The Vampire’s Human / Book One ✔️
Chapter Twenty-Six: Awkward Distance

After spending the night in that tower and having an awkwardly silent breakfast, Mack found herself wanting to run back to the castle as if her life depended on it. She hated this silence, she hated how awkward it was and she hated how often Zack kept looking at her as if she should be the one to say something.

The girl who she found out is named Ziggy kept her distance. So much so that Mack had to check to make sure that she was still following them while the two felines jumped from tree to tree as if they were monkeys.

She didn’t know what to do or what to say and August didn’t make things any easier. He kept watching his mate as if she would disappear into thin air and it was as if he couldn’t believe that she was in front of him. It was bittersweet in a way because Mack could remember receiving the same look from Zack despite everything that had happened. She still catches him looking at her that way to this day and for that, she felt a deep pit of regret for hating him so strongly, all they want is their other halves and Ziggy and herself have made that a million times harder for them to get what they truly desire.

Figus dropped down from one of the trees and walked towards them with a head tilt. “So, you decided to stick around?”

Mack raised an eyebrow as she watched Figus approach. “I would have eventually. You can only ignore the mate pull for so long.”

“That is true, dear lady.” Figus agreed as he joined her pace in their walk. “Ignore the silence. Our Ziggy is a woman of little words but she talks when needed.”

“So why are you and Pipèe so talkative?”

Figus laughed. “Do you see my wife talking? She is just like Ziggy when it comes to speech but the wits are there.”

Mack nodded and moved her eyes away from the feline to see Zack staring at her again. She was getting used to this but for some reason, she had a feeling that he wanted to talk to her and as much as she wanted to ask, something in her gut was telling her that it wasn’t the time to question him.

The rest of the walk back was spent with Figus talking her ear off. She found out that it had taken Marley three days to walk from the castle to the guild and she had to laugh at that. Between the both of them, Marley wasn’t the fittest and would take longer to travel than Mack did.

Her eyes locked onto the castle as a sigh of relief left her lips. Mack didn’t know what to do with Ziggy or August but as she turned around she found him approaching his mate with cautious steps and she couldn’t help but silently pray for him that this interaction works out.

“Can I speak to you?”

Zack’s sudden voice made her jump as she turned around and nodded. “Sure.”

“In my office,” He said as he eyed the two mates. “We should give them space.”

Mack nodded again and followed Zack up the hill to the castle. The small walk was enough for her to take a breath and breath in her surroundings as for once in her life, she felt like she had finally done something right. Mack has spent years trying to figure herself out and finally, she felt like she had found herself and she had to not only thank herself but Zack as well for taking her against her will and showing her a world far beyond her wildest dreams.

With a content smile spreading across her face, she walked up to him and grabbed his hand. Their fingers entwined as she sighed and placed her free hand on his forearm. She felt him stiffen from the sudden contact but relaxed as they both allowed the sparks to spread between them. It felt good, it felt good to let go of everything and to allow herself to feel content as they entered the building and made their way to his office.

His scene filled the room as she let him go and sat down, her feet and legs ached but she liked it. Due to all of the exercise and movement, she has seen a change in her body, it wasn’t much but it was something. “What did you want to talk about?”

Zack leaned against his desk and placed his hands on the top to balance himself. “I wanted to go back to that pond we found and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

Mack smiled. “Are you worried that duckling is alone?”

“Nobody likes to be alone.” He said with a shrug that she found quite adorable. “I just wanted to check on him. See if his leg is better.”

“I’ll bake some bread for them.” She suggested. “I need to get back into the kitchen, I’m getting rusty.”

“You cook?”

Mack nodded, watching his eyes light up at the thought of her cooking abilities. “I make a killer Lemon Marange Pie and Apple pie.”

She saw his eyes darken as if the thoughts had turned him on and she had to hold back from laughing. Mack knew the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach but she didn’t think pies would be Zack’s weakness. “Could you make them now?”

His soft plead caused her smile to widen and she couldn’t help but produce the most girlish giggle she had ever done. “Only if you eat all of your dinner first.”

“Yes, ma’am.”