Page 36 of Shattered Fears

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Zain led her through the mansion up to his bedroom. She loved the old world style of the place they were in, and it gave her some comfort. She wasn’t sure why but assumed it could only come from its history and the survival of the building despite the odds. Odds that, at the moment, were against them.

Her bear lover closed the door when they entered the room, and she went to sit on his bed. Her heart was almost beating out of her chest. She was terrified of what was about to happen.

“I’m sorry.”

Zain cocked his head to look at her.

“Why are you sorry?”

“My father…” she started to speak, but he interrupted her.

“Is your father. You don’t own him or govern what he does. This doesn’t reflect on you at all. Please, don’t worry.” Zain came to crouch down in front of her. He put his large hands on her thighs. Electricity shot up her body like it always did when he touched her.

“I wanted to stop him, but instead I just went to my room like a little girl in fear of punishment from the big bad wolf.”

A smirk broke out on Zain’s face.

“Don’t use that phrase in front of Tyler. He gets a bit moody about it unless it relates to him trying to prowl into Teagan’s panties.”

She slapped lightly at his hand.

“Now isn’t the time for jokes. I'm serious. My father wants to prove shifters exist and rid the world of the danger he thinks you pose. They tranquilized my own brother. I’m terrified of what they are doing to him. What if they’re hurting him?”

Zain leaned forward and kissed her on the tip of the nose. An intimate gesture of comfort.

“Your brother’s stronger than you give him credit for. He’s known about the possibility of this for a long time, and he’s been prepared for it. We all have. It always amazes me how shifters have remained hidden for this long. The world will see we’re not the wild animals some people portray us to be. That we can live side by side with humans, just as we have done for thousands of years.”

“I fear your optimism may be misguided. Have you not seen all the movies where we perform tests on aliens simply because they’re different? Humans have little tolerance for that which is out of the ordinary. We’re xenophobic, believing we own this earth, and it’s our right to bully anything that does not conform or is unusual in any way.”

“That’s a minority of people. Not everyone’s that way. Look at you and Kingsley. Neither of you want to dissect us to see if we’re the same as you inside. You both instantly accepted us as a part of your lives. Izzy, you allow me into your body, to join with you as one. That compassion is shared by millions, no billions of others.”

“But a few fear-mongers will cause all the problems. Are you really telling me there aren’t shifters who want to do humans harm? To rid the earth of us. I know you can’t because I met two this afternoon who want to do just that. A war is going to start between humans and shifters, and it scares the hell out of me.”

Zain ran his hand over her cheek, and she rested her chin on it.

“I never wanted you to have to make a decision like this. It’s why I left. You’re right, a war is coming. I think it will start, today. Your father may not have proof that I’m a shifter just yet, but with the information Nuka has given him, he won’t rest until he gets it. He’ll never allow us to be together. His grandchildren would be shifters: bear cubs. He won’t allow that to happen.” She gulped at his words. The thought of children with Zain should bring great joy to her, but the knowledge that her father would want them caged like wild animals brought bile to her throat instead.

“I can’t,” she whispered. He brought her into his arms as she broke down and sobbed. She’d had her whole life on hold for too long, but then Zain had come back into it, and she’d found joy that she didn’t know existed. Now, it was crumbling all around her. All she wanted to do was live and love life. Why did fate conspire against her? What had she done to deserve this? She’d always been a good girl. She’d done her homework on time, had good grades, eaten everything given to her even if she felt sick from the disgusting taste. She respected her elders. She went to church; ok not all the time, but she did go, and said her prayers before bed. She was the good American girl her father needed her to be for his position as a senator, and all of it had been a lie. It was simply a cover for this other role where he wanted to torture and kill people who happened to have special abilities. It was unfair, and she was done being a doormat. She was going to take her own fate into her hands.

“I’m going to my father to tell him I’m leaving, and I want nothing more to do with him.” She pushed Zain back and had a look of resolve on her face although her hands were trembling. “It may shock him enough to stop whatever he’s doing. I’ve always been his little girl. It should count for something.”

Zain let go of her and stood up. He ran his hand through his beard and leaned against the wall of his room.

“If that’s what you want to do, I can’t stop you, but I don’t think it’ll do any good. Your father will never let you go. As you say, you’re daddy’s little girl: he worships you and wants to control you. You’ve been his surrogate partner in many ways, considering how useless your mother is. Kingsley and I have spoken about it often; it was a seemingly endless cycle of trying to figure out how we could change it, but we never found an answer. It’s another reason why I left.”

“No.” She stood up and interrupted him. “I’m my own woman. He can’t control me forever.”

Zain swallowed deeply. “Suppose he says that if you walk away from me, then he’ll leave the Glacial Blood pack and me alone?”

“Don’t.” She shook her head.

“I mean it, Izzy, because it’s exactly what he’ll say. He’ll tell you that he won’t touch us, to get you to stop seeing me, and then he’ll find every means to capture us without you knowing.” Zain shook his head and rubbed his hand over his forehead. He was frustrated, she could tell, and so was she. Why was he saying these things? She was convinced that she could get her father to change his mind. Didn’t he love her enough to respect her? If he knew that she was in love with Zain, surely he wouldn’t hurt anyone? Then the image of her brother being shot, came back into her head. No, he would. He’d hurt Zain and lie to her. If he could do something like that to his own son, then he was beyond help. He was lost to his misguided cause. She slid down onto the floor, and the tears started again. She hated the woman she was, at that moment. She was weak, feeble, and unable to help the man that she loved deeply.

Zain wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you, Izzy. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I made the promise never to leave you again, and I meant it. We’ll figure this out together. You have my word. Together. We’ll do this together.”

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