Chapter 2 Zane

Zane POV

I locked the guest bathroom door and leaned on the sink, staring at the cracked mirror like it owed me answers.

My cock was still hard as steel, the knot swollen at the base and throbbing like it had a mind of its own. I could feel my pulse in my balls, heavy and demanding. All because of her.

Ember. Colt's little sister.

I'd known her since she was a kid trailing after Colt with scraped knees and a mouth too big for her face. That should have made this easier. But it made it worse.

I gripped the sink until my knuckles cracked. Control yourself. You wrote the law. No touching an officer's family, no exceptions. Especially not her. I said it to myself like a man talking down a dog.

But the pictures wouldn't leave. Her under the shower, red hair dark and wet against her back, water sliding over full breasts and down that tiny waist, over the curve of an ass I wanted to bite. Nipples tight and dark pink, begging for my mouth.

Then the stairs, the way she'd pressed back into my hand instead of pulling away. On those stairs I'd almost turned her around. Her whisper about Colt being right outside was the only thing that had held me, that and the way her whole body had gone tight and waiting against mine. Jasmine, smoke, and want had punched straight into my lungs and wrapped around my wolf.

Mine. The word slammed through my skull.

I'd heard the old stories, wolves who knew their mate on sight. I'd always figured they were just stories.

My fangs dropped. I wanted to kick that bathroom door in, pin her to the tile, spread her legs and sink into her until she screamed my name and marked me back.

I slammed my fist into the mirror. Glass splintered. Pain shot up my arm, and good, pain helped. Pain reminded me who I was. Prez. Alpha. The one who made the rules and never broke them.

I turned the cold tap on full to cover the noise, shoved my jeans down, and took myself in hand. It jumped against my palm, the knot pulsing angrily.

I stroked rough, once, twice, picturing her thighs around my waist, her nails in my back, her body clenching around my knot while I gave her everything I had. A growl tore out of my throat. I came fast and brutal, vision blurring, and it was empty. My wolf snarled louder. Not enough. You need her. You need to claim her.

I braced both hands on the sink and waited for my breathing to slow. Blood dripped from my knuckles into the basin and swirled pink down the drain. I rinsed it, wrapped a strip of toilet paper around the worst of it, and looked at the man in the broken glass. He didn't look like a president. He looked like a starving animal.

I cleaned up, zipped my jeans, and stepped out.

Colt was sitting on the edge of the guest bed, lighting a cigarette. He held the pack out and I took one, dragged deep, let the smoke burn. It would bury the jasmine, at least. He was a wolf too, and he had a nose.

He frowned at my hand. "What happened to your knuckles?"

"Mirror was already cracked. I finished the job."

He snorted and let it go, which was more than I deserved.

"You didn't tell me Ember was home," I said, keeping my voice flat.

"She rolled in yesterday. Told her to lay low today and rest. She starts at the bar tomorrow with Max."

I frowned. "The clubhouse? That place is full of animals. You sure it's safe for her?"

Colt laughed once, short and dry. "You know Ember. She doesn't listen. I wanted her at the pack clinic, but she's stubborn. The bar's temporary, and my eyes will be on her."

Something in the way he said my eyes will be on her made my wolf's hackles rise. Protective. Too protective. I nodded anyway and took another drag.

He switched topics. "Ryker moved the last shipment to Lord Davis. The cash is with Leo. Are we still packing Molly, or do we lay low? Cops almost caught Ryker on the last run."

"Lay low," I said. "Rogues are sniffing for holes. Tell Leo the cash goes in the safe and nowhere else, passcode only. We'll talk more at the next meet."

Colt stood. "Got it, Prez. I'll pass it on."

He left, and the door clicked shut behind him.

The house went quiet. Too quiet. Somewhere below me a tap dripped, and the fridge hummed, and a floorboard creaked as the house settled around a girl who was trying to sleep with my scent still on her skin.

Tomorrow she'd be behind that bar, in a room full of wolves, with nothing but Max between her and every hungry prospect in the place. The thought made my fangs ache. I'd be sitting at the head of the table that same night, wearing the patch, pretending I couldn't hear her laugh.

I could still smell her, jasmine and warm skin hanging in the air like a taunt. My knot throbbed again. What the fuck is wrong with me? I dragged a hand through my hair and crushed the cigarette out.

I'd written that law to keep the pack strong, to stop power from fracturing over pussy and feelings. Years of holding this club together, and I'd never once been tempted to bend it. Not for money, not for a woman, not for anything. But Ember wasn't just pussy. She was the first thing in years that made my wolf howl for more than blood.

And I'd already broken my own rule, the second I stood in that doorway and watched her. Then again on the stairs, with her brother right outside.

I wasn't walking away. Maybe I'd hold off tonight. But walk away for good? Never.