Zelda
“Thank you,” I muttered as I stepped out of the truck.“Pleasure is all mine munchkin.” He smiled.Munchkin? Seriously?He’s gone into daddy mode. Already?I scoffed inwardly and shook my head as I turned to leave. Taking another look at my wristwatch, I sighed in exasperation as I stepped inside the store.I was thirty minutes late. I just hope that Randolph leaves some crumbs from my brain after chewing on it. I could survive on that.“If it isn’t princess Zelda.”Randolph was right at the door as I stepped in. He seemed to be waiting there for me.“I had a fever,” I lied.Without waiting for him to speak further, I went into the changing room to change into my work suit. It was a yellow polo shirt with the store’s logo written boldly on it.“Oh really?” Randolph was right behind me, manning the door. “I’m so lucky to have you here right now,” he gasped dramatically.I rolled my eyes and smacked my lips. The man is one hell of a drama king.“I’m fine now,” I said as I stepped out.“Hmm,” he checked me out and came closer to whisper, “Corona?”“What?” I jumped. “No way!”“Okay,” he shrugged. “Just making sure.”If anyone caught the virus, it would be you. I mumbled.“Did you say something?” Randolph looked back.I shook my head and feigned a serious look.“The new manager is resuming today,” he began. “I want you to cooperate with him and be on your best behaviour, Zel.” Randolph handed me the keys and left.“What did he say?” Gina whispered as I arrived at the desk.Gina is a twenty-two-year-old single mother. And my workmate.I’ve known her for five months and she’s been nothing but sweet. Except sweet don’t work for me.All she wants is to work and save up so she can take care of her daughter.“Uh… Something about a new manager." I shrugged. "Heard that before?”Gina squeezed her face, shook her head and cussed.“As if old Randolph isn’t enough. Now, we'd get another one? Urgh.”I smiled and tapped her shoulder.“Let’s just hope this one whines less than Randolph.”“Randolph is a whiner, he’ll definitely bring a senior whiner for the….”“Shh,” I silenced her as I noticed that a customer was approaching.“Hello. Can I have a hamburger with cappuccino?” A middle-aged woman with the voice of a rooster ordered.“Sure ma’am,” I picked her order and passed it to her.I raised my head as there was a sudden noise coming from the front door. I looked in the direction of the noise and wondered what was happening.“I’ll go see,” Gina was off in an instant.She returned with a pout on her face. She was angry.“What happened?” I asked, but before she could respond, I heard that voice again.“You’re here to work, not gossip.” That divine baritone was right here.No. It possibly can’t be. It’s probably my imagination.I mean, why would Drake come back here? I saw him leave earlier and I didn’t leave anything behind in the car.“I wasn’t gossiping, I only wanted to know what the noise was about.” Gina replied in her defense.“The door isn’t where you were hired to be. You should’ve let security handle that,” Drake stated firmly.Seriously?Is he always so blunt? I didn’t notice that before.Well, I didn’t notice anything about him except his extraordinary beauty. I was too busy gawking at him to notice other traits.Why is he here anyway?As if to answer my question, Randolph came out and let out a loud chuckle as he noticed Drake.“Welcome.”Randolph put forth his hand for a handshake, but Drake just stared at the hand and stood unbothered with both his hands in his pocket.He’s full of himself too.“Thank you, Randolph,” he replied.Oh, that voice.“The place is yours to control, with or without my presence.” Randolph pointed at the corner of the store.What?His to control? What is Randolph saying?Drake has only just arrived in Silvertail. He hasn’t been here for twenty-four hours and he’s already the manager of Rand Store?“This here is Gina,” Randolph pointed at us, respectively. “And Zelda. They handle the desk.“The place needs a lot of adjustments,” Drake moved forward to take a proper look at the store. “And the people here need proper orientation.”Randolph closed his mouth and eyed me.“I didn’t do anything,” I mouthed, and he frowned.Guess he thinks it’s my fault that Drake is all fuzzy. I wish I could tell him that the guy is just naturally an ass.He doesn’t look like it, but acts like it.“It’s yours to handle now. You can do as you please.”If I didn’t hear it properly at first, I hear it clearly now. Randolph literally just gave the leadership and ownership of his store to Drake.How did that happen?“Of course. I’ll bring it to order," Drake sounded sure.He is narcissistic too.A bad combo for a stud like him.As if the conversation wasn’t loud enough for us to hear, Randolph stood before the desk and pointed at Drake. He was smiling foolishly like he was staring at his idol.“Girls, this is Mr. Drake, the new manager.”Mr. Drake? Really?“Welcome aboard,” Gina and I spoke in unison.“Howdy girls.” He flashed that genial smile again, making me want to….Oh no.Something is wrong with my head. What the hell am I even thinking?“He’s hot!” Gina gasped, stunning me.Wasn’t she furious earlier? She even cussed at him and now she’s fawning?“Are you serious?”She already understood why I said that and she shrugged, “All is forgiven.”“Oh, I see.” I muttered as my eyes caught Drake’s.He was staring at me.I looked away and returned to attending to customers and Drake also left, heading towards his new office.However, the table phone suddenly rang. Gina answered it, but immediately passed it to me.“It’s for you.”I placed the receiver on my ear and was immediately hit by that divine voice as he said, “Munchkin, can I have you here in my office?”I took a long pause and contemplated declining, but his tone became all bossy as he yelled, “... .Now!”Drake Silvertail.My return to this pack is solely for one reason and that is to find the man who murdered my brother.Lucas Wayne, my treacherous uncle. The infamous Alpha of Silvertail. Lucas stood by us when my father died. He helped my mother out with the palace and Pack business. He helped train me and my older brother Denver in combat. He taught us all we needed to know about palace affairs. However, when the time came for Denver to step up and become the king, he was suddenly murdered. Denver wasn't just my elder brother, he was everything to me. Friend, companion and partner. However, he was killed by an unknown man whose origin was later traced to having been hired by my uncle.My world shattered after the death of Denver, but I took a vow to avenge his death.After years of waiting, it's finally time to get rid of my evil uncle, but for that to happen, I have to pretend to be someone else and travel to a far away land where he now resides as the Alpha. I arrived in Silv
Zelda"You called for me." I mumbled as I arrived in his cabin. "Come in."I stepped inside to find him sitting elegantly. His back turned to me as he swivelled the chair. "Yes sir," I tried to sound formal. It took a lot of effort for me to stay focused. His scent was all over. His auburn hair shone like the setting sun. I was tempted to touch and ruffle his hair, but I managed to stay within my limit. I stood there for goddess knows how long, yet he didn't say a word. He seemed determined to torture me. Does he know how much he affects me? This mate bond is so compelling. It's making me want to do outrageous things even though I know that it's totally wrong. My mother deserves all the happiness in the world. After my father's death, I've never seen my mother with any other man. She chose to bury herself with work and she made my welfare her priority. However, in the past few weeks, I've noticed the difference in her. I didn't know the reason behind her happiness, but I was
Drake“I, Zelda Grayson, reject you as my mate.”I watched and listened in awe. I couldn’t close my mouth. At first, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. I mean, how could she reject me? Did I do something wrong?Last I checked, I did nothing wrong at all. So why? Why on earth did she reject me?I am the most sought bachelor in the land and this tiny little thing dares to reject me? I find it so unbelievable. I mean, I find it so hard to believe that she just rejected me. I must have heard wrong.I ignored the pain in my chest and tried to hold her once again but, she moved away before I could. Her beautiful ocean-blue eyes held no emotion at all. She stood straight and firm on her decision.“Now, we share no bond. You can be with my mom.”Seriously? She isn’t just a young kitten. She is naive too.I mean, how much does she understand the bond? Does she think that everything ends with just her rejection?I scoffed in disbelief and stared at the cute little kitten before me.Sh
ZeldaDid I do the right thing by rejecting him? I have asked myself that question several times but I got no answer. All I know is that I'm willing to go to any length to give my mother the joy she deserves. If rejecting my long-awaited mate can give her that then it's fine. I went straight to the restroom after leaving Drake's cabin. Tears flowed freely on my face as I sat in the water closet. I could do nothing to stop it. I don't know if the tears were from my aching heart or my distraught memory. It's hardly been two days since Jake's betrayal, and now this. I clutched my chest as the pain hit me hard. I wonder why I am suddenly feeling so much pain in my heart since I broke my bond with Drake. I sat in the closet and buried my head between my Lap, letting the tears rain down. I was in pain. My heart was in shambles. I don't know why the tears won't stop when It was my own decision to reject my mate. I stood up abruptly after several minutes of crying. I couldn't even
Zelda"Why don't you shove it down your bitchy throat!" I wanted to scream as the smoothie splattered across my face and attacked my eyes. I bit my lips and chose to keep my pain in. I wouldn't want to give Cindy the joy of seeing me cry. "What did you do!" Gina screamed and immediately took my hand to lead me to the bathroom but I stopped her and shook my head. It's improper and unethical if we both leave the counter. There'd be no one to attend to the customers and that would seem unprofessional and I'm sure that Randolph wouldn't like that and neither would Drake. I wouldn't want to overstep after what I did back there. "But ..." Gina protested. I brushed my hand through my face so that I could open my eyes and see her. I smiled and winked, assuring her that I am okay. "Stay back and attend to the customers."Gina knew that I was right so she didn't argue. She returned to the counter and I proceeded to leave. I took one last look at Jake and my heart shattered at the apathe
Drake"It's been two years," Randolph replied.Hm. Two years, huh?"So, Zelda has been hanging around that...." I paused as I realized that I was about to speak a cuss word. ".....Jake for two years.""Yes, Your Majesty.""Alright. I want you to keep an eye on them."Randolph frowned and raised his head to look at me. "As you know, Zelda is my stepdaughter. So it's only right if I watch over her."Randolph nods in understanding. "Yes sir.""Good. You may leave."I placed an envelope on the table before closing my eyes. I heard the closing sound of the door and knew at once that he was gone. With my head on the headrest. Eyes closed. Hand safely tucked by my side, I swivelled the chair around and thought about all that just happened. I know that I shouldn't be so affected or bothered by what Zelda did, but I don't know why I feel aggrieved. At first, I thought it was because of the pain of rejection but soon it became clear to me that something in me was wounded. Zelda wounded my
Drake"Well, here at Dolph Store, if you make a mess, you clean it up."The look on Froggy's face was worth the drama. I mean, she looked like she would scream out her lungs and tear me apart but she had to keep all that anger to herself as she noticed that I wasn't going to change my mind. She looked at her Fiancé instead. "You're joking, right?" Jake's brow raised defiantly. He looked like he would start a war. "You don't want to find out." I handed the bucket to him and stepped farther away, motioning for them to begin. Miss Froggy picked the mop with her nose twisted funnily. "Are you just going to stand by and let us get insulted?" Her voice was full of hope and somewhat authoritative. She was expecting Jake to put up a fight or a protest and honestly, so was I.I wanted to see how daring my cousin is, and how he fights to defend his honour. I usually do not get involved in such silly fights but this young man standing before me was born to a man I'd do anything to kill.
ZeldaI sat in my favourite Peugeot truck at Drake's insistence and he took his place as the driver. He brought me to work in the morning and now he's taking me back home.I shivered as the cold air kissed my skin. Drake noticed this and immediately turned on the cooler. Why is he being so nice to me? Shouldn't he be mad at me? Shouldn't he be pissed that I rejected him? Why is he acting so cool? I couldn't help the light sting in my heart every time our eyes met. I felt guilty.I bit my lips as I tried to think of what to say. It's been a rough day, and to think that we only just met. Not knowing what to say, I chose to apologize. He looked at me like I was speaking a strange language so I explained the reason behind my apology. "It's not your fault."Really? Is it not my fault? Whose fault is it then?If I didn't get myself entangled with Jake, then I probably wouldn't be in so much pain. I gave my heart to him and he smashed it into pieces.If I didn't fall in love with him t