The Alpha's Doe

Chapter 5

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that Ace wasn't in the bed with me. I didn't even need to open my eyes to know it was true. I could feel the lack of his presence in the very essence of my being.

I was never good at sleeping without Ace right next to me. I hadn't been able to ever since I was young. It just felt wrong.

I shifted, slowly opening my eyes. In my state of drowsiness, I had forgotten that I had fallen asleep at Ace's house. I was relieved when I found Ace pacing back and forth by the end of the bed, furiously texting on his phone.

His eyes snapped to mine. "Go back to sleep, Doe," he said. "It's still early."

I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, stretching my arms over my head. "It's six in the morning. Shouldn't we start getting ready for school?"

I wasn't sure why I said this. The last thing I wanted to do was go to school. I didn't want to face Ben all bloodied and bruised from Madoc's beating first thing in Science. I didn't want to deal with the stares or whispers that would surely surround Ace and me as we walked down the hall.

"No," Ace replied. "You had a stressful day yesterday. You even fell asleep during your favorite movie last night. You're sleeping in and that's final. We'll go to school later."

I couldn't deny the fact that I was still tired. I could easily have slept for a few more hours. I suppose drifting off for a little while longer couldn't hurt...

I suddenly sprang up into a sitting position. "Oh, my god, I forgot to tell my parents I was staying over at your house!" I lunged for my phone on his bedside table, intent on texting my mother, but Ace was by my side in less than a second, gently gripping my wrist.

His thumb caressed the inside of my wrist. "I texted your parents last night with your phone and told them you were staying with Marta's."

I settled back down. "Oh. And they believed it?"

Ace nodded. "I'll always take care of you, Doe. You know that. Will you go back to sleep for me now?"

I shifted in the bed. I wouldn't be getting a wink of sleep if Ace didn't come back to bed. I couldn't tell him that though. That wasn't the sort of thing you said to your best friend.

"Doe." Ace pulled me out of my thoughts with a stern tone. "Just do as I say. I need you to get some more rest, yeah?"

I swallowed. "I just...What about you? Are you gonna sleep too?"

Ace studied me for a moment before something resembling comprehension took over his face. His hard expression softened just the slightest amount.

He wordlessly sat down on the bed and then slipped under the covers, laying down next to me. Then he pulled me against him so he was spooning me from behind and kissed the side of my neck. All of the tension in my body dissipated as he held me just like I knew it would.

"Now, go back to sleep, Doe," he murmured.

And I did.

——

Several hours later, Ace was leading me into school. He had been right when he said I needed rest, I slept for five more hours after he demanded I stay in bed this morning. I didn't wake up until a little before eleven.

We arrived at school right after the end of fourth period, meaning the halls were filled with people. With a hand on the small of my back, Ace ushered me to my locker so I could grab my books for our English class.

I was nervous and I could tell Ace noticed. And when I was nervous, it reflected in his behavior toward the people around us. He glared at any person who looked at us and had a deep frown on his face.