Alpha Alden

Chapter 29

~Kezziah

I’m stubborn.

Part of my denial is out of fear. That if it is true, and all these immortals aren’t feeding me false information. I trust Cian more than Time, but at the end of the day, he’s a Sin, and will do anything for his own benefit. He wasn’t attributed the Sin of Greed for no reason, and I will never forget that.

“I can tell you don’t believe me,” Cian says flatly, folding his arms across his chest with a deep sigh. “Not that it really bothers me. Why ask if you don’t want to know?”

“I was hoping you would say no, I’m not his mate. How did you find out anyway?” I question him. Naturally I assumed he would know because of his relationship with Time, and also his inclination to want to know everything that would benefit. And with him needing me on his side to win this bet he has cast, I was hoping me would know.

Cian shrugs. “There isn’t much I don’t know.”

My entire body relaxes into the chairs and my head falls back in defeat. I know what this means, and what is expected of me now. I need to find out for myself. To gather sufficient evidence on my own that he is my mate.

It was as if Cian could read my mind. “I wouldn’t suggest going about this in the way you’re thinking. You don’t want him to know. I can assure you it would ruin a lot.”

I can’t tell if he is telling me this to avoid ruining his own plans, as the selfish immortal that he is, or if he is being sincere. The look he is giving me suggests the latter, however, I’m not tricked into believing he is concerned about me. He may want me alive, but I doubt he cares too much about the rest.

“How so?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? Imagine being mated to an Alpha. It’s almost worse than being mated to an immortal,” Cian tells me, as if I couldn’t realise that myself. Just the idea of being mated to Alden...I truly hope this isn’t true.

I run my hand back through my hair, exasperated. “Trust me, this is the last thing I want. But I can’t spend my entire life running from it. What if he touches me and it all comes down, and I can never leave? I barely know anything about Alden, so how am I supposed to handle being his mate?”

A smile quirks on Cian’s lips. One that sends a jolt of fear through me. He hops down from where he sat, coming around behind me, I tense, but don’t move. He leans his head down, right by my ear.

“Well, maybe you should get to know him,” Cian murmurs. And I think he might be right.

***

I’m not sure why I thought this would be a good idea.

It didn’t take much effort to sneak out of my room and to the elevator undetected. The nurses sleep early, considering the time they have to wake. So with silent footsteps, I snuck away, clicking the top button of the elevator, a dangerous plan within my mind being all that is spurring this.

Surprisingly, there’s no code to stop me from reaching the top floor of this building. Anyone could get there, be fear alone stops even the most unreasonable.

Aside from me.

This isn’t a good idea, and I know that. All that can come from this is bad, however, after what both Time and Cian have told me, I need answers. Something. Anything. I tried to sleep, but the thoughts of being mates to an Alpha plagues every inch of my conscious. I nearly dug my hair out in frustration.

The elevator glided gently up to the top before coming to a rocking stop. I sucked in a breath as the doors slid open, and every thought telling me to go through with this vanished, and I was left wanting to press each button to return to my room.

It’s brought me up to Alpha’s suite, which surprisingly had nothing to keep me out. With that I mind, I stepped out into the corridor.

Bad idea.

Voices drifted around the corner of the corridor, one of them belonging to Alden, if I’m hearing right. And another, a female voice, rather refined and confident. The sound of it makes me freeze, trying to decipher what is being said, but it all sounds like mindless mumbling.

This wasn’t part of my plan. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone else involved. Especially not a female. My plan was to walk in here, convince him to touch me and prove we aren’t mates. That would be it.

Bundling up a few moments of courage, I take a few curious steps closer. The voices seem to get clearer, yet still the words don’t make sense.

Who’s that other voice?

When the voices finally turned into words and sentences, I was close to rounding the corner. The speech is so low I almost didn’t catch it. Closing my eyes, I strain to catch every word that is being exchanged between them.

“At this point, it’s a matter of what’s next. After this project you’ve got going on, I mean,” the female voice said. I frown.

Alden breathes in so loudly I happen to catch it. “We are getting closer and closer to getting a perfect cure. However, I doubt Time is going to sit around and let that happen. I need to figure something out, and fast.”

This is a conversation I have no right to listen to.

“You’re smart, Alden. And I have a feeling you know that working with this girl is a bad idea. What, did you pity her?” The female asks, do which my heart skips a beat.

They must be talking about me, unless there’s another girl Alden is working with. Considering the amount of time he has, I doubt it. Knowing they are talking about me has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Either I should leave now, or stay and hear what else they have to say.

“Imagine being forced into mate bond with a creature like him?” Alden says, a little more force behind his words than I’ve heard before. “Of course I pity her.”

He doesn’t sound angry, just frustrated.

I peek around the side of wall, trying to get a better look. Both Alden and this strange female sit side by side, looking out the large scale window at the winking city lights and the moon that sits above it. Both are on the floor, on a soft plush blanket, oddly enough.

“She’s putting you and all the hard work you’ve put into the labs in danger. If I were you, I would let Time have his small win and move on from it,” the girl says sternly.

I can’t help but scowl at her back. Cut me off? How could anyone think of doing that. I don’t want to be slave to Time for the rest of my life.

Alden doesn’t immediately reply.

Bored of waiting, I watch the girl stand, and I quickly duck back into hiding. Whoever she is, with that slicked back brunette hair and dark leather clothing, she looks intimidating. Especially with the tone of her voice to match.

“Whatever Alden. You should get some real friends instead of talking to me. I work for you, remember,” she says pointedly, before her shoes rapidly approach.

Quickly I look around for a place to hide, but there’s nothing. No doors, nothing.

She rounds the corner, and I’m done for.

The moment her eyes land on me, she startles visibly, looking so shocked I didn’t think she would recover for a moment. We stare at each other for a moment, before Alden calls out wondering what is going on. I’ve been caught, and it’s all my fault.

“Oh,” she says flatly. “It’s you.”

“Melia?” Alden calls out.

When he walks around the corner, he stops in his tracks. Now all three of us stand there, unsure of what to do. I’ve been caught sneaking around Alpha Alden’s suite, and now all the voice in my throat has vanished.

“Kezziah, what are you doing here?” Alden asks, eyes narrowing slightly with every word. “It’s so late.”

I’m unsure if that’s all he cares about, but either way, I’m here for a reason. And that’s to talk to Alden about this mate issue. I truly hope he doesn’t judge me for it, or refuse to let me find out on how ridiculous it seems.

“This is an issue between you too,” Melia says, still not revealing who she is before she storms out the door.

It leaves just me and Alden.

“This is a strange circumstance, but I promise I’m up here for a reason,” I reassure him, but I doubt that does much to answer all this questions. “This is important, and I would like you to hear about it now.”

Alden seems to calm down, now concentrating on what is bothering me more than what I’m doing up here so late at night without permission or a security guard at my side.

“You can come and find me anytime you need me,” Alden says softly, calming down now.

I take a deep breath, unsure of how to approach this. However, I need to get this out now, otherwise I’ll never say it.

“This is about a mate bond, and not between Time and I,” I say pointedly. “But between you and me.”