41 - Secret Doings

THALIA ZAHARA.

“Ezra!” Panic filled my soul, I failed to move for a good number of seconds. “Ezra!” His body almost dragged me to the ground, but I found my balance and started to drag my feet over the sandy ground with the hope that I would be able to find help close by. But moving with the man’s body proved difficult, so I stopped my struggling steps and tried to think of an alternative.

Seconds passed and I did not find an answer, I did not even see the canopy that housed us the last time we came to the beach together, so I resumed dragging us out of that place while constantly ensuring that the man’s breaths had not ceased.

“Ezra…” I was scared. Very scared. “Please…” As I grunted through my whispered pleas, his right hand dropped. I was about to fret when I felt his subtle touch hold onto my waist.

I breathed in relief and tried peeping at his ghastly face when my heart thudded with a sharp pain that caused me to fall to the ground. With Alpha Ezra glued against my body, I remained in that spot, hopeless and helpless and allowed the heavy patter to drench us more.

My chest heaving with levitating fear, I held on to Alpha Ezra and whispered, “I am so fucking weak.”

Truly, if I had a wolf, I would be strong enough to move Alpha Ezra, I would not be stuck to the ground like a fool waiting for help that might never come.

How come my life is the way it is?

This man has helped me so much, he even lost a finger because of me, so why on earth am I so fucking weak that I can’t do something as simple as making sure he doesn’t wake up under the rain and slump again?

Why can’t I-?

A nauseating sensation filled my chest and my lips produced groans. The pounding of my heart worsened and my hands tingled violently. As I tried to make sense of the weird feeling in my system, my strength returned, this time, multiplied.

A force in my soul encouraged me to lift Alpha Ezra once again and surprisingly, I was able to carry him bridal style. I got up with a little struggle, but when my legs stood straight, I found balance and continued to carry Alpha Ezra.

I would have loved to marvel at the strange occurrence, but using the chance to find a shed at least is wiser. So, with slightly rapid steps, I moved away from the shore.

Seconds later, as I moved, the ball of fire that formed around us at that Night Stream party covered us and the rain ceased in our world. The arrival of the fireball made that moment a little more questionable, but as I pointed out earlier, it’s best to use the chance instead of questioning it.

Soon, with frequent check-ins of Alpha Ezra’s breathing, I managed to walk a good distance, but there was no roof close by. So, I decided to see if the unexpected strength would allow me to run.

“Thalia?” Emmag’s voice ruined my decision.

The ball of fire disappeared and I returned to feeling the Alpha Ezra’s weight in all corners of my body.

“I have been looking for you!” He screamed so I could hear him past the rain. “Alpha Ezra gets weak in the rain! Let’s go into the car! He’ll be fine in no time!”

“Oh…” The little crease on my forehead, which formed because I had earlier marveled at the strength I found, relaxed and I nodded.

I transferred Alpha Ezra to Emmag’s arms and seconds later, I was racing with him towards the car he packed not too far from the sandy ground.

Once we were secured in the car, the heater made me realize how cold I was feeling. But I ignored that realization and focused on Alpha Ezra, whose head rested on my lap.

“He is going to be fine, right?” I asked Emmag.

“He will be fine. It might take a while for him to wake up though. It seems he was in the rain for a while.”

I sighed worriedly while my right hand palmed the side of his face. “What was he doing out there? If the rain makes him weak, why was he standing in it?”

“Weren’t you with him all along?”

“No. I had just come back from… a brief walk.”

“Thalia, you said you were going to the garden. I told Alpha Ezra the same. It seemed he had something important to say.” Our eyes met in the mirror. “Are you telling me that you never went to the garden?”

“Huh… I did technically go.”

“If you had gone, Alpha Ezra would have met you and he wouldn’t have suffered in the rain.” Emmag’s voice was hardening in an unfamiliar way. “Where did you go, Thalia?”

“Emmag…” I scoffed. Is he doing this to make me feel more guilty than I already feel? “I told you, I went for a walk. If I knew Alpha Ezra was coming to the garden, I would have stayed at the garden. Don’t speak as though I am intentionally making his life difficult. I don’t appreciate your tone at all.”

“Thalia, There is only so much pain Alpha Ezra can handle no matter how powerful he is. So, within his strength, he strives to do the best he can. But now that he and his wolf are knocked out, he won’t be able to do anything for a few hours and from what I know about him, he won’t take it easy on himself the moment he wakes up.”

I frowned. “I can’t believe you are blaming me for this.”

“I am not.” He sighed. “I just want to make sure that you know that Alpha Ezra is special. Yes, he is strong, but some things make him weak. He wouldn’t have been exposed to the rain so much if you had truly been at the-"

“Emmag, you are blaming me. I understand your worries, but how could I have known that he was coming? I am not a seer. I can’t see the future.”

“Let’s drop it,” he said and I was even more surprised, so much so that I started to think he was lashing at me for a reason beyond Alpha Ezra’s unconsciousness.

“Sure.” I pushed out that response and looked away from the reflection of his eyes in the mirror. “Let’s drop it. I want to focus on Alpha Ezra. Just tell me what to do to help him.”

“Nothing much. But you might want to stay by his side in case he suffers seizures.”

“In case he suffers seizures?” Is it that serious?

“His wolf is weakened right now. But the beauty of this situation like this one, is that his wolf comes back with greater powers. In such cases, it might be difficult for Alpha Ezra to adjust to the surge since he’s unconscious. So, yes, he suffers seizures. But it is nothing harmful. He’ll adjust within minutes.”

“Okay.”

“You know,” I seriously expected that he wouldn’t talk anymore, “there is a reason why I have not been curious about what happened at the Market Square.”

“Oh.” Is it terrible of me to say that Emmag is sort of getting on my nerves?

“Right from the night of the Night Stream party, I could tell you are hiding something. But unlike Alpha Ezra, I am not curious about it.”

“How do you know he is curious about it?”

“I have my ways of knowing certain things,” he simply said.

“So, what about it?” I dared him. “Are you certain that I am hiding something?”

“It is possible. But whatever it is, unless you tell me, I won’t ask about it. I’ll just repeat one thing. If it’s going to harm our plans, you should stop chasing it.”

“You two are different in many ways,” I glanced at Alpha Ezra, “but you are deliberate about your plans in the same way.” At that point, I could no longer take offense at their incessant requests not to destroy their plans.

But I cannot stop the pace of my secret doings.

Yes, there is someone I meet from time to time, someone who makes my days a little more joyful than Alpha Ezra and Emmag do.

But am I ready to reveal that truth to these men? No.

“I will say this for the last time, Emmag,” I returned to the man, “I am not doing anything to harm your plans. I am not foolish enough to ruin them since I also stand to benefit in the end.”

“Fine. Is Alpha Ezra more steady?”

His skin felt warmer, so I took that as a good sign.

“Yes.”

Nothing more was said and my thoughts began to travel.

I thought back to the earlier moment when I gained unexplainable strength after experiencing weird pain in my heart and soul. But, as I occupied my mind with theories that could explain what that was all about, the wicked whisperings of my name filled my head again. Unfortunately, I was mentally weak, I could not fight the voice this time around. So, after a deep exhale, I sat back and allowed the voice to eat into my mind.