Alpha King's Mate

7. In Check

     The drive home is silent, we have not spoken to each other in an hour. We left immediately after my mother's news and a quick goodbye.

     Zac's hands grip the steering wheel tightly, making his usually tan hands look pale at the knuckles. His eyes look dead ahead, never leaving the road, never even quickly glancing at me. I can tell that he is deep in thought, as am I.

     "What did you want to tell me?" I ask him, watching his face intently. "That had to wait for the car?"

     He hesitates and seems to glare at the pavement. If it is even possible, his grip on the wheel hardens. "It isn't important right now."

     "It seemed pretty important this morning." I remind him with a huff.

     He doesn't respond, I sigh and lean back in my seat as I stare out of the window. The sky is dark and gray, and the wind howls as it blows the trees roughly.

     "There is a storm on its way." I tell Zac, hopeful that the comment will spark conversation.

     Again, he dismisses what I say. I frown and lean my head against the window. Is he mad at me because of what my mother said? The prospect of not being able to have children is worrying and scary enough, it is worse when a law requires us to have an heir to the throne.

     When I was little I loved babies and dolls. I always imagined my future including someone who loves me as my spouse, and a bunch of our kids running around us in the yard of my pack house. When I learned that I was going to be matched and sorted, half of that dream died, but having children whom I would love, and providing good lives for them was still possible.

     Now, even that half of the dream is being chipped away. It isn't definite that I can't have kids, but doubt is enough to make both Zac and I become anxious.

     This may be a bad situation, and he has every right to be upset, but there is no way in hell that he can possibly blame me for it. If I can't have kids, it is the way it is, I can't help it. I really hope that he doesn't blame me for it because if he does, I am going to kill him.

     About thirty minutes go by without a word uttered by either of us. A deafening crack of thunder makes me jump and gaze out of the window. Suddenly I get a feeling, unlike any other feeling that I have ever felt before. I can tell that it is my wolf instinct trying to warn me of something, but what? 

     The car comes to a sudden screeching stop and I turn to an anxious looking Zac. He does't look at me immediately, instead his head turns to look out of his window. On his side is the opposite side of the road, a railing, and a cliff that overlooks the rough and loud ocean that splashes against the rocks.

     I feel a slight movement and look around, nothing. My eyes find the water bottle that has been sitting in the cup holder for the entire car ride. The water inside is rippling and shaking softly. 

     Now Zac looks me in the eyes. For a split second I see genuine fear, then it is glossed over by his angry Alpha face. He uses his werewolf speed, and is at my car door in the blink of an eye. He unstraps me from the seatbelt hurriedly, lifts me up, and starts running away from the car with me in his arms.

     I am just about to ask what the hell is going on when the ground begins to shake fantastically. Zac trips, releasing me from his arms so he doesn't land on me. I land on the pavement and tumble for a moment, but pull myself back up with effort to keep my balance during the shaking.

     "We need to get away from here!" Zac shouts over the loud rumble of the earthquake. "Shift!"

     He shifts, if we were in a different situation I would marvel at how amazing his wolf form is, bit now is not the time. I can see that it is easier for him to stand on four legs opposed to two, but I don't shift. I can't, I won't.

     Zac turns to look at me, wondering why I won't shift into my wolf. If only he knew. He growls at me, persisting on the urgency of the situation, warning that I must shift.

     He is my mate, I should tell him-

     I open my mouth to say something but I am interrupted once again my the earth. I hear a loud boom and slowly, the edge of the cliff begins to crumble. I stare wide-eyed as the car is pulled into the raging water below and the rest of the road, much more rapidly this time, starts to slide toward the gaping hole leading to the jagged rocks at the bottom of what once was the cliff.

     Zac takes action before I do. He runs toward me, pushes me forward, dodges to have me land on his back, and starts running away from the scene. I hold onto his beautiful brown fur to keep steady on his back as he races away from the rock fall behind us. 

     Only a short way ahead of us the cliff road ends and rejoins the land all around it and the forests. We make it there and stop to look back, making sure that we are now safe. The shaking comes to a slow stop and the earth is still once more. Neither of us move, we only stare at the place where the road once was. There is a massive cloud of dirt and dust which rises in the air slowly from the rock and debris that fell. The sky is still dark gray and the thunder continues.

     Zac turns around and starts running, more slowly this time, in the direction of the palace. Once again, neither of us mutters a word.