Ignite | ✔

25

25 - When The Lights Fades

ZARA

Satisfied with the way the conversation ended, I walked out of his office and made my way to the kitchen, stopping by the fridge to get a bottle of water. Silence hung in the air, and I walked towards the sliding doors leading to the patio, watching as the evening sky faded away. Eyeing the dark hallows of the trees with envy, a frown took hold on my lips. What I would give for a run, I thought, but the Big Bad Alpha would have me back here and my solitary would no longer be optional. It didn't help, I mused, that four men walked along the borders of the woods.

Nightly patrol.

With a sigh, I returned to the room, my mind taken over by the interaction with Haden. While I was still angry at the situation, angry at him, my wolf was gleeful in the fact that he was trying. I wasn't so forgiving. If he wanted me, he would have to do better than 'I'm sorry'. Admittedly, it was proving to be harder and harder to ignore the connection; to ignore the electricity that sizzled between us, to ignore the fire that burned within me under his dark gaze, to ignore the shocks that coursed through me whenever he touched me. No matter what I did or what I said, my resistance was fading away and the walls I had built around me were beginning to do more than crack.

And I couldn't afford for that to happen.

As I entered, I was taken aback by a woman sitting on the edge of the bed, my eyes shifting between her and the man who stood guard at the door.

"Rebecca?" I gasped in surprise, then looked at Conner who smiled.

"Haden's treat," was all he said, "now he did mention ground rules -" he was about to say but I barged in the room and enveloped her in a hug. The room was dimly lit, the soft glow of the moon filtering in through the curtains, casting shadows on her face. It was so refreshing to see her.

"You both need to stay in the house, alright?" I heard Conner's voice behind me, "you girls have fun."

With that, he shut the door and I pulled away from Rebecca.

"And you said you didn't have him wrapped around your finger," Rebecca said as she smirked at me. I laughed, playfully shoving her as I made my way to the washroom. I heard her scream something incoherent and when I got back to the room, I saw her standing by the window.

"What?" I questioned wiping a towel over my face.

"Looks like your man is headed off," she repeated, a weary yet curious expression on her face, "What's... woah, there's something big going on."

I wasn't the least bit curious, or so I told myself as I found my way back to the bed. An Alpha was always an Alpha. There was always going to be some battle to fight, some territory to conquer, some enemy to kill. With everything that I'd experienced, she didn't need more of that in her life.

"There must be dozens down there - hundreds maybe! Where are they all going? Did he tell you?"

I deadpanned at her.

"Just a few minutes ago, the man had the nerve to call me difficult. Wherever he's storming off to wasn't exactly the highlight of the conversation," I shared, pulling my eyes away from her and back to the TV screen.

"Ugh, fine. Be that way," she mumbled then joined me on the bed and, out of the blue, hit me with a pillow. "Cheer up, you miserable woman. You're the only one to blame for your misery by the way, but we're not going to get into that. Let's continue our Friends marathon, shall we?"