Malia’s POV
“Do I have any feelings for Ronan?” That was the first question that popped into my head the moment I shut the door behind me, leaving him outside.
I didn’t even know on what ground to stand on. The fact that I was already asking myself such a question was shocking enough. It was only a few months or not even up to since I left Zade, was that enough time to get over him already?
I know a lot of you will be convinced that I was a fool, after everything he had done to me, I should be celebrating the fact that I was tossing him aside in my mind and making room for another.
But somehow, I felt like I was betraying all the beautiful memories we had. That it was just too early to get them out of my mind. And besides for someone I have met for barely two months, it was certainly too early for any feeling to develop between me and Ronan.
And most importantly, though he was a very good guy, a handsome one to add to that I undoubtedly didn’t see myself settling down with him. Maybe in the future, but for now, we don’t have a future.
It didn’t take long for me to get rid of the gown I was currently wearing, take my bath, I got changed into my pajamas. I lay on my bed afterward and considering how productive my day had been, I slipped out of consciousness the moment I placed my head on the pillow.
I woke up to an unbearable knock on my door. I tried to just ignore it but it got to a point where I had to open my eyes. On a normal day, I would wake up on my own with the break of dawn. I couldn’t help but wonder how tired I was to have someone knocking at my door like that just to wake me.
When I stood up from the bed, I realized that I wasn’t even the problem and the night was still very much present. It was either whosoever was knocking on my door was crazy or whatever they were about to tell me was of great importance.
I got into the nightgown I had laid beside me on the bed and walked toward the door. Hesitantly, I unlocked it and then peeped only for my gaze to collide with Ryder’s.
“Oh, it’s you” Sleep miraculously wiped out of my eyes on its own because I was stunned by his sudden appearance.
“Were you expecting anyone else?” He asked.
“No… I just wasn’t expecting you” I mumbled honestly pushing the door wider in an open invitation. He walked in and I closed the door behind us.
I didn’t even notice the two glass cups in his hands until he handed me one.
“Here, wine” He spoke. I reluctantly collected it and placed it on my lips under his watch. I took a small sip and placed it back on the coffee table.
“The night is far too gone for you to be awake don’t you think so?” I questioned as politely as I could cause I didn’t understand his reason for being here.
“Just come clean and ask what I was doing in your room by this time of the night. I am not going to judge or pick offense” He smiled. No, seriously he smiled. This was the first time I had seen a stretch on his facial muscles, and boy was he stunning?
“Yeah, that’s right? I hope you don’t misunderstand. The night is far gone and I had to go through my head to think of a logical reason why someone would be hitting at my door by this time of the night and I came up with none.” I replied in all honestly, taking a sit opposite him on the chair and picking up my wine glass again.
“Well, it was only logical that I was the one. I mean I could explore the entire palace at any time of the day and there won’t be any stopping me. Might be that I am here to explore this part” He shrugged.
“Fair point. But there are so many other places you could explore” I muttered twirling my glass and it content around slowly.
“True but why would I start far when there is a door right next to mine?” He arched his brows thinking he had got me right where he wanted me and honestly, I think he had cause I had no reply to give after that.
“Why are you awake by this time of the night anyway? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” I changed the route of the conversation.
“Sleeping” He chuckled like I had just asked the dumbest question.
“Yes sleeping. It is late already. Early hours of the morning even” I pointed out.
“Not everyone is granted the luxury of sleep” He had a smile I recognized all too well. The type I had worn as a facade many months ago. A pained smile.
“You don’t sleep?” I inquired gazing interestingly at him.
“You make it sound like it’s the easiest thing to do, whereas it isn’t. Being an Alpha requires you to sacrifice a lot of things, things you cherish so much…”
“You have to sacrifice your sleep to work for the good of your pack?”
I interrupted him because I couldn’t just shut up.
“Putting it that way makes it stupid but then again it is the truth. For some, they sacrifice their sleep, for others, it is their peace of mind and stuff like that, but you do have to sacrifice a thing to gain one” He clarified.
“This is new” I said, as I tried to understand what he had sacrificed. His life didn’t look any different from normal.
“I would need you to shed more light on that”
That statement gave birth to the first fond memory of him in my head.