“Me too” Geron, our empath, added. “I could feel the healing and peace from the people here. It was palpable.”
“They have a massage center,” Kevin added, moving closer to Zelin in the large elevator as we went down. “It’s like a freaking spa.”
The pup wiggled in my arms, trying to get to Zelin—sensing her dominance as well. Omegas were the weakest of the pack, and often behaved that way. They were drawn to the Alpha’s above all else, needing to feel protected by them. In this case, the pup was an Omega around us, wolf shifters.
Handing it to Zelin, I saw her smile yet again. She held it to her chest, giving it small kisses while Kevin caressed his back.
I repressed a growl. He was my friend, but I was going to smack him.
“I have a suggestion,” Olis added. “Sweet loving Olis sessions. The ladies can just spend time with me, and feel my chest muscles, back and abs as long as they want. They can get all the Olis loving the want.”
We laughed as he kissed his biceps.
“They will definitely feel better after. I can promise you that.”
“Maybe we can add a ‘Rod Petting Center,’ to that. Ladies do love me.” He rubbed his Wolverine beard as though seriously thinking about it. “I can even turn into a wolf and let them enjoy the furry deliciousness,” he added into our joined link, and Zelin arched a brow at him, narrowing her eyes.
We all chuckled.
“That is so wrong, on so many levels, I’m not even going to go there.” Egon shuddered.
“I’m sure you can put it in the suggestion box,” I added, snickering, and grabbed the cute pup again, snuggling him a moment before handing it back to Sarah.
She reached up to me, lips puckered for a kiss, but I kissed her cheek instead. It felt so weird to kiss her now that I knew she was smitten with me for all the wrong reasons.
And here I had thought it was my cool personality, and devilish looks. Burnt.
She blinked, surprised I had kissed her cheek instead, but smiled at me anyway, batting her eyelashes. How had I not noticed this before? Sarah hugged me, still holding the pup, and I sighed. I had to find a way to break the charm.
“Damn it. Now I want a puppy,” I grunted as the pup licked my neck again, desperately reaching for me as Sarah remained in my arms. The others chuckled just as the elevator doors opened again.
When I turned to walk out into the parking lot, my whole body went rigid. Logan stood before us with Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle flanking him, while another ten guys stood behind them—they were dressed in a black uniform that resembled a special police suit.
They had been waiting for us.
Unlike the others, Logan was dressed in jeans, a blue shirt and a leather jacket, and I wondered if that was part of the “consequences” his father promised. Nevertheless, Logan stood before the men, very much like their leader. His cobalt eyes became dangerously dark as his gaze snapped from me to Sarah. My left arm still around her back as she held the pup, and I knew the second the rage awoke in him.
Fear rushed through Sarah when she saw him, and I instantly pushed her behind me, protecting her with my body. Rod, Geron, and Ivo did the same with Kevin and Zack, guiding them to the back of the elevator.
From my peripheral vision I caught Zelin’s claws extending from her fingertips, a dangerous omen as she squared off to Logan. Her silver claws gleamed with the fluorescent light above, catching Logan’s eyes a moment before they returned to me.
“You shouldn’t be looking for trouble, Logan,” I warned, exiting the elevator. “In fact, your father promised you would stay out of my way.”
“If you care for him at all, you’ll think about how stupid you are being, and leave. Now,” Zelin added calmly, moving to my side as the need to shift flowed into us both. Our wolves stirred.
“Leave my father out of this!” He seethed. “This is between you and I, Prince,” he spat the title as if it were a joke. “Our parents have nothing to do with this.”
Muscles violently jumped along my chest and arms, when he took a step closer and growls arose from the knights behind me. Rod and Egon pulled Sarah, who was shaking behind me, farther back.
“You are with him now?” Logan roared to Sarah, when the movement caught his eyes. “You freaking bit—”
Before he could finish, I appeared in front of him and my fist connected with his jaw as I sucker-punched him. I used only a quarter of my strength but his head still flew back, and he crashed against Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle. They staggered back with the force of the impact, struggling to hold their leader before he fell to the floor.
I had knocked him out before he even had a chance to threaten me, or do whatever he came here to do, and blood seeped from his mouth. Someone was going to be extra pissed off when he awoke.
“I don’t have patience for this crap,” I snapped at them, and more growls came from the shifters behind them. “We are not alone,” I reminded, slightly nodding to the humans behind me. “Unless you are looking to add this incident to the list of rules you are breaking by even facing me here.”
“If you have any brains at all, you’ll take Logan out of here, and go on your merry way,” Zelin ordered sarcastically, her Alpha power flowing with each word, and forcing the men before us to look away.
“Lift your heads, you freaking idiots!” Kyle scolded, fighting against Zelin’s dominance, although he didn’t look into her eyes.
The men looked up, avoiding our direct gazes. Kyle stepped forwards defiantly, while Nathan and Samuel held Logan, seeming to struggle with his shifter weight.
“This isn’t over. Not by a long shot,” Kyle vowed. “Logan is suspended indefinitely from the unit because of you, asshole. They wrote him up. The incident is on his record now, and you are going to pay for that.”
“Are you really this stupid?” I retorted. “He only has himself to blame. And FYI, I’m not afraid of you.”
The words riled up the men behind them, and I could see their muscles rippling under the fabric. They were itching for a wolf fight. Idiots.
“If you move one finger towards the Moon Prince, your lives will end today,” Zelin’s words were low and deadly calm, promising a painful death.
“Please, what can you possibly do to us?” Kyle spat. You don’t have your silver sword with you.”
Shit.
Did the North American shifters know nothing of their own race? Of who they were? I guessed the distance between my country and theirs was not the only thing that separated us. The lack of knowledge about ReinheitWölfe customs, laws and hierarchy was surprising. Had our history been lost among the young generations?
Were we just a legend to them?
“Even then,” Kyle continued scathingly, “you are only female. I doubt you are capable of much. Run and hide behind the men, sweetheart.”
His words had barely reached our ears when Zelin’s form blurred, and she body slammed him against the closest car. She moved so fast I hadn’t even seen her hit him. His body fell to the ground, leaving an imprint in the blue Chevy he had hit.
Stopping next to him, she crouched low, staring menacingly into his eyes. “I don’t need my sword to rip you to pieces, you ignorant clown. You are an embarrassment to our race. I’m the Iron Knight. Look it up. You might want to learn a bit about it before you open your mouth again.”
Kyle looked up at her almost foaming at the mouth, while blood seeped from the four slashes his cheek had suffered at Zelin’s attack. My gaze suddenly shifted behind them as a few cars reached our level, parking several yards away, and humans began exciting the vehicles. They were too far to notice the fight yet, but they were walking our way, to the elevators. If this continued, they would easily get stuck in the middle of our battle.
I need it to stop this now.
“Stand down!” I roared, my dominance clinging to each word while the men behind Samuel and Nathan stirred. Damn it. The last thing we needed right now were men shifting into massive wolves in front of the humans.
Logan’s guards began walking forwards, fighting against my command, while the families, and the women from the cars continued to approach the elevators. There were kids among them.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Without wasting another moment, I opened my essence to the shifters, and pushed the energy out of me as hard as I could. It was nearly impossible to reach them from where I stood without the Moonstone, and I wasn’t expecting any vows of loyalty any time soon, but if I could reach them enough to calm them, I would consider myself lucky.
Lifting my palms, I forced my essence towards them, feeling the muscles protrud under the skin along my neck, all the way down my arms like steel cords. My eyes glowed as the invisible power burst out of me, and my grunt turned into a roar with the struggle, veins straining until they felt like they would rip open.
Suddenly, the men halted their advance, holding their breaths when their eyes became alight, and my essence washed over them like a wave.
They could feel me.
I took a step back, startled it had actually worked—even if it had only lasted a split second. Limp hands fell to my sides when their eyes widened in shock and they moved away from me, unsure of what had just happened. Kyle swiftly moved towards Samuel and Nathan, his face a mask of anger and confusion as he shouldered some of the weight Logan imposed.
“This isn’t over,” Kyle spat, clearly choosing his battles, and pulling Logan towards a black truck. Their guards dispersed with his glare, following his silent order. Getting into similar trucks, they left.
My chest rose and fell with labored breaths, fists slightly trembling from the exertion I had forced myself to endure, in order to stop the fight.
“Oh my god.”
The gasped words came from my left, and it was only then I realized that Sarah had escaped the knights’ side in her desperation to get to me, probably when I yelled.
She was clinging to my side, trembling, and eyes wide as she glanced up at me. My blood went cold when my gaze fell to her hand in mine. My arms had partially shifted, and black fur covered the back of my hand, scattering to my fingers. Onyx claws were fully extended, scratching her skin, though she didn’t seem to care as her fingers fiercely held mine.
As if that wasn’t enough, my four canines had extended, and were fully visible to her. Yet, her attention was set on my face with a mix of shock, worry, and wonder.
“What are you?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Dude, let me pass!” Kevin argued with one of the knights. “I don’t need protection. I can kick their stupid assess alongside you. In fact, I’d like nothing more than to get a chance to punch Samuel’s teethe in.”
I closed my eyes as I felt the movement behind me, and forced myself to calm. In seconds, my arms returned to my man form, canines receding just as Kevin made it to my side with Zack.
“Dude, are you okay?” Zack asked, concerned, while the humans finally reached us, entering the free elevator next to ours and giving us weary gazes. “You look kind of grayish.”
“At least tell me you punched Logan. I heard a smack, but I couldn’t see anything from back there,” Kevin added, his gaze falling to my clean knuckles, while Zelin appeared before me.
“Are you okay, G?” Her voice was tinged concern and exhaustion.
She clutched her chest the moment the burning intensified inside me. The grayish look Kevin spoke about spread over her face, and fear for her safety gripped me. Trying to reach for her, I swayed on my feet, suddenly feeling empty. It was like my life force had left me.
“I think I’m…” I croaked, struggling to breathe while a cold sensation burned the center of my chest. “I…”
Stumbling back, I felt the shadows creep on me, while my eyes followed Zelin’s collapse. She fainted into Kevin’s arms just as I crashed into the knights behind me, and darkness welcomed me.
The feeling of a warm hand in mine spread over my fingers, travelling over my arm, and chasing away the cold that still clung to my insides. A small smile stretched my lips as I intertwined my fingers with hers.
“Zelin…” I whispered while my senses continued to awake forcefully, pulling me out of the haze much slower than I would have liked. “Z…” I called again, but she wasn’t answering.
The sound of sniffles reached me, and I was finally able to pull my eyelids open. My gaze immediately found Sarah sitting next to me, her hand held mine while she cried.
“Where’s Zelin?” I rasped, my throat was parched, as though I hadn’t had water in days.
“Oh, thank God. You are awake,” Sarah breathed and leaned closer, kissing my forehead.
“I’m fine. Where’s Zelin?” I asked again, trying to turn on the bed, but my limbs felt heavy.
“She’s right beside you.” Audrick’s voice came from the corner of the bed, while Sarah tenderly caressed my hair.
When my head shifted to my side, my eyes fell on Zelin, she was still unconscious, laying under the covers close to me. Someone had removed our clothes, and we were now in our Pjs.
“How long have I been out?” I asked, realizing this couldn’t possibly be the same day. The sun was beaming outside the window, while the day had been almost ending when we were at the Kindness Tower’s garage.
“Four days,” Sarah sniffed, resting her cheek on my bare chest, and wrapping her arms around me.
Holy husky puppies. What the hell had happened to me?
To us?
Because Zelin and I were so deeply connected, she suffered every injury I suffered. We normally didn’t have to worry about that, because in order to hurt me, the attacker first had to go through her, and that was nearly impossible to achieve. Except in this case, whatever happened to me had been self-inflicted.
My hand gently caressed Sarah’s back, trying to soothe her. “I’m sorry I scared you, but there’s no need to keep crying. I’m okay.”
She sniffed again, pulling away enough to look into my eyes. “When you didn’t wake up that night, I thought…” she paused when her voice broke. “I wanted to take you to the hospital, but Audrick assured you’d be fine. Your doctor here said you’d over exerted yourself with that thing you did to make the others stop from attacking us.”
Shit. She had seen everything. My eyes connected with Audrick’s but there was no judgment or fear in them for what had happened. He actually seemed grateful she had been there. He must have been worried out of his mind too.
“Miss Sarah has stayed by your side since Emory and the guys brought you home. She hasn’t wanted to leave your side, so she stayed with us, helping me look over you, my prince.”
My brows gathered in a frown as I looked at Sarah.
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I just needed to make sure you were okay.” She leaned in, gently kissing my lips, and I had no heart to turn her away. I gave her a thankful smile, and she hugged me again.
“I’m so sorry I worried you, Sarah,” I whispered, stroking her back. “I don’t want to see you like this.”
“I’m good,” she reassured, lifting her cheek from my chest, and offered me a small smile. I felt like an ass for doing this to her.
Giving her a kiss on her cheek, I cleared my throat. It felt like sandpaper. She immediately reached for the pitcher next to my bed and handed me a glass of water, holding my neck while she helped me drink. She had such a kind spirit.
“I know we have to talk, but I need to help Zelin wake up. Would you please give us a moment alone?”
Her eyes shifted to Zelin, her concern returning. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes. She will be tired like I am, but she’ll be fine. I promise.”
With one last worried look to Zelin, she nodded. “Can I come back afterwards?”
“Of course,” I reassured.
“Okay. Please make sure she is okay too.”
“I will,” I vowed, and watched her stand.
She walked around the bed in a pair of jeans I re
cognized as Zelin’s, and a cable knit baby blue sweater that probably belonged to one of the knights. It was huge on her, covering her hands and the hem falling almost to her knees, but she curled into it as though she loved it, while Audrick escorted her out of the room. A small smile grazed my lips, it was like Sarah had been adopted by all of us.
The second the door closed, I turned on the bed, pulling Zelin into my arms. My body hurt with the action, my veins felt drained but I didn’t care. The anxiety increased inside me while I looked at her. Why wasn’t Zelin waking up?
Pulling her flushed against my now warm body, I curled myself around her, trying to transfer my warmth to her. My muscles strained trying not to hurt her, but I wanted to meld myself to her. The need to protect her from this, and make sure she was well was all consuming. Bringing her impossibly closer, I slipped my thigh between hers, and wrapped her leg around my hip, resting her arm around my torso like she was a doll.
My gaze roamed her face carefully for any signs of distress, she seemed peaceful though tired. “Wake up, Z. I’m fine. You are safe now, with me. Please, wake up.”
Pressing my lips against her forehead, I left a kiss there, my mouth lingering against her skin with the feeling of her. I closed my eyes, leaving a flutter of lingering kisses along her face. My lips finally landed on the tip of her nose, and I opened myself to her, infusing my essence into her.
Though that was what got us into this mess in the first place.
“Wake up, Z,” I sent into her mind again. “Stop being lazy.”
She stirred under me, and I smiled expecting her to tear me a new one, while I continued leaving small kisses all around her face. My lips brushed her jaw, mechanically trailing to her neck, and the scent of her filtered through my nose, doing things to me I never expected.
I had smelled Zelin more than a million times, but right now, as my nose nuzzled her neck, my body pressed against hers, it seemed as though it were the very first time.
I had held her in my arms many times, but it had never felt like this. She had never felt this way against me. My canines, slowly extended, grazing her skin as I kissed her neck, taken over by a force I didn’t recognize, but continued to grow inside me.
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