LOGINSORA. I muttered in my sleep, trying to reach a part where I couldn’t. A gun was pointed straight at me. Then it moved to Zane. I begged out loud, “No. Don’t shoot him.” I ran toward it but my legs wouldn’t work. “Don’t!” The gun fired. My eyes fluttered open and I gasped loudly. A hand touched my chest. I tilted my head and a blurry face came into view. It was Cole. My panic died down as Cole spoke. “It’s okay. It’s me. Everything is okay. I’m right here.” I calmed my breathing and looked up at the white ceiling then back at him. “Where am I? How did I get here? What happened? Did I die?” “Whoa. You’re fast,” Cole said. “The first thing I answer is no, you’re not dead. You would have if Zane hadn’t brought you in time.” His face held something more. “You passed out. You’re in a hospital. The family’s. Actually Zane’s and you’re not supposed to be stressing.” “How long have I been out?” I asked. My voice sounded weak. Cole didn’t answer right away. I watched him clos
ZANE. I stood under the shower and scrubbed my skin hard with the soap. The hot water beat down on my shoulders while I kept thinking the same thing over and over. I could not let my pheromones act up the second I saw Sora. Every single time I got close to him my body just reacted and I knew it would make things worse for him right now. I turned the water colder and kept scrubbing until my skin felt raw. I stepped out and grabbed a towel. My hands shook a little while I dried off. I stared at the clothes hanging in the closet and actually started worrying about which shirt to pick. Black button-up or the plain gray one? I caught myself and muttered out loud, “Zane. You’re not fourteen. It’s not a date.” I raised my arm and sniffed. No pheromone scent at all. Good. I felt pleased with myself for once. Then that deep raspy voice filled my head. “That’s not going to stop anything. You just have to be angry and poof…” I rolled my eyes and answered inside my head, “I am getting s
ZANE.I tilted my head and smiled nicely at him. “Me? Have you gone mad, father?”He stormed, “Talk to me with respect, boy!”I stayed calm. “Why should I do that? After you disgraced yourself?”He got so pissed he lunged at me. Mom’s voice cut through the room loud and clear. “Lay one hand on him and you’ll lose them.”Dad froze. Mom spoke even louder, “Will the reviewers confirm the result?”Two council members stood up. The first one said, “Saint Monica confirms the results are real.”The second added, “Luke Combs hospitals confirm the DNA results also have a 99.99% positivity. Mr. Christopher is the father.”Dad looked back at the paper with horror all over his face. “No. It was Saint Michael’s this morning.”I held up the paper he had seen earlier. “You mean this. I knew you would do the usual bribe so I had three more hospitals do the test in secret.”His face filled with pure horror. I stood up from my seat. “Now that it’s settled.” I turned to Martin. “Let’s welcome my brother
ZANE.A week later a guard brought mail to the front porch where I sat sipping coffee and reading a boring book about controlling the spirit and mind. I wished the book would just end but I kept turning pages anyway.The guard handed it over. “Here, Mr. Zane.”I saw it was from Saint Michael hospital. I tore the envelope open. Before I could read the paper my father snatched it out of my hand in a hurry.He opened it, saw the words, and a big smile spread across his face. He went in jubilating, “I told you, Rose. I told you. I am not the father.”I rubbed my fingers together, took another sip of coffee, and stood up with the cup in one hand and the closed book in the other. I walked inside and found my father shoving the paper in Mom’s face while she sat in her wheelchair.He shouted, “I told you I was right. Don’t you owe me something?”Mom ignored him and turned her wheels away. He kept shouting, “I prove my innocence and you walk away from me.”Mom asked, “Innocence?” Then she look
ZANE.I got home and acted like nothing was wrong. Damien stood at the staircase. I walked past him but his voice stopped me.He asked, “Are you alright?”I didn’t understand why he acted nice all of a sudden so I ignored him and kept walking. I entered my room and shut the door hard. My hand tightened on the files. I dropped them on the table.Beauty was still asleep on the bed. I went to the bathroom, took a quick bath, cleaned up, and changed into a plain shirt and shorts. I walked back to the table and opened the files again. Sora’s name stared up at me and happiness filled my whole body.I spoke to myself, “I can’t believe I let you suffer all these years. I am sorry I didn’t find you earlier. I won’t let you go anymore.”I packed the files tight and carried them to the closet. I knew Damien watched me like a hawk so I hid them deep inside a bag of old clothes. Then paranoia hit. I searched the entire room for cameras or bugs. I checked under lamps, behind pictures, inside drawer
ZANE.My heart beat faster. “I'll be right there. Wait up for me. I have to finish something here.”I hung up. The image of Sora's birthmark flashed in my mind again. I called out to Beauty. “Bee. Let's go home.”She ran back giggling. I caught her and ruffled her hair. “Did you have fun, sweetheart?”She nodded and yawned. “Yes, Daddy. I feel sleepy. I played too much.”“You’ll sleep in my room today. Sounds nice?”Beauty nodded happily and stretched her arms for me to pick her up. I carried her with my free hand. Her cotton candy and ice cream cone started to fall but a bodyguard caught them. She nuzzled into my neck, her eyes closing. I gave the teddy bears and bags to the guards and held her properly, soothing her back as we got into the car.Deep down I hoped Sora was the boy from my past. Even if he wasn't, it wouldn't change how I felt about him.The car drove off back to the Estate. I walked past Mirabelle who was smoking on the front porch. I wasn't ready for her nonsense.
ZANE: I’d been ignoring Mirabelle’s calls all day. The phone had been lighting up on the nightstand like it had a personal grudge against me, buzzing every few minutes until I finally flipped it face down. I hoped it would end if I ignored it a bit longer, she would quit. I wasn’t in the mood f
Zane.I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the bruises that had just suddenly appeared across my body. I was confused. Was I still dreaming, or was this just my imagination?But the truth was none of these occurrences are random.All the bruises mirrored Beauty’s injuries exactly—every mark,
ZANE:I drove the rest of the way in silence. I didn't know what the hell I was thinking, holding Sora's hand like that. I didn't know what possessed me. I had no idea what the hell I was doing anymore.‘You don't like him, Zane. All you need is just to stop thinking about him. It's not that hard.’
Chapter: 16 ****** ZANE: The woods were quiet, too quiet. No sound of animals or even birds. This was weird. There wasn’t even wind. There were just trees that stretched endlessly into the deep forest, their branches like skeletal hands reaching into the hazy sky. The ground was damp, the smell







