Zara

After drying my face with a towel, I threw everything in the trash except one stick. Wrapping it in a napkin, I tucked it into the tight sleeve of my sweater and decided to leave the bathroom. A prayer froze on my lips that Alpha was still down there, and I wouldn’t have to face him until I calmed down.

But recently, my luck had flown off to some other world. Leaving me alone with the frost giant. Coming out of the bathroom, I came face-to-face with this same giant.

Anxiety and anger had somehow mixed, creating a cocktail of worry for him. His worried eyes met mine. Lately, all those filters he loved to apply to his face were quickly disappearing, leaving most of his emotions exposed.

I tore my worried gaze away from him and tried to head for the dressing room. I wanted to hide my wand in my purse.

"What happened?" his voice was full of concern.

Damn! He must have heard my screams in the bathroom. Without answering, I tried to go around him and enter the dressing room, but this time he stood between me and the door.

"Get out of my way!" I growled, barely holding back the tears that threatened to spill out.

He didn’t move, looking at me with intense concern and regret. Fear crossed his face as he clenched his hands tighter.

"Not until you tell me why you were crying in the bathroom." His words unleashed a storm of rage and despair. I was already teetering on the brink of madness, and he was the easiest target for my anger.

"You! Damn it, this happened," I screamed. The veins in my neck tensed as I raised my head to meet our gazes.

He stood there like the surface of a lake, where crocodiles rest, ready to pounce. He watched me with such intensity, pure guilt, and helplessness. I understood part of it. His need to keep me away, to protect me, because of how terrible Alpha’s life had been.

His arms slowly rose and gently wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me closer—his gentle yet ardent presence.

"No! No!" I tried to push him away, pounding my fists on his heavy back, but he simply held me.

"Just calm down, please..." His voice was desperation-filled. His embrace didn’t reflect that, and lust, they were simply warm and soothing to my troubled heart.

Hugs had become such a rarity in my life, and from the moment he broke my heart by hiding his plan from me, I was left devastated without his touch, his embrace, his warmth.

My heart was like the barren sand of the desert, and his embrace was like a drop of rain falling after years of drought. His warmth permeated me, breaking the winter chill around my heart. Scalding me, illuminating my veins, he made me feel alive.

Breathless and sobbing, I collapsed into his arms, unable to contain myself. My legs trembled, my knees buckled, my body lost all strength, but his strong arms held me tight.

"I’m with you," he whispered before I passed out in his arms.

***

Kane

Something was wrong with Zara. She’d become quieter, more distant. Even with everything going on, she’d still make cynical jokes and sarcastic remarks, but for the last two days, she’d been terribly silent.

Her food had also become minimal. Sometimes she’d wrinkle her nose when certain dishes were served, as if she didn’t like them. She went for a walk with Kaysir, and every cell in my body somehow screamed that I needed to go with her.

Call it intuition, or maybe a sixth sense, but I was getting signals that something was very wrong with her.

Every second she was gone felt like an hour, and my heart refused to calm down. Mom teased me, saying I was obsessed with her, but she didn’t understand how I felt.

This anxiety, this despair, this hopelessness that had settled in my heart.

She returned an hour later, but her demeanor made it clear that disaster was brewing. As soon as she went into the room, I went outside and anxiously asked Kaysir, "Where did Zara go?"

He was washing the car. Pausing, he turned to me and said, "To the pharmacy, Alpha. And then we returned home."

Pharmacy? What did she want there?

Is she sick? "What did she buy?"

Kaysir shook his head and replied, "Luna went inside alone, and I stayed outside. She said she needed calcium supplements."

She could have sent Kaysir to get calcium supplements. Why would she go to the pharmacy herself? With more questions than answers racing through my head, I decided to go check on her.

Entering the room, I found it empty. I moved closer to the bathroom door and heard her sobbing on the other side.

My heart sank.

She was crying, most likely feeling lonely and depressed over my hiding. I just wanted her to be happy, to have that sunny smile back on her face that I had somehow taken away.

Her tears, her painful sobs and cries. All of this had to stop. I waited impatiently for her to come out of the bathroom. As someone crucified, every second was agonizing, painful, and tormented my heart.

Finally, the door opened, and she emerged, her face washed, but the whites of her eyes and the tip of her nose were red. Our gazes met, but she looked away.

My emotions surged out like a caged bird, and I couldn’t help but ask, "What happened?"

She ignored me, and I sensed she was trying to head for the dressing room. Before she could get there, I blocked her path. Anger flashed across her face, and she screamed, "Get out of my way!"

But I wasn’t going to let her cry, at least not today. If this was her last act of kindness, I was going to comfort her.

"Not until you tell me why you cried in the bathroom," I asked stubbornly, and her entire face contorted with unimaginable rage. She screamed at me to her heart’s content, and I let her pour out her emotions. In those moments, she seemed so vulnerable and fragile, and I couldn’t bear to see her like that.