Reluctantly, I take them when he passes me a phone.
“Seriously, I can’t accept that. When you said phone, I thought it was a cheapo one, not… this!” I stare at the brand-new iPhone. He shakes his head, looking annoyed.
“Just take it and shut up about it,” he says, refusing to take it when I try to hand it back.
“I will call you in a couple of days,” I tell him, setting the phone down.
“You are unbelievable, it’s a phone. Not a house,” he snaps.
“An expensive phone that’s newer than the one I had,” I tell him. What doesn’t he get? Also, my father would definitely ask questions about how I got it.
“Do you want my help or not?” he asks, folding his arms across his chest, which makes him seem even taller.
“Yes, but…”
He turns away from me, grabbing his keys and mine.
“Now, are you alright to drive home, or am I taking you?” he asks. I jump to my feet.
“I’m fine,” I tell him as a wave of vertigo from standing quickly washes over me. I sway slightly, and he grips my arm, staring at me worriedly.
“I’m driving you,” he states. I go to protest when he grabs me.
“Put me down. What is it with you and being so damn handsy?” I snap.
Zayn rolls his eyes, ignoring my comment. Instead, he carries me, bridal-style, toward the door. I cringe at the sudden proximity, heat rising in my cheeks.
“Can’t you just let me walk?” I say, my voice coming out a bit too high-pitched.
“You can barely stand,” he retorts, not bothering to look at me.
We make our way toward my car parked outside. Only another man is there waiting. His hair is the same color as Zayn’s, but his eyes aren’t as silvery gray as Zayn’s, and his expression is perfectly neutral. However, I do detect a glint of humor in his gaze as he looks at me. His lips are thin, and his jawline is sharp and angular, giving off a serious vibe. I stare at him; he has an uncanny resemblance to Zayn, and I peer up at Zayn.
“My brother, Vance, who’s also my Beta,” he explains, answering my questioning look.
“He’ll follow in my car,” he tells me. I nod, not knowing how I feel about that. Zayn sets me down gently on the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s side. The car is silent as we drive toward my house, the tension so thick you can almost cut it with a knife.
I keep stealing glances at him from the corner of my eye, taking in the sharp lines of his jaw and the way his dark hair falls across his forehead. Aggravating though he may be, there’s no denying he’s handsome. He looks like he’s in deep thought, his expression unreadable.
As we pull into my father’s territory, my anxiety starts to grow. I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to my father, and knowing him, he’ll want answers.
“Pull over here; if my father catches me with you, he’ll kill me,” I blurt.
“Either way, he’ll know I was with you. Your car reeks of my scent,” he states, and panic rises in me as he continues driving. As we come to the main gates, he begins to slowly pull up when two pack warriors wave to us, too. I wind my window down, recognizing my fathers Beta, Mitchel.
“Cleo, your father put out an alert…” Mitchel pauses, his eyes moving to Zayn in the driver’s seat before they dart back to me. “You wanna have a good excuse for being in that man’s presence, Cleo,” Mitchel growls. I growl back, refusing to be scolded like a little girl. Putting up with my father’s wrath is terrible enough; I won’t take it from one of his men. Not when I will be their Alpha one day.
“I don’t need an excuse,” I spit back at Mitchel, my pride stinging. Zayn’s hand lands on my thigh, and I jump, not expecting the sudden contact. He squeezes gently, telling me to calm down.
“Seen her in the city; she was looking for her phone in the wreckage. My brother is in the car behind us. Cleo looked on the verge of passing out. Figured I best drive her home,” Zayn cuts in smoothly, the lie sliding off his tongue with practiced ease. “Is there a problem?”
Mitchel eyes him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging. “Just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he says before waving us through the gates.
As we drive toward my house, I feel Zayn’s gaze on me.
“Are you okay?” he asks softly, and I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
I stare at him for a moment, taking in the sincerity in his eyes. For all his rough edges and gruff exterior, there’s something kind about him, too.
