: Part 1 – Chapter 7

HE HAD FORGOTTEN WHAT intense emotions felt like until she handed them to him in a colorful cardboard box. There was no way she could know the actual meaning of the alfajores for him, but her cryptic smile made him wonder if somehow, someway she did.

He had stood in his office with the box in his hands, a grown man who had seen the worst of humankind and survived through times that should’ve killed him, and he had felt his eyes burn. His hands had trembled as he’d picked one piece up, the coconut flakes reminding him of a childhood where his ma hadn’t been able to afford a more luxurious filling but had made him the best desserts she could have. He had taken a bite and felt something inside his chest come alive, something that had been dormant, something he’d thought dead.

A man who had forgotten what it felt like to feel had been undone by a tiny blip of a woman. And though he’d had every intention of protecting her from his world, it was too late. She had sealed her fate, and fuck if he would let her get away without knowing everything she knew now. He didn’t know what her motive was for wanting to marry him, but he would find out.

Alpha sat in the back of the black Rover as Hector drove to her parent’s house to pick her up, knowing the location having gotten her message last night. As it was, Alpha couldn’t have driven to the place even if he had wanted to. It was such an irony, the fact that he’s always wanted to drive a Jeep but hadn’t been able to afford it, and now he had a fleet of them but couldn’t drive them, not with his limited vision. Even though he used the Jeep mostly around his compound. Rover was more suited for the city.

Alpha didn’t remember the incident that had partially blinded him, what or who had changed the course of his life and left him for the dead. He just remembered waking up in the hospital, his entire body broken beyond repair, his face on fire with the pain, and his eyes taped shut into blackness. Hector had found him behind one of the underground fight clubs and brought him to the emergency. How long he’d been there, no one knew. The attending doctor had told him his memory around the incident might never return, that it was possibly his brain’s way of protecting him from further trauma. Some days, he was grateful for it. Some days, the need to know the truth was a hunger gnawing inside his scarred flesh.

It had taken his body weeks to heal, and taken him months to train. His body hadn’t worked the same as before, his partial vision hadn’t aided his movements, and his head was fucked up even without remembering anything. That was when he’d thrown himself into the fights and made himself a fortune, a beast in a cage with nothing to lose, taking over the city block by block, making his beautiful compound brick by brick, training his body muscle by muscle. He’d worked with trainers to adapt to his vision, honed his other senses to make up for the damage in one, and over time, his sense of smell and sense of sound had seamlessly taken the place of the one eye. Still, there were certain things he’d never be able to do, like drive.

Shaking his thoughts away, he looked out at the neighborhood from the backseat, a far cry from what he’d grown up in. Although it wasn’t an expensive area, the houses were well-cared for. The streets were clean and lined up systematically, the houses were old but homey, the lawns all well-maintained. It was a solid good middle-class neighborhood, the kind where neighbors went to each other for little things, the kind that had never come in contact with his old residence. This was where she’d grown up, and he was glad for that.

“Wonder what growing up here must be like,” Hector voiced the thought in Alpha’s head. “She’s good people.”

Alpha didn’t reply, just kept looking out, wondering if he’d been there before, a sense of familiarity to the block making him frown.

“Sure you wanna drag her into our hell completely?” Hector asked.

“She wants it.”

And for the first time in his life, he wanted something just for himself. And he would be selfish, especially when she wanted him to be. He’d enjoy her company for the months, assuage his curiosity, but rebuff any romantic overtures. He’d make it clear to her not to have any expectations beyond their time together, and he’d sure as hell not fuck her, no matter how much she tempted him. He was destined to be alone, and it was the best for both of them.

Before he could respond to Hector’s question, the vehicle stopped in front of a single-story house painted yellow. Zephyr stood out on the porch to greet them, her hair the same deep burgundy it had been, her curvy body in some kind of flowy dress full of flowers, and a smile so wide it split her face almost in half, a dimple popping on the left side.

Alpha felt his chest tighten just looking at her. It was an odd, unfamiliar reaction, especially to a woman he had known only for a few weeks. And why the fuck was she so happy to see him? He’d done absolutely nothing for her except agree to her asinine scheme purely for selfish reasons. Would she be like this the entire time they were to be married? And then after the time was up, she’d leave him in his own company? He didn’t understand why the thought of that irritated him.

Keeping the irritation off his face, he exited the car, taking in the way an older woman, possibly her mother, took him in from the window beside the door, her eyes judging him. He couldn’t entirely blame her. If it was his daughter and a big, scarred, one-eyed man showed up on his doorstep after marrying her, he’d be dead before he could get out. He understood the urge to protect. But that it was directed at him simply based on how he looked irritated him a little more. Especially because, for some reason, he had actually put in an effort to look nicer. Her proposal might have been unconventional but they were married now in the eyes of the law, and she was his wife, and he didn’t want her family to dislike him. But he guessed it was probably like dressing up a lion and expecting it to look less threatening. It wouldn’t work.

The memory of her glaring at the woman who’d been staring at him popped in, sending another sliver of amusement inside him. She’d looked ready to battle for him, and while amusing, it was unfamiliar too. Unlike her mother, Zephyr watched him with nothing akin to judgment in her eyes. It was pure feminine appreciation and genuine joy, and he was entirely unfamiliar at receiving both. That was what hooked him and baffled him at the same time. How did a woman who didn’t know him trust him like that? How did she desire him like that? And how did she leave it completely open for anyone and everyone to see without any shame or vulnerability? What did a woman like her want from a marriage like this? Was it truly about her grandmother’s antiques, possibly because of some sentimental attachment to them? Alpha didn’t know, and he wanted to.

“Hey, hubby,” Zephyr tilted her head back to keep her gaze locked with his, and he hated to admit it, but she was adorable.

Knowing her mother was watching, and given what she’d told her family, Alpha leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, her skin silky under his lips, the mild fragrance of something citrusy tickling his nose. He liked the smell. His bois would lick her up when they met her. Not that he’d blame them.

But the thing that got him? The way her breath hitched when his lips made contact with her skin, like he’d taken her by surprise. It was an authentic response, and how she could see him and feel that was beyond him. Maybe she was the blind one.

Clearing his throat and ignoring the slight phantom itch in his right eye, he took out the ring he’d just bought for her from his pocket.

Her entire face lit up and that made something very odd happen in his chest. Maybe, it was acidity.

“That’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, taking in the ring. Fuck if he knew why he’d picked it, but he’d walked into the jewelers, seen it, and known it had been made for her finger.

She looked up at him, her hazel eyes shimmery, the greens in them non-existent as her pupils enlarged, and the tightness in his chest got worse. It was a ring, and he was a stranger, and yet she looked at him like he’d conquered oceans for her.

She extended her hand and he slid the ring on, watching her admire it and cradle her hand against her chest like it was precious. It was in a way—platinum band studded with tiny colorful crystals he didn’t know the names of but looked good together. The ring honestly looked like a unicorn had thrown up on it but it screamed her so he’d had to get it.

But he didn’t like this tightness. She hadn’t been married to him one day and she was causing him heart problems already. He needed to take a step back. Focus on finding her motive, find out how she knew, and what she knew about his childhood. That was it.

He straightened as her young, dark-haired sister stepped out, a sweet smile on her beautiful face. She’d been too busy trying not to gawk at him at the courthouse yesterday. Between that and trying to not get distracted with Hector, she’d been too shy or too preoccupied to properly talk to him. But she was young so he cut her some slack.

This time at least, she extended her hand out to him. “Hi, Alpha. So good to see you here.”

He shook her hand gently. “You too. I heard you work at SLF.’

“Yes.” The younger girl pulled her hand back. “I love working there. And I cannot thank you enough for everything you do for the organization. The women appreciate it.”

He’d founded the organization soon after losing his eye. It was in honor of his mother and the countless women he had encountered in his line of work, women who wanted a way out from under oppressive systems and didn’t have anywhere to go. It was for people like that—women, children, and men—that he had established Survivors of Los Fortis so that in a city of millions, they would have a safe haven when they needed it. And even after so many years, it angered him that the number of people seeking refuge hadn’t dwindled.

Zephyr’s younger sister was a good one.

“I appreciate you helping out there,” he told her honestly.

“Oh, Zee volunteers on the weekends too.” Zenith gave her sister a coy look. “She gives the ladies a makeover, whatever they want.”

Alpha knew that already. “Does that help them?”

“Immensely.”

Interesting.

“Welcome. Please have a seat,” the older woman who’d been watching him, his mother-in-law obviously, said as she walked out with a tray of iced drinks, indicating the iron sitting area on the side of the large porch, followed by a lean man with a mustache, obviously the girls’ father.

So he wasn’t being invited in. He got it.

Giving them a respectful nod, he took a seat on a chair too small and watched her mother place the tray on the table. Zenith took a seat on one side, her mother took another, and her father sat opposite him. Zephyr planted her very delectable ass on the arm of his chair, sliding her arm around his shoulder, clearly presenting them a united front. He appreciated that.

Introductions were made and after an awkward silence for a few seconds, her father finally spoke. “You understand why this is a bit disconcerting for us.”

“Of course.” Yeah, he understood. Had he been in his father-in-law’s place though, the boy would’ve been six feet under before he could utter a word.

“Zephyr was seeing someone else one day and then she’s telling us she’s in love with you, and she’s married you at a courthouse,” the older man picked up a glass, and Alpha followed to be polite. “Is it because of her grandmother’s will?”

Alpha appreciated the man’s straight question. But Zephyr had told him her parents couldn’t know she was marrying him for that. He shook his head once. “No. Your daughter… she’s like a ray of sunshine in my very dark life.” What the fuck just came out of his mouth?

He heard Zephyr inhale sharply, her fingers gripping his shoulder tightly. He’d have to tell her later not to take it to heart. He didn’t mean anything by it.

Her mother finally leaned forward, a beautiful woman with grays in her hair, and Alpha wondered for a moment if his mother would’ve had gray hair too had she been alive.

“How did you meet my daughter?”

The question broke his thoughts.

Zephyr answered from his side. “I told you we met at SLF, mama. I was there with Zen, he was there, we just… clicked.”

That was a surprisingly realistic scenario. He looked to the younger sister to see her nodding, having her sister’s back, and that earned her another point in his book.

“And how did you meet the first time?” her mother persisted.

The first time? What exactly had she told her parents?

“I’d gone to a party with friends. They ditched me, and Alpha walked me home.”

His little rainbow was quite the storyteller. He was half-interested by her account of the fictional events, half-weary wondering what she was lying to him about.

“And your family, Alpha?” her mother questioned.

“Mama,” Zephyr chided.

“I have a half-brother.” He took a sip of the iced drink. Too fruity. “He’s getting married tomorrow, so we’re attending his wedding. Other than that, no one.”

He could see where Zephyr got it from, the compassion, as her mother finally softened slightly. “Yes, Zephyr told us. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Shaking off the quiet mood, Zephyr clapped her hand once. “And we need to get going.” She hopped off from the arm of the chair, rushing inside to probably get her bag, and everyone stood up.

“I don’t know if she told you,” Alpha began, wanting to make something clear to them. “But she’ll be moving in with me once we’re back. You’re welcome to visit anytime. We can plan for a proper ceremony later.”

Her mother’s lips pursed. “Yes, she told us. She’s packed everything at her apartment already. It’s just all… very sudden, and very suspicious. I asked her if she was pregnant, if that was the hurry, but she said no. Just said she’d married her love and that was that. She was with Alec Reyes for two years and not once talked about marriage so it’s very hard for us to wrap our heads around this.”

Fucking gambling Reyes. He might’ve spent two years with her but he’d be damned if he tried anything again. Alpha didn’t share, and for the duration of the time together, she was his even if he didn’t plan on fucking her. How hard could it be to resist the little vixen?

Seeing her mother’s reaction, the news of their marriage probably hadn’t gone over well.

And that again made him wonder, why risk a fight with her family for him?

What the hell was she up to?