Jayce’S POV.
“Alpha Jayce!” Lloyd’s thunderous voice calls as he barges into my office with a worried look on his face. Both Reed and I turn to look at him. “Why is news about what happened to Luna Alora just reaching me now?” He asks, agitated. He’s panting and looking from Reed to me with rage in his eyes.
I’m even scared.
What the actually fuck!
“Well… well…” I stammer as I look at Reed to come to my rescue and he does, but the moment he speaks, my spirit dies.
“It skipped our minds.” He replies carelessly and I shake my head in frustration. Lloyd’s face grows darker. Reed just made things worse.
“It slipped your mind?” Lloyd is fuming.
“Lloyd… the thing is…” I try to curb the situation, but Reed cuts me off with a scorn of his face.
“The thing is… what?” Reed asks with creased brows and I look at him. “What? Is what I just said a lie? Didn’t it skip your mind? Or did you remember to tell him?”
“Reed…”
“It’s okay. Whether it skipped your mind or not, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that she was saved.” Lloyd stops the argument. I give Reed one last scornful look before focusing my gaze on Lloyd.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Has the culprit been caught?”
“Uh… I think that’s what Reed was about to tell me before you came in…” I look at Reed. “Right Reed?” He shakes his head.
“We’ll talk about it some other time.” He starts walking towards the door.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lloyd is lost.
Even I am lost.
“It means I refuse to be in the same room with…” He purses his lips to stop the next words from coming out of his mouth. I tilt my head and widen my eyes at him. He simply shakes his head and turns to walk on.
“As your Beta, I order you to stop walking and tell me what I want to hear.”
Oohhhh…
I look at Lloyd, completely amused. His face is red with anger. His hands are shaking by his side.
Reed stops walking and swivels around to look at us once more. His eyes are trained on Lloyd who looks like he’s about to eat him raw.
“Find someone else to intimidate.” And with that, he walks out of my office. Lloyd turns to look at me, but I look away because I have no idea how to handle a situation like this.
He very well knows Reed takes orders from no one, but Alora and sometimes me. I don’t know why he doesn’t want to accept that.
“Excuse me, Alpha.” He exits my office before I can object.
I only hope he isn’t going to start a fight with Reed because he’s going to get properly trashed.
That’s another thing I’ve never gotten to understand.
How is Reed, who is an Omega, a rank below Lloyd, the Beta, able to beat him up?
How?
HOURS LATER.
I couldn’t wait for five pm before I left the office. By two-thirty pm, I was out. I went straight to the hospital to see Alora and when the Doctor discharged her, I took her home, even though I have the urge to take her back to the hospital every time she sneezes.
“Here, put this on.” I give her one of my big hoodies to put on and she does just that.
“How are you feeling?” I sit by her side on the bed and gently push the star DS of hair covering her face behind her ear. She looks at me. I almost drown in her ocean blue eyes.
“I’m cold, but it’s okay. I’ll be fine soon.”
“The maids will serve you some tea soon. I’m sure you’ll feel better after drinking that.” She nods.
“Yeah. I sure will.” I gently take her hands in mind and kiss them. The image of her floating lifelessly on the water replays in my mind and a sharp pain courses through my heart.
I almost lost her.
I would if I had come in five minutes later.
I would be mateless by now.
Thank you Moon goddess.
“Alora.” I call with a raspy voice. “Do you have any idea how much you scared me today?” My voice breaks into two halves. She gives me a melancholic look.
“I am so sorry.” Her voice is no more than a whisper. “Tania warned me. She asked me to be careful but I didn’t listen to her and I tripped the very next second and fell into the pool. I’m so sorry for stressing you all out.”
“It’s not your fault baby.”
“It is.” Now she’s crying and her tears are stabbing my heart like daggers. “I’m so stubborn. I never listen to anyone.”
I never wanted to tell her about the strange phone call and the fact that her accident might have been planned, but now that she’s starting to blame herself for what happened, I guess I have to tell her.
“It’s not your fault baby. Even if you didn’t trip, you still would’ve gotten into that pool one way or the other.” She stops crying, looks at me and frowns.
“What do you mean by that?” I exhale heavily and adjust myself on the bed.
“Reed and I think someone wanted this to happen. The phone call Halle got before leaving the pool arena was from a burner phone, meaning someone wanted her out of the training centre so they could make her get into the water. That’s why I’m saying that even if you had not fallen by yourself, someone would’ve showed up and made sure you did.” Her mouth hangs open in shock. Horror fills her eyes.
“Wow! That… that’s scary!”
“Yes baby, it is. There are people out there who are trying to kill you and they won’t stop until it’s done, that’s why we have to be very careful from now on. You can’t be anywhere without your personal bodyguards.” She groans, but nods her head.
I’m happy she understands the fact that this is very important.
“You are right. I need to be careful if I want to stay alive.”
“Thank you for understanding, love.”
“So, has the person been caught?” A ridge forms between her brows. I recall the scene that took place in my office when Lloyd walked in. Reed was about to tell me something important, but he decided not to tell me in Lloyd’s presence.
That was wild and I have to find out what Reed has against Lloyd.
This is getting too serious for my liking.
“Reed is working on it.”
“Okay. Cool.”
“You should take the rest of the week off. Whoever planned this is probably pissed of and they will attack again.”
“Then let him or she go ahead and attack me. I’m not going to stay home for a week because of this. That will make them think I’m weak and scared of them. I’m not. I refuse to make them believe that I’m weak. I will go for training tomorrow.” She has a look I have never seen in her eyes before.
It’s the same look I used to see in my mother’s eyes when she was trying to make her point clear to my dad. Now I understand why father was always very frustrated and worn out after every argument they had.
Women are stubborn and them Luna’s are fierce.
I don’t even have the audacity to say no to Alora right now.
I carry both hands in the air as a sign that I surrender.
“Understood Ma’am.” She purses her lips to suppress her laughter, but she fails woefully. She throws her head back and laughs hysterically and I just sit there, looking at her with defeat gnawing at my heart nerves and brain cells.
“You can never win against your woman.”
My father’s words replay in my mind and a brilliant idea pops in my brain. I smile evenly as I watch Alora laugh her life away.
Slowly, carefully, I slick my right hand around her tiny waist and pull her closer to me. Her body crashes into mine and our faces almost collide with each other’s. She stops laughing. She looks shocked.
Yes. Take that!
“Jayce…” I don’t let her complete her statement, I capture her lips in a slow passionate kiss. Her body tenses. Her eyes stay wide open for like three seconds before she shuts them close and relaxes her body under my touch. Her mouth is warm, her lips are so soft and taste like vanilla cream. My tongue is in her mouth, exploring every inch of it and my lips are savouring hers like they had been starving.
The kiss which started as slow and passionate, gets more intense and soon, we are almost swallowing each other’s mouths. My entire body feels like I’ve been thrown into a blazing furnace. I’m hot and my insides are melting.
I want more.
I want to do more than just kiss her lips.
I want to take off her clothes. I want to touch her body. Make love to her while looking her in her eyes. I want to take care of her.
“Jayce…” She cries and tenses when my hand goes underneath her dress and touches her thighs. She withdraws from the kiss and places her hand on my chest. “Jayce…” She whispers my name again and I look at her with searching eyes.
She isn’t ready.
I can tell from the look on her face and her response to my touch.
It breaks my heart, but I have to understand. I have to be patient with her.
“I’m not rea…”
“I know.” I quickly cut her off. “I understand. It’s alright.”
“I’m so sorry for ruining the mood.” Her eyes turn watery. I pull her into my arms and calmly stroke her hair.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I completely understand. We’ll take things slow. We’ll move according to your pace. You call the shots here.” I kiss her hair. “I’m the one who should be apologising for taking things too far. I’m sorry.” I feel her tears soaking my shirt and diffusing into my skin, turning my entire heart salty.
I hate it when I make her cry.
I’m not supposed to make her cry.