ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

“Here, drink this.”

As Beta Zoey brought a carved bowl towards her lips, Zara perceived a pungent smell that made her turn her head to the side.

“Ah…” Zoey let out a whispered breath. “I should probably tell you what it is.”

Beta Zoey set the bowl on the small bench that was positioned at the end of her bed.

Her lips still sealed, a solemn look in her eyes, Zara faced him and all that raced through her mind was her initial perception of the man-wolf.

She had found him a person likely to have a deceptive nature and at that moment, Zaramanni wondered if she should continue to trust her earlier judgement.

Or, if she could put a little trust in the tall man who had said that he would help her with the softest gesture ever- even if that gesture contradicted his surface personality.

Zoey who was squatting covered her hands that rested on her lap.

Zaramanni was going to withdraw her hands, but there was this distinctive look in the pool of his soulless eyes that made her want to stay still and listen to what he had to say.

His fingers soon began to tap her hands gently, it seemed to be his way of assuring her.

“Hmm,” his deep voice made the small room feel different, “I know it might be a difficult topic to discuss, but, I want to ask you a question about that night.” Zara’s sight went on to settle on the tiny sprouts of hair on the man’s chin. “Can I?”

“Yes,” she replied quietly. As Zoey gave a look that asked if she was sure, she nodded quickly.

Zoey drew a sharp breath, his broad shoulders moving in accordance. “Did any vampire draw your blood? Or perhaps, did one of them happen to have a taste of your blood?”

Zara had a little crease on her forehead as she dashed to the memories of that night. Luckily, her mind erased all the faces she saw that night, and all she could remember was how things had happened.

“Umm,” Zara started as she closed her eyes. “That night, the point of my injury tore and it bled seriously.” Recalling the vampire leader’s movements, Zara’s head tilted, her frown significantly deepening. “Yes, he had a taste of my blood. He dipped his finger into my wound and licked my blood off his fingers.”

“There,” Zoey said after a quick exhale. Zaramanni sensed his body heat as he moved closer and reached for her hair, caressing its length.

Then, he said, “You can open your eyes now. You are going to be fine, I’ve got you, Zaramanni.”

As she stared into his eyes whose colour could compete with both the greenery and withering-brown look of trees, she wondered where those words were when she was going through hell in Gavin’s hands.

Her Granny was not a woman that enjoyed pitying people or consoling people. While the woman did her best when it came to making Zaramanni feel better about the whole issue, she never uttered certain words.

She never talked the way Zoey was at that moment. Silent hugs and random talks about Zara’s favourite TV shows were her grandmother’s way of consoling her.

So, very quickly, Zara’s initial perception of Beta Zoey crashed and she felt more relaxed in his presence.

“When a vampire takes a drop of their victim’s blood, it gives them the ability to control the person.” Zara’s attention was pulled instantly. “They can poison their victim’s mind and they have the ability to make their victims go insane by appearing to them whenever they can. All that by just having a quick taste of blood.”

It made sense to Zaramanni, but she still had a question. “The vampire leader is dead, how come he was able to control my mind? It all felt real, Zoey. I felt really scared.”

The man-wolf smiled, more like he smirked pleasantly. “You just said my name. That’s a first.” Zara couldn’t help but beam in response. Zoey shifted closer and wiped something off her cheek. “You have a pretty smile, Zara. You should smile more.”

“I…” Zaramanni’s words were stuck as something warm grew inside her.

Effortlessly, the man was saying things people never said to her.

Still perplexed, Zara hastily searched the man’s body with her gaze.

And it didn’t look like a gun was pointed at his head to force him to speak nicely to her.

Zoey chuckled on seeing the mildly shocked look on Zara’s face.

“Anyway, to answer your question, as long as the vampire’s body is still intact, your mind can still get poisoned.” He then reached for the bowl. “When I heard that you were held captive by vampires, I suspected that something like this would have happened. So, I went to Zenrada’s herb forest to get you this.”

Zara was more than surprised as she darted her sight to the bowl. “You went to get this for me?” she asked with a softened voice.

“Of course. I knew that it would be unwise to guess that the vampires didn’t take your blood. But, which vampire can resist human blood? Such blood is rare in this place. So, yes, I went to get an antidote. You won’t hallucinate or be controlled anymore. So,” he nudged the drink in her direction, “drink this.”

Having no more questions, Zara took the bowl from his hand, ignored the terrible smell, and downed the drink in one go.

As her face squeezed while she set the bowl aside, Zoey cleaned the sides of her mouth with his thumb and Zara found his touch oddly satisfying.

When she opened her eyes, a proud look rested on Zoey’s face and Zara wondered if he found her that fascinating.

“I heard that you want to start your journey to Mount Hermos as soon as possible,” he said as he got up and sat beside her, his huge physique hovering over her body and making her feel somewhat protected.

“Yes,” Zara nodded, quickly forgetting that she had just drunk something bitter. “I want to go back home as soon as possible. I have nothing here.”

“What do you have on Earth?” Zoey’s question was a simple one. But to Zara, it sounded deep and sensational.

She took seconds to ponder on his question even though she had already counted all the things she had on Earth.

“My granny and my new college life,” she replied before the man-wolf could start to worry about her inability to answer his question.

“Is that all? Is Earth not a fun place?”

“For me, no.” Zaramanni smiled sadly as she turned to face the man whose serious, soulless look was back.

“Then, why do you want to go back so bad?”

“Hmm…”

“I am not saying you shouldn’t go back. But, before you decide to, make sure you have a little adventure in this new place you have found yourself. Like I said, if not for the unfortunate incident, Zenrada is the place for you if you want to enjoy living.”

Zaramanni scoffed. Pressing the sole of her coloured feet into the ground, she said, “Ever since I came here, danger has surrounded me. I was almost killed twice, I survived being sold to the Vampire Overlord, and I was almost initiated into an orgy club.” Zoey frowned at her last statement. “I have had enough, Zoey. I just want to go back to my boring life on Earth.”

“You know that’s not possible for now, right? The Alpha is angry at you for some reason and he has ordered me to keep you within the walls of the manor when we get back to the Crown Blood Pack city.”

Zara sighed as she stared at her exposed feet. “I guess that is my life now.”

Zoey instantly got up. “Do you want to see something cool?”

“What?” Zara looked up at him as she kept feeling grateful toward him.

Suddenly, she gasped loudly, her hands covering her mouth.

Zoey turned into his wolf and the room felt smaller than it was. Just like his human form, his wolf had deep yet dull eyes.

It moved closer, its greyish tail in the air as Zara wondered what to do. The animal then tendered its head in her direction, seemingly requesting a pat.

Her eyes still widened with perplexity, Zara found herself stretching her right hand toward the mix of brown, black, and grey fur that the huge animal had.

With little whines coming from Zoey’s animal, Zara finally rested her palm against the chest area of the wolf and when she felt the rapid heartbeat, she smiled.

She was about to spread her arms to hug the wolf when it shifted to its human form.

Another gasp left Zara when her sight landed on Zoey’s full nakedness.

When Zoey stood straight, Zaramanni quickly retracted her hands that were resting on his lower abdomen. Trying not to peep at his lower body which she was sure would affect her more than the view of his sculpted chest, Zara’s eyes darted elsewhere.

But it was hard for her to maintain that position. When Zoey bent to pick up his clothes which had magically fallen off when he was shifting, Zara fought an inner battle and begged herself not to stare at his body.

“What is going on here?” Sham’s voice asked from the entrance, a basket in his hand, the corner of his eyes eyeing Zoey’s naked buttocks.

Zara popped her head to the side with her lips folded, a coy look on her face.

“Huh… I was just checking on Zaramanni,” Zoey replied as he turned. His thick trousers were now secured on his lower body.

“You can check on her by asking the guards. So, why are you here?” Sham’s skeptical look was trained on Zoey who had a smirk on his lips as the King’s guard walked further into the room.

“I came to give her the antidote.”

“What antidote?” Sham dropped the basket in his hold beside the empty bowl. Zara looked into the weaved object, its contents looked like fruits. “Her injury has been taken care of.”

Zoey scoffed. “For someone who keeps acting like Zara is his to protect, you sure don’t think very wide. The antidote wasn’t for her injury, it was to kill the vampire’s poison.”

“What poison?” Sham looked in Zara’s direction with worry. “The guardian that treated her didn’t mention anything.”

”Don’t worry, my dear Sham,” Beta Zoey’s voice dripped with mockery, “Zaramanni is fine now. And, yes, I will take good care of her during her stay in my manor. So, you can face your guard duties and worry less about Zaramanni.”

”How I worry about her is none of your business, Beta Zoey.” Sham leveled his tough gaze with that of Zoey’s. “Besides, you are not her mate, I can’t be bothered.”

“And, you are not her mate either,” Zoey retorted, his voice calm… very calm.

“I guess we will see. Zaramanni,” Sham faced her, “I brought you some fruits to give you strength. Take them before you go to sleep, okay?”

“Zaramanni,” Zoey took over the conversation before the half-fairy could reply, “I showed you my wolf because he wanted to meet you. He couldn’t stay long because the moon is unfavourable.” A wide smile followed. “But, he is a good boy, isn’t he?”

”Beta Zoey, shouldn’t you be coordinating the wolves of your pack right now? The ceremony is about to start.”

“Well, aren’t you meant to be on the King’s side, watching his back? After all, we are in dark times,” Zoey returned, a snicker on his lips.

“You-”

”Enough, both of you.” With a stern voice, Zara killed the heated exchange. She had no idea what was going through their heads or what was going on between them, but their talking was starting to tire her. “Zoey, thank you very much for thinking of me and taking care of me. Your wolf is huge but very cute.”

Zoey smiled like a happy baby at her words, Sham almost let out a scoff.

Zara faced Sham. “Sham, thank you for the fruits. I will make sure I eat them to feel energized. But, I feel tired already. So, can both of you please leave?” she pleaded.

“Will you be coming for the celebrations?” Sham asked.

Zara had no desire to see King Darren’s face. “No. I will rather sleep. I need the rest.”

“That’s right. You can journey with me when I leave for the manor tomorrow. I think this area is tiring for you. You should get adjusted to living in the manor as soon as possible,” Zoey suggested and Zara nodded in agreement.

At that point, the quietude in the largeness of the manor was more suitable for her.

“I will see you tomorrow,” Zaramanni said to Beta Zoey as she walked to the bed while re-tying her hair.

Murmurings filled the room when the men-wolf walked out of the room.

They hated each other’s guts, it was obvious. Zara could only wonder why that was so.

But she didn’t wonder for so long.

Perhaps it was the antidote that Zoey gave her, she was feeling lighter and less burdened and the idea of sleeping for a long time in that foreign place didn’t irritate her.

Soon, while taking her bandaged chest into consideration, she was laying on her bed, her eyes on the ceiling, and her soul waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep.

As Zaramanni waited, she recalled Zoey’s unforgettable naked body which he displayed in front of her and her cheeks felt warm instantly while her lips tried to hide her smile.

Recalling how his well-formed abdomen felt against her palms, Zaramanni realized that she had found another amazing thing about that universe… Fine men with unforgettable physiques.