The Year of The Snake Collection
WHAT CAN A WOMAN DO WHEN SHE HAS TO FACE A PAST LOVE?
Lydia Fierce is a world-renowned jeweler who travels to find the most precious stone, the zodiac jewel, before the end of the Chinese New Year. Who would’ve thought it would be given to her during a show but bring an unwanted condition, being a mate to the man who broke her heart?
Leo Morimoto comes from a powerful line of shifters connected to the Chinese Zodiac; the zodiac jewel is stolen, threatening the exposure of his people, and he hunts down the one responsible. But once he discovered a woman whose daring eyes threatened to bring the animal out of him and talked as if she knew him, would he be able to separate interest and duty?
* * *
The shock would’ve been kind as her vision became red, and the sting given from the sauce was an excuse for her tears.
Lydia held her gift for her crush close to her side as she carefully wiped it off her face. She recognized the taunts and laughter from her classmates since she had dealt with them since freshman year.
What happened? She thought.
She wanted nothing more than to celebrate International Day with her best friend, Ichiro. It was the last time she’d spent with her friend before graduation.
Lydia knew her friend was homesick, so she made his favorites, along with her family’s popular sandwiches.
“Lydia, what happened here?”
Lydia turns to find her crush and best friend, Ichiro Morimoto, standing next to the nightmare named Lamia Sinclair.
She’s the popular girl, captain of the cheerleading team, leader of the debate team, rich girl, and a bone fide thot!
“It looks like Lydia loved the sauce,” Lamia said with a vicious smile.
The smile alone was enough for Lydia’s blood to boil as Lamia said, “Do you need a towel?”
“No thanks,” Lydia said through gritted teeth.
“But it’s clear that you need it,” Lamia said.
Growing snickers echoed in the classroom as Leo jogged toward Lydia and gently took her in his arms.
The teacher arrives, and after seeing what happened, a narrowed gaze formed on his face.
“What’s all the commotion?” says Mr. Star.
Lamia’s face morphed into a scared girl with a slight tremble before saying, “Lydia wanted to cover me in sauce!”
“What?”
“It’s true! Lydia tried to push Lamia near the ballon, but …” said Lamia’s friend before Mr. Star lifted his hand.
“We can settle this by the security camera,” Mr. Star said.
“What camera?” Lamia’s friend said.
“The camera I’ve had permission to install in this room.”
“But that’s impossible since there isn’t one.”
“Ichiro, grab my laptop.”
Leo gently touched Lydia’s back before walking to the teacher’s desk and grabbing the laptop.
Once placed on a student’s desk, Mr. Star typed on his laptop until revealing Lamia’s lackey, replacing the glittered red balloon with one filled with sweet and sour sauce.
“This is illegal!” said Lamia’s friend.
“You don’t pay attention, Mr. Star asked in advance for this,” Ichiro said.
A classmate quietly gave Lydia a wet cloth to clean her face in time to see Lamia’s lackey rolling up in Leo’s face.
“Just because you’re the teacher’s pet doesn’t give you the right to…” Lamia’s friend’s eyes widened as she backed away from Ichiro.
“What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?” Leo said with a daring grin.
Dang, how is he this sexy? Lydia wondered.
“MMm, monster!”
Lydia saw literal red as she moved before Leo and pushed Shakeela away.
“You’ve got guts to call him a monster in front of me!” said Lydia.
“That’s enough! Ms. Shive, we’re going to the principal’s office.”
“Wait, it wasn’t my fault. It was Lamia!”
Lamia gave a convincing show as a wounded friend. “I can’t believe you would do this, Shakeela.”
“You witch! You told me it would give this nerd a lesson in taking your man!”
“I’ve expressed my jealousy, yes, but I would never intentionally harm someone.”
“Let’s go, Ms. Shive.”
“No, please, I didn’t do it alone.”
Mr. Star had to get school security to drag her out of the classroom and follow them to the office.
Lamia slipped in between Leo and Lydia before slightly pushing Lydia away.
“I’m sorry for Shakeela’s rude behavior.” Lamia continued, “If you let me, I can make it up to you.”
She pressed her hands on his arm and chest while blinking flirtatiously.
“Don’t you have any willpower?” Lydia said.
“Who are you to lecture me, nerd?”
“A nerd with principals.”
“Do you believe in the tooth fairy too?”
Snickers echoed in the room as Lamia slapped Lydia.
“What the hell?” Lydia screamed.
“Careful, we have to be quiet. Besides, who do you think they’ll believe, the daughter of the school board member or a violent nerd?”
“Oh, so you do admit it?”
“What?”
“That you don’t have willpower because of your parents?”
“What?”
“Let me put it in a language your thot brain can understand: I screw guys with money.”
“You bitch!”
Lydia tightened her fist when Ichiro grabbed Lamia’s wrist.
“What are you doing? Let go!”
“Believe me, I’m saving your face,” Ichiro said, before pushing Lamia away.
“Hah, I’m Lamia Soul. What can a weak nerd do to me?”
“Try me,” Lydia said.
Classmates chanted a fight when the bell rang, and the teacher next door told them to break it up, and they left with a groan.
Lamia left with a sneer, and Lydia saw Leo’s sigh in relief.
“Dang, I wanted to rearrange her face.”
“It wouldn’t end with just a rearrangement, Nv Wang.”
“Semantics.”
“C’mon, we’ve got to find you another outfit.”
“I don’t think I can fit into your jersey.”
“Are you sure?”
He moves Lydia to the corner of the classroom. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”
Lydia felt her tongue being swallowed down her throat for a moment as Ichiro leaned close to her lips.
“Aren’t you going to stop me?”
She slowly shook her head and grabbed his head before tasting nirvana.
It felt like a promised eternity tempting her to stay. She didn’t know how long they were in this position, but a clear throat from the teacher told her enough.
“It’s time for lunch,” Mr. Star said with a knowing grin.
Ichiro moved slowly away from her with intention, but something caught her attention.
His eyes!
It was instant, but his eyes glowed an earthly green with a hint of yellow.
“Lydia, are you okay?”
“I’m fine; I’ve never noticed your eyes.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know you had hazel eyes.”
Ichiro’s expression scrunched in confusion, and he shook his head.
“It’s probably the light, he continues. Does it bother you?”
“No, it’s one of the reasons I like you.”
“You… like me?”
Before she could say anything else, Mr. Star led them out of the classroom.
Lydia could’ve sworn her face was as red as a stop sign when they left to get his jersey.
She ignored the stares once, making it to the girl’s locker room and washing the sauce off.
The rest of the day was a blur, but that moment in the classroom was etched in her mind. She knew this was her last year of high school, along with Ichiro, before going to different colleges.
If I would reveal my love for him, why not now?
She made it to the school parking lot, and Ichiro made it to his car.
The ride was quiet until parking at her house.
“Well, thanks for the ride.” She continued, “Are we still having dinner at your folks?”
“Yeah,” Ichiro said with a sober expression.
“Ok, I’ll see you then.”
She was opening the car door when his hand softly gripped her wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I … I was just..”
“You think you can admit to liking me without knowing the consequences?”
“Leo, it was the slip of the tongue. It was an accident.”
“Well, this isn’t.”
He pulled her as close as possible inside his car and took what little air she had in her lungs.
————————-
Ichiro didn’t know what came over him at that moment, but knew it was perfect.
He had fallen in love with Lydia since she protected him from bullies in kindergarten.
The more he spent time with her, the deeper he fell, but he knew she only saw him as a friend.
When he saw her being bullied by that prank by Lamia, the desire to rip to shreds was overwhelming. But Ichiro could sense true bloodlust from Lydia, and with strained control, he took her in his arms.
The smell of the sweet and sour sauce, along with her uniqueness, had him lose his mind for a second.
But when she admitted her affection, it snapped the thin restraint in his emotions.
He wanted to devour her until all she could think of was him.
She broke away from his lips, but he softly kissed her neck until taking a nibble.
“Ichiro..”
“Hmm, I’ve never done this before and want to get married first.”
He cursed under his breath at this confession as the desire magnified but moved away.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
He pressed a finger on her lush lips and said, “Thanks for telling me, but I can’t do this.”
The hurt in her dark brown eyes broke him when she moved away.
“Then I guess we can forget this ever happened.”
“No, I can’t do this without making you officially mine.”
Lydia widened her eyes and said, “What do you mean?”
“If I’m going to have you, I want all of you.”
Lydia’s eyes widened, “You mean…”
“I want to marry you.”
“But we’re still kids.”
“Not now, but someday, until then, will you be my girlfriend?”
“I’m not dreaming?”
He chuckled and said, “If it is, it’s a shared one.”
Lydia softly kissed him and said, “I’ll be your girlfriend.”
After kissing her goodbye, he thanked the lucky stars for this chance and drove home.
—————-
As he went inside his home, he noticed the subtle changes his mother was doing for the Chinese New Year.
The red decorations were laid out near the den with different versions of tigers.
A 5’2 middle-aged Asian woman with brown eyes and long hair exited the kitchen with a concerned expression.
“Ichiro, what happened? You didn’t answer your phone?”
“I was busy, mom.”
“Were you hanging out with Lydia again?”
“Yeah, I dropped her off today.”
“Is she okay?”
“We had a problem during class, but it was situated.”
His mom nodded before moving closer to him with a piercing gaze.
Ichiro felt a stirring inside of him before a searing, burning sensation was placed on his lower side.
“It’s just as I feared,” his mom said.
“What is it?” he said with gritted teeth.
“My son, you’ve been touched by the animals.”
“What? No, it’s not time.”
“It’s almost Chinese New Year, and since this mark appears, it means your mate has touched you.”
“No, not yet.”
“It’s time for you to mate and bring harmony to your soul. She continued, so who is it?”
The pounding in his heart was a mile a minute as he knew the ramifications if they discovered Lydia.
They would strip everything from her and would be bound to him for as long as they lived. He loved her too much to have her freedom taken away.
“She’s probably someone I’ve bumped into today.”
“Then we must find her.”
“What happens if I refuse to mate?”
“You have to be sent to the training grounds.”
“For how long?”
“For twelve years.”
He gasped from the pain and time spent away from Lydia, but knew she couldn’t handle this side of him.
“That long, huh?”
“It takes time to control the zodiac spirits while fighting your urge to mate.”
“How will I know who is my mate?”
“She will have the zodiac of your birth on her shoulder.”
He knew the snake was his and immediately had to tell Lydia.
“Oh, by the way, is Lydia coming for dinner?”
He almost forgot about it and knew it would be the perfect time.
“Yes.”
“Good, she can help with the decoration and eat.”
“I’m surprised you’ve never aside from me to help you.”
“I like Lydia; she has a good head on her shoulders.”
“Alright, I’m going to wash up.”
Leo’s heart warmed at his mother’s confession, but it was bittersweet as he had to break his mate’s heart.
—————————
Lydia smiled at helping Ichiro’s mother with the decorations and eating with them.
It was filled with love and warmth, especially when Leo’s father and mother claimed her as a daughter he never had.
But her chest tightened at Ichiro’s subtle distance and one-word answers.
As he parked in front of her house, she looked at his blank expression before saying, “You’ve been acting weird all night. What’s wrong?”
He shrugged before unlocking the door. “See you later.”
“Ichiro, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just need to handle some things back home.”
“What do you mean? We finished decorating for New Year’s.”
“I mean Japan.”
The shock from his confession left a hole in her soul, but she kept her face straight.
“What’s in Japan?”
“Family business, since there’s nothing left for me here.”
Lydia grabbed a fist full of Leo’s shirt and made him look at her.
“Don’t lie.”
“Why, it’s the truth.”
“So you think you can toss me aside like this?”
“C’mon Lydia, dramatic is not you?”
“What?”
“It’s been fun, but I need to focus on my future from here on out.”
“You promised me that we would stay together and be married.”
Burning shame cut her as he mockingly laughed and said, “I wanted a quick lay, but it’s true, a virgin is too much work.”
She used every ounce of strength and slapped the smirk from his face, leaving a red palm mark.
He rose from his seat and gave a punishing kiss.
It seemed unbelievable, but it was better for her now than before then hearing a tear.
“What are you doing? Stop!”
“Not yet.”
“Ichiro, stop!”
He laved against her shoulder, which was more sensitive than normal, making her pant for more.
“Lydia…” He said as if in prayer.
With surprising strength, she pushed him off her and got out.
“Lydia?”
“I’m not easy,”
“You sure about that?”
She turned to look at him one last time with his long hair, small hooped earrings, lush lips, and expressive hazel oval eyes. The guy she saw, her best friend, confidant, and boyfriend, was a lie.
She walked to her home with tears and said, “Goodbye, Ichiro.”
—————————
Leo watched with an inner roar of pain as Lydia walked away from him, wearing his zodiac animal on her shoulder.
“Goodbye, Lydia,” he said while driving away.