Zane's POVI threw a glance down at myself and--- yeah, I was naked! I’d shifted and it had destroyed my clothes, but werewolves weren’t uncomfortable with nudity. I’d almost forgotten that humans tended to be shy about stuff like that. I hadn’t counted her as one of those people since---“You kissed me!” I exclaimed, wondering if that was something she did for kicks a lot. And why the hell that pissed me AND my wolf off…“To shut you up, because you were being an annoying prick,” she exclaimed, her back still turned. “Which only reaffirmed why I don’t want to see your dick!”Oh…?I was an annoying prick now, was I?I had no idea where the urge came from, but I just wanted to mess with this female. Hell, if I got to piss her off as badly as she’d pissed me off, I would count it as a win!And I knew exac
Zane’s POVA little more careful this time, I forced myself back up, keeping the weight off my foot. Damn it! Either my wolf wasn’t healing it at all, or I’d been more seriously injured than I’d originally thought. Which meant I was stuck here – for now…A problem for another day!For now, the scent of dinner was calling my name. Carefully, I hopped/wabbled over to a chair and leaned on it for support. However, when my dick made contact with the cold wood, I was once again made aware of my nakedness. Personally, I didn’t care, but I had a feeling that if Arella came back and saw my junk out in the open, she’d beat me with that infuriating spatula of hers.Sighing, I reached for the blanket she’d put around me before and, with a few ties and knots, I had it wrapped around me like a freaking loincloth.“Great,” I huffed--- and silently thanked the goddess tha
Zane's POV“This is amazing,” I exclaimed, not sure if I breathed between the next several scoops. Because not only did it taste divine, but the meat was cooked to perfection! And the grilled vegetables? I’d never in my life before wished there were more greens on my plate, but today was that day!Arella let out a soft chuckle and I looked up, catching a genuine smile on her lips. Not one of her sarcastic ones, but a real one. One that reached her eyes and her cheeks blushed once again.One that made my heart skip a beat…“Is that a compliment, or am I hearing things?” she asked, not meeting my gaze but instead focused on putting an invisible strand of hair behind her ear.And that’s when I realized---Oh, my goddess!I could yell and roar at her, subjugate her to the full force of my alpha aura---But a COMPLIMENT got to her?!A part
Zane’s POV She HAD to be human! Because only humans would ever tolerate music that loud. Seriously?! Who listened to metal rock music from back when it was still being made? And WHY did she have to listen to it with the volume all the way to 100? Hell, I had extremely good hearing and I still couldn’t make out that growling noise the guy was making. Or woman, because I refused to believe that any man could go that high. Suddenly, the room was rendered into silence and the ringing in my ear had me reaching up to try and get rid of the vacuum. “Sorry,” I heard Arella say somewhere far away. “I’m alone most of the time, so---” “What?” I questioned, my ears still ringing so loudly, I could barely hear myself. “Sorry, I think my eardrums have erupted.” And for once, I wasn’t trying to be an ass. I just
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 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
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