Chapter 5 Lavender and Rain
Chapter 5
Zayne's POV
“I was away for two days and rogues already turned my Pack to their playground.” I said, my eyebrows raised as my eyes scanned through the report that Xavier, my Beta had given me.
“We handled it…” he replied quickly. “The girl is in the dungeon while the others—are dead.”
Looking up from the report, my gaze met his. “A girl? Was she with the others?” I asked, ignoring my Lycan’s restlessness. He shook his head, causing my frown to deepen. Rogues knew better than to wander into my Pack let alone a girl. I couldn't help but wonder who she was working for.
“Take me to her.” I ordered, already rising from my seat. He walked in front, leading me to the dungeon.
My Lycan was gnawing at me to let him out but there was no way I was going to do that. He'd had enough fun disrupting the mating ceremony of the Pack we went to. He insisted on smelling our mate…which was impossible seeing how we already have one.
“I can smell her!” He growled.
“We already have a mate,” I told him, struggling to keep my voice levelled. “She's dead.”
But my answer only infuriated him more, “I can smell her.” He repeated, this time louder, his voice rumbling through my veins.
I clenched my jaw, ignoring the way my chest tightened. He was lying. He had to be. My mate was long gone, I had felt the bond break in the most painful way. The moon goddess wouldn't be that cruel to curse me with another mate.
Xavier kept turning to look at me, his eyes squinting as if there was something written on my face. “Are you okay, Alpha?” He asked, but I just shrugged, moving past him to go down the stairs leading to the dungeon.
The smell of blood and fear hit me as we got close. The warriors guarding the door bowed their heads, moving out of the way.
“She's supposed to be here.” Xavier said, after looking at all the stalls and she wasn't in any of them. A confused look settled on my face but waited for him to get to the end of it. Because as much as Xavier was my best friend, he was more than capable of taking care of the Pack in my absence.
After a few minutes of having to deal with my Lycan and also get to the bottom of the missing rogue, it turned out that she was never brought in.
“I'm sorry Alpha, I asked Leon to bring…fk!” He cursed, trailing off before dashing out of the dungeon and out of the Pack house towards the quarter built for the warriors. But for some weird reason, my Lycan kept pulling me towards the Pack borders.
Xavier's footsteps faded as he went in search of Leon and I let out a growl in frustration, knowing Kael wouldn't stop being so annoying until I did what he wanted. So, letting him take over, he sprinted towards the borders and the closer we got, the more something felt off.
The air smelled wrong, like copper and damp air but it was mixed with something different…a breathtaking smell of lavender touched with rain. Kael increased his speed towards the smell.
“Mate! I can smell her.” He growled.
I wanted to yell at him that it was some sort of mistake but Kael suddenly came to a stop and there she was, covered in blood but still looked like a princess from a fking fairytale.
“No-no…” I murmured, taking over and running towards her, gathering her into my arms and a wave of something I hadn't felt in years slammed into me. She felt perfect even though she was barely conscious.
My gaze shifted to the remains of who I assumed was Leon and wondered what happened. “I found Leon.” I told Xavier through our mindlink and without waiting for his response, I told him where to come before blocking him.
Holding her close, I rushed back to the Pack house. “Get me the Pack doctor now!” I barked at no one in particular.
I placed her gently on the bed. Apart from the rising and falling of her chest, there were no other signs that she was alive. I felt a pang of guilt for not finding her earlier, it'd have been a different situation if I had listened to Kael.
My legs felt heavy from pacing around the length of my office but I couldn't bring myself to sit still. I had no idea what was going on with my mate and after growling at the doctor, I had to leave if I wanted the doctor to do his job well.
“Alpha, she's awake.” One of the warriors watching her told me and I didn't think twice before pulling the door open.
I took a deep breath once I got to the door of my room before pushing it open and her smell, if possible became even more stronger, filling my nostrils…why does she have to smell so fKing good?”
“Go in already!” Kael growled impatiently.
My mate was sitting upright, her back against the pillow and her red hair covered half of her face but even with that, she was mine…my head needed to be checked. She wasn't saying anything and yet she was arousing emotions I had kept locked up for years.
Her eyes remained on mine and I couldn't think of anything else except how beautiful her Gray eyes looked.
When I finally got control of myself, I sat beside her, my gaze meeting hers, and resisting the urge to hold her hands.
“What's your name?” I asked her.
She hesitated, “Alyssa Crestwood.” She replied, and I nodded. Even her name sounded cute, curling around me like a spell.
“Zayne…Zayne King.” I told her, even though she didn't ask.
“How do you feel? Does anything hurt?” I again and Kael scoff. “You're doing a great job embarrassing us in front of our mate.” He said, but I just ignored him and waited for her to respond.
She shook her head, looking away. “I'm okay, and umm…thank you.” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I'll have someone prepare a bath for you and bring something for you to eat.” I told her and this time, a frown appeared on her face but she didn't say anything so I turned to leave.
“You should just reject me now…you don't have to pretend to be nice to me.” I heard her say, her voice cracking on the last word and a loud growl escaped my lips and I was beside her in a moment, my eyes darkened.
“Mine!” I snarled, my voice echoing off the walls. “You are mine!”
And before I could stop myself, I reached out, my fingers brushing her jaw, tilting her face towards me. My lips found hers, and it was softer than I imagined, but the kiss deepened quickly, need clawing its way out of me. It wasn’t just a kiss...it was a claim, a promise, a plea to the goddess not to let history repeat itself.