Chapter 61

Lucianne was shocked to hear that King Lucas’s bonded mate took her life after being rejected. After

taking in her stunt expression, Xandar said, “Now do you see why all of us keep telling you that you’re

stronger than you give yourself credit for? Mind you, she was a Lycan. S o she was supposed to be

biologically stronger than a werewolf to withstand the bond snaps.”

Lucianne started chewing slowly again and shook her head sadly. “It’s just…sad.” She sipped her drink

before she continued, “It’s sad that she might have lacked the psychological and emotional support that I

have. Without my friends and Juan’s family, I don’t know where I’d be.

“Hm… I guess I never thought of it that way.” Xandar said.

“You should.” Lucianne insisted, “The snap is painful unlike anything imaginable, especially the first snap

because of the unfamiliarity with the pain. Before experiencing one, a mere thought of rejection would be

painful but after feeling an actual snap, the pain from that thought becomes bearable. It gets worse when

the rejection comes after one falls in love with the other person. Because it would feel like having two

things broken and shattered into pieces at once, the mate bond and your heart.”

Xandar completely agreed with what she said about the pain from merely thinking about rejection. The

first night they met, there was an excruciating pain being channeled to his heart when Lucianne raised

the matter of rejection. He was angry but he was also in great anguish.

And when he thought that she was going to reject him after he yelled at her at the Jewel Pack, it became

insanely painful because he had already fallen in love with her by then.

By far, the worst pain came from the previous night, when he was left hanging on whether Lucianne

knew that he loved her, only her. He knew that if she didn’t believe him, she would drift away before

ultimately rejecting him. Not that he would ever accept it. But the mere thought of the possibility that she

would say those words to sever their bond could bring his entire being to his knees and cause him to

tear-up.

“You okay?” Lucianne asked in concern after putting a piece of carrot into her mouth.

Xandar was brought out of his thoughts as he said, “Yeah, I just…” he looked at Lucianne in awe and

disbelief when he explained, “It’s amazing how you do it. Get through one rejection after another, I mean.

I get that you had a whole army of friends and family supporting you but the fact that you chose to listen

to them, and let them help you move on and continue living is just..it takes so much will and strength on

your own part as well.”

Lucianne smiled and said humbly, “It does.” She got lost in her own thoughts for a brief moment before

saying, “I have a lot to live for. I’m glad I didn’t give up.”

He reached for her hand when she put down her fork to reach for her drink, and pecked a

sweet kiss on it before saying, “Me too. I love you.”

Her lips curled up and she said what Xandar was waiting to hear, “I know. Thank you.” His smile

broadened at those words, and he let her take back her hand from him.

They continued eating until their plates were clean. Xandar refilled Lucianne’s glass and admired her

profile in silence. When Lucianne was done, she told Xandar that she wanted to pay for their meal.

Xandar looked at her sternly and spoke firmly, “No. This is a date…”

Lucianne retorted instantly, “Xandar, it’s my date, too! You can’t just expect me to tag along like an

accessory. I have the means…”

“Sweetheart, you’re not an accessory…”

“Then let me pay for one meal. You’re already paying for my books. You’ve paid for breakfast. I was

hoping we could split the cost of our dinner later but knowing you, you’d refuse. Come o n, Xandar. It’s

just one bill. It’s just one meal.” Xandar looked at his mate who’s showing him those large doe eyes

again as she waited for his response.

He groaned and said, “One meal. That’s it.”

Her eyes lit up as she said, “Great! Thank you. I wonder if I can work my way up to one and a half.”

He took her hand from the table and kissed it before he said, “Don’t push this, sweetheart.”

She narrowed her eyes, “I have the means to pay, Xandar. I’m not going to have you pay for everything

for our date just because I’m a woman. That’s very old-fashioned.”

He played with her fingers on the table as he muttered, “I just want to spoil you for a bit. Why can’t you

just let me?”

Without missing a beat, Lucianne said, “Xandar, you’re paying for my books. Do you have any idea how

much you have to fork out already? And I’m not even done looking yet.”

Xandar immediately responded, “I take back what I said. I don’t want to spoil you a bit. I want t o spoil

you a lot, to the extreme, if I were honest.”

“Spoiling me means giving in to what I want. And I want to share the cost of our date. Since you’re giving

me what I ask for, you are spoiling me.” Lucianne reasoned with her large doe. eyes.

Xandar sighed in frustration before kissing the back of her hand again, “I have to find someone to teach

me how to win an argument against you. Any recommendations? There must be someone among the

wolves who can.”

Lucianne smirked and said, “Like I would tell you.”

After Lucianne settled the bill, she and Xandar left the floor. A bald man with reading glasses

a few tables away looked up from his book. Then, he clicked on his black pen and noted the time in an

opened notebook on his table.