Alpha Dylan

Chapter 44 | Is This Just A Game?

"Don't lie. Is it disgusting?" Dylan asked me, his brows furrowed as he watched me slowly chew his tomato pasta.

"No, no it's not," I lied, shaking my head, but Dylan rolled his eyes, grabbing the bowl from me and throwing the food in the trash.

"I can tell when you're lying, Clara," my mate laughed, setting the bowl down in the sink. "I know I'm not a good cook."

I swallowed the over salted mouthful of food, laughing. "It wasn't that bad."

"It tasted like acid."

Jumping off the stool, I made my way over to him, wrapping my arms around his back, enjoying the way his muscles relaxed under my touch. "Thank you for trying."

"I'll heat up some soup for you instead."

I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filling it up with water, quickly guzzling it down, wiping at the excess water that dribbled down my chin. "I'm not hungry anymore. I want to go back to sleep."

Dylan looked me up and down, before sighing, shaking his head. "You've been sleeping all day every day, baby. I don't think it's good for you mentally."

I ran my hands through my hair, plopping myself down on the sofa, resting my head back against the leather. "I don't have to think about everything when I'm asleep."

My mate settled down next to me, looking over me with pity, cupping my cheeks. "I know you're struggling, and that's absolutely fine, but please listen to me. We need to do something about this. I'm not letting you waste away in your bed. You deserve far more than that."

Dylan leaned forward, capturing my lips with his, kissing me softly and lovingly, before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine. "We are a team, okay? We are in this together."

I nodded, smiling sadly at my mate, feeling overwhelmingly thankful for everything he had done for me, knowing he was also struggling, but wasn't letting on how much everything was affecting him.

"I'll let Beta Charles know that we've made our decision about your pack re-locating, and that everyone will need to pack up and be ready by tomorrow morning."

I furrowed my brows, chewing on my tongue harshly. "That doesn't give everyone a whole lot of time."

"I know, but it's better to do this quickly for the safety of the pack."

"Do you even have enough space over here? What about houses? Where will everyone be staying?"

Dylan placed a kiss on the top of my head, smiling at me. "It's all sorted. We had a few empty houses anyway, and my men have been working hard building new ones just in case. It'll be a bit of a squeeze, but I think we can make it work once all of the houses are finished."

"Thank you. Thank you for everything."

Jared's POV:

I wheeled my way into Amelia's living room, smiling at the sight of her sprawled across the entire sofa, her face buried into a large bag of pretzels.

"Save some for the rest of us," I chuckled, causing her to look up, slightly embarrassed, her face tinged pink.

"Um, sorry," she spoke, her voice quiet.

Something about Amelia had changed in the past week. She was no longer her cocky, sarcastic self. Instead, she had let her wall down, and revealed to me that she was actually quite insecure and unsure of herself.

Gazing over at her, I saw her shift uncomfortably, fiddling with her hands in her lap. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because you're beautiful," I said, the words slipping out of my mouth before I had time to process them myself.