Zachary smirked when he heard his name come up as he walked into the small cafe. Ruby had been avoiding his calls and texts, he felt it was better to drop in and ask her in person why she was avoiding him.
Ruby froze when she heard Zachary’s voice. Her wolf purred when she knew their mate was in the building. Her heart started to beat frantically as her pulse thumped against her neck. Her senses were heightened as he came closer.
Deak was amused to see the change in Ruby when Zachary came in, he turned to see the man walking up toward them.
“Ahh, Professor, perfect timing,” he told him.
“So, it would seem,” he said as he stared at Ruby.
Ruby looked at Zachary and gave him a tight smile.
“Zachary, what are you doing here?”
“You’ve not returned any of my calls or texts. I just wanted to make sure that you were doing ok,” he told her.
“What an interesting situation we have here,” Deak spoke out. “It seems you and I are in the same boat at the moment.”
Zachary turned and gave Deak a confused look.
“No one has heard from Vita. small girl, err Amanda suggested maybe we visit her house to check on her.”
Zachary nodded in understanding.
He leaned in close to Ruby.
“I’m glad to see that you are doing okay. We will continue this later,” he promised.
Ruby shivered when she heard the huskiness in Zachary’s tone. She simply nodded and then greeted the next customer, pretending as if they were no longer in the room.
“Feisty one that Ruby is,” Deak whispered.
Zachary nodded as he smirked.
He knew when he admitted his feelings to Ruby that they would just pick up where they left off when they were teenagers, but he had hoped that they would talk more and start to build on something.
It took everything he had not to just sweep her off her feet and carry her away so that they could just be lost in themselves. He knew that was a sure way to get her to resist him even more. Ruby was not the same girl he left behind when he left for college. But that was what made him want her even more. She was no longer his best friend’s quiet little sister that he adored. No, Ruby had found the fire in her and was no longer afraid to show her true self.
Zachary felt the hand of Deak’s on his shoulder, slowly pulling him away from the counter, he decided no resist the pull and moved with the gesture. He turned and followed Deak out of the cafe. It took everything he had not to turn and look at Ruby one last time before he left.
“When was the last time you heard from Vita?” Deak asked as they walked toward Zachary’s truck.
Zachary stopped at the side of the bed of his truck and leaned on the vehicle with his arms resting on top of it.
“It has been a little while. She left me a message about a week after everything happened to say that she needed some time to herself and that she would be in touch when she was ready.”
Deak’s eyes burned with anger.
His mate may not want to have anything to do with him at the moment, but he at least wanted to know that she was safe.
Zachary watched as Deak tried to calm his rage.
“Come on, get in,” Zachary ordered.
“Where are we going?”
“To go check out Vita’s place and make sure that she’s alright,” Zachary told him as he unlocked his truck door and got into the driver’s seat.
Deak smiled with eagerness.
He walked over to the passenger door and got into the truck.
“Thank you,” Deak said aloud.
Zachary sat with the key in the ignition and looked out at the scenery in front of him.
He then turned, looked over at Deak, and said, “At least one of us deserves a chance with their mate.”
Zachary turned the truck on and started to drive.
“Give her time Professor. Ruby will open her heart when she’s ready,” Deak offered.
Zachary’s hand tightened on the wheel.
Deak was right, he needed to be patient with Ruby and allow her time to process everything.
Zachary pressed on the gas as they sped out of town.
Amanda felt like she had deja vu. She was standing in front of her closet once again, trying to figure out what she should wear on her date with Hudson.
She let out a frustrated sigh.
Isn’t this what she wanted? To be wooed. To go out on dates, to get flowers and candy.
Was she being old-fashioned?
She shook her head at the silly notion.
She had never gotten the chance to go on dates with boys, to hold hands while walking down the hall, to pass silly notes between classes, or to be asked to the homecoming dance or prom.
She had missed it all.
She heard the door jiggle and leaned back to see her roommate and friend Tabitha walk through the door.
“Where have you been today?” Amanda asked with a mischievous tone in her voice.
Tabitha smiled with guilty pleasure.
“Nowhere, just spending some time with Marco,” she admitted with a sigh.
Tabitha walked over to her bed and fell down on it. She couldn’t remove the smile that was on her face even if she wanted to.
“I’m glad you two got some time to yourself,” Amanda told her.
Amanda turned back around to the closet and sighed.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha asked as she lifted up her head and looked at her friend.
“Hudson asked me to go to the movies with him tonight. We are trying another date night,” she told her friend.
Tabitha sat up on her bed.
“Do you need Marco and me to go with you two?” she offered.
Amanda shook her head.
“I think Hudson and I can handle a movie. Besides, I need to stop being insecure. This is what I wanted, the chase, the romance,” she said with a heavy sigh.
She pulled out a few different choices from the closet.
“Will you help me pick something out?” she asked.
Tabitha smiled and nodded as she got up from the bed and helped her friend get ready for her date.
Hudson couldn’t understand the tenseness he felt as he made his way to Amanda’s dorm to pick her up for their date.
Ever since he left his room, there was an irritableness that was growing inside him that he couldn’t get rid of. It all started when he was getting ready for his date with Amanda. He took deep breaths as he continued to push the annoying thoughts from his head and focus on having a good night with his mate. When he got to the hall where Amanda stayed, he began to pace outside as he continued to try to extinguish this uneasiness that was festering inside him.
He ran his hand through his hair as he mind-linked his friend.
Hudson: Marco, I need a favor.
Mated to my Bully