Chapter 0186

Zachary

I messed up badly.

Her furious breathing echoed from behind the door. She was absolutely livid with me. It might have been amusing if I hadn't understood exactly what those thoughts meant.

I was such a fool.

I pushed gently against the door. It didn't move an inch. From the shadow beneath it, I could tell she was leaning against it to block my entry. Though I could force my way in if I wanted to. It wouldn't take much to make her slide across the tiles.

"Isabella."

"I have nothing to say to you." Her reply was sharp and bitter. Her words dripped with venom. She was so enraged that there weren't even any tears.

"I..." Would she believe me if I told her the truth?

Jealousy wasn't an emotion I was familiar with. Every time her mind drifted to him, I just wanted to remind her that I was her mate. That the bastard who rejected her had done exactly that.

It wasn't even him I was jealous of. It was the fact she was thinking about another man, if you could even call him that.

"I'm sorry." I muttered through the door. I already knew simple words wouldn't be enough to fix this.

She shuffled away from the door. I watched the handle turn. She pulled it open just an inch. Peering through the narrow gap at me. "You're terrible at apologies."

"I don't usually have to make them."

I wanted to push the door open and pull her into my arms. But the way she blocked the entrance told me she might either appreciate it or punch my eyes out. It was impossible to predict.

"I don't want him. You need to understand that. He's in my thoughts because he's messing with my head. The blood on the windows and seeing him... He's not the man I remember, which makes it even more confusing. And that definitely doesn't mean I want to sleep with him!"

"I know that now."

"How could you even think I would want him?" Her voice broke. "He damaged me in more ways than just my leg."

"Just come out of the bathroom."

She opened the door a little wider. I saw she had wrapped herself in a robe, concealing her beautiful body. Her arms folded under her chest as she hugged herself tightly. Her dark eyes met mine.

"I am yours Zachary. Not his, not anyone else's, yours forever."

I seized the moment to pull her against me. She didn't resist. Resting her cheek against my chest as our heartbeats slowly synchronized.

"What didn't you want to tell Athena?" she asked quietly once her anger subsided.

"Maybe you should sit down for this."

"Why?" She leaned back in my arms, her brow furrowing into a frown. "I've seen some pretty horrible things."

"It was a box of dismembered body parts."

She grimaced. "Someone from the pack?"

"That's just it, it was human. And I'm guessing what was thrown at your window was part of that same body."

She pulled away from me and limped to the bed. Slowly sinking onto the mattress. I watched her trying to compose herself. "He would have had to leave the grounds to find a human."

"Unless they wandered into the forest."

"No, that doesn't happen. We're too far..." she trailed off, studying my face. "I've lived here my entire life and humans don't just wander in. Has Alexander told you that's happened?"

I nodded.

"Did he kill them?"

"No, at least I don't think so. He said he tells them it's private property and they'll be sued for trespassing if they don't leave."