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Chapter 211
~Zara’s POV~
Standing near the boutique window, mutterings and sounds from other shoppers buzzed around me, but I pretended to admire the display.
However, my thoughts were distant. The past days’ events lingered in my mind, leaving only confusion and unease.
Then I felt it.
The unmistakable sensation of being watched, a tingling awareness that prickled at the back of my neck. I turned slightly, my gaze scanning the bustling crowd.
And then I saw him.
Kaid.
His striking emerald eyes locked onto mine, cutting through the chaos of the mall like a blade. His presence was magnetic—an irresistible pull that made the mate bond hum faintly, defying all logic.
My heart thudded, my instincts urging me to look away, but my body betrayed me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, as he began walking toward me, his stride purposeful and commanding.
"Zia," he greeted smoothly in an intimate way as if we were the only two people in the world.
I swallowed hard as my pulse raced. "Kaid," I replied and tried to keep my voice more composed than I felt.
He tilted his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Fancy seeing you here. Fate has a way of amusing us, doesn’t it?"
My hands clenched at my sides as I tried to suppress the storm of emotions his presence stirred. "Fate has nothing to do with this," I said, keeping my tone neutral.
His smile widened slightly, his emerald eyes gleaming with something else. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it has everything to do with it."
There was something unnervingly casual about the way he spoke as if we were old friends instead of two people with an unresolved and complicated past.
"Why are you here, Kaid?" I asked, my voice sharper now that my resolve had hardened. "I thought we agreed that you would stay away."
His expression shifted, his smile fading as his gaze intensified. "I never agreed to that. I only let you walk away because I thought it would make you happy and not everyone, though. I couldn’t care less what the other werewolves thought. Only you matter, honey."
His words jolted me, but I quickly shook my head, trying to clear the haze that threatened to cloud my judgment. "I am happy, Kaid. With Snow."
His jaw tightened at the mention of Snow’s name, but he masked it quickly with an effortless demeanour. "And yet, here we are. Do you feel it, Zara? The pull between us? It’s still there, lingering."
The pull. What pull? There was no bond between us. I was sure of that.
Even though at 23 I never met my mate, I knew it wasn’t what I felt with Kaid.
For Kaid, just being close left me breathless. His presence was hard for anyone to ignore. Nevertheless, what I felt with Snow, even before he marked me, was entirely different and more connecting.
And if I do not have a mate in this life, it does not matter to me. Snow and Glacier were more than I could ever have asked for.
"Zia, let me..." I hated how he used my real name, as if we were so close, but we weren’t.
"Astrid, what’s happening to me?"
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