Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Iris’s POV

Those words stuck with me long after Asher left. Several emotions raced through me, and I felt so confused.

However, to my surprise (and great relief), Jasmine didn’t come back for the tour that day.

That evening, there was a soft knock on the door. I called out, but no one answered. After a minute or two, I stood up slowly and walked to the door. When I opened it, I found a tray of food sitting neatly on the floor.

The hall was empty.

I glanced up and down, but there wasn’t a single person in the hallway. I couldn’t even hear the sound of footsteps. I took the tray inside with a small frown on my face. Whoever had left it clearly didn’t want to be seen delivering it.

I stared at the tray for another minute, debating whether it was even wise to eat the food when I didn’t know who had placed it there.

It could be Chloe, I thought with a shiver. Maybe she had decided to poison me to get me out of the way.

Or… it could be Rowan.

That thought sent a different kind of shiver down my spine. I quickly shook it off. Why would he be delivering food to me like a personal waiter? Maybe it was Jasmine. But if it was, why hadn’t she come in or at least said why she skipped the tour she promised?

I bent over the tray, and inhaled cautiously. The smell was good.

My brain kept playing two different scenes.

Rowan, quietly leaving this outside my door.

Or Chloe, smirking as she quietly placed a poisoned meal outside my door.

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten much all day.

My lips twisted. This was stupid. Screw the risks.

I needed to eat, and I needed the strength to heal if I was going to leave this place.

I set the tray on the table, sat down, and began to eat.

Two days passed before I saw Jasmine or Rowan again. Those two days felt so long, but I kept myself busy. I kept walking around the room, stretching my legs to strengthen them.

Each time I heard a knock, my heart would jump, thinking it was Rowan.

When Jasmine finally came around, she walked into the room with a guilty smile on her face, and she looked

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Chapter 44

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tired. “Sorry I haven’t been around,” she said. “It’s just that things have been so busy lately.”

I nodded, giving her a small smile to let her know that she had nothing to be guilty about. “What happened to the tour?”

She sighed. “It was postponed because you needed more rest.

I furrowed my eyebrows in surprise. “Really? That’s… nice.”

Jasmine sat on the chair. “Asher spoke to Rowan, and told him that you weren’t ready to be walking all over the territory yet. Rowan agreed and decided to make sure you were healed first before we take the tour.”

“Oh.” I said quietly. I didn’t know what else to say.

“Anyway,” Jasmine continued, “you look so much better now. Just let me know when you’re ready for the tour.”

Relief ran through me, and I nodded again. “Okay,” I said.

I was thankful for the extra time to rest, but something else had been nagging at me for days, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Rowan.

It had been two days since the near-kiss. And I hadn’t seen him since then. The image of those brown eyes staring into mine with intensity flashed through my mind, and I swallowed.

However, since then, I hadn’t heard anything from him.

Every time there was a knock, I tensed instinctively. My heart would begin to race before I could stop it. And when it wasn’t Rowan, a weird disappointment would settle in my stomach.

It was getting ridiculous.

So I decided to bring it up subtly as best as I could.

“So…” I said, keeping my tone casual, “How is Rowan? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

An unreadable expression flickered through her face, but it was too quick for me to read.

“He’s been handling a lot of pack matters, but he’ll be fine,” she said with a casual shrug.

I nodded. “Right. Of course.”

Of course he was busy. He was an Alpha. He had a pack to run. He wasn’t going to spend his time checking in on me like I was some sort of priority. I wasn’t.

I mentally slapped myself for even thinking that he would come around to check on me. Why would he do that? I was just some outsider he had rescued from rogues in the woods.

After Jasmine left, I sat on the edge of the bed, and stared at the wall.

I kept telling myself I didn’t care that Rowan hadn’t come back. That it didn’t matter, but my chest still ached in a way I couldn’t explain.

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