Page 81 of Awakened
Realizing I was literally jealous of a dead woman, I cut the bitchy, whiny shit out. Perspective was a real motherfucker, but sometimes super necessary.
I really was a piece of shit.
His mate was dead. That was what he wouldn’t tell me over the past year. Why would he hide a dead mate? Why did he hide his connection with my dad? Fear settled into the pit of my stomach as I read through the rest of the info.
- Perkins & Cain were set to meet on 8/3 in Columbia, but Perkins never showed
- Cain called the local PD and was told he had to wait 24 hours to file a missing persons report. Her body was found shortly after
“Whatcha looking at, Sunshine?” I nearly leapt out of my skin at Zach’s face, grinning over my shoulder.
“Goddess, Zach! Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”
His smile faded as he read what was on the screen. “Where did you get this?” He slammed the laptop closed, agitated. “You shouldn’t be reading that.”
Zach started pacing, pressing his palms to his eyes. His hands whipped to his sides and balled into fists, only to flex back out. For a solid five minutes, I didn’t speak as he paced the room, panting. I sat there trying to figure out if I should be afraid of him or worried for him. His erratic, heavy breathing certainly didn’t help the situation.
“Why, Zach? What happened?”
He abruptly turned toward me, looking at me like he hadforgotten someone else was in the room. Tears welled up in his eyes, and a frown creased his forehead. He pulled me out of the chair and into his chest, crushing me in a hug, but my body refused to relax into his. His normally calming citrus scent was sour to my nose. My arms hung limply at my sides, not wrapped around his waist like usual. I still wasn’t sure what role he played in his mate’s death, making me too scared to take or give comfort.
“They killed her, Les. They killed her.”
“Who, Zach?”
“Her pack. The Crescent Pack.”
I pushed back so I could gauge his reaction. “She wasn’t listed in their registry. The pack said they didn’t know who she was.”
“They’re fucking liars!” he shouted, and a little spit landed on my nose.
I roughly wiped my face and took a step away from him.
I’d only ever felt safe with Zach, but in that moment, I wasn’t sure what he was capable of. He was exuding a raw power that would have knocked a lesser wolf on their ass, and seeing this animal side was terrifying. His unchecked anger scared me, and that pissed me right the fuck off.
My chest rumbled with a warning growl. He needed to calm down, or I would put him down.
Remorse softened his face, and he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Les, that was uncalled for.” He reached for me, but I jerked away with a glare. He looked hurt, but I didn’t care. At this point, he was either complicit in his mate’s death or innocent and taking his anger out on me. Either way, I wasn’t a fan.
With a defeated sigh, he continued in a calmer tone. “I met her when I was sent to close the deal on a piece of property. Gamma Perkins called her into his office to bring us drinks.” He slumped down in a chair.
“She was so beautiful, Les. She had shiny black hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. She was this tiny little thing.” He wistfully smiled. “I was afraid they weren’t feeding her enough.”
Rubbing his chest, his eyes became unfocused. “I felt anoverwhelming sense of belonging and a desire to hold her. When I stood to approach her, Gamma Perkins stepped in between us.”
Zach shook his head, his smile fading. “He told me I had two choices. Join the Crescent pack and have my mate, or forget I ever met Grace. That’s how I learned her name. I hadn’t even known her name, but I knew I was hers.” He looked up into my eyes. “Can you imagine falling in love with someone and not even knowing their name?”
There was no missing the honesty in his voice.
He’s not the bad guy.
Without realizing it, I’d closed the distance between us as he talked. I squeezed his shoulder to encourage him to continue, to let him know I was there for him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, his scruff poked through my shirt as he rested his cheek on my chest. I relaxed in his embrace, finally offering the comfort he so badly needed.
Zach was quiet for a few minutes. I didn’t want to push him, but I needed to know more to understand what we were up against when it came to the Old Church Packs. “What happened after?”
His gaze dropped to the floor. “I laughed, thinking it was a joke, but then I saw Grace’s face and knew he was serious. I told him I wouldn’t be leaving my pack but would like to get to know Grace since we were mates. I thought mates meant something to them. Apparently, it only matters if you are joining their pack. He gave me the deed to the purchased land and asked me to leave, so I slipped Grace a scrap of paper with my name and phone number on it.”
He rubbed his nose against my collarbone and shut his eyes tight. “I should’ve taken her with me right then, but I had no idea. I didn’t realize how fucked up that pack really was.”
