Chapter 62 Insane
ZORA
That was absolutely insane!
I didn't know what to do, how to react.
Lucas left for me to tidy up.
"What's he doing here? Did you send for him?" Ryjer asked.
I glared at him, totally embarrassed, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Weren't you the one that brought my family back here?"
"I didn't bring him. Why would I bring your ex fiance to my pack?" He said coldly.
I adjusted myself and went outside to meet Lucas.
Lucas’s eyes roaming over me, sadness in his eyes.
Guilt slammed into me hard.
I'm the worst person, I know.
"I think you should clean yourself up, and maybe we can go for a stroll later?"
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
"Remember meiga, he's nothing to you." Ryker murmured in my ears as he walked past, earning a death glare from Lucas.
I muttered unintelligible words and bolted for my room.
Dàmn Ryker!!
Of all situations!
I sat on the edge of my bed, and my hands were resting on my lap, but my mind was far from still.
The room was quiet, and it was the kind of silence that was suffocating. My thoughts wouldn’t stop running, Lucas’s words from earlier kept replaying, his voice, his eyes, and the way he still looked at me as though nothing had changed.
I had promised myself I wouldn’t think about him anymore, at least not in that way.
Things were different now and I wasn’t the same girl who once believed her future was tied to his anymore, but tonight, my chest felt heavy, and I couldn’t shake the urge to go and see him, at least once more to just be with him.
But Ryker’s warning rang loud in my head, too. 'I don’t want to see you with him.'
His words weren’t even a request they were a command, and I knew what Ryker was capable of. Defying him wasn’t just dangerous. it was just plain reckless.
I pressed my palms to my face and let out a shaky breath, but then I knew that I couldn’t stay here and do nothing. Lucas deserved at least that much from me.
I stood up, my legs trembling as if I were about to commit a crime and maybe to Ryker’s, I was. I paced the length of my room, then stopped and stared at the door. If I left without anyone knowing, it would be suspicious. I needed someone to cover for me.
“Marissa,” I whispered, biting my lip. My heart pounded as I moved to the small bell on the side table and rang it softly. Within minutes, a gentle knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” I said quickly, trying not to sound guilty in any way.
Marissa came inside the room, her warm smile instantly softening the tension in the air. “You called for me?”
I hesitated, chewing the inside of my cheek before blurting out, “I need your help.”
Her brows furrowed. “What kind of help?”
I lowered my voice, glancing at the door as if Ryker himself might appear. “I… I need you to cover for me tonight, I’m going out for a short time, but no one can know.”
Marissa blinked, her surprise written all over her face. “Going out? At this hour? Zora, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
I walked closer to her, clutching her hands desperately. “Please, Marissa, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, so if anyone comes looking for me just tell them I’m asleep, your work is to make sure that they don’t suspect anything.”
Her lips parted, questions forming, but she saw how determined I was in my eyes.
She sighed softly. “This is dangerous, if Alpha Ryker found out..”
“I know,” I cut in, my voice sharp but laced with fear. “I know what he’ll do, but I have to go, just this once, Marissa.”
Her eyes searched mine for a long moment before she finally nodded. “Alright. I’ll cover for you but you have to be careful, you have to promise me you won’t take too long.”
Relief flooded me, and I pulled her into a quick hug. “Thank you, I promise.”
I grabbed my cloak from the chair, slipped it over my shoulders, and pulled the hood low over my face. My hands shook as I opened the door,
I slipped out quietly, my heart hammering against my ribs with every step. I walked to the side of the walls, my ears straining for any sound.
Lucas was waiting just beyond the courtyard, leaning casually against a wall, but the moment his eyes found mine, his posture shifted, his face softened, his lips curved into that familiar smile I hadn’t realized I missed until now.
“Zora,” he said gently, stepping forward.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I don’t even know how things turned out like this. I thought I would come back soon… I didn’t think it would all get so complicated.”
He studied me, his gaze steady and warm. “You don’t need to apologize, I honestly don’t blame you, but tell me something. Do you think I hate you now that I know you’re, like this? Now that you’re one of them?”
My chest tightened as I dropped my eyes, my fingers twisting nervously. “I don’t know. Do you?”
“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “You’re still the you that I fell in love with. That hasn’t changed.”
The sincerity in his voice hurt more than anger ever could.
He stepped closer. “Tomorrow, let me take you out. It will be just us, we should be together and maybe even complete what we started, Zora, our wedding—”
I shook my head quickly, cutting him off. “We can’t right now, at least not until, not until my business with Ryker is done.”
Frustration flickered in his eyes. “Then why can’t you just run away with me? We could leave together tonight, Zora.”
I lifted my gaze sharply, almost laughing at the absurdity. “Do you even hear yourself? We’re talking about Ryker, with a snap of his fingers. He could have us all killed and not even blink. Do you think running away is that simple? It’s not!!"
Silence descended between us, I could see the conflict in his eyes, the way he wanted to argue, but knew I was right.
“And besides,” I added quietly, my chest aching, “if he ever finds out those two kids are his children, he won’t ever let me leave with them.”
Lucas inhaled sharply. “Then leave them with him. He's their father anyway, and you could still be free. You could visit them, draw up some kind of contract, this world has evolved, Zora and you don’t have to be trapped.”
My hands balled into fists at my sides. “No.”
The word was steady, even though my heart ached. “Don’t even try to ask me to do that. They’re my children, and I’m not leaving them behind. You’ll just have to be patient with me if you want to wait, which I'm not even asking you to do."
He exhaled, defeated. “Fine then I’ll wait, but at least let me take you out tomorrow. Just give me that.”
I hesitated, but before I could give him an answer, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.
The kiss caught me completely off guard, my eyes fluttered shut out of habit, but the kiss went on, and deep inside me, nothing stirred, there was no spark or warmth, it was just emptiness.
When he pulled back, hope flickered in his gaze as he stared at me.
I felt nothing aside really guilty because what I felt for him before? It was gone, and I hated myself for it.
"I'm sorry." I murmured to him and ran.