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
“Zara? Hey! What are you doing here?” Sam comes up to me with a warm smile. “Hi, Sam. I’m waiting for the property manager. You know, looking for an apartment,” I shrug and give him an awkward smile. Sam’s eyebrows pull together, and he takes a piece of paper out of a folder. “Oh.” “Oh?” I look at him, confused. He holds the paper up to me. “Is this you? Is this your email address?” The paper has the email I sent requesting to see the apartment with my email address at the top. “Yes? Why do you have it?” I feel a pit forming in my stomach. “Uh, well, I’m the property manager. It came from a university email address, but you forgot to sign your name in the email, so I didn’t know it was… you,” he rubs the back of his neck with his hand, “Still want to see the apartment?” S. Campbell? Sam Campbell. Crap. I’m so dumb. For as sweet as Sam is, he’s not very good at keeping a secret. I look into his cheerful brown eye
“Now what, Lavender?” I blink tears out of my eyes. Lavender stopped running when we got to a local human park. She found a park bench near soccer fields so I could sit down and catch my breath. “Well, it sounds like we should stay with Keller until you can really search and find a room that doesn’t have the insurance requirement. I think we need to make sure it’s somewhere wolves from the pack can’t find us?” She puts in her two cents. “Yeah. I hate that plan, but I think you’re right. It could take a while to find a room since I don’t have references. We don’t really have another choice other than living in the woods. It’s getting too cold for that.” I frown with defeat. We sit in silence for a while, watching teams practice. I don’t want to go back to the penthouse. Not yet. I just want to sit with my thoughts. Every time I turn around, another piece of my life falls apart. If I just sit here, maybe I can avoid doing more damage. “Do you think you’
Keller’s POV “Zara, can you hear me?” I pat her cheeks, but she is out like a light. “She’s barely strong enough to feel her own emotions, Keller. She can’t handle yours, too,” Rocky scolds me. “Why are you being so mean to our mate?” “I wasn’t trying to be mean. She wouldn’t believe me, so I thought I could show her,” I sniff back the tears as I pick her up and take her to her room, “I know I screwed up, Rocky. I thought I could fix things if I told her she could leave. I didn’t realize it would make it worse.” I lay Zara down on her bed and sit on the edge, watching her sleep. What the Hell is wrong with me? How do I make this right? Why can’t I just make a stupid decision? She thinks I’m messing with her; toying with her emotions. That’s the last thing I want. I want what’s best for her. Obviously, this isn’t it. As much as I don’t want to lose her, I need to be realistic. I can’t keep stringing her along. Even if I accept her, I don’
“Dad, things around here are… deteriorating. Fast.” I pace in my room with my phone up to my ear. “Zara is not okay. I bought two weeks, but after that, I think she’ll be gone with the wind.” “You need to convince her to stay, Keller. Williams is dragging his feet, but the Alpha Regent’s people called our lawyers about Rocky. They understand the connection between the attacks. We are trying to work it out so Zara doesn’t need to be present for her safety, but it’s not looking good.” Dad sounds exhausted. “If Zara isn’t there to testify… well, I don’t think it will be good for anyone if Zara isn’t there.” “Dad, at this point, I’m not even worried about what would happen to me. If I go to prison, then I will deal with the consequences of my actions.” I flop back on the bed and rub my fingers over my forehead. “I can’t keep hurting her.” “Keller, is there more going on than just legal problems? You sound really stressed out.” Dad’s voice is still tired, but he s