Chapter Eight: Zira Is In Trouble

“If I…” his words are broken by a familiar voice calling his name, and I looked behind him at the same time that Killian turned back to see Leah’s voluptuous figure walk up to us in her bright red dress.

I had never been this happy to see Leah. And that had to be something.

“Leah! Thank the goddess that you are saved!” I exclaim out of excitement and rush forward, planning to hug her, but I’m pushed back by Killian, who pulls her into a tight hug.

“My sweet mate. I was almost scared that something had happened to you,” he crooned, then ran his hands on her back in circles.

Memories of me being the girl in Killian’s arms flashed through my mind. But this time, they didn’t hurt.

I had my mate now.

“K...Killian… do... do you know how scary it was without you? I was all alone and got lost so many times,” Leah cried out, and I shot her a cynical look.

She looked every bit fine with not a crease on her dress. It was hard to imagine that she had really been lost.

Besides, she was right here by the hall; just how lost could one be?

“D…don’t… ever leave me, okay..”

Like a doting father, Killian agreed hurriedly while he turned to shoot me a glare.

As soon as they separated, Killian stormed towards me. “Zira, I have given you so many chances, but you keep giving me reasons to believe that you don’t want to be in my pack anymore...”

Before he could complete his words, Leah rushed towards us. “Killian... no, don’t do that! Father would be mad at me…”

Her words were the last thing I heard as I fell backward quickly.

I landed in the pool that we had been standing beside, and with a loud splash, instant fear gripped my heart.

I was not too fond of swimming. I had done basically everything I could to avoid training back when we were in growing classes. But now, I pushed back up, trying to remember if I was supposed to breathe under or above the water.

Strong arms wrapped tightly around me and pulled me up. With my head above water, I felt the familiar and sweet smell of Ronan. I leaned into him a little more, wanting more of his hands’ comfort.

“I’m so sorry,” Ronan whispered into my ears as he brought the both of us out from the pool, and I’ll never understand just how he was able to do that in a record-breaking time.

As soon as we were out of the pool, I could sense that quite a number of people had come up here, so I forced my eyes open to see so many pointed fingers and people closing in on us.

“Who is she? The King jumped in himself!” Someone exclaimed with a voice loud enough that I suspected she wanted Ronan to hear and give her a response.

But he paid no attention to her as he carried me up, in a bridal style, and then started to walk away from there.

The crowd parted, leaving enough space in the middle for him to pass, and I burrowed myself into his chest so I could hide my face.

“Who’s she? Can’t she tell the King to drop her?”

“Shhh! It might be the princess; I heard rumors of her return,” another person replied.

Princess? Growing up, all I had ever heard was how praised our King was for having so many sons, and not for once have I heard about a princess.

And if there was one, where did she go?

All of these questions swarm through my mind as Ronan brings us farther away from them. 

Ronan’s POV

Contrary to what I had expected, the coronation had gone smoothly. But that was just not enough for me to believe that there weren’t still some undercurrents waiting for the perfect time to strike.

I wanted nothing more than for this whole thing to end so I could meet her—my mate.

Her name is so unique and perfect. Like they were made for her.

“Cheers, brother, to being the new king of Eliza.” Richard’s voice interrupted my thought process, and he brought his wine cup forward.

We clinked glasses, but I felt a sudden, acute tug on my heart as if my wolf were pulling me.

Given the situation, I would have ignored it. But Kane, my wolf, was quick to pass the message.

Zira is in trouble!

I dash out of the hall, using my instincts and Kane’s direction, till I see her familiar head of almost blond hair with blue edges floating in the water.

I shoot a gaze at everyone standing there and looking at her, making a mental note to let them know they couldn’t abandon their queen and go scot-free.

Not caring about anything, I dive into the water and pull her out along with me. Relief flooded through my chest as I felt her hands wrap around me while her head burrowed into my embrace even more.

Even unconscious, my mate knew me.

Only when we were on the elevator to the living quarters did I realize how much water my regalia had taken in.

Zira lay in my arms, motionless, all the way to my quarters.

“Zira,” I called her while shaking her awake gently.

After doing that for the third time, her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to fix her brown eyes on mine.

“It’s me. Are you okay?”

Zira nodded and then stood up. Her eyes were still glued to me.

“I’m okay; I don’t know how I dozed off for some minutes in your embrace,” she said, then bent her head out of shyness.

“It means that you trust me enough to keep you safe at the moment when you were uncomfortable and out of sorts,”

“Let’s get you changed out of this dress,”

Although each of us was assigned more than twenty omega maidservants each, I kept them away from my quarters since I didn’t enjoy being among people. As a result, I had to complete tasks on my own.

I pull out a new towel and bathrobe from my closet and walk back to where Zira is seated, looking around my room.

“My room is never like this; I had to get dressed quickly,” I explained hurriedly as I saw my disorganized dressing table.

I remember what exactly had made me late; for a minute, I only wanted to relive the moment.

It gets even more difficult as soon as I wrap Zira’s full hair in a towel and then try to get her zipper off.

“It’s like a corset, you just have to help me with the rope, and I’ll do the rest myself,” she murmured softly. So low that without my wolf abilities, I would have missed it.

Her instructions worked like magic regardless as I pulled the part that held the others together loose.

The dress tumbled to the sides, leaving her bare back open in its full glory.

I gulp down because with her dress opened and soaked, she exudes a scent about five times more alluring to me. And just the outline of her body is enough to leave me entranced.

“Ronan? What’s going on?” Zira calls out and then turns back to look at me. Our eyes meet, but her movement allows her to shift her arm, which is the only thing holding her dress together.

In a split second, her dress, already heavy from being in the pool, falls down from her body in one quick tumble.

Her brown eyes open with shock and embarrassment while her hands rush to cover her bare chest that had nothing underneath the dress.

But her hands could only do so much. I could still see every damn curve of Zira’s body, and bless the goddess! She was beautiful to her very bone.

I grabbed the bathrobe and passed it to her while turning my back on her until I was sure I had heard the ruffling of the bathrobe coming together.

It also gave me some moments to bring my emotions all under check.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea the dress had no other support,” Zira says the moment I turn back to look at her.

“It’s okay, we are mates, and we will eventually get to it,” I assure her, pulling her back to sit on the bed with me.

She nods slowly, still shy. “You should change too; your outfit is soaked,” she points out after some seconds.

Somehow, I had forgotten about myself.

As soon as I stand up, Zira stands up too. “Let me help with the top button,” she says, referring to the button that was right under my chin.

The regalia was anything comfortable, and taking it off was what I would have done first on a normal day.

But this wasn’t a normal day.

Her aroma grew stronger as she reached up on her tiptoes to assist me with my button, and I had a clear glimpse of her cleavage at the same time.

Without any thought, I pull her into my embrace. “Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?”

Her brown eyes open wide with shock as she meets my gaze.

The sudden urge to tease her had me bending my head until I met her lips and pulled her even tighter into a drawing kiss.

“Coming so close, do you expect your mate not to react at all, little mate?”

She tries to talk but only gives me a perfect chance to slip my tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness.

My mate tasted just like I remembered. Just like I had missed. And so I take as much of her sweetness as possible and only pull back when I feel her gasping for breath.

She falls limply to my chest as she calls my name out softly, “Ronan.”