Kiara:
Of course I saw Gia standing by the door, and I needed Zane to say something demeaning about her. I saw her kiss him outside, and the way she was all over him got to me, no matter how much I don’t want it to.
Zane marked me, and I can’t help what the mate bond is doing to me, and it’s his fault, so I have to make his life unbearable.
“Gia, wait!” Zane calls out, but Gia slams the door hard in his face.
Zane shoots me an angry look, but I ignore him and tuck myself into bed. He has a lot of explaining to do, and I’m ready to hear it. I can hear things from a distance if I want to, so I don’t need to get out of bed to hear their conversation. I lie tight in bed as I hear him running down the hallway after Gia. When he catches up with her, he tries to hold her, but she pushes him away.
“All these years, I think the feeling is mutual. You have sex with me, Zane. I give up my virginity for you and I have seen no man for five years. I am twenty-three, and I never dream of any man but you.”
Poor girl.
“Zane, we are siblings. Even though we are not related by blood, your father will murder me, and Yusuf… I…”
“You didn’t think of it before we have sex. I hate you, Zane,” Gia says, slapping his hands off hers. “The mate bond? You have a mate bond with her?”
“That is nothing, Gia,” he lies.
“Nothing, you say? I am not dumb, Zane. Ever since that night, I have done my research about werewolves, because I long to be with you, but now I can’t even imagine that you already have a mate,” she says, and Zane sighs.
I’ve not seen anyone put Zane in his place, let alone a woman. I’m loving this family already.
“Gia, I swear I’m going to make it up to you. I’m not running away, and…”
“First, you call me psycho in front of that woman., and I’ve never seen you act that way with a hostage. You torture the hell out of their lives, but she’s living in a room where you leave your disgusting girlfriends, and she has a freaking maid.”
“You love her, Zane, and…” Before Gia can finish her statement, Zane presses his lips on hers, and then she pushes him away.
“That doesn’t work, Zane. If you really care about me, then reject her,” she says, and my eyes widen.
My heart palpitates as I wonder if I should continue listening. If Zane rejects me, I might lose my life. It’s unheard that anyone has survived a second rejection, unless they have a third chance mate, which is almost impossible.
“Gia… I…”
“Can’t reject her, because you love her,” Gia says, and then she walks away, slamming the door in his face.
After that, I hear Zane marching towards my room. I quickly cover myself and pretend to sleep. He pulls the door open.
“I hope you’re happy, and… you’re asleep,” he says, and then he shuts the door.
I expect him to get into bed with me, but he walks to the couch.
**
The next morning, when I open my eyes, I don’t see Zane. I stood up from the bed, and then the door to my room swings open. I hope to see Zane, but it was Ariana standing with some clothes in her hands.
“Mr. Malibu asks that you get dressed in this,” she says, and then she places the clothes on the bed.
I walk towards the bed, and I grab the clothes to see that it’s his sweatshirt and pants.
“Why is he giving me his clothes?”
“Because Mr. Fernandez wants breakfast with you, after which he plans to return to his villa in town,” Ariana says, and I scoff.
My mind juggles back to what happened yesterday, and I feel my heart getting heavy. I can’t believe Zane refused to reject me, but somehow I feel for Gia. She is twenty-three and unmarried, that’s the age of an old maiden in my pack.
“Ma’am, we should get going,” Ariana says, snapping me out of my fantasy.
I quickly take my bath, and I get into Zane’s clothes. Then Ariana accompanies me downstairs for breakfast.
As I walk into the dining room, my eyes spot Mr. Fernandez first, and my jaw drops in awe. Are men in this family built this way? He isn’t Zane’s biological father, but he is handsome. His gray hairs are finely laid down, and his mustache gives his face a befitting shape.
“Oh, my!” I exclaim, fluttering my lashes while Zane stares at me with his brows wrinkled.
Mr. Fernandez gets up from his seat at once, and then he smiles at me. I pinch Ariana.
“I feel like I’m in a movie,” I whisper.
When Mr. Fernandez gets to me, he takes my hands in his, and kisses it briefly.
“Mrs. Blackwood,” he says, and my face lights up.
I know I hate Blake for what he did, but then I don’t need to be reminded that I’m an outcast in my hometown. Mr. Fernandez walks me to my seat, and he helps me sit down. I look at Zane, and I see the visible anger on his face, but I don’t care.
“Ever since the passing of my wife, I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as you. Makes me want to forget your family is the enemy,” Mr. Fernandez says, and I swallow hard.
Gia, who has been sitting quietly at the table, slams her fork into her steak, causing me to look at her. Mr. Fernandez does a quick introduction and I wave at her with a forced smile on my lips.
I’m try to ignore both her and Zane as I chat away with Mr. Fernandez until we finish breakfast.
“Oh, Kiara, I wish we could continue this conversation, but I have to return to my villa in town. In the meantime, you can visit anytime,” he says, pulling a card from his breast pocket. “Here, you can call me anytime, beautiful Kiara,” he says with a smile on his lips.
I take it from him, and I notice two angry faces staring at me, but I don’t bother.
“I’ll be right back,” I say to them, then I dash into the kitchen. I stand by the counter, taking a deep breath.
Mr. Fernandez likes me, and that is a good thing, but Zane and Gia both look like they want to murder me.
“Beautiful Kiara,” I hear Gia say, and I look up from where I am to see her by the door with her arms crossed and her brows knitted.
She walks up to me with her face loosening into a smile. She stops a few inches from me, and then she scoffs.
“I was expecting to see an ugly, badly shaped lady, but then I got you. Somehow, you have managed to string along both my father and Zane, but I want you to know that you will always be an enemy. You can’t string them along for long, and you should watch your back because I won’t let you dominate my territory,” she says, and then I chuckle.
“Gia, you are a pretty girl and I get your point. I watched my best friend take my husband, and even though we are merely acquaintances, I don’t want to interfere with the fantasies in your head. Zane marked me, and I need the mate bond to stay alive. Unless you find me a third mate, I can’t risk being rejected. In the meantime, I don’t even like Zane, and I just met your father, so chill out,” I say to her, hoping she would find sense in my words, but the look on her face says otherwise.
“This won’t be the last, Kiara. Stay away from both of them, and I don’t care if you have to die!” she yells, and the door flings open.
“What’s going on here?” Zane asks with his brows furrowed.
“I was just getting water,” Gia lies, opening the fridge beside her.
“Your father is waiting in the car, Gia, so let’s go,” Zane says, and then he grabs her hand without saying a word to me.
I take a deep breath, and I rush upstairs to my room, then I slam the door. I take out the card I was given and I stare at how perfectly crafted it is. With one glance at it, I store the number and address in my head.
In that moment, my door swings open and Zane walks up to me, snatching the card from my hand.
“You will never leave this house until I permit you to do so!” he growls, tearing the paper into shreds.