Rise of the Dark Alpha

~ ZEV ~

At some point he'd gotten up to cook them an early lunch, but somehow they gravitated back to the furs as soon as they'd finished eating.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Zev was surprised how happy he was to simply lay in the furs with her. Sasha even commented about how nice it was to watch him rest, that he was usually always moving.

"I hadn't really thought about it," he said, frowning at the ceiling. "But life is pretty hectic. It's nice to just be with you. I guess I'm feeling lazy. And more than a little hungry," he said, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

Sasha giggled and kissed him, but drew back before it got heated. They napped again. Later he heated the water properly and bathed her again, then made love to her—slowly, savoring her this time.

And as he drifted to sleep—easily, despite the nap he'd had just a few hours earlier—it was with a smile on his face because his mind was full of visions of his beautiful mate, her head thrown back in ecstasy, and her body rolling with his. And because he could hear her, in his head, telling him that she loved him, her voice fading into nothing as she drifted off to sleep.

*****

~ SASHA ~

Sasha woke to a strange sound. Reaching out for Zev she found the furs warm, but cooling, and no steel body, or hard warmth where he should be.

She sat up quickly, bleary-eyed, her hair falling over her face so she was forced to push it back. But all she found was the fire, glowing, but not yet crackling into flames, no lanterns lit, and some dishes on the side table that neither of them had washed the night before.

"Zev?"

The strange noise—a scraping, punctuated by swearing—was coming from the tunnel. But it stopped when she spoke.

"I'm down here."

Sasha pushed out of the furs and dressed quickly—the cave was always colder in the morning because the fire was low. But it seemed like it was even colder this morning than it had been the day before. A chill breeze curled around her ankles as she hurried up the tunnel, dodging the icicles, until she rounded the corner to find Zev, working the snow, face flushed and forehead sheened in sweat as he physically worked to make a way through the snow that he was using his bare hands to shovel through and spread along the sides of the tunnel as he worked his way through the massive bank.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" she said as he reached high on the bank, dug his hands into the snow and pulled down with his entire body.

"It's fine," he said, panting. "I wanted to get it done so we're free to go out today if you want to, or there's less to do in the morning if we have to clear it out again. We'll have to go early."

Sasha froze, her stomach sinking like a stone. She'd known it was coming, but it seemed far too fast. "We have to go already?"

"Tomorrow," Zev said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. His hands were beet red—as was his face, though with heat, instead of cold.

"Zev, are you okay?" Sasha asked. He hadn't met her eyes properly.

He nodded and turned back to the snowbank. "Yeah, I got a lot of sleep yesterday, so I woke up early. Sorry I woke you."

"It's fine…" she trailed off as he went back to working on the snowbank. "Are you okay, though, I mean, even apart from sleeping?"

"Yes, why?" he turned, seeming surprised and finally looked at her.

Sasha took a deep breath. "You didn't say good morning. Or smile. Are you…. feeling bad?"

"No! No, I'm fine. Sorry. Just distracted." He rushed forward to take her in his arms, cupping her face with one of his hands.

Sasha shrieked and slapped it away, while Zev chuckled.

"Your hands are like blocks of ice!" she gasped.

Zev shrugged and turned back to the snowbank. "I don't mind. They'll warm up as soon as I'm done."

"But—"

"Seriously, Sash. Go get comfortable. Make some breakfast, or warm some water. I'll be done in half an hour and we can figure out what we're going to do for our last day." He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes flashing with promise.

Sasha grinned. "Well, I suppose I can come up with some ideas," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Zev laughed again and Sasha did as he'd suggested and walked back into the cave, shaking off her uneasiness. Zev was just focused on a task, that was all. Nothing to worry about. And he still wanted her. And they still had today.

But she couldn't quite stop the echo in her mind that wanted to bounce around over and over again…

Just one more day.

Just one more day.

*****

By lunchtime Sasha wasn't smiling anymore. Something was definitely up with Zev. He kept drifting off in his thoughts, frowning. And because of that, it was taking him far longer than usual to eat.

Zev was many things, but a careful eater wasn't one of them. As long as she'd known him, he never seemed more male than when he ate—which he usually did with as much gusto as he did everything else. But here he was, sitting, his jerky and fruit barely touched, staring at the cave wall, his forehead pinched into lines.

"Zev," she said carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said by rote, looking down at his plate and blinking as if he was coming alive again. "I was just thinking about tomorrow. We'll get up early. I think I should take you to the City on the way back home. So you can get a feel for it, and see how far it is from the gateway. You'll have to be the one to decide when we move back there. If we do."

"If you think it's a good idea, I'm going to aim for that," she said, still watching him. But Zev was chewing, and moving the rest of the food around on his plate. "But I think you'll know better than me when it's the right time."

Zev nodded, but she wasn't sure he'd actually heard her. Nerves spun in her stomach.

Had he woken this morning upset about being ardent? About the bond they'd formed the day before? Did he regret it? Was that what was bothering him?

She looked at the massive bed, covered in furs, behind him and to his right. She'd thought the day before was incredible. Mind-blowing. And she was so glad he could hear her now.

Couldn't he?

Had they lost it?

Zev? She asked in her head, nervously.

He blinked and turned to look at her again, his mouth pulling up on one side to leave those gorgeous creases in his cheeks.

Fuck, I love that you can do that now, he replied, then took another bite of his lunch.

Me too, she replied, grateful that he seemed more alert, and she could still speak to him this way.

It wasn't until their eyes locked that her nerves returned.

There was a shadow in his gaze. Something was definitely bothering him.. And she was going to find out what it was.