Page 68 of The Boy With The Sharp Teeth
Shehad thought of asking him what it was like being a wolf, but stopped herself.Asking that question felt like skipping ahead of the millions of otherquestions her mind still desperately needed. The concept of his ability tochange still resisted the logical side of her mind. Each time she rememberedhis body breaking and conforming before her, it felt as if her mind hit somesort of hole in the road, causing it to judder and trip. How could that havebeen real? How could the midnight wolf that turned up at her door at night beZach? Although, she thought with a scowl, she should have known. His silentdemanding nature and wily tricks to get her to feed him and pet him was verymuch like Zach. Even the memories of first seeing him at the quarry pond thatday while she dressed and his tail wagged, was so very much Zach. But it wasthe recurring images from her dreams, from that night, that stole the smilefrom her lips. Glimpses of the monstrous beast that stood over her as she laytrembling in the dirt, the dark fur and deadly black claws that promised asight so savage and terrifying she was sure it would have broken her if she hadturned and fully looked that night years ago.
Asif sensing her fear, something she noted he had always been good at, and nowshe knew why, Zach had held her close last night, whispering soothing words ofcomfort in her ear—telling her that even inthatform, he had known her andonly thought of keeping her safe. Nodding, Sana had closed her eyes and tuckedherself deeper into his strong chest, inhaling the scent of his hot skinpressed against her face.
Justbefore he fell asleep, she asked him if that meant that the rest of the Katzielegend had been true. Were there four other clans around the world with thesame gift as him? With a yawn that bared his sharp teeth in a quick gapingflash, Zach nodded with a grunt against the top of her head.
"Coveringevery continent," he confirmed. "Not just wolves—witches too. Witchesand their warlock sons and even a few known demon-like creatures here andthere," he mumbled.
Sanahad laid there with her eyes as round as saucers as she waited for Zach tocontinue, but after a few dragging seconds, she had realized he was fastasleep. For the rest of the night, she laid there, her mind racing with all theinformation he had given her. Men who could turn into wolves, women who heldthe title of witches, boys born from witches called warlocks, and—demons. Herbreath caught as she wondered what in the world could that moniker mean inlayman terms.
"Ms.Bhatt?" a voice asked, breaking into her thoughts.
Startled,Sana turned and looked up at a tall man with a buzz cut and a kind smile.Wearing a similar tan uniform, she had seen the new sheriff of Tarki wearing,she could only assume this was the sheriff of Gaulding.
"Yes,hi," she answered, standing up from her chair. "I'm afraid you caughtme daydreaming," she laughed.
"Ididn't mean to disturb. I always felt that daydreaming is an importantpastime," the officer gave her a wink, and Sana really looked at him.
Familiargreen eyes with flecks of gold, the man stood stall next to her. The hard cutlines of his face gave even his genial smile a bit of a serious undertone toit, making someone on the receiving end question its depth. Perfect for anofficer, she thought.
"HeyGarret," Jax called from over Sana's shoulder, and she turned to see himand Alessia walking back over towards them. "What brings you all the wayout here?"
"Justsurveying the town and all its inhabitants, and also maybe fending off callsfrom a madman who lost his girlfriend," Garret answered in a dry, sardonictone.
Bothwomen frowned in confusion at his explanation. A slow smirk crept across Jax'sface as he looked at Sana. "Did you by chance not tell your boyfriend wewere meeting earlier than scheduled?"
Realizingwhat they were alluding to, Alessia let out a soft laugh while Sana felt ablush creep up her neck. Garret grinned at her while Jax chuckled.
"Itseems I got a very angry, if not desperate, call from Zach saying that hiswoman is missing, and I need to check my area while he was in the process oftearing apart Tarki,” Garret informed her happily.
"GoodLord," Sana grumbled as she reached into her pocket for her phone."Why didn’t the man just call me?"
Hiswoman,she thought with an indignant huff even as she felt her ears heat from theembarrassment. Clicking on her phone screen, she paused and paled a bit. Twentymissed calls. Oh no, it had been on silent!
"Umm…"Looking up to Garret, Sana felt her blush deepen as she caught the knowing lookin his eyes as he glanced at her phone. "I should probably go callhim."
Steppingaway before her embarrassment could get any worse, she dialed Zach's phone. Heanswered on the first ring.
"Sana!"The harsh rumbling shout had equal notes of relief and anger swirling withinit. "Just where the hell have you-"
"ZachariahWaatese!" she snapped. The authority and anger bristling in her toneimmediately hushed him on the other end of the line. "What were youthinking calling the sheriff to look for me! I told you I had a meeting withJax today to go over some final measurements and plans!"
"Yeah,but that was supposed to be for later this afternoon. It's nine-thirty in themorning Sana, I woke up only to find you gone!" he practically roared intothe phone.
Despitehis bluster, she could hear the pain in his voice and hesitated.
"Zach,"she whispered, walking a few steps further from the group as she tried toimagine the strong lines of Zach's face. His jaw would no doubt be ticking inanger, and his lambent eyes would be glittering with emotion.
Therewas a beat of silence on the other end before he finally spoke. "I told yousomething very important last night…something not just anybody couldunderstand…"
Guiltclutched at her heart as she realized what he was trying to say. "Oh Zach,I didn't leave because of that. Honestly,” she soothed. “I woke up to use thebathroom, and my phone went off, and I saw that Jax said he could get there asearly as now to do the surveying of the land, and I figured earlier would bebetter, so then I would have my afternoon free."
Therewas a beat of silence on the other end.
"Dammit,I feel stupid now," he groused, and she could just imagine him dragging ahand through his hair in annoyance. "Why couldn't you just wake me up andtell me?" he groaned.
Sheremembered his sleeping face half-buried into his pillow and smiled. She hadkissed his forehead before leaving, but he didn’t even stir.
"Youwere dead tired. I wasn't going to wake you."
