Lost and Found

Nine

The office itself felt cozy, even though it had clearly been designed by a man. There were wood panels on the walls and ceiling and matching wooden bookcases lining the back wall behind the main desk. The bookcases were filled with papers and older books, which Tessa had spied from the moment she’d entered. She couldn’t remember the last book she’d read.

The chair she sat in was very comfortable. It was a leather armchair and was cool to the touch, but strangely welcoming to the intense, burning stare Zane was giving her. Tessa didn’t know how to feel when he looked at her. She didn’t know what to make of the man Lara had named Zookie. He was nothing like she’d described him: warm, kind, and caring. However, when her name was brought up, he softened instantly. Perhaps he was only that way for his sister.

“You’re sure? This is the place?” Zane asked for the second time.

Tessa nodded. “Yes, I’m as sure as the first time you asked. Do you not believe me? Do you think I just chose a random place on the map that somehow holds significant meaning to you?”

Zane clenched his jaw. “I haven’t completely ruled you out as a spy, so yeah, it could be suspicious that you know exactly where my parents are buried. A place that only two other people know about.”

“One of them being your sister, who was the one who told me! I want to find Lara too, you know.”

“Alpha–” Leo started.

“I don’t want to hear it, Leo,” Zane cut him off.

Tessa briefly gazed over at Leo, who had his arms crossed over his chest. She couldn’t help but notice that even when relaxed, he was very muscular and had to look away before she was caught staring. The last thing she wanted was to blush in front of these men again.

You are to remain emotionless. Understood? You’ll receive a whipping for every time I catch you. You are a mere puppet. A toy. Do not forget it.

She schooled her features as the familiar, gravelly voice echoed in her head. Tessa had no idea what was in store for her by staying in this place. It was obvious that the man everyone referred to as Alpha Zane despised her, and although Leo and Bre were kind, they could turn on her in a split second, especially if their alpha commanded them to. She wasn’t safe here. The best way to move forward would be to find her family, if they were even still around.

A picture of her mother flashed in her head, and her heart tightened in despair. Tessa hadn’t seen her mother in over eight years.

“Hey!” Zane said, snapping his fingers in her face. “I’m still talking to you.”

Tessa jolted in her seat, flinching and shrinking down. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation. She had found this to be the easiest way to keep from feeling the pain in other areas of her body.

“Woah, Alpha,” Leo jumped in, holding out a protective arm in front of her. “You’re scaring her, again.”

“Good! She should be scared of me! I hold her life in my hands,” Zane spat.

Tessa flinched again, starting to draw blood from her lip as she focused solely on the pain she felt. Nothing else could hurt her if she was in control of this small action.

Zane sniffed the air twice before coming around the desk and bending down to eye level with her. He noticed what she was doing and swiftly freed her lip from her teeth. Tessa looked up, keeping her face blank, which irked him.

“Don’t do that. I’m not going to kill you. I was upset, but I shouldn’t say things so lightly,” he then said softly. “I’m… sorry.”

Leo almost choked on his spit as he stared between the two. Aside from his alpha’s apology to him the other night, he’d never seen nor heard his alpha actually apologize, except to maybe Lara. And now, within a matter of days, he had done so twice, and it had all revolved around her.

Tessa continued to look at Zane, her face remaining passive, even with the apology. She wasn’t sure how to take it, but knew better than to draw attention to someone else’s wrongdoings, especially that of a powerful man. She had been in this position before, and she had learned from her mistakes.

“Does the road leading there have tall, evergreen and oak trees on either side, making it feel as though you’re going through a cave?”

Zane was taken aback by her question. “Yes, it does.”

“And at one point, Lara thought she saw a giant apple tree because of a red balloon that was caught in some branches, and so now, the road is named Apple Avenue.”

He was quiet.

“I want to find her too. She’s my friend as well as your sister. Remember that. I know you may think of me as a spy, and that’s fair, but I’m simply not. I was supposed to die that day that I was found. I’m a liability. And, instead of working with me to not only find your sister as well as taking down the system that did this to me and her, you’re interrogating me and suspecting me. It’s alright that you don’t trust me. I get it. I am a stranger out of nowhere with a messed up memory. But, I also think I deserve a chance to prove that I’m not a threat.”

Taking a moment, Zane mulled over her words. The woman made quite a bit of sense, and he was still worried about it possibly being a trap, but whether she was trustworthy or not, he would figure it out at the end of it all. Though he felt split in which direction to pursue, he decided to go with his gut, which was rarely wrong. And, Dem wouldn’t allow any other option, so maybe it was less about his gut and more about what his wolf wanted to do. He inwardly rolled his eyes.

“I hear what you have to say,” Zane said slowly. “And, I’ll choose to believe you until you give me a reason to do otherwise.”

“That seems fair,” Tessa agreed, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.

Since the moment she had awakened in the hospital room, Tessa had been formulating a plan to get out. It wasn’t that she exactly felt the need to escape, per se, it was more of the feeling that she was still under the control of someone else. For years, she had longed for her freedom. The people surrounding her definitely didn’t feel like the same people she’d been forced to live under, but they made decisions for her whether she agreed with them or not. Tessa was not in control of her life, still. She felt it, and it ate at her, threatening to consume her. She wanted to be an equal, to be seen as more than an object, and above all, to make her own choices.

Lara had made living after captivity seem like a fairy tale. She had spoken about how her brother ran their family, how people lived for themselves, and made their own decisions. Lara had mentioned that they would welcome Tessa with open arms and be happy to include her. But, nothing felt that way. She had somehow found herself in Lara’s home without her or her promises, and it was suffocating. Everything was overwhelming and not enough all at the same time.

“What’d I miss?” Bre asked after bursting through the door.

The doctor carried a bundle of clothes in her arms and wore a big grin. Somehow, Bre put everyone at ease when she walked in. Leo returned her smile and offered her his chair.

“I’m okay,” she murmured, waving a hand at Leo, who nodded in response.

Tessa took the proffered clothes, setting them in her lap. She was unsure of what to do next, and whether Bre was suggesting she change in the office like she had in the hospital room.

“Uhh,” Zane stammered, looking at Tessa holding the clothes. “Why doesn’t she change in the bathroom here on the first floor while I fill you in, Bre. Leo, can you show her where it is?”

Feeling grateful, Tessa followed Leo out of the room and to where he showed her the restroom was on the ground level. She shut the door behind her and set the clothes on the counter before gazing into the mirror. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her reflection, let alone in a brightly-lit bathroom, and Tessa was shocked to see the woman staring back at her. She didn’t look anything like she had years ago. Her eyes, though bright blue, were sunken in their sockets, her cheeks were gaunt, and her usually straight, black hair was a pig’s stye. There was leftover bruising on her body that she inspected after taking off Leo’s shirt. Nothing hurt too much, but her body ached, and her legs were still stiff. Tessa had been grateful that Leo let her walk the short distance to the bathroom. She wasn’t sure she could handle being carried by him nor feeling his muscles against her skin. The pain she felt was worth saving herself the embarrassment.

Sighing, she finally changed into the soft, grey pair of sweatpants and a slightly oversized, purple t-shirt that Bre had obtained for her. She neatly folded Leo’s shirt after putting on some socks. Opening the door, she held the shirt out to Leo, feeling awkward.

“Thank you,” Leo chuckled before putting the shirt back on.

Tessa hid her face, feeling embarrassed anyway. She had just been wearing it, with nothing underneath, and he had nonchalantly adorned it without a second thought. Tessa had assumed he’d wash it first.

Without another word, they started back toward Zane’s office, and as she followed, her leg locked up, sending bolts of pain up her entire body. She slipped and began falling towards the laminate floor, but before she could connect with the hard ground, Leo’s hand swooped around her waist, catching her.

“Oh,” she whispered, her heart beating quickly.

“Careful,” he mused back, lingering a second too long before helping her stay steady.

Their eyes met for a fleeting second before Tessa turned away, staring at the ground. She couldn’t understand the intensity in his look nor did she want to.

A throat cleared in front of them, and both Leo and Tessa found Zane’s disapproving glare. Leo swiftly dropped his arm from Tessa, who was confused by seeing jealousy written all over Zane’s face.