“Go, Slater; I shouldn’t have kept you. I’ll see you Monday after your win.”
He stares down at me. “I need to get this bracelet off you, so I can touch you again. I need your lips on mine; I need you in my arms.”
His words shake me to my very core. “I want that too.” I lick my suddenly dry lips, and his eyes track the movement. “Go.”
He gives me one last look, and then he’s gone. I stare at the closed door, wishing things were different. “Is it safe to come out now?” Quint asks in a loud whisper.
“Yes,” I call out without turning around.
“Phew. I thought you guys were going to start ripping each other’s clothes off there for a moment.”
I turn around. “I worry about you.”
His face is completely serious when he says, “Well, at least someone does.” Then he drops onto the couch, props his feet up on the coffee table and starts eating an apple.
“Tessa,” Zane says, joining us in the living room. “My dad’s on the phone; they’ve got something.” Zane and Evie stand next to me, and Quint joins us on the other side. “Okay, Tessa’s here,” Zane says.
“Hello, Tessa,” I hear Zane’s father say in his deep, authoritative voice.
“Hello, Mr. Blackwood, Alpha...Sir.” Evie snickers, and Zane grins. I don’t even bother looking at Quint.
“Just Alpha is fine, Tessa,” he graciously says. “My son told me Slate just left.”
“He did. His coach was calling him back.”
“Okay. It’s better he’s not there for this anyway.”
My stomach tightens with nerves. “Why?”
“Because we’re going to try something, and if it doesn’t work, I prefer not to have another fight take place.”
I cringe because Zane must have told him about the fight with Slate. “He was just working off some aggression,” I say before I fully think about it.
“I know. I know Slate quite well.” He doesn’t say anything more about it, and I don’t push him for information.
“So, what are we going to try?” I ask.
“Zane is going to try to break its hold over you.”
I glance at Zane, but he’s focused on the phone. “Didn’t we already try that?” I ask.
“Yes, but not in the way we’re going to do it.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I tell him before I think about it.
“If it causes you pain, Zane will stop right away.”
I meet Evie’s worried eyes, but she quickly pastes on a smile. “Okay.” I don’t really have anything to lose at this point. “What do we have to do?”
“All right, Zane. Let’s give this a go. Connect with me. I will pull power from the pack and send it directly to you. Focus that power and use it to break the chain’s hold on Tessa.”
I stand completely still, unsure what to do exactly. Then Zane takes my hand in his, and I suddenly understand why it’s better for Slater to not be here right now. I watch as Zane’s shoulder’s strain, and his eyes start to glow. He reaches out and grasps my bracelet. He grits his teeth but ends up taking a step back, as if he’s fighting an invisible foe. He grunts and pulls but nothing happens. He takes a step back. “Zane?” Evie asks, worried.
Chapter 44
Tessa
“I’m okay.”
