Zane and I walked into the pack house, hand in hand. I was incredibly nervous to how the others would treat me. Even though Zane was a respected member of the pack, I wasn’t, and I was afraid that if they saw us together, the members would have a fit.

He lifted his hand out of mine, and replaced it on the small of my back, leading me up the stairs. We entered the hallway, only to abruptly stop when my dad came into view. 

“What the fu-oh hello Zane,” My dad covered up quickly when he saw Zane. I smiled inwardly. Zane was absolutely amazing. He was able to keep my pain away, both physically (from my father) and emotionally (from Drew). 

“Hello, Mr. Mitchell” Zane replied, his voice gruff with traces of venom. He practically spat out the words to my father. Even though I still loved my father, it felt nice to know that someone cared enough to understand my situation and stick up for me. 

Something Drew should’ve done, but instead, Zane was doing.

We walked into his room, and set the bags on his bed. I looked up in awe. Did everyone’s rooms look like palaces? The room had more of a cozy vibe. It was covered in wood, from the laminate wood flooring to the wooden beams on the ceiling. The window overlooked the forest behind, making it feel even more cottage-like. A small fireplace mounted into the wall gave off a warm glow. I breathed in the musky, yet masculine smell of Zane and old spice cologne. 

“I knew you would like it,” he grinned beside me. 

I smiled back up to him, and felt my heart skip a beat. Gosh, why couldn’t Zane be my mate? He was so kind and caring, unlike Drew. Zane noticed me before he got to know me. Drew, instead, only learned of my existence when he found out we were mates. 

I jumped onto his bed, reveling in the soft sheets. Zane just chuckled, before climbing in beside me. 

“Ari, wanna play COD instead of doing homework? Pretty please?” 

“Damn it Zane, stop using that puppy dog face! You know I’ll always give in when you use it!” I pouted.

He grinned back at me.

“That’s exactly why I use it,” and in the blink of an eye, Zane had scooped me up off the bed to the front of a large plasma screen TV. He shoved a controller into my hand and started up the game. I just laughed at him before delving into it myself. Instantly, we both got comfortable, lying down on the thick white wool rug.

We were halfway through the game, laughing and bumping each other’s shoulders every time we killed someone. Apparently, we got into a heated wrestling match when Zane thought it was funny to steal my controller. Both of us ended up sprawled on the ground, me on the top and him on the bottom, when the door to the room burst open. I glanced over my shoulder, to see a very pissed off looking Drew standing there.

His eyes were no longer their misty blue grey. Instead, they were dark grey, with faded traces of blue. They held jealousy and possessiveness in them. His hands were clenched into fists. A power of dominance radiated from him so strong, it almost knocked the wind out of me. 

I looked down at Zane, then back up at Drew again. Our position really wasn’t helping the situation, especially since we were lying on the floor. I could already tell Drew’s wolf was aching to take care of Zane, but I couldn’t let him do that. I knew he would tear Zane limb from limb for touching his mate. Drew wasn’t even hiding how jealous and possessive he felt, and it was literally rolling off of him in waves.

Shit, I really screwed up this time. I could tell Zane was thinking the same thing, but I knew we had to do this if we wanted Drew to stop his player ways. Looking back at Drew’s face again, I prepared myself to face the consequences.

I gulped nervously. Oh shit.