A Second Chance ✔ (The Alpha's Mate)

Chapter 32

"Just say you won't let go." - James Arthur, Say You Won't Let Go.

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Kat slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the bright morning light warming Zach's room. Looking at the arm wrapped around her waist, she smiled at the handsome sleeping Alpha who had her tucked securely by his side. "Get up, sleepy head."

Zach groaned, pulling her body closer to his and burying his head in her neck.

Kat giggled before she rubbed her hand up and down his arm. Catching the clock on his nightstand, she sighed. "Come on, wake up."

"Shh." Zach tightened his hold on her. "Go back to sleep, baby."

Kat's core clenched involuntarily at the roughness of his morning voice. She knew she was pushing her luck, staying in Zach's room more than was necessary, but last night she was too exhausted to consider moving back to her dorm. She knew they both needed to spend the night in each other's arms, to fight the demons that Peter had awakened in them. "I have a lecture in an hour, Zach."

Zach opened his eyes and pulled back enough for her to see his frown. "You want to go school?"

Kat blinked. "You don't?"

"Are you serious?" He stiffened, sleep long forgotten.

So he didn't. Well, this was going to be harder than she thought. "I can't just not go, Zach."

Zach pushed himself up on an elbow. "Your life is in danger, rogues want to kill you, and you want to go back to school?"

"Baby," Kat started carefully, "you know that I can handle myself. And yes, I'm aware that rogues are after me, but I'm going to be on campus with a thousand other students, security guards, and my friends too. What kind of a stupid rogue would try to attack me there?"

Zach scoffed. "So you want me to leave it to their plan-making skills?"

Kat sighed. She had guessed that this was going to happen sooner or later, yet she understood that the need to protect her was overwhelming him. "I can't just put my whole life on pause. Especially when we have no plan to fix this yet."

Zach still needed to talk with his father and get some answers about the whole soul'slink thing, as urgently as he needed to start figuring out what they were going to do about the rogues. He had no idea when or where they were planning on attacking her again, but what he knew for sure was that he needed to do everything he could to protect her. "I'll figure it out. Just give me some time, Kat."

"It's okay." She moved a hand to caress his cheek. "We can meet tonight and discuss everything thoroughly."

Zach frowned. What the fuck was she talking about? "Are you planning on going somewhere else that I'm not aware of?"

Kat swallowed. There goes nothing, she thought. "Well, I have to go back to my dorm sooner or later. But I'll come by for a couple of hours this evening."

Zach stared at her in horror. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

Kat pursed her lips together and shook her head.

Shooting out of bed, Zach glared at her. "Your life is in fucking danger, and you wanna leave the pack house, which is the most secured place on my territory, to go back to your damn dorm?"

"I can't just stay here forever, Zach." Kat pulled herself to a sitting position, ignoring the fact that he was in nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

"You're not going." Zach announced, dead serious. She was not putting herself in risk. The thought alone had his wolf howling in worry and his heart pouding in fear.