Page 59 of Unbreakable Bond
She wasn’t Michael’s anything. She belonged with Rafe. He was hermate.
“Jesus, Zo.” Michael muttered, “Take it easy. I told you I accept Rafe’s claim on you. I get it. You’re not… mine… you’re just, pack. You’re pack and I’m Pack Alpha. Do you know what that means? Can you understand me? Because I need you to understand me before I do what I have to dohere.”
Zoey swallowed the knot in her throat as she processed past her wolf’s line of thinking. Pack. Just like she’d thought when she entered the clearing. She was pack. Moirae pack. She just hadn’t thought it through to the logical conclusion. That made Michael herAlpha.
NotRafe.
Her mind whirled as she tried to figure out the rest of Michael’s statement. What did he have to do? She knew that tone of voice, even through the fog of her wolf’s simpler mind. She knew that something was going to happen, she just didn’t know what and her wolf backpedaledsuspiciously.
“Stop.” Michael’s voice held that deep undercurrent again and this time, she registered it for what it was even as her wolf froze in hertracks.
Power. It flowed out of Michael’s throat like a voice unto itself. It coasted over her fur and sank into her skin. It rolled through her veins and she struggled on instinct. She tried to move, tried to back further away from him but her limbs didn’t work and the harder she tried to pull, the stronger the hold on herbecame.
“Easy now.” Michael softened and stepped forward again, holding his hands out in a way meant to keep her calm, “EasyZoey.”
He was coming at her like she was an animal that would spook if he moved too quickly. Which, she supposed she was. Her wolf whimpered but stopped struggling against the hold that Michael’s voice had put on her. Then it hither.
He’d used his Alpha voice on her. Oh, oh, she’d only thought she recognized his power over the pack before, when she’d been human. She hadn’t. She really, really hadn’t. She hadn’t known he could do this. Control a member of the pack through nothing but a demand. And he’d used it onher.
She bared her teeth at him and Michael chuckled, “There’s the Zoey I know. That’s it. You just figured it out didn’t you? What I meant when I said you’re mine? You figured out I can make you do anything just by saying it and that pisses you off, doesn’tit?”
Her wolfgrowled.
“Yeah, that’s it Zo. Get mad at me. That’s fine. You want it to stop? Shift. Shift back for me so I don’t have to makeyou.”
Make her. Shift. Zoey struggled for the surface again. Panic was hitting her hard. He could make her shift. That brought back memories of the first shift in the woods. It had hurt so much and she’d wanted it. How much worse would it be if she fought it? She had a feeling her wolf was going to fight it and it was going to be pureagony.
“Yeah.” Michael dropped to his heels and his voice dropped into a whisper, “Don’t make me do this, Zo. Please. Don’t make me hurt you. You know I can’t stand seeing you inpain.”
Her wolf whined. She whimpered from inside her own skin. She was struggling, trying to break to the surface but she didn’t know how. Damnit she didn’t know how! She wanted to come back. She needed to come back. She needed to find Rafe and get him back. But she couldn’t find a way to claw her way back to the surface and her wolf was too panicked and agitated to give upcontrol.
Michael sighed heavily, “We’re wasting time. I need to be checking on the rest of the pack. I need to figure out what happened and who did it. I need to go after Rafe. But you and I both know before I can deal with any of that I have to take care ofyou.”
Her wolfwhimpered.
“You’re family, Zo. I have to take care of you.” Michael started to reach out, as if he was going to stroke her fur but then seemed to think better of it and pulled his hand back, “Are you ready?” His brows knit together and he closed his eyes, his voice had dropped back into that powerful baritone, “Shift, Zoey. Now.Shift.”
The words hit her like a punch to the gut and her wolf hissed. Zoey screamed as her bones cracked and her muscles seized. It was agony. Pure agony as her wolf howled and her throat went raw with the sound of her screams. She doubled over, panting and sweating and the world went fuzzy and then completelyblack.
“Zoey?” Michael’s voice roused her back into consciousness and her eyes flickered open, the world coming back intofocus.
She was on the ground, curled up in the fetal position. Everything hurt. Literally everything, even her teeth hurt. She thought she might puke so she pulled air in and out of her lungs slowly. Trying to steady herself and find her equilibrium. Her body was wracked with pains and she moaned as she tried to situpright.
“Easy, now.” This time Michael’s hands closed around her upper arms, guiding her into a sitting position and she winced at his strength, “Sorry. Sorry. I know it hurts. I’msorry.”
“Rafe…” Her voice came out a harsh croak and she met Michael’s eyes, “We have to findRafe.”
“Zo…” Michael scrubbed a hand over his face but she reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away and forcing him to look ather.
“He’s hurting. He’s scared and alone and…” Her voice broke and she didn’t even realize she was crying until Michael softly brushed the stray tears off her cheeks, “Michael,please…”
“I’ll get him back for you, Zoey. I promise I will. Just let me take care of youfirst.”
“No.” She tried to shove up to her feet to go after her mate herself but her legs were too weak to hold her weight and Michael had to catchher.
“Goddamnit Zoey. You never listen to me.” He swept her up into his arms and she became instantly and embarrassingly aware that she wasnaked.
Naked as the day she was born. In front of the entire pack. Her skin against Michael’s as he carried her. And it felt wrong, so wrong. She shivered and tried to cover herself but Michael onlychuckled.
