Chapter 51
Evie
“That’s what I was going to ask you?” he says in a gruff voice, that I’m beginning to realize has something to do with his wolf.
“Evie,” Zane’s dad begins. “Were you overwhelmed with emotion? Too much to handle?”
My eyes widen, even as I nod. “Y-yes.”
He nods, unsurprised. “I thought maybe that’s what happened.
” Zane turns to him in confusion. Zane’s father reaches out and clasps Zane on the shoulder.
“She accepted you. It opened the bond between you two, but she doesn’t know how to shield against it.
It was too much too fast, and it overwhelmed her and basically shut her brain down.
” Zane looks at me with what looks like hope before it dissolves instantly.
“What did you do?” he growls at his dad.
“Calm yourself, Son. I only put a temporary pause on the flow, so that she wasn’t in pain. If she searches deep enough, she’ll still find the connection. It’s just much less. Once she learns how to handle it, we can let it flow again.”
I take in his words and search inside myself for that feeling I felt only minutes ago that was so debilitating.
I’m scared of finding it, but I only find a trickle this time.
I close my eyes as I feel that trickle of Zane’s love for me flow through me.
I meet his eyes. “I feel it. I feel your...love.” My voice breaks on the last word.
His eyes meet mine, and I see the desperation in his.
“Can I hold you?” he asks.
I nod, feeling much more in control now.
He covers the distance between us in two strides and takes me into his arms. His hold is so gentle, it brings tears to my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he says so softly. “I never want to hurt you. I’ll help you; we’ll figure it out.
I don’t want to ever see you in pain like that again.
” His large hand strokes up and down my spine, grounding me.
“We’re going to leave, Son,” Zane’s father calls out.
I’d kind of forgotten they were there. Zane nods, and his father approaches us.
He puts a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Just keep a tight hold on your emotions until you train her how to shield against them. Eventually, she will accept it, and it will simply become part of her. For now, train her how to let it flow into her without overwhelming her.”
Zane nods. “I will. Thanks, Dad.” His dad pats him on the shoulder again before looking at me.
“Zane will teach you how to handle it. You’ll be okay, Honey.”
“Thank you,” I say softly. He smiles at me and pats my shoulder.
“Don’t be a stranger,” he says to Zane. Then he and the other guy walk away, leaving Zane and I alone. After a few more minutes of Zane holding me, he pulls back.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a truck?”
He grimaces, and I feel bad for my words. Before I can say anything, he tugs on my hand and leads me over to his truck. Once he’s behind the wheel, he starts the truck and pulls out of the spot and heads towards the exit. “Uh, Zane, we have class.”
He looks over at me. “Say the word, and I'll take you back. But would you rather go back to the house and lie down for a little bit? I’ll get you excused from classes today.”
I want to argue, but I feel a headache coming on. And I’m more exhausted than I have been in a long time. “Okay.” I lean my head back against the seat. “You talked me into it.” It’s a quiet drive back, but my head is pounding by the time we park.
Zane turns to me and frowns. “Headache?” I nod and instantly regret it.
“Come on. Let's get you inside.” He helps me out of the truck and wraps an arm around my waist, keeping me close to his side. A few minutes later, I find myself tucked into his bed after taking painkillers. “Sleep, Evie. I’ll be here when you wake up.” His words send me right to sleep.
When I wake up, my headache is gone. I glance at my phone and do a double take.
It’s almost three in the afternoon. I climb out of Zane’s bed, snag my phone, and head out to the living room.
Reid’s sitting on the couch with his laptop on his legs.
“Hey, Evie,” he says in his quiet, low voice. “You feeling better?”
“I am.” I look around the house. “Is Zane at practice?”
“No. He’s out for a run, but I let him know you’re up. He should be here soon.”
I frown. “Doesn’t he have football practice?”
Reid shrugs and doesn’t answer. When the door opens a few minutes later, I turn to see Zane.
He’s not wearing a shirt or shoes. His chest drips with sweat, and I have to force my eyes up to his eyes.
He strides towards me but then stops a few feet away.
I hate that he feels like he can’t get close to me after what happened today.
I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around his sweaty torso.
“I’m all sweaty,” he grumbles against my hair, but I notice he doesn’t loosen his hold on me.
“I can deal with a little sweat.” I pull back, so I can look up at him. “Speaking of sweat, aren’t you supposed to be at practice?”
He scowls. “I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
“Zane, you can’t miss practice. What if they don’t let you play in the game?” He shrugs. “What if they bench you a few games?” He shrugs again. “Zane, this is serious. They could take your position away from you and let somebody else play.”
“Fine.”
My eyes widen. “Not fine. That would be bad. Really, really bad. You should be at practice.”
He shakes his head. “No, Baby. I'm right where I should be.” My eyes tear up at what he’s saying.
He’s putting me first over the sport he loves so much.
A tear drips down my face, and his eyes lock in on it.
His eyes deepen with concern. “What is it, Love?” I shake my head, unsure how to tell him that that’s all I ever wanted—to be a priority to my dad and my mom to be important to him.
I never had that, but I know I could drown in Zane’s feelings for me.
I nearly did earlier. I’ll never not be a priority to him.
Another tear drips down my cheek. “Baby, please. What is it? Just tell me.”
I smile at him, but it’s wobbly. “I’m just happy,” I manage to whisper. He looks skeptical and rightly so. He doesn’t have to understand it all right now; I barely do. But there is one thing I need him to understand. “I love you.”
His eyes intensify, and he stares down at me. “I love you, Evie. So much.” His hand cups the side of my face, and he lowers his head gently towards mine. “Can I kiss you?”
I stare into his eyes. “You don’t ever have to ask. The answer will always be yes.”
His lips find mine, and we both groan at the contact.
I didn’t realize how much I was craving this.
..craving him. He deepens the kiss. Somehow, he navigates us and gets us back to his room.
He sits on the bed and holds me on his lap as if I’m the most precious person in the world.
I pull back and frame his face with my hands.
“What do you have to do to complete the bond with me?” He freezes. “Tell me,” I urge softly.
It takes him a minute. “I would bite you right here.” He fingers the area between my neck and my shoulder. “The bite is permanent and will leave my mark on you. When others see it, they’ll know you’re mine. It will also connect us forever. You will always be mine, and I will always be yours.”
“Forever?” I ask softly.
His eyes soften. “Wolves live twice as long as humans.”
I take all this in. “And you want to mark me?”
His eyes meet mine. “More than anything in this world, but I will wait for you, Love.”
It doesn’t take any more thought on my part. “Mark me, Zane. Claim me as yours.”
He goes still under me, even as his eyes start to brighten. “Are you sure?” His voice is gruff.
I nod. I’ve never felt more certain about anything.
“I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine.” He growls low in his chest, but he doesn’t waste any time.
He pulls me close and kisses me deeply. Then he bites the top of my shoulder.
I stiffen in pain for a moment, but his tongue soothes it a moment later and all pain fades away.
“That was nice,” I say and am surprised to hear my words slur.
There’s healing saliva activated in my tongue after the bite. It will make you sleepy for a little bit. You can sleep, Baby. I’ll be right here.
It takes me a minute to realize that he didn’t say those words out loud; he said them in my head. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep after already sleeping, but I was wrong.
____________
The next two weeks fly by. I’ve learned so much about Zane and his pack.
He's spent a ton of time teaching me how to control the flow of emotion from our bond. I finally get control of it. I feel his love for me every moment of every day now. I’m not going to lie; it’s pretty amazing.
I feel all other strong emotions from him as well.
At last week’s game, I felt his spike in anger when one of his teammates took a hit from the other team and ended up getting hurt pretty badly.
And of course, hearing his voice in my head all the time is the cherry on top.
All in all, things have been going well.
Zane and I made it to one of Slate’s games, and Tessa wasn’t kidding.
He's good. Really good. I finally watched some video highlights and now know who Messi is as well. I’m pretty sure Slate is better than he is.
Reid’s been gearing up for basketball, so we see him less and less. His practices start soon.
Things have been busy and crazy but good, really good.
I’ve settled into life in the house on Briarwood Court with the boys, even though I haven’t gotten the rest of my things yet.
I need to do that soon, so the college can give my room to someone else.
I still meet up with Tessa almost daily for lunch, and we attend every home football game together.
She has yet to make a soccer game because of her work schedule, but hopefully that will change soon.
With Thanksgiving coming soon, I find myself thinking more and more about how grateful I am for all these blessings in my life.
I'm looking forward to seeing my mom and uncle next weekend. Zane wants to come along and meet them; I’m excited about that.
He actually doesn’t have a game that weekend, and we are taking full advantage of it.
I stare out onto the field as Zane and his teammates run out of the tunnel, and the crowd goes wild.
Tessa squeezes my hand, and I squeeze hers in return.
I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to this.
They get ready for the snap, and I bounce up and down in excitement.
Zane has been unstoppable since we bonded.
He’s back to his normal self, and it’s been a dream to watch him play.
They’re playing their rivals tonight, and they need this win.
We head into half time up 14-7. I stand up and stretch. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” I tell Tessa.
She nods and takes a deep breath. “Okay. We can do this.”
I laugh at the way she’s bracing herself. “It’s fine. I’ll just go real quick. It will probably be easier for me to go by myself.”
“Evie.” Her eyebrows are raised. “Are we or are we not best friends?”
I can’t help my grin. “Best friends.”
“And do best friends let best friends go to the bathroom alone at insane college football games?”
My grin widens. “Nope.” We pretty much do this song and dance every game.
“Absolutely. Now, let’s go.” I laugh and follow her as we make our way through the crowd. When I see the line, I sigh. It’s always like this, but when you gotta go, you gotta go. “I’ll meet you at our usual.” We always meet at the pretzel stand near here. When I step out of the stall, I freeze.
“Hello, Evie.” Sam stands in front of me. “Don’t make a scene.”
“What?” Before I realize what’s happening, there’s a prick in my neck.
I blink as the world around me spins. We start moving towards the back of the bathroom.
I want to pull away from her, but my brain and body feel slow and sluggish.
She pushes towards a door at the back I’ve never seen before.
I try to fight against her, but my body refuses to obey.
She shoves open the door and pushes me out. I stumble and barely catch myself.
“Hey, Gorgeous.”
Ice freezes in my veins when I hear that voice. Jace looms over me. I manage to take a step back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sam says in a voice that almost sounds bored.
“We have your mom.” Jace's soft words hit me right where they were intended. Shock filters through me, and I swallow against the rising tide of panic. My mom doesn’t know anything about these people.
Images of her being hurt or worse flood my mind.
I stare up at him, hoping I put as much anger as I’m feeling in my expression.
“What do you want?” I manage to get out. I fight to stay clear-headed. I'm not sure what it is they put in me, but I’m not going to pass out and let them do anything to me.
“You,” he says simply.
“Well, that’s never going to happen.” I take my shirt and yank the neck to the side, my movements slow. “I’m already taken.”
He snarls at the mark on my shoulder, and then his face relaxes. “No worries. When I bite you, it will replace his mark. When you’re away from him long enough, his mark will fade.”
True fear starts to fill me for the first time. “That’s...not possible.” But I don’t really know. What if it is? I try to calm my rising panic, so I can think clearly.
“Let’s go.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jace.”
He laughs. “Yes, you are. Or your mom...” he lets the phrase dangle, and all my worst fears play out in my mind’s eye. I glance back towards the seats, towards the field where Zane is playing.
“He can’t help you now. No one can.” Sam’s words are bitter and cold. “Let’s go.” She shoves me forward, and I trip over my feet again.
My mind races a million miles an hour. I know better than to go with your captor. That’s survival 101. “What did you do with Tessa?” I ask, slowing my pace.
“She went back into the game,” Jace answers.
I frown. “She wouldn’t leave without me.”
“She was convinced to.” He doesn’t say any more, and I worry about my friend.
But her being in the stadium with all the people is the best place she can be.
We walk through some walkways under the stadium and then out into an open field.
I reach out to Zane. Even though he’s still playing the game, I know he’ll be furious if I don't reach out to him.
Zane.
There’s nothing, and I get a bad feeling. It’s not even that he doesn’t respond; it’s that it feels like I’m hitting a wall.
Zane, are you there?
Chills race over me when I get that same feeling.
I don’t know how, but my connection to Zane is gone.
Bone-deep fear fills me when I see the waiting car, and I realize I may not survive whatever it is they have in store for me.
When a man steps out of the car and gives me a cold smile, my stomach drops.