CHAPTER 4
Zara
C rap on a cracker, it’s true.
I tugged my hand from where he still had it trapped against the glass. He released me, but he stayed close, his huge, towering presence like a weighted blanket of comfort and sexual tension behind me. I’d never thought such an intimidating-looking male could make me feel safe, but here I was—wanting to snuggle against him.
But you can’t.
The thought had me straightening my back and taking a step away from him. I needed distance.
And a freezing shower.
“Would you be able to take me and my friends to my house? I’m sure they’ll want to settle in,” I told him.
He narrowed his eyes but shrugged. “As far as I know, they’ve been given apartments in this building. Rok’s asked for them to join our clan,” he said in that low, sexy voice of his.
“Oh,” I murmured with a frown.
Would I be losing my friends already? If they chose to stay here, I’m sure I could visit, but it would be just like the coven when I’d been growing up. My powers were always so faulty that I’d always been on the outside.
Added to that, I was that man’s child. The one who’d kidnapped my mom and impregnated her in order to create a power greater than any known before. My mom had been the living vessel of power of her time. A part of a line of witches that had been prophesied to bear the most powerful magick-user ever to be born.
That fucking prophecy will be the death of me.
“Well, that’s okay. I’ll still ask them if they want to come with me so they know they have the option,” I explained, turning away to face the front door. The magnetic pull got stronger and I knew he was right behind me.
“You also have another option,” he whispered, his breath fluttering the hair near my ear.
I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed hard, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.
“You can stay here,” he told me, running one big finger down my arm. Heat sizzled up on every inch of skin he touched. “With me.”
“I—I—” I stuttered, but the knock on the door made my eyes snap open. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them to savor his touch. Jolting forward, I yanked the door open.
Savla stood there, a frown on his face, but it became a small smile when he spotted me.
“You’re safe,” he said with a nod before narrowing his eyes at the male behind me. “Good. Rok has gotten us permission to stay here. He’s shown me our new quarters and there’s enough room for you. We can protect you there,” he finished with a scowl.
My smile was huge on my face as I reached out to curl my arms around this male who’d only ever protected me and kept me safe. “Thanks, Sav,” I told him before pulling away. I ignored the low growl from behind me, because I didn’t want to think about what that sound of possessiveness meant for my future. “I was actually going to come meet you guys. Remember I was telling you about my home here? I wanted to make sure you knew you had the option of coming to stay there,” I explained.
His eyes went wide and he nodded, stroking a finger across his chin in thought. “If you’re going to stay there,” he said in a thoughtful voice, “then at least one of us should stay with you.”
My eyes went huge in my face. “No, no. I’ll be fine. I just wanted to offer—” I started, but he cut me off with a sweep of his hand.
“No, you won’t be safe there on your own,” he explained. “If that asshole finds a way to get to you, then they can take you back and we won’t have a way to follow you.”
I gasped, my hand clutched to my chest as my heart began pounding in fear. “You think—”
His features softened, and he reached out to pat my shoulder while another feral growl sounded behind me that we both ignored. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of Veron. He’ll be after you the same way he was last time. Maybe even more because you defied him,” he explained, sympathy swimming in his eyes.
“Yeah,” I groaned, scrubbing a palm over my face. “You’re right. And I don’t even know if my mom’s protection spell is up and running anymore. I’ll have to check.”
“Or you can stay with us,” Savla offered, but a big palm reached forward from behind us, cupping my shoulder in a gentle hold.
“She’ll be staying with me. I can protect her.” The words were a low, furious growl, and I tipped my head back until I was looking at the male behind me—the top of my head pressed against the heat of his chest.
“I don’t know your name,” I told him and that seemed to take all the anger out of him. He gave me a lopsided grin as he cupped my cheek, sweeping his thumb over my skin.
“I’m Rudgar,” he told me and the name curled with a curious familiarity inside my chest.
“Rudgar,” I breathed and I watched his eyes go dark again.
Savla cleared his throat in front of us and my head snapped forward, guilt filling my chest. I was letting myself be distracted by Rudgar when I should be focusing on finding a solution to all the problems that were piling up in my life.
“It’d be better if we all stayed together,” Savla said to Rudgar with a sneer. “So she has as much protection as possible.”
I nodded, holding my finger up in front of him. “With the coven at our house. It’ll have all of the books that I was supposed to be studying from,” I gasped. “I can recreate the protection spell and—”
“Can’t we go get those books and then do the protection spell here?” Rudgar asked, his eyebrow quirked. “So that it’ll be closer to the clan?”
I watched Savla nod, even though he was still eyeing Rudgar with suspicion. “It would be better to be closer to the clan, Zara. We just joined it yesterday,” he added, scratching the back of his neck. “And everyone’s more of an elder member than we are.”
I turned to glare at Rudgar, because I was certain this was all his fault, but he beamed back at me. With a scowl, I released one of my signature dramatic sighs. “Fine.”
“I’ll take you,” Rudgar said, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “But first, let’s call a clan meeting. Everyone should know what’s going on.”
I walked ahead of Rudgar, my temper flaring for a moment, but he cleared his throat and I turned to glare at him and Savla. They were both pointing at a door in the opposite direction from where I was heading.
“The apartment’s here,” Rudgar said, that same, perfect, stupid, gorgeous smile still on his face.
“I knew that,” I insisted, even though we all knew that wasn’t true. He nodded as if he believed me, though, but Savla—who knew how bad my sense of direction was—pursed his lips to stop from smiling.
Smart male.
If he’d laughed in front of Rudgar, he would have been a traitor. I stomped toward the door, yanking it open and storming inside as if I had a right to be there—which I really didn’t. Even if Savla and his brothers had joined the clan, it was an orc clan. And I was most decidedly not an orc. Or a mate—no matter what Rudgar was trying to imply.
“Hi,” I announced to the room, where Krusk and Enka were sitting cross-legged in front of the giant TV, poking at it. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like there were children’s cartoons playing on it.
They waved from their position on the floor and Rok lifted his hand from where he was seated on the sofa, his mate sitting on his lap.
“Hi,” she called, trying to stand, but Rok wasn’t having it, keeping her pinned against him with his arm. He was by far the largest orc male I’d ever seen, so I could imagine what kind of strength it would take for her to fight her way out of that hold. Rolling her eyes, she beamed at me. “I was going to hug you and completely invade your personal space in gratitude for bringing him back to me, but…” she trailed off, tipping her head down at where Rok had trapped her in his hold. “I heard you’d be staying with Rud,” she continued, settling against her mate without bothering to try to escape again.
“You did, huh?” I asked, turning to glare at the male coming in behind me.
He was still only wearing those damn sweatpants that did nothing to hide anything while his bare, lickable, chest was on display.
“Because we agreed,” he said with a nod, folding his muscular arms and making me drool as his biceps bunched.
One nip. One nip of his perfect, green skin and I’ll be cured of my obsession with him.
I bitch-slapped my internal voice—because if I did bite him, I was more liable to become even more obsessed with him.
“We did not agree to that. You said that we could think about it as an option ,” I insisted.
“The best option,” he told me with a nod and I was about to launch myself at him—to fight him or to kiss him, I couldn’t be certain—when the door opened and another orc and human female entered.
The female beamed at me, hurrying over to wrap her arms around me and squeeze me tight. Shock filled me as she swayed me in her arms. My bewildered gaze found Rudgar’s over her shoulder and he smiled at me with a gentleness that I could become addicted to.
“Thank you for bringing Rok home,” the female told me, hugging me tighter.
“It wasn’t any trouble,” I explained, giving in and hugging her back. “In fact, it was because of Rok that I was able to escape. These guys saved me and I was able to come home because of his mating bond.”
“Really?” Rok’s mate said from next to me. I was almost certain that I should know their names, but my brain was blank. The power I’d used the night before had drained me, and even if I’d been conscious enough to be told, I’d already forgotten them.
I nodded, releasing one female long enough to be pulled into a hug with the other.
“I don’t know how to thank you, though. If it wasn’t for you,” she said with a sniffle, “I wouldn’t have him back here, safe with me.”
I rubbed my palm against her back, uncomfortable with her tears. They shouldn’t be thanking me for getting Rok involved in my drama. I wished they all hadn’t been. So that they would be safe, far away from me.
My heart ached at the memory of my mom. She’d died because of all the power she’d used throughout her life to keep me safe. Her body had been too drained to continue. Everyone around me was always in danger. There was no way I could let them do that.
Especially not these wonderful, beautiful people who didn’t know what I was up against. There wasn’t any way for them to know and I couldn’t tell them. I didn’t want them to know how much of a mess I was. How much everyone in my life probably wished I’d never existed. I backed away from them, the words trying to leave my lips, but getting trapped. I coughed, choking with the attempt, and a big palm settled on my back, rubbing gentle circles.
“Are you okay?” The low rumble came to me, releasing the panic that had begun gathering inside me. I straightened, clearing my throat and nodding.
“Yes, of course,” I gasped, stepping away from the touch that made me feel—for once in my life—like I belonged.
I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve anything these kind people are trying to do for me.
I’d felt the same with Savla, Krusk and Enka, but I hadn’t been able to do anything to separate myself from them there. Here, it was different. There was no way I was going to keep putting these innocent people in danger with my presence.
I needed to get away from them, but first, I’d use the manners that my mom had drilled into me. I’d be sure to remember these wonderful people for the rest of my life. I cleared my throat, pulling away and lifting my hand in a wave.
“I’m sorry, but I missed the introductions last night. I don’t remember anything. I’m Zara. What’re your names?”