ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

“Who are you?” Beta Zoey’s booming voice questioned, his feet approaching the aching scene.

The man who was speaking cruelly to Clarissa got on his feet. “I-”

Zoey temporarily paid no heed to Andrea whose countenance had quickly changed.

After helping Zaramanni off the ground, the Beta’s face wore a frown because of a little groan that slipped out of Zara’s lips. The way she dearly held the side of her stomach concerned Zoey as well.

That display of slight pain caused Zoey to dart flaming glares in the direction of the strange man that had found his way into the manor.

“What did you do?” he demanded.

“I- I didn’t mean to-” Andrea sighed as he watched the uniformed men who were walking with Beta Zoey help Clarissa. “I was just trying to talk to my mate.”

“Clarissa?” Zoey was still closely holding Zara, as though saying he would never leave her unless something forces him to do so.

“Yes. I was just trying to have a conversation with my wife who has not been home for days but this girl,” Andrea’s face wore slight disgust as his long fingers gestured to Zaramanni, “just came out of nowhere and interrupted-”

“Liar,” Zara refuted. “He is lying.”

”Grab him,” Zoey ordered the guards.

After they helped Clarissa settle on a nearby antique-looking chair, they reached for Andrea who fought their hold.

His arms choosing to not stay still in the firm hold of the guards, Andrea began to speak with slight terror in his tone.

“I didn’t do anything, I was just trying to talk to her. Ask her,” he insisted. “Ask my mate.”

“You slapped her,” Zara said, her eyes blazing with fury. His untruthful lips remained her of a certain person and that fueled her anger some more. “You kicked her. And you did the same to me and-”

Zoey’s hold left Zaramanni. She didn’t stagger due to that, but her startled state was evident as she watched the Beta grab Andrea by the collar of his lengthy shirt.

Clarissa’s mate, who stood a lot of inches shorter, wore more fright in his eyes, his face gradually reddening.

The guards who were holding him stepped back and one of them went to check on Clarissa.

“Who do you think you are to hit the women in my manor? Oh, you are Clarissa’s mate? You don’t deserve to be called that.”

Zoey sounded different, Zaramanni noticed.

His already deep voice sounded strained as much as it was anger-filled. The low tone of his utterance was more threatening than the faint sound of an approaching battle. His words gave the entire room a deadly feel.

“I-”

”What rank do you belong to?” Zoey asked.

“I… I…”

”Answer me!”

Her heart felt a jolt and Zara’s eyes couldn’t help but widen.

Zoey’s order was like a roar, if that was a thing. It was loud and demanding. It made Andrea shiver.

Zaramanni felt a little uneasy as well.

“Guardian,” came that trembling response. “I am a guardian wolf.”

”From which pack?”

“Verano Pack.”

Beta Zoey released his hold and took steps back, his tongue making clicking noises.

Then, he said, “You have to be taught a lesson. It seems you have forgotten what it means to be a guardian wolf. A wolf with that position never harms others. What you have done here makes me worried about the sick and injured people that have been left in your care.”

The Beta glanced through the space. When Zara’s eyes briefly connected with his, she could tell that he was checking if she was okay.

A few seconds later, he faced one of the long-haired guards and said, “Take him into the dark room.”

“Which one?” the he-wolf asked, sounding like the soldier he was, ready to take any instruction and work on it.

“The darkest. He should face some trauma as punishment.”

”No.” Andrea shook his head fervently, his eyes wearing more dread of the thing that was yet to come. “No. Please no. That place is deadly.”

The guard hurriedly grabbed Andrea.

”How would you know that?” Zoey asked, his hands behind him, his voice back to being deep and somewhat monotonous.

“I-I have heard the rumours.” Andrea tried to fight the hold of the guard once more but the man behind him was stronger. “I heard that it turns wolves crazy. So, please,” he pleaded, his eyes bloodshot, “don’t send me there. Please.”

”I guess you can go there to check if the rumours are true. Get him out of my sight. I can’t handle looking at liars for too long.”

”But I am not lying. I didn’t do anything.”

Zara thought Zoey was going to shout again, but the he-wolf sustained his calm.

“I saw you grab your mate’s hair. I heard the slap from across the hall and my ears received thumping sounds.” He sighed. “Take him away before I devour him.”

“P-please.”

“One more word and I’ll send a message to the Beta of Verano Pack. I will request that he cuts off your limbs and add grounded silver into the innards of your flesh. Would you prefer that?”

Not a single word came from Andrea. And, the guard was fast enough to drag Clarissa’s mate out of that space.

All that was left of the man’s presence were his incessant struggles which soon faded when he was dragged away even further.

“Are you okay?” Zoey rushed towards Zara and held her hands dearly. Thankfully, her pains had disappeared, so she nodded. “Really? It must have hurt so much.”

“I am fine. I have to check on Clarissa.” Zara approached Clarissa. Kneeling right in front of her, she grabbed the she-wolf’s hands and asked, “Clarissa, can you hear me?”

“Mmm,” she responded weakly.

“You need to see a doctor right now, Clarissa.” The woman shook her head and Zaramanni wore a look of disapproval at that response. “He hurt you, Clarissa. You need to get checked.”

”She’s right,” Beta Zoey backed Zara’s sentence from where he stood.

“No, I am fine.” Even Clarissa’s voice was enough indication that she wasn’t okay. “He- he didn’t mean to hurt me.” Her narrowed eyes finally opened. “Zara, you won’t understand. He is my mate, my husband.” Zaramanni noted the slight tremble in Clarissa’s hands. “He wouldn’t hurt me for the fun of it. It is my fault you know. He keeps telling me to come home and-”

”Okay,” Zara cut her short with that simple word. Clarissa was speaking too much and that seemed to cause her more pain.

And, though Zaramanni didn’t agree with Clarissa’s view of the situation, she did not comment on the disheartening comments the she-wolf uttered.

“Let’s get you to the doctor,” Zara said instead.

“No.” Clarissa gently pushed the girl’s hand away. “I don’t want to…” A loud gasp escaped her. Then, her brows knitted as she seemed to realize something. Something deadly.

“What?” Zara’s eyes wore absolute worry while she watched Clarissa’s eyes travel to her belly. “What is it?”

“M-my-”

Amidst Clarissa’s stuttering, Zara caught a glimpse of redness. It was blood kind of red. The liquid dripped down Clarissa’s legs until it reached the ground.

Mouth agape, heart squeezing tight, her eyes feeling pinched by incoming tears, Zara looked at Clarissa.

“My baby…” Clarissa breathed hard, her voice deepened with a sorrowful tone. The she-wolf’s face twitched with great distress as she clutched the cloth around her belly.

“M-my baby. Something is wrong with my baby, Zaramanni.” Clarissa’s voice shook with fear, her face now had tears rolling. With unstable hands, she held Zara by the shoulders, her eyes begging the girl for help. “Something is wrong with my baby. Why d-d-do I feel so strange?”

“Someone fucking help her!” Zara instantly screamed as she also broke into tears. She wasn’t supposed to do that but she lost her control.

“My baby…” Clarissa moaned loudly, her sobs turning into heart-wrenching wails.

Seeing Clarissa in that situation made Zara angry at herself.

She wondered if things wouldn’t have taken such a terrible turn if she had not interfered between Clarissa and her mate.

Zara wondered if things would have ended differently.

Quickly, Clarissa was carried out of the chair she was seated in.

The guard that held her in bridal style rushed out of the corridor and a teary Zara followed his fast track.

She could hear Zoey calling her, but she couldn’t stop.

She was highly worried about Clarissa so much so that she continuously prayed for the woman.

~

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Zaramanni couldn’t stop pacing while she awaited the doctor’s departure from the operating room.

While it was a good thing that the manor had hospital-like facilities, it was better that a doctor, or rather, a guardian wolf, was around to take care of Clarissa.

But the best news would be that of the survival of Clarissa and her baby.

“Zaramanni,” Zoey called.

Zara failed to reply to him.

She was too engrossed in her concerns and her increasing pace to face him.

But the Beta didn’t take that as a sign to look away from her. His sturdy hands held her shoulders and put an end to the to and fro.

“You are bleeding,” he softly said.

”What?” Zara looked down at her shirt. “Wh-what are you d-doing?” She stuttered as he proceeded to lift the shirt of her two-piece nightwear halfway.

As Zoey’s fingers grazed her skin, her stomach clenched, not with disgust, but with some kind of delight.

While watching him take a good look at her injury, Zara realized that the pain from the earlier kick was not fully gone. Though faint, it still existed.

“Let’s get you to a bed. I will take care of your injury. Is this where that man kicked you?” Zoey looked into her eyes which leveled with his thanks to his slouched position.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice a whisper.

Beta Zoey didn’t say anything else. With haste and caution mixed in his action, he led her away from that corridor.

After moving past two rooms, they walked into a white-coated room that looked like a sick bay. The room had six beds waiting for occupants.

Zoey soon made Zara relax on one of the beds. Then, he reached for a huge pyramidal container from which he brought out a few bottles filled with liquid substances, a small glass bowl filled with mashed leaves, and bandages.

After grabbing a chair to sit on, he asked her to take off her shirt.

“I can’t do that,” she replied.

“Why not? I have to see if your previous injury is not affected.”

“I am sure it isn’t.”

They shared a stare and Zoey seemed to contemplate whether to argue with her some more.

But, after a few seconds of silence, he gave a curt nod and gently lifted her shirt halfway.

“It’s not much blood, but your injury can get infected.” His calm voice explained while he took care of the injury.

Zara’s eyes stayed focused on Zoey but her mind went to Clarissa.

She was desperate to know how things were going. The frightful voice Clarissa had earlier was still ringing in Zara’s head and it made her heart clench even more.

“Zaramanni,” Zoey called. Zaramanni also called her wandering mind back into that moment. “I am done.”

”So fast?” She was surprised.

“Be careful not to expose it.”

”Does this mean I won’t be able to bathe?”

”So, you haven’t been bathing all this while?” Zoey asked, a small frown etched on his forehead.

“I have!” Zara quickly retorted. His question surprised her. Eyeing him strongly, she asked, “Why won’t I bathe?”

Without much change in his calm look, Zoey said, “You had your chest injury for a while. Perhaps you were advised not to take a bath while wearing your bandage.”

“I bathed just fine and nothing happened to the bandage,” she replied.

“I don’t think you should have a problem then.”

Zara scoffed. “You could have just answered with a yes or no.”

Zoey’s lips tugged into a small smile.

Then, silence raided the almost empty room.

While Zara wondered what next to do to avoid awkwardness, Zoey touched a portion of her skin and it reacted the same way it did earlier. It knotted with delight.

“These scars…” He began to trace lines on her stomach, “Why do you have so many of them?”

Zara sighed. And, her mind didn’t fail to remind her how she got one of the permanent marks.

It was one of those days that was seemingly peaceful until one of Gavin’s friends used the edge of his desk to hit her stomach. The force he used was too much that it left more than just a bruise.

“Those scars,” her voice was low, “are a glimpse into my past.”

Zoey’s frown deepened and he continued to caress her skin, as though soothing her pain. “It is such a sad glimpse,” he blurted, his voice filled with slight sorrow. “You must have gone through a lot.”

’I did. I went through a lot of hurtful things,’ Zara grievously replied in her mind.

“That’s sad,” Zoey said.

Zaramanni was about to react when she recalled he could read minds.

“I…”

“Beta Zoey,” a feminine voice called from the entrance. It was the doctor.

“How did it go?” Zoey asked while Zara managed to sit up.

The petite woman in front of them had a look on her face that gave Zaramanni a hint that something terrible had happened.

Even though her entire body couldn’t help but feel momentary shivers, she tried her best to keep herself still.

“Uh… I am sorry, but her pup didn’t make it.”

That statement broke Zara’s heart. Closing her eyes, she began to imagine how Clarissa would be feeling. That imagination failed her.

Zoey reached for Zara’s hand and squeezed it assuredly as he asked the woman, “What about Clarissa? How is she?”

Zaramanni opened her eyes.

“She is fine. She survived. Clarissa fought really hard.” The doctor locked eyes with Zara and she nodded to punctuate her response.

Zara exhaled hard with relief.

It was terrible that Clarissa lost her child, it really was.

But she was glad that Clarissa was alive. She had no idea if it was right to have such thinking, but that was how she felt at that moment.

Zaramanni was almost jumping out of the bed when the doctor said, “Clarissa is asleep at the moment. But, you can see her once she wakes up.”

“Thank you, Guardian Elsa. Thank you.” Zoey appreciated the woman who soon walked out of the room.

Once the presence of the doctor fully vanished, Zoey faced Zara.

“I…” Zara’s incoming words were cut short when the man-wolf hugged her to his chest. She was taken aback by his action. “Zoey?”

“Can we stay like this for a while?” His voice was a mumble, and his arms wrapped around her slender body more.

The rapidness of her heartbeat in reaction to his touch was quite ridiculous to the girl.

But, she didn’t break the hug.

Instead, she decided to use that embrace to soothe herself. Even if temporarily, relieving the painful moment she just experienced sounded like a good thing.

And, the warmth she felt from Zoey’s simple embrace caused Zaramanni to totally give in.