Zane's POV
“Do you believe in that stuff?” I asked cautiously, trying to look relaxed and not imposing. “Aliens being real and stuff like that?”
She looked up, her eyes scanning mine for a moment. The sofa was placed right next to the fireplace and the chair was just on the other side, making us almost sit across from each other. And I knew what she was looking for. Seeing if I was just trying to make fun of her or if I was interested in her answer. Which was why I was trying to seem relaxed. Because a part of me wanted to know HOW rational she was. A part of me was wondering what else she might be able to believe in. To see if she was open to the possibility…
“I don’t know,” she replied in the end, shrugging, and returning her gaze to the pages. “I guess there's an equal likelihood of it being real as it’s not.”
“What do you mean?” I asked – and yeah, I
Zane's POV“Wh-what?!” I found myself spluttering, my wolf instantly growling at the book as if it just offended him. “You’re--- You’re into tentacle---things?!”Please, goddess, no!I wasn’t sure why the idea appalled me so much. But just thinking about her in that way – not being able to---“No,” she exclaimed and actually had the nerve to laugh at me. “I’m not. But a big, bulky alien with a matching cock and multiple orgasms.” She smiled and winked. “What girl wouldn’t love that?”Well---“If you want multiple orgasms,” I replied with a cocky grin. “I could give you that!” I didn’t know why, but I found that I wanted to rattle her somehow. To have the woman I knew she was, come apart before me. To see her and not the ranger persona she portrayed. I wanted her smiles and laughter.
Zane’s POV“Where are you going?” I asked with a frown early the next morning. The sun had barely been up when I had woken up to the smell of something extremely delicious. Arella was in the kitchen and she’d made some kind of omelet. And while it seemed simple enough, it tasted divine!Seriously!If my tastebuds could, they’d build her a shrine and worship her like a goddess!And what was even more surprising was that I’d actually slept! All night. And felt refreshed this morning. I mean the sofa wasn’t made for someone my size and I had kinks and clicks in places I didn’t even know I had places, but other than that…I’d slept!No nightmare.No waking up in the middle of the night, fighting my wolf for control.No screaming at memories that haunted me…I’d just rested!I realized that it was because my wol
Zane's POVI shook out my fur, loving the feeling of being in my wolf form without feeling like every fiber in my brain was being ripped apart.And perhaps…Perhaps my prayers were being heard? Perhaps I was going to be able to stick around until Cain could take the throne. Until he understood that love was a weakness, that having a mate would only kill him in the end. Perhaps I’d be able to stick around until Eva was mated to someone who could protect her.Perhaps---I took one last look around, wondering if there was something about this place that made my wolf this calm. Or if it was its occupant that had somehow managed to tame my wild wolf. Or if there was some magical component involved.Either way, I wasn’t coming back!I had to go back and do what the king needed to do. I’d just been Zane for a couple of days, and while it had been frustrating at times, I&rsq
Zane's POVMy gaze slowly went around the table. There were my parents, the previous king and queen. Usually, they’d try and make ideal chatter – chatter that my wolf would usually crush with his overwhelming presence that I couldn’t suppress anymore. My twin sister, Serena, and her mate, Bali, were sitting on my left. And no, I didn’t miss the nervous glances they shared.My brother and Beta, Noah, and my two children sat to my right. The clatter of utensils on glass plates was the only sound filling the room. Everyone ate in tense silence. And never before had I felt more suffocated than I did right at that moment. And it wasn’t just my pacing wolf that felt different. He wasn’t just lashing out at everyone, hell he even growled at our Mom, who only glanced in our direction. Worry and fear filled her beautiful green eyes and the weak part of me wanted to reach out and comfort her. But my wolf wouldn’t let me.
Warning: Any form of stereotyping--- Bla-bla-bla… you know the drill…!Arella’s POV“But you could probably use that elephant trunk as a walking stick,” I teased, unable to help myself. He was so uptight and easy to rattle I just couldn’t help myself. Oh, and let’s not forget that he was cocky, arrogant, full of himself, arrogant and---Did I mention an arrogant SOB?But despite his flaws, he also had the kind of confident charm that seemed to just work for him. Sure, coming from anyone else, they would sound like an entitled, full-of-themselves brat. But when Zane said all those things he said, they somehow sounded innocent-like. As if he was just stating a fact, not boasting about or hotly putting all his amazing glory on display.Humble he was not!Hell, I doubted he knew the word and even if he looked it up, he’d have a hard time understanding it
Warning: Any form of stereotyping--- Bla-bla-bla… you know the drill!Arella's POV“That’s it,” I sighed, finally catching a glimpse of the relay tower. “I’m only reading Barbara Cartland and Danielle Steel from here on out.”And just as I pushed away my concerns about Zane, I realized that my concerns about him were just getting started.“Oh, cruds!” I cursed out loud and huffed, seeing the damage done to the relay. They hadn’t just smashed it to kingdom come, they’d wrecked it! Bits and parts of it were scattered all over the ground and it was going to take me forever to find it all.Great!“Well, at least I know one thing for sure,” I sighed as I sat Tiny on a tree close by. “The poachers are either communicating via radio, or they have satellite phones.”Technically, I did have one of those too, but it broke
Warning: Bla – stereotyping – bla… do I really have to keep doing this?Arella’s POV“Holy fucking---” I cursed out loud, as I – again! – came face to face with a very naked Zane! “What the hell are you doing out of bed?!”The guy had almost given me a fucking heart attack!Not to mention another vivid mental image of the perfection, that was his naked frame.Oh, why, oh why, did he have to show up right in the middle of one of my dry spells? If I’d only had a good boyfriend back home, I wouldn’t be lusting after this guy like a bitch in heat. But if I was going to be honest, not even a stud like my ex, Kyle, would have kept me on the straight and narrow with this guy.Yeah, I had a type!Sue me!Big, hot, and rarely faithful! With Kyle, I thought I’d hit that one-in-a-lifetime unicorn find
Arella's POV“Put on some clothes!” I snapped, distracting myself with something, and ripped the gun back out of his hands, securing it. “Damnit! You could poke someone’s eye out with that thing!”Hurridly, I went back to the door and put it back in its place. Unfortunately, it once again disappeared from my hands and when I turned around--- it was only to realize that Zane still hadn’t put his clothes on! He had, however, moved even closer to me and was scowling down at me as if I was somehow offending him.With MY shotgun, by the way…“I’m serious!” he echoed, gritting his teeth so hard, I could hear the molders cracking in his mouth. “This is dangerous!”Some instinct told me to back off. Not to look into his eyes and anger him. Something inside of me warned me that he was the apex predator here – and I was the bunny!I should
Arella’s POV“I don’t sense any magic coming from her,” a strange voice said somewhere far away. “Are we sure she’s human?”Magic?!Are we sure she’s human?What kind of questions were those? And goodness gracious, what was that smell? It smelled like a hospital only a million times more potent. If I could, I would have scrunched my nose. But I couldn’t because, for some reason, my body was completely unresponsive.Why couldn’t I move?Mild panic started to sliver into my chest and I found it hard to breathe. I tried to think of a reason, but my mind came up blank. I remembered arguing with Zane that morning – which wasn’t really that out of the ordinary. I swear, sometimes that man lives to make me old. No one had ever tested my patience the way Zane did.The stubborn, insurable, arrogant---Speaking of…
Zane's POVTrue that I’d broken the law – first by killing “innocent” humans and then by turning Arella without her consent – and by law, they could, or more accurately, should arrest me and have me thrown in a cell. But my family hadn’t turned on me so far and they wouldn’t turn on me now.So--- innocent by default?“The law states that you need the king’s permission before turning a human,” I growled, letting him go and watching him barely catching himself as he stumbled to the floor. “I gave myself permission.”“But she doesn’t know,” Noah growled, pushing me away from our parents and getting between us, facing me. “And she’s not a mate---” He abruptly cut himself off, as if suddenly realizing something, and gave me a stunned glance.“Is she?”The seconds of tension and hopeful glances I got wer
Zane's POV“Zane?” My father asked, the worry in his tone making my human half have some compassion towards the man. He was just worried about me, his son. Before me, he’d been the King of the Werewolves, and everything I knew about the kingdom, he’d taught me. He was a great father – strict but caring and kind to his pups. And I used to always listen to him and take his advice when I had tough decisions to make.Lately, that hadn’t been the case.I fought with him all the time, since he and Noah were the only ones who still could get away (and live) with that shit. They couldn’t take me in a physical fight and the few times we became physical, I remind them of that. Not that I actually wanted to hurt my family, but I’d been afraid that if I didn’t keep them at a distance, I would end up killing them…“They-they say you had human blood on you,” he continued, as my brother came up next to him, as if ready to intervene if my wolf t
Zane’s POVI sat there, staring at her in the hospital bed. A whirlwind of emotions had washed through me the last couple of hours and, honestly, I felt exhausted.I felt guilty.I’d failed her…She’d almost died protecting me because she didn’t know that--- My wolf growled low, wishing he could kill those asshole humans again. But in a way, I also wanted to thank them. NOT for shooting my little angel, but--- if they hadn’t, then…I know I should feel like a bastard!I know I should feel bad for taking away her choice. That I’d turned her, without her even knowing what I was.Yet a part of me couldn’t be sorry.I’d already decided to show her what I was. After she caught me returning from the castle, I knew I wouldn’t be able to weasel my way out of it anymore. And while there would be consequences for my ac
Zane’s POVFor a second, everything inside of me went black.There were no emotions.No senses.Nothing…Just a void of nothingness. All while a film played out in front of me.No sounds.No color.Nothing… Arella was in the line of fire.The man pulled the trigger.And I didn’t do anything!Nothing…I just stood there – frozen as I watched her jump in front of me. I didn’t act. I didn’t think. I didn’t--- Well, actually, I did think one thing:What the hell is that female doing here?And then I had dismissed her, counting on her to be smart enough to stay out of danger.Infuriating female!Sure, the man had a gun pointed toward me, but there was no bullet that could kill me. It had to be laced with silver or wolf’s bane to harm the King of t
Arella's POV“I don’t know!” I yelled again and threw out my arms, forgetting that I had a loaded gun in my hands. Angry at myself now, I slammed it down on the table before turning to him again. “No woman knows how a man can tell her to calm down! That’s the point of being upset. You’re upset!”“Fine, be upset,” Zane growled back and folded his huge arms over his impressive chest. “But I’m not telling you shit until your ass has the fuck calmed down, so be my guest and sulk!”Silence!My pounding heart seemed to be the only thing that echoed in the quiet room. But surprisingly, it wasn’t speeding up like you might have expected it to do.It calmed…Because whether I liked it or not, I couldn’t control Zane. I couldn’t force anything out of him and, honestly, I was the one acting like a brat right now. Zane wanted to sha
Arella's POVPain and betrayal raced hot through my veins and I hated the fact that my eyes stung with tears. Damn it! I ran for the chest and slammed it open, cursing myself for being so stupid. For still being so naïve, for letting myself---It hadn’t been touched.All of my weapons and magazines were all still there. He hadn’t taken off with them. With a strange sense of relief and surprise, I stood gaping at the chest for another moment. Why hadn’t he taken off with it, a part of me wondered? That part of me was also the part that accepted that I’d never be loved and accepted. That I was a fool for trusting men. That I was wrong in trusting Zane and his stupid words.Another part of me was confused.Why hadn’t he taken them when he had the chance? That part of me wondered. When he knew, that I was beginning to trust him? When I was giving in to his infuriating, demanding yet seductive presence
The stereotypes are there for gags – please just laugh…Arella’s POVHe kissed me!Zane actually kissed me--- and I didn’t slap the living shit out of him! I honestly think that’s what shocked me the most. Not the fact that he was a divine kisser – I already suspected that he was… I mean, I’d seen his body. There was no way that a guy like that didn’t have a harem of women throwing themselves at him at every corner…And a part of me hated that!Hated that he probably had countless women begging for his attention. Women that had gone all the way and knew what that steel shaft felt like. Knew what it was like to have Zane fill them up completely--- while I’d pushed him away.Stupid!So stupid! Why had I done that? What was the harm again? I mean ranger and criminal sounded more like a bad Spanish soap opera o
Zane's POVI waited until Arella was asleep before I stood and walked out of the cabin. I undressed and shifted into my huge brown beast that quickly ate up the distance between the cabin and the castle. I gave a quick greeting to the border patrols and again to the guards when we entered the castle. The sun had gone down a long time ago and it was well past midnight, so I didn’t bother asking where the children were. I might be a shitty father, but even I knew how to keep track of their bedtime.“Zane?”I spun around to see Noah giving me a surprised look.“What are you doing here?” he asked--- and my wolf let out a low growl.“He seriously needs to get laid!” my wolf gruffly huffed, in a voice I barely recognized. But that still didn’t stop me from mentally grinning. Yeah, that sounded like something my old wolf would have said. I snickered, and for a brief moment, wondered