Chapter 43
Tessa
I force my eyes open and meet his flashing grey ones that quickly turn to shock.
“Tess,” he breathes. And then suddenly, there’s relief.
The onslaught of emotion is just...gone.
I don’t really know what happened; all I know is I can breathe.
I drop my head a moment and relish in the stillness and then turn to Slater again.
I manage a small smile. “Hey.” His eyes don’t leave my face, and the intensity in his gaze ratchets up another few degrees. “So, you managed to sneak away from the team.”
“Coach gave me permission.” His voice is gritty, and unnatural. I’m pretty sure that’s his wolf bleeding through.
“What did you threaten him with?” I ask, trying to tease.
It doesn’t really come out that way. I take in the stiffness of his shoulders, and I don’t mean to, but my eyes drift over his cut frame and linger on his tatoos.
I have a desire to run my fingers over them, but I refrain. I know the pain it would cause.
“You accepted the bond.” His voice is flat, and I’m not sure how to take that.
“Uh, yes?” His jaw tightens, and I try to figure out what he’s thinking. “I kind of thought maybe I’d get a better response.”
He turns his head to the side. “She accepted the bond, and you didn’t think that would have been a good thing to let me know?”
“Dude, it like just happened,” Quint calls out from somewhere in the back. I have a feeling he and Zane are going to be avoiding Slate at all costs.
“I told them not to tell you,” I interject.
“They should have anyway.”
“We were a little busy trying to keep your mate from losing her mind,” Quint calls back. Slater growls low in his chest.
“Quint, stop responding,” Zane says, finally joining the conversation. “Just let him get it off his chest.”
Slater stands suddenly to his feet. He drops his head and closes his eyes. “Slater?” I ask uncertainly.
Zane comes into the living room. “Slater, go for a run.”
“No,” the word is low and full of anger.
Without warning, in a move so fast, I don’t see it coming, Zane launches at Slater.
Somehow, Slater already knew it was coming.
He spins so fast and throws an arm up, deflecting Zane’s hit.
I scramble back to get out of the way. Out of nowhere, Quint joins the fight, and then, it’s two on one.
I manage to get to my feet and slip around them and then run for the back rooms.
“Tessa,” Evie hisses from her room, waving me in. I slip inside and she closes the door behind us.
“Should we lock it?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“No. They could break the whole door down if they wanted.” My eyes widen, and I turn to look at the door. “We’re safe, Tess. Zane will keep them away from the door.”
“Why are they fighting? Why are they attacking Slater?”
“They’re letting him get his anger and frustration out.”
I take that in. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Zane told me what he was going to do before he went out there.”
“They won’t hurt him?”
Evie smirks. “Are you worried about your man?”
“No. Yes. Maybe?”
Evie smiles. “Don’t worry. Slater wasn’t chosen to be the next head enforcer for his winning personality.”
I frown. “That’s not the first time I've heard that.”
“Well, it’s true.”
“But,” I pause, unsure what to say.
“Come on.”
“What are we doing?” I ask warily.
“I’m going to show you that you have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m not sure if this is a good idea,” I mutter, but I follow her anyway.
When we get to the living room, the guys are still going strong.
When I get past the brutality of it, I notice there’s a sort of rhythm to it, almost like a choreographed dance.
I watch Slater. Every hit he makes is intentional, smooth, and fast. He’s faster than Quint; I can tell that much.
But Quint still manages to hold his own.
Zane and Slater seem pretty evenly matched, but Slater seems to have just the slightest advantage over Zane.
Of course, that could be my bias talking.
I continue to watch, mesmerized by Slater’s strength and agility.
And then, he takes Quint down hard. And then, he moves on to Zane.
It’s much harder, but he gets Zane down.
Only once both guys are down and groaning on the floor—or mostly it’s just Quint that groans—does Slater turn to me. I raise my eyebrows. “Feel better?”
He shrugs, and I stare up at him. There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t know where to start.
His phone buzzes, stealing his attention.
The moment his eyes are off me, I feel the loss of it immensely.
One glance at his screen has him cursing low under his breath, and I feel my face fall.
I put on a brave face. “You need to go, don’t you? ”
He stares down at me. “If you want me to stay, I would.”
My heart hiccups in my chest. “Slater—”
“I’m serious.”
I take a breath. “I know you are, but you can’t. You made a commitment to these guys, to your coach, to your fans.”
“I don’t care about any of—”
I continue on, cutting him off. “I won’t let you do that, Slater Thorne.
” I smile up at him. “We’re going to figure this thing out, but for right now, you have to focus.
After Monday, all this will be behind us.
” He steps closer, and I can almost feel the darkness coming off him.
I wish so desperately I could just hug him, but I can’t.
“Go,” I tell him before I give in to the intense desire to ask him to stay.
I can’t. No, I won’t do that to him. I glance around the room and realize it’s just the two of us.
He must notice as well. “You accepted the bond?”
I nod. “I did.”
He stares down at me, his eyes flashing back and forth between his regular eyes and his glowing ones. “And you know what that means?”
“I do, Slater. I accept you; I accept what’s going on between us.
I know it’s fast, but I know what I want.
” I shrug. “And I want you, Slater Thorne; and that’s never going to change.
My mom told me once that she knew with my stepdad after only a few weeks.
” I grin up at him. “Apparently, it runs in the family.” I pause and then say what I want to say.
“Slater, do you want to complete the bond with me?” He goes unnaturally still, and I rush on.
“Zane agreed that maybe if we were able to complete the bond, you know—bite me—maybe the bracelet’s power would be gone. ”
“You talked to Zane about our bonding?”
I blink. “Should I not have?”
“It just surprised me.” His voice is low.
I study his face. I haven’t spent the last few weeks with Slater not to know his tells by now. The locked jaw is a definite sign. “He was here, and I wanted to know.”
His face loses some of that darkness. “You really want to bond with me?”
I don’t look away from that assessing gaze that feels like it penetrates my soul. “Yes. Very much. I’ve already told you that,” I remind him.
“Why?”
I’m glad Evie already unknowingly prepared me for this. I stare up at the guy who’s captured my heart and decide to keep it simple. “I trust you, Slater.” He continues to stare at me and then he lifts an eyebrow. “What?” I ask.
“I guess I thought there was going to be more to it than that.”
I cross my arms across my chest. “Well, do you want to bond with me?”
I don’t even get the words all the way out before he answers. “Yes.”
“For any other reason than that I’m just your mate?”
He steps as close as he can without touching me.
“Tess.” There’s so much in just the way he says my name, that butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“I want to bond with you because I love you. But I’ve already told you that.
I want to bond with you because I want you close to me all the time.
You make my life better just by being in it.
I—” His phone buzzes, and he growls low in his chest.
“Go, Slater; I shouldn’t have kept you. I’ll see you Monday after your win.”
He stares down at me. “I need to get this bracelet off you, so I can touch you again. I need your lips on mine; I need you in my arms.”
His words shake me to my very core. “I want that too.” I lick my suddenly dry lips, and his eyes track the movement. “Go.”
He gives me one last look, and then he’s gone. I stare at the closed door, wishing things were different. “Is it safe to come out now?” Quint asks in a loud whisper.
“Yes,” I call out without turning around.
“Phew. I thought you guys were going to start ripping each other’s clothes off there for a moment.”
I turn around. “I worry about you.”
His face is completely serious when he says, “Well, at least someone does.” Then he drops onto the couch, props his feet up on the coffee table and starts eating an apple.
“Tessa,” Zane says, joining us in the living room. “My dad’s on the phone; they’ve got something.” Zane and Evie stand next to me, and Quint joins us on the other side. “Okay, Tessa’s here,” Zane says.
“Hello, Tessa,” I hear Zane’s father say in his deep, authoritative voice.
“Hello, Mr. Blackwood, Alpha...Sir.” Evie snickers, and Zane grins. I don’t even bother looking at Quint.
“Just Alpha is fine, Tessa,” he graciously says. “My son told me Slate just left.”
“He did. His coach was calling him back.”
“Okay. It’s better he’s not there for this anyway.”
My stomach tightens with nerves. “Why?”
“Because we’re going to try something, and if it doesn’t work, I prefer not to have another fight take place.”
I cringe because Zane must have told him about the fight with Slate. “He was just working off some aggression,” I say before I fully think about it.
“I know. I know Slate quite well.” He doesn’t say anything more about it, and I don’t push him for information.
“So, what are we going to try?” I ask.
“Zane is going to try to break its hold over you.”
I glance at Zane, but he’s focused on the phone. “Didn’t we already try that?” I ask.
“Yes, but not in the way we’re going to do it.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I tell him before I think about it.
“If it causes you pain, Zane will stop right away.”
I meet Evie’s worried eyes, but she quickly pastes on a smile. “Okay.” I don’t really have anything to lose at this point. “What do we have to do?”
“All right, Zane. Let’s give this a go. Connect with me. I will pull power from the pack and send it directly to you. Focus that power and use it to break the chain’s hold on Tessa.”
I stand completely still, unsure what to do exactly.
Then Zane takes my hand in his, and I suddenly understand why it’s better for Slater to not be here right now.
I watch as Zane’s shoulder’s strain, and his eyes start to glow.
He reaches out and grasps my bracelet. He grits his teeth but ends up taking a step back, as if he’s fighting an invisible foe.
He grunts and pulls but nothing happens.
He takes a step back. “Zane?” Evie asks, worried.