Post-Apocalypse: Mated To Alphas Of Orion-Chapter 88: Shhhh!

(Amaia)

Every time he shows concern for me, my heart somersaults in my chest. My hands itch to clutch the diary to my chest. His scent has fused with it but I don’t want to incur his wrath.

"Here!" I extend the diary towards him and he accepts it back.

"We would have continued but I need to clean this mess. Take a break, gather your focus and we will continue tomorrow." He places the diary on the table and picks up my necklace. It dangles down from his fingers, swinging like a pendulum.

"Wear it and don’t take it off," he reminds me.

Quietly, I accept and put it around my neck. My appearance instantly changes; my hair is inked black, and the pointedness of my ears is gone.

I have been dreading that he might say something about Rigel and my time in the dungeon. Any sign that he might show he knows what I did down there, but nothing on those lines.

From what I have come to know about Alnilam; he wears his emotions on his sleeve and instantly calls me out. But this time, either he is hiding all those emotions and silently judging me or he has got nothing to do with Rigel.

Whatever the truth, I am going to uncover it. I can’t have another man playing with my feelings, and Rigel exudes that powerful, dangerous aura. I need to know what his game is.

Adjusting my hair I face Alnilam. "Thank you for the session."

He nods and moves towards the collective mess we have made. Bending down, he squats on the toes of his feet and begins to salvage whatever is left.

With a yearning heart, I leave his personal space behind and arrive in his office and leave through the door.

I decide to head to my dorm and get some rest. Others must still be training and attending sessions because corridors appear empty. I enter one that leads towards the stairs of our dorms. It mostly has supply closets and bathrooms. As I turn around the corner, a hand yanks my right arm and pulls me inside a dark closet, shutting the door behind me.

My scream dies in my throat. A cold hand presses against my lips and I find myself staring into eyes that appear like glowing embers in the dark, such intense red.

"Shhh!" He presses the pointer finger of his free hand on his lips, telling me to be quiet. My saliva gets stuck in my throat as I gulp and stare back at him, my chest heaving.

"Don’t make a noise, I am going to remove my hand," Rigel’s deep voice comes. His cold body is almost pressed against mine.

I quietly nod.

Slowly, he removes his hand, testing me to see if I would scream, and he needs to cover my mouth again.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss at him, feeling annoyed. As if my life is not already complicated enough and now this man is going to make a whole mess of it.

"Waiting for you," he answers in an amused but husky voice. The intensity in his eyes mellows down to a tease. Fisting his right hand he places it on the door, just above my head.

My eyes stare up at him. "Why?"

"You wanted to ask some questions and I did the same. So, this is the safe place to do it." He tilts his head and deliberately pokes his tongue out, swiping it over his lower lip.

The action is so provocative and suggestive at the same time. His sharp features slowly become visible to me as my eyes adjust to the darkness in this closet.

"How are you here? I couldn’t see you after that day. I tried to reach you but some magic barrier kept me out. When I finally did, the cell appeared empty. Did you leave or was it just me who couldn’t see you?"

Slowly, he smiles letting his soft lips spread out. Not a predatory smile but a wounded one.

"But I could see you, Amaia. I was still there. I heard your words. ’I will return for you,’ that’s the promise you made. Right?" He reaches with the back of his other hand and caresses my cheek—in feathery touches. "And you even kept the promise."

He can only know this if he was there, or if they had a hidden camera to record me so I won’t suspect.

"You came again with those two boys from your guild." This time, his expression darkens, and a possessiveness coats his voice.

"Who are they, to you?" He questions next. His fingers slide down, curl and the index finger trails my vein from the side of my chin to my shoulder blade.

Slowly and yet with a precise force as if pressing it down.

"My friends," I breathe out. My hands fist at my sides, trying to keep myself steady and not get affected by his seduction techniques.

"Just friends? That mut seemed overprotective earlier. I was this close to snapping his neck when he snatched you from my hands." The seriousness and dangers his threat carried had my heart jolting and yet something warm wriggled in my heart.

"He doesn’t know you and you were holding me by the neck. What else was he supposed to do? Fall in your feet," I ask in a serious tone.

His smile spread even wider, darker, sinister. "Maybe he should. Remember, Amaia, you are mine. I won’t let another man touch you."

Awakening emotions screamed inside me. How was this even going to work? My mates couldn’t even recognise me. Here, I was trying to establish a connection with them. And then there was this overpossessive male, who claimed to be my mate

"You are no one to make that decision, Rigel. There is more than you understand," I speak in veiled words. The pain begins in the cursed mark, reminding me that I can’t tell him about my mates.

His eyes narrow at me, the grip tightens a notch at my neck and my back arches against the hard wooden door.

And then he lowers his head and shakes it.

"Of course, how can I be this lucky? You have another mate. It’s that redhead, isn’t it?"