“Day drinking already?” Kieran asked, his voice flat.
“I spent the last four hours sleeping, slowly healing from my father’s favorite brand of torture. I can feel the silver in my veins still, and the Advil in the fucking cabinet isn’t going to help,” Zack snapped but rolled his eyes and huffed when Kieran took a step forward. The man wasn’t piss drunk, but his guard was most definitely lowered from however much alcohol he had consumed.
Kat came out from the kitchen with two plates in her hands. Thick pancakes rose from the plate in a tower of golden sticky syrup. A stack of bacon sat on each side of the plates, sending the smoky scent into the air. She handed one to Eve and sat down beside her.
“Oh, I didn’t expect you three up so early,” Kat cleared her throat, trying to hide some of the anger that still pulsed through her.
“Since you patched me up with your mediocre sewing skills, think you could bring me a plate of food?” Zack swiveled his eyes towards Kat and asked smoothly, his face a mask of cool indifference. “I’d hate to tear a stitch and have to suffer through a repeat.”
I instinctively took a step back when Kat set her plate on the table, making it clatter as she stormed to her feet. Her emotions were a thunderstorm of anger, resentment, regret, and just a whisper of need. Her emotions had been stronger since Zack rejected her, more volatile when it came to his petty jabs. I couldn’t blame her, knowing how she felt whenever he was near. Rejection turned happiness to anger and sucked the joy out of every moment. It felt like seeing the world in black and white when everyone around you marveled at the colors.
“If it weren’t for my mediocre sewing job, as you so ignorantly call it, you’d still be bleeding out. Not to mention Eve and I carried your heavy ass through the forest for hours to get you here,” she snarled, her fists clenched at her sides. I was nearly eighty percent sure that if he weren’t already injured, Kat would’ve swung at him. Her voice grew a few octaves as she sharpened her words and flung them like daggers, “I have never met someone so fucking ungrateful. If you put as much effort into doing the right thing as you did complaining, you would’ve rescued half the white wolves in your father’s pack by now!”
What was even stranger than the anger that crackled and surrounded Kat like tendrils of flame was what I felt coming from Zack. Since meeting Zack Billford, I felt next to nothing when it came to his emotions. He had been refined by his father, molded and morphed into the damaged man he was today. I wasn’t sure how much he had to drink, but it was affecting that carefully crafted wall he placed over his emotions.
The wall held them back, making him all but numb to the world. It was how he survived-a defense mechanism bashed into him by Maverick. I saw it for what it was, a way to survive the horrors of his life without being affected.
This new side of Zack, the one where his wall was lowered, gave me a glimpse of him. I wasn’t sure what kind of emotions a man like Zack would feel, but the last I expected to find was amusement.
It shimmered and danced like a flame, playful where Kat was fueled with frustration. Every ounce of the emotion was directed at her, the way her face reddened and her emerald eyes flared like glittering jewels. He was enjoying this, seeing her worked up and angry with him. Usually, feeling others’ emotions gives me a glimpse into why they do what they do. But feeling Zack’s emotions for the first time-well, the man clearly had some deep-rooted issues if he was enjoying this, purposefully riling her up for whatever reason he could concoct in his head.
When Kat finished snapping at Zack, she turned on her heel and stormed back into the kitchen. I could hear the clatter of dishes and her furious mumbling as she rummaged around.
“You’re a dumbass. She’s going to take your head off if you keep fucking with her,” I frowned down at him, feeling irked when my comment rolled off his shoulders.
“She’s so very easy to rile up.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “By all means, give me some other form of entertainment while I’m stuck here.”
“Try watching TV like a normal person.” I replied dryly, narrowing my eyes at him as Kat walked back into the room with a plate in her hand. She stopped in front of Zack, her lips thinning when he gave her an oily smile. “Fine, do what you want. There’s plenty of room in the backyard to bury you once she’s finished.”
“Oh, but she won’t kill me.” Zack shook his head confidently, bringing the crystal glass to his lips. His frost-colored eyes remained locked on Kat and didn’t waver when she dropped the plate on his lap.
“Don’t make a fucking mess. I’m not helping you bathe yourself,” she hissed, drawing back all the anger that had previously exploded from her. I commended her strength because the amount of energy behind her emotions was staggering.
“Care to bet on it?” he replied darkly, knowledge flashing in his eyes. “Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lost.”
What he said had an impact on Kat and made her bristle. She snatched up her own plate and headed towards the stairs, stopping to give me an apologetic smile.
“I’ll catch up with you guys in a few hours,” she promised, turning her eyes to Zack. They narrowed upon impact, and her words sharpened. “I think I’ll finish my breakfast in my room.”
Zack glanced down at his plate and frowned. “Who doesn’t put syrup on their pancakes? I’m not a complete monster.”
Kat ignored him, which he rightfully deserved, and went upstairs. I followed the twins into the kitchen, surprised that Kat hadn’t just cooked for her and Eve. A stack of pancakes sat beneath a plastic cover, along with the rest of the typical breakfast foods.
I snickered when the twins began piling their plates up high, even though I was incredibly relieved Ethan was eating solid foods. The sight of them with plates bigger than their heads brought a shred of normalcy back into our lives.
As I sat at the kitchen table eating with them, I let my mind wander to what things could be like after this mess was over. I still hadn’t forgotten my idea of a bakery, even though I wasn’t sure when I’d ever have the time to run a shop when I fully became Luna.
“Being Luna doesn’t have to run your life, sweetheart,” Kieran said in between forkfuls of pancake. Lately, we’ve been reading each other’s thoughts more and more, using that channel of communication. For some reason, it felt more natural to share my thoughts with them. “You should always have time to do the things you love.”
“Well, I don’t exactly know how to bake,” I chuckled, shoving another forkful of eggs into my mouth. “Bia taught me some things, but really she just kind of told me what to do.”
“Mom would love to help you. She’s been complaining lately that there isn’t much to do-well, she said that before all of this started.” Ethan grinned, leaning back in his seat.
The conversation quickly turned to their parents and whether they were currently safe. The twins’ parents had sent them ahead to the safe house, opting to head home to make sure Williams and Sebastian made it out safely.
With Maverick stirring up a nationwide manhunt for us, the best thing to do was lay low. When it was safe to travel, then we could head home. It was the safest place for us, to be within the borders of our own pack.
“They’ll be in touch with us either today or tomorrow,” Kieran reassured me with a soft look. “When it’s time for us to leave, we’re going to need their help. Hopefully, the search will have calmed down by then, but I doubt it. Maverick won’t quit that easily, and we don’t have weeks to hide out here.”
“I think Carlos might be able to help as well,” I explained, going through what exactly happened when his daughter wrapped her hand around my wrist.
Both of my mates seemed stunned at Carlos’s involvement with rescuing the white wolves, even though this was his safe house we were staying in.
“His help could change the outcome of this war, depending on who Maverick calls to his side.” Ethan frowned, and I could already see the gears turning in his head.
The twins helped clean the kitchen once we finished eating. Ethan was still loading the dishwasher, so I wandered out to the living room. Eve was still perched on the couch, a bag of chips in hand. Her eyes were glued to the television, and the colorful show that played across the screen.
“Maverick doesn’t let us have junk food,” Eve rolled her eyes. “Not that most of us see him personally anyway. He just keeps us healthy so he can study us and use us when he needs. Which is why I plan on eating whatever I want while I’m away.”
“For some reason, I’m not surprised,” I said, my voice grim.
I glanced up to where Kat had gone, feeling a pang of guilt hit my chest. What she was going through wasn’t easy, and I hadn’t been there as much as I could’ve. I made a beeline for the stairs when Eve’s voice called out to me.
“I’m not going to even try understanding Zack, but as someone who’s known him for a long time, I can tell when he cares about something. The more he feels for your friend, the more he’s going to push her away,” Eve frowned, but the serious expression only lasted a second before she shrugged. “Doesn’t mean he isn’t a manipulative prick, but your friend seems like she can handle herself.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that or whether it should bring some shred of comfort or not. Zack was so deeply rooted in the lifestyle his father had created that he shoved anyone he cared for away. It was a way to protect them, and himself. Regardless, a person could only take so much before they shattered entirely.
I made it to the top of the stairs when I heard a deep groan, followed by some quietly muttered words. I stopped myself before I turned the corner, nearly speaking when I saw Zack crouched on the floor of the hallway. Beside him was Kat, her face contorted in a grimace as she helped him up.
“You idiot, I told you not to drink so much,” she hissed angrily, draping his arm over her shoulder to shift some of his weight onto her. “And you’ve torn your stitches.”
“Quit fucking helping me,” he snarled back, but there was no venom in his words considering Kat held up most of his weight.
Even though I should have turned back long ago, I stood there watching until Kat opened the door to her bedroom and walked the two of them inside. As she closed the door behind her, I swore I could hear her say, “I wish I could.”