Zane Is Mine, Says Two Girls

CLAIRE'S POV

"Why wouldn't he text me back?" 

I glanced at my phone for the tenth time, my thumb hovering over the screen. A few hours ago, father had sent me a message—one I still didn't fully understand. But now, nothing. No reply, no missed call, nothing. 

I sighed and typed another text: Please call me, Dad. 

It was simple. If he had seen my last message, he would have called. Wouldn't he? 

I pulled my laptop closer, hesitating. Should I do it? 

Despite being the most talked about family, I had never once googled my father. Even when the whispers followed me everywhere, when people threw his name at me like an insult, I had refused. I wanted to remember him as the good man who raised me, not the vicious hunter the world said he was. 

But now… now I needed to know. 

Because these messages I'd been getting from him were different. They weren't from the father I knew. This was not how the man who raised me wanted me to act. 

What had suddenly changed? 

I'd been trying hard to convince myself that my father didn't want me to hurt Zane. But from his texts, it was clear what he was asking me to do.

I couldn't help but wonder if this was why he sent me here. Had father been lying all this time?

I forced the lump in my throat down as I typed the words: "The murder of Alpha Ravenscroft." 

After a few seconds, the screen loaded with countless results. My heart pounded as I clicked the first link. 

The article was brutal. It said that my father had killed Zane's father. But it didn't end there. It mentioned that he had wanted to go after his pregnant wife. 

My stomach twisted at the thought. A pregnant woman? Father wanted to hurt a pregnant woman?

I swallowed, closing the page fast. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe it was just another lie that had been made up against him. 

I clicked another link. 

This time, the article didn't just confirm it. It went further. Father had announced the murder, proudly. 

I slammed the laptop shut and pressed my hands over my face, trying to block out the pounding in my head. 

This wasn't real. 

But it was, wasn't it? Father had gone after Zane's mother, hoping to kill her and the child. And now?

His texts were asking me to finish what he started.

"I hate Zane, but I'll never hurt him," I muttered under my breath. "I'll never…" 

A sharp knock on my door made me freeze. 

I frowned, glancing toward it. Who could that be? 

I opened the door and nearly took a step back in shock. Skylar. 

Before I could say anything, she pushed past me and walked into my room like she owned the place. 

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, staring at her in disbelief. 

She didn't answer. Instead, she walked further inside, her eyes scanning the room like she was looking for something. 

"Get out," I snapped. 

Skylar chuckled and sat on my bed, crossing her legs like she belonged there. "Comfy," she mused, running a hand over my blanket. Then, with a smirk, she added, "Must be nice, affording all this with the money your father stole from the people he killed." 

I clenched my fists, glaring at her. How dare she come into my room just to insult me? Did she think I was weak? 

"I won't ask you again," I warned in a dead-serious tone. "Get out of my room." 

Skylar stood and walked up to me, her lips twitching as she glared. "And you?" she sneered. "Will you get out of our lives?" 

"Unfortunately for you, I'm here to stay," I shot back. "Carnemore might be scary, but I'm not backing out." 

Her jaw ticked as she looked into my eyes. "What do you want from Zane?" 

"Zane?" I frowned in confusion, realizing she had been talking about Zane. "Why would you think I want anything from him?" 

"Admit it!" she suddenly shouted, her eyes wild with rage. "You want him, huh? I see the way you look at him. Do you think you can take him from me?" 

I exhaled sharply in surprise, shaking my head. "I have no interest in taking him from you. He's all yours." 

"Then why do you keep showing up everywhere?" she snapped. "First, you move in next to him but too bad for you, we're living together and then you start distracting him, trying to turn him against me!"

I shook my head, staring at Skylar like she had lost her mind. "Can you hear yourself? Zane hates me. He's tormenting me." 

Skylar let out a bitter chuckle. "Then why did he bring you back last night? If he really hates you, and you haven't been trying to seduce him, why is he suddenly so obsessed with you that he won't even have sex with me anymore?!" 

Wait. Zane brought me home? 

Suddenly, the memories slowly started to come back. I remembered him dragging me away from the party. I remembered us arguing in the parking lot. But that was it. 

What happened after that? Did I pass out? Did he really bring me back? 

Before I could answer, Skylar grabbed me, her nails digging into my arms as she screamed in my face. "Answer me, bitch! Why won't he touch me?!" 

I peeled her hands off me, my heart hammering against my ribs. Her eyes were wide, crazed. "I don't know what you're talking about," I told her. "And this conversation is over. Get out. Now!" 

Her expression changed in an instant. Her rage melted into something eerily amused and her lips curled into a slow smirk. She chuckled darkly and the sound sent a chill down my spine. 

Was she bipolar? What was with the mood swings? 

"Do you really think I came here to talk?" she asked, tilting her head. 

And that made my stomach drop. 

I took a step back, my hand reaching for something—anything—I could use to defend myself. But there was nothing. 

Skylar's eyes darkened and her smirk widened. 

"I came here to kill you," she whispered. 

And then, before I could react, she pulled a knife from her jeans and lunged forward. 

I barely dodged in time, my years of training kicking in. My body immediately moved with instinct. 

Skylar screamed as she rushed me, "I'll kill you! I'll free Zane from your torment! He's mine!" 

She came at me again, but this time, her claws extended. 

I ducked, twisting out of the way, and kicked her knee out from under her. She hit the floor with a thud. 

Before she could get up, I climbed on her back and yanked her by the hair, forcing her head up. 

"Zane doesn't belong to you!" I shouted. "And leave me the hell alone!" 

The door suddenly swung open and I heard someone call out my name. 

"Claire!" 

I turned right then to see Zane rushing in with wide eyes.