A/N: Another bonus chapter—the bar fight from Zane's perspective! The original is Chapter 9 and in Ava's POV.

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

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ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ ９ 

"Well, I was a cheerleader in college," the girl says to Kieran, batting her eyelashes and twirling her hair.

"Of course you were," he says with a mischievous grin, his eyes tracing her figure.

This one is practically already a done deal.

I check my phone again. My last message to Ava is still listed as read, but she still hasn't responded.

Why do I even care? I can have any woman I want. I'm a bloody Siren, not some weak male desperate for female attention.

Just hers.

Oh, shut up.

The door to the bar opens and I find myself disappointed when Kami walks through.

Whatever. I don't need to see Ava tonight.

She walks up and sits herself down beside me.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here," she says. "You've been awfully hard to get a hold of lately. You left your charger in my car."

She pauses a moment to introduce herself to Kieran's date and my mind wanders away from their conversation.

"Good luck," Kieran says. "He's been like that all night."

"Like what?" I say, tuning back in. Kieran and Kami both laugh.

"Wow. You've really got it bad," she says with a smile. "This girl has turned you into a little obsessed puppy."

"Bollocks. Sure, I like the girl, but you know I'm not the obsessive type."

"Which is why this is so surprising."

"You're both wro-" I'm interrupted by the door opening again and my eyes are met with a purple-haired bombshell. The tight leather of her pants clings to her thighs and the cut of her white T-shirt is like an arrow pointing to her cleavage as her chest nearly spills out.

I bite down hard on my bottom lip.

"You were saying," Kami says with a giggle.

"Oi," I scold, seemingly to no effect as she continues smiling,

Ava and Jen seem to see us but walk past our booth and over to the bar.

She's not avoiding me, is she?

Of course not.

"Oh boy," Kami says. "Are you in trouble?"

"What? No!" I look back to Ava at the bar. "Why would you say that?"

"She didn't even give you a wave. Seems like she's avoiding you."

"Rubbish," I snap. An uneasy feeling builds in my stomach.

Is Ava avoiding me? Does she not want me?

The thought gives me a sharp pain in my stomach.

I battle with myself over whether I should go and say hi to her, but I've never had to go out of my way to get someone's attention before. Usually, I can flash a quick smile and they come running.

"Uh oh," Kami says in a singsongy voice, her eyes following a blond man in a suit as he approaches Ava and Jen at the bar.

My body begins to shake as my hands curl into tight fists. An unfamiliar sensation rises in my chest, rumbling and burning as though I'm a volcano about to erupt.

This prick is trying it on with my girl?

I shake my head.

No. She's not my girl. She's just a girl I'm seeing, not mine.

I can hear his voice from across the bar as I look forward and do my best to pretend I'm not eavesdropping.

"I love the hair," he says.

"Thanks," Ava replies, a slight discomfort in her voice.

"Those pants are awfully tight."

Motherfucker is trying to shag my girl.

My body launches up and over to them at the slowest speed I can muster, which is still faster than I should really be moving around humans. I approach as the man continues his sentence.

"I bet it feels real good to take them off."

"Hey mate, piss off," I blurt out, my voice shaking slightly along with my body.

"Oh, shit," the blond says. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No!" I snap reflexively.

I'm failing to convince myself that I don't care. Just saying the word makes my heart sink.

Fuck me. This girl has really done a number on me.

"Then mind your business, mate," the prick says in a terrible British accent, poking me in the chest with his index finger.

This man has no idea what he's dealing with. I could snap off that finger so fucking easily.

Every muscle in my body tenses and I find myself fighting back the urge to smash his face in.

"You fucking serious, you fucking prick?" I say, shoving him backward.

Ava steps between us with her hands raised.

"Hey, hey," she says. "To your corners, okay? Don't fight, it's fine. Just calm down."

The guy stomps off and rejoins his friends in the pool room.

Ava takes a swig of her drink, finishing it off. Shayna almost immediately shows up with a couple rounds of shots and Ava downs one.

That's not a bad idea.

I grab two of the shots nearest to me and swallow them down, one after the other.

"What the hell, Zane?" she asks. Her eyes are burning with anger.

She's mad at me for saving her from that dick? Was she interested in him?

The idea makes me physically ill.

"What the hell?" I ask. "Seriously? You ignored my texts, didn't even tell me you were coming tonight, and then I try to save you from this creep and it's 'What the hell?' to me?"

"First off, I don't need to tell you I'm coming to a bar with my friend. Secondly, I didn't ask to be saved from anybody."

My chest feels like it's on fire and every inhale burns my lungs.

That's how little she wants you. You're fifteen feet away and she's looking for a better choice.

It feels like she has reached through my ribs, grabbed my heart, and squeezed as tight as she can.

"Oh, did I interrupt your night then, Ava?" I spit. "Did you want to go fuck him?"

I feel Kieran's presence behind me but I don't turn around.

"And what if I did?" she says, her brows furrowed.

The tension in my chest is overwhelming and I feel like collapsing to the floor.

"Wow, okay," I say, combing a hand through my hair. "Then excuse me for intruding."

"Speak for yourself! You and Kieran seem to have dates for the evening."

I glance to Kieran, Kami, and the girl whose name I've already forgotten. If that's what she wants to think, good. I don't want her knowing that I've been waiting for her like a pathetic sap anyway.

"You're right," I say, my mouth on autopilot. "I don't know why I'm here trying to save your sorry arse when I could be fucking one of them. You're not worth my bloody time."

"Don't talk to her like that, you snobby British dick!" Jen snaps.

"Buddy," Kieran says softly, pulling me aside. "You need to walk away. You don't know what you're saying right now."

"Sure I fucking do," I whisper back, clenching my jaw in an attempt to fend off the aching feeling.

"So if I'm not worth your time, Zane, then why do you keep calling me? Why do you keep talking to me? Why are you getting jealous?" she asks, her voice wavering slightly.

"You seriously think I'm jealous?!" I ask with a scoff.

I'm not jealous. I don't get jealous. Jealousy is petty and weak and emotional. I'm always in control and that's what keeps everyone safe.

I just don't want this guy talking to her because she's supposed to be with me.

"If you're not jealous, then what was that?" she asks, placing a hand on her hip.

"I felt sorry for you."

Why did I say that?

It's not even true, but I just want to hurt her like she's hurting me.

Her expression falls and her eyes gloss over with tears.

Shit. What did I just do?

She storms off with determination toward the back of the bar, walking up to the blond in the suit from earlier.

What is she doing?

Before I can wrap my head around the situation, she grabs the man's tie and pulls him in for a kiss.

Time seems to stop for a moment as her lips connect with his. The man leans into her kiss, his mouth greedily assaulting hers as his friends hoot and holler.

A fury overcomes me as the man takes an ample handful of her arse and squeezes tight.

Mine.

My body launches at him and I rip him off her, landing a clean punch to his face and he falls to the ground beneath me. Kieran and Kami tug me back and restrain my arms as I try, fruitlessly, to hit him again.

The bar has erupted into commotion and noise as I stand to my feet, grabbing a stool and whipping it across the room in a rage.

The monster is out, and he can't be easily caged.

Jen's distant, frantic muttering pulls my focus. My eyes search the bar and follow the sound to the doorway, but I don't see her or Ava.

"Oh shit," Kami says.

I follow her line of sight to Jen sitting on the floor, hovering over something. And then I smell it—blood.

Fuck.