CHAPTER 35: 35

NYLAH

"Wat happened? You broke down." Xavier’s worried voice was the first thing I heard when I woke up.

I was back in my room, lying on my bed with Xavier sitting beside me. His gaze was pinned on me, and I felt like it was going to peel my skin off.

"I-- I’m sorry." I managed to say in my croaked voice.

"You did nothing wrong, don’t apologize. Just tell me who hurt you, and I’ll take care of them and make sure they don’t live another day." He urged with determination, but I shook my head and swallowed the bitterness in my throat.

The memory wasn’t one I loved to revisit.

And so I shook my head, forcing a dry smile.

"It’s nothing serious, It’s kind of a normal thing for me to break down sometimes." Shit! What kind of dumb reply did I give?

"Now I’m alarmed because you’re trying to hide it. It means that it’s a serious issue. Did anyone threaten you in the pack? Did you see anything?" He wasn’t going to give up until I opened up.

I sighed. Who knew the day would come when the Almighty Alpha Xavier would ask if anyone in the pack hurt me? Afterward, he’d ignored me when I was drenched with liquor at the bonfire night.

"The sword, I saw the sword, and it reminded me of... Of the past, of my nightmares." I stopped, swallowing hard to prevent another breakdown.

"Tell me everything." There was no rush in his voice, just total calm and yearning to know what was wrong.

I didn’t see the ruthless Alpha who had no regard for people, but I saw a compassionate Xavier who wanted to know what ailed me.

"I lost my parents when I was little, I don’t remember their faces quite well, but I remember some clips from that night." I started, my insides churned as I recalled the incident.

"The whole place was on fire, and everyone was falling to the ground. I saw a man dressed in black, he killed my dad with a sword and then my mom ran to save him but he killed her before she could even reach my dad. I think I fell and hit my head, I don’t remember what happened after that."

"I woke up to find myself in a hospital and was taken to an orphanage from there. From time to time, I’d have nightmares of just that clip of the fire and them falling to the ground, their blood soaking the soil until they stopped. The dreams stopped when I tried not to think of my parents, but that night replayed in my mind when I saw the sword this afternoon." I finished, my face searched his face for anything, anything at all.

Disgust, indifference, pity, and anger, but I saw none of that.

"I’m sorry about that, I didn’t know you had a fear of swords, and I didn’t know your parents..." He stopped, and I could see the genuine expression on his face. He meant his words.

"I don’t like the feeling of feeling helpless whenever I see a sword, sometimes a knife, I want to overcome my fear," I said to him even though I had no idea how I was going to do that when I broke down at the mere sight of the object.

"I’ll help you overcome that fear, I promise." He pressed his hands on mine to assure me, and I nodded with a slight smile.

"I’m a kill joy, aren’t I? I spoilt the fun today." I tried to make a joke, but Xavier didn’t see it as funny.

"Don’t say that, every minute I spend with you is the most exciting..." He stopped like someone who caught himself saying something against his will.

No words were said again, but our eyes searched the other’s until he eventually stood up and patted my head before excusing himself.

"What was that about?" I whispered a question to myself, using my palm to fan myself. I didn’t realize I’d gotten so hot.

As my mind settled, I tried to recall what happened earlier that day, how I’d broken down and cried like a child, how I buried my head in his chest...!

"What?!" I screamed, touching my shoulders and my head with my eyes opened twice their size.

Xavier had wrapped his hand around my shoulders and patted my back with his free hand while my head was buried in his broad chest.

I felt like letting out a guttural scream, but I knew that it would only attract the guards. I was sure stood outside my door and, in turn, Xavier.

I took another glance around my room again in an attempt to recall how I came in.

I couldn’t remember walking, and I just woke up from a nap, so it only meant one thing; Alpha Xavier carried me in!

"Shitshitshitshit!" I cursed, biting my lower lips so hard, I thought I was going to rip it off.

If he carried me in his arms, it meant that some of the pack members saw him and more than half of the pack members knew now that I was carried in by the Alpha and I wasn’t safe anymore.

Yes, Ivy and her minions were no longer in my neck, but that was because I was barely out, and they all think the Alpha is getting married soon. But now that more than half of the pack knew that the Alpha cared about me, I wasn’t sure about my safety.

A knock sounded on my door right about that time, and it only increased my fear, I looked around the room in search of a place to hide.

What if an angry mob of the Alpha’s fan girls was able to deceive the guards that they were here to wish me well and the guards let them in? I’d be cooked before anyone would notice.

I wanted to stand from the bed and look for places to hide, but it seemed like my legs hadn’t gotten the memo yet. They were glued to the bed.