Page 32 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

· Cleo ·

As I stand there, staring at Maya in disbelief.

I question if I set off this chain of events by confiding in Zayn?

Had my trust in him, in the wrong person, led to this devastating turn of events?

My luck seems to be getting worse and worse.

The sound of my heartbeat rings in my ears, loud and fast.

Maya must have sensed my distress because she reaches out and squeezes my arm gently.

“Look, Cleo, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Zayn, but you should know that Zayn.

..” She stops and shakes her head. Maya’s expression is one of concern and confusion, her brow furrowing and her lips pressing together.

“What is it, Maya?” I ask, wondering what more there could be.

Maya bites her lip. “Lydia told me you’ve been involved with Zayn. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to be careful, especially now,” she tells me. My brows furrow.

“I have a boyfriend, Maya, Deacon. Remember him?” I remind her. Maya raises an eyebrow at me.

“You sure about that? Because Lydia said, you’ve been sneaking off to see him.

I know Lydia can be a bitch, but Zayn, of all people?

He’s ruthless, Cleo. If he starts a war with our pack over you, you’ll get us all killed; we haven’t enough warriors to go up against his pack! ” she snaps at me abruptly.

“What are you talking about!” I snarl. “Just spit it out, Maya, whatever it is, tell me!” Maya curses and shakes her head.

“Your father was at that meeting. He’s furious. Zayn put claim to you, told him if he forces you to marry Boyd, he’ll start a war and challenge your father. How could you be so stupid to risk the pack like that?” she shakes her head in disbelief.

“He what?” I squeak, knowing my father is going to lose it at me for this. What has Zayn done? Why would he do that!

“So forget about Deacon; if he hasn’t heard already, he will because right now, you and Zayn are the talk of the city,” she growls, storming off.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze, trying to figure out what I could do to help.

Every time I think of Zayn, I am filled with a mix of longing and anger.

He had seen me in my weakest moment, and instead of leaving things be, he started a war.

A fucking war, and not just with Alpha Dane, but my father.

As the news spread throughout campus and beyond, tension grows so thick it is almost tangible. The quiet whispers and casting gazes in my direction transformed into outright hostility laced with their fear.

My phone has also done nothing except go off with messages from my father. I didn’t open a single one of them, already knowing what I would find in them.

Alpha Zayn’s decision to declare war against Claymore pack has thrown the entire school into turmoil. It is as if everyone is expecting him to storm the place. Unable to handle everyone staring and whispering, I skip the next class and head back to my dorm.

Yet even furious with Zayn, I can’t shake the memory of his embrace, the way he comforted me in the face of such humiliation.

Our connection is undeniable, and this sire bond only seems to make me ache for him despite wanting to punch him in the face.

I pace back and forth, unable to shake the conflicting emotions swirling inside me.

I know I brought this upon myself, however I also can’t help feeling drawn to Zayn like a moth to a flame.

I collapse onto my bed, a deep sense of despair settling in when I receive another message. Sighing, I open it, not wanting my father to come here and cause a scene. There are around fifty messages from him, each one raging at me like I asked Zayn to declare war. The last one sends my blood cold.

Dad: Meet me at my office tomorrow so we can go over ways to fix this.

My heart sinks as I realize there is no avoiding this conversation. My father is going to be furious with me for bringing this upon our pack. Swallowing down my dread, I hastily reply.

Cleo: I’m sorry, I never asked for this.

Dad: You may not have asked for it, but you certainly caused it. You will marry Boyd. Before that can happen, we need to fix this shit with Alpha Zayn. Whatever is going on between you two, you end it, and end it now, Cleo!

I stare at his message, tears burning my vision; I don’t even understand what’s going on between me and Zayn.

We’re not even a thing, so how do I break up with someone I’m not even with?

Clutching my hair, I try to take some deep breaths, trying to will the tears away.

This is so messed up, so frigging messed up.

I’m still trying to gather myself together; I’m even too afraid to get dinner, not wanting to be caught in the halls by anyone.

There’s a knock on the door. I sit up abruptly, staring at my dorm room door.

Glancing at the clock, I see it is a little after 8 PM now.

I know it can’t be my father because I literally just spoke to him.

Nervousness ripples through me when the thumping continues, and some part of me worries it might be Alpha Dane.

“Cleo, I swear if you don’t open this damn door, I will break it down!” comes Zayn’s voice. My heart flutters in my chest, and I quickly move to open it before he bursts through it.

The moment I do, I want to slam it in his face, pausing; I see he is also furious with me. Zayn’s face is twisted in anger, his jaw clenched tight, and his eyes flashing with frustration. His body is tense, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Why aren’t you answering my texts?” Zayn’s voice is harsh and demanding, his words hitting me like a punch in the gut. The door slams shut with a loud thud, the sound echoing in the small room.

The scent of Zayn’s cologne, a mixture of vanilla and sandalwood, fills the room as he enters, but the overwhelming smell of anger and tension quickly overpowers it.

“Do you have any fucking idea how panicked I have been about you? I thought I was going to have to storm your father’s pack looking for you!” he snaps at me before grabbing me. He crushes me against his chest.

“Why are you here? Haven’t you done enough?” I demand. He sighs, and I try not to breathe in his scent, knowing I will want to melt into him. Stupid sire bond.

“What do you mean?” he asks, pulling away from me. I stare at him. What do I mean? What does he mean!? He started a war, not even one war, but two! My father’s text messages flit through my head while I try to figure out how to break our nothing off.

“Zayn, you declared war on my father. You can’t just come here.”

“Well, I did. Pretty easily, actually, the front gates were open, they really should lock those,” he tells me, and I pinch my brow in frustration, what isn’t he understanding?

I go to tell him he needs to leave when he speaks again. “Have you eaten?” he asks, and instead of me answering, my stomach does.

“Good, neither have I. Let’s go,” he tells me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door before I can even protest. Incredible, I’m supposed to be dumping him, the man I’m not even dating.

Instead, I’m being dragged off to dinner with him.

Dragged may be an overexaggeration; I’m blaming it on being hungry.

My father is going to lose his damn mind if he hears about this. “I can’t believe this!” I snap at him as he drags me out the door.

“Believe what?” he questions.

“You. You started a war with my father, and now you’re expecting me to have dinner with you?”

I can’t believe he’s doing this, just casually taking me out for dinner like nothing has happened between us.

I try to pull my hand away from him. “What are you doing, Zayn?” I demand, trying to keep my voice steady.

“I told you, taking you to dinner.” I huff, that is not what I mean, and he knows it.

Zayn glances down at me, a look of frustration crossing his face. “Look, I didn’t start this war. Your father did, and I’m just trying to protect my own interests.”

I roll my eyes. “Interests? Like what?”

“Like you! Why else, Cleo? Besides, Alpha Dane never should have put his fucking hands on you!” he tells me.

“You can’t just go starting fights. It’s none of your business anyway, and I never should have told you, I… Just don’t worry about it. It’s already done. Now I gotta deal with the consequences.” He leads me farther down the corridor toward the open courtyard. Zayn growls.

Zayn leads me through the corridors while I nervously glance around, praying no one spots us. As we make our way through the dimly lit corridors, Zayn’s grip on my hand tightens as I try to shake off the sire bond’s influence.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask nervously, and he drapes his arm across my shoulders.

“Nowhere public. I know you’re worried about your father catching you,” he answers when I hear voices coming toward us, and I stop; my heart skips a beat. This is the last thing I need, just great!

“What is it?” he asks, stopping when he feels me stop. I glance down the corridor, and Zayn growls, his aura rushing out abruptly.

“Your father has been in your ear already, hasn’t he?

” he states, “What did he say?” Zayn demands, however my eyes are down the corridor, hearing whoever it is getting closer.

His growl is angry, and if his aura doesn’t drop soon, they’ll feel it long before they spot us.

Zayn realizing this shoves me into the courtyard quadrangle, pinning me behind the pillar. Their voices draw nearer.

“Your aura,” I squeak out in panic.

“Bit hard for me to rein that in right now; tell me what your father said to you. Did he threaten you?”

“What? No… he um,” My heart hammers in my chest when I hear their footsteps on the stairs and the bats in the fruit trees in the small courtyard area take off, picking up on his energy.

“Cleo?” Zayn asks, his aura pressing down on me. “If he threatened you, tell me, I will sort it out.”