Mated to A Rival Alpha-Chapter 181: I’ll Always Protect You, Always [1]

[RANIA]

"Rani, you need to rest," Odelia said, having noticed how pale and tired Kim Rania was. She looked like she was about to faint anytime soon, especially after everything that had happened today.

With the sun high up and her fighting the whole morning, she was bound to feel the after-effects of the previous few days. She had been living like a zombie and that was worrying.

She had a life to live outside her vengeance and the only way for her to do that was if she had some help.

"I’m fine. I still have to talk to the wolves who went all out for me even when I didn’t give them a good enough reason to trust me. I don’t know what I would have done without their help and yours and I owe them that," Rania said and Dalrae just looked at her sister.

She knew that Kim Rania would always feel guilty for making them get to her battles, but hadn’t she always been the one on the frontline for them? It wasn’t bad that they had given their lives while fighting for her.

It was something that they expected in war, but would Kim Rania see it as that?

"What do you want us to do?" Paloma asked after a long silence.

She had been listening to Rania and having known the woman for years and been closer to her than her parents, Paloma could also tell that she needed to rest.

However, there was a determination in Rania right now and she needed to find a way around that, or the Incayon wolves would have a really tired alpha. So much was happening and they needed to be on the same page.

Somehow, the fact that all of this had happened when Rania came back to the realm was an eye-opener. The cost of the truth was always going to be high and sometimes, the truth was going to be more costly than the cost of vengeance.

"I need to meet with them. I need to—" Rania said before she faltered in her steps, prompting her brother to rush to her side.

"You can meet them later. Now you need to get some damn sleep. If you don’t sleep willingly, I will use magic on you," Chang Wook warned and Rania turned to Han Seong in the hope that the warlock would be of help to her, but he just shrugged knowingly.

"Don’t look at me, I’ll help him if it’s the only way to make things right, Rani," Han Seong said and Rania just sighed.

"But—"

"We’ll fix things here. Go to bed, Rania. You don’t have to worry about everything all the time. I promise I’ll make things right here," Dalrae insisted and Rania figured that there was no point in arguing again.

They would definitely try to stop her if she showed up weak again.

It wasn’t intentional but the worry on her face was something that they were familiar with.

Rania was always used to fixing things, she was never used to being the one who was taken care of, but with her brother now around, she had to get used to it. It was non-negotiable and something that she would have to learn soon and fast.

"I’ll take her to rest and come back. You guys can start without me," Chang Wook said, before he carried his sister in bridal style, and walked back through the Incayon gates.

He could see the eyes on them and that should have bothered him, but it didn’t.

Instead, his only focus was on the girl who had fought when she was weak, the woman who had been forced to come home, not because home was the safest place she would be, but because home was where her greatest army was.

It was however saddening that despite everything that Kim Rania had done, her parents were still acting cold towards her. It was strange, especially for Luna Hyejin, the woman who had always tried to defend her daughter.

Surely three months wasn’t long enough for her to have joined her husband in the insane quest of disowning their only child, right? It all didn’t make any sense, but what had ever made sense in Obren anyway?

"You’ll be fine, Rani. You’re never going to be alone again. If Incayon is uncomfortable for you, then I can build us a shelter away from here. I know of places unclaimed by any packs in the realm.

"I can get us there if that’s the only way," Chang Wook said to his sister once they had reached Rania’s bedroom.

He was going to do whatever it took to make his sister comfortable and if leaving was the only option for them, then he would follow her to the ends of the world. He just wanted the best for her.

Kim Rania was always brave, but this time, he could see his sister feel overwhelmed with everything and he couldn’t even blame her, because even he was feeling the weight of it all.

Staying here may have been the best idea, but what if their choosing to stay in Incayon was a mistake?

"Then let’s leave, Chang Wook. Let’s go somewhere else. Honestly, it’s suffocating being home when no one wants me here. I thought that I could be okay if I came back and commanded them to fight my battles, but I feel like a monster.

"I feel like everything that I shouldn’t have done, I did today. I am no different from a dictator and I can’t be that. Dalrae was their good alpha, maybe I will return the title to her and find my way out of this realm.

"Maybe I can be better staying with the humans. My heart hurts so much, brother. It hurts. Let’s leave. I can rest once we leave. I can figure out a way to make things right. I can sort myself and then figure out a way to make the enemy bow.

"Take me away for Incauon, please, brother," Rania said, and it took everything in Chang Wook not to just carry her out there. He had never heard her that vulnerable, but as he tucked her in, he could feel the extreme vulnerabilities in her voice.

She was so different from the woman who had been out there, fighting like everything she had was on the line. It was even a miracle that there were no dead Incayon Warriors.

Granted, they were a little wounded, but then everyone had battle scars. They would heal. That was still not enough according to Rani. She would have been more careful and the stench of hatred for her was making her want to disappear. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Get some rest first. Rest well and by the time you wake up, I will have decided on where we will be going. For now, I need you to rest well, little sister," Chang Wook said reassuringly.

He knew that they would always find a way, but if Ranai was hurting then there were no battles she would be fighting anymore.

He would protect her.

"Okay," Rania said, as she slowly closed her eyes, letting herself give into the darkness. This time she didn’t have to worry about her safety, because she had someone who loved her, not just someone, but people who would always be there for her.

"I’ll always protect you, little sister," Chang Wook whispered.