Luna Zahra

Chapter 15 - Risky Accusations

Lena and I arrived to Ryder's office in record time, knowing good and well that he and Elijah were in there likely having a talk similar to the one Lena and I had just had. I took a deep breath as I stood outside the door, Lena standing behind me with Camilla, and slowly reached up to knock on the large, wooden door.

After several seconds of silence, the door opened to reveal a very rough looking Ryder. He had dark circles under his eyes and dark-blonde stubble on his face – both characteristics that were not his norm. He hadn't sleep, just like me. This was taking a toll on him as well, if not more so.

"Zahra," he spoke, clearing his throat slightly before opening the door wider for us to enter. "You failed to tell me about our guests arriving today."

"I'm sorry for the intrusion," Lena piped up from behind me. Ryder's eyes lit up a bit as his eyes landed on Lena and Camilla, making me realize that the two were fond of each other in a completely platonic way. They had become unspoken friends during Lena's difficulties with Alpha Dean several years back, it appeared.

"It's not intrusion at all, I was just...surprised," Ryder responded to her before ushering us into the room and shutting the door.

Elijah was seated on one of the couches in the office, sipping a glass of water. Lena quickly made her way towards him, taking her place next to him on the couch and handing him Camilla.

Ryder and I stared at each other for a moment, unsure of who was going to make the first move. Although we hadn't even been apart for twenty-four hours, we'd had plenty of time to think over the situation.

"I'm sorry," I finally blurted out. "I haven't been fair to you...no...no I've been awful to you, yet...you've been so good to me. You don't deserve the way I've treated you, and I'm really going to try my hardest to be more open and give our bond a chance...to give you the chance you deserve."

Ryder's eyes lit up at my words, although his facial expression remained unchanged. Part of me knew he didn't want to get his hopes up or react too strongly out of fear of how I'd respond. My heart sank slightly at this, but I couldn't blame him. We had a lot of work to do.

I had a lot of work to do.

"That means a lot coming from you, Zahra," Ryder spoke, seeming as though he was choosing his words carefully. "I truly hope that's the case, and I look forward to developing this bond with you."

My heart sunk further.

He was being so formal with me...so distant.

He didn't believe me.

And once again, I couldn't blame him.

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling rather emotional over the situation. I was a bit upset that he wasn't trusting me or believing me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't even really be upset – I'd never given him any reason to trust me.

"I understand your hesitance," I spoke up again, deciding to address the elephant in the room. "If I was in your position, I wouldn't believe me or trust me for a second, but I promise I meant every word I said, and I am a woman of my word."

Ryder stared back at me for several long seconds before nodding. He was so hard to read in moments like this. It was like he was having an internal battle with himself, which would make sense. Part of him wanted to believe me and run to me with full embrace, while the other part was cautious and hurt.

"Then let's go on a date tomorrow," he suddenly blurted out, catching me off guard completely.

I raised an eyebrow, not sure how to react. Although mates spent lots of times together and did things that could be considered "dates," dating wasn't a part of mating at all in wolf culture. There was not courtship like there was with humans. You found your mate, and usually, that's all there ever was to it. The bond did the rest.