PART 2
THE MANTLE
*
"And in the end, we were all humans,
drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness."
-Christopher Poindexter
Chapter 15
Zephyr
Overthenextmonth, they fell into a routine.
On Mondays through Thursdays, Alpha got up early to run the dogs and then train with his men while she got ready for work. She only saw Nala, who came to cook, and Leah, who came to take care of the house, and the dogs post-run. Bear—who she had become most attached to because he was just a ball of love who needed pets and cuddles—was usually the one following on her heels since she woke up. Bandit—who had succeeded in finding one of her favorite bras and making it his toy—was moody and came to her when he wanted. Baron—who still didn’t give a shit about anything but his grumpy master—barely even glanced at her no matter how much she tried to get his attention.
Through those weekdays, she went to the salon, finished with her day, and went to find Alpha at Trident, where she sat on his lap while he usually finished calls. Sometimes, Hector came in and they talked, and he let her sit there, never taking his hands off the armrests. But the fact that he allowed her in on his private meetings gave her hope.
She’d learned a lot about this new Alpha through that. She’d learned that he met with his sentinels once a week to get updates, that he was worried about the killer murdering girls who wanted to get out of the business, that The Syndicate was an organization that didn’t like him. She also learned, through listening in on his calls and watching his men defer to him, that he was both respected and feared, that his girls were grateful to him, that he had built something for himself that the rest of the world didn’t see. To the outsiders, he was just a real estate mogul. To the underworld, he was a man to be taken very seriously. And she, from her completely normal background, was surprised at every little morsel about him that she learned.
After Trident, they went back home together, ate dinner together, and if she could rope him into watching a show or a movie, which she usually did, they did that together. The time they spent fed life into her blood, pumping it through her heart, making her more alive than she’d ever felt. Even though she was the talker between them, he listened, and that made her soft. She’d chatter about her family, her day, her dreams, and he listened to every word. He didn’t respond to most of it, but he was receptive, and that alone made her hold on to hope, even as he constantly reminded her that it was only for a few months and the deadline was approaching.
On Fridays, he went out of the city to check up on his empire, and Zephyr had dinner with her parents, spending the night with Zen before returning the next morning. Though her father had warmed up to Alpha, mostly because she was stinking happy, her mother still hadn’t even though their marriage had definitely benefited her. Her daughter marrying the elusive but filthy rich Villanova had definitely boosted up her social points.
On weekends, she spent her time with her sister at SLF before coming home and spending time with her husband. And it was all great domestic bliss.
Except he held back.
Emotionally, physically, there was a chasm between them she didn't know how to bridge. No matter how much she tried to seduce him, it didn’t work. He never came into her room, never touched her when she cuddled him, never looked at her if she was half-naked. She bought the raunchiest bikinis and swam around the ridiculously large pool when he sat on the deck with earplugs in listening to rock music she didn't have taste for, but his eye never went to her. She deliberately wore lingerie for dinner, and he kept his gaze above her neck. She put on her vibrator with the loudest setting, and his door stayed locked.
Weeks and her frustration climbed. While it felt like she was making progress in some ways, she felt stuck in others. He still called them temporary, still stuck to the contract, and while she’d become his housemate, it still felt reluctant. It felt fleeting, like she could walk away and nothing would change.
And it really pulled her low sometimes.
But she didn’t let him see it. She didn’t let him see the ways his deliberate distance chipped at her day by day, little by little, piece by piece. She didn’t let him see how a dry remark sometimes brought back memories that she wished he’d remember, so he could take her into his arms and she’d stop battling for them. She didn’t let him see any of it, just gave him her love and smiles and hoped he fell for her as he once had.
And every day, her hope withered a bit.
Zephyr stood at the entrance to the tower after her day of work, her shoulder slumped.
It was slowly catching up to her, giving and giving and giving, hoping and hoping and hoping. They had been married for a month, and he’d not kissed her, not embraced her, not returned her affection in any form. That one time he’d come to her room seemed nothing but a slip.
“You okay?” Victor asked her as she stood at the tower entrance, not entering.
She gave a smile, even though she didn’t want to.
“Yeah, just… lost in thought, I guess.”
Victor hesitated, before giving her shoulder a squeeze.
She appreciated it. Victor had been a good friend to her. Part of her wanted to not go into the building, only to hold him when he didn’t hold her.
“You know what?” she made up her mind. “I’m going to go grab something to eat there.” She pointed to the café across the street in the other tower. “You go on ahead.”
Before Victor could respond, she crossed the street and entered the café, finding a seat in a corner and ordering herself a cappuccino. Zephyr played with her ring as she waited, quiet and contemplating questions, doubt seeping in. She'd talked to Zen about finding a medical professional for their opinion on his amnesia, and her sister had told her not to approach anyone in the city. With the connections he had, and the fact that she was his wife, she didn't want to raise any red flags for anyone about the situation.