sometimes only if I realise what I did wrong and be ready to accept the punishments for my deeds.

  It is almost impossible for anyone not to do any kind of mistakes throughout their entire life, isn't it?

  No one is perfect, right?

  Me neither.

  Because, no matter how much I try to say the things I feel, I just could not express myself to anyone, never ever. And only for that, I was always lonely even when there were so many people around me who did care though. It was not that I had no feeling in my heart at all, rather it was just that I could never find the right person to see deep inside my heart.

  Except now.

  Yes, I had found the one at last.

  The one whom I could say everything without any hesitation, without even worrying about the fact that she would think otherwise. My heart never stops even for a second to blurt out all those things that I have always kept inside myself till now. It was like, I have never talked that much in my entire life, what my heart was dying to speak to her only in just one night. Yes, my mate.

  And I needed her badly right now.

  I needed her to hug me tight so that I could allow myself to break how much I wanted for once, at least I will be ensured of the fact that she would always be there to make me whole over and over again.

  As soon as she came to my mind, my heart started to feel even weaker than ever and all I wanted was to rush to her only to feel her in-between my arms...to get her sweet intoxicating smell all over my body once again.

  I just could not wait for the day to end, so that the night could come earlier than ever.

  And at last, the time came, for which I was longing ever so desperately. Even though it was just one single night that I could not meet her, it was seeming like an eternity to me.

  I had no reason to keep waiting further, so without wasting any more time I rushed to that exact place where we had decided to meet every day.

  To the alley.

  And when I reached there, her fresh and intoxicating smell was all over the place and I realised in an instant that she was already here. Even earlier than me?

  Was she as impatient as I was to meet tonight?

  Did she actually wait for me?

  I could not think anymore and ran inside only to hold her tight into my chest.

  At last...at last, I could let myself crumble down to her warm embrace.

  “Mate.” I could not hold myself back to call her out even when she was already into my arms. Even when all the intense tingles made me very aware of the fact that she was here with me right now, still I wanted to call her from the bottom of my heart over and over again. I have never felt this relieved before. My heart could never be fuller than it was right now.

  I wanted to say that she was my everything. Without her, I would lose myself completely.

  Yes, I wanted to say all those to her, but I could not. Cause just when I was about to open my mouth to convey all those feelings that my heart kept holding back inside, my lips got enclosed by the only lips that I have ever craved for. Those soft lips of my mate captivated me entirely...my mind, my body, my soul...everything.

  Oh, I just can not get enough of her sweet tongue that had already started to invade inside my mouth, making me all crazy to wish for more of her kisses. I just could not afford to breathe either, as I was afraid that it could cause us to break the kiss which I did not want to happen at all. I indulged my tongue with her very own rhythm in no time, letting it collide with hers ever so intimately, hungrily.

  Yes, I became hungry to have her.

  My hands kept traversing on her back without much of my consciousness, attempting to pull her even closer to me so that no one could separate us ever again. I kept kneading her hips, her waist and every other part on her body like they were all mine to grab and caress. Cause, she was mine.

  Her tender hands on my neck and body did not stop arousing each and every sensation inside me, making me even hungrier than ever.

  I have never felt like this ever before. I never knew that a single kiss could make me aroused this way. In fact, she was the only one whom my mind and body desired until now. And that was why I was afraid, thinking how far I could control myself...how long I could hold myself back from taking her right this instant.

  My wolf had already started to make me crazy back in my mind, demanding to mark our mate...asking to come out ever so desperately.

  But she pulled herself back suddenly breaking the kiss at last, without my consent, even when I craved for more.

  Then how could I not attack her lips again, at least when I was still not done savouring all the sweetness of her mouth?

  Yes, I was completely reluctant to leave her already swollen lips, and went for another intense kiss. She did not stop me either tonight, unlike before.

  I knew that I was not that gentle with her, but I was trying my best to be one, cause the last thing I wanted was to heart her ever.

  Her trailing hands on my face, my neck did not stop to emit the warmth that I used to desire always.

  Tonight, she gave me the happiest moment ever in my
life, cause her each and every move was telling me ever so loudly that...that she had accepted me finally. For the first time since I had found her, she did not bother to hold herself back from embracing me with all her heart, neither did she stop me from loving her all night. And I knew, I knew that it was the moment...to say what I kept saying in my mind innumerable times until now.

  “I love you, Mate.” I said finally, in-between our kiss, but if she heard me or not I did not know. She just kept kissing me like it was our last...like she was trying to take away all the pleasures as much as she could, only to live with it for the rest of her life.

  Why? Why I kept having this kind of weird idea even when she had promised me that she would never leave.

  Why my heart was scared all of a sudden.

  Before I could even clear out my doubts, her lips started to taste a bit salty, and I found out why, in no time. I touched her face with my hands only to realize that her cheeks were already wet with her warm tears, causing my heart to ache brutally.

  She was crying.

  Mate was crying and I did not know why.

  Did I just make her cry?

  “Mate? Mate? I am sorry if I did something or said anything unknowingly that has hurt you.

  Tell me what you want me to do. I can do anything and everything for you but I just can not afford to see you crying.

  I love you so much that you don't even know, you can not even imagine how much I need you.

  Without you, I will be all lost.

  Mate!” I did not know what else to say or to do. I just wanted to ease all the pain that was bothering her like this way.

  Holding her face in-between my hands I kept wiping her tears away with my thumbs but it seemed that nothing was working at all.

  The warm stream just did not stop to flow down from her eyes no matter what I say.

  I kept kissing her tears away all night until it stopped finally.

  No, she did not say anything about why she was crying, neither could I ask, cause I was more than scared thinking that my abrupt questions might make her cry once again.

  I just kept holding her tight into my arms and kept saying how much I love her...how much her each of the tears was breaking me into pieces.

  All I wanted for her was to be happy but it seemed that I ended up making her cry without knowing.

  “Do you want to run with me?” At last, she spoke. Her voice became hoarse from all the crying but still, it sounded a bit familiar, strangely.

  I did not know why my heart started to pang all of a sudden.

  It was like my mind was trying to tell me something which I was not at all ready to believe.

  Yes, I failed to understand a very important thing tonight, which I should have guessed even earlier.

  For now, it was she who was invaded all over my mind, depriving me to think about anything else.

  “Yes.” I said in an instant without wasting any further time, cause I did not want her to think that I was denying her words, which I would never do. Never ever.

  “Undress me then.” Her words made me stunned completely.

  Did she just ask me to undo her clothes? All of them?

  I shivered for no reason.

  But I did lift my arms and pulled her close once again, while my hands crept inside her top and touched her skin only to get lost in their own act of exploring every part of mate's body.

  Sparks never stopped to spread between us even for a second while heat had started to build already without much of our knowledge. I pulled all the clothes out of her body as they kept bothering me to find my mate in a whole new way. And it did not take much time to take off all my clothes as well.

  Even though I could not see my mate in this dark, but I knew that she was the most beautiful one, to me at least.

  I just could not stop my hands to roam all over her body, neither did I want to, cause she was all mine.

  I can touch her, I can kiss her, I can hold her however I want. And I was all hers too.

  Even though she did not hold herself back from touching me but she was not doing it all the way as I wanted her to do.

  I wanted to feel her hands everywhere on my bare body. I wanted her to know how aroused I was for her right at this moment.

  “Touch me, mate. Everywhere. I want you to feel me.” I said at last, while my breath became uneasy with an unfamiliar sensation.

  I trailed my hands down from her face, touching her neck, her shoulders, her perky and soft breasts, her curvy torso, only to stop at her round and fuller hips, while I could not hold myself back to grab her ass tight and hard. No, not intentionally but due to a reflex of my sudden arousal.

  Yes, I was hard.

  And I bet she knew that too, cause I was already feeling her abdominal skin on me.

  I started to crave for more.

  I had to kiss her already swollen lips once again to quench a bit of my sudden thirst, but still, as if it was not enough.

  I took mate's hand into mine, but even before I could make her touch my hardness, she pulled herself back, saying,

  “Let's run.” And with that, I heard the very familiar sounds of bone-cracking in no time.

  She had shifted herself, leaving me behind like this only to suppress all my desire to take her right at this instant.

  She was cruel indeed.

  Anyway,

  It did not matter though. Cause I knew that I will have enough time later to fulfil all my wish. And when the time will come I will surely not let her run away that easily like the way she did tonight.

  I felt tingles in my stomach, thinking about the time of us together which was yet to come. Maybe.

  So, I shifted too and followed her out of the alley.

  Her wolf was as huge as mine and she was beautiful. Especially her eyes. And I did not know why it seemed so very familiar to me since when I saw her for the first time. It was just that I could not figure out where I saw them before. Or was it for the fact that I just did not want to find out, only because mate had asked me not to and I promised her as well?

  I did not know.

  The only thing I knew was tonight was the best night ever in my life.

  We ran together for long side by side. We loved each other more than before.

  My heart was complete, finally.

  But little did I know what was there waiting for me after tonight.

  Episode 28

  Summer's P.O.V

  “Hey, Summer! Do you still want to stick to your decision? Are you sure that you do not want Kazan to do anything so that he could reflect on whatever wrong he did to you that day because of Adrian?” Markus asked while I was busy working at the school library. It was his free period too, so he came to help me out a bit.

  Yes, after that day, when I had agreed to be his friend, at last, he made sure to spend some time with me since then, whenever he gets free. Sometimes he also hangs out with the three of us as well...with me, Kaith and Jenny. And I must say that he did change completely. I did not know if I was always wrong about him or not, or he was always like this which I may have failed to see, but after getting to know him better, he seemed a completely different person now for sure, at least to me.

  “Yes, I am sure. Why do you keep asking me that, Markus?” I whispered back to him without bothering to look at his face and went busy again to put the books on the shelves according to their alphabetical order.

  “Obviously, because he kept asking about you, and also because he just could not find you anywhere around him to ask you the same, himself. Now how do I tell Kazan that no matter how much he tries, he can never find our Summer unless she wants to be found, cause she kept sneaking around since that day, for no reason at all.” His words appeared quite menacing to my ears. Although he did not know the actual reason why I kept avoiding Kazan, his words did not fail to make me recall my own reasons once again, which I could never tell anyone, except Kaith.

  “I told you before Markus. I have nothing to do with him. I don't want him
to pay me back doing something stupid. I don't want an eye...” Even before I could finish my words Markus completed my sentence.

  “Yes, yes, I know. You don't want an eye for an eye.” He mocked me.

  “Do I really say the phrase that often?” I wondered, seeing him so used to my words. I was becoming more and more predictable to him nowadays, I guess.

  “Yes!” He laughed at my stupid question and said further.

  “Anyway, even today, I want to say the same thing to you as always. If possible, give Kazan a chance, cause he is dying out of guilt day by day. Let him free Summer and only if that doesn't harm you.” Whatever he had just said, he did not have to, cause I already knew.

  Even though I made sure to stay away and hidden from Kazan forever as his mate, I could not stop my heart to watch him from far. And I knew how he was doing after that night when I decided to meet him for the last time so that I could say goodbye to my mate, in my mind.

  Yes,

  So many days had passed since I met Kazan for the last time, just as I decided.

  That night I made sure to let myself free to feel all the love that he had, to cherish me with, without him knowing who I was actually...without him knowing my name or my real identity as well. I did not hold myself back either, to do everything that anyone would want to do with their mates. Just for once, I wanted to live in the moment with my mate, so that I could say to myself later that I could love too...that once I had a mate as well, and I did love him with all my heart, so what, it was just for one night. My love was true and my heart knew that very well.

  But I had never expected him to say that he loved me too.

  I had never imagined that the always heartless Kazan could express his love too, proving my assumption wrong in every way. That night I realised how warm his heart was even when he was all cold from the outside.

  And that was why I could never forgive myself for being such a cruel person to him, to my mate, to Kazan, ... because when he said the words from the depth of his heart, I knew that I was not going to be there with him anymore to listen to his very words ever again. I knew that I was going to leave him after that night without even letting him know who I was... who his mate was actually.