Zeedar
didn't want to admit that to himself. But now that Zechariah has
mentioned it, he'll have to accept it.
"I
sensed her at the pack hall, and I still sense her here. Do you think
she's here?" Zechariah asks, but Zeedar doesn't respond. His
eyes are still on the stairs. "What I don't understand, though,
is the probability of finding our mates at the same time. Did the
moon goddess approve of our brotherhood so much that she gave us our
mates at the same time?" Zechariah blows the bubble gum and is
about to pop it before Zeedar suddenly moves toward the stairs.
The
pack's delight follows behind his brother. On getting to the first
stair landing, the exit door bursts open to usher Ziason in.
"Brother!"
Zechariah squeals, leaping down the stairs to Ziason. "Why did you
not say you gym at trauma-abode?"
The
latter glares at Zechariah as the stench of garlic hit him again. His
next actions come without much thought-grabbing Zechariah's jaws,
forcing his index into the latter's mouth, and growling. "Swallow
it. Now."
Zechariah
quickly does as told, while Ziason lets go of him with force. He
smirks, satisfied to have rattled his brother.
Zeedar
makes to continue going up the stairs, but Ziason's voice stops
him. "Where are you going, Zeedar?"
"I
sensed something."
"Sensed
what?"
"A
mate," Zechariah chips in with a brief cackle.
The
sides of Ziason's lips stretch into a stiff smile. "Are you mated
to a ghost, brother? Because there's nothing up there," he lies.
"But
I sensed it too. Even at the pack hall," Zechariah voices out. "She
smelt like lemon and uh... what's that flower again... the one with
silky petals."
Ziason's
brows crease into frown, and a bit of confusion. He knows the flower
Zechariah is trying to point out, and he recognizes the scent he just
mentioned. Even that gently throbbing feeling of wanting to be close
to a certain person, he has felt it. At the pack hall. In the human
world. Even right now in this tower. He has been experiencing them
for a while now. And it started when he met Heaven.
He
knew she was his mate from then.
But
his brothers confessing to have felt the same way, and now following
some kind of mating bond to the tower, does it mean something?
As
there are currently three females in the tower, and his mate is
Heaven, could it be that his brothers' mates are Kaicha and Lakri,
the maid?
But
what's the possibility of he and his brothers being mated at the
same time? And how could it be that the three women have the same
scents? What exactly is this nature of coincidence?
"There's
nothing here?" Ziason still lies. "This is now merely a lone
tower where I visit for solitude."
Zeedar
slowly comes down from the stairs. "Aside the mate matter, are you
hiding something, brother?"
"What
could our brother possibly hide?" Zechariah butts in, noticing the
tension growing between the two. "Come on. Aren't you hungry?
Let's go eat," he says while linking arms with Zeedar and tugging
the man out of the tower.
When
the boys disappear, Ziason makes for Heaven's room to see her
sleeping.
He
also goes to Kaicha's room, where he finds Lakri feeding Kaicha
lunch.
"Has
the dance tutor been in her room since?" he asks Lakri.
"Yes,"
the maid says.
Ziason
proceeds downstairs.
>>>>>>>>
Lakri's
subtle attempt at setting Heaven's dinner wakes Heaven up from her
sleep. And she's more than grateful for that. At least she doesn't
have to endure the terrors of experiencing the day her parents died
over again.
However,
she realizes something when she notices the cherry wood of the
four-post bed's roof-she's supposed to be out of the tower by
now. She still shouldn't be here.
Heaven
slowly sits up, watching as Lakri enters the bathroom. Coming out of
the mosquito net, she sits on the edge of the bed. And after
scrutinizing the material Lakri wrapped around the injury on her
palm, she stares at the bedside stool, where Lakri set the food.
"Do
eat," Lakri says while coming out of the bathroom with an old pail.
"I asked my brother, who is a carpenter, to repair the window you
damaged. Thankfully, he finished before the Alpha returned. As for
the cage you removed from the fence, that hole belonged to the huge
dog of the late Alpha. The dog is now dead, by the way, so I don't
think Alpha Ziason would put any attention there. Also, good of me to
have found you at the pack hall on time, or else who knew what would
have happened to you, to me, to my family?"
Although
Lakri said her words calmly, Heaven can sense a hint of anger and
sarcasm.
"Why
did you bring me back here?" she asks instead, skipping the meaning
in Lakri's last sentence. "I already had my chance of escaping,
but you ruined it."
"You
think?" Lakri huffs. "First of all, let's pray the Alpha didn't
see you. Even if he did, let's pray he lets it slide this once. Do
you know I was not supposed to be aware of you and Kaicha? Your
presence in the pack is a huge secret, so is the child. The alpha
went to certain lengths to make sure I can't talk about it."
"What
lengths? Abducting your family?"
"Yes,
but you don't seem to care about that."
Heaven
was going to say something. Even she doesn't know what. But her
lips hang open for a while before she finally speaks. "For how long
has that been? I mean, since he held your family captive?"
Lakri
sighs, dropping the pail and taking a few steps toward Heaven. "So
far, three years... I think. A few other maid have died with their
families after going against the alpha's orders, even if it's
trivial stuff like letting the child out of the tower."
"So
you mean to say my actions put you and your family in danger?"
"I
told you before; many people have a loose knot around their necks
that could either remain loose or tighten depending on your actions."
Heaven
lets out a huge breath as her once tense shoulders fall. She couldn't
see the full picture of all that was happening due to her own fear,
but it seems things are way bigger than just her.
"I'm
sorry," she mumbles, her head dropping. "Its just... I've never
got to worry about anyone else aside myself. So I only see myself."
"Now
that you're here, you need to forsake that habit," Lakri
lectures. "To survive this place, you need people around you,
Heaven."
Heaven
looks up at the girl, raising her brows. "We're on a name basis
now?"
"Obviously,"
Lakri's monolid eyes widen into the shape of a half moon as she
puts emphasis on her next words, "since you've risked my life and
my family's, and I've gone lengths to save you."
Heaven
huffs a smile, which soon fades as she sighs. "It's just
frustrating. I've been away from the wolf kingdom for a long time.
I'm not used to it. I'm a wolf, but I can't even tell much
about anything. And it's so annoying that I have to live under
Ziason's claws."
"Let
him not catch you calling him by his name, Heaven. You need to be
extra careful. Moon Wrath's pack was always known for the
generosity of its Alpha until Alpha Ziason took over. His cruelty
spread fast and wide. Even the Alpha king is rumored to fear him.
Those male corpses you see being carried out every night, they're
that of male sluts who pleasures the Alpha. But he ends up killing
them for unknown reasons."
Heaven
ponders on why would he kill those men every night if there's no
valid reason? Is there any cause to be that ruthless unless it has to
do with something really confidential-something Ziason doesn't
want to get out? For example, his curse. After all, it's one of the
reasons he's threatening to kill her.
"If
the Alpha threatened to kill you, he actually will even though you
escape," Lakri warns. "He will find you and make sure you suffer,
especially since he hates women. He could do anything to harm you out
of anger."
Heaven
could have asked why Ziason hates women, but she isn't concerned
about that right now. Instead, it scares her the more.
Goosebumps
rise on her skin, prompting her to hug herself as she rubs her arms
to quell the unsettling feeling building in her stomach.
