Chapter 34 Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Chapter 34
 I reached for another glass.
 The server had stopped hovering. Maybe he’d given up on trying to monitor my intake. Or he didn’t care anymore.
 The champagne didn’t taste as good as it had at first. The bubbles felt harsh against my tongue. But I drank it anyway.
 I did not want to give my brain any time to remember the look in Zane’s eyes when he had asked me about the lounge.
 I moved away from the drinks table, weaving slightly as I walked. The hall had grown louder, and everything began to feel too much.
 I found a column near the edge of the room and leaned against it, pressing my forehead to the cool stone.
 Breathe. Just breathe.
 But my thoughts would not quiet.
 Did Zane actually care? About me? Or was this all just wounded pride because another male had gotten too close to something he owned?
 Did he believe I wanted Kaius? That I had gone to that lounge hoping for something to happen?
 Did he think I would betray him?
 My body felt overheated despite the cool air. My senses becoming too sharp and picking up on every sound, every scent, every shift in the energy around me.
 The alcohol was supposed to dull this. Supposed to make everything softer.
 Instead, it just made me more aware of how wrong everything felt.
 Zane didn’t want me. Not really. The only time he had ever given a damn about where I was or who I was with was when Kaius was involved.
 It wasn’t about me at all.
 It was about territory. About another male encroaching on what was his by bond as it definitely was not by choice.
 The realization made my chest ache in a way that had nothing to do with the champagne.
 I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself against the spinning sensation creeping into the edges of my consciousness.
 Across the hall, I heard movement. Footsteps approaching.
 I opened my eyes, squinting slightly to recognize that it was Kaius, again.
 He was moving toward me with a worried expression drawn on his face. His mouth moved but I couldn’t quite hear it over the noise in my head.
 Then he stopped.
 Abruptly. Like he had walked into an invisible wall.
 It was then that I saw the figure that stood in his path. Zane.
 I couldn’t see Zane’s face from this angle, so I could not tell if he had said anything at all. 
 But Kaius stopped in his steps, and he stepped back.
 After which Zane walked past him without a word, his attention fixed entirely on me.
 I tried to straighten up. Tried to look composed.
 But the world tilted slightly, and I had to grip the column to keep myself from swaying.
 Zane reached me in seconds.
 Up close, I could see the tension in his jaw. The way his eyes tracked over me, cataloging every detail with that sharp, assessing gaze that missed nothing.
 “Alpha,” I said, and my voice sounded strange. Too soft. Too warm. “I did not think you were coming back.”
 His expression did not change. “How much have you had to drink?”
 “Not that much.” I waved a hand vaguely. “Just… a little. To calm my nerves.”
 “Tiana.” His voice was low. “You’re drunk.”
 “I’m not.” I tried to push away from the column, but my legs didn’t quite cooperate. I stumbled slightly, and his hand shot out, catching my elbow. “I’m fine. I don’t need—”
 “You’re not fine.”
 “I am.” I looked up at him, and the concern in his eyes caused a crack in my chest. “I’m always fine. That’s what I do. I’m fine when you ignore me and when you question me. I am always fine when…”
 I was not sure what I was saying anymore because it seemed as though I had gotten into an endless string of rambling.
 Zane’s grip on my elbow tightened. “What are you on about? Is it because of the question I asked?”
 I didn’t answer. I could not. Because the words were tangled up with too many feelings I didn’t know how to name.
 He sighed, a sound that held frustration and some other thing I could not quite identify.
 Then his hand moved from my elbow to my lower back.
 “Come,” he said. “We’re leaving.”
 “But the Convergence isn’t—”
 “Now.”
 The command in his voice cut through the haze in my mind. 
 All my intent to want to protest and tell him I could still stay, especially as I did not need him to escort me out like I was a child who couldn’t handle herself went down the drain. 
 Crazy that the reality was that I actually could not handle myself at that moment 
 My legs felt unsteady. My thoughts scattered. And the warmth spreading through my body had nothing to do with the hall’s temperature and everything to do with how close he was standing.
 So I didn’t resist.
 I let him guide me through the crowd, his hand firm and steady against my back.
 I did not pay attention to whatever stares that followed us as we made our way out of the ballroom. 
 All I could feel was Zane beside me. The solid presence of him. The way he moved through the crowd with that effortless authority that made everyone step aside without him having to ask.
 The cool night air hit me when we stepped outside, and I gasped slightly.
 “Breathe,” Zane murmured. “That’s what happens when you go on a drinking spree and cannot hold wine.”
 I ignored the last part of what he said and tried to focus on the earlier instruction. Breathing.
 But everything still felt wrong. Spinning. Completely disconnected.
 The Maybach we had come with waited at the entrance, sleek and somehow comforting in its familiarity.
 Ezra stood beside it, his expression carefully neutral when he saw us approaching.
 “Alpha.”
 “Open the door.”
 Ezra did, stepping back as Zane guided me toward the car.
 I tried to climb in myself, but my coordination was shot. My foot caught on the hem of my gown, and I stumbled.
 Zane caught me before I could fall.
 Then, without warning, he lifted me and set me carefully in the back seat.
 I blinked up at him, surprised. “I can—”
 “Shhhh….” He placed his index finger on my lips.
 “Sit. Don’t move.”
 I was not sure the part of it exactly but that action made me melt into myself, quiet as Zane climbed in beside me, and Ezra closed the door behind us.
 The sounds of the Convergence muted behind tinted windows. And all I felt was the oddly comforting aura of this man who was my mate.
 I meant to sit properly and maintain some semblance of dignity.
 But the moment the car started moving, my body seemed to give up on holding itself upright.
 My head dropped.
 Not intentionally. Just… gravity and exhaustion and too much champagne pulling me sideways and I ended up against Zane’s shoulder.
 I should have moved quickly. Picture apologizing to him and straightening up instantly.
 But his shoulder was solid and warm, and I was so tired.
 “Mmm,” I mumbled against the fabric of his jacket. Contrasting the sorry I had intended to say. 
 Zane didn’t respond immediately.
 Then his hand came up, settling on my arm, keeping me steady as the car moved through the night.
 “Sleep,” he said quietly.
 “I’m not tired.”
 “You’re drunk and exhausted. Sleep.”
 I was not. Also, I definitely did not need this care which meant nothing. In my thoughts, my mouth was moving and I should be saying those words but I heard no sound.
 Instead, my eyes were already closing.
 The last thing I heard before consciousness slipped away was Zane’s voice, low and commanding as he spoke to the driver.
 “To the packhouse. Now.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​