Chapter 112: About The Day Of Prosperity

"Please allow me to court your daughter. I, too, am an exceptional Alpha, and I would like to win her over to be my mate."

PFFFFFT—!

I choked violently on the glass of water I was sipping, coughing so hard my ribs throbbed. Dammit, why didn’t that just kill me on the spot?! What in the actual hell was going on in this living room?!

My parents were so shocked they didn’t even realize water had nearly taken their daughter’s life.

Edgar looked utterly livid, his composure shattering as a terrifying, pitch-black shadow crossed his face. He looked like he was genuinely about to burst and tear the house apart, but before he could utter a word, Zero pressed on.

"The Day of Prosperity happens at the end of each month," Zero said, his tone laced with solemn reverence. "By the time Brianna turns seventeen and officially attends the ceremony, I hope to contend among those who plead with the Moon Goddess to form a sacred bond between us."

"Shut up!" Edgar snarled, completely losing his temper for the very first time since I had met him.

The roar was so loud, cold, and dark that the heavy glass chandeliers above us rattled. For a strange, inexplicable reason, seeing Edgar snap like that made my heart give a sharp, painful ache.

But it did not last.

The day of prosperity was a ceremony that happened every month end, unlike the tournament of power that happens once in a while.

The reason it is held at the end of every month is so that each wolf who has reached the age of seventeen can finally pick a bonded partner. If there are two wolves who wish to be together, they can plead on the alter and the Goddess will bind them together.

If there are more than one contender, then the Goddess would bind the two whose fates are likely connected. Childhood sweethearts win a lot in these settings.

And for those who are without a partner they wish to bond with, those who seek a partner in the crowd, they will be bonded with the one the goddess has chosen for them.

It’s a simple ceremony. Only that, having more contenders actually make it hard for the girl or boy who is being contended for to end up with the one they truly want to be with. As such, all competitions are advised to be settled before stepping onto the alter.

Those who did not get bonded can try their luck again during the next ceremony but note that it is extremely hard to break a bond that the moon goddess herself has bounded.

That’s the gist of it all. And now... I’ve been dragged into something so absurd right under my nose.

I rubbed my arm, my own anger flaring up through the sheer absurdity of the situation. I thought Zero and I had settled scores down in the training hall—that he was just taking responsibility for his actions by training me for the tournament.

Where in the world was this sudden bonding ceremony speech coming from?!

"Enough," I hissed, stepping forward and grabbing Zero firmly by his forearm.

"Brianna," Edgar called, his voice tight.

"Give me a sec," I said, not looking back for even one second. If I had, I would’ve seen how hard the lines of his face were, and how dark his golden eyes now looked. I would’ve hesitated on my steps for a second and probably left him to deal with things.

I dragged Zero away from the stunned, frozen room, pulling him through the glass patio doors and out onto the quiet, moonlit terrace, far out of earshot from everyone else.

I rounded on him the second the doors shut, rounding my shoulders into a furious glare. "I already told you that you don’t have to take responsibility for me like that! Do not think for a single second that I plan to tie you down just because of what happened between us in that shed!"

"This isn’t about that," Zero said softly.

I paused, staring at him. "Then what is this about? Because it sure looks like it."

Zero looked down at me, the cool night breeze ruffling his vibrant blonde hair under the silver moonlight.

"Brianna Wells," he murmured, his voice dropping into a rough, quiet vibration that shook my core. "My wolf yearns for you."

I went dead silent for a second, my heart giving a sudden, erratic ba-thump against my ribs.

"No, it doesn’t," I forced out, trying to laugh it off with a dry, dismissive huff. "You’re making things up, aren’t you? You’re just playing a game because Edgar made you mad down there."

"No, I am not," Zero claimed flatly and the forced smile froze.

He reached out, grabbing my forearm—not hard, not rough, but with a gentle, desperate firmness, as if he were trying to hold onto something incredibly precious.

"I did not fully realize it before," Zero confessed, his emerald eyes burning into mine with an intense, raw honesty. "Even after that encounter, I kept thinking of you. I thought it was just my guilt. I thought I was being punished with images of your face because of my crime. You were someone young, someone under guardianship, someone I had assaulted during a rut... but then you looked at me today. You did not blame me; you did not resent me. You did not try to blackmail me either. I was still trying to keep my wolf under control, but you smiled. You laughed. You told me you had your own goals."

His chest heaved as he let out a ragged breath. "My wolf let out a loud howl of longing today—way more than it had done in the last few days where I thought of you and concluded it was out of something as sinful as perverted lust—but I swallowed it down. How could I dare? How could I reach for you? I truly believed I only had a debt to owe, and that was it."

"If that was it," I asked, my voice barely a whisper, "then why did you suddenly say all that in there? That you wanted to bond with me—"

"Because another Alpha was claiming you," Zero interrupted.

My words hooked directly in my throat.

His emerald eyes had turned terrifyingly sharp—a lethal, razor-like glint that sent a cold, familiar chill running straight down my spine.

It was the exact kind of warning chill I used to feel during my past life as an assassin when a target was nearly impossible to reach, something insanely difficult to win... something I had to be exceptionally cautious around.

I pursed my lips, turning my head slightly. "Don’t take what he said to heart. Edgar and I aren’t like that."

Zero said nothing to my defense. He thought for a second, and I swear I saw disbelief in his eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it appeared.

"Whether it is true or not, the fact that he claimed he is pursuing you happened," Zero murmured, his grip on my arm softening. "And my wolf stirred. Jealousy? Anger? An inferiority complex? I do not know. But it made me push past a boundary I swore I would never cross. I pushed... I dared to claim, and I dare to try."