Chapter 20
Zoey
I was still shaking over what had happened and didn’t know what to do about it. Monte seemed so laidback and easygoing, but he had snapped. I honestly feared he was going to kill that guy for touching me, and I felt guilty as hell for being a little turned on by it.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what that meant for me. Could he snap and turn against me like that? Was he an abuser just playing the nice guy? Or had someone hurt him? Was there something wrong with his wolf? Would he ever snap like that on me?
In my heart I wanted to believe the answer was no, but how could I trust that after what I’d witnessed?
That guy absolutely had no right to put his hands on me, but did he deserve all of that?
I blew off the rest of my classes and locked myself in my room as I tried to distract myself with work. It was hard, but I forced myself to stay focused and push through it. Before long I locked in as I tuned out the rest of the world.
Hours passed before there was a knock at my door.
“It’s locked.” I heard Chloe say. “She’s in there.” She pounded on my door. “Zoey, open up. I know you’re in there.”
I groaned, surprised by how stiff I was when I finally stood, knowing she wasn’t going to give up. I hobbled to the door and unlocked it.
Chloe opened the door and pushed her way inside, closing it behind her. Then she sat on my bed as I returned to my desk.
“How many videos have you made?”
I clicked on the folder, surprised to find over fifty complete.
“A lot.”
“That many? It must be bad. Wanna talk about it?”
I twisted my chair around to look at her. “You haven’t heard?”
She smirked. “Of course I heard. It’s all anyone is talking about.”
I sighed. “Of course they are.”
“So what happened?”
I didn’t really want to talk about it, but I knew I had to.
“He just exploded, Chloe. I don’t know how to explain it. One minute we’re walking across campus like a normal couple and the next he’s wolfing out and going psycho on some guy.”
“What did the guy do? That part was never clear, just that you and Monte are mating, which I already knew, and he lost it and attacked someone. So again, what did the guy do?”
“He made some comment about calling him if I wanted a real man, and then he smacked me on the ass.”
“Oh shit! So yeah, he deserved what he got. I figured it was something like that.”
“Does anyone deserve something like that?”
“Hell yes. That ass weasel had it coming. I like Monte even more now.”
I growled, and she smiled.
“So he’s not completely in the doghouse then, huh?”
Her smirk infuriated me.
“Mating sucks,” I mumbled.
“So do something about it.”
“What? What am I supposed to do, Chloe?”
“Him.”
My jaw dropped then closed. I had no idea how to respond to that. But I could feel my cheeks warm.
“Ah, so you’ve already done that. You go girl!”
“I-I,” I stuttered, still unsure what to say.
“Well next step is to just mate him already. Seal the deal and all that shit.”
“I can’t,” I told her. “I barely know him.”
“What’s to know? He’s your one true mate, Zoey. Do you have any idea how many people would kill to be in your situation? We all dream of finding that one guy out there made just for us.”
“It’s not what you think. This isn’t easy.”
“Nothing truly good in life ever is. Just think about it and let him off the hook sooner rather than later.”
“He hasn’t even tried to call me or anything, Chloe.”
“Well, the D.O.G.s quarantined him after the incident, but he snuck out an hour ago and has been pacing outside your window ever since. We all have eyes on him, but so far he’s just marking a bare path in our yard.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I couldn’t help but run to the window to see for myself.
Sure enough, there was Monte, walking back and forth outside my window. I could feel his agitation and fear.
There was a part of me that wanted to run to him and calm his wolf, but something held me back.
Maybe it was my own fear. I wasn’t truly scared of him, but he had conjured up other fears of mine, like making a scene in public and standing out.
I was always terrified of being recognized in public.
Of course, here at the ARC, I was safe, and I knew it, but what would happen if he did something like that in town?
I shuddered to even think about it.
“Well, are you going to go to him or not?”
“Not.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I need time to think, Chloe. And when I’m near him, I can’t think straight. It’s the bond, I know, but it distorts my own feelings and mixes them up with his.”
“You’re already feeling his emotions?”
“Is that bad?”
“Not if you’re planning to seal your bond.”
I groaned. “I’m so screwed.”
“If you didn’t want him, why did you sleep with him?”
“I can’t even explain it. This is just crazy. I feel like I’ve lost my mind.”
“How many of those videos you made feature him?”
“What?”
“Monte. How many Monte videos did you make?”
“I didn’t.”
She gave me a knowing look before walking over to my computer. I started to protest but what was the point?
“These are all about him, not you.”
I frowned. “That can’t be right.”
Sure enough, I’d spent hours making Monte videos.
“Oh no! I can’t upload these.”
Chloe laughed. “You really do have it bad. So just go let the poor guy off the hook.”
“I don’t know if I can. You weren’t there. He just snapped. It was terrifying. I’m not ready to just let him off the hook for that. It was not okay.”
“Another male had the audacity to lay hands on you right in front of your mate while you’re still mating. I say that idiot had a death wish and deserved what he got, and that’s exactly what I’ll tell people when they ask me about it.”
“No, don’t. I’d rather the gossip just die down altogether. Please don’t add fuel to the fire.”
“Oh honey, this isn’t going anywhere any time soon. I heard Dean Shannahan has already called Monte in for a meeting first thing in the morning.”
“What?”
“Sorry, girl. I’m sure he’ll go easy on him knowing he’s a mating male.”
“What am I going to do?”
“That’s for you to decide. Maybe a good run would help clear your head.”
I nodded. “I think you’re right. Will you distract my psycho mate long enough for me to run for it?”
She grinned. “What are friends for?”
That scared me a bit. What was she up to?
Instead of preparing to take off, I stayed back and listened. It didn’t take long for Chloe to make her way outside. I heard her loud and clear and saw her walk right up to Monte and give him a shove.
What the hell was she thinking?
Did she have a death wish?
“Hey, lover boy. You’re wearing down the grass with your pacing. Zoey isn’t ready to talk to you about what happened. Not yet at least. I have a feeling she’ll come around. Just go home and give her some space.”
Monte growled at her.
“Back me up boys, cause I know you’re out there watching this lovesick fool.”
Remy and Braxton seemed to appear out of thin air.
“Hey, Chloe. What’s up?” Brax asked.
“Don’t what’s up me, you buffoon. Control this fool.”
Remy scoffed. “He’s in the middle of mating and I’d rather not have my throat ripped out for interfering.”
“Then why the hell are you watching him.”
“To make sure he doesn’t do anything too stupid and be prepared to intercede should things get out of hand. So what if he messes up a little grass? He’s holding it together the best he can,” Braxton explained.
My heart lurched and I had the strongest desire to run to him, though I forced myself to head in the opposite direction after stripping out of my clothes and leaving them in my bedroom.
I streaked through the house and out the front door. The second I was on the porch I shifted and ran for the woods.
My wolf protested.
All she wanted to do was run right for our mate. But I needed to feel the wind in my fur and clear my head. And the sooner I put some space between us, the easier that would be accomplished.
Keeping a tight rein on her wasn’t easy. It would be so much better if I could just let go and wipe him from my mind, even if it was just temporarily.
Instead, my wolf began broadcasting pictures of Monte in my mind until I thought I’d go mad.
I had no idea how long I’d been running or exactly where I was as I slowed to a trot. This run hadn’t worked out the way I hoped it would. No matter how far or long I ran through the woods, I still wanted to turn back and run straight into his arms.
Being so self-absorbed in my own thoughts and feelings meant I hadn’t noticed the wolf that had been following me. It wasn’t until I came to a halt near the lake that I even sensed his presence.
The fur on the back of my neck raised as my wolf surged.
She walked in a circle until she spotted him in the woods. He was crouched low, she crouched even lower and let out a guttural growl as he sprinted right toward me.
I refused to turn my back on him or give him the upper hand in any way. If he moved too far to my right, I compensated to follow, always keeping him in sight.
His scent wasn’t familiar to me, and I knew damn well it wasn’t my mate, and likely wasn’t one of his brothers either.
What did he want?
No sooner than that thought crossed my mind did he lunge forward. I was caught off guard and worse, I wasn’t paying attention while homed in on him.
He wasn’t alone.
The second wolf snuck up behind me and tried to mount me from behind.
Disgusted, I jerked and managed to throw him off.
When I growled, he backed off a bit, but now there were two of them and keeping them both in my sight was proving difficult.
I lifted my head and let out a distress howl. I just prayed someone heard it in time.