Page 25 of Betrayed By the Alpha

Zach wished he had kept his mouth shut. Everything had been going so well. She was smiling, they were laughing and then his wolf had whispered the words to him because he wanted to claim their mate more than anything. He followed, pushing the fear that she wanted nothing to do with him again. It might have been two years since he had rejected her, but what he had done wasn’t easy to forgive. Zach wished he had never listened to Bruce. He somehow knew that Albert Green, Hayley’s father, had nothing to do with his father’s death, yet he’d listened.

It was a few weeks after the funeral ceremony of his father. Bruce came to pay his condolences. During his visit, they spoke about the coming election for the new Mayor of Bellefleur. The mourning days of his father were over, and the people were asking for a new Mayor. There was only one name on the mouth of everyone—Albert Green. He was the only one the people deemed worthy enough to take the seat after his father’s death. If you asked, some would even suggest to hand him the throne without question.

"You know, Albert Green has had his eye on the seat for years. The last time I spoke to him..."He shook his head. Bruce looked around, as if to make sure no one else was around. Then he faced Zach again. Leaning forward he said,"Zach, do you really believe that your father committed suicide?"

"I don’t know what to believe, Bruce,"Zach said."Though it seems you’d like to tell me something?"

"Take a look at the Greens, Zach. Ever since Albert was a young man, he has always pursued his desires without concern for what he had to do to achieve them.A few days before your father's death, I spoke with him about Albert's ambition to become Mayor, which he had recently confided in me. And now that your father is dead, who do you think the people are going to elect?"

"Bruce, you’re not seriously suggesting that Albert Green had something to do with my father’s death, are you?"

"I won’t say much, Zach. But there’s a lot that goes on that you don’t know about."Bruce stood up."I must head out now. Open your eyes, Zach. You are one of the smartest men I have ever met, don’t let the pity looks and kind words fool you."

Zach had listened to him, and it was the worst decision he had ever made. At that time, he didn’t even know Bruce was also contesting the Mayor’s seat until Albert’s death. The next time he saw Albert, Zach was filled with so much anger and hate. When he found out Albert’s daughter, Hayley Green, was his mate, Zach saw red. He wanted to cause her pain, along with her entire family, and so that was what he did by rejecting her.

"You just proved you are more stupid than you look. What do you think, just because of Daddy’s money, I’m going to welcome you as my mate with open arms?"

That was what he had told her. His wolf had tried to shut him up, but Zach remained stubborn. Then, last night, they finally connected and were getting along just fine. He didn’t know why he thought it was wise to bring it all up again.

"I messed up. I just had to ask, didn’t I?" He sighed. One night together didn’t mean that Hayley had forgiven him. Hecalled her several times, but she didn’t answer his calls. Zach was lost on what to do. He flipped his phone over in his hands, trying to decide who could help. Ryder was probably the worst person to ask advice when it came to women, but Zach just needed someone to speak to.

"Hey, where are you?" he asked when Ryder answered his call.

"Is there a problem?" Ryder sounded like he had just woken up. Zach was a bit surprised because Ryder was always out during the day. "Sorry, I haven’t checked in on how the bandit search is going. You’ll have to speak to Tolliver about that, I put him in charge."

"No, I’m not calling about that. I am heading to the bar, and I don’t want to drink alone. Come meet me."

"Not today, Zach. I try to get you out every night and you refuse. But the one time I decided I’m going to stay in and sleep all day is when you want to grab some drinks. Also, you could just easily say, ‘Hey, Ryder. Wanna get drinks with me and—' Ryder wasn’t given a chance to finish his sentence.

Zach was reminded that this was a bad idea as he listened to Ryder ramble on."You know what, never mind."

"Wait, dude." Ryder cleared his throat. "Don’t be so serious. I was only kidding. I’m not even sleeping. I was just pretending."

Zach chuckled. "No, no. I’m serious. We will hang out tomorrow, I promise. I’ve got to go now." Zach ended the call seconds later and rubbed his neck. If Hayley was stuck in his head, maybe he just needed to speak to her. Maybe they could move on from the past if they just cleared the air.

Zach got in his car, wondering if he should get Hayley something. He knew that sometimes, when a man wanted to ask a woman for forgiveness, he took a gift as some sort of peace offering. He wondered what he could get Hayley, something that she would find sweet. He brought his car to a stop and decided to search his phone.

What to bring to a lady when asking for forgiveness?

Google brought out a list of answers, but it was nothing he hadn’t already considered. In the end, he ended up going with nothing. He decided that Hayley wouldn’t appreciate it if he bought something for her. She would see it as a bribe and only feel insulted. Hayley, after all, was a woman who knew her worth.

When he arrived, he went straight to the front door. He had a gut feeling that climbing through her window again would not end well. He would just have to face Greta at the front door. The woman looked a bit surprised to see him. "Hello, Greta. Is Hayley in? I want to see her."

"No, Alpha, she’s not."

Zach’s heart fell when he heard that. "Did she tell you to tell me that because she doesn’t want to see me?" He had to ask.

"Oh no. She is staying the night at her friend’s place and will be back tomorrow morning," Greta told him.

"I don’t plan on hurting Hayley again, Greta." He braced himself, because whenever she talked to him, it was either to remind him of his promise to Hayley or to tell him she didn’t trust him. Sometimes, Zach found it funny how Greta looked like such a kind woman but was actually quite fierce. He suddenly felt defeated and sighed. "Never mind, maybe I’m not in the mood to have this conversation with you."

Greta looked at him in surprise. "She uh... I think she is avoiding you. Did something happen?"

How was he even going to begin?

"It’s nothing."

"Well, whatever it is. I pray you two work it out."

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