Chapter 69: Mate
Zen walked out of the room with an indifferent expression on his face, his shirt still unbuttoned, letting the little mark on his shoulder, show clearly.
He gave a sour smile when he noticed his men trying to stop her from barging in, though none of them dared lay a hand on her and were only trying to block her as ’respectfully’ as they could.
"Why haven’t you thrown her out yet?" he asked casually, though he already knew the answer. Even if Ramona Vye was not Luna yet, no one would risk offending her. She was the Alpha’s fated mate. And their mating ceremony was going to be announced tonight.
His words had her look up at him from where she was angrily staring down the guards. In the next instance, she smiled up at him as if nothing stood between them and then pushed past the guards’ light hold and ran straight toward him.
Zen’s wolf stirred immediately, standing at attention the moment she came close. His lips twisted into a faint scoff at the reaction, but he held himself still, forcing his body into restraint.
A few steps away, she threw herself into his arms, her hands clutching at his neck. Zen stilled under her touch wanting to throw her off. He should have stepped aside when she’d thrown herself at him. Let her fall ... His wolf gave him an angry nudge at the thought and then all but purred as her scent hit them, eager to bury himself in her embrace, to breathe her in and surrender to the bond that tied them.
But Zen resisted, every muscle locking in place. He refused to breathe in her scent. His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. He could feel the bond pulling at him, begging him to give in, and for one dangerous moment his hands lifted of their own accord, ready to circle her waist and draw her close.
It was instinct. It was the wolf. It was everything he did not want and everything he had yearned for... for the last three years.
He forced himself to stillness, his lips curving into something closer to a sneer than a smile. The ache in his chest only deepened as her warmth pressed against him.
Then, just as his arms twitched to move, Ramona’s head shifted.
She inhaled sharply, her eyes narrowing as if she had caught something on his skin and she stepped away from him as she gave him a betrayed look. Zen’s hand clenched and he had to forcefully stop himself from explaining to wipe the hurt look from her face.
"Smack!"
Her hand shot up before he could say anything, and the sharp crack of her palm echoed as it landed against his cheek.
Zen’s head barely moved from the blow, and even as his wolf bristled at the injustice of not being able to hold it’s mate and instead being disdained by it, but Zen was pleased. He liked seeing the hurt expression on her face.
He watched as she stared at him and licked her lips and he felt a low tug at his heart. In the past, he would have answered her slap with a forceful kiss and as he looked at her, it seemed she was expecting the same this time. It was how they had been...
But he was not about to give her the satisfaction; instead of kissing her, he allowed a slow, deliberate smile to curve across his lips, as he spoke mockingly, "Miss Ramona, are you aware that striking a prince is not merely an act of defiance, but a crime punishable by law? The consequences could be far more severe than you imagine. You are not our Luna... yet..."
He watched in perverse satisfaction as the girl looked at his lips where he had made no move to wipe off the blood of the little omega on his bed, and then as her eyes slowly moved over him, taking in his unbuttoned shirt and the mark on his shoulder.
Her stare lingered there, and she trembled slightly. The longer she looked, the more her composure fractured, her eyes started to glisten with tears.
Zen steeled himself against the sight, crushing the flicker of softness that tried to surface. He forced his heart to harden and his expression to remain unwavering, the smile on his face remaining as careless for her as it was for others.
Without waiting for her to say more, he moved indifferently across the room and lowered himself onto the couch carelessly... One arm stretched languidly along the backrest, the other came to tap his fingers on his own thigh, "Come. Sit down."
His tone was polite, yet threaded with an unmistakable edge of mockery as he continued, "You came here seeking me, and I cannot imagine it was only to lay your hand across my face. So tell me, Ramona...what is it that you truly came for that couldn’t wait until the celebration party in the evening?"
Ramona Vye clenched her hands and turned around, "It was a mistake coming here. I thought after three years of separation, we would be able to... go back to being friends. But I was wrong. I should not have come here and disturbed you."
Zen smiled," You are right. So, next time, I would really appreciate it if you did not show up. and don’t blame me for what happened just now... You should have simply pretended that I was indeed asleep... I would have done that... eventually."
With that, she started to walk out of the room and Zen watched her leave. He knew she wanted him to call out to her and stop her and as much as he wanted to, his pride did not allow it. Instead, he stood up and turned around as well, unwilling to torture himself with looking at her walking away and moved to return to his bedroom.
And so, he remained unaware of the fact that she had paused at the door and turned back to look at him...