Chapter Five: The Deal

ZOVADA

The warm water from the shower trailed down my body as if it could wash away all of the pain, loneliness, and disappointment. As I stood in the shower, a deep ache settled in my heart, the mate bond pulsed, it was frayed, light, but I could still sense it.  I shook away the pain, something was happening between Regina and Simon, did not want to speculate. It would hurt too much, and it was a rare moment that I found myself grateful to not have a wolf to emphasize the pain of a mate bond fracturing–despite the dull pain I could still feel.  

My mind wandered back to the voice that called herself my wolf. Now alone in the room I shared with Simon, I could finally process and grieve everything that’d happened the last 24 hours. 

Was it true? Did I actually have a wolf buried deep within? 

How do I let you out? 

You have to remember who you are…

What does that mean? What could I have possibly forgotten?

Before Luna Claudia had brought me into the Horne Pack, my life had been without color. A greyscape, concrete jungle, filled with nameless, faceless humans fed to the machine of typical American life. I don’t know what she saw in me, but she claimed me and took me under her wing. “I need to go speak to the Luna Mother.” I turned off the water, I needed to see her. NOt just for the research and Alpha’s request–but for my own sanity at this point. 

For comfort and a sense of normalcy, I opted for my gardening clothes. With a frustrated sigh, I threw my hair up in a messy bun and took a few breaths to settle the strange dread and anxiety in my soul. I was unsettled. Between the dull ache of whatever was happening between Simon and Regina, and my own insecurities, I was lost and confused. I need to get my hands in the dirt immediately. 

My steps were light and graceful as I padded from the rooms I shared with Simon. Thud. The door closed quietly behind me; the lock clicked into place before I slid the key into my pocket.

Okay, water the gardenias, trim the bushes, check on the medicinal  herbs, pick the cooking herbs, prep the poultices, refill the feeders… I ran through the to-do list of the gardens while I fixed my messy bun and wandered down the hallway soundlessly.

My ears perked up when they picked up the sound of hushed but urgent voices of Regina and Simon bickering somewhere close by. With a raised brow, I slowed my steps and inched closer to eaves drop. Through the very slim crack of his office door, I could make out the silhouettes of their bodies in the dark room.

“Why are you here Regina?” Simon hissed.

“Why am I here?” Regina scoffed in return. Both of them leaned over his mahogany desk, palms flat on its messy surface. They were so close their faces were almost touching—a feat in itself considering the desk could be compared to a mini dining table. “Am I not allowed to be here now Si?”

Si… The nickname I called him. Nothing unoriginal, but that was us… We were Zov and Si… 

Yet,  Si and Regi… another uncomfortable parallel to my own mating. It dawned on me that i’d ignored it earlier in my own study, but now? In such a dark and intimate position? A chill spread across my body. My mind recalled the photo wall in my own bedroom…and I felt sick.  

A part of me wanted to push open the door and flick on the lights. Remind Simon his mate still waited on her debut. Regina Sherwood was one of the few people in the pack that was well aware of my future as Luna. I moved to open the door, but something in Simon’s next words stopped me, and I remained hidden to observe.

“We had a deal, Regi. You were to wait until I summoned you.” he said.

Until he summoned her? What did he mean by that? Why would he ever summon her here? For what? When? She isn’t part of this pack? 

“Well maybe I was tired of waiting.”

“Regina.”

She climbed on his desk, swung her legs around to sit in front of him. Nothing nefarious, but something inside of me screamed, when she adopted her bratty tone. “Simon.”

He stared at her and sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Stop messing around. What if someone sees you?” They were a breath away from each other, she reached up and grabbed his hand to look in his eyes, she didn’t hold it, she squeezed it before she released it, it wasn’t inappropriate per se, but something wasn’t right.

“What? I am just sitting. Why can’t I be here? Are you worried little wolfless Zovada will get jealous and suspicious?”   

In the dim light, he narrowed his gaze into something akin to a glare that didn’t quite match the smirk on his lips. “Be respectful. She will be my Luna. And she is my Mate. There is nothing for her to be jealous and suspicious of.”

She raised a brow with a smirk and fixed his tie. “Mmhm…of course.”

My instincts howled inside of me, doubt crept in. Despite his words defending our mating, and my position in the future. Something was very wrong. 

Simon looked like he kept Regina at bay, but what did she mean by that?  His mismatched demeanor played with my psyche, he seemed like he defended me. But at the same time, he had no problem with all of her terrible behavior. I turned away from the door without a sound. 

Her demeanor, her words, they were laced with flirtation? Was I paranoid? I couldn’t place the energy behind it, normally I could read people. Put me in a room full of powerful Alphas and men, I will shred every single one and come out on top. A woman? I could read her for filth, but when Regina is backed by not only Simon but his father and the rest of his family – and truthfully the rest of the pack? The only person in my corner is me and Simon’s mother. What man treats another woman equal to or more than his woman?

Once I was in the clear of the office, I froze. A sick Realization dawned on me. Why couldn’t he smell me? My heart pounded in my chest. I swallowed hard. My mate should’ve been able to sense I was close by. I did my best to ignore the silent accusations and truth that hung in the wake between the two of us. Something Simon didn’t even realize I had noticed. I pressed a hand to my temple as the modern corridor of the Pack Mansion faded to what looked like castle architecture and back again…

What’s going on? I need to get to Claudia…