True Wolf (Bennett Pack #3)

9. Zion

CHAPTER NINE

ZION

S he was stubborn, defiant, and so fucking sexy. My little storm. I loved that she was challenging my authority but I would prefer to have her challenge me while she was in my bed. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get to that until she fessed up to the true reason why I wasted three fucking months chasing a ghost.

A mate that didn’t exist out there in the wild because she was here , living under my gotdamn roof with the pack I selfishly left behind.

I watched her from across the room while summoning every ounce of restraint I owned and some that didn’t exist also, just to keep from stripping Nessah bare and sinking my dick so deep in her that she would internally be marked, while my teeth visibly marked her pretty brown skin for everyone else to see.

She would be marked, because she was mine, but I was still so fucking angry about how we’d gotten here. My stubborn wolf sat silently for the past ten minutes, refusing to give me what I wanted…answers.

There was also the small detail that she threatened to reject me. She was adamant and fearful, both palpable, which had me conflicted. She barely knew me yet spoke the word rejection. Why the fuck was that? What had I done? A thought surfaced out of nowhere…

“Is there someone else?”

“What?”

“You belong to me, yet you let me chase another. Even now, I feel your attraction. I can damn near taste it and you threatened to reject me. It doesn’t make sense. Tell me why?”

I tried my best to tap into her thoughts but she blocked the pack link. I hadn’t mated her yet so our bond wasn’t there.

“Just trust me when I say it’s not a good idea.”

“I don’t fucking trust you. You’ve already betrayed me…” I threw my glass to the floor and it shattered on the hardwood. She froze, glaring.

“Yet another reason why this won’t work. If you can’t trust your mate, then you can’t trust yourself, Zion. There’s no point to this. Just please…”

I stalked across the room, stopping inches from where she stood. There had to be someone else. That was the only thing that made sense and the thought pushed fire through my veins. I dropped my face beside her so my lips brushed her ear when I made clear, “You don’t want to tell me, then I’ll make the decision for you. There’s no choice to make. It will never be him or me because as soon as I find out who he is, he’ll no longer exist. There will only be me.”

I pressed a kiss to her neck and let my tongue glide down to the curve where it connected with her shoulder. My canines grazed her skin before I pulled back. Not taking what I wanted almost fucking killed me but I wouldn’t mark her until she accepted that she was mine.

“Your best bet is to stay put. You can run if you want but I promise you won’t get far.”

I pulled back and left my apartment. The second I shut the door behind me, my wolf was howling in protest. I needed answers and since Nessah refused to give them to me, I decided to force them from the only other person who would potentially know the secrets she was hiding.

With a newfound motivation, I made my way to the elevator and traveled to the second floor where I exited and headed straight to Mina’s apartment. I knocked several times, to no avail, then shouldered my way through the door. She was nowhere to be found, which pissed me off and had me taking the elevator back up to my floor. Jo would either know where she was or have her cell phone number. If she ran, I could use that to track her.

Either she and Nessah were hiding the same secret or she had one of her own.

As soon as I reached my brother’s apartment, I let myself in and a frown etched onto my face before my eyes darted between Lazar and Jo then settled on the face of the person I was coming here to get intel to find.

“What the fuck is going on? Why is she here?”

“Where is my cousin?” She lunged forward, lifting her chin defiantly. Her shoulders rolled back and her stance was wide, as if she were considering attacking me if she didn’t like my answer.

“Better than she has been for the past couple hours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, while you were decorating tables and arranging flowers, my mate occupied a cage in the basement.”

“Why the hell would you take her down there? She hasn’t done anything wrong. Did you hurt her? Where is she now?”

The questions came back to back while her eyes blazed with anger. Everyone in our pack knew the cages were holding places for enemies. Very rarely did those who occupied them walk freely after being held captive. She was worried about Nessah.

Good, at least I could use that to my advantage.

“I didn’t put her there. He did…” I pointed to Lazar seconds before I closed the space between us, walking her back until her body collided with one of the glass panels that provided of a view of the city below us.

“Zion,” Jo warned but I held up my hand to shut down whatever argument she was about to issue. I placed my other palm next to my captive’s head.

“You love your cousin, Mina? You want her safe?” Her eyes flickered with something before she nodded stiffly and released a soft, “Yes.”

“Tell me what she’s hiding.”

“I can’t.” She shook her head.

“You know what we are, don’t you?”

“I do, but I still can’t tell you. She’ll kill me.”

I smirked. “If she gets a chance to but you might not survive me or them. Especially if I share what I know about this little game you and Nessah have been playing.”

Her eyes shot past me to where Jo and Lazar were standing. “We’re not playing a game.”

“What’s going on, Zion?” Lazar was at my side.

“Do you want to tell him or should I? Because if I tell them, you don’t get a chance to explain why my mate betrayed me and why you lied to protect her.”

“She didn’t betray you,” Mina yelled and a growl pushed through my chest. She swallowed thickly and added softly. “She was scared.”

“Of me?”

“Of disappointing you.”

I frowned in confusion.

“Zion, what the fuck is she talking about? Your mate? Nessah is your mate?”

I held my hand up to silence Jo again and Lazar growled beside me. The act was disrespectful in his opinion.

“Disappoint me how?”

“Because she can’t have children. You’re an Alpha. A pure blood . You’ll be expected to have kids, to build a legacy, and she can’t give them to you.”

I blinked a few times, attempting to process what she was saying.

“How could she know that?”

“She just does and she needs to be the one to tell you. I’ve already said too much. Now where is she? Can I see her? Did you…”

Hurt her…

“No, I didn’t hurt her.”

I wouldn’t.

“Zion, come talk to me outside.” Lazar’s tone was low but demanding. I didn’t give a fuck about him asserting his demand but I still gave in. I only backed down because I needed a minute to process. I stalked to the door and he followed, closing it behind him once we were both in the hallway. My back met the wall and I raked a hand down my face before my chin dipped toward my chest.

“What the fuck was that?”

“It wasn’t Keerah I was reacting too.”

“How is that possible?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know all the details, but it was Nessah’s scent in that bed. Maybe Mina snuck her in, let her sleep there. Who the fuck knows? But it was her, not Keerah.”

“Is that what she told you?”

“In so many words, yeah.”

And then she fucking betrayed me and our bond by letting me think it was Keerah. She couldn’t have stopped me from leaving but she could have fessed up to one of you and I wouldn’t have been gone for so long wasting my gotdamn time.

I refused to tell Lazar that, not now. Not until I had all this shit figured out.

“You think she’s telling the truth about not being able to give you kids?”

“I don’t fucking know,” I growled, angry at the situation more than I was with him.

“And if what she’s saying is the truth? Then what?”

“I don’t fucking know that either.”

“But she’s your mate. You’re sure of the bond?”

I laughed sarcastically at the reality. “Yeah I’m sure.”

“Go talk to her, find out the truth, then decide how you two are going to make this work. The alternative isn’t good for either of you.”

Rejection could potentially kill us both .

“If it’s true…” My eyes met Lazar’s with the weighted truth lingering.

If she can’t give me kids…

“It doesn’t fucking matter. She’s yours, Zion, and we don’t turn our backs on our heart’s connections.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and then was gone. I raked a hand down my face, pushed away from the wall, and headed back across the hallway to my apartment.