Chapter 27

Eleanor:

“So, now this place is yours?” I asked, growing curious about the story of the beautiful garden that I was in.

“Yes,” Alpha Killian said, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked by my side. “She used to love coming here and was sure to have a print on everything that was in the garden. You can imagine that she was even monitoring the men as they built her stable. I didn’t blame her though, it was her thing and she aimed to make it perfect.”

“But why not use or keep it open?” I asked before looking down at my feet as I feared his reaction. “I don’t mean to be harsh or rude with my question, but I am curious about your own perspective.”

“I would have loved to, but a part of me believes that if the door stays closed, she would never leave.” Alpha Killian said, taking a deep breath. “And another part is refusing to believe that she was killed in front of me.”

“I’m sorry,” I said and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. A faint smile played on his lips for a second before he looked at a rose that fell from its branch. I was somewhat surprised about the size of the place considering the fact that we’ve been walking for a good while before reaching the stable.

“Each one of us has his own traumatic past, something that happened that changed their lives for good.” He said and I nodded in understanding. “What about you? What is your story? Your family?”

I froze for a few seconds as my chest ached. I knew that him finding out who I was would be fatal for me. If he wasn’t the one to kill me, it would be Elton, and that wasn’t something that I wanted to risk.

“I was an only child. I doubted that my father ever wanted a child to begin with.” I said, staring into space as the picture of my mom’s body falling on the ground in front of me played in my head. The fact that I was taken out of the house by my own father before he ordered his men to burn the house down played in my head. “My father killed my mother when I was a kid. The building was then burned to mislead the incident.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

“You opened a scar to me, I believe that I could have returned the same favor.” I said, stopping the Alpha. The last thing that I wanted was for him to pity me. It was bad enough that I pitied my own self. The last thing that I wanted or needed was to be pitied by someone else, especially not a man that I just met.

I smiled at the sight of one of the horses approaching us, momentarily growing distracted from what I pictured. The pain that I felt was one that I didn’t want to go through here. Mostly because at this point, mourning wasn’t going to do me anything. And weakening when I was at my weakest states already was not something that I wanted.

“His name is Reed,” Alpha Killian said from behind me, watching as the horse stood in front of me. He looked down at my hands and slowly started sniffing them. I smiled at his gesture before gently running my finger over his head, careful not to stir the horse, knowing that he didn’t know who I was.

“Was he hers?” I asked and he nodded. I smiled and started scratching him gently, growing a little more confident with myself and the animal. 

“He was her last foal.” He said, running his fingers through the horse’s hair. The horse looked at him and I could tell that he loved the man. To say the least, it seemed like it wasn’t the first time that he’s been here. 

“Do you know how to ride?” I asked, growing curious. He chuckled and shook his head.

“No, I wasn’t really interested in learning. I used to watch my sister ride when she did, but I never really bothered myself.” He said, turning to look at me. “Do you?”

“The last time I rode a horse was around five or six years ago. But it is like riding a bike, you become sore after it, but you don’t really forget the skill.” The Alpha raised an amused eyebrow before nodding at one of the stable boys. I frowned in confusion and the Alpha smirked. 

“Saddle Alexandra and bring her here.” 

“Yes, Alpha.” The stable boy said before turning to go inside the stable where the horses were. Another stable boy came and took Reed back to where he initially came from. I didn’t know how many were there, but I could tell that there were more than just a few.

“You just told me that you don’t ride horses.” I said, and he looked at me.

“I don’t,” I frowned at his response and he put his hand on my lower back, gently pushing me forward. “This is for you,”

“What?” My heart raced against my chest as I processed his words, and he chuckled. 

“Mom was the one who taught my sister how to ride in the first place. She often said that if you liked the sport, it was a passion that one never really got over. No matter how long the break is, and no matter how much time you need to recover from a trauma or even an injury, you will go back.” My heart swelled at his words and I couldn’t help the small smile that formed on my lips as I processed his words. “Therefore, if you’re willing, I would be more than happy to have you taking care of the stable here. To say the least, you can ride the horses, the men here would be in charge of the rest.”

Tears fell from my eyes before I could stop them. Alpha Killian frowned in confusion for a second before my feet grew a mind of its own and I walked toward him. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly, clearly taking him off guard as it took him a few seconds to wrap his own arms around me. 

His touch sent shivers down my spine, and it wasn’t until I felt his lips on the crown of my head that sparks coursed through my veins. The Alpha gently ran his hand over my back, his touch gentle; however, I couldn’t help but flinch when he tightened his arm around my shoulder, aching because of a healing cut and bruise that I had there. It was one that I got when Elton decided to hit me with his belt. Though I am not even sure how he managed to whip me as hard with his belt, the cut was healing at its own pace.

I pulled away from the hug and he frowned in confusion. 

“Are you okay?” He asked and I nodded. I put my hand on my shoulder, gently massaging it as I smiled at the Alpha. “Did I hurt you?”

“Don’t worry, Alpha.” I said, smiling as the horse arrived. Her brown coat shone under the sunlight and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips as I looked at her. “Hello, Alexandra.” 

The stable boy stopped in front of me and waited, letting me see the horse as I put my hand under her nose, giving her the chance to get to know me. It was something that my mom taught me when I was a child. 

“Do you want to ride her?” Alpha Killian asked and I nodded. But looking down at my dress, I couldn’t help but frown. 

“I wish, but I’m wearing a dress.” I said, and he smiled. “Can we leave it to some other time when I at least get the clothes that I bought with Natasha?” 

Alpha Killian nodded at the stable boy to leave, giving us our privacy before he looked at me, his eyes meeting mine momentarily before he nodded.

“On one condition,” he said, making me frown in confusion. I nodded, wanting to hear what he was going to tell me and his eyes darkened. “I want to see what hurt you when I hugged you…”