The Vampire’s Human / Book One ✔️
Chapter Fourteen: Grieving Process

Zack thumped down into his chair with a tired groan and rubbed his temples. He could feel his brain pounding against his skull but he didn’t have time to rest.

After organising the hold of him being crowned king, his time has been taken over by Mackenzie and her stubbornness. He found her extremely fascinating, sexy and the most frustrating woman he has ever met.

She was able to flip his entire world around and keeping his distance from her has been the hardest part about all of this. He hated arguing with her, and he hated the way she looked at him but her hate was the only attention he could get out of her and he’d rather have her wrath than her silence.

“We are going to have to discuss your sudden eye colour changes, your majesty.”

Zack sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day and held his head in his right hand as he looked at his only friend and right-hand man. “I know August, I haven’t had time to think about it.”

“Sir, an unmarked male can only go unmarked for so long before he goes insane.”

“I know this!” Zack snapped before he groaned. “Sorry, I just… I can’t ask her to mark me. She refuses to touch me let alone come near me to help with this pain.”

August crossed his arms. August was someone who tried to stay professional at all costs but when they were alone together, he relaxed. Occasionally he would address Zack as his superior but then Zack would shoot him a look and August would go back to his normal, calm self. “Mackenzie is a strong woman, she is a woman who refuses to have things tiptoed around her and has to have straight answers then and there. From what I have observed, she is at war just as much as you are.”

Zack couldn’t help but agree. “Witnessing two different eye colours at two different times probably hasn’t helped.” Zack tried not to think about it but he knew that his eyes had turned gold on the ship and he knew his eyes had turned red when he practically threw her out of his office. He felt both situations happen as soon as they happened but he couldn’t do anything about it. This was a common issue with his species and he had to live with it until Mack decades to finally accept him. “How do I get her to trust me?”

August sat down on one of the free chairs in front of the desk. “Be there. I cannot say much as my own mate wants nothing to do with me so all I can say is to just be there for her. Now that she knows about Marley, she is going to be emotionally vulnerable and having you by her side will help her… although she will fight the mate bond and refuse to allow herself to heal.”

Zack chuckled. “Who would have thought I would be paired with someone so stubborn.”

August raised an eyebrow. “Was that rhetorical?”

“Smart ass!” Zack growled with a roll of his eyes. “I should check on her. The way she passed out has me concerned.”

“Have you figured out what she is?”

Zack shook his head. “No I haven’t but I have a feeling Raph knows and he’s purposely keeping that information for himself.”

Zack hated knowing this. He has two different relationships with his brothers. With Raph, he was harsher and crueller towards him growing up and Zack regrets that now. Raph has taken his revenge in his own hands and would hold important information out of spite, the last bit of information was the fact that he let Mack lose in the wild without any proper gear to protect herself with. That information came from August who saw her run and disappeared into the trees.

August stood. “If I may be dismissed, I have an odd feeling in my gut and I think it is my mate. If I do not follow this, I might miss my chance of ever seeing her again.”

“Of course!” Zack stated, dismissing him as he stood himself. “And I will go and see my own mate while she is incapable of stabbing me. Good luck.”

“And good luck to you,” August responded with a slight chuckle before he left the office.

Zack wasn’t far behind as he made a bee-line towards his room. It had been a while since he was last in it but he was thankful for his decision to put Mack in there. Now the room smelt of her and he slept happier knowing she was there.

The girl had wrapped her fingers around his heart and was using him as her own personal puppet and he allowed that to happen. For someone who didn’t want a mate, Zack couldn’t believe how much he feared the thought of losing her. She had become his everything the second he smelt her scent, if only she saw that. If only he stopped allowing his mouth to speak before his brain then maybe they wouldn’t be in this mess.

Maybe he would be able to hold her without getting hit in the head with another odd object of her choosing.

He found his room and gently opened the door, her sleeping figure was the first thing his eyes landed on and he had to smile to himself. She hadn’t moved an inch from the moment he placed her in bed, the covers were still tucked around her body and her breathing was even and soft.

She was his angel. His feisty, fuckable thick angel that he wanted to wrap his lips around and hear her scream his name until she had no voice left to give but he restrained himself. He knew that her weight was an insecurity of hers, even if she denied it but he loved that part of her. He never really liked smaller women, they were too ‘perfect’ in the eyes of everyone else. Mackenzie was his ‘perfect’, her size complimented her and her attitude. She carried herself like a real woman and she wasn’t afraid of confrontation and for this, she was the perfect queen.

Zack brushed some hair from her face so that he could look at her properly. After everything, he was glad that she had decided to change her mind. He didn’t know what he would have done if she hadn’t but he did know that he would follow her to the ends of the earth if that was what she wanted.

He thought about what August had said, to be there for her in her time of grieving as her eyes slowly opened. The glossed over in seconds as he felt his heart break all over again. She was broken, her world was gone and as much as he had to push away his ridiculous jealousy over her bond with her sister, he had to put himself in her shoes and think about the thoughts of losing Lucas.

Luke was a pain in the ass but he was his little brother and Zack would do anything for that kid just like how Mack would do anything to replace Marley so that Marley was the one walking free.

“Do you want to get some fresh air?” He asked. He felt stupid for asking her this but he didn’t know what else to do.

Mack nodded, getting out of bed as she tried to hold back her tears. Zack wanted her to give in already, he wanted her to let herself cry and allow him to hold her as she does it but instead she kept it all in.

Even as they made it back into the gardens and found themselves back on top of that cliff face, he couldn’t help but pinch himself so that he wouldn’t make a move that pushed her boundaries.

She needed time and time was what he was going to give her.

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