Chapter 22

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Several days passed and I started to realise the benefits of living alone again with Zach, one of which had me feeling much better very quickly.

After an amazing morning, Zach rolled off of me and lay beside me, our hands joined between us. "What do you want to do today?"

"That," I answered instantly, "again and again and again." I turned to face him, a grin sprawled across my face.

He chuckled deeply, rolling onto his side so our faces were only inches apart. "I am dreading the day before the wedding, how am I supposed to manage the night without you?" He grumbled.

I pressed my nose up against his. "Think about how 24 hours after that will be our wedding night... and Lexi selected my underwear for the day." I winked and he groaned.

"I don't think I can wait," he growled, clasping my lips in his and tugging softly on them while his arms came around me.

"Its only a few days away now," I reminded him with a wide grin. "We'll be officially married soon."

"Good."

I lay, staring up at him, for a while. He started to close his eyes again, his arms still curled around me and his nose pressed against mine. "Are you going for a run this morning?" I whispered so as not to disturb the quiet.

He grumbled, his fingers tugging at the hem of one of his shirts I was wearing. "I guess so yeah," he answered. He pulled my waist closer to his and claimed my lips once again.

When we pulled away I was breathless once again and frowned when he rolled across the bed and out from under the covers. "Can I come with you?" I asked him, blinking up at him.

"Is that a good idea?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Come on," I whined, climbing out of bed myself and moving to stand in front of him. "I haven't left the house in a week."

"That's because you lost a hell of a lot of blood," he reminded me.

"I know but I feel fine now," I promised. "I let you have your way and stayed in bed for a few days and then only wandered around the house. I've done no work all week like you asked but I'm sick of sitting around now Zach."

He studied me for a minute and I grumbled under my breath in irritation. "Fine," he said, sighing in frustration, "just promise me you will tell me if you need to stop."

I nodded. "I promise. The second I feel tired or dizzy or anything I swear I will tell you but I'm not a baby, I don't need you to coddle me."

I heard him grinding his teeth before he sighed. "I know." He nodded, reaching out to take my hands. "But I also know you would push yourself too quickly and I needed you to get better."

I stepped forward so my head was against his chest. "Thank you," I said softly.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Lets get dressed, how about we run around the border and then cut through the square and grab drinks?" He suggested and I nodded, knowing that was shorter than his usual route but I had to pick and choose my battles.

I changed into some running clothes and pinned my hair back. It had been a long time since I had ran and I could already feel the energy simmering inside me. I had used to run whenever I felt any stress or anger but since becoming the Alpha I found I never had the time.

"Ready?" Zach asked, leaning against the door frame and eyeing me.

I grinned and nodded my head, following him down the stairs and out the door. The sun was already high in the sky, making me glad I chose a pair of running shorts and a tank top for the run. There was a cool wind blowing through the streets but the second we started to run, a layer of sweat coated my skin.

My surroundings whizzed past me in a blur as I charged full speed through the town alongside Zach. Several times he attempted to slow down however as soon as he realised I was just getting further ahead, he gave that up.

We managed to run for about 20 minutes before the sound of my phone ringing brought us to a stop. I sighed and pulled it from my pocket to see Tylers name on the screen.

I sent Zach an apologetic look before answering. "Hey," I said slightly out of breath. "Whats up?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What's going on?" I tapped my foot against the grass while I waited for his answer.

"Something has happened," he said, causing panic to arise in my stomach. "A pack has been attacked."

"Really?" I questioned with a frown.

"Yes," he said in a low voice. He paused, silence resonating through the phone for a few beats. "By humans."

My eyes bugged out of their sockets and before me, Zach stood much more rigidly. "What?" I breathed, completely frozen in shock. "Humans are attacking?"

"No," he said firmly, "its just one attack at the moment, nothing more."

"But there was an attack," I asked, his responding silence clarification enough. "Great, how many were hurt?"

"The Alpha said not many but a few were killed. Apparently they were using different types of bullets, including silver. It may have been a coincidence but now they know," he sighed heavily on the other end of the phone.

"So what now?" I asked in a huff.

"Well, as good as our security is, it could be better and I was wondering if you could maybe ask your human friend if he knows anything about whats going on in town," he said and I nodded.

"Okay, I will talk to him later and sort some more security."

"El?" He called. "Don't worry about this okay? At the moment we are safe, nobody knows what we are. I know its crappy timing with the wedding just around the corner but please don't worry."

I nodded and met Zach's soft eyes. "Thanks Tyler, I will get started on everything later and give you a call," I told him.

"See you later," he said softly before ending the call.

"Urgh!" I groaned, stuffing my phone back into my pocket and collapsing against the nearest tree.

"Hey," Zach called, stepping forward and taking my chin in his hands. "You heard him, we are fine." He leant forwards and pressed his lips to mine, pushing my back against the tree and curling his arms around me.

"Lets go," he said, taking my hand and turning towards the town centre. I smiled and nodded, following him back towards our house, stopping off at a small cafe in the square to grab some drinks.

We walked hand in hand, sipping our drinks in comfortable silence. He approached the front door and unlocked it, holding it open as I stepped inside. "Thanks," I said, reaching up to peck his lips.

I looked up to see Zach gazing down lovingly at me. "Come on... we need a shower," he said, once again taking my hand.

"Together?" I asked hopefully.

Rather than answer, he lead me through the house and up the stairs towards the bathroom. I smiled when he locked the door behind us both and turned on the shower before flinging off his shirt.

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