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Zane nods slowly, his eyes fixed on mine. His irises are a warm, chocolate brown; they make me feel comfortable, safe. I wonder if I can really trust him, or if his looks are giving me a false sense of complacency.
"I see," he says. "You had to do what you had to do to survive. But that doesn't make you a monster, you know."
I stare at him, surprised by the compassionate tone in his voice. It's been a while since anybody's tried to understand me, let alone sympathize with me. "You don't think I'm a monster?"
"I think you're a person," he replies simply. "A person who's been dealt a shitty hand in life, but still manages to keep going. And that takes guts. More than most people have."
I feel a lump in my throat, and I'm not sure if it's because of his words...or the sudden confirmation that I am, in fact, attracted to himwithoutthe influence of my heat. His strong features, kind eyes, mysterious past, and the way he treats me like an equal instead of a freak--it's all making me want him in a way that's both thrilling and terrifying.
Desire is dangerous for omegas.
That's the first thing we learn when we get old enough to go into heat, because alphas won't let you love them without demanding your submission.
I want to ask if the person who got hurt--and the person who left the journal in the guest room--was Evelyn. But I can tell Zane is ready to leave it be, so I glance back toward the door.
"Okay..." I start. "So I know where the guns are, where the exits are. I guess we should start working on getting that ink?"
6
Zane
IwalkbacktowardEve's Apple with a bottle of synthetic claiming ink in my pocket, and everything about it feels wrong.
I thought that, when Kendra's heat ended, I would stop feeling these raging hormones...but if anything, I'm feeling less in control than I did when she was locked up in that room. It isn't like when I could smell her heat--my body isn't getting aroused, threatening to take control.
Fuck...I think I might justlike her.
Which is, of course, totally fucked up.
Kendra is half my age, and she came to me looking for help. It brings back lots of shitty memories, too...memories of Evie begging me to fuck her, when I knew that she was just in heat and wanted someone safe andavailable.
I never entertained the thought that Evie might just care about me--I was too focused on making sure she actuallyknewwhat she wanted as an omega.
And somehow, without even trying, here I am again.
I really hope Kendra accepts the synth mark.
Not just for her...but for me. So I don't feel this near-unbearable compulsion to claim her myself.
I go through the back door of the shop, finding the place empty. For a second, I think she's left--and I hate howangrythat makes me on a deep, primal level--but then she pops out around a corner as I make my way to the kitchen, clearly having been hidden just like I told her. She's a smart girl; no wonder she managed to hide from the ACB for a full two years before she was caught.
"Hey," I say, pulling the vial out of my pocket. "I got it."
She swallows hard and looks at the vial, her eyes darting up to mine. She opens her mouth like she's gonna ask me a question, but then she just nods.
"We should do it," she says. "I made up my mind. Let's do it now, just to be safe."
I nod and walk over to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for her to sit in. She's wearing a t-shirt--one of Evie's that was still tucked away in the dresser in the guest room--and it brings up lots of weird feelings that I can still scent a long-dead girl on Kendra's clothes, and that it makes me want her even more. I feel myself getting hard, but in a way that feels entirely different than how I get hard when I smell her heat.
It's just a reminder of why I need to do thisnow. To neutralize her scent, if only a little.
"Where do you want it?" I ask.
"Where would a claiming mark usually go?" she shoots back.
Jesus...everywhere? On her neck, her breasts, her inner thighs, her round ass...
"It's really your call," I say, my voice gruff.
