Page 9 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

I wake early the following morning to find my leg throbbing in pain.

I’m sweating, no doubt from a fever. Pulling the blankets away, I hiss when the sheet sticks to my leg.

The wound must have leaked while I was asleep.

With a groan, I rise from my bed and take a few moments to gather myself, welcoming the cool air.

My thoughts immediately turn to Alpha Zayn, and an idea begins to form about how I can get to his pack. Hopefully, he’ll speak with me. Despite our bickering, it seemed like he cared about me enough.

I look over to check the time on my alarm clock.

The red numbers on it shine dimly into the dark room.

The barely rising sun through the blinds shows the room in an eerie, bloodied-like glow.

The digital numbers blink, 6:18 AM. I lay back down, trying to get back to sleep, knowing it is far too early to catch a bus into the city. If only I had a car.

I should have my car. But Lydia backed into it the other day.

Cursing Lydia and my legs, I rise and grab the pain medication and my robe hanging on the door. Wrapping it around myself, I move toward the door and open it.

The house is dark, so I descend the stairs quietly, heading for the kitchen.

I grab a glass of water and take two of my pills when I spot my father’s car keys sitting next to the fruit bowl.

I chew my lip, debating whether I should.

I am grounded, after all. Yet, Deacon’s words flit through my mind.

‘Since when has that stopped you?’ I know this is my chance.

If I can make it to Alpha Zayn’s pack before anyone notices I’m gone, then maybe he will meet with me and listen to what I have to say before more people get hurt.

Snatching the keys, I pull my robe off before glancing down at my pajamas.

Great, I curse, I’m sure this will be a really convincing outfit.

Moving as quickly as possible, I move toward the door, where I spot Lydia’s jacket.

I pull it on. I know climbing the stairs back to my room will risk waking my father when the stairs creak.

This is my only chance, so I take it, wearing my fuzzy hot pink shorts with bunnies on them.

On the bright side, I probably won’t have to get out of the car; I just need to ask the patrols to get Alpha Zayn.

The drive is long, my leg is throbbing painfully, and I’ve broken out in another sweat.

It takes twenty minutes to reach the city and another twenty before I eventually arrive at Alpha Zayn’s Pack on the outskirts of the city, which is a massive gated community.

As soon as I pull up out front, the car is surrounded by several wolves, their eyes sharp and suspicious.

I wind the window down when one of them taps on it.

“What are you doing here?” one of them demands.

I take a deep breath before speaking up. “I’m Cleo, Alpha Joseph’s daughter,” I explain. “I need to speak with Alpha Zayn.” He glances at one of the other men, who shrugs, and I watch his eyes glaze over as he uses the mindlink.

After waiting a few moments, he tells me Alpha Zayn is on his way down. I nod, leaning back in the chair and resting. My skin is hot, and I feel sweat beading and rolling down the back of my neck. My hands are clammy, and I groan, feeling the pain meds kick in.

Shit, and I have to try to drive home like this. Now, this entire thing doesn’t feel like such a good idea anymore. How could I be so stupid? I don’t know how long I am waiting, but I jump when I hear my name.

“Cleo!” comes a husky, deep voice. I turn to find Zayn leaning in the window. He presses a hand to my forehead. “What are you doing here?”I shake myself, wondering if I’m dreaming.

“Cleo?” Alpha Zayn growls before opening my door. “You have a fever. Did your father not take you to a pack doctor?” he asks.

“I’m fine. It’s just the pain meds,” I tell him, coming to my senses.

“Slide over into the other seat,” he says, motioning toward the car. I stare at him. “It wasn’t a question. Slide over, now!” he orders, and I press my lips in a line. I am here for his help. I won’t get it if I start arguing with him.

Alpha Zayn starts my father’s car, and I briefly wonder how I will explain his scent to my father.

Oh well, that is the least of my worries.

The glow of the dash illuminates the Alpha’s face, his face a picture of confusion as he stares at me with his steely gaze.

He’s handsome and as clean as ever, quite the contrast to my sick, sweaty, bleeding self.

His scent envelops me, vanilla and sandalwood.

It’s intoxicating, and my racing heart slows a little as his scent calms me.

The huge gates open, and Zayn drives me through the gated community to his pack house, which is huge. He pulls up near the front door on the circular driveway. “You live here?” I ask, peering out in awe.

Landscaped gardens surround his pack house, made of stone and wood which appear to stretch for miles. “Yes, I do, unless I have to stay in the city for work,” he confirms, and I follow him out of the car, wincing in pain as my leg protests.

Zayn looks down at my leg. A trickle of blood runs down the inside of my thigh. I groan, about to reach back into the car to look for a tissue when suddenly, my legs go out from under me. I shriek, grabbing hold of his shoulders before coming face to face with Alpha Zayn.

“You never should have come out here,” he grumbles before stalking toward the house.

“I’m fine, put me down,” I snap at him when he jostles me, grabbing a handful of my bare ass peeking out from under my booty shorts.

“Keep thrashing, and I will toss you over my shoulder,” he warns. So I stop, glaring at him instead. However, he doesn’t seem to mind my death stare; instead, I see the ghost of a smile tug at the corners of his lips, which makes my blood boil.

“What’s wrong with you?” I demand as he carries me through the front door.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replies, his lips curving into a smirk.

“You show up at my pack house and wake me up wearing fuzzy booty shorts and bunny slippers, with a fever, looking ready to drop dead in my driveway, and now you’re bleeding all over me. What is wrong with you, Cleo?”

I flush, suddenly aware of how ridiculous I look. “You didn’t have to bring me here, I was fine outside your gates!” I snap.

“Well, you’re here now,” Alpha Zayn says, setting me down on a couch in the living room. “Let’s see to that leg of yours,” he chuckles.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, feeling irritation rising in my chest.

“You,” he chuckles, “I can’t decide if you’re brave or just plain foolish.” “I’m not foolish,” I say, scowling at him.

“Really? Breaking your father’s punishment and coming here on your own to an Alpha’s pack, an Alpha you barely know?” he says, raising an eyebrow. “What if I don’t let you leave?” he taunts, and I stare down at him. He looks at me, his lips curving into a smile when his eyes flicker.

“You won’t hurt me. You’re not that stupid; it would start a war,” I tell him.

“My pack is the largest in the country. Do you think I fear war?”

I chew my lip nervously. Him saying that really puts things into perspective as to how foolish this indeed is.

“Or your old man of a father? Pfft,” he snorts.

“Never let your kidnapper take you to a second location,” he growls, and my eyes widen in horror at his words, having heard that once on a crime documentary.

I curse myself again. Am I his willing victim?

When I palm him in the face, he grabs my arm, trapping me, so I bite him as hard as I can.

“Ouch, what the fuck, you damn cannibal! Chill, I am just playing; if I wanted to hurt you, I would have killed you when we were trapped in the freezer!” he snaps at me. I let his arm go, pulling away to see I made him bleed. He looks at his arm and rumbles.

“You took a chunk out of me! I should bite you back!” he growls.

“Who says something like that and expects someone not to react to it?” I spit back at him. He growls and glares at me. “You’re impossible,” I mutter under my breath.

Now, finally peering around, I see the packhouse is just as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside, with soaring ceilings and ornate furnishings.

A huge fireplace sits in the center of one wall, and a huge flat screen sits on another. “Stay here. I will get something to patch your leg,” he tells me, wandering off.

When he returns, he gestures for me to lift my leg.

I do so reluctantly, realizing relieving the pain is worth sacrificing my pride.

He examines the wound on my thigh. His touch is surprisingly gentle as he cleans the wound and applies a bandage.

“There,” he says when he’s finished. “See, you’ll be fine. ”

“Thank you,” I say in a small voice, feeling extremely awkward.

“Now, what brings you here?” Alpha Zayn asks, taking a seat next to me. His eyes are intense as they lock onto mine, sending shivers down my spine.

I take a deep breath. “I know you hate my father,” I start, and he raises an eyebrow at me. “But my father is making decisions that are hurting our pack, and he won’t listen to anyone.”

“I don’t get what this has to do with me,” he asks. Zayn watches me carefully before sighing. “This is about your border patrols, isn’t it?” he says, and I chew my lip.

“Your father refused my men on his borders. There isn’t much I can do,” he tells me.

“He’s angry, please. You can’t remove your men; we’ll be sitting ducks out there, and my father is too stubborn to listen,” I admit.

“I have no alliance with your father. My hands are tied; the last thing I need right now is the human factions getting involved if a war breaks out because your father attacks one of my men.”

“Please, I know you don’t have an alliance with my father, but my father has one with Samuel. Can’t you find a workaround?”