Page 49 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

“Are you serious?” I ask incredulously. He simply raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for an answer.

With a huff, I grab the first pile and sit on the lounge, dumping them on the small coffee table that is vacant in his office.

The next few hours pass by boringly slowly as I look through papers after papers on mergers, takeovers, shares, and deals.

I don’t understand it all, however I date them.

I did manage to do just fine until lunchtime comes around.

“Hungry?” he asks, not looking up from his computer screen. I stand, my back stiff and sore from sitting in one position for so long, before grabbing the next pile of files.

“Starving,” I tell him.

“Let me finish these emails, and we’ll go get something.”

I nod, taking the last few documents back to the coffee table.

Then I notice my mother’s name. “What’s this?

” I ask him. He glances at me before standing and shutting down his computer.

He comes over to me while I try to decipher what it is; it looks like land title transfers, but that isn’t my mother’s signature, that much I do remember.

I used to be jealous of her handwriting.

“Zayn?” I ask, holding up the documents before noticing the one behind it. I see the official title changeover for my father and Linda.

“Show me,” Zayn tells me, and I hold out the paper to him, his eyes narrowing before he snatches it off me.

“Were you going through my drawers?” he accuses, shocking me. I stare at him.

“What? No, it was in the pile. What is that?” I ask, reaching for the paperwork, but he pulls it away. “And why do you have it?” I demand. Zayn grits his teeth when I reach for it again, and I snatch it from his grip.

“I’ve been looking into the rogue attack. That is the land transfer from when your mother handed the pack over to your father and Linda.”

“That’s not my mother’s signature,” I tell him.

“I know. Alpha Greyson had some documents of hers, and we compared them.”

“Do you recognize the handwriting?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“No, it’s not Linda’s or my father’s,” I tell him. The signature looks like it was done by someone else; the pen used seemingly different despite the color being the same, like it was filled out with a ballpoint pen and the signature was done in some sort of marker pen.

“That’s not the same pen used up here,” I tell him, pointing to the signature. Zayn also nods. “Why do you have this?”

“I started looking into your mother’s death after I met you.

The council approved a transfer a couple of days before the rogue attack.

I tried to get the footage from the council for that day, but we are having trouble locating it because I know that isn’t your mother’s signature; she would have had to sign that at the council with a witness.

Unfortunately, the witness is dead.” Zayn tells me. Now I see the witness’s name, gasp.

“Your father…” Zayn nods.

I shake my head. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, Alpha Greyson and I are looking into it; we’ll figure it out; I wasn’t expecting you to see that. I thought I put it away. Clearly, I forgot,” he says, angry at himself.

“Why were you even looking into her?”

“I was trying to find a way out for you. I was hoping to find something to stop your father from marrying you off so it wouldn’t turn into this mess it has now,” he admits.

“Come on, I will show you around this side of the city and we’ll get something to eat.

” He grabs my hand and drags me along with him.

“But…”

“We need more information, we have no idea who signed that without the old footage or without the witness to confirm if your mother truly did go into the council to sign that. HoweverI know my father, I know he wouldn’t have witnessed it, if it wasn’t her,” Zayn tells me.

“So, what now?”

“We carry on until we can prove otherwise, and I know the other packs are up to something. Right now we just need to bide our time and figure out what is going on while we also try to figure out who signed it.” We make our way to the elevator and soon we are driving through the city center.

“Where are we going?” I ask him as he heads down a road leading to the club where I last saw Deacon.

“To get something to eat, then I am dropping you home.”

I huff annoyed but don’t add anything, knowing there is no point in arguing with him. I peer out the window as we pull up at the club. “Do you really think Deacon went rogue?” I ask him.

“Alpha Greyson believes so and he is his Alpha, so I think he would know,” I nod.

It makes me wonder if my father scared him off.

“You still hung up about that loser?” Zayn asks.

I purse my lips shaking my head. “No, I just think none of this would be happening right now if he were here; instead, he runs off, and I worry my father is behind it, but at the same time, I wonder how Lydia got those photos,” I admit, my mind working overtime.

“You didn’t recognize…” Zayn coughs, and my brows pinch.

“My lady parts on the big screen, yeah, I recognized those parts.”

“I have no memory of that night at all.”

Zayn leans over and squeezes my hand. “That is probably a good thing.”

“Is it though? Maybe if I remembered who it was, I might know where Deacon went.” I tell him.

He sighs heavily, and I glance at him.

“You found me, right?”

Zayn swallows, staring straight ahead. “Yes, you were out of it.”

“And you didn’t see who it was?” I ask skeptically.

“No, they took off, and I was too worried about you.”

“Then how do you know he didn’t…” I trail off. Surely I would have been sore, right?

“I got there in time; you had no scents on…” Zayn grits his teeth. “I would know if he had, he didn’t,” he tells me.

I chew my lip nervously. “Where?” I ask the questions I should have asked ages ago, the ones I didn’t really want answers to, finding myself now questioning everything about that night. About my life since then, and since the rogue attack that took my mother from me.

“In the parking lot. I think you were trying to drive home when he grabbed you.” Zayn tells me and I peer out at the parking lot when Zayn grips my chin turning my face toward him. He leans in, his lips brushing mine gently before pulling back slightly.

“Nothing happened, I got there in time, and I took you home, that is all you need to know,” he whispers, his thumb brushing along my jaw gently.

I nod, “But how did Lydia get those photos?” I ask him and he lets me go.

“That’s a question we’ll have to ask her,” he tells me, and I wonder if I can ask her. I wonder if my father has asked her? Surely he would be questioning her, too? Maybe once he does, he’ll see reason and actually believe me.

I open my mouth to speak, about to ask more about how we’ll handle Alpha Samuel and this situation with Lydia, when Zayn cuts me off, leaning forward and claiming my lips with his once more.

This time it’s harder and more demanding.

His hands are in my hair, holding my head firmly as he steals my breath.

I moan into the kiss, feeling him press closer to me. He pulls back slightly, his forehead resting against mine as we both catch our breaths. He stares at me with hooded eyes that seem to see into my soul.

“Food first, then questions,” he murmurs against my skin.

We enter the club and take our seats at a secluded table in the corner, away from the other patrons.

The place is dimly lit with red and purple lights, giving it an atmospheric feel that goes well with the intimate vibe.

Our booth is big enough for six people, but we make it work for the two of us.

The soft jazz music plays as our orders are taken.

I notice how everyone gazes at Zayn; some lustfully, some nervously, some curiously - it’s all new to me.

He seems used to it, though, not showing any signs of discomfort or awareness toward their gazes, yet I notice each one which makes me want to hide under the table.

Our food arrives soon enough; steaming plates of pasta and garlic bread, juicy steaks paired with crispy fries, and a side salad for me.

The smell is heavenly as it wafts through the air toward me; my stomach grumbles in anticipation.

My mouth waters at the sight of everything on our plates before us.

“Smells amazing,” I murmur between bites of my salad as Zayn tears into his steak like it’s nothing.

The rest of our meal passes by in a blur; we devour our food like we are starved, the longer we are here, the more everyone’s stares get to me. I know most are his pack members, still I find it odd how even with everything going on, the other packs people still show up to his club even if nervous.

Once the dishes are cleared, we lean back against the booth, both of us full.

“So what now?” I ask, playing with my napkin nervously.

“We go home,” he says simply, before finishing his glass of water.

“I mean about tomorrow…and the whole Lydia thing,” I clarify, and he growls lowly.

“What do you want me to say, Cleo? We’ll figure it out, for now there isn’t much we can do until we have more information.”

Zayn takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together and squeezing gently as he pulls me from the booth, then we head back out to the car.

When we reach the doors leading out, he stops making me glance at him to see he is in the mindlink.

His eyes are glazed over, and I wait for him to finish.

Only when he does, he looks quite panicked as he urges me faster to the car.

“Who was that?” I ask him.

“Aunt Andrea, the pack is being attacked by rogues. We need to get back home.” We race out to the car and jump in. I buckle up as he speeds off back home, my heart pounding in my chest with unease, knowing how dangerous rogues are.