37 Chapter 37: Left alone

Zack set her down in front of a bench. Feeling dizzy from all the motion, Elize quickly sat down on the surface. The coolness of the seat slowly calmed her down. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that they were sitting in a very familiar garden. She had visited the place twice, memories of which flooded back to her mind. Why was it that every time that she reached her, her emotional state was a mess? Elize thought.

"I'm sorry baby. Are you okay?" Zack asked, kneeling in front of her.

His handsome face was wrought with worry. Fine lines appeared on his forehead as a proof of his distraught state. He looked like he aged a few years within the last few hours. He had to go through so much from last night. At first he had to watch helplessly as his mate almost died in front of him, for which he probably blamed himself. He then had to shoulder the responsibility of a failed mission as the Alpha. He had to make sure that all those injured in yesterday's fight was taken care of. As if it was not enough, he also had to fight for his decision making powers with his grandfather. It was unfair to him, bearing so much burden on his own. Elize thought, looking at the dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm okay wolfie." She said with a smile.

Elize extended her hands towards him, yearning to be closer to him. She really needed a hug if she was going to remain sane. Zack chuckled looking at her hands, all the worry disappearing from his face in a moment's time. He quickly lifted her up in his arms and sat down on the bench, placing her on his lap.

"Let's stay like this forever." Elize said, snuggling inside his arms.

"Let's do that." Zack said, tightening his hold on her.

It was warm and cozy inside his arms. At that moment, Elize wished that they were two normal human beings, and that they had met each other somewhere outside the Island,far away from all the supernatural. But sadly, reality couldn't be altered. An evil smile suddenly flashed in her mind. Elize cringed at the memory of the vile man's face inches from her own. Why was the man behaving like that towards her? As if she was something that he wanted to eat up? Did Zack notice it? If so how does he feel about it? What if it was all in her head? Questions plagued her mind. She quickly dismissed them and looked up at Zack.

"Can I say something?"

"Hmm?" Zack asked, gently stroking her head.

"Will you hate me if I tell you that your grandfather is a creep?" She rambled, all too quickly. She knew that if she thought too much, she wouldn't have the courage to say something like that.

Zack's chest shook as a hearty laughter filled the silent garden. Elize was confused at his reaction. What should she make of that reaction?

"Zack." A voice interrupted their brief moment.

Elize peeped at the direction of the familiar voice. Alex was standing in front of them along with Meifeng, their hands intertwined. Elize smiled at the two, happy to see her family. Seeing Elize, Meifeng came forward excitedly with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Sister, thank Goddess you're fine!" She said excitedly.

"You heard?" Elize asked shyly, slowly detaching herself from her mate to stand up.

Zack resisted at first, but after she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, he let go of her grudgingly. He remained seated as she stood up, holding on to the edge of her long shirt.

"Yes. I'm very sorry Elize. Something came up last night and we had to leave the Island temporarily. I didn't know that so much would happen during our absence. If I had even an inkling to it sister, I would have-"

"It's fine Meifeng. Please don't worry about it. In fact I'm glad you were not there. If anything were to happen to either of you, I don't know what I'd have done." Elize said, cutting her off.

"I'm glad you had people by your side Elize." Meifeng said while reaching out and squeezing her hand.

"Speaking of which, I thought you promised me to keep her safe Zack." Alex said, stepping in. His tone was not too friendly at the moment. Elize was worried that her brother would blame Zack for everything that happened.

"Brother, it's not his fault." She said, looking at Alex.

"I'm not asking you Elize. I'm asking my friend over here about a promise he made to me." Alex snapped.

Elize glared at him, irritated at his behavior. She turned towards her mate, hoping to reassure him that he was not answerable to her brother. After all, it was her decision to be with Zack. Why did the men in her life keep forgetting that?

"Zack you don't have to answer him." Elize said moving to stand protectively in front of Zack. She turned towards her brother and narrowed her eyes. Alex glared back.

"I'm sorry." Zack said suddenly, putting his hands around her waist.

"Zack you-" Elize wanted to tell him that it was okay. But her back was turned towards him and his hold on her was too tight for her to turn around.

"You better hope that's there's no next time." Alex warned cutting her off, before quickly looking away. Elize looked at her brother in wonder. Did he just say that it was okay? Alex? Who had a bad temper? What happened to the man? She turned to look at Meifeng with the same expression plastered on her face. The she- wolf chuckled, seeing her expression and winked at her.

"I promise." Zack said. He paused for a moment and continued, "I need a favor Alex."

"What is it?" Alex asked, turning back towards them.

Zack's hold on her loosened as he slowly stood up from the wooden bench. Elize looked at her mate, clueless about what was going on in his mind. What kind of favor did he need? Did he maybe want Alex to help with catching the culprit for yesterday's incident?

"I am leaving Elize in your hands. She will be staying with you from now on."

Elize's heart dropped. She staggered back in shock. What did he mean that he'll be leaving her with Alex? Does she have no say in it?! She was way too anxious to keep calm.

She shouted, "You can't be serious Zack! Tell me that you're joking. You can't just do this to me because that old man-"

"You don't know him yet Elize!" Zack interrupted her, his voice wavering. "The man will do everything in his power to make things go his way. I don't want you anywhere near him! I can't protect you if-"

"Wait. What is happening? Who are we talking about?" Alex asked, clearly confused.

"I don't care Zack! We promised that we'll take care of everything together! You can't go back on your word!" Elize shouted, ignoring her brother.

Zack sighed, then turned to Meifeng. "Meifeng, you understand right? Please, take care of her for me. Don't let her out of your sight. I'll have Agatha come over. I need some time to resolve things with grandfather."

"I-" Meifeng paused for a while then nodded, her expression changing into a grave one.

"What?! When did you all start deciding for me? Don't I have a say in it?" Elize shouted. Her voice was strained and she was on the edge of breaking down. Zack looked to the ground with guilt. She could see that this was hurting him, but she didn't want to believe that this was happening. He took a step back and sighed.

"Wait for me Elize." He said as he turned away from her finally. Elize reached out hoping to grab his hand. But in the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Her hands managed to catch nothing, as it passed through an empty space.