"What are you doing, beautiful?" Zach asked the next morning. I glanced up from the paper in my hand to see him filling the doorway to my office with his muscular arms folded across his chest.
"Nothing," I mumbled, flicking over the page to continue reading.
"I swear if you're working at 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning, I will drag you to bed and tie you down just so you can sleep," he quipped, striding into the room and leaning over the desk.
I lifted my gaze to his and smiled mischievously. "Just so I can sleep?" I raised an eyebrow. "You can't think of anything else we could do with me tied to the bed?"
The playful glint in his eyes darkened with clouds of lust, sending flutters through my stomach. He leant forward so our lips were mere millimetres apart. "Don't tempt me."
I giggled and pecked a kiss on his lips before leaning back. "It's not technically work," I told him.
"I'm not bothered about the technicalities," he growled. "You are reading."
"They are my moms diaries," I told him, pointing to the pile of pink leather covered books beside me as well as the one in my hand.
"Why are you reading them now?" He asked, shuffling through the huge pile and reading the dates imprinted on the covers.
"Thought reading about my moms memories would help me forget the feeling of impending doom lodged in my stomach," I laughed.
Zach rolled his eyes and took my hand, tugging me up from my seat and rounding the desk. One of his long, calloused fingers trailed down my cheek before his plump lips clasped over mine. His one hand curled around my chin while his thumb made small circles on my cheek. His other hand pulled my waist closer to his and immediately I felt his hard on press against my thigh.
I let a light moan slip out from between my lips, letting his tongue venture deeper into my mouth. When we finally pulled away, I was panting and extremely turned on. "I would love nothing more than to keep kissing you right now," he stated, smirking down at my flustered face. "However, my brother and all our friends are in the next room, wondering where you went."
"Urgh fine," I grumbled following his lead out of the study towards the living room and the crowd of friends staring. I kept the one diary in my hand so I could keep reading while trying to be sociable.
"You guys were doing it weren't you." Ryder grinned at me, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. I reached for the nearest pillow and launched it at his head, smiling proudly when it landed smack in the middle of his forehead.
"That's your one and only warning to shut up," I told him, raising my eyebrows at him in a warning.
"Apparently you weren't very good Zach because she seems more grouchy than when you two disappeared." He smirked and Zach growled beside me.
"I warned you," I said in a sing song voice, releasing strong, pulsing waves of dominance and sending them crashing over him.
He groaned from the sharp pains that rained down on him and snarled at me. "Alright alright."
"Apologise," I ordered.
He sighed. "Sorry," he grumbled and I reigned it back in, releasing him from the strong hold. "I hate when you do that," he huffed.
"I know." I grinned and hopped onto the arm of the chair Zach had sat on. Immediately, he tugged at my waist until I slid down onto his lap and his arms held my back flushed against his chest.
"Whats that?" Caroline nodded towards the pink book resting on my lap with a curious look on her face.
"My moms diary. I found loads of them locked in the office with my dads confidential things," I told her and she narrowed her eyes.
"Why were they locked away?" Alexia asked, sprawled across the floor beside me.
I shrugged. "Maybe they contain pack secrets or something. Or my dad just didn't want to lose them."
"I would've thought he would've shown you," Blake said as I flicked through the pages, skimming the recalls of her days.
I simply shrugged in reply, reading thoroughly through the rest of the diary with a smile on my face. The others chatted aimlessly about whatever came to mind but their voices were a blur in the background.
"Ella?" I snapped my head up to see them all staring at me.
"Yeah?"
"What did she write about that's so interesting?" Mason asked with a raised brow.
"Well..." I smiled sheepishly. "Me."
He laughed as Ryder lunged forward and peeled the book from my hand, dashing to the other side of the room. "Ryder!" I scrambled off Zachs lap to chase him and stopped when he cleared his throat.
"Ella is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I cannot believe how in love with her I am," he read with a chuckle. "I only wish things would've happened a little differently. I would give anything for my parents to have been able to meet her before they passed, I know they would've fallen in love with her and spoilt her like she deserves."
Small tears brimmed my eyes as he read on. "I also wish that my beautiful daughter hadn't come into this world amidst the chaos we are trying to deal with. I will do anything to keep her safe from it all but that doesn't help me sleep at night... What does that mean El?" Ryder asked.
"I have no idea." My voice was quieter than expected. I cleared my throat. "I guess maybe there were pack problems?" I suggested and he shrugged.
"Well what does it say next?" Liam asked Ryder.
"Um.... Alex is the most incredible father, just as I knew he would be. I love watching him with Ella, he takes care of her and protects her and coaxes sweet laughs from her all the time. He treats her like his own daughter and... What?"
My heart stopped beating for a few seconds and I stood, frozen on the spot as the words sunk in. Like his own daughter.
I wished I was sitting because my knees buckled and my legs gave way beneath me, causing my to stumble into Zach's hard chest. I had no idea when he stood but his arms steadied my shaking body while I waited for Ryder to continue reading and tell me it wasn't what it sounded like.
"That can't be true. It must be a mistake. Right? I mean he is definitely my dad so whatever that means, it isn't what I think. He was my dad. He was. I mean sure I look more like my mom than him but we had the same... the same..." I was gasping for something like a fish out of water. "I don't really remember but I would've known if he wasn't my dad so its wrong. Right Ryder? If you keep reading you can prove its wrong, right?"
I looked to him with so much hope. Desperation dripped from my tone and his expression contorted into a stricken one. "El," he spoke softly, apologetically and it felt like a dagger going straight through my heart.
"Oh my god." The tears fell. I couldn't keep them at bay any longer. He wasn't my real dad. Everything was all just one big lie. "Oh my god," I repeated, pulling out of Zach's arms and sprinting out of the room to the office where nobody could hear the sobs that seemed to rack through me.
"Ella!" Shouts followed me as I slammed the door shut and locked it, crumbling into a ball on the floor as the tears trickled down my face.