Alpha's Regret: Marked By The Lycan King

Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Tender Care

Third POV

Zayne thought this was supposed to be a quick mission to appease the townsfolk. However, the reports had severely underestimated the situation, which created an avalanche of problems. In the end, they severely lacked the manpower needed for this region, turning a simple mission into a fierce battle.

His presence had secured the borders. Without him, the rogues would have broken through. There had been thousands of them against slightly more than two hundred lycan warriors.

Even though lycans were stronger and faster, the rogues had numbers. They were savage fighters who weren’t beneath sacrificing their own members for even the slightest advantage. On top of that, they used silver and wolfsbane without hesitation.

Everything was secured now. The lycan warriors under his command had won, and the rogues retreated. But Zayne had gotten hurt protecting several of his men. They made careless mistakes that could have cost their lives. Without him, those men would be dead.

After such a long battle, Zayne had not expected to see Estelle present. He initially thought that she was just a figment of his imagination due to the wolfsbane poisoning. Surely Estelle wouldn’t come all the way to such a dangerous place for no good reason.

Yet, here she was, real as ever. As happy as he was to see her, Zayne couldn’t help but worry about her. Even though he knew that Estelle was fully capable of taking care of herself, this was still a dangerous place shrouded by death. If he had a choice, he would never want her to set foot here, especially looking this weary.

“The medical team was severely understaffed,” Estelle said, adjusting the pillow behind his head. “Just two healers for all of you. I know some medicine, so I decided to help.”

“I didn’t know that you were well-versed in medicine.”

“It was for a friend,” Estelle said with some hesitation. “Their child has been sickly since young, and I owe them quite a few favors. I... researched quite a bit in my youth. I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing when I knew how to help.”

She pursed her lips. Zayne could tell that she didn’t wish to explain more about this mysterious friend of hers.

“It became morning before I even knew it,” she added softly.

Zayne frowned. He didn’t like how Estelle had lost sleep just to clean up after them. “You should have been resting, not working through the night in a war camp.”

“At least I haven’t been skipping meals,” Estelle retorted, giving him a pointed look.

Zayne’s frown deepened. His grandmother had clearly ratted him out. He could picture Josephine telling Estelle about his poor eating habits in the last few weeks.

Estelle laughed at his expression. The sound was light and musical in the quiet tent.

She removed the wet towel from his forehead. Her fingers brushed against his skin as she checked his temperature. The touch sent warmth through his chest.

“The fever has broken,” she said, dipping the towel into the clean basin of water before wringing it dry. “But it’s better to have another one on standby.”

She folded the towel before placing it back on Zayne’s forehead.

“How did you get injured so badly?” she asked.

Zayne pressed his lips together.

“I wasn’t careful,” he lied.

Estelle’s eyes flashed with concern and frustration. “Zayne, you need to take better care of yourself.”

Her voice carried a scolding tone that reminded him of his grandmother. But coming from Estelle, it made his heart skip.

“Even though you’re the king and you have duties, there are people waiting for you to come home. People who would be devastated if anything happened to you.”

A small smirk tugged at Zayne’s lips. “Do you mean yourself?”

Estelle’s cheeks turned pink immediately. She stammered and looked away from his intense gaze.

“I meant Josephine and Cyril,” she said quickly.

She busied herself preparing the soup bowl. Her hands moved faster than necessary as she arranged the spoon and napkin on the tray.

“Here,” she said, holding up the bowl. “You need to eat something.”

Zayne reached for the spoon with his right hand. Pain shot through his arm immediately, and he winced.

“Your arm is injured too,” Estelle said, moving closer to his bedside. “Let me help you.”

She settled on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped slightly under her weight, bringing her closer to him.

Estelle lifted the spoon to his lips. The soup was warm and flavorful, much better than the usual camp food.

“This is good,” Zayne said between spoonfuls.

“I added some herbs to help with the healing process,” she replied. “Nothing that will interfere with what the healers gave you.”

She continued feeding him in comfortable silence. Occasionally, their eyes would meet, and she would look away quickly.

After he finished half the bowl, Estelle set it aside on the small table.

“Zayne,” she said, her voice softer now. She kept her gaze fixed on her hands. “I...I would be very upset too if anything happened to you.”

The admission was barely above a whisper, but Zayne heard every word clearly.

His heart fluttered in his chest. The feeling was stronger than any pain from his wounds.

“Estelle,” he said quietly.

She looked up at him. Her light blue eyes were wide and vulnerable. She had always looked so sure and certain that he wasn’t used to this soft expression of hers.

Zayne reached up with his uninjured hand. He cupped her cheek gently, his thumb brushing across her soft skin.

Estelle’s breath caught. She didn’t pull away from his touch.

They leaned toward each other slowly. The space between them grew smaller and smaller.

Zayne could feel her warm breath against his lips. Her eyes fluttered closed.