Chapter 19
Zane
I stride through the hallway and jog down the stairs, even though it’s physically painful to leave my mate behind, especially when I know she’s suffering.
I throw open the door and step outside. “He did something to her.” The words are out of my mouth the second I come to a stop next to Reid.
He doesn’t look surprised by my words, confirming that he thought the same thing.
He hands me his phone, and I look at the screen where there’s a list of after-effects from date drugs.
Drowsiness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, confusion, headache, sensitivity to light, dizziness.
..she’s got nearly every single one. “I’m going to kill him. ” Reid takes the phone from my hand.
“Nothing happened to her. I brought her home and got her safely to her dorm.” His words do little to ease the rage burning through me at what could have happened.
He meant to do my mate harm in a way that is pure evil.
My rage increases, and my wolf slams against the barrier I’ve kept him behind.
Reid puts a hand on my shoulder. “She’s safe. Nothing happened to her.”
“Nothing except she’s got a terrible headache and feels awful. I'm going to find him and teach him a lesson.”
Reid snorts. “Will he be alive when you’re done?”
I don’t bother answering that. I know what my choice would be. “Any idea where he lives?”
“No, but we can find out.”
I reach out to Quint. I need you..
Where? Quint asks immediately.
Outside Evie’s dorm.
On my way. That’s from Quint.
It doesn’t take him long to get to Evie’s dorm. He comes over to where Reid and I are standing, a good distance from the dorm but still within eyesight of the front door. I cross my arms over my chest and fill them in. “We’re pretty sure Jace gave Evie something last night.”
“What?” Quint asks.
Anger burns through me once again, and it’s Reid that fills him in. “She’s got all the telltale signs—headache, dizzy, sensitivity to light.”
“What are we going to do to him?” Quint asks.
A grin fills my face, but it’s not filled with any sort of warmth. “Reid and I are going to pay him a visit. You stay here and watch her dorm.”
“You know where he is?” Quint asks.
“I’m going to find out.” I pull out my phone and call my dad; he answers on the first ring.
“Son.”
I blow out a breath. “Hey, Dad, I need your help.”
“What’s going on?”
“Evie went on a date with that guy I told you about, Jace. He got mad at her and left her there, and Reid brought her back to the dorm. Now today, she’s got an awful headache; she’s dizzy, sensitive to light—”
“He gave her something.” His words are low, and I can hear the anger in them.
“We think so.”
“What do you need from me?”
“I need to find where he lives, whether on campus or off.”
It’s quiet on the other end. “Not a good idea.”
“What do you mean it’s not a good idea?” I can’t hold back the anger in my voice.
“What are you going to do when you find him?” I don’t say anything, and I know my silence incriminates me. “That’s why it’s not a good idea. I hate what he did to your mate; I want a piece of him too. But we can’t. He's human, and it will only cause problems for us.”
I grind my teeth. “Don’t ask me to stand down and stay away from him.” Because I know I won’t.
My father is quiet again. “I’m only asking you to stand down for now. Let’s do some background work. Figure out who this guy is, and if it’s just coincidence he’s messing with your mate.”
Everything in me stills as I take in his words. My mind races. “You think there’s something more to it?”
“I don’t know but don’t make any moves yet. Right now, make sure your mate is okay. Get her some food when she wakes up and anything else she needs.” He pauses a moment. “Son, you also need to make sure he didn’t do anything to her.”
“Reid brought her home.”
“Just...make sure.” I rub my neck, hating everything about this.
I should have never let her go out with him.
A growls slips through my chest. “I know this is a lot. I’m sorry, Son.
Stay in control; your wolf will get his vengeance eventually, but not until we know the full story. Let me get on this; keep me posted.”
“I will. Thanks, Dad.”
“Your mom wants to talk to you and your sister.”
I close my eyes, trying to keep my patience. I love my family; I’d die for any of them. But right now, my wolf is on edge while our mate is unprotected and vulnerable in the state she’s in. And knowing what could have happened to her last night is making me feel like I’m losing my control.
“Zane, how come you never come home anymore?” I hear my sister ask.
“Because I met my mate,” I bite out.
The phone goes quiet a moment before she squeals. I have to pull the phone away from my ear. “Why didn’t you tell me? Mom, Dad, Zane met his mate!” She’s still yelling into the phone, piercing my ear drums. “What? How come everybody knows but me?”
A small amount of guilt fills me. “Sorry, Sis. It’s been a little crazy. But yeah, I finally met her. Her name’s Evie, and she’s,” I try to think of the right words to describe her. “Perfect.”
Riley laughs, but it’s filled with love. “You’re smitten already, Big Brother.”
“Yep.” There’s no use denying it.
“Why don’t you sound happy? You should be over the moon; you met your mate!”
I run my hand through my hair. “There’s a lot going on.”
“Tell me,” she coaxes.
“She’s human, Ri,” I say, using her nickname. I can practically feel her shock.
But she recovers quickly. “Well, that’s not unheard of.”
“She’s also dating another guy, though hopefully after last night, that’s done.”
“What happened last night?”
“He got mad at her and left her there to pay the bill and find a way home.” Anger burns through me again at Jace.
Riley gasps. “That’s terrible. What did she do?”
“Thankfully, Reid was there. I asked him to keep an eye on her. He went in after her date came out without her. He paid the bill and got her safely back to campus.”
“Give me this guy’s name and address,” she demands.
My lips tug up into a wry smile. “Get in line. It gets worse.”
“How can it get worse?” her voice is louder now.
“Well, she’s currently trying to recover from a terrible migraine. She’s dizzy and sensitive to light.”
“Which means...” she prompts.
I make a mental note to make sure my sister knows these things before she comes to college next year.
My chest tightens thinking of my little sister navigating college life and all the male idiots that are on campus.
She’s a senior in high school this year; she’ll be here next year.
“Those are the after-effects of date rape drugs.”
“Zane, no!” Her voice is horrified.
“She’s okay,” I rush to assure her, though my dad’s words ring in my ears. I’m going to have to ask her, just to make sure.
“That is so terrible.” She sounds like she’s going to cry, and it wouldn’t surprise me.
Riley is all aggressive and outgoing, but she’s got the most tender heart.
She refuses to watch movies with any animals in them, just in case something happens to the animal.
She’s cried more than once at seeing a dead deer on the side of the road.
But I wouldn’t change it for anything; she’s an amazing little sister.
“Zane, I want to meet her. I can help keep her safe.”
An instant rebuttal forms on my lips. I’m not putting my younger sister in the middle of this mess; it’s bad enough that Evie’s already smack in the middle of it.
I’m not going to add Riley to the mess. Thankfully, my dad shuts it down, so I don’t have to.
“Not right now,” I hear him say in the background.
“Once we get through this and Zane gains her trust, we’ll have her over for dinner. ”
“Yes, we will,” my mom says in the background. “I need to meet this girl.”
“You’ll love her, Mom,” I can’t help but say.
“Oh, Zane, I know I will. I already do.”
And that’s the amazing thing about my mom; I know she means that with every ounce of her being.
Pride at my family fills me, and I can’t wait to bring Evie over to meet them.
I can’t wait to hear about her family as well.
I feel that anxious feeling building in my chest, the one that tells me I need to see Evie soon.
I’m worried because the bond is escalating quicker than I thought it would, with her not being able to feel anything on her end.
If she could, the bond would snap tight between us and neither of us would be able to be apart from the other as our bond grows.
I rub my chest and wish I was close enough to her to hold her while she’s sleeping off this headache.
The pain grows, and my entire body begins to ache with the desire and pull to be near her.
I try to push the feeling away, for now anyway.
“I’ll try to get her to come over sooner than later, but it’s going to take a little bit.
She doesn’t feel the bond the way I do, so it’s a much slower process, especially because she’s with another guy. ”
“You just need to win her over.” My mom is so confident, and I pull from that confidence.
“I will.” I’m absolutely confident of that fact.
My father’s voice comes back over the line. “Stay in touch, Son; and I will do the same.”
“I will.” We say our goodbyes, and I hang up and pocket my phone and walk back over to where the guys are talking.
“What’d Alpha say?” Quint asks, being careful to keep his voice down.
I scowl. “I’m not allowed to go find him, at least not yet.” Reid crosses his arms over his chest, reflecting what I’m feeling.
“What are we going to do?” Quint asks.
“We’re going to continue to make sure she’s protected, and then I’m going shopping. Who’s with me?” Two sets of eyes stare at me with varied looks of concern.
It’s Quint that breaks the silence and asks. “Why are you going shopping?”
“Because I have a mate to win over.”
Quint rubs his hands together. “I love shopping. Where are we going?”
Reid gives him a look and then without any expression at all, says, “I’ll stay here on protection duty.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“No, you don’t,” Reid says. “You’d do the same for me. We’re pack.”
I nod, appreciating each of these guys more than they’ll ever know. I turn to Quint. “Ready?”
“I was born ready.” We take off, leaving Reid to keep an eye on Evie.
“Where to first?” Quint asks.
“Orange chicken.”
Quint nods. “I like it. What’s after that?”
“Sneakers.”
Quint eyes me. “Why?”
“Because she ran from the coffee shop to the practice field in flat sneakers, non-running shoes. I’m sure she gave herself blisters.”
“What if she already has sneakers?” he asks.
I give him a look. “Can anybody have too many sneakers?”
Quint laughs. “From the lips of an athlete.” He claps me on the shoulder. “We’ll buy her the nicest sneakers ever made.”