The smell of smoke stopped me from responding. “Something’s burning.”
“Oh shit,” Ivan cried, lifting me off him and then jumping to his feet. “Be right back.”
I sat there, confused. Had he been cooking and forgot?
He soon reappeared, a sheepish look on his now reddened face. “I had made dinner for you and came up here to let you know. I got distracted, but your kitchen is fine.”
I frowned. “You forgot that easily? Even before the sex? That’s not like you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “No, it’s not. It won’t happen again.”
“Maybe we should go back to the infirmary, to get a checkup. You’ve been forgetting things a lot lately.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I need a little more time to heal. The doctor said it takes time.”
“I understand, but I don’t want my apartment to burn down in the process.” I reached up to grab his hand. “Also, I’m worried.”
He lifted our joined hands and kissed the top of mine. “Don’t be, love. I’m going to get better. I have husbandly duties to uphold.”
He said that with confidence, but I knew him too well. Knew the haunted look in his eyes. He was more concerned than he was letting on. And, therefore, so was I.
Chapter Eight
Ivan
Something, like a small pebble, bounced off the side of my head. I knew that it wasn’t, we were in a pub. It was most likely a nut. It didn’t mean it belonged near my head. Of course, I was laying it on the table, my right cheek smushed against the wood surface.
“He looks pitiful,” I heard Aaron say.
“He’s killing my vibe,” agreed Xander, a Prinathian lieutenant I worked with alongside Luca. He was also part of Lila’s pack. He had a reputation of being slightly unhinged, and it took me little time to witness this in action.
“What is this vibe you speak of?” Aaron asked.
He wiggled his dark brows, gray eyes gleeful. “Ah, it’s a term I learned from Lila. Humans have such colorful language. Itmeans mood. I’m trying to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. I don’t have duty tomorrow. But there’s a lump sitting between us that’s hard to ignore.”
Another nut was pelted at my head. I blew out a breath. “This lump has feelings. And those nuts hurt.”
Aaron reached over and patted me on the back. “Why so down, mate?”
“I almost burned her apartment down when I was cooking. And I’m forgetting things about our past all the time. She’s handling me like I’m some old grandparent she has to help walk across the street. I’m the alpha. I’m supposed to take care of her.”
Aaron snorted. “I don’t think she needs taking care of like many omegas. This is Jalisa we’re talking about. She’s practically an alpha, herself. If it wasn’t for her scent, I wouldn’t believe she was an omega.”
I rolled my eyes, not comforted by his words. “Fine. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the ward messed with me. I’m trying to play it cool for her sake, but she can see right through me.”
“Well, if you really aren’t well, maybe she has a right to be worried. The doctor did say some have died from that kind of ward.”
I sat up, slumping back against my chair. “The doctor says to give it time but also that this might just be the way I am now. That it’s better than being dead or severely brain damaged.”
Xander ran a hand through his short, wavy black hair, his face scrunched in thought. “Your doctor is right. You’re being too hard on yourself. Be lucky you have someone who understands you. Hopefully she’s like Lila and doesn’t get scared when you ask her to stab you while you climax.”
I swung my head in his direction. “You were doing well, right up until that last part. I’m surprised people sleep with their bedroom doors unlocked around you.”
He shrugged, face disturbingly unbothered. “Oh, no they lock them.”
“Smart.” But up until the stabbing part, he’d made sense. It was really my own complex about not being good enough that made this hard for me. Although I realized this was not supposed to be a true marriage, I didn’t want to be a burden to her. I had hope that we could work things out and I needed to be my best self to make that happen.
Aaron cleared his throat, tossing a concerned glance at Xander. Like me, he couldn’t easily ignore that last part. “Despite your breakup and that miscommunication, you and Jalisa were great together. She knows the real you and still likes you, that’s saying a lot.”
