Chapter 26 Everything Unsaid
DAVINA'S POV
He just sat there, those amber eyes locked onto mine. I held his gaze for a moment, but then I looked away first, and I instantly regretted it. The gate had closed behind us, and we were still just sitting there, frozen in place.
Finally, he broke the silence, turning his gaze forward at the compound. With a soft "you're welcome," he pushed his door open and stepped out. I took a breath and followed him.
The compound was buzzing with energy. As soon as we entered, all eyes turned on us, then murmurs started.
Zane chose to ignore it and walked ahead and I followed suit, but we were stopped in our track by a voice from the crowd.
"With all due respect, Alpha Prince." A middle-aged wolf stepped forward from a group of men gathered near the training ground. He was broad-shouldered and weathered, exuding a confidence that suggested he was speaking not just for himself, but for a whole lot of others too. "We’d like to hear directly from you about what we’ve been hearing." He paused, and then continued.
"Is it true that we are at risk of losing everything we grew up knowing in the pack because of the human you brought back?" His eyes moved to me briefly.
Zane just gave a cold look and started back on his track, but the man persisted. "We deserve to know what our fate is, what is happening. If you're to lead us one day, you should be able to address things like this."
I watched Zane stop again and turn, his fist clenched. Then he unclenched it and gave a cold smile.
Even as cold as he seemed, that didn't stop him from radiating beauty. He was handsome beyond words, and that was one thing I was beginning to admit.
"It is true that Grayson filed a formal complaint against us, but that's just it. We aren't losing our pack, and it definitely isn't because of Davina."
"So what are we going to do about this complaint? How do we fight this? How do we prepare?" The man questioned further.
"You all won't have to do anything, don't worry. It's being taken care of. Just relax, nothing will happen," Zane assured.
"We trust you to lead us well, Alpha Prince, but we've also been meaning to ask, even though some people haven't dared to ask, but we've all been curious. Who is this human?"
I guess that one pissed Zane off by his reaction, but he still held himself from reacting and answered instead. The weight of being a leader was truly a difficult thing.
"She is... just someone I rescued from Grayson, that's it," he said, without sparing me a glance.
When he finished his sentence, my heart felt heavy, like a piece of arrow was piercing it. But I kept a straight face, not even wanting to admit to myself that what he said hurt me.
“Anyhow, her presence here is hurting the pack, as it seems Grayson wants her. So why aren't we handing her over to him?”
“I have addressed this before. Even if she is human, I won't just hand her over to Grayson just because that's what he wants. Whatever comes out of it, I'll make sure to handle it I shouldn't be questioned about that,” he said with a finality in his voice and then walked away while the whispers from the pack grew even louder, and I followed behind him.
We kept walking until we got to the path where we should separate and go to our various rooms, and I turned to the path leading to the cabin when Zane lightly grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“Wait,” he said.
“What is it now?” I asked.
“You know I just said that so they won't bother you, right? Plus, I can't have them knowing at this moment that you're my mate. It will only divide the pack more,” he said, trying hard to assure me.
“It's not my business really, I could care less.” I replied nonchalantly. “See you later in the day,” I said and headed to my cabin.
Just someone he rescued from Grayson, huh?
I was boiling deep down, and I couldn't even explain why, even though I wasn't ready to admit it to myself I could feel the bond. That spark of electricity I feel whenever he touches me, the pull, I just knew something was there, and even though I was confused before about what it was and why I was getting attracted to someone who literally brought me here against my choice, now I was grateful that I could actually understand why I was feeling that way.
I was still lost in my thoughts as I was walking when I walked into a chest, and when I looked up it was Jax with a scowl on his face.
“Hello human, I'm guessing you weren't also taught the act of watching when you're walking,” he said with disdain.
I decided to ignore that. “I’m sorry for bumping into you,” I said and tried to walk off, but what happened next was something I didn't expect.
He grabbed my hand roughly and used his free hand to cover my mouth to prevent me from screaming.
I tried struggling to get his hands off my mouth, but he didn't budge, he just simply dragged me into a room.
“Don't worry, I think I'll enjoy your screams much better inside and not here,” he said, while smiling evilly as he dragged me towards a door I hadn't noticed before, a narrow one set into the side of the equipment building.
The door closed behind us and the sounds from compound disappeared.
And all I could think, with his hand still over my mouth and the darkness pressing in from every corner of the small room, was that there was more danger in this compound than there was outside.
First Aurora, now Jax. I really didn't know how I was going to survive in this den of wolves as the only human.