The Alpha's Healer

12 | Shopping

Kate showed up to clean up the cups and plates left behind. Iris swept them up faster than her and showed a rare stubbornness about wanting to help.

Iris was subjected to the word 'useless' so many times during the last decade that sitting was nothing less than a crime. However, Kate caught her red handed trying to be handsy with the dishes and sent her out of the kitchen.

"Alpha told me that you two were stuck in a forest for an entire night. Catch up on your sleep, don't be so restless. I'll call you for dinner."

Iris was left with no choice. She returned to the silence of her room, her ears still echoing the cheerful complaints of Zachary and the calm responses from Sebastian. Her tongue still carried the hint of sweetness from the tea.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful for Iris. As someone used to being up on her feet all day, the sudden sedentary lifestyle didn't sit well with her.

Luckily, the contents of her bag were not lost. A stack of old, withering books were piled on the neat table next to the bed. Iris spent the afternoon reciting the old text she'd memorized a thousand times already.

Kate knocked on the door when dinner time rolled around. Iris felt a bit relieved for some reason. A small, extremely tiny part of her was looking forward to having another meal with sensation.

However, that excitement crushed like an unnoticed bug when she arrived at the empty dining table. The only plate was her own, indicating nobody would join her for the meal.

"Something came up last minute so Alpha is busy. Zachary has indigestion because he ate too much packed food secretly in the afternoon. It's just you for dinner." Kate explained. "I've made a variety of stuff. Eat whatever you like."

Iris quite enjoyed the food Kate made. The taste was homely yet exquisite. It was the fact that she was all alone at the table that made every spoonful mechanical and the overall experience a bit dull.

Unknowingly, she has placed Sebastian at a pedestal in her life. Within a day, the mate bond rewired her existence and tied it to him.

The thought alone unnerved her so much it stole the sleep right out of eyes. She lay awake until the late hours of night but her body eventually succumbed to the softness of the fragrant mattress under her back.

Iris woke up at her usual time. Kate rejected any help in the most polite way possible. Zachary, dressed in typical fashion of his age, plopped in his seat with a bounce.

The scent of musk and pine spread in threads and clamped around Iris before the seat next to her filled with the Alpha's undeniable presence.

"Good morning." His thick morning voice sent an unnatural shiver down her spine. She pushed out a greeting in a pathetically meek tone, "Good morning."

"Tsk, don't you have a voice?" Zachary scoffed. "Eat more. You're so thin I could snap you in half with one hand."

"Spare that attitude for your teammates Zachary." Sebastian sighed, turned to Iris, lowered his head to her ear and whispered, "He takes after my mother, don't mind him."

Iris nodded blankly, quietly lowering her head to eat the buttery bread. Her toes clenched into rounds under the table. She ate in small bites and still finished faster than the two brothers seemingly competing with each other for portions of sandwiches.

After breakfast, Sebastian and Zachary headed into the garage at the same time. The high school senior came out riding his posh looking bicycle. With his backpack slung over one shoulder, he made a perfect arc right next to Iris, winked and swept out of the gates like a gust of wind.

Iris was left staring at the afterimage of dust and the faint scent of citrus when a loud honk startled her. A red car stopped right in front of her. Iris reached for the door handle but it didn't open, her fingers clenched into a fist, unsure what to do.

However, her question was answered when Sebastian himself got out of the car, rounded up the front and opened the door of the passanger seat. "You should wait for me to open the door."

Iris hurriedly got in to hide the blush blooming on her cheeks. Fine hair created a smooth curtain down her face, allowing the colour to gradually fade from her face.

The shadow ridge pack demanded undivided attention from anyone not born into its glory. Iris spent the entire cab ride thoroughly captivated but the sky touching buildings and bustling streets drew her in.

She snapped back when the car drove into a dark parking lot under one of the big buildings. The walls were covered in advertisements and pretty pictures of celebrities.

"Where are we?" She asked when he started to get out of the car. Sebastian paused by the door, bent down and said, "At the mall."

Iris didn't grasp the purpose of visiting a mall when all she needed were some essentials for daily use. He opened the door on her side, forcibly stopping the wheels in her head to stop. She followed him out of the car and into the elevator leading then out of the parking lot.

"I've made a list of everything you might need. Take a look, let me know if anything is missing. We also agreed on new clothes; do you want to stop by the fifth floor now or later?" Sebastian handed her a neatly folded list, then added, "I suggest we get new outfits first. You will be too tired to try on clothes later."

Iris opened the list expecting a couple of things, only to be speechless when the paper extended down to her elbows. The words were messily sprawled over the lines, packed so tightly she could barely tell them apart from a toddlers scribble.

"Why are there so many things?"

"I told you the apartment hasn't been lived in so you'll need a lot of things. We should have come earlier, you have an appointment with Dr Carlos as well...." Sebastian smirked, a bit proud as he said, "You have been here for a day and already gained so much attention. What will I do if someone tries to steal you from me?"

"H-Huh?!" Iris squealed in surprise.

Sebastian looked troubled at the idea, Iris couldn't tell apart from fake and real when it came to her mate. She frantically tried to explain, "It won't happen. I'm not good. They'll know it soon. You will know it too."

Her entire existence was bound to the words 'useless' and 'cursed star'. After so many years, Iris believed in it too. It was impossible for her to find a home, loving people around her and build a good life.

Everything around her right now could simply be an illusion, lasting a couple of days before the slap of reality awakened her for good.

What she said was more of a warning to herself than him. Sebastian said nothing, simply extended his hand and claimed her wrist as the elevator door opened without a sound.

The world inside was something Iris had never seen before. The shopping centers at the fire moon pack were simply two floors of everything divided into smaller sections.

Iris marveled at the beauty of it all as Sebastian naturally led her by the hand. However, once the novelty wore off, Iris noticed something off about the mall.

"Why is it so empty?" She asked after a bit of contemplation. "Um, are we at the wrong place?"

Sebastian smiled, "It's not their opening time yet that's why there are no customers. I called ahead to give us more time to shop."

It made sense, Iris thought. The Alpha being out in the open was already a big deal. All the looks he received yesterday by the border said enough about his popularity. If anyone saw him shopping with an unknown female, Iris couldn't even imagine the headlines for the next day.

Sebastian brought his power to great use. Most stores opened up ahead of schedule when they heard the Alpha wanted to shop. They first went up to the fifth floor solely dedicated to female clothing.

Rows of shops with beautiful glass displays was a place that would probably send Sandra into a coma. Iris was led by the hand into one store after the other. Her protests fell on deaf ears.

Sebastian unlocked selective hearing when it came to shopping for clothes. He only heard the staff's comments about the clothes and not Iris' small mumbles of broken complaints.

"I don't need it." She said, only to be ignored. Sebastian, holding his chin in deep thought, nodded, "Take this. And the same in blue as well, no, the lighter one, yes. Are those the new pumps? Get one pair in her size, the black ones."

He threw instructions like confetti, sending the entire group of staff into an excitement filled frenzy. At some point Iris turned into a mannequin meant to be dressed, undressed and styled, all in accordance with Sebastian's taste.