Crave

37 - fueled to fight by hunger

Three days had passed in silence for Zaire. He would wake up early each morning and walk Katana with the bodyguards by his side. No matter how scary Woo looked, his presence felt like a safety blanket to Zaire. Now that the older man was no longer there, the omega felt restless due to lack of sleep. Zaire had gotten used to a certain scent lulling him into dreamland. Now, he would awake several times throughout the night because of nightmares.

During the day, he spent most of his time cleaning or playing with Katana in the garden. As ordered, Zaire had to send Woo a picture every time he had a meal since the wolf wasn't picking up his calls. When night would fall, Zaire would go upstairs to the main bedroom with the cane corso following him. At night, Tara would stand guard in the hall facing his bedroom while Vedant watched around the mansion.

Tonight, the omega felt the same restlessness again. Zaire tossed and turned but couldn't sleep. He let out a sigh and sat up. The omega looked at the other side of the bed, where the alpha normally slept. A few days had passed since Woo had been gone and his scent was very distant in the bedroom. It made it hard for the younger man to sleep. Zaire realized he had gotten used to the alpha's protective presence lulling him to sleep each night.

The omega got up and left the bed quietly, careful not to wake Katana who slept on the floor next to him. Zaire went to the walk-in closet and his nose picked up Woo's heavy scent here. With trembling hands, the wolf picked up a white button-up shirt and held it against his face. He whined as Woo's scent hit his senses. Zaire grabbed the button-up shirt and went to the bathroom. He undressed himself and wore the white button-up only. The piece of clothing covered him down to his knees and Woo's scent wrapped around him.

Desperate to sleep, Zaire went to his bedroom and grabbed his teddy bear. The omega went back to Woo's room and climbed into bed. He covered himself with the sheets and hugged his bear close. The scent of Woo's shirt began to lull him to sleep. The omega had gotten used to a heavy muscular arm wrapped around his waist and to the feel of a toned broad chest resting beneath him.

'Why is it so hard to sleep without him?'

Zaire's heart jumped when he felt his phone ringing. Who was calling him so late? The omega looked at the time on his phone to see that it was almost midnight. Zaire sat up quickly when he saw Woo's name appear on the screen. He picked up the call immediately and sat up while clutching his bear.

'Hello?'

'Omega.'

Zaire felt his heart race as he heard the deep voice from the other end of the line.

'Alpha?'

'Your dinner was small tonight. Why?'

'I-I wasn't that hungry.'

'Tomorrow, send a picture of a bigger portion.'

'I-I will.'

The omega answered softly. It went quiet for a few minutes but Woo didn't hang up the phone. Zaire decided to break the awkward silence.

'W-What about you?'

"What?"

'D-Did you eat already?'

'Didn't have time.'

Zaire frowned at hearing that. The omega didn't like that Woo hadn't eaten. No matter how the older man acted, the alpha always made sure Zaire ate full meals.

'I'll talk to you later, omega.'

Before Zaire could respond, he heard shouting from the other line before it went silent. The omega pouted and lay down in the cold sheets. He clutched the teddy bear in his arm and hid his nose in the collar of the shirt, where Woo's scent was the strongest. The night passed, but with broken sleep.