Zara’s POV
After spending all day in the gardens, Nic and I headed to the waterfall.
At first Nicolas seemed to be a bit tense, but later on he started to relax.
I guess he was now certain that the dark figure had disappeared, and I wasn’t in danger anymore.
“Did you enjoy the gardens?” Ronan asked as we stopped on the porch to pick up our lunch. “Not
many had the privilege to wander the Alpha’s personal garden.”
“Yes, thank you,” I chirped happily. “The garden is spectacular. I especially loved the rose garden.
The roses smell so heavenly.”
Ronan nodded, a grin forming on his lips.
“Ronan helped me lay out the gardens,” Nic interrupted. “He planted most of the rose bushes.”
“Oh? That’s interesting,” I replied. “Do you love gardening?”
“Only for special reasons,” Ronan stated, his face turning sad.
His statement surprised me, but Ronan quickly recovered.
“Will you be showing Luna the waterfall?” He asked.
“We are heading there right now,” Nicolas stated, taking the picnic basket from the table. “Mariana
organized us some lunch to have down there.”
“She packed you a picnic basket, didn’t she?” Ronan asked, his smile fading.
“Indeed she did,” Nic chirped.
“Like old times,” Ronan stated, sounding bitter.
Nic froze with a blanket in his hands, his gaze shifting to Ronan.
The two stared at one another for a moment. The tension is growing between the two.
“What has gotten into them?” Kaya yapped, shifting her head from side to side.
“I am not sure,” I replied, confused. “However, I sense that it has something to do with a picnic.”
“I hope it is not serious,” Kaya yapped.
“Me too,” I replied, my attention shifting to Ronan.
“Are you going to join us?” I asked, hoping to break the tension between the two.
“No,” Ronan replied, his attention moving to me. “I need to finish setting up the carnival…”
“Oh, Goddess,” I gasped. “I totally forgot about that….”
“No worries,” Ronan cut me off, gesturing for me to stop. “I am ensuring that everything will be
ready for our opening tomorrow night.”
“Will the auction still continue?” I asked, interested in knowing.
Nic’s face darkened hearing my question, and he knitted his eyebrows together. His gaze shifted to
Ronan, waiting for a response from him.
“It’s a fundraiser,” Ronan stated and shrugged. “I guess it would…”
Nicolas growled behind me. He didn’t seem too happy about Ronan’s answer.
“Can I make a suggestion?” I posed this question in an attempt to defuse the tension.
Both nodded.
“Why don’t you offer all single rank members to the auction?” I asked.
Ronan’s face drained of blood and turned gray, making Nic chuckle behind me.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” I quickly added. “My intention was to refer to individuals who are
prepared to make sacrifices for a worthy cause.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Nicolas stated. “I am pleased with the arrangement. You can ask some of the
warriors as well. We have many who need to find suitable mates…”
“What about Alpha?” Ronan asked. “The original invitation states that we will auction him off.”
Nicolas growled. He didn’t like that Ronan was pressing on the subject.
“That is a problem,” I replied. “Well…”
“I am marked and mated,” Nicolas cut me off. My mate has claimed me! I am not going….”
“Nicolas,” I silenced him. “Who will then be going in your place?”
“Ronan can sort that out,” he hissed angrily. “That is his job!”
Nicolas grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the path going to the waterfall.
We walked in silence for a couple of minutes. The tension is growing between us.
“Are you angry at me?” I asked, feeling my heart racing in my chest. I didn’t like Nic to be angry at
me.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I am just pissed at my father for doing this to me. He should be
the one up for auction, not me!”
That made me chuckle.
I haven’t had the opportunity to meet the old Alpha, but I’ve heard he can be quite challenging.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, halting abruptly and turning to face him. “Things have a way of
working out.”
Before Nic could reply, I gave Kaya control, and we shifted into our wolf, leaving my clothes
scattering all over the place.
Kaya yapped at Nic, hoping to turn him in a better mood. She spun around, flicked her tail at him,
and darted down the narrow path towards the waterfall.
Halfway down the path, Kaya came to a stop. She turned her huge head in the direction we came
from, searching for Nic.
“He didn’t give Ray control,” Kaya sulked. She was hoping that Ray would chase after her.
“Whatever he and Ronan discussed has put him in a sour mood,” I remarked, frustrated.
“I wonder what is bothering him,” she chirped. “He is acting a bit strange, as if he has a lot on his
mind.”
“I am pretty sure it is not only because of the auction,” I stated.
Kaya nodded, and she sprinted the rest of the way down to the waterfall.
Nic arrived with the picnic basket in his hands, while I was already swimming in the pristine water.
As expected, he made no effort to transform into Ray.
Nic quietly set the picnic basket down, laid down a blanket under a tree, and took a seat in the
shade.
“Aren’t you going to join me for a swim?” I called over the roaring waters. “The water is refreshing; it
will soothe all your worries away!”
“No thanks,” Nic chuckled and he lay back against the tree. “I’d rather watch you. I have never been
much of a swimmer.”
“Suit yourself,” I replied, a bit disappointed.
An hour or so later, I had enough and got out of the water.
Nic wrapped me in a fluffy white towel and sat me down on the blanket.
“I guess you are starving after all that swimming?” He spoke with a more positive tone.
“I am,” I replied.
Nic pulled the basket closer and started to unpack the contents.
“I am surprised that Mariana can fit so much in such a small basket,” I commented, seeing all the
different foods packed out of the blanket.
“Mariana didn’t know what you like,” he said, handing me a lunch box filled with meatballs. “So I
told her to get creative.”
“A peanut butter and jelly sandwich would have been perfectly fine,” I stated, taking one of the
meatballs and popping it into my mouth.
I moaned at the taste. It was delicious.
“But on the other hand, if everything tastes as good as that meatball, I can’t complain.”
Nic chuckled, handing me a second lunch box filled with little sausages and chicken wings. I didn’t
hesitate and took one of each.
Soon we were comfortable chatting about random things. We didn’t even notice that the weather
had changed until the first raindrop fell.
“Is this your doing?” I asked, holding my hand out, catching the raindrops in my hand.
Nic shook his head.
“This time I am innocent,” he replied. “This is an actual storm coming.”
“Then we had better leave,” I said. “We don’t want to find ourselves in the midst of the storm.”
Nic nodded; we quickly gathered everything and headed back home.
But I never imagined that the next morning would reveal a secret.
****