Novel Ships
Over in minutes
Liyah’s POV
I couldn’t help but expect the worst as I stood beside the alpha in the elevator. Waking up this morning, yesterday had felt like a dream, but I could see the white t-shirt I had worn laying next to the bed on the floor. I was shocked to my bones when he had assented my coming with him to the game court, and even more so when he began to converse with him. For a while I wondered if he was in his right senses or if he somehow lost his memory the night before. And so I had been wary, picking my words carefully to avoid provoking him. But after a while, all my reservations fell away and I really began to put my all into the game. I had been scared to death the first time I beat him, I half expected him to rave and hit me across the face or something. But he only stared at me in surprise and then put in more work. And he was quite the competition.
For the first time, although it was just talk about tennis, he conversed with me like I was an actual human being. It was weird and I expected it to end any moment but it didn’t. We spent the whole day playing tennis and I didn’t think I had ever felt more refreshed.
He hadn’t said a word to me this morning though and I felt stupid for feeling hurt. Why was I forgetting all that he put me through? I was technically still his prisoner. And prisoners aren’t friendly with their captors. I was certain that all the time I spent cooped up in that dungeon was definitely messing with my head.
Finally the ride came to a stop. I walked out of the elevator quicker than I should have, and ended up bumping into someone.
“I’m sorry,” I yelped as I looked up at the man I had bumped into. He glared at me in disgust like I was some kind of insect and looked down at the front of his coat.
“Watch where you’re going you freaking klutz!” Looking down at his coat once more, he shuddered. “Ugh! Look what you’ve done to my jacket. Do you have any idea how much this costs?!”
I couldn’t see any stain on the jacket and so I wondered what he was talking about. When I realized he probably meant that I was too filthy to touch him, my cheeks heated. Why did everyone think that way about me? Even the ones I didn’t know. For no particular reason, my bottom lip began to quiver. A few people had already begun to gather round the scene, I couldn’t break down in front of all these people.
“How dare you talk to my wife like that?!”
I stared up at the alpha, astonished. His wife? Was he standing up for me? I watched him grab the man by the front of his jacket. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
The man squirmed in his grip, his face flushed in embarrassment. “Put me down, you savage! You have no idea who I am, I’ll make you pay!”
He began to falter under the alpha’s gaze as he stared him down. I felt chills down my spine. I knew how scary that look was.
“I-I’m s-sorry,” I finally heard the man say. “Just let me go, please.”
I saw the alpha gesture to me and I felt a tingle run through my fingers. The man looked in my direction, putting his hands together in a sign of plea. “I-I’m sorry.”
It felt weird being the center of all this. I slowly nodded, prompting the alpha to put the man down. When he did, he resumed his position by my side, placing my hand in his and walking out of the hotel.
I still couldn’t believe what had just happened. First he plays tennis with me, now he stands up for me in public. I couldn’t understand what was happening. But I didn’t say anything about it to him.
Nikolai’s POV
I blamed everything on my wolf. There was no logical reason for everything that had been happening. I hated the fact that I acted on impulse and the protectiveness I felt when it came to her. This morning at the elevator, I had wanted to rip that man’s head off his shoulders when he had yelled at her. I hadn’t felt so triggered by anything in a long time. But I had to put a leash on it and stop myself. I couldn’t wait to get home, I wasn’t sure why I felt like being home would make everything go back to normal.
I saw her begin to shake violently when the flight was about to take off. I was surprised when I found out that she was scared of flights. She had had an anxiety attack on the first flight that brought us here. I knew it couldn’t be her first time on a plane as I was sure she had been on several business trips, but I didn’t ask.NôvelDrama.Org content.
Today it was even worse. She was shaking so much that it distracted me.
“It’ll be over in minutes,” I said gruffly, trying not to sound too concerned.
She only nodded but I could see her start to hyperventilate. She clutched the sides of her seat and shut her eyes when we took off. When I heard her begin to gasp, tears dropping from the corner of her eyes, I reached out, clutching her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers.
I felt a pool of warmth in my stomach from her touch. My nose began to twitch, my instincts coming into play. I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up beside her and keep her safe from any sort of harm. I wanted to protect her. I needed to.
But instead, I grabbed up a magazine and began to flip through it, pretending not to notice how she held onto my fingers like her life depended on it.