Bully

After managing to escape the parents of the kid who was supposed to be his mate, Zhane went back to serving his customers for the night. Even so, he couldn’t help but be distracted from time to time as he kept on recalling what had happened. When it was close to sunrise, aka the end of his shift, he finally went back to bed.

Unfortunately for him though, he couldn’t fall asleep. He just got here, and he was seriously considering running away once more. He had been worried about finding his mate forever, but never did he ever imagine a scenario like this. For some reason he had always assumed his mate would force him or something, but seeing that his mate was a harmless kid… it was crazier.

Of all people in the world, why did he have to find his mate? And why on earth did his mate have to be a little boy? He groaned. 

Having spent nights on high alert when he took down a group of rogue wolves, Zhane could function well enough with low sleep. So, the next morning, he decided to just go ahead with his duties and not think about his crazy situation at all. Or at least pretend to be unaffected.

Zhane drove across town to get him some stuff to fix his damp room (he might as well do that of he were to stay here for a while) and thus Mr. Benitez handed him a list of things the bar would need. With an extra bonus, Zhane was happy to comply. 

In fact, over the past couple of nights, seeing how Zhane not only attracts customers, but manages to spend way more than their average sales, Mr. Benitez had increased his pay in order to make him stay. Zhane was happy to earn a little extra in this small town, so he accepted happily.

After he arrived at the convenience store, he started to put things in the basket in order of the list that was given to him. He was immersed in his activity when he heard some noise suggesting conflict. On focussing further, he could tell it was near the back of the store. In general Zhane avoided conflicts, but why he avoided this one more is because of the voices being a little too shallow, indicating that adults weren’t involved.

He went to another rack when he heard a loud thump. It was loud enough to alert even a few of the customers present there. Some of them whispered, but none of them bothered to go check out. Why would they? It was not much of a big deal. 

However, Zhane, who was worried a little bit, decided to focus his hearing a little bit more in order to figure out what was going on. Zhane decided to take the back exit (without his cart, since otherwise he won’t be allowed) and as soon as he stepped out a strong sense of forest dew hit him. 

His mate was nearby? Zhane was shocked. And that’s when he suddenly recalled that Mark mentioned the night earlier about being bullied, and therefore like a reflex he ran and followed the scent.

As soon as he reached where his mate was, he noticed two young teenagers laying on the ground, while two of them were cornering another boy, who was the youngest amongst the lot. The youngest one was Mark, and it seemed like things were a little out of hand. 

A sharp punch landed on Mark’s jaw, as he winced in pain. Mark was sure he tasted his own blood, as it was a familiar taste. “How dare you hit us?!” the puncher snarled at Mark.

“Hey”! Zhane shouted from the back earning everyone’s attention. Zhane wanted to do more than just shout. He wanted to beat the boys to pulp for even trying to hurt his mate. Mark on the other hand was shocked and surprised to have spotted Zhane.

Zhane was much more muscular and older than those teenage boys, so to see him glaring at them with anger did unnerve the teenagers. “What do you think you’re doing?” Zhane took a few steps closer to the boys. “You should go and pick someone of your own size,” he declared. 

Seeing how there was no way Zhane would go without the teenagers being gone, they tried to drag the unconscious duo on the ground, failing miserably. While Zhane continued to glare at this, Mark came forth, grabbed Zhane’s hand and dragged him away from the scene. Zhane was perhaps harder to pull, but somehow it wasn’t this time anymore. 

It took a while for Zhane to get out of his trance to notice a worried Mark staring at him. “Those kids bully you?” Zhane asked in anger.

“Yeah.” Mark sighed. “They are my neighbors.”

“You know you can fight them right? Just give it a try”! Zhane blurted in anger. Mark was taken aback a little, but he didn’t budge.

“I know that now. I knocked two of them out. I only got a lip bleed in return.” Mark chuckled, feeling weirdly relieved to have finally stood up for himself.

“You think this is a joke?” Zhane asked, in a little louder voice.

“Why do you care, old man?” Mark snapped. “I thought you were dangerous to me? Shouldn’t you be unbothered by this”? Mark asked, knowing well enough that he was pushing Zhane’s buttons.

“I don’t like bullies.” Zhane declared flatly. “What are you doing here”?

“I live nearby.” Mark shrugged. “What are you doing here?” 

“Nevermind.” Zhane shook his head and was about to leave, but Mark stopped him by blocking his way. “What do you think you are doing”?

“Maybe I should stick with you, in case they come back for me?” Mark suggested. Zhane was appalled by Mark’s blunt request. It was as if Mark was purposely trying to stick by Zhane. 

“Kid, I am busy.” Zhane groaned.

“Fine, I will go find Duke.” Mark shrugged. Zhane frowned at the name, so Mark added. “It’s the guy who punched me. I should go and test if I can knock him out or not as well.”

“Are you crazy”? Zhane blurted out immediately. “Why the hell do you think it’s a good idea?”

“You asked me to stand up to them, right”? Mark shrugged.

“Not this instant”! Zhane declared, finding himself going crazy by the kid’s antics.

“Why not”? Mark shrugged. “The sooner the better.”

“Uh…” Zhane struggled to speak but didn’t know what he should say next that would calm his anger.

“You are worried I’ll get beaten up”? Mark asked.

“Why would I be worried?” Zhane rolled his eyes.

“Because you are supposed to be my mate.” Mark declared, causing Zhane’s eyes to widen in surprise.