"Holy shit! How's Alex dealing with this?" Zach was in shock at this recent news. If Alex's parents weren't her natural ones, then who were her parents since she had a link somehow with Danny that allowed them to be mates?
"She was shocked at first, then refused to talk about it. She said she didn't want to find them or know anything about them." Danny scouted the school's parking lot as soon as Zach pulled in. His wolf was telling him Alex was near. He just had to find Madison's car.
"This whole situation is getting weird." Zach spotted where Madison was and pulled in next to her car. "Em doesn't know much about her parents. Well, she knows about her mom since she was her aunt's sister but doesn't know anything about her dad. Now, Alex thought she knew who her parents were and then finds out she was adopted." Zach could sense Emily was in Madison's car. She was supposed to pick Emily up this morning so they could go over some notes for a test coming up. He got out of his car the same time Emily opened the backdoor of Madison's.
Emily went to Zach's side and leaned in for a hug and kiss. This behavior was becoming a natural thing to do now. He took hold of her backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He held her hand with his, and they walked up the sidewalk to the school.
"Aren't we waiting for them?" Emily looked back toward Alex and Danny.
"I gave Danny the keys to my car so he could take Alex in case she didn't want to go to school today. You heard what happened, right?" Zach pulled Emily a little closer so he could put his arm around her shoulders. He loved the way she smelled, the way she felt beside him. He loved everything about her and how she made him feel. Except, he wasn't ready to tell her that just yet.
"Yeah, I talked to both Madison and Alex about it. She seems so lost, like she doesn't know exactly who she is." Emily leaned her head on Zach's side as they walked. "I tried telling her I was sort of in the same situation. My parents didn't give me away, but I still don't know my birth parents. Somewhere out there, I have a father who may or may not know he has a daughter."
Zach sensed Emily was getting depressed with all this talk and thinking. He knew how hard it was to have parents who weren't around. His mother was dead, and his father was more involved with the pack than his own sons. He pulled her over near the school and kissed her softly on the lips. He wanted to take all her pain away and make her happy. That was what a mate was supposed to do. "I lo--" A car horn beeping behind them stopped him from finishing his confession. He turned and saw Danny had Alex in the Mustang. Danny pointed toward the school exit, and Zach nodded to let him know he understood what he was referring to. The car screeched out of the school drive and onto the main road.
"Guess they're ditching school." Emily made a reference to Danny and Alex leaving. She turned back to Zach, hope written in her eyes. "What were you saying?"
"Hey, wait up." They both turned and saw Madison jogging up the sidewalk behind them. Zach let out a sigh. Guess the private time for the declaration of love was over.
***
Alex's demeanor was still withdrawn over the following week. No matter what anyone tried or said, it seemed she forced or faked every smile or laugh. Danny was worried, as was his wolf. It wasn't good for either of them to have their mate this miserable. He wasn't able to concentrate on school, and his wolf couldn't focus on tracking. He needed to get Alex out of this downward spiral she was on and show her she had him and all her friends. It didn't matter whom she came from. It was who she was now that mattered.
"We all still on for the Saturday night bash at the Lovell house?" Danny asked Zach as the group sat around eating lunch. They'd planned to have their group over for a movie night, but somehow it ended up with Jacob inviting his crew over for the get-together also.
Zach nodded it was all still a go as he crammed his fourth piece of pizza in his mouth. There were a ton of horror films on the pay-per-view channels, the ones where they'd laugh, and the girls would scream, which would make for an exciting night.
"Will your brother be there?" Madison's question brought Zach out of his thought process for the date night. It had been weeks since her and Jacob's kiss. It appeared everything had gone back to normal for him. He was still hoeing around with the whole Brindle crew. She’d caught him staring at her a couple of times, but he would always make some sarcastic remark to either Will or Anthony, and they'd bust out laughing over something he'd said about her.
"Unfortunately, he lives there. So yeah, he'll be there." Zach still hadn't gotten a straight answer out of his brother as to what he did or said to Madison that stopped her from going anywhere he might be. She hadn't gone to any of the remaining football games they all attended. She always claimed she had to help her mom or grandmother, but they knew it had something to do with Jacob being there.
"Then I think I'm busy that night." She pushed her tray away and slumped back in her chair.
"Madison, you're going." Danny put on his authoritative performance. But then his eyes softened when he looked over at how distraught she looked. "C'mon, it's for Alex." He gave her the sad puppy dog eyes. "She needs us right now." He saw out of the corner of his eye his mate was making her way back to the table after using the restroom.
Madison saw Alex coming and how she truly hadn't recovered yet after finding out about her adoption. The once happy, organized, always wanting to help everyone, beautiful girl now looked like a jumbled mess. "If he says one word, I'll leave." Danny nodded but looked relieved he got her to go.
***
Since there weren't any football games to go to tonight, and the team had made it to the playoffs and had a bye week until they played, Zach was going over Emily's for a formal meeting with her aunt. He'd met her, but they hadn't the chance yet for her to sit down and do the grueling guardian interrogation. He dressed appropriately for the occasion and exchanged his comfy jeans and T-shirt for dark gray Dockers cargo pants and some sort of cream-colored dress shirt he found hanging way back in his closet.
Zach saw Jacob in the living room as he headed out the door to his semiformal dinner affair. "No date tonight?" He stopped in quickly to find out why Jacob was still hanging around.
Jacob looked Zach up and down from head to toe. He shook his head at the one-eighty turn around Zach did with his attire in the past thirty minutes, from casual to 'I have to make an impression.' "It's either a funeral, or you're trying really hard to get laid."
"Formally meet the aunt time with Emily." Zach glanced once more in the mirror on the wall to check his hair and saw Jacob had made a face like Zach had said something that would signify a hell night.
"Have fun." Jacob's tone oozed sarcasm. "I have tracking time with Adam here in a few." He stood and brushed the Cheetos crumbs off his lap to the floor.
Zach noticed how much more muscularly defined his brother had become since football had started back, and he'd been running more with the pack. He also saw he ate the whole bag of Flaming Hots he'd bought for tomorrow. Yeah, there were more snacks out there, but those were his favorites.
"Damn it, Jacob. I bought those for tomorrow." Zach picked up the empty bag and threw it at his brother.
"So get more." Jacob scurried up the stairs before anything else could be thrown at him.
Zach glanced at the clock and saw he had fifteen minutes to make it to Emily's before he had a point or two subtracted from the perfect boyfriend score for being late. After driving ten miles over the speed limit the whole way, he made it to Emily's with five minutes to spare. He would have gotten there quicker if he could have shifted and run, but it was kind of hard to explain why he showed up naked and sweating.
The front door of Emily's home opened, and she came bounding down the two steps like she'd been seated at the window waiting for him this whole time. Zach was still overwhelmed every time he looked at her. Tonight was no exception. She had on a light-colored tight fitted dress that only came down right below the tops of her thighs. Her feet were adorned with high heels of the same color, and her hair was pulled back into a bun with just ri
nglets surrounding her face. She was his beautiful mate, and all he could think about was ripping the dress off, mating with her, and claiming her as his own.
Zach shook his head to try and erase the erotic images. He didn't need to go into dinner with Emily and her aunt with a massive hard-on, and the only thing floating around in his mind was copulating with his mate.
"Hey." Emily greeted him with a hug as soon as he stepped out of the car. She buried her face into his chest as he drew her closer and took a deep breath of the man she had grown to love over the past several months. It had been only three months since they'd officially met, and they never talked about this whole love thing, but she knew what she felt for him she never experienced before with any other guy she'd dated. She just hoped he might feel the same way some day.
Zach cupped her face and leaned down to bring it closer to his. "You. Look. Amazing," he whispered as his lips captured hers. He turned her, so she was pressed up against his car and let his hands wander down to her ass. He gripped her buttocks tightly and pulled her firmly against him. Emily let out a moan of pleasure and deepened their kiss.
"We better get in before my aunt thinks I've gotten kidnapped or something." Emily pulled back and adjusted her dress after their heated five minutes together. Zach sighed profoundly and looked like he was struggling to get a hold of himself. Emily giggled. "It won't be that bad, I promise." She tiptoed up and gave him another quick kiss. "Who knows, maybe dessert will be better than the little appetizer you just had." She waggled her eyebrows at him and strutted her stuff back up to the porch.
Zach groaned once more, adjusted the front of his pants, and then followed her into the house.
The following two hours weren't as bad as Zach had imagined. Emily's aunt Maureen was pretty down-to-earth and laid back. She didn't ask too many questions but kept the conversation rolling so that he answered questions without seemingly being grilled like in a cross-examination. They talked about school, some basic stuff about Zach's family, and he saw tons of pictures of Emily when she was younger. She was as adorable then as she was now.
Aunt Maureen declined the offer when Emily and Zach decided to drive up to the local ice cream shop to get a cone. Zach was kind of relieved just for the reason he was hoping to maybe pick up again with the act they had started when he had first arrived.
"Zach, after all this time you and Em have been dating and having this wonderful evening tonight, I still don't know your last name." Aunt Maureen was beside herself that she forgot to ask that question a long time ago.
Zach looked back over his shoulder as he and Em walked down the sidewalk towards his car. "Lovell," he shouted back to Aunt Maureen. "My dad is Derek Lovell. Do you know him?" Emily's aunt appeared a little taken back when he said the last name like she was acquainted with it or maybe knew of his mother or father.
***
Aunt Maureen tried to regain her composure. She knew the name all too well. Of all the people her niece could have fallen in love with, why did it have to be him?
Why did they move here?
What was the pull that she felt when offered the opportunity to come here?
She waved them off and went back into the house. This was not going to be a good situation at all. Emily and Zach could never be together. How could she be the one to tell them?
Chapter Nineteen
"So, did you get any with all your fancy attire last night?" Jacob was helping Zach set up for everyone coming over for the movie fest tonight.
"Wasn't looking to." Zach's mind wandered back to the previous night after he and Emily had left for ice cream. Yeah, there was ice cream involved, but there was also a lot of other sweet non-food stuff happening. He found out she wasn't ready to go any further than they'd done previously, which was cool with him. She came straight out and told him she was a virgin, and of course, that made him and his wolf even more excited. Not because she was a virgin, but because it meant no one else, as in a wolf, had laid claim to her. If, no, when it got to that point in their relationship, Zach wanted her to be sure she was ready to commit with body, mind, and soul. It was the way of the wolf, and when they found their mate, like Zach had done, there was no other.
"Bullshit." Jacob threw the pillow at him. "We're all looking to get some ass, some time or another." He picked up the pillow that had fallen. "She said no, right."
Zach looked at his brother, who was giving him that damn smirk where he knew he was right. He nodded and went back to fixing up the living room for the night. It was a rare thing for them to talk and not want to rip each other's throats out.
Jacob gave Zach a friendly slap on the back. "Don't worry, bro. Someday it will all happen, and you'll catch up with your little brother in the ladies department."
"That's the thing." Zach stopped moving the furniture around and sat down on one of the sofas. "I don't want anyone else. She's the one. I just don't know how to go about telling her."
"Like she's your mate, as in how Mom was with Dad and Rose was with Adam?" Jacob sat down on the other sofa.
Zach nodded he was correct.
"Wow." He was happy his brother had found her but worried how odd they were all finding their mates at the same time.
"So." Zach looked over at his brother, who appeared to be in deep thought. "Are you ever going to tell me the truth as to what is going on with you and Madison?"
Jacob's expression changed like he'd been taken by surprise and punched in the gut. "Why? What she say now?" He cracked his knuckles in a defensive mode.
"Madison hasn't said anything about you, but she also doesn't want to be around you." Zach leaned up on the sofa and pushed around the bowls on the table so they were straighter. "It took Danny using Alex as leverage just to get her to come tonight because she found out you were going to be here. So once again, what happened?"
Jacob sighed and thought back to the night of the dance. He shouldn't have kissed her, he shouldn't have said shit things to her, but he did. His wolf still screamed at him every time he got a glance at her aura or a whiff of her in the vicinity. He didn't know how much longer he could go with forcing himself to stay away, but he had to try. He wasn't ready for all of this, and neither was she.
"And once again, I'll tell you nothing happened between Madison and me." Jacob walked toward the stairs. He had enough of the talk about him and Madison. It was time to get ready for the night. He hoped it didn't end up as bad as the last time they were all together. "Sorry to disappoint everyone, especially Madison, but I have no interest in her at all." He ran up the stairs before Zach could see the deception written all over his face.
***
Danny had used Zach's car to go pick up Alex and Emily. Madison was driving herself over, and Will was bringing Anthony, Brindle, Heather, and Rachel. No one wanted Brindle and her whole crew to come over. They didn't get along well with anyone outside of themselves. They tried to harass Madison and Alex every opportunity they got. They hadn't started on Emily, but if they did, it would be for sure Zach would have a little chat with his dear brother Jacob.
A car horn beeping outside made Zach drop the rest of the snack bags and run outside. He made out to the Mustang as soon as Emily got out from the backseat. He scooped her up around the waist and started kissing her neck. She giggled and tilted her head back for better access.
"Guys, this isn't orgy night." Madison came around the side of her parked car and referenced the way Zach and Emily were acting.
"If you're feeling a little left out, we could always make it a threesome." Danny playfully wrapped his arm around both Alex and Madison.
Madison ducked and got out from under Danny's grip. "I think I would rather screw a--" The front door slammed shut, and everyone's attention drifted over to the house. "Jacob." Madison finished her statement.
Danny leaned down and whispered in Madison's ear."You can do so much better than that."
Madison slapped him on the arm. "It's not what I meant." Why did he always have to make an appeara
nce every time she made a comment like that?
The heavy roar of tires coming up the driveway caught everyone's attention. Will's big-wheeled truck, which looked more like it was ready for mudding than driving, sped up and spewed dust on everyone standing outside.
Jacob chuckled as he watched Zach and all his friends get covered in the dirt tornado Will's driving caused. Then, he saw Madison and his wolf got all excited, like as in he needed a cold shower aroused.
Will and Anthony grabbed a large cooler from the truck's bed, and Brindle and the other girls hurried out from the cramped small backseat.
"Don't they know it's only movie night and not some pole dancing strip club adventure?" Madison made reference to the outfits Jacob's fuck buddies had on. In contrast to her, Alex's, and Emily's usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt, these three had on short, tight dresses that clung to every curve, nook, and cranny they had. Also, each had on a pair of high-heeled pointed boots. This was November in Pennsylvania, yet these three were still dressing like it was a hot July night.
"What's in the cooler?" Emily asked Zach as they walked into the house.
"My guess, beer." He leaned down and snuggled up to her. "I'm not drinking, and you don't have to if you don't want. I made sure there was lots of soda for everyone." He knew the shifters didn't have to worry about getting drunk. Their body temp ran high enough they didn't have to worry about alcohol affecting them. On the other hand, the girls were probably all lightweights and could get drunk after one or two. He hoped Jacob would control Brindle and her girls if they decided to drink any sort of alcohol.
Emily playfully ran her fingertips up Zach's abdomen and chest. "Would you take advantage of me if I drank and got drunk?" Her tone was seductive.
Zach groaned and pushed her back against the wall. "I would take advantage of you right now if all these people weren't here." He nipped at her neck, then moved up to her mouth. Their tongues and mouths moved in a rhythmic dance.
Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1) Page 10