Page 42 of Quarterback Sneak

“Yep.” There’s no use denying it.

“Why don’t you sound happy? You should be over the moon; you met your mate!”

I run my hand through my hair. “There’s a lot going on.”

“Tell me,” she coaxes.

“She’s human, Ri,” I say, using her nickname. I can practically feel her shock.

But she recovers quickly. “Well, that’s not unheard of.”

“She’s also dating another guy, though hopefully after last night, that’s done.”

“What happened last night?”

“He got mad at her and left her there to pay the bill and find a way home.” Anger burns through me again at Jace.

Riley gasps. “That’s terrible. What did she do?”

“Thankfully, Reid was there. I asked him to keep an eye on her. He went in after her date came out without her. He paid the bill and got her safely back to campus.”

“Give me this guy’s name and address,” she demands.

My lips tug up into a wry smile. “Get in line. It gets worse.”

“How can it get worse?” her voice is louder now.

“Well, she’s currently trying to recover from a terrible migraine. She’s dizzy and sensitive to light.”

“Which means...” she prompts.

I make a mental note to make sure my sister knows these things before she comes to college next year. My chest tightens thinking of my little sister navigating college life and all the male idiots that are on campus. She’s a senior in high school this year; she’ll be here next year. “Those are the after-effects of date rape drugs.”

“Zane, no!” Her voice is horrified.

“She’s okay,” I rush to assure her, though my dad’s words ring in my ears. I’m going to have to ask her, just to make sure.

“That is so terrible.” She sounds like she’s going to cry, and it wouldn’t surprise me. Riley is all aggressive and outgoing, but she’s got the most tender heart. She refuses to watch movies with any animals in them, just in case something happens to the animal. She’s cried more than once at seeing a dead deer on the side of the road. But I wouldn’t change it for anything; she’s an amazing little sister. “Zane, I want to meet her. I can help keep her safe.”

An instant rebuttal forms on my lips. I’m not putting my younger sister in the middle of this mess; it’s bad enough that Evie’s already smack in the middle of it. I’m not going to add Riley to the mess. Thankfully, my dad shuts it down, so I don’t have to. “Not right now,” I hear him say in the background. “Once we get through this and Zane gains her trust, we’ll have her over for dinner.”

“Yes, we will,” my mom says in the background. “I need to meet this girl.”

“You’ll love her, Mom,” I can’t help but say.

“Oh, Zane, I know I will. I already do.”

And that’s the amazing thing about my mom; I know she means that with every ounce of her being. Pride at my family fills me, and I can’t wait to bring Evie over to meet them. I can’t wait to hear about her family as well. I feel that anxious feeling building in my chest, the one that tells me I need to see Eviesoon. I’m worried because the bond is escalating quicker than I thought it would, with her not being able to feel anything on her end. If she could, the bond would snap tight between us and neither of us would be able to be apart from the other as our bond grows. I rub my chest and wish I was close enough to her to hold her while she’s sleeping off this headache. The pain grows, and my entire body begins to ache with the desire and pull to be near her. I try to push the feeling away, for now anyway. “I’ll try to get her to come over sooner than later, but it’s going to take a little bit. She doesn’t feel the bond the way I do, so it’s a much slower process, especially because she’s with another guy.”

“You just need to win her over.” My mom is so confident, and I pull from that confidence.

“I will.” I’m absolutely confident of that fact.

My father’s voice comes back over the line. “Stay in touch, Son; and I will do the same.”

“I will.” We say our goodbyes, and I hang up and pocket my phone and walk back over to where the guys are talking.

“What’d Alpha say?” Quint asks, being careful to keep his voice down.