Chapter 5

Alpha Zayn

For the next four days I spent recovering, Zayn took very good care of me.

From keeping me company until I fell asleep, to changing the dressings on my wounds, to sitting by my bedside through the night, to feeding me spoonfuls of soup even when I barely had the energy to lift my head.

On the sixth day, Zayn took me to the moonlit garden behind the Alpha house.

The air smelled of jasmine and night lilies. The quiet made my chest feel lighter.

Honestly, I felt refreshed. I felt free, like I had escaped from prison.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Good,” I replied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he smiled.

For the first time since I knew Zayn, he smiled.

If I wasn’t sitting, my knees would’ve betrayed me.

“Oh my God!! His smile is so cute……” Ember, my wolf, dragged the word ‘cute.’ She spoke for the first time in a long while.

“Shut up,” I snapped at her in my head.

“Thank you,” I said to Zayn out loud.

“For what?” His brows twitched.

“For everything. Taking me to the hospital. Taking care of me… and the bills.”

He took my hand. His touch was warm and steady.

“I should be the one thanking you.”

I stared into his face. The moonlight caught the gold in his eyes.

“For staying alive. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“I know. It’s just that I…” he trailed off.

“You what?”

“Never mind.”

We were silent for a while. His thumb brushed over my knuckles.

“Jaxon is lucky, you know. To have you.”

“Did you hear that?” Ember cut in, buzzing in my head. “Jaxon is lucky to have you.”

I shut her off.

Or i’m the lucky one to have an Alpha as a lover, I thought bitterly.

“Do you want to stay back?” He asked suddenly, reminding me that I had a home to go back to.

A home that didn’t feel like home.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Because you haven’t talked about home since the other day.”

“Oh.” That was the only thing I could say.

To be honest, I didn’t feel like going back home anymore.

Even though I’d only spent a few days in Midnight Park, it felt more like home than Obsidian Moon Pack.

I enjoyed Zayn’s company too. His people were welcoming, and they accorded me the ‘Luna treatment’ I had always dreamt of. They bowed when I passed. They served me first at meals. They asked after my health.

They respected me like I was the Alpha’s mate.

Zayn made sure of that.

“I can go tomorrow.”

“Do you really want to go?”

“Of course, I want to,” I lied. And the words tasted bitter on my tongue.

“But your face says otherwise.”

Embarrassment washed over my face. My eyes dropped, staring at my fingers twisted in my lap.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

I wished I could stay. But I was the mate of my pack’s Alpha. I shouldn’t be in the care of another man. An Alpha of another pack at that.

The Luna Ascension was close. I would have to go back as soon as possible.

I would be crowned Luna soon. Jaxon and I would live happily.

I wouldn’t have to think of this place again.

Suddenly, one of the many questions I’d been meaning to ask him popped into my head.

“What were you doing at the market square in my pack the first day I met you?”

“That.” He smiled, slow and a little guilty. “Sightseeing, I guess.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, hands in his pockets. “What of it?”

“Wow.”

“Why are you acting so surprised?”

“Because it is surprising. You’re an Alpha. You’re supposed to have guards following you everywhere you go.”

“Alphas don’t just ‘sightsee’ in other packs, Zayn. Not alone.” I frowned. “It’s dangerous.”

His smile dropped a little. He looked at me like he was deciding how much to tell me.

“I guess I’m different. I enjoy walking alone. Clears my head.”

I stared at him. “Now I understand the look.”

“What look?”

“The way you looked at me at the market square. You had that bold look. That... Alpha look.”

“Woah.” He chuckled, but his eyes didn’t leave mine. “So Alphas have specific stares now?”

“I don’t know. But you had it. In your eyes. I didn’t know you were an Alpha then… but your eyes said it all.”

We chatted for so long I lost track of time.

I laughed so much my ribs hurt. For a second, I forgot about everything.

I wished Jaxon and I could be like this. Easy. Warm.

The atmosphere soon grew cold.

“How about you leave the day after tomorrow instead?” Zayn asked as we walked into the house — the Alpha Palace.

The marble floors gleamed under the chandeliers, and the smell of wood and cedar followed us down the hall.

“As it pleases your Grace,” I said with a grin, too quickly.

“Great.” He didn’t push. But I saw the way his jaw tightened, like he was hoping I’d say yes and stay.

Like the blink of an eye, the day I had to leave finally arrived.

I felt sad. I can’t say if it was because I wouldn’t be seeing Zayn for a while, or because of the warmth of his people that I would miss.

The maids packed my bag. Even though I came with nothing, I was returning with things Zayn got me. New clothes. Medicine. A shawl.

A part of me wished he’d be the one to drive me back home instead of his guards. But I knew better than to ask for such a favor. I’d be calling for war between packs.

Zayn walked me to the car.

“Call me when you get home,” he said as I slid into the back seat.

“I will.”

“You can come here whenever you want. You’re always welcome.”

I nodded as I laid my head against the headrest and the car zoomed off.

The three-hour drive was long and tiring. All I needed was quality sleep.

But that plan was ruined the moment I stepped into the living room of Obsidian Moon Pack house.

“Where have you been? Your sister is pregnant with the Alpha’s child and you left her alone to tend to herself in this condition,” my mom said the moment she set her eyes on me.

Did my mom just say Risa is pregnant with Jaxon’s baby?

I just hoped it was the exhaustion affecting my hearing.

My bag slipped from my shoulder. The room tilted.