by Ruby Shae
“Zach would have come out to greet you, but he lost a small battle with the grill, and he’s getting his hand patched up now. He’ll be out in a minute.”
“What kind of small battle?” she asked. “Is he okay?”
“It’s just a minor burn,” Ethan explained. “The spatula he was using fell on the grill, and not paying attention, he picked it up with his bare hand.”
“Oh my god. Where is he?”
“They’re in the bathroom,” Ethan said, pointing down the hall.
Rory had to see him, and she didn’t care about coming off as rude.
She moved past Ethan, and hurried in the direction he’d pointed. The first door she encountered was open, and it was a bathroom, but there was no one inside.
“Zach?” she called, moving further down the hall. “Zach, where are you?”
“Rory? I’m in here. The master bathroom. Last door on your right.”
She walked into the bedroom, and found him in the bathroom with a man and a woman. The woman was tall and curvy, with thick, wavy black hair and green eyes. She was holding a bottle of water and what seemed to be a handful of pills. The man, another gorgeous specimen, was securing a bandage around the palm of Zach’s hand. He stood about an inch taller than Zach, with brown hair and brown eyes, and surprisingly, he was gorgeous as well.
What were the odds?
The place was filled with hot guys and curvy girls, and it felt completely normal.
“Are you okay?” she asked moving into the room to stand by his side. “One of your friends said you burned yourself.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I wanted to properly introduce you to everyone.”
She could see small blisters on his first three fingers, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was beneath the bandage.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No,” Zach replied calmly. “I heal really fast, and it’s not that bad.”
“Take this anyway,” the woman interjected.
She dumped a handful of pills into his palm, and he threw them into his mouth without question. Then she uncapped the bottle of water, and handed it to him.
“What are those pills?” Rory asked. “How many did you take?”
“Motrin,” he replied. “There were six.”
“Six? Six is too many.”
“No, it’s the right amount. I need a bigger dose than most people, but I promise everything will be okay.”
She stared at him for a full minute before she nodded in agreement.
Nothing about his burn or the medication seemed normal, but his friends didn’t seem concerned, and they knew him better than she did.
She had no choice but to let it go.
He stood, placed his uninjured arm around her waist, and kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Before she could question what he was thanking her for, he started talking again.
“Tristian and Scarlett, this is Aurora Jordan. Rory, these are my good friends, Tristian and Scarlett.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rory,” Tristian said, reaching out his hand.
The feeling that this man was somehow important settled over her, and she immediately felt the need to impress him. Not that she could do anything to change her previous behavior, or her appearance. God, she’d practically ignored him since she’d walked into the room.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said, taking his hand.
“We’re glad you’re here,” Scarlett said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”
“Thank you,” she said. “It’s nice to be here.”
“Okay. We’ll give you guys a few minutes, but not too long,” Tristian winked. “Ethan will take over the grill, and we should be able to eat in about fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks man,” Zach said. “We’ll see you out there.”
“Thank you,” Rory added, as the couple left the room.
They stood in silence until they were completely alone, and then Zach pulled her close with his uninjured hand, leaned down, and kissed her. His movements were gentle, and controlled, but she could feel the tapped down energy he tried to hide.
The adrenaline from the accident was still flowing through him.
“I can’t believe this day,” he said, hugging her close. “I never mess up on the grill.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
She was still worried about his hand, and the extra pain medication.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “Are you hungry?”
Her stomach took that moment to growl, and the sound echoed around them.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he laughed. “Let’s go join the party.”
With his free hand, he locked his fingers with hers, and pulled her out of the room.
Now that she wasn’t rushing to find him, she took a better look at his décor, and nodded in appreciation. Dark brown pieces spotted the bedroom, living room, and kitchen, and while everything was new and expensive, it was also lived in and loved. The pieces in the living room and kitchen were especially distressed, and she briefly wondered if any of the couples had children. She hadn’t seen any running around, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
They sat down at the table, and Zach was bombarded with teasing from all of the men in the group, and Tegan. He seemed to eat up their attention, and when the conversation died down, he ramped it up again with a funny story about one of his adventures, or an in-depth joke.
Even though she’d only seen him grab one beer, he carried on like the fun drunk at a party, and the similarities to her ex couldn’t be ignored. In fact, gaining sympathy for nonexistent, or minor, injuries was another tried and true characteristic of her ex.
Yes, she’d seen the small blisters on his fingers, but the fact that none of his friends seemed concerned about his well-being told her one of two things. Either his wound wasn’t as severe as she’d originally thought, or he often faked pain for attention.
Neither scenario was one she could live with.
Damnit!
Why hadn’t she seen it before? The answer was simple…she had.
The way he’d walked around the club, smiling and talking to everyone, and the way everyone stared at him in the ice cream shop, hoping for his attention, were perfect examples. The signs had always been there, but unfortunately, she’d chosen to ignore them.
She’d already spent too much time involved with a man who craved attention and had to be liked by everyone, and she knew how their relationship would end. Eventually, he’d turn on her and she’d end up the punchline of every joke. She’d also pay for being friendly with his friends, and when that went sour, she’d pay for not being friendly.
It was a no-win situation that would eat away at her until she almost didn’t exist anymore, and she couldn’t go down that road again.
She liked Zach, but despite the fact that she felt strangely connected to him so soon, or the fact that they were amazingly compatible in bed, she needed the complete package, and she had to save herself before it was too late.
She abruptly stood, and the legs of her chair scraped against the hardwood floor, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Causing a scene hadn’t been her intention, but it was too late now. Self-preservation drowned the awkwardness of the moment, and she addressed all of them.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at their expectant faces. “I have to go.”
“What? Why?” Zach stood, and gently grabbed held her elbow with his undamaged hand.
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, yanking her elbow away.
“Rory? What—”
“Don’t call me ever again.”
Her final words weighed heavy in the room, but she didn’t care. She turned away from Zach, ran through the house, and burst through the front door that threatened to hold her like a caged animal.
Zach followed close on her heels, but she
didn’t stop until she was safe inside her vehicle with the doors locked. He banged on the glass with the palms of both hands, calling her name, but she ignored him, put the car in reverse, and tore out of the driveway.
It wasn’t until she got to the end of the path that she noticed the damp spots on her window, but she refused to feel sorry for him. If he popped the blisters on his hand trying to get at her, it was his own fault, and she refused to feel guilty about his probable pain.
She repeated the mantra over and over, but it didn’t matter how many times she repeated the words.
A lie would always be a lie.
***
Zach stood in the driveway, and watched Rory’s car disappear onto the main road.
What the fuck just happened?
He’d seen her sudden outburst with his own eyes, and yet he couldn’t comprehend what the hell was going on. He pulled his cell out of his pocket, dialed her number, and cursed when the voicemail immediately greeted him. He tried again with the same result.
Tristian approached him from the side, and he rounded on him.
“What the fuck?” Zach snapped. “What the fuck happened?”
“I don’t know,” Tristian answered quietly. “None of us do.”
Zach turned to the porch to see his entire clan looking at him. Their faces, a combination of worry and shock, mimicked his own turmoil. He had no idea why Rory had left him.
“Fuck,” he yelled, looking down the driveway again. “What in the actual fuck?”
His hand throbbed, but nothing beat the pain lancing his heart.
The day had started out so perfect, and then everything went to shit.
In fact, literally nothing had gone right since he’d left his alpha’s house earlier that morning. He’d been dropping things, burning things, and basically being completely inept for the whole day.
When the first batch of burgers were blackened into hockey pucks, he’d thought that would be worst of it, but then he went and burned his hand. Normally a master on the grill, he’d been daydreaming, and didn’t think before reaching for the overheated utensil. Luckily, shifters healed fast, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still feel pain.
He’d wanted to meet Rory at the door, and properly introduce her to his family, and instead, she’d had to enter his world alone. Luckily, he hadn’t told her about their bears yet, or she may have been completely freaked out.
Not that it mattered.
She’d freaked out anyway, and he had no idea why.
He pressed the button to call her again, and willed her to pick up the phone. When she did finally answer, her voice was ice cold.
“I told you not to call me again.”
Her hard exterior cut him deep, he didn’t falter.
“I’m going to need a bit more than that,” he growled. “What the hell happened? Why’d you run off like that, and why are you suddenly so angry?”
“I’m not angry,” she said, calmly. “I’m just disappointed. I trusted you way too soon, and seeing how you are with your friends, and listening to you talk in their company, proved that. It was a mistake for us to be together, and I can’t see you again. Please respect my decision. I can’t see you anymore. Goodbye.”
She hung up the phone, and Zach pulled the device from his ear and stared at it accusingly.
“What did she say?” Tristian asked, although he probably already knew the answer.
“She said she doesn’t want to see me again,” Zach answered. “Apparently, it’s me. I’m too…something…I don’t know what,” he shrugged. “She didn’t like the way I was around you guys. She…doesn’t like me.”
“Dude,” Tristian started. “That’s harsh.”
“You think?” Zach snarled.
“She probably didn’t mean it,” Tristian said, ignoring his outburst. “We all can be pretty intimidating when we want to be. Maybe we overwhelmed her a bit.”
“No,” Zach said. “It’s me. She was very specific.”
“Give her a few days,” Tristian suggested. “Maybe—”
“No!” Zach bellowed. “There is no maybe! She doesn’t want me!”
He dropped his phone on the ground, and shifted into his bear form. The change was instant, and seconds later, he stood in his animal form surrounded by scraps of material that were once his clothes.
He opened his mouth, and roared into the quiet that surrounded them.
Ethan and Graham had come down the stairs, and moved closer, but they stopped when his devastated cry floated through the air. Everyone, even Scarlett, who was full human, had covered their ears to the sound of his agony, and while he hated that he’d hurt his family, the release had been much needed.
He took off toward the forest in a dead run, and left the calls of his clan behind him.
Every pound on the pavement with his burned hand sent pain racing up his arm, but he welcomed the physical ache. Anything was better than the tight, nearly suffocating, band around his heart.
Chapter Five
One week later, Rory quickened her step, and stayed close to the crowd in front of her. When the group turned down a side street that led to the park, she could no longer pretend to pretend to know them.
She stood under the awning of the coffee shop, and glanced behind her once again.
The windows to the shops on Main Street, along with the street lights, lit the pavement and part of the road, and though she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, she continued to scan the faces of each passing group.
Everything looked right, but something didn’t feel normal.
She continued walking down the street, but as she got closer to the free parking lot, the crowd diminished. She didn’t want to walk into the lot alone, but aside from asking a stranger, there was no one to escort her to her car.
Zach would have done it.
The truthful words mocked her, and she pushed them out of her mind. Or tried to. The truth was, Zach had been on her mind since she’d run out of his home a week ago, and it wasn’t because of what his friends might think of her. Although, she knew their opinions mattered to him.
He’d done exactly what she’d asked—not called her again—but instead of being happy, she was miserable. The truth was, she missed him, and every day she not only questioned the assumptions she’d come to after a few short hours, but also her decision to leave.
God, why didn’t I let Pam drive me?
The lot was in her view, and she reached into her pocket and closed her fingers around the keys she’d placed there for easy access. She knew to keep one key lodged between her fingers, but she wasn’t sure she had the power to follow through with a hit. If anything, her weak attempt at defense would probably give her assailant an advantage.
Shit!
She hurried past the bakery, and saw Zach sitting at the counter against the window. He was alone, looking at his phone, and relief, along with several other emotions, swamped her.
Without fully thinking the situation through, she dashed into the shop, and started to approach him. She opened her mouth to say his name, but closed it when another woman raced to his side.
“I got the last three,” the woman said, smiling.
Oh my god!
Rory turned on her heel, and tried to retreat, but it was too late.
“Rory?”
The sound of her name on his lips soothed her in ways only the voice of a lover could, and her heart ached for what could have been. The door was only a few steps away, and for a moment she considered running through it, but she didn’t.
Slowly, she turned to face him and his date.
“Hi,” she said dumbly.
The woman he was with was curvy, and her same height, but that’s where their similarities ended. His date had straight, shoulder-length, auburn hair, and light brown eyes that reminded Rory of her coffee after she added in all the cream.
“Hi,” Zach replied.
The woman he was with smiled knowingly, and Rory wanted to die. She needed
to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Sorry,” she offered the two of them. “I saw you in the window, and I…I thought you were alone. Please excuse me.”
Tears filled her eyes as she turned to leave, but she didn’t get far.
She stilled when she felt Zach’s warm hand close around her wrist.
“I am alone,” he whispered so only she could hear. “I’m also glad to see you, but that’s not why you came in here, is it?”
Damnit!
She couldn’t lie to him, and she didn’t want to.
She shook her head, and he let go of her wrist, grabbed onto her shoulders, and turned her to face him. The concerned look on his face went a long way toward chasing away her embarrassment.
“Did someone hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” she said, quietly. “I…”
He raised that sexy eyebrow, and she told him the truth.
“I didn’t see anyone,” she said, “but it felt like someone was following me, and I didn’t want to walk to my car alone.”
His expression hardened, and he guided her to his vacant seat by the window.
“This is Liddy,” he said, “my cousin’s girlfriend. Liddy, this is Rory. You two stay here while I go outside and take a look around.”
He left without another word, and Liddy sat down on the empty stool next to her.
“Don’t worry,” Liddy said. “Zach is very good at his job, and he won’t be gone long. You’re safe now.”
“Thank you,” Rory responded, lamely.
Honestly, all of her fears had disappeared the moment she saw Zach sitting in the window, but being in the presence of one of his friends—his cousin’s girlfriend, no less—made her feel like a major disappointment. The woman may have been absent from the barbeque, but Rory knew she would have been filled in on the story.
Suddenly, she saw an opportunity to clear up something that had been bothering her, and she figured, why the hell not? Whether or not she ever saw Liddy again didn’t matter, their first impression of her was already set in stone, so she might as well try and get some information.
“Can I ask you something?” Rory asked.
“Of course,” Liddy said. “What’s up?”
