Aurora James - POV
The only sound that I heard around us was the cold night breeze and the strange callings of the animals in the forest. There were absolutely no emotions on his face when his expressions slowly morphed into anger. "That was why you were at my house the other day?" Zander asked me, but I knew he already knew the answer to that.
"You shouldn't have hid that from me, Zander. Because that threat was directed at me." I whispered yelled at him when I felt his hold on me tighten. "And why am I even the target?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow when I saw frustration take over his senses.
"I don't know. I have a lot of enemies, Aurora. But I still can't figure out who that rogue is." he sighed. I didn't expect him to answer my question, so I was surprised when he did. We stayed silent for a while when he finally let me go and stepped back. "Let's go to the pack house," he said and began walking while I followed him like a lost puppy.
As we reached the pack house, he opened the door for me to walk inside, and we made our way upstairs. He led me to my old room and opened the door for me to walk inside. "Take some rest. I will meet you in the morning." he asserted, and I nodded my head and walked inside.
As he closed the door behind me, I felt this painful feeling within my chest as he left me alone once again. I clutched my chest and took a seat on the edge of the seat as I took in a deep breath to alleviate the pain.
"What's wrong with me, Lily?" I asked as I squeezed my eyes closed.
"It's the mate bond, Aurora. We have only completed half of the mating process, and now it's forcing us to complete the rest. Every moment we spend away from our mate, the pain would only get worse."
"But you know how Zander feels about us, Lily. I think he hates us so much, and you still believe that he would accept us as his mate?"
"Did you realize something?" Lily asked me when a frown formed on my face.
"What?"
"His words say something else while his eyes tell an entirely different story."
"I don't think…"
"We can't go on like this, Aurora. We should either end this or let him mark us. And to do that, we need to know what he really thinks about us."
"I don't think I can do that, Lily. He is my mate. What if we get caught?" I asked her.
"Trust me, we won't," she said, and I nodded my head. I got up from my place walked out of my room, and made my way to Zander's room. I bent down and looked through the keyhole to see that the room was dark and it looked like he wasn't in there.
"Where would he be at this time?"
"He must be in his office," Lily suggested. I walked downstairs, and when I reached his office, I saw the light pour out into the dark hallway. I walked closer to the door and looked through the keyhole when I saw him with a bottle of scotch, and someone else was with him.
"She has a mate, Zander," the other man growled when I soon realized that it was none other than Alpha Lopez.
"I know."
"I don't think you remember that."
"What the hell is your problem right now, Adam?" Zander growled as he slammed his hand on the table, but Alpha Lopez remained as cool as a cucumber.
"I saw the way you behave towards her, Zander. Don't play with her feelings. She already has a mate, and you of all people should know to never go in between two mates."
"Are you sure they are mates?" Zander asked him with a sarcastic smile on his face when I felt my throat become dry.
"What are you trying to suggest?"
"They don't act like mates to me, Adam. I mean, don't you think Levi would have felt this agonizing pain in his heart when she was stabbed by a silver knife? He didn't even call once to check up on her. Mates do not have that kind of behavior."
"Not everyone is the same. But I want you to stay away from her, Zander. If I could, I would have given them a house in the main pack and moved them there, but until then, I want you to…"
"She is under my responsibility right now, Adam. I will make sure she stays alive until her mate comes back." he interrupted.
"Don't do anything stupid, Zander," Adam warned him, and he got up. I quickly moved away from the door and frantically looked around when I saw a table. I quickly walked towards it and hid behind just when the office door opened, and Alpha Lopez stormed outside.
A few minutes later, I saw Zander walk out as well, but he came to an abrupt stop. "Come out, Aurora. You know I can feel your presence," he said, looking at the table. I got up from the floor when our eyes locked. "I told you to sleep."
"I couldn't sleep," I said. I expected him to yell at me, but instead, he extended his hand. This gesture felt foreign. I wanted to just walk past him and get back to my room, but instead of doing that, I placed my hand on his.
We walked out of the pack house. There was no one around us as we walked into the forest till we came to a beautiful lake. He let my hand go when I walked closer to the water and took a seat at the edge. A few minutes later, Zander took a seat next to me as we stared up at the night sky.
"This is our chance," Lily whispered, and even though it felt wrong at this moment, I needed to know what he felt. I closed my eyes and let my mind relax when I channeled my energy, and I felt Zander's barrier gradually break as I entered into his mind.
There were a lot of thoughts running through his mind when a particular thought made me stop looking. It was a conversation with his wolf. "I should let her go, but the thought of Aurora with Levi makes me want to strangle him to death."
"She is our mate and…"
"I don't think we are good enough for her, Ares. I thought that she was just like Heather. But she is so much different from her."