Marrying Her Alpha

Ch. 8: Grieving

There was a funeral to prepare. I wasn't sure if it was for Ezra or us.

A gloomy mood covered the hallways of the mansion, absorbing my energies every time I decided to get out of bed. It's not like I was able to rest either, after all, I could barely fall asleep.

There were too many worries running through my head that didn't allow me to find peace. I was scared about the members of Moon Guardians, the anxiety of knowing that the first day of my test as the luna was approaching overwhelmed me, and Almec spent more time locked in his office than at my side.

"I'll be there in a minute." He had told me the night before when I picked him up to go to sleep.

In the end, Almec didn't get to the room before I managed to close my eyes and he wasn't there when I woke up the next morning either.

Our cold bed had become my tormentor, always reminding me of our wonderful wedding night and the happiness I had lost.

"Is he in his office again?" I asked Khalia before taking a sip of my already cold mate.

She left the tray of food on the counter near Demian who was preparing pancakes for Faustina.

"Where else is he going to be?" Khalia replied.

"He didn't even take a bite of his food. That kid doesn't know how to appreciate my work," Demian complained, grabbing one of the toasts and then taking a bite. "I don't care if he pays me for this, I'm not going to cook him anything else until he eats."

"He's going through a hard time," I defended Almec, standing up. "We have to help him in any way we can. Give me the tray, I'll try to convince him."

"Here." Demian gave me Almec's breakfast. "Tell him that he better eat it if he wants me to keep cooking for him."

"I'll make sure he eats," I promised Demian.

I gave him my word but I wasn't sure I could pull it off. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't take me much effort to convince Almec; When he went into his shell, it was a completely different story.

My biggest fear was that he would isolate himself until he returned to his old routine. I wasn't ready to lose the real version of Almec after having met him.

I knocked on the door slowly, my insecurities getting the best of me.

For a second I thought it would be better to tell myself that Almec didn't want to let me pass than to have to face my fears.

"Don't be a coward," my wolf scolded me, making me see reason.

I knocked again, this time harder, and still, I received no response.

Gathering all my courage, I opened the door anyway. I couldn't let Almec push me out of his life a second time.

"I already told you not to bother me, I'm working," Almec snapped, dropping the pen on the desk. He raised his head and as soon as he saw me the fury in his gaze disappeared. "Oh, it's you. What happened? Do you need anything?"

The tension drained from Almec's body and he moved his chair away from the desk, resting his back against the backrest.

"I brought you your breakfast. Khalia told me you don't want to eat but I'm worried that you're not taking care of yourself properly," I told him the truth, approaching him. I made space on the desk moving some of the papers and placed the tray in front of Almec. "At least eat a little."

"I'm fine," he told me, grabbing me by the waist. "I just don't have time right now, there are a lot of details I have to take care of to say goodbye to Ezra if I want everything to go well."