I scrambled to catch up, but the truth stayed under my skin, burning. Eventually, I’d get him alone. I’d figure out what it was about Nick that pulled me in, making me restless and hungry.
I couldn’t wait.
6
ZETH
The jeep rattled over potholes, kicking up dust against the windows as my thoughts ricocheted like loose parts in the engine.
What the fuck was that? What the flying fuck was that?
My hand tore through my hair, tugging hard until sparks of pain danced across my scalp—anything to shove away the burn of what I’d just witnessed. Anything to drown out what I’d just felt.
I should’ve looked away the moment Nova’s eyes snapped open at the sight of that turned wolf, but I couldn’t. I should’ve pretended I didn’t see, didn’t care. Instead, I leaned in, heart hammering as golden-pink flecks ignited in her pupils like embers fanned to life.
I saw the way her knuckles whitened around her leather sleeve the moment his fist smashed into flesh, the snap of bone echoing in her widened gaze. My chest felt aflame with questions I had no right to ask yet couldn’t stop myself from wondering. What did she feel when his eyes met hers? Why had she hesitated when I called her name?
Not knowing was as irritating as angry ants crawling all over me. Ihadto know, had to find out the truth. I had the power to do that at my fingertips… even if something inside told me not to cross that line. I’d never seen her eyes shine like that for anyone but me all those years ago.
Against my better judgment, I’d reached for my demon power, letting the invisible tendrils of my magic brush against her so softly she didn’t notice, so focused on the fight in front of her. As soon as her feelings flooded me, I regretted it.
The first thing that hit me was attraction. No big deal. She’d been attracted to other men before, and while it was annoying, it never went further than that. Nothing more than a flicker she’d never let catch. Not worth my time or effort when I was the one by her side.
Ever since the situation with Liam five years ago, attraction was something she’d feel but snuff out before it grew into anything more. She had cracked open that door, peeked through, then slammed it shut before the air could change.
Staring out the window, I reminded myself that even her urges were mechanical. I knew about the pack nights, the faceless bodies, a release she needed so she wouldn’t explode. Those nights, I drank myself to sleep, but I understood it. It was an itch she needed to scratch. Once that wolfish urge had been relieved, she would shut the door in their faces. No repeats. No names. They meant nothing to her.They were nothing.
And that was exactly how I liked it becauseIwas the one who mattered. I was the one she actually trusted and laughed with. The one she leaned on when the weight of the world pressed too heavily. I was her anchor, her sounding board, her safe choice.Me.
Which was more important than a warm body for a few worthless minutes of animal aggression.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
Just the thought of her eyes on him had my nails biting into my palms, but it wasn’t enough to cut through the pain and despair clawing in the back of my mind because I knew the truth. I’dfeltit.
It was interest. Real fuckinginterest. This wasn’t a door creaking open; it felt like a crack in the lock, the kind that would grow if you let it.
It started small. A spark when their eyes met. But with every move he made, every second of that fight, it grew, while I just sat there, feeling like someone was driving a knife straight through my chest.
If I were a wolf, I’d have growled so loudly the entire place would’ve heard. Maybe I would’ve leapt down and ripped him apart right there in front of her, just to remind him who he was looking at, or more like who he wasnotallowed to look at.
I didn’t. I stayed frozen, choking on the sweet taste of her interest while fury gnawed at me from the inside out.
“You good, Z?” Her voice cut through my spiral. She turned in her seat, hair drifting free of its braid, eyes soft with concern. It nearly eased the pain in my chest—nearly.
Those gold-threaded, rose-hued eyes searched mine, soft with concern forme.It almost made me smile. Almost made me forget the knife still twisting in my chest. I loved it when she looked at me like that, giving me all her attention. In those softmoments, she let me in. Looked at me the same way she did before I left, before my power got ahold of her.
“Uh—yeah,” I rasped, yanking my hand away and rubbing at my chest as if to smother the ache.
Think. Cover. Say something.
“Just… indigestion?” The words came out half-question, half-stammer.Idiot.
Her eyes narrowed on me, and when I didn’t back down, she rolled her eyes, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “Zeth, don’t tell me you ate another bag of flaming hot Cheetos. I told you not to eat the whole bag.”
I shrugged and played the guilty card, hoping she bought it.
She laughed, and just like that, the knots in my gut came undone. Her laugh always did that, smoothed me out, quieted the chaos. She only laughed like that withme. Only let her guard down withme.
