Chapter 19 Chapter 19
ZANE
I punched the wall of my office, leaving a sizable dent in the drywall. This girl was going to make me lose my mind. I was angry and embarrassed to say that I was madder at myself than I was at her.
If I wasn’t so frustrated, I would have thought her little display of anger and defiance was hot.
I sat down at my desk and rested my head in my hands.
“What the hell did I do?” I mumbled.
“You broke that girl.”
My face shot up to see Sophie standing in the doorway. I hadn’t even heard her walk in.
“Sophie, I—”
Sophie raised a hand.
“I need to say this, and I need you to listen.”
I watched her sit down and take a breath, choosing her words carefully.
“Things got bad for her when you left.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.” I shook my head.
“She doesn’t know that I know, but the night after you rejected her, she could feel you through the mate bond. She felt you have sex with that horrible girl.
“It just about tore her in two. And she felt it every time you were with her for those two weeks before you left.”
My jaw dropped as she spoke.
“I—”
“Let me finish,” she interrupted.
“For months, she would lie awake at night, hoping that bond would go away. It finally began to fade, but it affected her in more ways than just the hurt of rejection.
“Mariah made sure Ella never forgot that you didn’t want her, that you rejected her for Mariah. Every day she would make some jibe about Ella being nothing, about being a little omega.” Sophie’s eyes began to well with tears.
“I wish I had been born to a better place. Ella shouldn’t be an omega. She’s so much stronger.
“But she was born to omega parents, and she has had to spend years making herself small. Now she believes she is, she believes Mariah when she tells her she’s nothing.”
I shook my head. Today was too much.
“I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad. I’m telling you this because if you want to win her back, you’re going to have to step up and find a way to make her see that she isn’t nothing.”
Sophie stood and turned to walk out.
“Wait, you want me to fight for her?” I asked, confused at her change of heart.
Sophie shrugged.
“I know what it’s like to lose a mate. Neither of you will ever be whole if you both don’t drop your pride and stubbornness and give in to each other.
“Like I said, make her trust you, prove to her that she isn’t nothing. Show her that she’s everything.”
Sophie left my office, and I spent the rest of the day sitting there, trying to figure out how to do exactly that.
When I finally emerged, it was almost time for dinner. I walked to the kitchen to see Ella working furiously to finish everything. I sat down at the island and watched her.
She almost seemed to dance around the kitchen, her black leggings hugging her body like a second skin and loose T-shirt giving just the smallest glimpse of her cleavage.
I watched the wisps of her hair falling on her face as she moved, the flush of her cheeks from the hot kitchen—I wanted to hop over that counter and wrap my arms around her.
“Can I help you?” Ella’s words snapped me out of my trance, and I met her hazel eyes.
“Nope, just watching.” She gave me a curious glare before starting back on her work.
“What are you doing after dinner?” I found myself asking.
“I’m busy,” she answered, not even looking up.
“Doing what?” I asked, a little disappointed.
“It’s really none of your business,” she clapped back coolly.
I let out a huff before walking over to the dining table.
“Alright! We have cookie dough ice cream and Die Hard. Your room or mine?”
My head snapped up, wondering who was speaking to Ella like that. Of course, it was Declan.
Ella laughed, stoking my fury to new heights.
“How about mine, you’ll die over how comfortable my bed is.”
“Okay! But then I can’t be held responsible if I fall asleep in it,” Declan joked.
I didn’t think it was funny. I almost let out a growl before catching myself.
That evening after dinner, I tossed in my bed, being kept awake by their laughter and the explosions coming from the TV.
After a while, the laughing stopped and all I heard was the television. I rolled my eyes and made my way next door.
“Ella?” I opened the door quietly to find the TV still on but Ella and Declan asleep. In the same bed. Next to each other.
I saw red and almost pulled Declan right out of the bed by his hair when I saw Ella stir and look up at me with her sleepy hazel eyes.
“Zane? What are you—”
“You left the TV on. I was coming in to turn it off.” It was hard for me, seeing her lying there next to Declan. My eyes kept shifting, my wolf fighting for control.
Ella sat up quickly and took my hand. She led me out of the room and into the hallway.
“Zane, what do you need?” Ella asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
“I told you, the TV—”
“Yeah, the TV was on, but the TV was across the room. Not above my bed. So what do you need?”
I was losing the fight. My eyes darkened as I moved closer to her, forcing her back against the wall again. I put my hands on either side of her against the wall, blocking her in.
“I need you,” my voice was husky with desire, and Ella began to protest when my lips crashed to hers.
I kissed her gently, savoring the lips I had been craving to taste for ages. They were even softer than I had imagined. Every touch of our lips sent shockwaves through my whole body.
Ella hesitated for a moment, but then she kissed me back, all of the anger she had toward me channeled into her kiss. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close.
She threw her arms around my neck, tangling her hands in my hair. We stayed like that for a heated few minutes until Ella realized what she was doing and pushed me away, angry at herself for giving in.
She glared up at me with anger before slapping my face again.
“Well, goodnight.” I ran my finger along her jaw before entering my room, leaving a furious Ella in the hallway.