Zara’s POV
Keller slams my door and runs down the hall. A couple minutes later, I hear the water from his shower running. I sit in shock on my bed, trying to figure out what I did wrong.
“Lavender, what just happened? What changed his mind? He wanted to be with me, then he didn’t, right? Did it seem like that to you? That wasn’t my imagination?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“I don’t know what that was. It certainly felt like he was enjoying himself,” Lavender says, but it sounds more like a question than a statement. “I guess he is more confused that I originally thought.”
I don’t think I’ll be able to focus on homework tonight, so I pick up my books and laptop off of my bed and put them away. Keller’s shirt smells just like his rosemary and basil scent. I don’t want to take it off. After what just happened, I don't think he's coming back for it tonight, so I'll just leave it on. Since I’m going to be
I smooth down my uniform shirt while I wait for my bagel to come out of the toaster. I only got a little sleep, but I will wait until I get to the diner to have a cup of coffee. Keller’s coffee machine seems pretty fancy. I don’t want to figure it out twenty minutes before my shift starts.Oh! I almost forgot, I have a glass of apple juice in the fridge. I open the door and bend down to reach in when I hear a female voice behind me.“Look, Janice. Maid service! Can I get an omelette please? Ham and green peppers. Janice, what do you want?” The voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard.I stand upright and look at her. She has curly brown hair in a disheveled ponytail. Her gold dress is long sleeve, but backless. It's so short, it almost doesn’t cover her butt. I look around the room. Who is she talking to? When did Keller get a maid?“Oh, maybe she only speaks Spanish, Leslie.” A girl with short, fake blond
The library is not as busy Saturday as it is during the week. It makes it easy to find a table where my back is to a wall, making it easier to see if there is any danger I need to hide from. I wander away from the table to find a couple of reference books. When I come back, Keller is sitting in my seat. He jumps up and grabs the books from me, setting them on the table in a neat pile. “Are you following me?” I whisper loudly at him, not hiding my anger. I cross my arms in front of me, trying to show my frustration without making a scene. “Are you avoiding me?” He gives me a smirk but when he sees I’m not amused, his face drops, “Zara, look, I didn’t realize you were in the kitchen when I told those girls to leave this morning.” “Keller, if you think the problem here is that two bimbos thought I was your maid, you need to think a little harder,” I hiss at him. “Now, please leave me alone. I have a lot of work to catch up o
“Are you okay, miss?” The driver looks at me with concern. “Did you get into a fight? I can call campus police for you.” “No ma’am. I’m okay. It was dark out and I took a tumble down the library stairs.” I clear my throat, making up a story as quickly as I can. “Nothing an ice pack won’t cure once I’m home.” She nods, but I feel her watching me as I find my seat. I try my best to hold my arm against my side to avoid anyone noticing the blood seeping into my shirt. Once I find a seat, I open the selfie camera on my phone to see how bad the damage is. The entire side of my face is swelling, with dark bruises forming. My teeth feel wiggly when I press my tongue to the side of my mouth. The blood vessels in my eye broke, making my entire eyeball appear bloody. “I’m trying to heal you as fast as I can, Zara,” Lavender says. “It’s just a lot at once for me. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, Lavender. It could be worse.”
Keller’s POV Every breath is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced while Rocky tries desperately to heal me. Holding Zara against me feels like it might be the only thing keeping me conscious. I try to focus on her and away from the pain that is making my entire body throb. She leans heavily against me, but something feels off. I know she must be in pain too, but she also feels like she is intentionally distancing herself from me. “Zara, there are shorts in the back seat. Can you please get them for me?” I ask into her shoulder. “We should go upstairs.” I feel her nod and slide off my lap, being careful not to touch any of my cuts. She rummages in the back seat until she finds the shorts and lets me use her as support while I get them on. “I tried calling you,” she says timidly as tries to hold me up. “Oh, Pocket, I’m so sorry.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder, using her f
“Phil, get back here.” Mom grits her teeth when Dad storms off. She looks at the camera with a panicked expression, “Just a minute, Honey.”After a few crashing sounds in the background and listening to Mom chastise at Dad for losing his temper, they both come back into the frame. Dad smooths back his hair and looks above the camera, taking deep breaths, while he calms himself down.“So let me get this straight. Mom already told me you took in this girl because she was having trouble with some male wolves in the dormitory.” He crosses his arms in front of himself. “Tonight, you were picking her up on campus and you saw her being attacked by one of Williams’ trainees?”“Yes. He was wearing a trainee uniform, had his claws in her arm, and he was about to forcibly mark her.” I can’t help but snarl at the memory.He looks serious at the additional details and continues to confirm that he understands the
“Keller, wake up,” Rocky rouses me out of a deep sleep. “Our mate is gone. She’s leaving. You need to stop her.” I sit up quickly and look around. Zara isn’t in the bed or in the bathroom. I find her in the kitchen wearing her work uniform, making eggs, and getting a bag together. “Pocket, where do you think you’re going?” I take her bag off the counter and hold it behind my back. When she turns around and sees me with the bag in hand, she gets angry. “I have to work, Keller,” she looks at me indignantly, “I can’t rely on the money you were able to get refunded forever.” It’s hard to believe she’s serious, especially with the whole side of her face still swollen and bruised. She’s also wearing a long sleeve shirt under her short sleeve uniform shirt to cover the injuries on her arm. She tries to pull her bag away from me, but I’m too quick. All it does is
“Thanks for meeting us, Greg,” I shake the hand of Crystal Lake’s lead guard. He’s an intimidating guy with light blue eyes and a buzz cut. His long sleeve shirt is an attempt to look professional, but he can’t hide the tattoos on his oversized hands and thick neck. “Anytime, Marshall. The human library is an odd choice, but I get it. Neutral ground, like you were saying.” He shrugs and looks around. Behind him, a mother is ushering her child, who is pointing at Greg, into the library. “I’m glad to hear you’re okay.” “You heard what happened?” I cringe. If he knows, word has spread quicker than I thought. “Keller, everyone’s heard what happened,” He nods matter-of-factly. “Killing two of Williams’ trainees? That isn’t going unnoticed by the community.” I widen my eyes and try to shake my head so he won’t expose my secret to Zara, but he doesn’t see me in
When we get home, Zara goes directly to her room and closes the door without so much as a word. I order take out, hoping food will entice her to come out of her room, but when I knock on her door, she tells me she isn’t hungry and sends me away. Aside from letting me drive her to and from school and work, she mostly stays in her room and doesn’t say much to me for the next several days. On Thursday, Jasper and Sam insist on going out for the night. When I knock on Zara’s door to ask if there is anything she needs, her muffled voice just tells me to have a fun night. I finally resign myself to the fact that she won’t be forgiving me anytime soon, so I get myself together and meet the guys at Angel’s. The night is a blur and I don’t remember bringing anyone home, but the two naked she-wolves snuggled together in my bed suggest otherwise. When I look at them more closely, they look like they could