Chapter Twenty-One
Zane
Although the room was filled with people, the soft clink of ice against glass was the only sound I could hear clearly as I watched the amber liquid moving in lazy circles.
It had been almost a week since I’d last seen her. Almost a week of trying to ignore the path to her bedroom, to give her time to get used to her new circumstances.
She was scared of me. That much was obvious. But she wasn’t giving up her freedom without a fight.
I knew she was fine.
Clarisse had been taking care of her, I made sure of that every day. Yet, having her so close and not being able to see her was infuriating. It demanded the kind of self-control I wasn’t exactly known to have.
When she entered, I didn’t look up immediately, but Chloe’s presence was as real and physical as the glass in my hand. When I finally raised my eyes, I saw her before anything else in the room.
She walked inside like she was made of glass; it infuriated me how much I wanted to hold her just to make sure she wouldn’t break.
She looked like a lamb among wolves, yet she didn’t run, didn’t cower, even though I could feel the fear rolling off her. That was probably what I found myself admiring in her the most, the way she looked her demons in the eyes no matter how terrified she might be.
Her courage, and her capacity to transform and adapt in order to survive, were astounding.
And that damn white dress… fuck. It clung to her waist in a way that made my chest tighten.
And that glossy pouty mouth wasn’t helping either.
I’d told Clarisse to help her get ready and out of her room, not to transform her into a damn goddess walking the earth.
This was just provocative, a personal vendetta against my sanity.
Not that Chloe ever needed help to stand out.
She had the kind of beauty that sucked the air from a room without even trying.
The kind that made men reckless. It had already been proven by the questionable men she seemed to attract.
Because bad men liked pretty, rare things like her—myself included.
She was searching the room, trying to avoid meeting my gaze, but I knew the moment she felt it. The air between us thickened, those round, fairy-like amber eyes holding me captive like nothing else mattered.
Clarisse broke the moment with the sound of setting plates on the bar, and I let my eyes drift away from Chloe just long enough to read the room.
My people were watching my new guest with several degrees of interest. There was a certain wariness in their eyes. Chloe was an unknown, and in our world, the unknown was too dangerous.
She stood still the whole time, building her armor of steel beneath her soft exterior.
I took a slow sip of my whiskey, letting the burn settle before pushing up from my seat.
“You can breathe now,” I whispered against the exposed skin of her shoulder. Her body stiffened, every muscle tensing as goosebumps prickled her skin just with the sound of my voice.
“What’s going on here?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper not turning to face me.
I stayed silent. She would turn.
They always did.
When she finally did, she almost collided into me as if she wasn’t expecting me to be so close already.
Her body was so small and delicate compared to mine that I had to fight back a smirk.
She was so close I could see every detail—the flush on her cheeks, the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She was nervous, but there was something else there too.
Curiosity? Lust? It was hard to tell, but she was drowning with emotions.
“Family meeting,” I finally replied.
To me, they were family. To her, it was a room full of all kinds of questionable people.
“I… I should leave…” she said hesitantly.
For a moment, I considered letting her walk away and retreat to whatever sanctuary she thought she had in this house. But no, not tonight.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
My tone left no room for argument. She needed to understand her place was by my side, whether she liked it or not.
“You’re part of this now. It makes sense that you meet everyone.”
Her eyes darted, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head, trying to find an escape.
But there was none. Not from me.
I reached out, my hand brushing her arm, the contact both a reassurance and a reminder of who was in control. The way she shivered slightly at my touch didn’t go unnoticed.
“Everyone,” I started, not needing to raise my voice to draw attention. The room was already mine. “This is Chloe. She’s going to be with us for a while, so get used to her.”
The room fell into a tense silence, all eyes directly on her. It was a test, in a way, for both her and them.
They needed to know that she was under my protection, that she was off-limits, and she needed to understand the kind of people by whom she would be surrounded.
I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear as I whispered only for her to listen, “You’ll be safe… as long as you behave.”
The words were meant to comfort, but as soon as they left my lips, they had the opposite effect.
“Jane!” I called, spotting her across the room, in her usual sleek pencil dress, carrying that aristocratic presence that always made her stand out in a room full of unpolished criminals.
Those who didn’t know her tended to underestimate her.
And they’d learned quickly not to do that.
She was competent, reliable and unflinchingly loyal, everything I needed her to be.
As she approached, I caught the way Chloe’s gaze flicked over her clearly uncomfortable with the contrast between them.
“Give Chloe a tour,” I instructed.
Jane nodded, understanding the unspoken command: keep her close, keep her safe, keep her in line.
As I walked away to join Ivar at the bar, I glanced back once more. That tiny, wild woman could hold my stare without blinking and fight me back with every bone in her body. She could be as pure and naive as a child, but also as strong and violent as a summer storm.
She was talking to Jane now, her posture tense, but there was a special kind of determination in her eyes. She was scared, yes, but there was also that damn fire of hers, one that intrigued me more than I cared to admit
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