3. Fifteen

He left. Just like that. I was left standing there in front of the nurse's station, watching in the direction Harper had just walked off. What just happened?

I turned to look at Ethan, who was already looking at me, probably wondering the same thing I was. Harper had just talked to Ethan about crossing his pack territory without permission. Considering Ethan was a rogue, he was at the mercy of the pack's aloha, Harper. He could kick Ethan out of the pack, he could permit him to stay here or he could kill him. 

I refused to believe that Harper was so petty that he would hurt Ethan because he was here with me. Harper had a right to be angry with me, with Ethan too, but he wouldn't harm either of us in any way. That I was sure of. 

On second thought, he wouldn't harm me. I had no idea about Ethan.

"He said to meet him at his house in twenty minutes. What do you think he is going to do?" Ethan asked me as if I could anticipate Harper's every thought and action. 

"I don't know. I have no idea what's going on in his head." I admitted. "Let's go to the pack house. We can meet there."

Ethan nodded and we walked towards the elevator. We got out of the hospital and moved to my car in the parking lot. I was so strung out that I handed Ethan my car keys and asked him to drive to the pack house. We sat in silence in the car, mapping out all the ways this meeting in Harper's office could go. 

This supposed meeting felt more like a confrontation and I supposed it was going to be exactly that. I gave Ethan directions to the pack house and we were parked in front of this building way too soon. I had thought I would have had more time than this. 

I tentatively got out of the car on shaky and unstable legs. I turned around to check if Ethan was following me. Pleased that he was, I climbed the steps and rang the bell. 

I tapped my foot incessantly on the floor, anxious about what was about to come. The double doors opened and my breath hitched when Aiden stood on the threshold.

Aiden looked the same as he had a few months ago, albeit a little mature. He had packed on more muscles though. 

His eyes zeroed in on me but showed no change of emotion upon seeing me after so long. He looked me up and down and then his gaze flickered towards Ethan. His eyebrow raised in question, but his face otherwise remained emotionless.

He stood back a few steps and motioned for the both of us to enter. I kept my eyes on Aiden's and he did the same. His unwavering stare was intense and penetrating and I wanted to know what he was thinking. 

He was my friend. He had been my friend a few months ago and now to see him look at me without any emotion was hard. He treated me no better than a stranger. I wanted to grab the collar of his shirt and shake him off, just to get a rise out of him. 

But I couldn't. Because I knew that this was just another person who I had hurt with my actions. I had told the goddess that I cared about him but I failed to show it to him. Aiden was hurt by me when I decided to go and left without any goodbye or contact for more than four months. Sure, he could understand why I did what he did but that didn't mean he couldn't be hurt. 

"I was told that you and your friend would be coming here for a private meeting with the alpha. You know the way to the alpha's office. I trust you can find your way." Aiden pointedly said. "You are to remain there till the alpha returns. Alpha's orders." With a nod to me, he turned around and walked away without a word. 

I felt Ethan's hand slip into mine. He gave me a reassuring squeeze when I started longingly in the direction Aiden had walked towards. I wanted to run after him and explain everything. I wanted to apologize to him. I wanted to tell him that I missed him and that he mattered to me. I should have done exactly that. Instead, I sighed and led Ethan toward the alpha's office.

I opened the door to the office, followed by Ethan who softly closed the door behind him. I had been in this room so many times when I first met Harper's parents when the final verdict about Natalie's pregnancy was decided. 

Ethan looked eerily calm and I desperately wanted to know what was going on in his mind. He casually walked and sat down on a sofa while I was too strung out to even stand still. I paced the room while I felt Ethan's cautious eyes on me. 

"A few minutes and he will be here." I pointed it out after checking my wristwatch. 

Right on time, the door to the office swung open and Harper walked in, all tense and authoritative. He didn't look at either of us and I watched as he languidly walked behind his desk and sat down in his plush office chair. 

Harper bent down and fiddled with one of his desk drawers while I watched him intently. I sneaked a glance at Ethan who was also watching Harper's every move. 

Harper finally took a few stapled papers from the drawer. He skimmed his gaze over the papers and put them on his desk. After that, he lifted his eyes and regarded the both of us silently. 

"Were you a rogue since birth?" Harper questioned Ethan. He shook his head and informed Harper about his pack and family. Harper nodded at the information; his eyes fixed on his desk. 

"I believe you came here to drop Zara home. You have done that. Why are you still here?" Harper asked and I balked at his straightforward question. He didn't even attempt to be subtle about it. 

"I did come here to drop Zara home. More than that, I came with Zara to protect her." Ethan stated, not at all thwarted by the iciness in Harper's stare. 

"Protect her?" Harper tilted his head to the side and regarded Ethan with a curious stare. Ethan nodded while I took a few steps and stood exactly behind Ethan's chair, hoping Harper would look at me and calm down. At this rate, he would end up killing Ethan in cold blood. Maybe Ethan couldn't sense Harper's frosty countenance but I could and it was not a good sign.

"Yeah. I am assigned to be her batair, her supernatural protector by the moon goddess." 

"A supernatural protector. Who are you going to protect her from?"

"Harper, I-" I tried to intervene but Ethan answered Harper's question before I could say anything more. 

"You have a wolf problem. Since Zara is back in town, she is going to need constant protection. You see, that's my role. Protecting her. I'll protect her from every danger, supernatural or human." Ethan calmly stated. 

Harper calmly stood up, put his hands on his desk, and leaned towards Ethan. "I think I can protect my mate, rogue." Harper towered over Ethan who was sitting and snarled in his face. 

I opened my mouth to stop this madness when Ethan stood up too and leaned towards Harper. Ethan looked him straight in the eyes and smirked. The small room reeked of testosterone and I could hardly breathe with all the male domination. 

"You think you can protect her? What happens when another rogue comes bounding for your very pregnant Luna and Zara at the same time? Who would you save, your unborn child or your mate, Zara?" Ethan taunted Harper whose pupils dilated which meant his wolf wanted to take control. "You, the white alpha, have certain attachments that could compromise Zara's safety if it was only left in your hands. I, on the other hand, am unattached and my only priority is to make sure Zara lives to see another day, which she definitely will as long as I am with her."

I took a deep breath after Ethan's answer. I knew what he was saying was right. If Harper's child and I were threatened at the same time, I had no idea who Harper would save. I prayed to whatever god listened that he never faced this decision. It would kill him. If someone would ask me, I would want Harper to save his child because I can understand the love a parent has for their child. It was an impossible choice but if push comes to shove, I didn't even want to think about it anymore. 

Harper's stony mask was back in place. His whole body was tense and his pupils had contracted, which meant that he had repressed his wolf from taking over. I was glad because if his wolf had come through, I was pretty sure Ethan wouldn't have lived to see another day, never mind his batair promise to me. 

"If you know what's best for you, you will walk out of this office right now," Harper growled and for the first time, I witnessed him using his white wolf's compulsion on another wolf. Ethan nervously gulped, stood ramrod straight, looked at me, and walked out of the room as if his pants were on fire. 

After Ethan's departure, my gaze swiveled to Harper who was still glaring at the door Ethan had just walked out of. After a few moments, Harper stood up straight and turned to look at me. The intensity of his gaze brought a jolt to my stomach. 

Harper looked at his desk for a minute and picked up the papers he had taken out from his drawer. He walked around his desk and came to stand right in front of me. He wordlessly handed me the papers and I took them. 

"These are the documents I need the rogue to fill if he plans to stay in my pack another day. I trust you'll get these to him." I nodded in a daze, barely skimming my eyes over the papers he had handed him. 

I stood numbly, not knowing what to do or what to say. I was so out of my wits it was a wonder I was even breathing. 

"Do you like him?" Harper's heavy baritone rang in the small room and his question brought an unpleasant jolt in my stomach. 

Harper was looking right at me, exactly how I wanted him to do but I couldn't meet his eyes. Harper had asked me if I liked Ethan. I thought over his question for a few seconds and nodded. I peeked at him to gauge his emotions but his face was an expressionless mask.

"If you want to be with him, I won't stop you," Harper whispered and a strange feeling settled in my chest. I was happy that he had said that but I was upset because it wasn't what I wanted him to say. Disappointment settled deep in my gut and I felt frustrated because of my mixed and confusing emotions.

Harper levelled my gaze for a second and then his eyes flicked to the door. Taking that as a dismissal, I turned around and took a few steps to reach the door. 

"Zara?" Harper called out and I immediately turned around. Harper had moved closer to the door without making a sound and was only a short distance away from me. 

"Don't think this means that I have given up on you," Harper whispered and I cautiously gazed up at him to find that our faces were only a few centimeters away from each other. "Never think that I have given up on the mate bond because I won't." 

He slid the back of his hand softly against my cheeks and I closed my eyes to revel in the feel of the touch. "Never think that I stopped loving you." He cupped my face in his palm and I felt my breathing turn ragged. "Never think that you are not my priority." 

He rubbed his rough thumb over my lower lip and I whimpered at his sensual touch. "I won't interfere if you choose to be with this rogue. I know you still need time and I want you to have as much of it as possible. Be with him for a few years if you want." I gasped when he slid his thumb in my mouth and I felt my tongue curl around it involuntarily. 

"Because we are mates Zara. We aren't supposed to spend a few years together. We are supposed to spend a life together and for that, I'm willing to take a few steps back and be apart from you for all the time you need." Harper whispered and leaned his forehead against me and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. I could just turn my head and capture his lips with mine. 

Harper suddenly took a few steps back and looked me straight in the eyes. My face felt hot and I knew I was blushing like a crazy tomato. "I just want you to understand though. I can't be with you when you are with him. It will make my wolf go crazy but know that I'll always be waiting for you, not just because you're my mate, but because I love you." 

My knees wobbled and I stood there like a gaping fish, assaulted by every word that Harper was saying. "The next time I'll miss you, you will be mine. Only mine. Forever." Harper nodded.

I took a deep breath, turned around, and fled his office as fast as I could.