Page 41 of Daughter of Garnet

Warren shoves one of the bottles of ginger water into my hands, anticipating my need before I can voice it.

It's stuff like this that reminds me how much he cares for me, and why I never wrote off the idea of us ending up together.

Affection for him lies just under the surface of my heart when he opens his mouth and shoves it back down.

"He's only hanging around you for one reason, and we both know what that is."

My skin feels like it's going to burn off, I've grown so hot.

How dare he think so little of me? We have been friends all our lives, and he thinks the only thing I can offer to a man rests between my thighs?

"What does it matter to you if that is what he wants from me?"

Warren flinches, but it's so slight I almost miss it. "You're my best friend. I'm just looking out for you."

"Best friends don't kiss the way you kissed me."

Does he think my words are an invitation? It would be the only excuse for how he rises to his feet and cages his arms around me.

"I told you, we're meant to be together. Why should we wait any longer?"

I shove him away, and he goes without a fight.

"Does that mean you'll no longer be bringing people back to your room to fuck?" He stumbles back, as if I landed a physical blow. "Yeah, I know all about that, Warren. You're free to sow your oats, but you warned Cliff away from me from day one, like you had any right to do that."

He runs his fingers through his hair, leaving anxious tracks in the blond strands. "That's nothing. Those people mean nothing. You're inevitable, Zoe. We're inevitable."

My chuckle is hollow. "But only you can take advantage of the time we spend apart before then? Are you so certain I want to be with you that you don't think sleeping around is going to deter me?"

"Don't act like you haven't fucked anyone."

"I'm not. I'm saying that it's mighty convenient that you care about that now that you're aware I have a prospect." I don't know for sure if Cliff is romantically interested in me, but I hope so. Every time I'm with him, it feels like I can breathe better.

Warren, my best friend, crowds so close to me that I end up lying flat on my back in my attempt to put space between us.

"What are we waiting for now? I only held off in case our designations weren't compatible. Now that we know we're both Betas, there is nothing holding us back from being together.

I want to scream at him that I'm not a Beta, but I keep my mouth shut. If I break my promise to Ilota, it won't be for Warren. Not when he's behaving like someone I don't recognize.

The heat that grows under my skin is enough to make me cringe, and the desire to strip my clothes off and let it take over me is getting harder to quell.

"I need you to leave, Warren." I keep my teeth gritted because I can feel their sharp points and a heaviness in my tongue that will reveal me as anything but Beta. "Now."

He reaches forward and tries to push my hair off my face when he swears.

"Shit, Zoe. You're burning up!"

Fuck, he can feel that?

Is this what it feels like to need to shift? I have never felt this before, and the need to let whatever beast lives in me out is reaching a fever pitch that I can't ignore.

"Go, Warren. Leave." My voice is so resonant that I know he can hear the change. Maybe that is why he heeds my command and backs toward the door.

"I don't know what's going on with you, Zoe, but you need to figure it out and accept your fate. We're meant to be together."

Accept my fate?

If only he knew how apt that phrase is. At this point, I am on a first-name basis with her.