NATALIE“ I am telling you. It’s a whole fucking plan and you almost screwed it by going there unannounced. ” Anne huffs, folding her arms over her chest.Right as I sprinted out of Zio’s house, I took Jake’s cell phone and called Anne. I cried and told her that I fucked up, once again and she needs to come down here and let me know about some antidote shit.To my surprise, she told me she was already at Ryker’s office. I didn’t waste a moment thinking why she was there, to begin with, and rushed here.Now, she is telling me that Ryker knows about the potion already and he planned something which I almost ruined.“ Plan? My ass! He almost rejected me! ” I shriek, restlessly tapping my foot on the floor.“ Your bond with him wouldn’t have broken even if he rejected you. You need to reject him too for the mate mark to disappear. ” She rolls her eyes while pacing in the office in nothing but a black oversized shirt covering her slender frame.I shake my head, wiping my wet cheeks for the
ANNE “ Do you think they will be fine now? ” I ask Zero who is walking in front of me.He doesn’t reply and continues to walk towards the pack house which is close now. I don’t get why we needed to walk everywhere. My legs hurt. We could have taken a car. But, he clearly didn’t like that idea.“ Zero.” I rush to catch up with him before glancing at his side profile.His ashy black hair is ruffled, falling over his forehead and covering half of his deep eyes. I suck in a sharp breath to not let the irritation show on my face.First, I oddly want to push his hair back which is shit.Second, I hate that he sometimes doesn’t answer me which is even more shit.“ Ryker and Natalie would be fine even without our help. ” He answers when we enter the driveway.I hum, falling back and looking down at my feet. I look like a homeless beggar while he looks like a shirtless hot hunk taking a walk around. This is so unfair.“ Anne. ” He calls my name all of a sudden.I pick my head, after quickly f
NATALIERyker and I came back home. He held my hand throughout the way and let Jake drive the car. He didn’t say anything else so I was worried about him. His pain jabbing my insides at intervals didn’t let me speak either.Just as we enter the house, he leaves my hand and climbs the stairs. My eyes follow him until he disappears out of sight. Sucking in a sharp breath, I follow him to the first floor, wanting to find out what he is about to do now.I am reluctant to go inside the room Britney and Ryker shared but I can’t leave him alone. He stands in the middle of the room and stares at the wall behind the bedpost. I gulp, watching him for what seems like more than five minutes. “ Do you want to talk about it, Ryke? ” I whisper.Ryker turns to look at me and nods. Getting the message, I stroll to him slowly. He grips my hand when I stop right in front of him.“ We need to get rid of everything in here. I can’t stand anything she touched. ” He tells me, his tone betraying the inner
ANNE I have become a zombie. I ran back to my room earlier and tried my best to sleep, like just turn off my thinking side of the mind and play dead for a while but I couldn’t do it. My thoughts kept drifting to the shit that happened between me and Zero. The mate bond played with me, pulled me in, made me kiss him, and then also worked its magic on him and made him turn into someone he is not.Oh, the sparks, the feel of his skin under my fingertips and his shit dangerous lips. I tried forgetting about all of it, but I can’t which is yes. Kind of shit. I groan, rolling around the bed like a love-sick teenager. The whole day has passed and I am still cooped in here, unable to sleep or to even go outside and do something else.Losing the war with myself, I finally decide to throw all the pillows down and get up from the bed grumpily. I need to go bring a bottle of water, I drank the one placed in my room while trying to wash off his fucking taste from my lips. I don’t want to recall
NATALIEThe burning woman walks to me, her steps small. The more she walks, the greater the distance between us becomes.I am desperate. I need to communicate with her. I have to find out about a lot of things.Her shimmering ambers leave mine, lowering to my stomach. The fire burning her, lightens. I watch in awe as she shakes her head, her glowing hair swaying with the movement.“ Don’t let them know about it. ” She didn’t open her mouth, just stared but her voice still sounded somewhere at the back of my mind, as if it was my second conscious talking and not her.“ What? ” I manage to ask the voice as I try to walk forward and end the distance between us both.“ Don’t let them know about the child. They won’t let it live. ” The voice warns.It’s like a bucket of cold water is dumped over me. I wake up, gasping for air. The lights are turned off in my room and I can only lie there, panting like a fish out of water.She finally spoke up. I thought I will never be able to talk to her
ANNEWhat the fuck? I groan, sliding inside from the open door of my room.My legs are still a little shaky waky after the encounter with Zero in the kitchen. I lost my head there for some time and gave in like a desperate bitch which I am surely not going to regret. If I do regret it, this will mean he won. Well, I don’t let others win.I huff, walking straight to the bathroom and stripping so I can take a bath. My cheeks are heated even now. His touch is still lingering on my skin, the pleasure buzzing at the back of my mind.Turning on the shower, I stand under the running water as I replay the intense moment in my head. My hands work on their own, grabbing the things, helping me take the bath while my mind remains absent.What kind of reaction was that? Like…we are even? Or what? Was he doing it to pay me back for the blood? I never asked him to pay me back though. I was helping him. Bloody blood-sucking psycho prick.Why the fuck was I helping him in the first place? This is al
RYKER “ I did what you asked. I sent her away to the city and asked Jacob to keep her… ” Zio trails off, not knowing how to say it aloud. I continue staring at the surface of my desk, never looking up, or paying much attention to the pitiable look he refuses to wash away from his eyes. “ I didn’t know she will do it again. I thought— ” “ You thought you will cover it up so good that I will never find out. ” I sigh, rubbing the shell of my left ear tiredly. “ I am sorry. I am…I don’t know what to tell you. I really thought everything was going to be fine and no one needed to get hurt. ” He lets out in a dull tone. “ I don’t want to hear excuses. ” I pick my head, directing my blank gaze at him. “ Alpha, I— ” “ Shut it, Zio. Do not cross the line again. ” I state, remaining calm but my eyes do flash grey as my wolf lingers at the edge of breaking out. “ Right. We have bigger issues to take care of. The council is on its way. They will be here tomorrow. ” He nods, his shoulders
NATALIE“ Did you really get rid of your sister, Zio? ” I ask, staring out the glass wall.“ She won’t interfere anymore. ” He sighs, repeating the same shit for the third time.I don’t know why I am not at ease even after finding out about it. I dreamt about something again and don’t feel good about it.“ Can you…do something for me? ” I whisper, facing him.Zio stiffens, his eyes fixed on me. He was tense when I first sent Jake to bring him to me but he looks better now, more composed and less agitated because he knows he doesn’t need to give me any explanations or excuses about what he did. It doesn’t matter to me.“ I will have to. ” He shrugs his shoulders.My eyes droop, my heart skipping a cruel beat. “ Kill the witch. ” “ What? ” He frowns.“ Send someone and get rid of Gertrude. ” I straighten up.“ But Alpha— ”“ She knows too much. ” I cut him off. “ Kill her before the council comes. You can ask Ryker if you want. I am sure he will want the same thing. ” “ So Alpha told