Zara’s POV
“Zara, break’s over, Baby Girl. I just sat booth eighteen for ya. It’s a three top.” Toya, the hostess, interrupts my lunch break that turned into a spontaneous mini study session.
“Thank you, Toya.” I hook a pencil in my notebook and shove it all in my backpack.
“Zara, something’s wrong. I just don’t know what.” Lavender was suddenly at attention.
“It’s because I got interrupted, Lavender.” I dismiss her concerns. “It startled me. I’m just stressed with all the homework assignments and still having to work. Everything's fine.”
“Maybe it’s time to ask for fewer shifts?” She worries.
“I’ll consider it at the end of the semester.” I do my best to appease m
Keller’s POV “Jas, where are you now?” I make a hard left as we get closer to town. “I’m outside the gate of this community called Crystal Lake. It's to the south, about twenty minutes outside of town. Zara said she wanted to go to the hospital here. The medic said they are familiar.” I’ve never heard Jasper sound so worried in my life. “They let the ambulance in, but they wouldn’t let me past the front gate.” “Yeah. We know where it is. It's a private community with their own hospital. Mom has friends there. Just wait for us. We'll get you in.” The light turns red, forcing me to brake hard. “Thank you, Jasper.” “You don’t need to thank me, dude. Zara’s your roommate. I would do anything for her.” He sounds hesitant. “Keller, those chicks really messed her up. I don’t know what Zara ever did to them, but I’m glad I walked into the Cozy Up
Time seems to have stopped, so I don’t know how long it is before I feel Mom’s hand on my back. “Are you okay, Honey?” “Mom, no, I’m not okay. Look what they did to her.” I look up at Mom. Behind her Jasper is behind her, wiping tears out of his eyes. “She was at the diner working. It’s not like she was somewhere by herself.” I look back up at Zara and hold her hand up to my cheek, trying desperately to feel the mate bond, but it’s still not there. I hope she can feel it. Can she feel me here? “Zara? Can you hear us?” Mom looks at Zara with worry and lightly touches her forehead. Seeing how gentle Mom treats Zara makes me smile through my tears. Years of having to deal with Jensen, Skylar, and me have given her a tough skin. It makes me feel better knowing she’s on Zara’s side. A small groan comes from Zara’s chest that could be mistaken for a growl. She
The scent of a male wolf wakes me up with a protective growl. Doctor Zhang is standing at the foot of the bed whispering to a nurse while they look at Zara’s folder.“You can stand down, Keller. I’m just checking in on Zara.” He holds his hands up in surrender.“Sorry, Doctor.” I feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment.“No worries. Happens all the time.” He gives me a warm grin. “We’re supposed to be protective of our mates. Especially if they are sick or injured.”He has me wake Zara up so he can check her over. As soon as she sees the doctor, she freezes up and presses her body firmly against me. The wave of fear overwhelms me for a moment until I’m able to collect myself. It takes about twenty minutes to convince her and Lavender that they are safe before she relaxes and lets the doctor examine her. When the nurse tries to move the bed to take Zara for x-rays, she freaks out again and it takes another
When we get back to the car, I help Zara into the passenger side and buckle her seatbelt.“Thanks for all your help, Greg. I really don’t know how to repay you.” I shake his hand before I get in the car.“You can repay me by making sure that young lady stays safe,” He winks, “and gets accepted by her mate sooner than later.”I look at the ground and nod. “I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”I climb into the car and make my way down the main road toward the front gate. I glance over at Zara to make sure she’s okay. She’s looking out the window, with her hands fidgeting in her lap.“How do you feel, Pocket? Ready to get home?”“Keller, I want to do something special to thank Jasper for saving me,” she taps her finger on her mouth while she looks out the window.“Okay, did you have something in mind?”I lean over, pull a little leaf out of her hair, and hand it to her.
“Zara, can I come in?” I put my ear to the door. I give her a minute to answer, but there’s silence from the room. “What are you waiting for? Go!” Rocky huffs impatiently at me. “Zara, I’m coming into the bedroom to check on you.” I turn the knob and push the door halfway open. When I peek inside, I don’t see Zara in the bedroom, but the bathroom door is ajar, and the light is on. Something seems off. I listen closely and hear her heart pounding fast. “Zara?” I slowly press the bathroom door open until it bumps against something soft. I look down and see her feet blocking the door from moving further. Rocky whines as he paces nervously, “You need to help her!” I twist my head inside the door and see Zara laying on the marble floor with her forearms over her face. Her chest is heaving in silent sobs. She’s only wearing her underwear
Between the bathtub and ice packs, I’m able to keep Zara’s body temperature under control, but just barely. Every time I leave and come back into the room, her skin is turning pink again, so I keep going. Repeating the process of cool baths and ice packs over and over. I get a notification that I have a delivery. I look at my watch. It’s already four-thirty. When I open the door, a man with a cart full of bags of ice comes in, followed by another guy with a giant ice maker like you would see in a restaurant. They fill my freezer and hook up the ice maker, showing me how to use it before they leave. There’s only one person who could have made this happen. I pull out my phone and send a text. Keller: Thanks Mom Amy: Take care of her, Honey. She needs you. I look at the text and frown. Yeah, Zara needs someone, but it’s not me. I make my way down to Zara’s room to tell her the good news about the ice delivery. When I open the door,
When I check on Zara later in the day, she’s sleeping peacefully. Her cheeks appear to be back to their normal tinge of pink compared to the angry red her face was earlier in the day.As much as Rocky thinks I should climb into bed and snuggle up with her, I know I can’t do that. I press a heat sensitive strip from my duffle bag lightly against her forehead, making her sigh in her sleep, but she doesn’t wake up. As far as I can tell, what we did earlier helped break her fever. I don’t know how long it will last, but I’m grateful for any relief she has during her heat.I’m not sure if I can control myself if she wants me to do it again, though.While I wait for the strip to warm up, I tilt my head and consider her angelic features. Sometimes I wonder if she’s real. I resist the impulse to brush away the long blonde hair that looks like corn silk laying against her round cheek. I can’t help but notice how naturally thin she i
Zara’s POV “I can’t stay here anymore, Lavender,” I exhale the breath I was holding and wipe the tears away once Keller leaves. “Keller says he doesn’t want me, but he gets mad if I want to be with anyone else. You saw how he reacted earlier this week. He didn’t even want to be near me after I had an orgasam. He left right away. I should have never let him touch me.” “I take responsibility for that Zara,” Lavender apologizes. “I was just trying to help get your body temperature down.” “It’s okay, Lavender. I mean, it worked, but you heard what Jasper said. Keller feels obligated to take care of me because of Amy. It’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Having me stay here because of his mom? Touching me like that, even though he doesn’t want to be my mate? It’s like I’m one of those women he brings home then kicks out in the morning, except he doesn’t kick me out. I-I just need to go.” “I understand, Zara. Let’s at least wait until Sunday when you finish your h