The Alpha Can’t Sense His Mate

ZADOK

I felt my body weaken, and I felt at the brink of death.

“What are you doing?” I asked Kir, panicking within me.

“Since you have refused to submit to me, I will show you how weak you are without my help.”

My body felt like chards of ice were pricking my skin. It felt like the cold increased – so much that I fell to my knees. My legs couldn’t carry me anymore.

“What is wrong with you?!” I heard Ithra’s panicked voice from afar off.

I could barely keep my eyes open. My insides were freezing, and every single organ was failing. It felt like I was in a cold room. Every single fluid in my body was dried, dead.

My heartbeat slowed, and I could taste death.

“Can you see how weak you are against me?” Kir asked. I heard the anger in his tone.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t speak. It hurt too much. Was this what Ithra was going through all this while? How was she surviving?

“Remember this the next time you choose to disregard me,” He growled. “You are as weak as a human without me. You need me just as much as I need you, if not more.”

I nodded, hoping he realised I got the message and rid me of the pain.

“Good.” I heard him say, and immediately, hairs sprouted at my wrist, arms, legs and back at an alarming rate.

“What’s going on?” I heard Ithra say, but her voice seemed far away.

The air filled with the cracking of my bones as it rearranged itself. With every snap of my bone, I felt pain like I’d never felt before. It felt like the first time I transformed into my wolf.

Soon enough, I reduced to a part of part of his thought. Every pain disappeared, and I watched everything through the eyes of my wolf.

Ithra was rooted to the spot, her eyes large in shock. Seeing her look so distraught made me feel guilty. I wrecked my brain, thinking of the best way to assure her of her safety, but came up short.

Kir suddenly moved towards her direction, and she took a matching step backwards.

Great, she was scared. I facepalmed. “Don’t go to her dummy. She is scared. Let me figure out how to make her understand I am still here.” I said to Kir, and he huffed.

“Shut up, human. Watch and learn.”

!!!

I tried to revolt but met a mental wall between us – Hindering me from communicating with him. I couldn’t do anything but watch him advance towards Ithra with purposeful steps.

It was a pain to watch the beat of Ithra’s chest, knowing it was a result of fear. Kir continued walking towards Ithra while she stepped back. At some point, she fell on her butt, and when Kir finally reached her, she tightly shut her eyes, no doubt expecting the worst.

I was also expecting the worst as I couldn’t predict what my wolf thought with the mental wall between us. “Please be fine.” I prayed in my heart, and for the first time, I genuinely wished she could hear me.

Suddenly, Ithra opened her eyes. Kir was inches away from her, looking her over, smelling her, and to my greatest surprise, he licked the hell out of her.

!!!!

“Zadok?” She stuttered in an unsure tone, and I was startled. “Is that you?” She asked again, this time around, giggling as Kir continued his assault on her, licking her like she was the sweetest lollipop.

The barrier went down immediately, and I heard Kir’s aggravated voice resound in my ears. “Tell her my name!” He growled, “Tell her it’s Kir.”

I couldn’t understand Kir’s obsession with her knowing his name, but that was beside the point. A shiver passed through Ithra, and I remembered how cold it was out.

“Move already. Ithra’s cold.” I said, unable to hide my urgency.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Tell her my name.” Came his reply. Resolute and unchanging.

My eyes nearly rolled back with how frustrated I was. “At this point, Ithra’s going to die. Can’t you see she’s cold? Get going already!”

No answer.

Kir continued to lick Ithra, and she was a giggling mess on the floor.

“How on earth do you expect me to tell her? She can’t hear me for goodness sake!” Zadok said, fighting the urge to smack sense into his stubborn wolf.

“Oh, that’s true.” Kir finally spoke, seeing reason. “As soon as we leave here, you will introduce her to me.” A brief pause, “Or I can just do that myself.”

A frustrated sigh left my lips. “And how do you plan on doing that, Kir? Newsflash, you are a wolf who can’t speak words.” I reminded him with scorn.

“Watch and learn.” Came his reply, and once again, he put up the mental wall between us.

Great. It was going to be a long day.

I watched behind my wolf’s hooded eyes as he played with Ithra, licking her and eventually getting her to his back.

“Zadok, I know it’s you. Let’s go already.” She moaned, eliciting a reaction from Kir.

“What?” She asked, noticing his unhappiness.

Kir stopped in his tracks and made a big letter Z in the snow with his tongue.

“Zadok?” She asked, and a frustrated whim left Kir.

“Not Zadok?” She asked again, going by his body language.

In this instant, Kir behaved more like a dog than a wolf. And it was shocking to watch.

“What’s your name, buddy?” Ithra asked, totally in sync with him.

Kir didn’t waste time. He immediately got to work using his tongue. I didn’t realise he was that good at writing, or should I say, drawing letters. My years of slaving in my office and attending to paperwork were not in vain.

Within a minute, the name – K I R – was poorly imprinted on the floor, and my wolf stood proudly by the side, waiting for Ithra with expectant eyes.

I could feel my wolf’s anticipation, the genuineness of his feeling. He wanted to be known by Ithra – to be acknowledged. I couldn’t fathom the reason behind such emotions.

“Kir?” Ithra said, sounding unsure. Kir wagged his tail excitedly, and she repeated it. This time, more confidently. “Kir.”

That did it. Kir attacked Ithra with a laundering session of licks, and the next second, Ithra was on his back.

“Okay?” Ithra said unsurely, holding on to him.

Kir nudged his head, and an involuntary smile plastered on my face.

“Hold on tight.” He said and immediately dashed into the woods with Ithra behind him.