Her Wolf Is Gone

Chapter 19

***Zara's POV***

The bright afternoon felt foreign to me. My emotions are too much right now. It was the heaviness from my brush with my nightmare that set me on edge. Fissures patterned my mind. Conlan helped keep the dark abyss at bay. Somehow he made the world more centered. What I really wanted was to heal his wounds, even unnecessarily as his wolf was doing it just fine. But I longed to feel his warmth again, but I also knew it wasn't my warmth he wanted. On top of that I remembered every word I screamed and I wanted to take them all back. All of it was just more fuel for him to reject me completely.

"I need your help." He says as he looks down at me.

"Sure." I managed to say. Anymore and I wouldn't have been able to respond without breaking down into a pathetic mess. Since my hands and feet were still bound I wiped my runny nose on the shoulder of my shirt. When I looked back up his face was barely an inch away. The sudden proximity made my heart pound and my breath escaped in a gasp. Conlan only came closer with his hands around me to undo the stiff knots around my wrists. He took extra care to inspect them for any harm. My wrists were bright red and felt like they would bruise. That is my fault though. I really struggled against my restraints when I was consumed by him; my false mate. Just thinking about him caused me pain and made me sick to my stomach. Even now I can feel a splinter's worth of me crave him as part of my other half.

"Your wrists..." He trailed while trying to sooth them with a gentle touch. His calloused hands ran over the areas in small circles while a pained expression befell his face.

"I'll be fine." Conlan turned his dazzling gaze in my direction. "I'm used to such things." I tried to reassure him. Instead of a relief in his eyes I saw them darken as he frowned in disapproval. With a little bit of effort I snatched my hands back and rubbed the rawness myself.

"I know you must have been through a lot, but none of it is fine. Neither should you be used to harm." He lectured as he tenderly undid the knots at my ankles.

"I meant the bruises. I'm always in the ring with my Krav Maga Club." Conlan stepped away to give me room to hop out of the back seat. Jarring bolts of searing fire rods shoot up and down my back. I had forgotten that I was still healing. 'Damn human healing speed.'

"Easy there. You're still injured." He said while holding his arms out in case I stumbled too far. "Krav Maga, huh." A slight smirk played on his soft lips. The twinkle in his now beautiful blue eyes with that sparkling yellow ring told me that he was somewhat amused with the idea of me in a martial arts club.

"Yeah." I stop suddenly. Realization dawned on me that Fabian is going to kill me when he finds out I'm not at home or at the gym or at work. "Fuck." Uselessly, I start rummaging and start padding my pockets looking for my phone. "My phone. I need my phone. I have to call Fabian."

Conlan's face turned to stone, and his eyes steel. He folded his arms across his wide chest. "Listen, carefully." His voice was incredibly low as he growled out his words. "Your life here no longer exists. It's better if you cut ties completely." Again, he steps into my personal bubble. This Alpha tries to completely dominate me into compliance as he presses me against the side of the truck. I try to worm away but he catches me and captures my chin so I'm forced to look at him. "You will not call him. Or anyone." Vibrations from his chest sent tingles down my spine. Tingles were not there because I was scared, but that his undertone of possessiveness and Alpha dominance was creating small wildfires to spread deep inside me.

Feeling both betrayed by my mind and body, I responded in true Zara fashion. "You know how the last time you did this ended, don't you?" I challenged him. "And the time before that." It was my turn to smirk as I remembered our past encounters. "Or do you need some help remembering? Conlan." It was very satisfying watching his breathing become heavier as I stopped resisting and moved my body slightly more suggestively against his hard frame. His name slid over my tongue with extra sweetness. Objective being I wanted him to get a taste of what I was going through. 'Cause ya know, misery loves company.'