UNTAMED: THE ALPHA

Emily's mind had been plagued with this question for a long time, but she didn't have any courage to ask for the clarification. She was afraid this would ruin everything between them.

But, they were no longer a child and the thing between them needed to be said clearly, or else, it would be snowballing and become a huge misunderstanding.

"Eros." Emily stopped him when he was about to enter the room to meet Xerxes. She squeezed his hand tightly when he was about to let go.

"Hm?" Eros turned around and then looked at her patiently, he had been very patience with her ever since the day they met twelve years ago. "What is it?" Eros was waiting for what she wished to say.

Emily licked her lips, her throat suddenly became so dry and she couldn't squeeze out the words that she wanted to say. Her heart was thumping so wildly and in this silent, Emily was sure that Eros would be able to hear her frantic heart. With his excellent hearing that was possible.

She opened her mouth, but then she closed it again, didn't know what to say.

"Just say it." Eros stretched out his hand and caressed her cheek, tucking strand of her hair behind her ear. His touch was so gentle, but that was how the way she remembered him. He was always so gentle toward her.

"Do you love me?" Emily blurted out, her ears rang and her face flushed crimson when she said it. She finally said it and she didn't know what to do right now, because Eros was visibly surprised with that question.

Emily blinked her eyes and gulped down nervously because she didn't know what kind of reaction that she would get, did she just make a mistake? What if Eros didn't like it? Did she overstep the line?

Emily wanted to avert her eyes from Eros, but she couldn't bring herself to do it because she was stunned speechless by how bold she was at this moment.

On the other hand, Eros's shock expression began relax again and he showed a gentle smile when he watched how fidgeting Emily was.

He leaned over and kissed her temple again, while saying in his low and a little bit hoarse tone. "Of course, I am."

He loved her, but did he mean the love between woman and man?

They had said they loved each other when they were children and growing up, the word of 'love' had lost in translation for both of them, the meaning became so blur.

What kind of love that he meant? Was that the same like she did?

"What are you trying to say?" Eros asked her again, he caressed her ear gently. He didn't look upset, or let her knew what was in his mind.

Emily didn't know what got into her, what possessed her to do the next thing that she did, because a second later, she had tiptoed and pressed her lips against his.

It lasted for a brief second, but Emily felt her head would explode with the rush of her adrenaline.

"I…" Emily tried to find an excuse to justify what she had done, but her tongue failed her and the shock on Eros's blue eyes made her unable to find a word in her mind, she was afraid that Eros would push her away or treat her differently.

If she could, she would turn back time and swallow her confession, or she would kick herself before she made such a bold move to kiss him.

What she had to do now? What she would do if Eros hated her and thought bad about her?

Emily couldn't help it, she lowered her head because the tension was so great, she waited what Eros reaction would be.

But, when she thought Eros would ignore her and pretend that didn't happen, or even got angry for what she had done, he caressed her hair and kissed her head instead, which made Emily raised her head to see him.

There was no resentment in his eyes, there was no disgust or anger in his expression, he was smiling softly, which gave her a relief.

"I will go inside now, tell me if there something happened here, okay?" his voice was so calm, he didn't get angry, but he acted as if there was nothing happened.

"O… okay," Emily stammered. What was that? Why he didn't say anything about it? Why he acted so calm and collected?

Emily wanted to know, but she couldn't push him further.

In the end, she could only watch how Eros entered the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her in this dark corridor, with this confusion and frustration.

Did he even think about her as a woman?

Emily bit her lips, she felt her heart thumped wildly against her chest and her face became so hot, she didn't want to think what kind of expression that she should show him when they returned to their room again.

She completely forgot with the fact that they were still living in the same bedroom that they occupied since they were children.

But, starting from now on, everything would change, what she did would make things changed between them.

Emily sighed deeply and cursed at herself. She lifted her head and leaned her back against the wall. In front of her was grubby and scrubby garden.

The night was very still, the wind didn't even blow and the moon hid behind gloomy sky.

Inside the room, Eros didn't immediately walk toward the sickbed of the previous alpha. He stood in silent, as he touched his lips. His expression was devoid from any emotions, but there were a lot of things that flashed in his mind and this made him frowned, before finally he decided to brush it away and then walked toward Xerxes.

"I have been wondering…" Xerxes spoke in his hoarse voice, his breathing became ragged. "…When will you see me again." There was a smirk that curled on the corner of his lips when he spoke to Eros, as if he had been waiting for this moment and lived only for this visit.

"We can continue now," Eros said coldly, completely different tone from the way he talked to Emily earlier, even though he in shocked by her strange action tonight.

Xerxes chuckled, but it came out as a gruffy sound, as if he was coughing.

"I am old already… I forget what our last… conversation…" He was still that jerk of alpha even now when he could no longer do anything, he loved to be in control.

"Why Emmet died?" Eros reminded him immediately, he didn't bother at all with the way he treated him, because for him, this was nothing, his measly attempt to preserve what dominance that he had in his golden days looked so pathetic for him, moreover, Eros didn't have time to dwindle with such thing.

"Oh, right… my son died…" Xerxes looked very gloomy with the mentioned of his son. He remembered clearly what happened that night and what Zuri had done to him like it only happened yesterday.

Not only that bitch killed his first son, but she also burned him, even though it was Liam, who had continued to torture him, but if it was not because of that ungrateful girl, he wouldn't be in this place right now and Liam wouldn't have stood a chance to get the alpha position from him after what he had done.

"Why he died?" Eros asked again, his patience became so thin because he didn't give him the answer that he wanted immediately.

"That stupid girl… killed him," Xerxes said simply, but when the pressure of the silence and Eros's lack of reaction, he was forced to continue with his explanation about that night.

He didn't have all the detail about how Emmet did Zuri, of course, he was not sick enough to eavesdrop their deed, but it was satisfying for him to recount the pain that he had inflicted to that ungrateful bitch.

"You did what?" Eros's voice was exceptionally cold, his blue eyes became a few shades darker.

However, it didn't occur to Xerxes the predicament that was waiting for him because of his reckless words. He wanted to brag, to flaunt the devilish thing that he had done, because this was a habit of him, which he couldn't get rid of.

Yet, he was out of touch from reality for so many years and now he lost his instinct to read the situation and more importantly to read Eros's intention.

"I didn't do it…" he gasped for air, telling this story made him excited and hyperventilated him. "Liam did it… that stupid boy… apparently was not that stupid…"

With so much difficulty, Xerxes told Eros how Liam had tricked Zuri and how he got everything, how he manipulated people around him to get to his position right now.

He was exceptionally talented at manipulating people around him and Eros shouldn't be surprise for that, since he had followed him for years, he must have seen countless time what Xerxes meant by that.

"I am not completely blameless… but, he is even scarier than me…" he gasped for air, while Eros's mind reeled with this new information that he got.

He couldn't stop this anger.

He shouldn't feel like this, since that girl was not his concern, but… he couldn't deny the fact that she was his mate…

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*Read my new book: KISSED BY THE DARK ALPHA*

Alpha Micah Donovan's second chance mate.