Chapter 16: Chapter 12

Adria

Damn this man to hell. He was killing me and my wolf’s infatuation with him was murder. Lucille was a damn softie, giving wolves everywhere a bad name and forcing me to be the hardass who was break-checking this emotional disaster.

After stripping me down raw, forcing me to give up control to a howling Lucille, and putting my body through the wringer, Zale left the ridiculously sized bedroom to let me settle in. I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to do that considering the closet was bigger than my entire apartment back at base and my clothes took up like 1% of it.

My four pairs of jeans, three T-shirts, three long sleeve shirts, five sweaters, my single formal dress, my two pairs of boots, one pair of sneakers, and my three Archer uniforms looked small and pathetic inside the gigantic dressing room. And that’s what it was, a dressing room; calling it a closet would be a disservice.

And forget about the bathroom. It was even bigger than the dressing room. It had a marble top vanity that took up an entire wall with two sinks set into the countertops, a tall cabinet on either end, and a combination of drawers and cabinets below the sinks.

Across from the vanity was a Jacuzzi tub and next to that was a shower with floor to ceiling blue tile, two shower heads, and a complex-looking tablet hanging in the corner. The toilet was in a separate closet on the far side of the room.

I plopped down on the edge of the bed and stared straight ahead, a blank expression on my face as I contemplated how I got here.

There was a soft knock on my door. I sighed and slowly dragged myself across the room, weary of who I was going to find on the other side of the door. Pulling open the door, I found a tall woman with the same black hair and blue eyes as Zale.

“Hello?”

“Hi!” The woman threw herself at me, hugging me tightly, “I’m Catelyn.” She squealed in my ear before releasing me.

“Uhm, hello?” I said again, confused.

Catelyn laughed,

“I’m Zale’s sister. Sorry, I’m just so excited to finally meet you. Zale’s been waiting literally forever for you.” She was practically bouncing up and down.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, too.” I said, my tone impartial.

“Everyone is gathering for dinner, we always have family dinners on Sunday, so I wanted to invite you downstairs.” Catelyn rambled.

“Oh, uhm,” I looked around her, desperately searching for Zale to get me out of this situation, “I’m not sure….” My voice trailed off.

“It’s just the family,” Catelyn pressed, “They are all dying to meet you. Zale will be there, too, of course.”

“Catelyn.” A stern voice called down the hallway and Catelyn’s face turned sour.

She rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to turn around.

“Yes?” She sang.

“Leave my mate alone.” Zale grumbled at his sister, nudging her out of the way.

“I’m just inviting her to dinner.” Catelyn replied innocently.

Zale shook his head and sighed,

“You don’t have to do that,” He said to me, “My over eager family can wait.”

I looked between the two of them and wrestled with the decision. In reality, I wasn’t ready to meet Zale’s family, especially if they were anything like the overeager sister before me. However, Zale had met my family and he had been incredibly patient with me thus far. Plus, what were the chances that I could go very long without meeting his family anyway, considering I was living in their home.

“No, it’s fine. I want to meet them.” I finally said,

The grin on Zale’s face made my insides twist and I instantly knew that I made the right decision. I blamed Lucille for making me give a damn about his emotions or making him feel happy, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t all my wolf’s fault.

“Oh, yay!” Catelyn squealed, clapping her hands together, “Dinner will be ready in an hour.”

With that, she danced off down the hallway.

Zale glared at her retreating form, shaking his head and grumbling incoherently under his breath.

“I’m sorry about her.” He said, slowly bringing his attention back to me.

“She’s….nice.” I tried to be polite.

Zale threw his head back and laughed at the sky.

“She’s a nightmare,” He said, his sparkling eyes looking back at me, “I swear, the rest of my family isn’t like her. Cat is a breed all her own.”

I sighed in relief at the knowledge that the rest of his family wasn’t as bubbly or energetic.

“Is she your only sibling?” I asked, unable to remember his family dynamic from his ceremony.

“No, I have Brienne, my other sister, and my two brother-in-laws. I also have two nieces and a nephew.” Zale said, speaking proudly of his family.

“You’re the last to be mated?” I said, slightly shocked and Zale nodded,

“My sisters were born here. My Mom was pregnant with Cat when we moved here and Brienne came two years later. Cat’s mate, Bryer, moved here when he was 16 and they found each other on his first day here. Bre’s mate actually came from your pack, they met at my ceremony. They were lucky.”

It was clear that Zale was happy and proud of his siblings, but there was also pain behind his eyes and my heart aches to see it.

“Who came from my pack?” I asked, slightly uncomfortable by his emotions.

“Jeremey Greene.” He said and my eyes widened slightly.

“Jeremey and my brother were best friends. Once upon a time, he was thought to be Aidian’s future Beta until he left. I had no idea he mated with your sister.” I said, surprised.

Zale grinned at me, the pain gone from his face, and he shrugged,

“The Goddess works in mysterious ways,” He winked at me, “She wanted to make sure that you had support here. Jeremey, Hollie….” His voice trailed off.

I nodded slowly, still skeptical of the Goddess’s plan, but trying hard to believe.

“And your parents?” I asked.

Zale’s entire face lit up,

“My mother is Morla, my father is Frode. They’re the best parents and they are going to love you.” He declared.

I realized that we were still standing awkwardly in the hallway, so I wandered back into the bedroom and Zale followed after me. We sat in the sitting room, staring at each other from across the coffee table.

“I remember meeting your parents once, before your ceremony. They came to the Sparrow pack for a meeting with my dad and our moms had taken tea in the sunroom. I accidentally interrupted their meeting, but your mom just laughed and asked me what kind of tea I wanted.” I said thoughtfully.

“She’s so laid back, I swear,” Zale chuckled, “She’s just going to adore you. She’s been waiting for me to find you for so long. And my dad is a giant softy. He spoils my sisters rotten and he’s going to do the same thing to you. He’s a hardass on us boys, but he’s a teddy bear for his girls.”

I blushed at being called one of Chieftain Frode’s girls. The familiarity was unnerving, but also shockingly comfortable. I didn’t really know how to respond so I just ducked my head and played absentmindedly with my hair.

“Adria?” Zale called my name and I glanced up at him through my lashes, “Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes shining with sincerity.

I wrestled up a smile,

“Just a little overwhelmed.” I admitted.

“Of course you are,” He smiled sweetly at me, standing from his chair to perch himself on the armrest of the sofa I was sitting on, “You really don’t have to do this dinner if you don’t want to.” He said, picking up my hand and playing with my fingers.

“No, I want to.” I said, determined.

“Fine, but tomorrow I want to plan a day for just us. Can I do that?” His eyes were on my hand as the pads of his fingers skillfully caressed my fingers.

“What kind of plan?” I asked.

Zale smirked crookedly and glanced up at me with his moody blue eyes,

“It’s a secret.” He said devilishly.

I sighed,

“I hate surprises.” I grumbled and Zale continued to laugh at me.

“It’ll be a good surprise, I promise.” He said,

I paused in my reply for a long time. So long that Zale spoke again,

“Trust me, Kyrre?” He asked.

“Okay, fine.” I agreed reluctantly, but my hesitation didn’t seem to bother Zale one bit.

“I promise you won’t regret it, precious.” His voice grew low and gravelly, stirring desire and lust inside my chest.

I hid my emotions and covered them up with mock annoyance. Zale smirked at me, like he saw right through my facade, and brought my hand to his lips. He kissed my palm and grazed my hand across his cheek, caressing himself with the back of my hand; and I let him.

After the moment was over, I had to do something to break up the tension. I gently took back my hand and stood from the sofa.

“You know what’s crazy?” I asked him and Zale cocked an eyebrow at me, following me as I walked towards the closet, “The way my clothes look in that closet.” I said, pointing towards the closet door.

Zale started laughing again,

“What do you mean?” He asked, opening up the closet door. Once he saw the tiny amount of space my clothes took up, he began laughing harder, “I see what you mean.”

He walked back out of the closet and took my hand, pulling me back towards the bedroom door,

“I have an idea about that.” He said and I dreaded the thought.

“What idea?” I asked, but he ignored me as he dragged me from the room, “What idea, Zale?” I asked in a harder tone of voice.

He continued to ignore me.