Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) by Kellie McAllen

yes, ma’am.   Thank you so much for letting me take Paige.   You have a wonderful daughter,” Zach managed to reply, dumbfounded that she knew nothing of his altercation.
    “I’m so glad you two hit it off.   Paige could use a nice boy like you.   She’s up in her room if you want to see her — first door on the right,” Cathy offered and Zach nodded as he drew in a relieved breath and headed up the stairs.   He had expected to be thrown out or at the least given a painful tongue-lashing by Paige’s parents, but it was obvious they had no idea what had happened.
    As Zach’s footsteps grew louder, Paige steeled herself for his arrival, not sure what attitude she should affect.   She knew his behavior was wild and reckless and she should probably stay as far away from him as possible, but the memory of his gentle embrace warred with the image of him fighting in her mind and she couldn’t reconcile the two personalities.
    “Paige?” he mumbled as he poked his head around her open door.   His eyes widened as he took in the outrageously wild color scheme of Paige’s haphazard bedroom decor.
    “Hi, Zach,” Paige replied, keeping her emotions under wraps.   She was lounging on her bed with her back propped up against her headboard and she didn’t bother to get up.
    “You didn’t tell your parents,” Zach commented, not sure how to start the conversation.
    “I didn’t think it would be to my benefit for them to know,” Paige replied succinctly.
    “Do you hate me, Paige, or are you giving me the chance to explain myself?   I don’t know you well enough to know,” Zach asked nervously, not yet brave enough to enter the room.
    “I guess I’m willing to hear what you have to say,” Paige replied, caving under the soft persuasion of his voice but still preventing any emotion from coloring her face.
    Zach took it as an olive branch, ignoring Paige’s indifference, and hurried to her side.   “Oh, Paige, I’m sorry for how I acted.   You must think I’m a total barbarian.   It’s just, I was waiting for you to come out of the bathroom and these guys were there, talking smack about you and Rachel.   If you had heard what they said, Paige….I’m just glad you didn’t.   It was disgusting.   I just….lost control of myself.   I’m not like that, Paige; I don’t do that sort of thing.   I’ve never hurt anybody in my life.   I can’t even explain what happened.   It’s like, this other person inside of me took over.   I try so hard to shut him out, but this time I couldn’t stop him.”   Zach’s pained expression begged her to understand.
    Paige’s eyes narrowed at Zach’s mention of the person inside him.   Was it just a figure of speech, or did Zach have an inner companion like Rider suspected?   She was still contemplating how to respond when Zach continued, hoping to regain her trust.
    “I really like you, Paige.   I was having the best night ever till this happened.   I had heard the rumors about you and Rachel, but when I met you, you seemed perfectly normal to me.   Really cool, actually.   I was attracted to you right away and I couldn’t understand why people were so cruel to you.   When I heard those guys talking about how hot you looked and yet calling you names in the same sentence, I just couldn’t stand it.   I had to stick up for you.”   Paige’s hand was lying on her lap and Zach reached for it hesitantly.   When she didn’t pull away he sighed and twined his fingers between hers.
    Paige’s anger evaporated as she stared into his humble gaze and she reached out to touch his cheek with her free hand.   She was right when she suspected he was defending her honor!   Paige was overcome by his sacrifice, risking himself for a girl he barely knew. Caught in the moment of Zach’s openness, Paige decided impulsively to tell him her secret.   In a reverential whisper, Paige asked, “Zach, do you know why they call Rachel and me crazy?   Have you