Zayan's Point of View
She reminded me of myself. There was another level to her personality. Entrenched inside her soul. For some, it would have been too deep to try and find. But I adored a challenge and Kamari seemed like the toughest one yet.
Kamari wasn't gone for long before Nolan showed up. Before my heart started aching slightly. It was the same cramp I felt whenever Eris would leave, only subtler. Stranger. I couldn't figure out whether I hated the feeling or missed it.
"How much?" I asked when my friend approached. His eyebrows were set into a firm line.
"Zayan, are you sure you want to go through with this? Kamari looked like a mess earlier. I don't think she will be able to stomach any of it." Nolan said and stood in front of me. His dark brown hair was tossed in every direction. He had run here, some of it on foot, from the looks of it.
Steeling my jaw, I looked him square in the eyes. Made it clear that there was no turning back now. Whatever happened, Kamari would deal with it. I would help her deal with it. But we needed this closure. For them to feel the same pain we had felt.
Eris could go to fucking hell.
"Did he hurt her?" My tone was flat.
Nolan blanched. "No. But he was going to if I hadn't stepped in. You know what his temper is like, Zayan. You are putting her in harm's way."
I felt my nostrils flare in response. Back muscles tightening. If he ever laid a hand on her, I would have his head. And the head of every pack member to ever shun her. She deserved more. Her shoulders might have been able to carry her burden until this far but I could handle it from here.
"Let me handle him when the time comes. How much did he ask for her?"
My friend only shook his head in response. Sighed. There was no denying me anything that I set my sights on. It was that easy to understand. So why couldn't he?
"From what I could hear, 500 thousand," That was a quarter of what I had left to my name, excluding assets. Nolan knew this as well. "You won't be able to financially recover if you pay that amount and you know it. What you have left is going straight into the company. Arik is slowly leeching away your clients. Think rationally, Zayan."
I was thinking rationally. Or so I hoped. "If we go through with this plan, I will get twenty times that back. And that isn't even Kamari's cut. For now, this is the best financial investment I can make."
"Or are you only doing this because somewhere in the last three days you decided to also get into her pants for good measure?" There was a twinge of anger in his voice. His feet had splayed open, taking up a defensive stance. Even his eyes seemed to take me in fully. Gauge where my mind was at.
I didn't appreciate the challenge. Not from my Beta. Or rather the Beta I was supposed to have if my father hadn't lost the pack.
"Don't you dare speak about her in that way! I have no intention of getting anywhere with her. We are helping each other, Nolan. You were the one that came to me to help her! Not the other way around! Now I am helping her and it isn't good enough for you?" I seethed.
Nolan narrowed his eyes at me. Pursed his lips.
"I have seen that look on your face before. You gave Eris the exact same look when she walked away. When you longed after her. This isn't going to end well for either of you."
"Spoken like someone who wants to get into her pants," I hissed. Having had enough of the conversation, I got back on topic. "I will do a direct transfer to you when I get home. Tomorrow morning, go in and pay whatever needs to be paid. I want her tomorrow afternoon."
"She is going to hate you after all of this is done, you know that right?"
His question made my heart clench. Break a bit. I wanted to sneer at him to get off his fucking high horse. Tell him that he had no idea what it felt like to be betrayed by the one you were supposed to trust the most. If Kamari wanted to leave at the end of this, then that was her choice.
Nothing kept her here.
"Good. Maybe that will finally give you the shot you have always wanted with her. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going. Get her free."
It was my last instruction to him. A simple one. All he had to do was transfer the money over to Arik and Kamari could breathe easier at night. Spend her days however she wanted. With whomever she wanted.
A small piece of my chest caved in at the thought of her being touched by someone else. But it must have been me projecting. Thrusting my pain with Eris onto Kamari. Which was utterly wrong of me.
Kamari was nothing of me except a means to an end. Maybe a friend in the making. Whatever she wanted to be...
***
I had transferred the money a few miles outside of Crescent Shine. My initial thought was to head home. Catch up with my dad. Get to work on opening new branches of my security company. Maybe look into transport companies as well.
But I felt myself being drawn back to Crescent shine. Felt my soul give way when I headed in the opposite direction of where my home was. My true home. The very same one my dad built up. The one my mother nurtured for so many years.
Crescent Shine.
Parking my bike in the bushes, I tried to hide it the best I could. Since Arik took over the pack, patrols had gone lax. People could waltz in and out without the Alpha knowing. This made visiting a whole lot easier.
I stripped down in less than a minute. Felt my bones snap into place in half that time. Transforming had become second nature to me. As easy as breathing. Soon enough, I was on all fours and the world was bright again.
I had no idea where I was going. What I wanted to see. Who I wanted to spy on. Eris was off of the table. The bitch could rot for all I cared.
Our relationship might not have been perfect but I had been working on it. Thought she was as well. Little did I know.
After a few minutes of mindless running, I realized where my body had taken me. Who my wolf craved to see. The house was light on the outside walls with a charcoal roof. Two stories. Nice porch with a rocking chair and a hammock on it.
But just inside I noticed her. Kamari. Her hair was tucked back behind an ear. Feet propped up on the arm of the couch whilst she aimlessly leafed through a book. The title was a dark choice but one I had read before. The Haunting of Hill House. A twisted book that made you catch your breath at every turn.
Behind her was the kitchen. Her father was standing there, kneading from what I could see. Nolan had only mentioned her address once. When he thought she would come here or to the cafe. I never realized I knew it by heart.
Speaking of which, there was a tightening in my chest. Tension in my limbs as I watched her smile at something her father had said. Curl her legs up beneath her and drop the book. She was wearing glasses. Kamari looked absolutely adorable.
None of this would have been possible without her strength. Her willingness to help herself. Heal herself, even if it was in the wrong way. Even if she was straying so close to the darkness I was so accustomed to. At the end of the day, she was a breath of fresh air.
And I had to stop fucking breathing. Because she might just rip my heart out of my fucking chest.
Kamari's Point of View'It is a new day. A new start. Just keep your head down. Take in a deep breath. You got this. You can do this.'The mantra repeated itself in my mind. Over and over again like a broken record. Each word gained more emphasis than the first. As if I could beat it into me. Make my body believe it to be true.I stood in front of the pack house, glaring up at it as if it would swallow me whole. My dad had tried his best to fix what I had broken. Tried to reason with Arik. But there was no getting around this. I had to get back to work, whether I liked it or not.Zayan had promised to pay whatever Arik demanded. Although I knew the price was extremely steep. Never before had someone bought their freedom for 500 thousand dollars. It just highlighted what Arik had said.He wouldn't make it easy for me to leave. Or even fucking bearable. "Kamari!" Eris screamed from inside the house. I clenched my jaw. Ground my teeth against each other. 'Another day. Brand new. We can
Kamari's Point of View"So when are we getting married? I never even asked you how many children you want to have. Or where you wanted to live." I blabbered. Nolan was driving me home in my beat-up Fiesta. Glanced at me from the corner of his eye.This was my lame attempt at breaking the tension in the car. At getting him to smile. But I felt the way he looked. Torn up. Chewed up. Spat back out.Luckily for me, Nolan decided to try and cut the tension as well. He smiled and tilted his head away from me. "I think about a year-long proposal will do. I want one kid and that is it. Doesn't matter if it is a boy or a girl. Fuck the gender stereotypes that only a boy can carry on the family name. As for living..." He seemed to think of an answer. His gaze softened when he looked at me again. Small smile on his lips. "Wherever you are." He mumbled.I blinked. Blinked again. He seemed sincere. As if he would move with me wherever I went. It was a sweet sentiment but one I didn't share. Nolan
Kamari's Point of ViewWhenever tragedy struck, my dad always tried to compensate for it. When I had just gotten kicked out by my mother, he bought me a large stuffed horse that I still had. That I still cuddled. When his parents passed away in an accident at thirteen, I got a new phone.Not that he ever compensated his love with gifts. Sometimes I just thought he might have a hard time with his own emotions and that he couldn't help me fix my own. I understood that to a certain degree.He always tried his best. Made me who I was today. Now my mother wanted to sweep me away and take all the glory for herself. Although I doubted that was the entire story. From how ragged he had looked when we entered the house, she must have proposed something else as well.At least this time around, my dad had no time to buy me anything. All he could do was bake us some bread, bagels, and muffins. Which I was grateful for. Which I adored.Nolan had suggested a movie night in, with the three of us buil
Zayan's Point of ViewI couldn't get hold of her. Text messages weren't going through. My calls went to voicemail. It tightened my chest to the point where I couldn't sleep anymore. Made me toss and turn the entire night long.Something was wrong. Horrendously wrong and I needed to be there for her. Comfort her. But showing up at her house in the middle of the night would be a bad move. It would show her that something was growing inside my chest...When I had no business feeling any sort of way toward her.Finally, the sun broke over the horizon and I jumped out of bed. The last few hours were spent in silence. Contemplation. Mainly contemplation about whether I had to allow these feelings to grow or not. So far it was a no from my brain. We could be friends. Best of friends. I would be her silent and watching guardian whilst she moved away and fell in love with someone else. Now that was one fucking hard pill to swallow."You are up early this morning." My father bemoaned from the
Kamari's Point of ViewGuilt washed over me the minute I realized the position I was in with Nolan. I heard Zayan enter. Heard his sharp intake of breath. It was an instantaneous feeling. One I couldn't fully place at first.I owed Zayan nothing but the money he had paid to get me free. That didn't entail a relationship. Although, I felt shame deep down. It was odd. Something I had no business feeling. But there it was and here I was.Pretending to sleep was the best outcome. Or so I had thought until my father ratted me out."Can't you leave a girl to her vices?" I grumbled lowly and sat up. Lucky for me, Nolan had moved away. Zayan was still staring between Nolan and me. It was heart-wrenching, to see that amount of concern on his face. The conflicting emotions toying just behind his eyes. "A girl needs to get up and make some coffee because it doesn't look like these two bumbling idiots will do it anytime soon." My dad replied, his voice still drenched in sleep. I groaned inward
Kamari's Point of ViewWe drove to the human town to do our shopping. Neither Zayan nor I wanted to risk being seen by Arik or any of the other wolves. Nolan on the other hand seemed less than pleased that we would be amongst humans. His dislike of them grew strongly two years ago. Looking back now, I wondered if it had been humans that caused the crash that took his mate's life. It would explain a whole lot. Although, even with his protestations, there was no other way to go."There is a quant shopping center on the other side of the town. Not too far from where we first met, actually." Zayan said and looked over at me. I smiled back at him but clung to my safety belt.My dad had offered for us to take his SUV instead of the Fiesta. A lot more room, he had said before we took the keys. As if he knew we would need it. By the end of the day, I was certain I would have an entirely new wardrobe. I wasn't complaining."Did we really have to go this way?" Nolan asked, irritation sounding
Kamari's Point of View For a moment, the dressing room felt too constricting. Tightened my lungs to the point where I was sure I would pass out. Nolan had shoved several outfits into my arms when he saw me again. Whilst Zayan smiled on at the spectacle. His eyes would roam my body from head to toe every time I stepped out. He even stood closer a few times and gripped my hips to see me from every angle. When he did this, I would only look up at him and blush. Tried to hide it but he knew it was there. Everyone knew it was there. In moments like those, Nolan would silently bristle. Hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. But all of Zayan's attention would fall on me. He wouldn't spare his friend a single sliver of his time. "Are you alright in there, Kamari?" Zayan called from the other side. I could picture him sitting on the plush cushioned armchair. Nolan a brooding force standing behind him. Both looked intimidating. Would make any woman's knees wobble beneath her. I gulped
Zayan's Point of View Hearing her voice after such a long time seemed bittersweet. It reminded me of the day she left. The words she told me that ripped my heart into shreds. Even years later, I still couldn't get rid of that sting of pain. The numbness that followed closely. But staring into Kamari's eyes, I knew it would settle one day. Become nothing more than a dull ache. We would have our revenge and I would be free. Together, we could do this. Free ourselves from the shackles of our past burdens. "But I'm fine." I breathed and finally noticed the small space we were stuffed into. Barely any room for me to even move. Kamari on the other hand was dwarfed by my stature. As well as the room beyond. She was a speck. A fucking irresistible speck in that blood-red dress of hers. Her skin looked vibrant. Alive beyond just this world. Giving in to my urges, I traced the side of her cheek with an index finger. Watched as she shivered. Her eyes dipped away from mine. Became half-ma