Natalie~
I didn't answer them.
Not Zane. Not Abel. Not even Roland with his teasing eyes and crooked smirk. I just clutched the bag tighter against my chest like it was the only thing anchoring me to the ground when really, it was just another piece of the chaos spinning inside me.
My fingers gripped the soft leather like claws. I could feel my pulse in my ears, in my throat, in the very tips of my fingers. The room suddenly felt too small, too loud—though no one was saying a word.
I didn't dare meet Zane's eyes. I knew what I'd see there—concern, suspicion, maybe even betrayal. And I couldn't take that. Not from him.
I came here ready to tell him about Griffin. But after what I'd just learned, that plan was ashes. Our hatred for the Blackthorns was already boiling over. One more drop and he'd explode and I wouldn't be far behind.
*********
FLASHBACK
Just yesterday.
I'd called out to him through the mind link.
"Zane?"
