Chapter 82: Protective Alpha
Moana
“We’ll take all of the dresses that she just tried on.”
My eyes went wide and my face went pale. I knew that Edrick would insist on purchasing something for me today, but… Everything? I tried to protest, but he wouldn’t hear it. As I sheepishly walked back into the fitting room and took the expensive dress off, my heart was pounding.
Once I was dressed again, I came out and handed the dresses to the grinning saleswoman, who was likely more excited to get a large commission for this purchase than anything else. I still felt utterly shocked as we made our way over to the counter and Edrick paid without batting an eye. I didn’t know how I would make this up to him, but I knew that I would have to figure something out.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I said quietly as we walked out of the store. “How can I make it up to you?”
Edrick stopped and turned to face me. Even through his mask, I could tell that he was frowning.
“You’re carrying my baby,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I’m the one who’s making it up to you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Edrick’s sudden, kind words sent a shock through my body. What happened to the cold, unfeeling Alpha CEO I had met just a couple of months ago? Suddenly, however, Edrick’s eyes narrowed a bit as he studied my face intently.
“You look a little pale,” he said. “Are you okay?”
I hadn’t realized it before, but trying on so many dresses took a lot of energy out of me, and I hadn’t eaten in a while. “Um… I’m a bit hungry,” I admitted, realizing now just how faint I felt.
Without a word, Edrick nodded and hooked his arm through mine — another unexpected display of affection that I wasn’t prepared for, but before I could think about it too much, he began to guide me toward the food court. “There’s a place here with excellent sandwiches,” he said. “We’ll get something to eat there.”
“Th-Thanks,” I stuttered as I followed him. Time and time again today, I was shocked by Edrick’s kind and generous attitude so soon after the tabloid incident that was, in my eyes, entirely my fault. Even as we walked, I could feel some other shoppers’ eyes on us as they noticed the werewolf-human couple with masks on walking around, but it didn’t seem to faze Edrick in the slightest. He seemed so nonchalant that I was frankly confused as to why he didn’t appear to be very worried about someone looking too closely and recognizing us. Had he made some sort of deal with the tabloid CEO to not post photos of us anymore? It was a possibility, but there were other tabloids that could easily post our pictures, and I was shocked that he didn’t seem to care. It was almost as though the entire experience changed something in him.
When we arrived at the food court, there were a plethora of restaurants to choose from. Edrick gave me a chance to take a look at the other food being offered, but I began to feel a little sick from the smell, so he guided me over to a bench a little ways away.
“You can wait here,” he said, setting our shopping bags down beside me as I sat. “I’ll get us some sandwiches. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded, and before I could say anything else, he quickly jogged off to the food court. I glanced over my shoulder to watch him as he went; in his white polo shirt, I could see his bicep muscles straining against the short sleeves. I also couldn’t help but notice some other young women ogling him, and I quickly looked away before I let myself get too jealous.
As I waited, I took that time to close my eyes and take some deep breaths. Not even a few minutes passed, however, before I felt someone sit down next to me. I opened my eyes, expecting to see Edrick, but felt a knot form in my stomach as I saw that it was a different man.
He smelled like alcohol, and he was staring right at me.
I leaned away, forcing a weak smile behind my mask.
“Um… H-Hello,” I said, scooting a little further away on the bench.
The man only grinned and scooted closer to me. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing hiding your face?” he asked. As he spoke, the smell of alcohol only became stronger as his breath wafted over to me. It almost made me gag. Before I could even answer, he spoke again. “Take your mask off. I wanna see how you look.”
“N-No thank you,” I said. I stood then and grabbed my shopping bags. “Have a nice day.”
The man’s face darkened. I turned to walk over to the food court, but I suddenly felt his hand grip my wrist so tightly it burned, and it wouldn’t loosen even as I tried to wrench my arm away.
“Don’t be so coy,” he said with a sinister smirk as his eyes traveled down my body. “I don’t normally go for humans, but you’re too beautiful.”
“Th-Thank you, but I’m not interested,” I said. I tried again to wrench my arm away, but his grip only tightened. By now, I began to panic and let out a small cry of pain. I glanced over at the food court, but I could only see a sliver of Edrick’s form as he spoke to the food vendor. My heart raced; I needed him to come back faster, but I couldn’t call his name for fear of our identities being revealed.
“You know,” the man said, pulling me so hard I fell back down to a seated position on the bench and causing tears to well up in my eyes, “a lowly human such as yourself should be grateful that a wealthy werewolf like me is even remotely interested in you. Come on, sweetheart… Spend the night with me and I’ll buy you anything you want.”
“I-I don’t want to spend the night with you,” I insisted, my voice shaking as tears began to stream down my cheeks and soak my mask.
The man only grinned even wider. “Let’s see what you’re hiding behind that mask, anyway…” He reached out then with his free hand to pull my mask down, still gripping my wrist tightly.
Before he could, however, Edrick’s voice boomed from beside me.
“What are you doing to her?” Edrick snarled, storming up to the man. Instantly, I felt my fear turn into relief. As I looked up at Edrick, I saw that his icy gray eyes were now glowing a silvery color, which I had never seen them do before.
The man chuckled. “Leave us alone,” he said, waving his hand at Edrick dismissively. “She’s already been spoken for.”
Suddenly, Edrick’s hand shot out. He grabbed a fistful of the man’s shirt and lifted him off the bench, causing the man to release his grip on my wrist as he scrambled nervously. Edrick’s eyes narrowed as he brought his face just inches away from the man’s face.
“Get the hell out of here before I call the cops,” Edrick growled. He released the man’s shirt, and the man quickly scurried away without another word. Edrick watched after him for several moments before sitting down beside me and grabbing my wrist.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked, inspecting my reddened wrist.
“I’m alright,” I said quietly, wiping my tears away with my free hand. Edrick sighed; he turned toward me, almost as though he was about to hug me as his gray eyes softened. But then, he only looked away quickly and handed me my sandwich. Without another word, he turned forward and draped his arm across my shoulders protectively as he glanced in the direction that the creepy man took off to. I felt my body relax beneath his touch, but my heart continued to race as I felt him rubbing my upper arm comfortingly.
“Go ahead and eat,” he said gently. “Everything is okay now.”
