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ZACH.I was about to roll my chair when I heard running steps from the outside, and I smelled my sister.Shit!“Let’s go!” I cocked my head in the direction of my office, hoping they would fucking move faster. “Nadine!” Nikka shrieked, and I grimaced. She acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in a year when they had just come from her territory a few days back.“Hello there, sweet pea!” Nadine swiftly moved to approach and hug her. “Enough of that. We have a business to deal with. Let’s go.”“Business, ew.” Nikka scrunched her nose and let her go. I thought I was off the hook until her eyes landed on Sidney. “Oh, so you met Zach’s mate.”“Excuse me?” Nadine stopped in her tracks a few feet away from Xander. “Zach’s mate?”Nikka wriggled her eyebrows before pointing her finger at Sidney. She had a wide smile on her lips, so I had no idea if the smile was because she liked Sidney or if she knew something else. “Yes, Sidney.” Nadine’s head turned to look at Sidney while Xander looked
AMBER.I felt like I was just floating, waiting for the waves to take me where they wanted me to go. My mind told me to leave this place, but my heart kept betraying me. I had been staring at my packed luggage for many hours, but I couldn’t seem to have the strength to pick up the phone and call Cyrus.Zach had been rude to me from day one, and it had only been a few days, but he was already shaking what was left of my determination. The only thing I was holding on to was that Sidney was still unmarked. I wanted to ask the twins if they had asked why she wasn’t marked yet, but I didn’t want to pressure them as well. I knew it was already hard for them to balance their friendship with me and accept Sidney as their brother’s mate. Making them choose between us was never my goal. So, yes, I should leave. Any decent female would. I am not wanted here.But I promised Cassidy I would do what she suggested that I do before leaving everything behind. But I was still not one hundred percent
ZACH.I listened to Nadine’s litany, and although everything she said made sense, I did not bend.I told her that instead of taking Sidney away, she should talk to Amber instead and convince her to leave my territory. If she could do that, I would send Sidney home and admit to my sisters, as well as Arlo and Drake, about the fake mate bond.I didn’t want Sidney out of here while I could still see Amber.In the end, Nadine had no choice but to agree. She would do her best to convince her to leave and move on. I didn’t ask her to talk about the last part, but she must have felt it was the right thing to do.And yes, it hurt. It fucking hurt. But it was for the best.“Stay for dinner. I’m sure the food is ready.” I told them when we finally came to an agreement. She also said she would not say anything to my mother and I promised I would do it myself.Of course, I will, but only if one of my sisters tells her about it.“We might stay overnight then. Because I need time to talk to Amber,”
ZACH. “I’m not going to kill her!” I snapped at Arlo. “Please…” Amber mumbled, and my head turned in her direction. “Let Beta Arlo stay.”She looked scared, and I didn’t like it. She was terrified of me. I let out a sigh before rolling my chair in front of my desk. I wanted to be able to see both of them.“Talk…” I began. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to know if you were mates or not. I still didn’t want to believe you found your mate.” Her lips quivered, and my heart crushed again at the pain in her face as her body continued to shake from her sobs. “Up to the last minute, I was holding on to the belief that you were lying. That she was not your mate. I still couldn’t accept that you just forgot about me when I still think about you every day.”My hands coiled into tight fists as I struggled for my eyes not to water. “I’m sorry, Zach. I kissed Sidney to see if you felt the pain. I could have kissed you, but I knew if I did, I would cry more because I would miss you afterward. I also
ARLO.“Zach…” Amber spoke in a low voice. “Can I see your wrist?”“No.” He answered coldly.“Do you need help rolling your sleeves?” She kept asking in a soft voice, ignoring the animosity in his tone. I just looked at the Alpha. Ever since Amber arrived here a few days ago, he had been wearing long-sleeve shirts and had never taken them off whenever he was in the quadrangle, even when the sun was scorching hot. “I don’t…”“Please… Just one last request.” Amber spoke again. Zach dropped his gaze and began rolling his sleeves on his right arm. There was no mark. “Nothing there. It must be on the other hand.” I said. But I was sure both my wrists showed the marks when it happened to me. “It must have been gone already,” Amber said, and I knew she was trying to keep a straight face. “It was just a split-second thing.”Mine was also a split-second pain, but the marks remained there for a long time. “The other arm, Alpha,” I said. I expected Zach to glare or mindlink me and throw all
ZACH.I was not able to finish my words because Cyrus was already approaching, and the next thing I knew, hard knuckles hit my jaw. My chair rolled backward, and it slammed on the sofa, almost making me fall from it. “Alpha!” Arlo was about to come to me, but I pointed a finger at him, ordering him without words to stay where he was. “Are you fucking done?” I asked as I rubbed my chin. That fucking hurt. “I would have given you more if you weren’t stuck in this chair!” Cyrus bellowed as his foot kicked the wheels of my seat. He trapped me between him and the sofa, causing my body to jolt with each kick.Arlo restrained and pulled him away from me as my chest rumbled with growls. I gripped my armchair tightly, jaw tightening as my eyes dilated. “How much more pain will you put her through?” He shouted. “Until she stops with this madness!”“You brought her into this madness!” He pointed at me. “She brought herself into this mess,” I scoffed. “But I shouldn’t be surprised. Her twin
ZACH.Apollo surged forward and landed in front of Cyrus, saliva dripping as he growled at him.Cyrus put Amber behind him before he gave me a sarcastic grin. “Don’t think that my wolf will fold on you, Apollo.” He said as his eyes dilated. His fangs protruded, and his claws emerged, but Amber went in front of him before he could fully transform. “Slayer… listen. Listen, relax. I’m fine. I’m fine.” She kept murmuring, tapping her brother’s cheek. Slayer, Cyrus’ wolf, was unhinged. Crazier than his father, Zion. It was the reason Cyrus barely let him out around other shifters. He could create real havoc, but I didn’t give a fuck. I didn’t like the way he was holding Amber.“I’m going home with you. Calm down, please.” Amber said.Hearing her words, I couldn’t help the growl that reverberated from my chest. It snapped Amber from talking to her brother’s wolf, and she immediately turned to face me, her face wet with tears. She smiled before she bent and ruffled my fur. “Hey, it’s nice
AMBER. “Is it a bad sign?”“Purity has never given me a bad sign so far,” she replied.I nodded even if she couldn’t see me because I knew she was right. Purity had told her when she finally smelled Lexi’s wolf, and she shifted a few days after. Because of that, Cassidy and I immediately visited her to see if she could smell our wolves, too. Unfortunately, she couldn’t.Purity also gave her a vision to go to the Dark Forest Pack despite the danger, and when she did, they were able to meet Thorn before he died and were able to save another life.“What did you dream about?”“Zach doesn’t want you to leave. Don’t leave him.”“How do you know I’m leaving?”“I don’t. I’m just telling you not to leave. Are you?”“Yes. I’m packing my bags.”“Oh, Goddess.” “I shouldn’t, right?”“As your friend, I would tell you to leave and heal somewhere. But Purity wants you to stay.”“I should believe Purity, not you.” I softly chuckled as tears trickled down my face. I couldn’t find any justification for
AMBER. ‘Are you fated mates?’ I asked Zach in our heads.‘No.’ He replied. I looked at her extended hand and shook my head as I stepped back. I knew I would stumble soon. It was taking too much of me to hold myself up, and then I felt hands grabbing my arms, supporting me. Arlo came, and he was standing behind me. He let go of me once I was able to gather myself.‘Don’t believe her. I never said I would claim her,’ Zach reached my head. It was all I needed to hear to bring my confidence back. I tilted my head up and scoffed at her. “This pack only has one Luna. And you’re standing in front of her.”“Really now? From what I can see, Zach is still not able to stand.” She spoke confidently. Too far from the meek female who needed me to help her with everything. Did she know who I was from the beginning? Was she lying the whole time? Was the friendship she showed me part of their show?“I’m only claiming Amber,” Zach said, and I smirked at her before I mirrored her stance, crossing m
AMBER.I showered in the locker room of the training building after my session. I could have easily showered at the packhouse, but I knew that if Zach saw me, he would never let me out of his sight. He had been asking, or should I say demanding, for my attention since lunch. Not that I didn’t want to spend time with him, but I had things to do that needed to be out of his earshot, or I would have to answer questions I didn’t have answers to yet.I was already in a hurry to meet him, but I was held up twice by some people who wanted to speak with me. Since I really wanted this pack, especially the females, to be comfortable around me, I entertained them.When I was finally able to get away, I rushed toward the packhouse, hoping Zach was still working, as I hated keeping him waiting.The streets were empty, but it was nothing extraordinary, as it was just a regular day. Usually, more vehicles would be on the road on Fridays, as people would get off work and go out to chill afterward.The
*FREE CHAPTER*ZACH.‘It’s already almost eight in the morning, Alpha. John called and said he couldn’t make it today because of an emergency.’ Arlo said. My eyes snapped fully open as my forehead creased. ‘Did he say if he could come to the next session?’‘Nothing about that. And he sounded in a hurry, so I let him go right away.’This was not good. It meant I had to wait a few more days before I got an answer from him. But what if he had no plans to return? What if he discovered that we had already caught him?‘Thanks. Is everything okay?’‘Yes, Alpha. You were supposed to call Alpha Jace at seven today, but I called him earlier and told him you were not to be disturbed.’ I could sense teasing in his voice.‘I didn’t say that.’‘I decided on that,’ he chuckled. ‘Is everything okay between you and the Luna?’I smiled at the title he used for Amber. ‘Yes, we’re good.’‘Do you want me to send someone with breakfast?’‘No. We’ll make do with what we have here.’ I replied. ‘How is Mindy?
ZACH.“Oh, Goddess! This is so good…” Amber whimpered seductively as she gripped my thighs tightly while bouncing on top of me. She was riding me in a reverse cowgirl style, her body bent slightly forward so that I had the arousing view of her round ass, as well as the full sight of my cock as it plunged in and out of her tight pussy. She was so wet that I could see her juices leaking out of her at every stroke. My upper body was half elevated, resting on the reclined bed of the cabin. Yes, we finally made it to the bed of this house. Although we didn’t have any plans to have sex, we couldn’t get our hands off each other. Especially me. Once I got my first taste of her, I couldn’t control my cravings for her anymore. Amber was an addiction that I didn’t want to stop. I removed my hand from her hips and smacked her already red ass, eliciting a gasp from her. She bent more forward and held my legs before grinding her hips against mine and clenching her pussy around my cock. Sweat form
AMBER.“I don’t know how to distinguish beautiful from not since I laid eyes on you. You are the most beautiful, Amber, and everyone else pales in comparison.” Zach said, and I was left speechless.I pouted my lips as my eyes welled up. I could totally understand what he was telling me, as that was exactly how I felt. Ever since I admitted to myself that I was in love with him, no one has come in comparison with him. “If you also want to ask if I am or was attracted to her, I’m not, and I wasn’t. But I will admit that when we were still both in a bad place, and I knew I was running out of time, I did entertain the idea of claiming her.”My jaw tightened as my heart clenched in pain, but I remained quiet, listening to him. “That was the reason Sidney came into the picture. I thought that if I hurt you back then, and if Sidney could push you away from me, by the time Estelle entered my life, you would have long forgotten about me.” He then cupped my jaw again, his thumb brushing my che
AMBER.“I should get going. Zach is still in the car, and I told him I was only here to convince you he didn’t want to claim Estelle.” Dad pressed a kiss on the top of my head as we walked toward the front door, our arms still around each other. “Don’t give him a hard time. I could tell he never wanted to.”“I know, Dad. That’s why I ran here instead of elsewhere. I want to speak with him first.”“This cabin is beautiful.”“He built this house for me,” I said proudly as we stood at the front door. I met his eyes while a broad smile was plastered on my face.“Did he?”I nodded, still smiling. “He said this was supposed to be his gift for me for our union, but the accident happened. But he kept it well maintained. I love it.”“He’s full of surprise, isn’t he?”I nodded, my eyes beaming with happiness.“I’m glad even with everything happening around you, Zach can still make you smile beautifully.”“He’s the only thing that keeps me going,” I told him until I realized my words. “I mean, of
AMBER.“What’s another way out?”“You, with your wolf out,” Dad said, and the color drained from my face as I stared at him with my mouth open.“We checked the copy of Zach’s blood contract, and this part was not included in his but was on Grant’s or the Council’s copy. Zach also signed it, but maybe he didn’t notice this extra page. We assumed Grant also forgot this page.”“I don’t understand how Alpha Grant forgot this page.”“We could only assume he wanted to do this blood contract to power trip, and you were the first condition. Zach could not claim anyone except you, only if your wolf surfaced. Grant had always looked down upon females with no wolf. Same reason he never helped his own sister, Lexi’s mother, because she was wolfless. I was sure he thought of you as the way out to mock you and Zach. But eventually he remembered that he had a daughter whom he could put in a better place. So he scrapped you and changed it to her. But he forgot to change his contract to delete you. He
AMBER. I had no idea where to go. The cabin was the only place I could think of, but going there would take too much time, as I didn’t have a wolf, and I was already worn out from training. And with the pain in my chest, I didn’t think I could run any further. So I asked someone to drive me to the brook.I entered the cabin and stayed in the living room, sitting on the couch and watching as the fireplace began warming up the whole house. I had no idea how long I’d been there when I heard a car approaching, and I could only guess the warrior told Zach where I went, which was what I really wanted. I wanted to speak with him.I still had no idea what his plans were, but I wanted to believe he loved me and was choosing me. That was the reason he was giving up, the reason he wanted to step down as an Alpha and not push for it anymore. I didn’t know if I could live with him choosing me over his title. I never wanted to be the reason he stepped down as an Alpha, the same way I hated mysel
ZACH. After my conversation with Dad, Arlo told me Amber had asked someone to drive her to the brook where my cabin was. And it calmed my heart.I was worried she had run off somewhere or tried to leave the territory, but going to the cabin meant she wanted refuge in our own world. I had no idea what she heard, but I hoped this was a sign she was giving me a chance to explain.They were still eating dinner when I told them I would see Amber first, and Uncle Caspian volunteered to drive me there. He said he wanted a word with his daughter. And I knew I could not refuse it. While driving, he asked me if it would be okay if he asked Amber what she heard. He promised he would try to explain the best way he could, so she wouldn’t be upset with me once she faced me. I was grateful for that, as I didn’t want to argue with Amber, either. I knew I was wrong to hide it from her, but I did it because I didn’t want her to think about it. Although it was revealed now, at least I had her father