Vivaan pinched the bridge of his nose to calm down as Joy threatened to take over. He then proceeded to help Rehyaa but stopped short when she flinched.

As soon as Vivaan had stretched his arm towards her, Rehyaa covered her face to soften the blow. She had seen these type of scenes enough in her pack to know what was going to happen. Losing temper and punishing their mates to make them understand the mistake was a normal norm in her pack.

What was normal for her was nerve racking for Vivaan. He had never, not even in his dreams had imagined his mate getting scared of him. He wanted to hit himself for giving her this idea of him.

He slowly moved towards her sprawled form and delicately tried to remove her hands from her face. The goosebumps that appeared on her hands made him feel scared of his own behaviour.

Gathering his courage, he continued his work. He helped her to sit while she followed his lead quietly.

"I..I wasn't...," Vivaan choked as tears stung his eyes.

He hurriedly wiped his eyes to concentrate on her. Right now, she was his main focus. "I wasn't going to...I would never...," he tried to explain but only broken words came out.

"My actions angered you," Rehyaa stated in a small, remorseful voice.

Vivaan nodded, not lying even if the situation was hanging on a single thread. "I was angry but...but that doesn't mean I would hurt you."

"I know you won't hurt me. Why are you treating it as abuse? This was supposed to be discipline, right? For me to get better," Rehyaa inquired, not understanding why was her mate acting this way.

Her words fell like cold water. Vivaan and Joy collectively were enraged and shocked by this fact. They had expected fragility from the woman of a traditional pack but this...this was something not acceptable even if the pack worked in the most primal way. Mates were meant to be cherished and not manipulated into believing that they deserved to be beaten up. That it was for their own good.

While he knew what was wrong, he couldn't tell this to Rehyaa just like that. Either she wouldn't believe him or she would get traumatized if she trusted his words. This topic was too sensitive and to address it, he had to seek help before saying or speaking anything about this topic. And until he was ready and sure, he wouldn't comment on this.

Vivaan smiled slightly, though it looked more like a grimace before addressing the issue which had got him angry on the first place.

"Why did you belittled yourself? That was what made me so angry. Though, I realize now that I went a little overboard. Sorry about that, but why would you say such a thing?" Vivaan asked softly, being cautious of his tone and body language so as to not frighten her.

"Because that's what I am. I am not strong like your mom, Yara or Hritika," she answered and bowed her head feeling pathetic.

Vivaan lifted her chin with his finger to make her look at him before calmly trying to make her understand.

"Yes, they are strong but they do have their weaknesses. Just like you have your own strengths and weakness. They are just different than them."

Rehyaa moved her head away, feeling intimidated, making Vivaan's finger fall. She wanted to scoff at his words but maintained a polite expression before disagreeing with him. She knew better than to outrage him by outrightly denying his claim just after the fiasco but still the words spluttered out her mouth.

"Vivaan, I know you are saying this to make me feel better but these girls seriously don't have any weakness."

Vivaan huffed, making Rehyaa scared that she had crossed her limits but she relaxed when he gave her a comforting smile.

"Hritika has a sharp tongue and a strong mind but she lacks in physical strength. Yara is strong willed, you have witnessed her boldness just today but she is a people pleaser. She is too polite for her own good and would never be rude or correct elders, even with Hritika. She tries so hard to be in her good books.

"The strong women you have been comparing yourself too have their own battles. One lacks in physical strength while the other isn't mentally too strong."

"What about your mom? She is physically stronger than any woman I ever met in my life and I have also seen her dealing with issues with her mate today. Her mind is sharp too and she knows to stand her ground," Rehyaa questioned, after acknowledging his explanation about Hritika and Yara.

"My mom? While she looks like an all rounder by being both physically and mentally strong, she is not strong enough to get out of a loveless relationship.

"Rehyaa, strongness does not need to be ultimate. You can be strong yet have some weakness. You may be different than the other women in my pack/family, but that does not make you any less stronger than them."

"I...strong?" she asked unsurely but hopefully.

Vivaan smiled softly. "Many people doesn't pocess the strength you do. Knowing your weakness is necessary for improving yourself. That's the biggest strength anybody could pocess.

"Recognizing the threat and calling for help, that isn't something many can do. The courage required to fight your opponent is far less than the one required to ask for help. I have seen many people suffer just because they couldn't bring themselves to share their problems.

"Not to forget the fact that you came here, the pack you knew worked differently than yours. Just so you could protect the remaining members. You brought the girls here on your responsibility. I don't think, I would have that courage to take shelter in a traditional pack to safeguard my pack.

"You are strong. Never ever doubt on that fact," he finished with finality in his voice.

"I don't know your reason for delaying the mark but if I could, I would like to mark you, right now, right here." Rehyaa confessed making Vivaan blush.

His cheeks had turned rosy red at her blunt confession. Her transition from a sweet kitty to a wild cat surprised him in a good way. His mate was surely something.