“Because I’ve worked hard. I trained, I followed orders, and I’ve been loyal to my family,” I snap back, feeling as the suppressant slowly loosens its grip on me, allowing more anger to rise to the surface. “They just need to be reminded of that, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
He just looks at me then, and his expression is caught somewhere between irritated and withdrawn. “That’s insane, and you know it.”
“What’s insane,” I shoot back, closing the distance between us, “is you thinking you know anything about what I’ve been through, or what I need to do.”
“I know enough.”
“No, you don’t,” I say, my voice low and deliberate now. “You left. You walked away. You don’t understand what it means to stay. To fight for what matters.”
“I understand loyalty,” he argues, unable to hide the way my insistence gets under his skin. “I also understand that brute forcing something doesn’t always make it work.”
“Running the moment something gets hard doesn’t either.”
For a second, something raw and unnamable flickers across his face before it disappears behind that controlled mask again, and it doesn’t help my temper.
“You saw an opportunity at that auction,” I continue. “A way to get leverage and information. Maybe even use me against my pack. But don’t pretend you did any of this to help me. I don’t believe it.”
His expression shifts just enough for me to catch. It’s not exactly guilt, but it isn’t anger either. It looks tighter somehow, like it’s preventing him from saying what he wants to, even if he’s trying.
“You really think that little of me?”
“What I think is a result of what you’ve shown me,” I return, unwilling to back down. “You fought against us in Coldreach. You built your life outside the pack system, and now suddenly you’re here, dropping millions to ‘save’ me? That doesn’t make any sense, Zane.”
The air between us feels like it’s about to ignite as more silence settles, and for a beat, I have no idea what direction the conversation will go in. I can’t predict what he might say, and it leaves a weird feeling in my chest.
“Believe whatever you want, but it won’t make you feel better, and it doesn’t change the situation.”
“And what situation is that?”
“That you’re not going anywhere,” Zane says, leaving no room for questions or arguments, regardless of how they’re already bubbling up inside me.
Before I can get a grip of myself, I snap, and the words come out low like a warning. “No. I’m leaving, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Not waiting for him to respond, I’m already moving toward the door with every instinct in me screaming to move and to act. To keep him or anyone else from controlling this.
Just as my fingers curl around the handle, he’s there, far too fast.
His hand slams against the door just above mine, blocking it before I can pull it open. The impact reverberates through the wood, solid and unyielding, and I freeze as my body reacts before my mind can catch up.
Without needing to see him, I feel just how close he is while his body heat permeates my skin, sending an annoying shiver down my spine. Then, I turn slowly, back pressing against the door as I look up at him.
Zane cages me in without touching me, one arm braced beside my head while the other is close enough that I can feel even more of his proximity. His presence is overwhelming yet steady in a dangerous kind of way, like he’s coiled and waiting for his chance to put me in my place again.
Even as my heart stutters, I don’t look away from him.
“Move,” I say, my voice steady despite the way my pulse has suddenly picked up.
“No.”
The response is quiet, yet unyielding. Neither of us is willing to concede in this, even if it’s only making things worse.
“I’m not asking.”
“I know.”
“Then get out of my way,” I utter, jaw tight while I just barely hold back from doing something incredibly stupid.
Zane’s brown eyes bore into mine, showing no signs of stopping. “Not happening.”
