Zion

“They’re going to fight?” Zion asks again, clarifying the news I’ve just given him. Nodding, I look to the door the Rind Leaders left by. “What was the bargain?”

“The trade?” I ask, trying to use a different word. Zion shakes his head, taking my hand as he pulls me from the hallway and towards a new set of doors I’ve not yet been through. “I gave them a promise,” I inform, watching as the King opens the doors, revealing a circular room with massive windows on one side, a massive bed facing the skyline.

“What was the promise?”

I don’t realize it until I feel the cold wall against my back, my body pressed against the wall as Zion approaches like a predator. My wolf gets nervous as he stares down at us, cocking his head to the side as he brushes a strand of my hair out of the way. “And why, the whole evening, have you smelled like cheap perfume?”

He’s onto me. He already knew I ran off and has a hunch of where I was. For sure he’s not dumb enough to know where I went was a night club. “Answer that question or the one over the rogues.”

“I promised then each four.... million dollars for aiding the Kingdom....”

He doesn’t snap. “What else, Sybil?”

“A small load of weapons that they needed and protection. To be aid them like they are to aid us.”

It’s as if Zion wants to laugh at me if what I feel like. My whole brain keeps telling me I’m the laughing stock and the Alphas will forever regret making me in charge of the deal.

“Zion, you put me in charge-

“Where were you? When you left? I know it was someone filled with people, but the whole room has been covered in that smell of cheap perfume!”

My body is pressed fully against the wall, Zion’s front pressing against mine as I can sense his inner demon. He wants answers. He wants to know something that will forever make me embarrassed. Not only that, but if I tell him I went to ask about my parents, our trust would be lost once more.

“I needed to cool down so I went to a club and danced, had a few drinks, and came back all in one piece.”

I know he wants to lecture me on how stupid and unsafe that was, on how he has so many enemies, how people would love to see me dead to get to him. I don’t want the cliche talk on how ignorant I was with my decision.

Lips land on mine, causing me to be surprised. The last thing I expected was for him to not throw a fit. Fingers push through my hair, pulling my head back as I look into the King’s burning gaze. Lust. That’s what is present. Pure and raw list that both frightens me and excites me.

But Zion pulls away, walking right towards the windows that reveal the skyline of Miami. “I was mad and confused, Zion, I need to clear my mind before I came back here,” I explain, following the predator as my legs begin to feel weak. “So many things have happened since we met, so many things that make me feel completely confused. I’m not used to this life, Zion, a life of war and luxuries where I’m expected to be presentable every damn second and always know what to say and when to say it. I’m a rogue from a smaller pack who had never dreamed of even entering the palace!”

His back is still to me, the way he stands showing me he’s tensed and pondering everything I’ve just said. Just to think not even three hours ago we had made up from the past events.

Letting out a deep breath, I already know what to do.

Grabbing all the courage I have left, I leave the room. Not only do I leave the room, but also the whole suite as my mind is racing through a thousand thoughts. How can we be fine to being broken in less than three hours? Are we a toxic relationship, one doomed to never end well but we keep coming back for more?

As I leave the suite, I simply ignore the guards and head straight towards a room I know someone will be in.

Knocking on the door twice, I stand silently, awaiting the company I find myself needing right now.

Right as the door begins to open, I push it open, entering right through as Elijah remarks at my actions. “Someone’s on their period,” he comments, causing my blood to boil and a small laugh to escape my lips.

“Yah, can I borrow one of your tampons then?”

Elijah walks over to me, taking a seat beside me on the bed as I let out a deep breath. “What did Zion do now?”

I don’t know what comes over me, but my body has a mind of its own as I wrap my arms around Zion’s best friend, holding onto him for comfort as the tears begin. A massive sob escapes my mouth as Elijah knows what to do, rubbing my back as he just tells me to take deep breaths. My hands form fists in his dress shirt, the silky material bunching up as it becomes soaked in my tears.

I didn’t think I needed to cry this much, that I was this broken over some man. Maybe because I tell myself that I’m fine, making myself believe a lie. For once my body overrides my mind and I’m shocked. I didn’t think I needed this good of a cry over Zion.

“You’ll be fine, Sybil, you’ll be fine.”

Zion doesn’t understand that I’m still completely confused, that I need answers over everything taking place. I want to know why he came after me that day in the park and took me away. I need to know why he wants to marry me, who killed my parents, who his mate is, and so much more. Sure, I got my answers tonight over who killed my parents and told myself I would never question Zion again, but so many things still make me confused.

There are so many reasons as to why I should leave Zion, as to why I should just disappear, but he has my heart. The Alpha King has my heart and he damn well knows it. And what has he done with it? He’s broken it more than once only to piece it back together. But how long will he keep repairing it?

“Will I?” I ask, sobbing right away as Elijah hands me a box of tissues. As I wipe away the salty tears, my eyes meet Elijah. “You know him better than anyone, Elijah. You know what will really happen. Hell, I bet you understand me more than Zion!”

Elijah shakes his head, pulling me in for a tight and reassuring hug as I feel shivers down my back. Another sob and I try to calm myself down. “I know that there’s one hell of a strong woman in there, Sybil, and you know what to do. You’ve called many of the shots and have stood up for yourself, and thus, I will agree with whatever you decide to do.”

“Just hours ago we forgave one another and decided to get married again,” I explain, relaxing in Elijah’s grasp as Zion passes through my mind.

Hell, why am I still with the man that killed my mate right before my eyes and so many people have warned me of. I’ve stayed beside a man so many tell me to flee from. However, although I’ve seen all types of sides of Zion, something tells me I haven’t seen anything yet. Something tells me that he can do so much more. Not to mention war just right around the corner. Plus a wedding that I don’t know if I want to occur. What would my parents even say? Would they tell me to marry him, to follow my heart, or forget all about Zion. What opinions would they have on him?

Collecting myself, I am released from Elijah’s hold, looking at him as my face is stained in dry tears. He nods, already knowing what I am going to do. There’s no way I can just forget about my heart. There’s no way I can just turn away from a man I am falling for yet falling from.

As I head back to my room, the guards don’t bother to follow me, Elijah telling them off. Turns out Elijah holds too much on them for them to even lay a hand on me. Just as I turn on the lights to my room and am about to take off my clothes for some simple articles, I freeze.

Drexel.

The warrior who showed me the records of the warriors in the past decade. Drexel just stands there, arms crossed, watching me as his eyes stare right into my soul. Something within me tells me to run, to flee, but something, a small fraction of my common sense, it tells me to stay.

“What do you want?” I ask, crossing my arms as his eyes stay focused on mine. In the darkness of the room and a small light from a lamp, his figure looks so much more intimidating, how his features are shadowed and his eyes almost glowing. “I can order you out.”

“And I can contact Alpha King Zion right now to tell him what is going on with his fiancée.”

I scowl, my jaw clenching as Drexel grabs from the floor what I had mainly come for. “I help you if you let me come.”

“I wanted to do it alone,” I state, grabbing the item from his hand.

“Without me you’ll never make it.”

“Without you I’ll blend in.”

“Without me you’ll be dead in three days.”

He’s got a point.

I’ll be running once more. I’ll be running again. But this time not after a robber or away from an Alpha who banished me, but this time, I’ll be running from a King and god himself. I’ll be running from a devil who will come after me.

I’ve got to do this, to take time off, and maybe after some time alone, mate I’ll come back for the King. Maybe once I’ve made up my mind I’ll return to marry and be in his company once again. Yes, I love this man, the devil, the Alpha King. Yes, I’d do anything for him, but I have to leave. I have to give myself a break to think everything over from start to finish. So maybe I’ll come back.

Maybe I’ll never return.

As Drexel hands me my purse with all my things from when Zion took me, the purse that holds everything of who I am and what is left of my true life, we get ready to leave. Both in simple clothes to blend in and a destination set, we leave.

We leave the hotel, calling a cab right to the airport as all I can think about is Zion.

Zion, the man I’ve fallen head over heels for all too fast. I’ll be running from him, knowing with Drexel by my side he will take forever to find me once again. Once more I am Sybil Black, a rogue with nothing to my name by a passport, driver’s license, credit card, and old chapstick. I’ll no longer be Zion’s future Queen, fiancée, his girl, his whore, or anything else people would say. I was the King’s girl.

But now, I’m a rogue. I’m who I am. I’ll no longer be putting on a mask as Ik paraded around in jewels and silk. I left the engagement ring on my pillow for Zion to see when he comes after me. I left it to show a sign of my departure.

So, now, as I board the plane, as Drexel takes a seat next to me, and my nerves get all worked up, I think of those eyes once again. Those eyes I could spend an eternity looking into.

Just as the plane begins heading towards the runway and I look out my window, my heart skips a beat. There, watching from the airport windows, stands Zion. With hands in his pocket and a stern face, I know he’ll be after me, he’ll never let me go.

That’s what every wolf loves. Every wolf loves a chase. And now, by running from the most powerful wolf in the world, I’ve given him an offer he cannot refuse. I’ve given the devil himself a chase that he does not intend on losing.