44: I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU ZEEK

EZEKIEL'S POV

I was frozen on the spot, my feet seemed melded to the floor. My throat burned, and my eyes appeared dry, like someone poured a truckload of sand in them. My lips quivered as I saw the look of fear and hurt on my mate's face.

Did she just call me Alphus?

“Who told you that name?” I grabbed her shoulders a little rougher than I intended. She flinched, but she didn't back away.

“So it's true, your name is Alphus and not Ezekiel. You told me you loved me and that I was yours, but you lied to me, you fucking lied to me!” she yelled, streaks of tears washed some of the sludge off her face. That was another thing I needed to find out. Why did she have mud all over her naked body? “Why — why did you lie to me?” Her voice cracked at the end and my heart shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

I tugged her to my frame and wrapped my arms around her. Her body trembled as she cried. I stroked her muddy hair with my fingertips. “I had never lied to you, but just know that there