THE RIVERBANKS ARE FLOODING

After a brief moment of silence, the man finally parted his lips to say, "Huh? Alright? This is absurd! They are just a bunch of waves who are…" He stopped there for a while before toning himself down to say, "... like family to me."

Lying on the bed, Licia smiled after hearing his words. She too was once a noble and knew what soldiers meant to their commanders. Now, she could sleep in peace knowing that she had done the right thing.

Seeing her smile, Alpha Enrique's lips too curled up to cast a rare smile. He crossed his arms and looked down at the woman, "Good grief! You indeed are troublesome."

…

It rained cats and dogs the whole night; Alpha Enrique stayed up all night taking care of Licia who has bounts of shivers and chills every now and then. In her sleep, she could feel a wide arm check her temperature and change the dried up cloth on her forehead. He could also caress her cheeks and keep her nuzzled in his arms. Even though the warmth of his body wasn't helping her much, she felt a lot better in his arms.

She let her guards go down and slept soundly.

Alpha Enrique looked down at the woman who was finally breathing regularly, it indicated that she had finally fallen asleep. He didn't want to move around and disturb her so he stayed like that.

He looked out at the rain which was pouring down outside. An anonymous feeling crept in his heart as he felt like something was going to happen.

The next day…

Sparse sunlight managed to come into the room through the window but the monsoon clouds were ati overpowering it. Alpha Enrique walked over to the girl who was still fast asleep. He bent down and touched her forehead, she wasn't hot anymore indicating that the fever had subsided.

"Her fever seemed to have gone down." He looked at her sleeping face and pulled back. He hadn't slept properly last night as he was taking care of her and was mildly exhausted. He let out a breath and said, "We, at least this is over… but I have got another problem now."

The thunder which illuminated his chamber was heard by the two men who were sitting on a tree top platform, watching over the river. They saw that the river was almost about to bring and cross the walls that they had created.

One of them said, "Oh no! This isn't good. Quickly, call the Alpha."

Alpha Enrique heard a knock on the door, it was Polene who had come to find him with a mask of anxiety on her face, "Alpha! We have a situation and it is urgent."

The man walked over to the door and asked, "What is it?"

"There is a messenger from the town…"

Licia opened her eyes as her slumber was broken by Polene's interruption. She looked over to her side and heard what she and the Alpha were conversing.

Polene reported, "The leeves by the river banks are going to overflow. The rain won't stop anytime soon, it has become quite severe. The river is going to flood soon."

"Got it. I will be heading to the riverside right now. Prepare my horse." Alpha Enrique commanded in his strong voice before adding, "Also, the Luna will be waking up soon. Prepare breakfast and medicine for her; appoint someone to watch over her all the time in my absence."

"Yes, my Alpha."

Alpha Enrique closed the door behind him and sighed, little did he expect that Licia was already awake and was trying to sit up straight on the bed. She asked in her weak voice, "Did something happen in the town?"

"You are up?" Alpha Enrique looked over at her and immediately walked over to help her sit. He kept a pillow on her back so that she could rest comfortably on the headboard, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I am. Thanks to you and Polene for taking good care of me." Licia smiled before navigating the conversation back to the earlier topic, "You didn't answer my question yet. Is there any trouble in the town? I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I heard Polene say that banks are in danger of overflowing due to the heavy rain. Is it true?"

Damn it! The Alpha thought to himself, she seemed to have overhead everything despite him taking all the measures to keep her out of it. He sat down on the bed next to her and caressed her cheeks, "Your temperature hasn't gone down yet, you still have a fever."

"Oh…" Licia said in a daze before she felt the Alpha nudging her back on the bed, saying, "Which is why… you need to stay put and take rest."

The Alpha's wide palm, which covered her entire face without the slightest effort, pushed her back and forced her to lay back on the bed. Licia groaned, making it clear that she was dissatisfied but it did not affect the Alpha even by the slightest. He continued, "Don't run around when you are sick and worry everyone like you did last time. Understand? Polene will bring your meal soon, so stay here. I will be visiting the town for a bit, once I come back, I will accompany you."

Alpha Enrique kissed her forehead and proceeded to leave; just when he was about to reach the door and open it, he was stopped by Licia calling out for him, "Alpha Enrique…"

"What is it, Licia?"

The girl seemed to be a bit hesitant as she said, "I have to go to pee."

The man furrowed his eyebrows and asked confusedly, "So?"

"I… You commanded me not to get out of bed yesterday."

Alpha Enrique pursed his lips, he didn't know that she would take it this seriously. Since he was in a hurry, he said out without thinking, "Fine, I take back my command. I will leave now."

"Take care…" Licia said to his disappearing back. Her gentle and calm smile twisted into a meaningful smirk when she was left alone in the room."