#Chapter108Jason_I eyed the jewelry box with a quirky grin on my face.The ring was missing so I know she had taken it with her to the gym.I closed the drawer, shoving my cellular phone into my pocket before I left the room."Going somewhere?" Zeiden was leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairway. He popped up when he saw me coming down the staircase."Is that your business?"He seemed to be questioning himself, wondering if he even had any authority to question me. He didn't. No one did. Well, except for one. Her."Where you going?" Zeiden followed me over to the front door."For a run." I opened the door, allowing fresh air to pour into the opening."Wolf form?""No.""Do you mind if I join?" Zeiden pressed. I snarled."What do you want Zeiden?" My arms folded."I just want to spend time with you." Zeiden teased. He was a damn fool and by the way he was laughing, he knew it. I wanted to be alone; however, I'm not sure if it w
#Chapter109It had only been a day, but I could see the tension building up in Zeiden. He was becoming a window. It was almost obvious to see he was hiding something in that thick skull of his.He was fidgety. When spoken to he was nothing but a scrambled mess. Eye contact with him seemed limited and that weird sense of humor was gone alongside his sarcasm. I could admit that it was quiet, but it was not right. He was attracting some concerns I could not have."Can I get you anything?" A woman approached my booth. Her smile hid the exhaustion that crept up her body. It was easy to see how tired she was. "Um can you give me a moment?"“Of course. Take your time." I could hear the relief in her voice. She turned and walked off, pacing until she made it to an empty stool to rest her feet before her work would begin again.The door opened. His eyes shifted around the diner before he saw me. He fixed his shirt; his eyes wandering before he took a seat across from me.He
#Chapter110"I'm hungry for something else." I eyed him, acknowledging the fact that our conversation went from a family friendly discussion to something much more inappropriate."I will cook then." I teased, almost too eager to toy with him as long as possible."Why do you play with me?" He asked. I know the temptation between us was growing however I pretended as if it did not exist."Play?" I yawned. "I'm too tired to play. I'm going to take a shower and lay down in bed-"Jason ignored my suggestion. Instead, he had other plans in mind. With little verbal use, he whisked me into the bathroom and into the shower stall.Water sprinkled down from the shower head, attacking me with gentle beads of water."Why?" I asked."You said you wanted a shower." He leaned in, leaving a small yet powerful kiss against the curve of my neck. "So I'm helping.""Jesus you didn't even take your clothes off." I gestured toward the clean white tee-shirt and jeans that was soaked w
#Chapter111"So what is this meeting about?" Zeiden pushed and shoved through the thick tree areas. "I'm hoping to find out." I didn’t have much of an answer to give him.I was just as lost as he was. I was uncertain as to why he wanted to meet me however I found this meeting well overdue. "I remember this place." Zeiden slowed at the bottom of the mount. He glanced up at the peak of the hill, the sight bringing back memories. "Cabin." I exhaled. "I came here to speak to you when Aniyah was taken by Kane." I nodded in agreement. The same cabin they took her from. It was a haven and also a place I found fit to meet at. Secluded and isolated from the rest. We walked up the hillside. Our voices, our moves, quiet enough to go unheard. They planned this meeting however we knew to never let our guards down. Zeiden followed behind as we made it up to the cabin porch. I opened the door, finding myself face to face with complete and utter darkness. It was the s
#Chapter112ANIYAH"I'm tired." I pressed before I rolled over in my bed."That's good." Jess rubbed my arm, massaging and pressing at my tender muscles that begged for another ice pack. "That mean your muscles are getting that good workout.""Who made you a gym coach all of a sudden?" I shoved her away."Oh shut up and get dress." I looked at her, watching as she shuffled through my closet before she pulled a t-shirt and a pair of leggings. She tossed them onto my bed before she pulled out a pair of my workout sneakers."I don't feel like going." I sobbed."You cannot stop because you feel a little burn in those arms."She gave me a light nudge against my arm. With such tender arms, a light nudge could easily feel like a ton of bricks being forced against my body. "Bitch, do not do that again." I yelped, rubbing my arms vigorously."I will be waiting patiently for you downstairs. I will give you twenty minutes. If you do not appear within twenty two minutes, I will be bac
#Chapter113Exhaustion had kicked in some time ago. With my body forced endure an intense pre workout, I was not sure how Jess assumed I had the energy or drive to step into the combat ring."How about you get in there?" I asked, fanning myself with a small company flyer I had found lying around.She stood beside me, her eyes peering into the ring where a facility trainer and another guest engaged in a simple hand to hand exercise. "Fine." Her hands resting on her waist, she approached the ring once they were finished with their session. "Hello?"The male spun around to find Jess staring up from beneath him."Yeah?" He tightened his boxing glove."Um my friend and I didn't know that we had to sign up earlier to step into the ring." I rolled my eyes, sucking my teeth when I heard how gentle her voice had become. "Is there any way we can, you know, get a few lessons in?"The guy seemed to look sorry for a pouting, helpless Jess. I could tell he had never met the re
#Chapter114Jess hovered over me, watching as I prepared myself to enter the ring."I thought you said your arms hurt?" Jess questioned me with more apprehension rather than her usual sarcasm."They do." I hunched down to tighten the laces on my sneakers for a secure fit. "But I'll manage."Carl returned with a pair of boxing gloves and a pair of boxing mittens before he climbed into the ring."This should be nasty." Jess took a seat on the sideline. If they sold popcorn here, I was sure she would have it.Ignoring Jess, I climbed into the ring. It felt bizarre, all so different being inside of a boxing ring. Especially when I had become accustom to training with Maya at the rear of the house.Carl handed me my gloves. I slipped them on and tightened the straps around my wrist. "Good. Good." Carl eyed me. My face scrunched up. "What?"He noticed my sudden change in emotion but did not understand why."Nothing." It was something. It was the way he looked at
#Chapter115He looked them over; his eyes wide when he saw what had come flooding from my gym bag."Aniyah-""Can I have my things?" I kept my eyes on the items he had clutched between his fingers."What the-"I snatched my book and the piece of wood. Stuffing them beneath my change of clothing, I rushed out of the changing room, ignoring his voice that continued to call my name...JESS POV_I waited. I waited some more. I glanced back toward the gym doors, waiting for Aniyah to emerge. My feet kicked up on the dash, I pulled out my phone to shoot Brent a text.-We need to talk later.I received a message in return.-What did I do?My eyes rolled at his assumption that he was in trouble.-Nothing!The passenger door swung open. I stuffed my phone into my pocket right before Aniyah sat down."Are you okay? Where the hell is your bag?" I asked when I saw the balled up clothing in her arms.She shook her head with no verbal response in return. I