The Alpha's pretend mate

chapter 15

AVELORA

I groaned. With his heavy weight slouched against me, it was incredibly difficult to move. Khyrix was a big man. I tried to hook my shoulder under his arm, but I stumbled.

It was a struggle just to keep him upright, and I was terrified of him hitting his head against the sharp corner of the bedside table or the heavy doorframe.

"Avelora."

He murmured it against my ear. His breath was hot, and he said my name with a deep longing, a soft, desperate sound that I was sure wasn’t actually meant for me. My body shivered.

"Yes, Alpha. I'm here," I muttered, gritting my teeth.

I gave one final shove and basically threw him onto the bed. I thought I was free, but his hand was still firmly wrapped around my waist. He wouldn't let go. Because of his grip, I couldn't pull away in time and I ended up falling directly on top of him. The air knocked out of my lungs as I hit his chest.

"f**k," he drawled. His eyes were half open, glazed and dark. His hand moved slowly, almost in slow motion, adjusting the strands of hair that had fallen over my face. "Do you know how I feel when you call me?"

He stared at me for a second, and it felt like he was fully conscious, like he was really seeing me. But then, as quickly as the moment started, his eyes rolled back and he fell asleep.

What just happened?

I stayed there for a moment, pinned against him, my heart hammering against my ribs.

He looked like he was in deep pain. His expression was twisted, and his body shook every time I made contact with him. It was scary.

Every time I tried to get rid of a piece of clothing he had on to make him comfortable, he shivered violently. It was like he had been shocked by a high voltage electric current.

'Good.' I tjought.

It was just a shame that he wasn't conscious enough to actually feel the pain. After the way he had treated me at the gate, part of me wanted him to hurt a little.

I started with his shoes and socks. After helping him out of them, I actually felt good about myself. I was starving, my stomach was growling so loud I thought he might wake up, and my arms were shaking from the effort of moving him. Despite all that, I was helping a poor person in need. I felt like I deserved a trophy.

Yes, I deserved an award.

He was sprawled on the bed now, whimpering in short bursts.

"Are you okay?" I asked again. I had grabbed a towel and soaked it in cool water, placing it carefully on his forehead.

He wasn't intoxicated. He didn't smell like he had been drinking or partying. He was justbroken, but he was too incoherent to answer any of my questions.

I bit my lip, my hand shaking as I reached out to feel his neck. The heat coming off him was intense. He was burning up.

A dark thought crossed my mind. What if he died? My body shivered in fear. I was a nobody here. If the only Alpha died in his room with only me there, they would blame me. They would say I poisoned him. I could see the headlines

Flashes of what could be my future ran through my head, I would be thrown in the prison, cursed at and executed.

"Khyrix!" I called out, my voice barely a whisper. I shook his shoulder, trying to get a reaction. He responded with a low grunt, but his eyes didn't open.

Suddenly, his hand flew up. He wrapped his fingers around the hand I had on his neck. He had a grip of iron, and it hurt.

"Khyrix, let go!" I called again. He seemed to hear me this time because he finally loosened his grip. I pulled away quickly, rubbing my wrist. I knew I had to get his shirt off to help his temperature drop.

Dang, he was heavy.

It took me five minutes of tugging and pulling, nearly falling off the bed twice. When I finally got the cloth over his head and tossed it aside, I fell straight to the floor. I sat there on the rug, breathing heavily, my chest heaving.

That was a full workout. I have grown to hate workouts now. My bones ached like hell from this morning exercise, so yeah, I felt like I was allowed to hate any kind of physical labor.

I looked at him on the bed. "You better reward me with a feast tomorrow morning," I whispered to his unconscious body.

I pressed the back of my palm against his bare chest one more time. The temperature was finally starting to calm down. The shivering had stopped, and his breathing was becoming more regular. He was finally sound asleep.

I went to the bathroom to freshen up, moving slowly. The hunger was slowly killing me now, but I realized I was going to have to sleep through it today.

There was no way I was going to the kitchen now. I went into his large, walk-in closet to find my things. My blanket was still in the bag where my stuff had been packed. I dragged it out, spread it on the floor, and prepared to sleep there.

I chuckled to myself as I lay down. I remembered how he had lied about having rodents in his room to get me to stay close. The last time something like that actually happened was a year ago.

I remembered the story well. One of his lays ran out of the room screaming like a total maniac. We all thought she was being mauled in cold blood, but it turned out she had just seen a single cockroach.

The staff member in charge of cleaning that day was fired on the spot.

I hadn't called him out on his lie because, honestly, I wanted to know what it felt like to sleep on the premium king size bed I had been making for a whole year.

I had the best rest of my life.

But I also knew it wasn't appropriate. I was sleeping in the same room as someone who was practically a stranger to me, and a dangerous one at that.

.....

I opened my eyes suddenly. The room was silent, but then I heard it, the sound of something creaking.

I sat up slowly on my makeshift bed on the floor. My heart started to race. Was he actually telling the truth the whole time? Was his room actually infested with something? Or was someone else in here?

I reached for the lamp by the bedside, my fingers fumbling in the dark. I wondered why the room was so black. I had left a light on, but now the entire space was plunged into total darkness.

Then, I heard a footstep.

It was slow and it was approaching me.

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't reach anything I could use to defend myself. I stood up quickly, trying to be silent. I held my breath, listening.

I figured out the direction the noise was coming from. It was right in front of me.

I didn't wait to be attacked. I gathered every bit of strength I had left and jumped at the whatever it was.