Echoes Of An Alpha

Chapter 43: Almost

The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch, and most students flooded out of the classrooms to the cafeteria. But not Zade and I. We’d ended up in an empty classroom, the door closed behind us as we both settled in.

I had a few moments of silence before I finally glanced up, catching Zade’s gaze. His usual cool demeanor was absent, replaced by a hint of vulnerability that made me want to reach out to him.

“So…” I started, unsure of how to break the ice. “What’s going on with you lately?”

Zade leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, his eyes distant. “for starters My dad… Wants me to focus on the family business instead of pursuing other thing.”

I nodded, understanding more than he knew. “That sucks.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, his fingers tapping the table, “They care about the ‘family legacy more than the care about what I have to say.’”

Zade looked down, clearly frustrated. I could see how torn he was. “If it means anything, you should keep drawing. It’s your thing, right? Don’t let anyone take that from you.”

His eyes met mine, and for a second, I thought I saw something soften in them. He smiled, just a little. “You know, you’re not as bad as I thought you’d be, after you rejected me well...”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m hurt. You thought I was bad?”

Zade chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, not bad. Just… you just rejected me ever so harshly I could say and I still didn't get a proper reason why…”

“You want a reason like, that I don't wanna complicate things?” I finished for him, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten.

He paused, then nodded. “Something like that.”

I leaned back in my seat, thinking for a moment. “I just… I don’t know what to do sometimes. I feel like I’m lost, you know? Like I’m waiting for something to change.”

Zade’s gaze softened as he looked at me. “I get it. I don’t know what to do either. Sometimes I just want to leave it all behind, but I can’t, because I’m expected to be something I’m not.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. And I don’t even know where my dad is. I just wish I had some kind of sign, or… something.”

For a brief moment, Zade didn’t say anything. He simply reached into his bag, pulling out a sketchbook. He opened it to the first page, showing me some of his artwork. The lines were delicate but strong, the shading impeccable. It was a side of him I hadn’t expected.

“Wow,” I whispered, genuinely impressed. “These are amazing, Zade.”

“Thanks,” he said quietly, a hint of pride in his voice. “I think about it a lot, but… I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to really do something with it.”

I wasn’t sure what to say next, but the silence between us felt comfortable. It wasn’t like with Selene, where everything felt like competition. With Zade, it was easy to just… exist in the moment.

And then, somehow, we were sitting closer than we’d been before. His breath was warm against my skin as he leaned in, his gaze dropping to my lips, and for a second, everything else faded away.

It was like time stopped. I could feel the heat between us, the electricity that had been building up ever since the first time we met. I didn’t know what would happen next, but all I knew was that I wanted it.

But before anything could happen, the door swung open, and Aaliyah and Rahul walked in, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Aaliyah said with a grin, noticing the sudden awkwardness between us. “But it’s lunch. Are you guys coming?”

Zade and I both jumped back, immediately pretending nothing had happened. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I stood up, trying to act normal.

“Uh, yeah,” Zade said, clearing his throat and standing up quickly. “We were just… talking about some stuff.”

Aaliyah and Rahul exchanged a quick glance but didn’t press. They just shrugged and left, leaving Zade and I standing there, still in the same awkward silence.

As soon as the door closed, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“That was close,” I muttered, half-laughing, half-gasping.

Zade didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he just stared at the floor for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“I don’t know what just happened,” I said quietly, my pulse still racing.

“Neither do I,” Zade said, his voice low and hesitant.

I quickly shifted my focus back to the mission. My heart felt like it was still stuck in my throat. But something lingered in the back of my mind—the fact that the memories I had erased also included Zade’s realization that Selene was his mate.

For a moment, the thought of dating Zade crossed my mind. Would he still feel the same way if he remembered everything? What if I let myself explore this, despite everything else?

I decided to ask Selene, even if it wasn’t directly.

“Hey, Selene,” I said casually, joining her and Roshni at lunch the next day, “how would you feel if Zade… dated someone else? I mean, he can make his own decisions right?”

Selene paused mid-bite and looked up at me, her eyes unreadable. “Of course, Zara. We’re young, we should explore whatever makes us happy.”

I didn’t notice how quickly she added that last part, or how distant her tone sounded. I was too busy focusing on the idea of being with Zade—without remembering the bigger picture. Without seeing the signs that Selene might not mean what she said.

But it was too late. I had already begun to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Zade and I could be something real.