ANNEI barge inside the pack house and instantly rush to the Alpha’s office, hoping that Zero was back by now. When I push open the door, I find him sitting on the chair, his eyes fixed on me as if he knew I was coming.I release the breath I held back for some time now before stepping inside. A huge weight slips away from my heart when I see Zero, alive, breathing, right in front of me.“ What are you doing? ” I huff, glaring at him.He scared me for a moment when I realized he had been making all these reforms that he was never interested in doing. I thought he was going to run away while I was gone and when he was done giving all the orders. These thoughts are killing me. Zero remains silent, waiting for me to elaborate on what I am accusing him of, this time. I inhale a deep, necessary breath. My gaze lingers on his face before tracing his body, the desk, and the floor, then rising back to his face.“ Why are you changing the pack ways? ” I ask, closing the door and resting my
ZERO“ You smell different today. ” Edith mentions as she opens the door for me.I stay rooted in my spot, refusing to step inside a witch’s hut where it’s darker than the rest of the world.Her experienced eyes take me in, wanting to figure out why I am here. That’s one thing I like about this specific witch—she never asks questions. She knows what I want and why I want it, always.Her lips form an O as her eyes land on the mark over my neck. It’s now visible to everyone. Anne has marked me as hers when she shouldn’t have.“ I can tell why you are here today. ” The witch laughs, mocking me.“ Tell me a way. I need to get rid of it. ” I tell her without beating around the bush.“ You know this will only disappear if your mate somehow rejects you. ” She reveals what I already know.But I also know that once Anne makes up her mind, she doesn’t give up. She will never reject me.“ There has to be a witch’s potion to get rid of—”“ Witches don’t interfere in Moon Goddess’ work .” She int
ANNE“ You make the worst coffee ever. ” I scrunch my nose in disgust, glaring at the mug of steaming coffee between my hands.“ You didn’t even taste it. ” Zero shrugs his shoulders and comes to stand beside me on the balcony, his gaze resting on the pack residences we can see in the distance.I sigh, turning around and facing the same view as him. The night is silent, calm falling over the whole pack. They sorted out their houses and accepted the place they were allotted but I don’t believe it was only about the residence. It’s much more than that. The werewolf hierarchy rules are etched in their minds. No one can scratch that mindset. Not me. Not Zero. Not anyone else.Sighing once more, I glance at Zero’s side profile. The mark over his neck is exposed. I can see the cute pink bump against his hard skin. This only reminds me of what he said when he left. To say that I am deliberately avoiding talking about it will be an understatement. “ Anne. ” Zero calls my name but doesn’t l
ANNEAfter kissing the hell out of Zero, I leave him on the balcony and go back to my room. The mark is fucking with my head. I felt his emotions for a moment there, so raw, so close as if I was the one feeling all those things and not him.It scares me.Now, I can say for sure that Ryker can definitely not tell what’s going on inside Zero, because I can. Only, I can.Sliding my hair behind my ears, I pick up the vibrating cell phone from the bed. Natalie has been calling for the nth time but I didn’t pick up.I have been avoiding her and Giana. I don’t want them to figure out the shit going on in my head. They will finally get once in a lifetime chance to call me an idiot.I sigh, declining her call again. My eyes move towards the open window when the cold air brushes against my skin. I shiver slightly, my gaze dropping to the bed and the duvet.What now? How am I going to convince Zero? How do you convince someone to not hate the world? I, myself, don’t believe this world is good…ho
ANNEI didn’t even notice when I started drifting off to sleep while staring at Zero silently last night. He didn’t say anything after I promised to take him on a date.It must have sounded so childish to him that he smiled at me—fucking smiled at me. I groan, embarrassed in myself but I have to go. When I woke up, he was gone and the bed was empty but in my heart, I knew he didn’t leave in the darkness. He left the room when he was sure that I won’t get scared. Today, I didn’t have to search for him at all. I could feel he was in the pack house, probably in the Alpha’s office so I didn’t go there.I took a bath, stole his grey T-shirt to wear, and came down to the kitchen only to come across two very unexpected guests waiting for me furiously.“ You decided to wake up finally. ” Natalie narrows her eyes at me, followed by Giana who looks equally angry.“ Hey there! ” I wave at them awkwardly.Both my friends stay seated on the kitchen stools and continue glaring at me. Sighing soft
ANNE “ I didn’t mean it that way. I was only making sure that you were not fooling around with Zero…that you were aware of all the negative things and you were not in a temporary everything-is-fine state. ” Natalie sighs when I reenter the kitchen after sending Zero away.I glare at her. “ You almost ruined what I was working so hard on. ” “ Anne. ” She gets down from the stool.“ Save it. Whatever you want to say, keep it to yourself. I don’t want to hear. ” I let out before slumping on the stool.I almost lost it and I feel so angry. “ You are being harsh now. ” Giana mumbles.“ Am I? ” I glare at her this time.“ She didn’t mean it. ” Giana hisses back.I set my lips in a thin line to stop myself from saying something hurtful. I don’t want to hurt them. I know Natalie didn’t mean this. She tried to convince me into giving another chance to Zero before. She told me about his life and all the things that happened to him. Without the knowledge about his past, I would have continued
ZEROA date. That’s all Anne could come up with. Not that I am complaining. I just feel like she is wasting a lot of her time on me when she should be spending time with the people she loves.Still, if this is what she desires, I must comply. It’s an instinct, an urge to always give her what she wants in an attempt to make her happy as long as we are together.“ I am ready. ” She announces from inside the room before the door opens.I have been waiting for half an hour now without any idea what she was doing inside the locked room.When she comes into sight, the surroundings dull to a mere nothing. My eyes take her in, all of her, the red dress which reaches to her knees, the red lipstick she is wearing, the curls of her soft locks, the nervousness on her face.“ I knew I was overdressing. ” She mumbles when she looks at me, dressed in the usual Black T-shirt and jeans. I had no idea I had to dress up for this.“ You look beautiful. ” I blurt the first thing which comes to mind. Thoug
ANNE“ You can drive the car. ” Zero tosses me the keys all of a sudden.I catch them instinctively while I watch his pinched brows and hard-set lips. Something happened. I don’t know what but I can sense the change in him. He was laughing when we were inside. It is the most beautiful sound I ever heard in my life. I was mesmerized and embarrassed at the same time. And then we stepped out and Zero’s mood shifted into that dark cloud again.Without grabbing my hand or even asking me to follow him, he steps out into the rain. He gets instantly drenched, the lines of his muscles becoming visible from under his T-shirt.Pressing my lips together, I decide to rush behind him. The cold rain hits my body just as I step out of the shade. I shudder, sprinting to the car, even moving past Zero who is moving slow and calm.Opening the car’s door, I sit inside. Even after I tried saving my dress, I think I have failed. I sigh, glancing at Zero from the back view mirror. He is still walking slowl