Page 10 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

Zayn runs his fingers through his perfectly styled hair in frustration. “It doesn’t work like that. There needs to be contracts in place, and I was only filling in for Samuel; that was what the meeting was for, to build alliances. Your father shot down every offer.”

“My father’s pack has been attacked by rogue wolves twice now,” I protest, but he only watches me with those intense gray eyes. “Can’t I make an agreement with you?” I ask him, and he tilts his head to the side.

“You’re not the Alpha. Your father is.”

“Only for now, until I get my wolf. I want to make an agreement with you to keep your men along our borders to prevent any more attacks.”

Alpha Zayn’s gaze narrows, and he leans back on the couch. “And what would I get out of this agreement?”

Ugh, I groan internally. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask this.

“What do you want?” I ask nervously, and his eyes flicker to his wolf fleetingly.

“I’m not fucking you if that is what you are thinking!” I retort.

He scoffs. “I have no intention of forcing you to fuck me,” he snarls.

“Then what do you want?”

“Nothing you can give me, clearly. Do you even have a job?” he asks, and my face heats.

“No, I am still in college.” I defend myself.

He pauses for a second. “Nightshade City College?” he asks, and I nod. “I’ll think it over; I will get back to you. What is your house number?”

I shake my head. “You can’t call home, and if my father finds out I am here, he will kill me.”

“And exactly how do you intend to explain my scent in his car or your whereabouts this morning?” he asks. I sigh because I know I am so busted.

“Fine!” he says abruptly, getting to his feet and over to the hall stand in the foyer.

He retrieves something before coming back to me. He holds it out to me.

“Use this until you get another one,” he says, holding out his phone to me.

“I can’t take your phone,” I tell him.

“Cleo, take it. How else am I supposed to get in contact with you if I can’t call your house phone?”

I shake my head.

“So damn stubborn, you get that from him, you know that! How are we supposed to make a deal if you stay this stubborn!” he growls before moving toward the door.

“Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To get you a phone,” he says, leaving before I can protest.

Laying back on the couch, I try to think of an excuse to give my father for his scent being in the car.

Yet, I come up with absolutely nothing. Feeling defeated, I know I will be in trouble once I get home and lie down on the couch.

Wow, I really should’ve thought this through a bit more.

Maybe I can blame it on the pain meds? My entire body is aching like I’ve run a marathon.

I tug at my top, feeling it sticking to the sweat covering every inch of my body.

I must have dozed off though because I wake to a hand touching my forehead. I lurch awake, coming face to face with Zayn. “Take these,” he rumbles, handing me some pills. I stare at him.

“I am not taking those. What even are they?” I ask him.

He tosses me a box, and I find they are antibiotics. “They should help rid any infection from your leg, and if they don’t, you might need to see your pack doctor. Rogue bites are full of poisonous bacteria,” he informs me like I don’t already know that.

Reluctantly, I take them when he passes me a phone.

“Seriously, I can’t accept that. When you said phone, I thought it was a cheapo one, not… this!” I stare at the brand-new iPhone. He shakes his head, looking annoyed.

“Just take it and shut up about it,” he says, refusing to take it when I try to hand it back.

“I will call you in a couple of days,” I tell him, setting the phone down.

“You are unbelievable, it’s a phone. Not a house,” he snaps.

“An expensive phone that’s newer than the one I had,” I tell him. What doesn’t he get? Also, my father would definitely ask questions about how I got it.

“Do you want my help or not?” he asks, folding his arms across his chest, which makes him seem even taller.

“Yes, but…”

He turns away from me, grabbing his keys and mine.

“Now, are you alright to drive home, or am I taking you?” he asks. I jump to my feet.

“I’m fine,” I tell him as a wave of vertigo from standing quickly washes over me. I sway slightly, and he grips my arm, staring at me worriedly.

“I’m driving you,” he states. I go to protest when he grabs me.

“Put me down. What is it with you and being so damn handsy?” I snap.

Zayn rolls his eyes, ignoring my comment. Instead, he carries me, bridal-style, toward the door. I cringe at the sudden proximity, heat rising in my cheeks.

“Can’t you just let me walk?” I say, my voice coming out a bit too high-pitched.

“You can barely stand,” he retorts, not bothering to look at me.

We make our way toward my car parked outside.

Only another man is there waiting. His hair is the same color as Zayn’s, but his eyes aren’t as silvery gray as Zayn’s, and his expression is perfectly neutral.

However, I do detect a glint of humor in his gaze as he looks at me.

His lips are thin, and his jawline is sharp and angular, giving off a serious vibe.

I stare at him; he has an uncanny resemblance to Zayn, and I peer up at Zayn.

“My brother, Vance, who’s also my Beta,” he explains, answering my questioning look.

“He’ll follow in my car,” he tells me. I nod, not knowing how I feel about that. Zayn sets me down gently on the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s side. The car is silent as we drive toward my house, the tension so thick you can almost cut it with a knife.

I keep stealing glances at him from the corner of my eye, taking in the sharp lines of his jaw and the way his dark hair falls across his forehead. Aggravating though he may be, there’s no denying he’s handsome. He looks like he’s in deep thought, his expression unreadable.

As we pull into my father’s territory, my anxiety starts to grow. I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to my father, and knowing him, he’ll want answers.

“Pull over here; if my father catches me with you, he’ll kill me,” I blurt.

“Either way, he’ll know I was with you. Your car reeks of my scent,” he states, and panic rises in me as he continues driving. As we come to the main gates, he begins to slowly pull up when two pack warriors wave to us, too. I wind my window down, recognizing my fathers Beta, Mitchel.

“Cleo, your father put out an alert…” Mitchel pauses, his eyes moving to Zayn in the driver’s seat before they dart back to me.

“You wanna have a good excuse for being in that man’s presence, Cleo,” Mitchel growls.

I growl back, refusing to be scolded like a little girl.

Putting up with my father’s wrath is terrible enough; I won’t take it from one of his men. Not when I will be their Alpha one day.

“I don’t need an excuse,” I spit back at Mitchel, my pride stinging. Zayn’s hand lands on my thigh, and I jump, not expecting the sudden contact. He squeezes gently, telling me to calm down.

“Seen her in the city; she was looking for her phone in the wreckage. My brother is in the car behind us. Cleo looked on the verge of passing out. Figured I best drive her home,” Zayn cuts in smoothly, the lie sliding off his tongue with practiced ease. “Is there a problem?”

Mitchel eyes him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging. “Just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he says before waving us through the gates.

As we drive toward my house, I feel Zayn’s gaze on me.

“Are you okay?” he asks softly, and I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

I stare at him for a moment, taking in the sincerity in his eyes. For all his rough edges and gruff exterior, there’s something kind about him, too.

“Thank you,” I say softly, meaning every word.

The car falls into a tense silence once again until we pull up outside my house. Zayn nods before getting out of the car and coming around to open my door for me. As I step out onto the pavement, I feel a sense of safety with him around.

As I turn to face my house and see my father standing on the porch waiting for me, that sense of safety is short-lived. “Thanks for the ride,” I say, turning to face Zayn.

He nods, his expression serious.

“Will you be okay dealing with him?” he asks, and I glance at my father to see him storming over to me. Before I have a chance to say anything, my father growls.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“I was just out taking care of some things,” I say carefully, trying to keep my tone neutral.

“With him! What business have you got with him, Cleo?” he snaps, grabbing my arm when I feel Zayn’s presence suddenly behind me. His hand goes to my waist, the warmth of it seeping into my skin. I fight the urge to look down at it, my skin buzzing slightly at his touch.

“Your men really aren’t good at communicating. As I told your man at the front gate, I ran into her in the wreckage looking for her phone.”

“You could have called me to pick her up,” my father snarls, glaring at him.

“Would you have answered?” Zayn replies quickly, and my father falls quiet.

My father doesn’t look convinced, and after a moment, he sighs and shakes his head.

“I don’t have time for this right now. Go clean up and get some rest,” he says before walking away.

I let out a sigh of relief when I feel Zayn’s breath sweep across my neck. “I’ll call you in a few days,” he whispers, and I nod when his hand grabs mine suddenly. I look up at him, only for his lips to graze mine. He is that close. Stunned, I just stare at him for a second when he smirks.

“Your keys,” he adds, then chuckles.

I shake myself out of the daze I am in. “Thanks,” I say awkwardly, and he steps away, moving toward his car parked on the curb.

“I wonder how Deacon would feel knowing you’re hanging out with random Alphas?” comes Lydia’s taunting voice. I turn to find her leaning on the railing of the porch, looking smug as usual.

“He gave me a lift home, that is it; I was looking for my phone.”