Chapter 4 - A New Life

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks became months, time seemed to slip away in a hazy reverie.

Over the course of time, an incredible bond had formed between Zane and me; he truly was an outstanding guy. Being in his presence made me feel so at ease, my heart trembled with excitement each moment he arrived back home.

His house was indeed big. It stood three stories tall and boasted fourteen splendid rooms, each equipped with a luxurious private en-suite.

Our bedrooms were on the second floor. On the first floor, there was a generously sized kitchen space outfitted with state-of-the-art utensils and equipment to prepare all kinds of lavish meals. In addition, there was a spacious dining section capable of accommodating numerous guests at once. Further down on the same floor, an area existed that could function as either an office or conference zone. Moreover, there was also a grand living area on that floor.

To the already existing storage spaces within the house, there was also a spare closet and a laundry room. Two skilled maids were hired three times per week to clean the house and do laundry.

Zane adamantly prohibited me from performing any household chores, joking that it would spoil my delicate hands and insinuating that I was trying to steal the maids' jobs. Frankly, I was surprised when we arrived here. When he mentioned in the woods that his house could easily accommodate both of us, I didn't anticipate it being this spacious.

At first, living in the house with a stranger was awkward and required some getting used to. But Zane's amiable personality and natural openness made it effortless for me to feel completely at home. Quite frankly, he made me feel so homey as if we had been acquainted for years. This bond continued to grow steadily day by day; every moment spent together solidified our unspoken understanding even further. He loved all the dishes I prepared for him; after dinner, not a single scrap remained on his plate. It was just as clean as when it came out of the dishwasher. Every day, he came home on time and recently had started planting kisses on my neck as soon as he entered the threshold.

After dinner, we usually settled down before the television in the living room to watch the world news.

On any other weekend, he would pamper me with dinner at some of the most upscale restaurants in town. And sure enough, I couldn't help but notice many envious stares shot towards me. I used to sleep three rooms away from him, but I moved last week to the room right next to his. As the day broke each morning, the sound of running water in his bathroom woke me up. Then I jumped out of bed, quickly washed my face, and ran downstairs to make him breakfast.

Without a doubt, Zane was drop-dead gorgeous.

If the pain of Elyon's betrayal weren't so persistent, I would certainly have tried to hit on him. However, we were only best friends. But this did not prevent Zane from demonstrating his affection towards me whenever he could. And then again, every evening, I looked forward to our special moment in front of the television. There, I stretched out with my head on his lap while Zane enveloped me tightly with his strong arms. It felt absolutely wonderful!

On one particular occasion, I fell asleep in that blissful position to discover the next day that I was still nestled cozily in his arms on the couch. Since then, I had consciously made efforts to pretend to sleep several times just so we could spend more time entwined together.

"Becca, want to go to the beach today? I heard there might be a party taking place down by the ocean, and I thought it could make for an exciting day filled with sun and fun."

Zane's masculine voice broke through my reverie with an invitation that immediately piqued my interest. It sent shivers of excitement down my spine as I eagerly considered his proposition because nothing sounded more enticing than spending time at leisure on sandy shores with this handsome hunk.

"Sure. Bikini or full?" I inquired playfully with the intent to capture his attention.

Last time, he was furious when I showed up in a tiny bikini at his friend’s pool party. Looking back now, I must admit that those pieces of fabric were quite alluring, but gosh, he really overreacted. From then on, I took his feelings into account and always asked for his opinion on my clothing choices.

"Always full!" he groaned under his breath.

Really, everyone on every beach was wearing the bare minimum of clothing. Did I really have to go out of line?! I packed my swimsuit anyway; it didn't show much cleavage, but my curves came out perfectly. This particular piece had been personally hand-picked for me by Zane during our recent shopping trip, so he had little to complain about now.

Yes, after arriving here with nothing but the clothes on my body, Zane made sure my wardrobe was quite stocked.

Despite any objections I had about his excessive generosity towards me, he proceeded passionately to spend thousands of dollars on outfits and footwear for me. "Whom am I going to spend all that money on, then? Please, let me do this, Becca," he almost begged me. So, I took advantage of his generosity and allowed myself to revel in our decadent shopping sprees. He paid with his gleaming platinum credit card, an unmistakable symbol of wealth that confirmed my suspicions about him not being remotely poor or average in any way imaginable.

I planned to talk to him about his spending on me tonight.

I really wanted to know more about him. Earlier, I did not dare to ask him private questions for fear of prying too much into his affairs, but as our bond blossomed over time, I felt emboldened to speak a little more freely with him.

Hand in hand, we strolled onto the beach.

 Zane carried the picnic basket that we had brought with us. We signed up for an epic game of beach volleyball and were divided into opposing teams, eagerly ready to compete against each other. Before long, the competition started and both sides played their hardest. Incredibly enough, it wasn't until we reached the final match that we unexpectedly faced each other!

"Zane, how about we make a bet? If my team wins today's game, you'll cook and do the dishes."

A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "And if my team wins?"

I bit my lower lip and furrowed my eyebrows as I carefully considered the options available to me. "Anything you want."

As soon as those words left my mouth, loud whistles were heard all around us.

“Deal.”

Sure enough, his team won the game! Guess a single werewolf doesn't make or break a game. With a noticeable swagger in his gait, he walked up to me, sporting a smirk on his face.

"Pay up, beautiful lady."

It was with a profound sense of loathing that I admitted my defeat. Zane deftly took my chin between two fingers and turned my face toward him. Before I could think what he was up to, he had captured my lips within the warm confines of his own. The sudden cascade of sensation coursing through me like wildfire made me shudder uncontrollably; instinctively, I opened my lips for him.

We got lost in a fiery kiss. Only when we heard the whistles and cheers around us again did we pull away.

I had given my all to Zane's longing, and right there and then, I realized that our relationship wasn't as innocent as I always thought...