>My heart skipped a beat.Did she suspect something or did she come to know something? What was I supposed to say to that?"I don't-" I started but she grew furious."Don't lie to me! I can see through your little plan. I won't let it work." She straightened up in pride, "Maybe Xavier played with you while I was gone. But I am here now. He doesn't need his toys anymore.""It's not what you think-" She wouldn't let me speak."Oh, I don't think, I know." She stepped closer, trying to intimidate me, "You think I can't see the way you look at him? The way you touched him while blindfolded?""I didn't know who-" I tried and failed as she glared at me."I said, Don't Lie To Me!" "Claire. There has been a misunderstanding." I raised my hands in surrender. I knew no one was going to come in between us if things started to get ugly. She may be able to defeat me physically, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I was a beta's daughter. But I knew, Xavier wouldn't want thi
>It took me a few minutes to gather my bearings and decide that Claire Devereux was indeed right. It hurt but it was the truth. It had been glaring at me from the start. Xavier and I didn't belong with each other, not like Claire and he did. It was better if I just focused on getting my Dad free and making sure that John paid for everything. I marked the spot where I had to reach on the map to find a road that could hopefully provide me with a hitchhiking possibility."I will call Maisie later. She'll apologize to Jacob on my behalf." I told myself as I walked through the winding non-existent paths in the woods. 'Should've brought some water.' I told myself as I panted due to my human-like weaknesses. I loathed how weak I was without a wolf. Why did I not deserve a wolf? Maybe if I had one, I would try and be worthy of Xavier. Be a true Beta.I hated how pathetic I was to love and give up on it. But I never stood a chance in front of Claire Devereux. I sighed and kept
>"Maybe it's better if we split up. We can cover more ground." Maisie suggested and I agreed."You take left, I'll take right." I nodded and we both rushed in opposite directions.I was hoping to find them before Claire said or did something irreversible. I knew she was prone to overreactions when it came to things that mattered to her.I still remember what she had done to the poor kid in school who had found her misplaced favorite pen and had refused to return it. Poor girl never spoke or did anything else in school except sit obediently in class and do classwork. Even as a young teen, even without her wolf. She had always been vicious like that.The same had been repeated when we went to college. Only it was worse because she had her wolf. Not that she needed her wolf to ruin someone psychologically. It was something that I had once admired in her. How cold she was towards her enemies. Dad had called her an asset to the pack. He was proud when I had wished to choose
>After the way he blamed me for almost being murdered, I refused to say another word to him as we trekked back to the Hill House.I wanted to tell him why I was there in the first place. I wanted to show him how unfair his trust in Claire was. I wanted him to know that he won and I had given up on us. But the way he defended her while blaming me, made everything pointless. Why did he save me if I was such a liability? Or maybe he would've done the same for anyone in that situation. I guess we would never know. I imagined what my wolf would say to me in this situation if I had one. I had heard that the wolves share a part of our psyche, are versions of ourselves, and are our only friends in tough times. Would my wolf blame me for letting myself cornered too?As we exited the woods, I was behind Xavier and nobody saw me at first.Claire rushed to him and hugged him tightly, "Xavy, where were you? I won! I found the treasure. Wanna know what it is?"But as they parted she n
>I walked into my room and took off the bloody shirt. I quickly washed some blood off of my hands and face before stepping out of the bathroom and seeing the three people whom I had called."Alpha, what exactly happened out there?" Micheal asked professionally while Jacob handed me another shirt to wear."I would like to know that too." I replied, barely holding in my anger."Should I call the Delta and ask where the border patrol was?" Micheal offered."You do that." I ordered and then looked at Claire.She looked as perfect as I had last seen her a few hours ago."Jacob, ask Mr. Smith to make sure that the Devereux house security measures are all in line.Once we were alone I asked, "How are you?" She looked tense but my question eased her instantly."I'm fine now that I know you are alright." She stepped closer, pressed a hand to my chest, and looked up at me with her beautiful eyes. Eyes that, once, I could stare at them forever and not get tired.But now, I was wo
>I had been in my room for the rest of the day. Maisie was with me."Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" She massaged her temples.I had told her everything. The whole truth from the start. I was in a vulnerable state and when she started asking questions, I broke. I needed someone to trust. Besides Dad, she was the only one I had. I told her about Xavier, my contract with him to save Dad, and to gather evidence to put John in front of the Werewolf Council. He had to pay for his sins."What was I supposed to say? And honestly, I was hoping for it all to be over sooner. And I definitely didn't expect for Claire to return." I shrugged."Well, better late than never." She looked at me determined."What do you mean?" I asked confused."I mean, I am with you. All in. You are right. John needs to pay and I will help you however I can." She was the reason I had stayed sane for as long as I had.Her conviction made me smile in irony as I asked, "And what do you have in mi
>A helpless tear slipped from my eye as John tried to force the kiss on me. He was taller, stronger, and with his wolf, unbeatable.But I was not going to go down without a fight. I let him think he had won and as his lips touched my cheek, his grip loosened slightly, I brought my hands to his face and scratched at his eyes as hard as I could.He cursed and let me go, just as we heard Jacob call from the other side of the door, "Zoe, you have a minute?""Bitch." John whispered not wanting Jacob to know of his presence and immediately opened the door to the balcony before jumping out."Zoe?" Jacob called as I tried to get myself under control."Coming." I replied.I opened the door and he immediately noticed my appearance."May I come in?" He asked politely and I let him."Was John here?" Was his first question as soon as I closed the door. It was pointless to lie to him. His wolf must've already sniffed out the fresh scent. So, I nodded, hugging myself."Alpha knew it was
>That night I slept in Maisie's room. It was a mutual decision that it was safer this way.The guys had been on patrol all night. I barely slept. I could often hear faint steps outside the balcony after regular intervals. I hoped it was our guys and not rogues or witches working the perimeter.The morning could not come faster.At the breakfast table, we were informed that the additional help had arrived around dawn and the ladies were allowed to be safely escorted back to the city. The people staying were going to make the part of the border secure and make sure that the threat, if any, was neutralized.We packed our stuff haphazardly and were crammed in an SUV as one of the soldiers was directed to make sure all of us reached our homes safely. First Alyssa and Claire were to be dropped at their city hall and then Maisie and I were to be taken to our pack. I didn't see Xavier all morning. I didn't even get to say goodbye for the last time. He was so busy, Jacob had wal
>It took an hour and a lot of emotional blackmail on behalf of Aunt Julie to convince Zoe to let Xavier go with her to Kansas City. And that too only on the condition that nothing would be expected of her and it was only a test for Xavier to see if he can keep to his word.After a lot of persuasion and tales of mates, second chances, belief in the Moon Goddess, and the fact that technically Xavier was the only one left in the world who was hers and on her side for good, Aunt Julie smiled and patted Zoe's back, "I'll go up and tell him that you need to talk. Be nice, okay?"Zoe didn't dare roll her eyes at Aunt Julie, she respected her way too much for that. But she did shake her head slightly knowing how Aunt Julie managed to convince her but she let her do it. If anyone had any right to Zoe, it was Aunt Julie after everything she had done for the Simmons family and how she had been so much more than just a distinct cousin of her Dad and their housekeeper. She was family a
>Zoe climbed up the stairs decisively while Xavier stayed in the garage trying to calm down and make peace with the fact that his forgiveness was going to take some time. He was hopeful that it would come eventually, just a bit late.He wanted to tell Zoe about Claire so she would stop worrying about him going back to her. But, Zoe already had so much on her plate, that she didn't need to be pulled into everything Claire was a part of. Xavier felt like it was pointless to make his worries hers when she hadn't even forgiven him yet.The more important thing was staying by her side. Which meant, he had to persuade her to let him come with her. The world was a much darker place than she knew and he wanted to protect her from it even though physically she didn't need protecting.Plus, he had no idea how idea what awaited them at those coordinates. Since it had been more than a decade since those numbers had been put down on that letter, there was a possibility that they would f
>"Zoe, I cannot relate to your pain or anything you are going through. So, I will not even try to say that I understand. I don't. And I know how many times I have let you down," He started the speech he had been working for hours as they drove to Silver Moon two days ago."Don't, please," Zoe tried to turn away. She wanted the apology. She had spent nights dreaming of the moment Xavier realized what a huge mistake he had made to let her go. But, that was not the moment for it. She was already an emotional mess."Let me, please. You need to hear this and I need to say this." He cautiously stepped closer and held her arms gently to ensure she didn't leave without hearing but could if she wanted to."Why? You didn't care about saying or being heard a few months ago." Zoe looked up at him bitterly, his touch igniting sensations stronger than she had ever felt because of her heightened senses."Believe me or not but I really thought that letting you go to have a new life was th
>"What are you so happy about?" I asked Aunt Julie whose excitement was confusing me.Instead of answering me straight away she sat me down on a couch with a nostalgic look and held my hands motherly before finally speaking."Did your Dad ever tell you that you have your mother's eyes?" She asked with a soft sad smile.She didn't wait for me to answer, probably because she knew the answer to her question. She resumed, "Of course not. He did his best to remove any mention of her from his life. That was his way of dealing with his grief."What about my grief? I wanted to ask but I chose to listen.She was right, no one was allowed to talk about Mom in our house. I was never allowed to ask any questions. Aunt Julie tried her best to fill that hole in my life but for a ten-year-old girl, no one could replace her mother. I barely had any memories of her either. The psychiatrist had told Dad that it was a form of PTSD. I don't remember what the trauma exactly was, but apparentl
>Zoe ran to her room and gathered the contents of the box. She got her old laptop and searched up the location. She rushed back down and went outside to the broken car.Xavier and Aunt Julie followed her as Zoe opened the backseat door."You can't go in that. I doubt it's even going to start." Xavier commented."It better. The coordinates are a two-day drive away." Zoe replied without looking at him. Then, she suddenly turned to him, "Key?" She brought her hand forward expectantly."Zoe," He started but she was getting impatient, "Key, now."He sighed, fetched the key from his pants pocket, and placed it on her open palm. She grabbed it and turned without a thank you. Aunt Julie tried to protest, "You can't let her go alone,""I'm not. Don't worry, " he said and waited for Zoe to try starting the car. He crossed his arms and waited as she turned the key in the ignition, but the car didn't start. Zoe stubbornly tried to keep trying instead of admitting that he was right. T
>"What are these?" Zoe put the envelope on the coffee table between herself and Xavier.Glad that she was finally talking to him, he leaned, his brows furrowed in confusion and concentration, "Letter to you?" He said."The number, what are those?" Zoe resisted the urge to roll her eyes or go over and kiss his confused expression. She knew he was trying not to upset her further. She didn't know why he suddenly cared but a small part of her was relieved that he hadn't mentioned his chosen mate yet or gone back to her. By the looks of it, he was only worried about Zoe. She didn't want to let him in her heart and get it broken again but she wasn't sure if he had left entirely the first time either."Looks like coordinates." He thought out loud."I knew it." Zoe snatched the envelope back, their fingers brushing for a moment and both tried to not show how the touch affected them."I can get the location checked. That is, if you want.." Xavier offered softly.Zoe didn't answer b
>"Weren't you informed not to call? The lines can be intercepted!" I whisper-yelled into the phone as soon as I was sure neither Aunt Julie nor Zoe could overhear."This one's fine, Sir. I made sure. And this is urgent." Jacob spoke in a hushed tone like he was afraid."Well?" I said expectantly, urging Jacob to resume."We were found. Some of our men work for your father and call him Alpha. I don't know how they found out." Jacob informed."Did they take Claire?" I asked expecting the worst."No. They tripped off an alarm I had planted around the area and I got a fifteen-minute headstart. I drugged Claire and took her before they could get us. They knew about the underground room." He told."Where are you now?""At the Shaw Safehouse. I cleaned up any evidence of the underground room being in use before we left. They won't know Claire was there." Jacob reassured me and then said, "But the bad news is, the cleanup team at Golden Eclipse didn't do as great of a job.""W
>The next morning, Zoe was up and out of the house just as the dawn broke through the sky.She had a restless night, the same nightmare burning her mind whenever she closed her eyes. She had waited for her wolf for so long. And then, she had taken even longer to accept that, unlike her fellows, she would never be able to transform into one because she was wolfless.Now, she had a beast. Granted it was not a regular wolf but an animal nonetheless and she wanted to transform. Her mind focused on her need to feel herself shift consciously just to be sure that it had actually happened. Also, this newfound focus helped distract her from the grief of her father.She called out to Dahlia and fell to her knees, trying to force her bones to move, for her skin to get covered with thin grey fur and for her canines to elongate and sharpen. Nothing happened.Dahlia did her best to aid her human but it proved futile as no matter how hard either of them tried, Zoe's body refused to trans
[WARNING: This chapter contains details of gore and death. Proceed with caution.]>That night Zoe slept in her old bed. Apparently, no one had known about their departure from Golden Ecplise or their arrival at the Silver Moon.Xavier chose to stay and Aunt Julie asked him to stay in Joe Simmons room but he refused knowing that when Zoe found out, she would be furious. She blamed Xavier for her father's death, and truthfully, so did he.Aunt Julie wanted to ask about Xavier about his pack but he had been so quiet that she decided otherwise.Zoe sat on her bed looking at the contents of the wooden box. She stared at the pictures. This time with more attention to detail than she had earlier in the day. She read the notes behind each. Some were normal comments about the picture while some were in the same language as the bundle of paper and needed to be decipered. It was just all too much information to be digested at once. The only good thing that came out of opening that