CHAPTER 9: DOUBLE TEMPTATION
643 Words
The shame that drove me to hide from Zane at breakfast was replaced by a gnawing, internal guilt that felt far worse. Every time I thought about the encounter—the sheer power of the bond, the physical release—I would instantly suppress the memory, yet the feeling of overwhelming satisfaction lingered. I was embarrassed by my surrender, but more frighteningly, I was desperate to repeat it.
My greatest source of turmoil, however, was Zakk.
The Mate Bond with Zane felt like an anchor, grounding my newfound wolf nature and giving me a profound sense of belonging. But the bond itself felt stretched, incomplete, like an intricate knot missing its final, crucial loop. That missing element pulsed toward Zakk.
He seemed to understand this perfectly, using it as a weapon against my guilt. All day, he maintained a chilling proximity. If I went to the back garden, Zakk would be "checking the hose" ten feet away, his back to me, but his powerful, controlled silence speaking volumes. If I sat in the living room, he would walk through, pausing only to retrieve a forgotten phone, and his eyes would rake over me with raw, possessive hunger.
His most cutting offense came late in the afternoon. I was in the kitchen, making myself a small salad, when Zakk walked in. Zane was upstairs on a conference call.
Zakk didn't bother with small talk. He walked right up to the counter where I was chopping vegetables, trapping me between the counter and his body. He wasn't touching me, but the heat emanating from him was immediate and suffocating.
"You're not eating," Zakk observed, his voice low.
"I am," I insisted, my hand shaking as I tried to slice a cucumber.
"You're feeding half of your hunger," he corrected, leaning down so his lips were dangerously close to my ear. "Zane is soft. He caters to your comfort. He gave you the initiation, but he can't give you the completion."
I gasped, dropping the knife. "Stop it. You have no right to talk about Zane."
"I have every right," Zakk murmured, and this time, he let his finger trace the line of my jaw, a touch that was both gentle and terrifyingly demanding. "We share a soul, Andre. When you were with him last night, I felt the fulfillment of the partial claim. But every time your heart stuttered, I felt the empty space reserved for me."
The touch was a white-hot jolt, making my thighs tingle with a feverish urgency that was far more aggressive than the soft pull I felt with Zane.
"You are cheating Zane," Zakk whispered, his eyes dark with challenge. "But you are cheating your own wolf more."
He pulled his hand back, leaving a trail of electric coldness on my skin. He walked out of the kitchen as silently as he had entered, leaving me breathless, guilty, and entirely undone.
He was right. The guilt I felt toward Zane was genuine, but the fierce, agonizing need that Zakk ignited was overwhelming. My wolf nature, now fully awakened by Zane, was demanding the completion of the pack. I realized with a painful clarity that if Zakk were to touch me again, I wouldn't run.
That night, I didn't bother trying to sleep. I lay in bed, waiting, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against the sheets. I didn't reach for a robe or the door. I simply lay there, a willing offering, listening to the heavy silence of the house.
I knew that one of them—or both of them—would come for me. I was done running. The secret was out, and I was ready to complete the bond, regardless of the chaos it would create in the long run.
- Writer
