Ten Years (The Alpha and Her)

Chapter Five; Refreshed

“Can I see her again?” Ember asked, her eyes wide and pleading as she rested her head on the ledge of the tub. The water had grown dark and murky after washing Ember’s long red hair so when Clover attempted to end the bath there she saw the sadness in Ember’s blue eyes. So instead of forcing her out she emptied the tub and filled it once more allowing the woman to relax in the tub while Clover sat on the tiled floor crossed legged.

“Of course.” Clover giggled softly, pulling out her phone once more. She quickly opened her Photos and scrolled to the folder labeled Olive. She moved to lean against the bathtub allowing Ember to look over her shoulder as Clover slowly swiped through the photos starting from the newborn photos of Olive. 

Clover glanced over her shoulder at Ember, noticing the soft smile as she never moved her gaze from the phone. 

“When do you think I can see her?” Ember asked softly as her hand reached out to the phone, wanting so badly to touch the real thing and not just a photo. 

“Soon I promise. But I don’t think you want to see her yet. She won’t be able to recognize you.” Clover said light heartedly to which Ember only nodded softly. 

Ember shivered softly not having noticed the water growing colder during their chat. Clover noticed the shiver and smiled.

“Alright Ember, I think it’s time for you to get out.” Clover stood up, grabbing a towel off the counter. 

Ember nodded and stood up, shivering even more as the cold air hit her wet body. Clover quickly wrapped the large fluffy towel around her small body. The blond woman helped the red haired one out of the tub, making sure she didn’t slip.

“Sit here for me, Ember.” Clover directed her to the toilet. Ember sat down as she stared out the large picture window having not noticed the sky turning dark, the sun setting.

Clover placed a smaller towel on Ember's head causing the smaller woman to jump in surprise. 

“My bad.” Clover giggled, as she rubbed the long red hair through the towel in an attempt to dry it. After about 10 minutes, Ember’s hair finally back to it’s once fiery red state, the curls finally returning to the once matted hair. 

“Here is a t-shirt and some shorts.” Clover handed the clothes to Ember, allowing her to change at her own pace.

Once Ember was changed, they both walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, having completely forgotten about Ezra’s existence.  Ezra turned her forest green eyes away from the TV to the two women, falling on the shorter red haired woman. His breath caught in his throat. Her hair was wild with curls, the color such a brighter and deeper red color than he could have ever imagined. Even though she was only in a t-shirt and shorts he could obviously still see her figure which he promised would quickly improve.  Her eyes were slightly more blue than he first had seen. Her scent of coconut and vanilla far stronger than before. 

Ember’s smile slowly fell as she noticed Ezra sitting on the sectional facing the bathroom door.  

Ezra stood up and walked over to Ember, her body instantly starting to tremble. Ezra’s green eyes filled with pain but he continued forward, stopping right in front of the smaller woman. He gently placed a finger under her chin and pulled her chin up slowly. Pleasurable electric shocks shot through his arms spreading through his entire body, warming his heart. Ember’s eyes shifted to his, but it wasn’t love or affection Ezra saw. 

It was fear.

“You don’t feel that?” He asked softly. Ember shook her head. 

Ezra threw his hand down in frustration which caused Ember to jump. Ezra saw this and growled. “f**k!”

“Ezra!” Clover yelled, rushing to the woman’s side. 

Lenn please hurry to Ezra’s room, I fear he is going to shift and frighten Ember even more.

Clover linked her mate as she stepped in front of Ember, blocking her from the pacing alpha before them.

In a matter of seconds, Lenn opened the door and quickly took note of the stances. Lenn made his way over to his best friend, stepping in front of his path. “Ezra, run?” Lenn was a man of few words, but he always knew exactly what to say.

Ezra looked to the two women, seeing Ember trembling behind his blonde friend. Without answering Ezra exited the room, Lenn quickly followed after. He turned back and gave a soft smile to his mate before running after his best friend. 

Thank you. 

Clover linked to her mate. 

Clover led Ember to the bed, pulling back the covers as Ember climbed in. 

“I’m so sorry Ember. I know all of this is so confusing…” Clover sat down beside Ember. “That was Ezra, he’s our alpha. I promise I will explain more tomorrow but you need some more rest. A week is far too little time for you to fully heal.” 

“A week? I was out for a week?” Ember said in disbelief, her blue eyes wide in shock. Clover chuckled as she nodded.

“And if you want to see Olive you need to heal as fast as you can.” Clover winked as she stood up. “I will see you tomorrow. There is a lot to fill you in on so get some rest, you are going to need it.”

Clover made her way to the door, turning back only once to see Ember had turned away to face the balcony doors. Clover smiled softly. She gently closed the door, happy that her friend had a new chance at life. 

On the other hand Ember’s mind was running a mile a minute, her heart racing as her thoughts began to overlap. Why did that man keep saying mate? Why did his name sound so familiar? Was this all another form of torture; showing her kindness before locking her back up? Or was this giving her one last good memory before ending it all? The longer she thought, the harder it became to breathe. She kept tossing and turning, on edge the whole night with fear that that man was going to come back into the room and she had no idea what he would do to her. He seemed worse than all the other men she had met through the years.