Zane's POV
“You’re not alone in your grief and love is not a weakness!” Arella’s words cut through to me and finally, I saw the reality for what it truly was. “It’s the bridge that will connect you to the people you care about even beyond death! And if you lose that, you truly lose yourself!”
She spun around finally finding the bandage that she’d been looking for. And finally – FINALLY! – I realized something important…
“Who?” I asked softly, as all the rage and anger melted away. “Who did you lose?”
It was the only thing that made sense. Why she could relate to me so easily. Why she was so defensive of my children. Why she understood their and my emotions so well.
She knew grief…
“My mother,” she replied, her voice losing some of its edges. And as if mentioning her mother, my little angel’s lips title
Zane’s POVMy saving angel…A small smile crept over my face. Once I said those words with a sarcastic and mocking undertone. Now I realized it was my favorite nickname for her. She felt so perfect in my arms, all I wanted to do was hold her close and---Kiss her!For a second I could have sworn it was my wolf’s voice urging me. Or perhaps I just finally voiced the desire that had been brewing inside my guts ever since I’d first laid eyes on her. But I didn’t care which one it was.I just wanted her…I leaned forward and following my wolf’s or my own instincts, I brushed my lips against hers. Gently at first, seeing how she responded. She froze for a second, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening. The thought struck me that she might not want this. And had I been a normal man, I would have pulled back. Giving her a chance to accept me or push me away.I
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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