Chapter 42 Chapter 42
ZANE
I didn’t like the feeling I had of not knowing what was coming. It had been two weeks since that girl had sighted Mariah, and there was still no sign of her.
I stretched in bed and rolled over to find Ella gone. I scowled, grumpy that I couldn’t hold my mate. Then I heard the shower running.
I hopped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, stripping my clothes off on the way. The hot steam of the shower perked me up.
I saw the naked image of my mate and stood behind her, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist. Ella leaned into me and gripped my arms with her hands.
“Good morning, love,” I whispered.
“Hmm,” she sighed contentedly.
I smiled and kissed her neck.
“Spend the day with me?”
Ella laughed, “I spend every day with you, we work together.”
“Come to the lake with me, or we can take a trip to the cliffs again.”
Ella turned in my arms to face me.
“You can’t keep ditching work, Mr. Alpha.”
“Fine, then let’s wander off at lunchtime and have a picnic,” I asked before kissing her cheek lightly.
Ella smiled.
“Deal.”
We finished washing up and made our way down to breakfast.
“Good morning, Alpha! Good morning, Luna!” the pack members in the dining room sang as we entered.
“Morning!” we echoed back as we made our way to the counter and grabbed some plates.
“Good morning, you two,” Sophie smiled warmly.
“Hey Mom, do you mind if we pack up lunch this afternoon? We’re going to take a small picnic.”
“Sure! I’ll pack something up for you after breakfast. Do you want me to drop it at your office?”
“Nah,” I replied.
“We’ll come to get it when we are ready to leave.”
After breakfast, Ella and I went to the office and took care of some work. Even though my father was still technically alpha, Daniel had been slowly handing responsibilities off to me.
This morning, I had a few pack member transfers for wolves who had found their mates. Even though I had given Ella her own office next door, she would still sit in mine sometimes to do her work.
I looked up from my files and watched my luna, the sight of her making me smile.
I loved how she would bite her lip when she was thinking. I loved how her long wavy hair would sometimes fall in her face, and she would whisk it out of the way.
She was beautiful, and I had no idea why I had fought against her in the past.
“You ready for lunch?” Ella asked, snapping me from my reverie.
I looked up and smiled.
“Almost, let me sign a few more of these and I’ll meet you outside.”
Ella stood up and walked out of the office, leaving me to concentrate on the last few papers I needed to finish.
When I finished, I hopped up and made my way outside, excited for a small break with Ella. I knew exactly where we would go.
“Ready?” I asked as I walked out the front door to meet Ella.
“Ready!” She smiled, holding up the picnic basket in one hand and a blanket in the other. I took the basket and carried it down the hill with Ella in tow.
“So where are we going to sit?” she asked as we walked.
“There’s an awesome spot past the training grounds I want to show you.”
I walked past the training field and through the trees to another clearing, this one full of wildflowers and sunlight.
Ella gasped.
“This is beautiful! I didn’t even know this was here!”
I grabbed Ella’s hand, the feeling still sending shockwaves up my arm even after months of being together.
We walked to a large tree in the middle of the field and laid the blanket on the ground in its shade. I watched Ella take a deep relaxing breath before leaning back on her elbows.
“This is nice,” she sighed.
“I’m glad we got a moment alone, we’ve been so busy lately,” I said, smiling and leaning back on the blanket as well.
Ella turned to me and laughed.
“We’re together most of the day!”
“Yeah, but that’s different! It’s work. It’s not as fun.” I gave her a wink and she nudged my arm with a laugh.
Ella looked out at the field, her eyes glowing from the reflected sunlight.
“How about making this a regular thing? Once a week we’ll come to this spot and have a picnic, just the two of us.”
“I like that.” I smiled, glad she wanted to spend special time with me.
“It’ll be our own little spot.”
Ella sat up and ran her hand through her hair, the hem of her shirt rising slightly. My breath hitched, and all I could think about was what fun things we could do on this blanket.
“What’s for lunch?” Ella turned to me with a smile, and I had to calm myself down.
“I-I… Well, let’s see,” I managed to stutter, amazed at how much she could fluster me. I turned to the basket and set it down in front of me, opening the lid to reveal its contents.
“Okay, we’ve got what looks like chicken salad sandwiches, some fruit, and some type of rabbit food.” I scrunched my nose at the container of salad, making Ella laugh.