Zander POVAfter I let go of Cleo, she looked at me and started heading back towards her suite. I followed after her and gently grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?""Isn't it obvious? I'm going back to my suite."I shook my head and gave her a stern look. "You're planning something. I can tell."Cleo gave an ashamed look and said, "Okay. You caught me. I'm leaving the Full Moon pack and going home.""You shouldn't go alone. I'll come with you." I paused and added, "Can you wait a little longer on going home? I could use your help with something else."Cleo gave a thoughtful expression to me and held a finger up. I had patience to wait for her decision. It seemed she was eager to go home. I knew she wanted to see her fiancé again. Part of me wanted Cleo to forget him. She could do better.Finally, she said, "I'll help you. What is it you need help with exactly?""I want to find out who really killed my parents.""I'm in. You deserve to know the truth."She had a brief fa
Zander POVCleo took a sip of her soda and looked at me. "What are your biggest hopes and dreams?"Was she really asking me this? I was caught off guard with the weight of her serious question. I took another bite of my burger to stall on my answer. Honestly, I didn't know if I wanted Cleo to know me on that level. Normally, I didn't let many people in.I swallowed and said, "I'd say my biggest hope would be to become someone that others look up to. I want people to say 'Zander is what I aspire to be like'. No one's ever wanted to be like me, and I think that'd be cool." I paused and continued, "My top dream is to become an Alpha of a pack one day. I know I could lead others if I was given a chance."I let her absorb everything I said. Cleo had a look of surprise on her. She took a bite of her fish sandwich and looked at me. She swallowed and said, "Those weren't answers I was expecting from you. I didn't know you had such high hopes and dreams. You wanting to be an Alpha reall
Things felt different for the rest of the drive after opening up to one another. It was also because he had comforted me when I needed it. I felt closer to him than ever before. Zander had more to him than I had originally thought. He actually was a person that I wanted to learn more about. As we got closer to the pack, Zander seemed on edge. I wanted to make sure Zander wanted to return to his old pack. My heart hurt to see him look so stressed.I spoke up and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"He clenched his teeth and said, "Yeah I'm sure. I need to figure out who killed my parents. I can't back out now.""But..." I was cut off by his annoyed tone."Just drop it. You can't change my mind. We're almost there. I can't turn back to the Full Moon pack." He added, "You were the one who wanted to come with me. I never told you that you had to come."It was quiet for the rest of the trip. Zander being tense made me feel crappy too. Our trip had been a really nice one until we
The feast had started and I sat with Zander. This caused other members to get up and leave. These members didn't even excuse themselves. They scoffed and gave disgusted looks at Zander. I shook my head at their cruel treatment. Why couldn't these stubborn people forgive and forget the past? It was years ago. They should just move on.I thought they were just being petty. It wasn't like Zander had killed someone in their pack. I shook my head and stabbed my lamb chop with my steak knife. People like that made me mad. Zander looked over at me knowingly and said, "Cleo, don't worry about them. I don't care that they hate me. Besides I belong to your pack." He added, "They mean nothing to me."How could he just be calm about those jerks? I wanted to tell all of them off for their immaturity."So, it doesn't bother you at all being back?" Zander ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "It does a little. But we won't be here longer than necessary."He pushed his plate of food to t
I finished exercising on the treadmill and got off the machine. Something was bothering me. Then I glanced over at the women who had talked about Zander. They continued to talk and didn't even notice I had listened in on them. There was no way I was letting them get away with talking about him like that. It was despicable. I felt an urge to stand up to these women, since he wasn't there himself. We had finally gotten connected enough to be friends. Maybe we had been friends for a little bit, but I was fighting it.I shared more with him than I had shared with anyone, even Ash. Something about Zander was more special than what I had with Ash. Our being mates might've given an advantage that Ash would never understand.No way would I let these girls trash talk him and who he was as a person. He wasn't the person they believed he was. I had to set the record straight or else I'd regret not sticking up for Zander.The redhead woman was the first one I needed to talk to. She had mad
Zander entered my suite and said, "We need to talk. Would you want to join me on a picnic?"Was he asking me on a date? I hoped he wasn't suggesting that. My hands started to get sweaty.I looked at him and said, "Okay, but it's not a date.""I never said it was. Think of it as one friend sharing a meal with another friend."I was disappointed yet relieved at the same time. My heart hammered in my chest thinking of being alone with him again.Zander drove away from the pack and took me to a cute park with picnic tables. But he set a blanket down on the grass near a table. I looked at him in puzzlement. What was he up to?He said, "I had to get us away from listening ears. Let's talk."That was a great idea. Now I understood why he wanted to leave the Wisteria mansion.I grabbed a PB and J sandwich from the picnic basket and took a bite. I swallowed and told him, "When should we look for information that's about your parents?"Zander took a swig of his water from a thermos and
I stayed up late and waited until it was around one in the morning. Zander and I had decided to look around while everyone was asleep. We didn't want to risk getting caught snooping around. That was not a risk I wanted to take. This pack had been like a second home to me for the past few months. I wouldn't lose their trust that easily.Before I left my suite, I went into the bathroom and looked at myself. I had taken off my makeup and looked kind of tired. This was not something I wanted Zander to see. It wasn't like I wanted to impress him or anything, however. As a girl, I just wanted to look my best regardless of the situation.I debated whether I should a little makeup on or not for a couple minutes. Seconds later, I chose to reapply a little bit of eyeliner and concealer with a faint bit of pale pink lipstick. It was better than looking like a zombie. I even rebrushed my hair, since it had flattened when I laid on the bed.Not wanting to wake anyone, I crept quietly to Zander
I pulled away from Zander's kiss and checked the caller ID. My face fell when I saw Ash's name. What was he calling for? I wished he hadn't interrupted Zander and me, but I felt a lump in my throat thinking that.I picked up and said, "What do you want Ash?"Ash's voice came out bitter and he said, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were staying with my pack. What kind of fiancé are you?!" He continued ranting, "Maybe you didn't want me to come, so you could spend more time with your mate. My friend told me that Zander came with you."Why hadn't I thought of that when I came here? I should've known that someone would tell Ash that I had been at his pack. I'd been careless.I clenched my fists and explained, "I'm helping him with something. Nothing wrong is going on here." Well, except for that kiss we briefly shared. I wouldn't tell Ash that. He would've blown up at me. Ash's voice got angrier while he stated, "It's your fault for our lack of communication. I mean, first