Love, After Dark

Chapter 31

ZANE

I stormed into my office and shut the door harder than necessary, the sound swallowed by the darkness. I didn’t bother with the lights. I never did. The shadows felt right. Quiet. Controlled. Predictable. Unlike the night I’d just come from. I crossed the room, opened the closet, and grabbed a fresh T-shirt from the hanger, already shrugging out of the ruined one clinging to my skin.

“What do you want, Fi,” I said flatly, not bothering to look up as I glanced toward the desk. She sat there like she owned the place, feet propped up, posture relaxed to the point of arrogance. Even in pitch black, I could see her clearly. The faint curl of her smile. The glint of her eyes. “Now is that any way to greet your big sister?” she drawled, voice laced with amusement. “We haven’t seen each other in forever. Don’t you miss me?” “You visited last month,” I replied, irritation bleeding through despite my effort to keep my voice even. She scoffed. “Well, aren’t you just delightful as ever?”

I didn’t rise to it. Didn’t give her the satisfaction. Instead, I turned and headed for the bathroom attached to my office, pushing the door open and flicking on the sink. Cool water rushed over my hands as I scrubbed away the dried blood from my knuckles and forearms. “I’m really not in the mood,” I muttered. She started to fire back- something sharp, no doubt- but stopped short. I heard the sudden scrape of the chair, the quick snap of movement. Then light flooded the room as she yanked the lamp cord.

“What happened?” she shouted, panic slicing through her usual teasing tone. “Zani, are you hurt?” I didn’t answer right away. I pulled the ruined shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor like it meant nothing, then dragged the clean one on, the fabric sliding over skin that still hummed with adrenaline. Only then did I look at her. “I’m fine,” I said. “Just a couple of rogue mutts.” I rolled my eyes, like that explained everything. It didn’t.

Her expression hardened. “Well then what the hell is wrong with you?!” I turned away from her and walked to the window, planting my hands on the glass. Rain streaked down the pane, distorting the city lights beyond it, turning the world into something blurred and distant. The storm outside matched the one churning in my chest far too well. “Tell me,” she demanded. No humor left now. Just concern. I exhaled slowly and turned back toward her. She froze.

Whatever was on my face- anger, confusion, something dangerously close to fear- it wiped the snark right off her. I didn’t let people see me like this. Ever. But Fi was different. She always had been. “I—” My jaw tightened. I hated how unfamiliar my own voice sounded. “I think I met my mate.”