On Friday, Zara avoids me again, leaving another note about class and work, but not mentioning times. I know I messed up, so as long as she keeps telling me where she is going, I let her be. I call Sam to apologize for my behavior. To make it up to him, we go out to dinner, then eventually make our way to a couple of nightclubs. I don’t make it home until after the sun comes up on Saturday morning and head straight to bed.
When I wake up, I find Zara's note saying she will be at the university library. How can someone could spend so much time at the library? At Rocky's insistence, I head there to be sure she is okay. I wander around pretending to look for books until I see her sitting with two other students in a study room. They are staring at her laptop screen as she explains something to them. A smile forms on my face when I see her interacting with other people. She's in a study group? This means she made a coupl
Dad looks me in the eye laughs. Slow at first, then hysterically. He laughs so hard the whole golf cart shakes under his weight. His face turns red and tears roll down his face. I've never seen him find anything so funny. He wipes a couple of tears from his eyes. “You had me going there for a minute. Keller ‘The Playboy’ Marshall with a sigma for a mate! That’s rich!” I furrow my brow and frown. Has he lost his damn mind? Why would I make any of that up? When he sees I’m not laughing along with him, he suddenly stops. “Dad, I’m serious. I haven’t accepted her yet, but she’s my mate. Zara's different from other sigmas. She doesn’t drink or do drugs and she’s smart as Hell.” I clear my throat and look down. “She had a family who loved her until the middle of July, but they kicked her out. Besides that, I don’t know how to explain it, but her heat doesn’t affect me. I don't feel t
Zara’s POV He recognizes me. He knows. Jensen doesn’t have warm, welcoming eyes like Keller. He’s deep brown eyes are glaring at me like he’s going to pounce on me again. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. “Say something, Zara!” Lavender pushes. “What should I say?” I feel like my mind is being scrambled. “Anything! Distract him!” She sounds slightly panicked. “I, um, I work at the Cozy Up Cafe. Maybe that’s, uh, that’s where you’ve seen me? If you, um, if you haven’t been there, y-you should try the meatloaf. It’s amazing,” I stumble over my words. “Kids, come on, time for dinner,” Amy calls from the dining room. Jensen keeps staring at me while we all make our way to the dining room and take our seats. “I remember now. You were in th
My captor drags me into a dark room and slams the door behind us. Lavender pushes forward to protect me with a deep growl. My fangs and claws extend and vision becomes sharper in the unlit room. “Lavender, it’s okay,” I hear Keller’s voice in my ear. It sounds raspy and deeper than his usual smooth alto tone. His rosemary and basil scent calms me, but Lavender still won’t move. “I’m here, my beautiful mate. You’re safe. Don’t scream, okay?” I nod and the arms confining me loosen, then turn me around. Lavender tenses up as we look into the dark and find Keller looking back at us. His eyes are black with Rocky at the surface. “Please tell Zara I’ll keep both of you safe, Lavender.” Rocky’s voice says from Keller’s form. He pulls me back in and hugs me tight. “He might not accept you yet, but you’re my mate. I accept you.” Ever so slowly, Lavender relaxes an
I’m in my bed. Sunlight is peeking through the blinds. Everything is in slow motion. My head is pounding and I feel dizzy. I think today is purple, but it might be an elephant. I’ll ask Mom when I remember her name. I try to raise my arms, but I can’t because I’m being held down. Keller is holding me in his arms. His breath is even and slow. Is Keller a dragon? Can he breathe fire? I tilt my head to look up at his face. Even through the fuzzy edges of my vision, he looks peaceful with his eyes closed. I feel calm surrounded by his muscular arms. As long as they don’t turn into snakes, it’s okay. I take a deep breath. His scent is so comforting, it even feels like it’s helping my headache, but my belly feels funny. I was a bunny, but I don’t think I’m like that anymore. Keller’s mom has pins taped to the ends of her fingers. She’s scary. His dad is a monster with vice grip
“Hi Keller.” Zara’s little voice comes up beside me while I’m sitting at the kitchen counter. “Hey Pocket. How are you feeling?” I turn and face her, observing her movements. She looks remarkably still. When she moves, it is slow and calculated. She gives me a vacant stare, as if she isn’t sure what’s supposed to happen after I speak to her. I watch her blink and look at her hand, turning it over with a confused look on her face. She holds it up and looks at her fingernails in awe. Now I’m in familiar territory. This is the reaction most she-wolves have to the ketamine concoction Mom gave Zara. They become calm and compliant. Some have hallucinations, some don’t, but it looks like Zara is. I pull her next to me, giving her a side hug. She doesn’t resist. In fact, she leans heavily against my side. “What happened?” She pouts. I’m not sure
The longer Zara lives in the penthouse, the more I notice quirks in her personality and behavior. Like when she put carrots in a vase as if they were a bouquet, but when I asked her about it, she didn’t remember doing it. One afternoon, she laid pens out all over the floor in arrow patterns. She said it was so she wouldn’t get lost. I thought it had something to do with studying, so I didn’t move them. In the morning, she picked up her pens, annoyed that I left them lying around. One night, though, things got really weird. I came out into the kitchen to grab my keys and found Zara standing still in the kitchen with no lights on. I flipped on the light but it didn’t phase her. She froze on the spot and had her hand near her ear, pinched into the shape of a hand puppet. Her eyes were glazed over like she was mind linking someone, but I still don’t know who it could have been. “Zara, what are you doing?
Zara’s POV“Zara, break’s over, Baby Girl. I just sat booth eighteen for ya. It’s a three top.” Toya, the hostess, interrupts my lunch break that turned into a spontaneous mini study session.“Thank you, Toya.” I hook a pencil in my notebook and shove it all in my backpack.“Zara, something’s wrong. I just don’t know what.” Lavender was suddenly at attention.“It’s because I got interrupted, Lavender.” I dismiss her concerns. “It startled me. I’m just stressed with all the homework assignments and still having to work. Everything's fine.”“Maybe it’s time to ask for fewer shifts?” She worries.“I’ll consider it at the end of the semester.” I do my best to appease m
Keller’s POV “Jas, where are you now?” I make a hard left as we get closer to town. “I’m outside the gate of this community called Crystal Lake. It's to the south, about twenty minutes outside of town. Zara said she wanted to go to the hospital here. The medic said they are familiar.” I’ve never heard Jasper sound so worried in my life. “They let the ambulance in, but they wouldn’t let me past the front gate.” “Yeah. We know where it is. It's a private community with their own hospital. Mom has friends there. Just wait for us. We'll get you in.” The light turns red, forcing me to brake hard. “Thank you, Jasper.” “You don’t need to thank me, dude. Zara’s your roommate. I would do anything for her.” He sounds hesitant. “Keller, those chicks really messed her up. I don’t know what Zara ever did to them, but I’m glad I walked into the Cozy Up