Alpha Kaidan remained behind his desk long after John left, staring at the report in front of him without turning the page. He had told himself that making sure Naomi had everything she needed was simply part of his responsibility as Alpha, nothing more than that, yet the thought did little to settle the strange restlessness that had followed him since he left the healer quarters.
He picked up his pen and forced himself to continue working.
For the next hour, he managed to keep his attention on pack matters, reviewing reports, signing documents, and giving instructions to the guards responsible for the northern border. It was easier when something demanded an immediate decision. It kept his mind occupied.
By midday, however, he found himself looking at the clock.
Naomi was probably still at the healer’s quarters.
He frowned at himself.
Why was he thinking about where she was?
He had never cared this much about her schedule before.
A knock sounded on his door. "Come in."
John entered with another set of documents. "Sir, the council secretary sent these for your approval."
Alpha Kaidan took them from him. "Leave them here."
John placed the remaining papers on the desk and turned to leave. "John."
He stopped. "Yes, sir?"
"Did the healer’s quarters receive the supplies they requested?"
"Yes, sir. Most of them were delivered this morning."
"Most?"
"The remaining herbs should arrive before evening."
Alpha Kaidan nodded. "Good."
John hesitated before leaving; Alpha Kaidan looked up. "What?"
"Nothing, sir."
"Then go."
"Yes, sir."
The door closed behind him, and Alpha Kaidan leaned back in his chair. He knew John had noticed.
Everyone seemed to be noticing things he wasn’t ready to admit to himself.
Later that afternoon, Alpha Kaidan finally left his office to inspect the training grounds. He had intended to go directly there, but as he passed the healer quarters, his steps slowed.
He could hear voices outside. One of them was Naomi’s.
He turned toward the sound without thinking.
Naomi stood near the side entrance of the healer quarters, speaking to a man Alpha Kaidan recognised immediately; his expression changed.
It was him.
The same man who had driven Naomi home after her trial.
Alpha Kaidan stopped walking; he watched from a distance as the man said something that made Naomi smile.
His jaw tightened. He remembered the night he had seen her getting out of that man’s vehicle. At the time, he had been furious, convinced that Naomi had deliberately humiliated him. She had slapped him after he accused her, and although he had never admitted it, the memory of her expression that night had stayed with him.
Now the same man was standing in front of her again. Why?
Alpha Kaidan started toward them; he wasn’t sure what he intended to say. He only knew he didn’t like seeing them together.
The man noticed him first. "Alpha."
Naomi turned. The smile on her face disappeared, replaced by a calm expression. "Alpha Kaidan."
The man bowed slightly. "I’ll leave you both."
He started walking away.
"Wait," Naomi called. The man stopped, then Naomi turned to him. "Thank you again."
He smiled. "You’re welcome, Healer Naomi."
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes narrowed. Healer Naomi.
The man had called her that with familiarity, and Naomi had smiled at him; then the man left. Alpha Kaidan watched him disappear, then looked at Naomi.
"Who was that?"
Naomi adjusted the strap of the bag hanging from her shoulder. "You’ve met him before."
"I know."
"Then why are you asking?"
"I want to know why he’s here."
Naomi looked at him for a moment.
"He came to see someone at the healer quarters."
"And you were talking to him."
"Yes."
"What about?"
Naomi’s brows pulled together. "Why does it matter?" Alpha Kaidan didn’t answer right away because he didn’t know how to explain it. After all, the sight of another man standing beside her had irritated him more than it should have.
"He drove you home that night," he said.
"Yes."
"And now he’s here again."
Naomi sighed. "He happened to come by. I saw him and thanked him for helping me."
"You thanked him before."
"I didn’t get the chance to thank him properly then."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression remained hard. "You don’t know him."
"I don’t need to know someone for them to help me."
His eyes hardened. "Naomi."
"What?"
"You need to be more careful."
Naomi stared at him. "With what?"
"With people."
She almost laughed. "I’ve learned to be careful."
Something in the way she said it made Alpha Kaidan uncomfortable. Before he could respond, a familiar voice came from behind them. "Alpha Kaidan."
Serena approached with a pleasant smile, but her eyes immediately moved between them.
Naomi gave her a brief nod.
"Serena."
Serena smiled. "I was looking for you, Alpha Kaidan. Christine said you were heading toward the training grounds."
"I was."
Her gaze moved toward the path where the man had disappeared. "Was that the same man?"
Naomi’s expression changed slightly; Alpha Kaidan noticed.
Serena looked at him. "The one who drove Naomi home after her trial?"
"Yes," he answered.
Serena’s smile remained. "I see."
Naomi looked between them. "He only stopped by to speak with someone here."
"I didn’t ask," Serena said lightly.
"But you were looking at him, and besides, I wasn’t talking to you".
Serena’s smile widened. "I was simply curious; don’t get mad."
Naomi said nothing; she had already learned enough about Serena to know when a harmless question wasn’t really harmless.
Serena turned toward Alpha Kaidan. "You seem tense."
"I’m fine." "Are you sure?" "Yes."
Naomi glanced at him once before turning toward the healer quarters. "I need to get back to work."
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "You’re leaving?"
"I have patients waiting."
He almost asked her to stay, but he didn’t.
Naomi walked away; Serena watched her disappear inside.
"She doesn’t seem very interested in speaking with you anymore."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression tightened. "I noticed."
Serena turned toward him. "Does that bother you?"
"No."
She smiled. "Then why do you look angry?"
"I don’t."
"You do."
Alpha Kaidan looked away. He didn’t want to discuss Naomi with Serena, and he didn’t even want to think about Naomi, yet his mind kept returning to the same image.
Naomi smiling at that man. It shouldn’t matter. She had only been thanking him; he knew that. So why did it bother him?
"Let’s go," he said. Serena followed him, but she remained unusually quiet. As they walked toward the training grounds, she eventually spoke.
"You know, Alpha Kaidan, I don’t think you should worry about Naomi." He glanced at her. "I’m not worried." "Good."
She slipped her hand into his. "She has made it clear that she wants her own life now. Maybe you should let her have it."
Alpha Kaidan looked down at their hands. For a moment, he thought about Naomi. She had asked him for a divorce; she had stopped waiting for him; she had stopped cooking for him, and she had stopped looking for him.
And now she was building a life where his presence didn’t seem necessary. He should have been relieved, but instead, the thought unsettled him.
"You’re right," he said.
Serena looked at him. "About what?"
"She should have her own life". Serena smiled."Exactly."
But Alpha Kaidan’s voice was quieter when he added, "I just don’t understand why she has to involve that man in it." Serena’s smile faltered for half a second.
Then she looked ahead. "Maybe she isn’t."
Alpha Kaidan didn’t answer; he knew Serena was probably right.
The man might have meant nothing to Naomi.
There might have been nothing between them at all.
But knowing that didn’t make the image of Naomi smiling at him disappear from Alpha Kaidan’s mind.
By evening, Naomi finally finished with her patients and stepped outside the healer quarters. She had barely reached the path when Serena appeared again. "You’ve been busy."
Naomi looked at her. "Yes."
Serena walked beside her. "I saw you talking to that man earlier."
Naomi didn’t stop walking. "I know."
"He seems interested in you."
Naomi stopped. "Serena!"
"What?"
"You’re doing it again."
Serena’s expression turned innocent. "Doing what?"
"Trying to make something out of nothing."
"I was only saying what I saw."
"You saw me thanking someone who helped me."
Serena shrugged. "Perhaps."
Naomi looked directly at her. "I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, but I’m not interested."
Serena’s smile became thinner. "You’ve become very confident."
"I’ve had to."
Serena stepped closer. "Be careful, Naomi. "Confidence can easily become arrogance."
Naomi held her gaze. "And pretending to be kind can easily become manipulation."
For the first time, Serena’s smile disappeared completely. Naomi walked past her without another word; Serena watched her leave.
Then she looked toward the main building. Alpha Kaidan was standing near one of the windows.
He had seen them.
He couldn’t hear what they had said, but he had seen Serena stop Naomi and watched Naomi walk away from her. Serena quickly composed herself before heading toward him.
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes remained on Naomi until she disappeared around the corner; he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but one thing was becoming increasingly difficult to deny. He didn’t like sharing Naomi’s attention, and he liked the thought even less that she might give it to someone else.