>Eva was freaking out.One moment, she was listening to Richard's conversation with the traffickers, and the next, Zoe was gone from her side.She noticed Zoe turn the corner on the far side of the compound and instantly tried to mind-link her. But like the last few times she had tried, Zoe's mind-link was closed. It was unreachable. But Eva didn't have time to stay confused.She rushed after Zoe. She had no idea what the young girl had in mind but Eva mind-linked Xavier."What do you mean she was gone? What were you doing?" Xavier thundered. His anger made Eva wince.'I was listening. And I thought she was too.' Eva tried to explain as she noticed Zoe hiding behind a few large crates."Where is she now?" Xavier asked.'Inside the compound, Alpha. She's got your cloaking ring. But if I get any closer I'll be found.' Eva felt guilty but there was no time to point fingers yet."Make sure Zoe doesn't get seen. And don't get yourself caught either." Xavier ordered and motioned
>"Zoe?" A familiar voice echoed through the silence that had settled in the compound hall as everyone was waiting for the other to make the first move.We looked at the troubled newcomer."Dad?" I asked in disbelief. Who called him? Why was he here? No! He was not supposed to be here."Sweetie, what is going on here? You didn't come home and your phone's GPS said you were here," Dad looked worried but I was more concerned for him."Well, well. What an unexpected turn of events." Richard smirked, getting more and more confident with each passing second."He had nothing to do with anything. Keep him out of this!" I growled while on my knees and then shouted to Dad, "Dad, please leave!"A swift sharp slap cut my cheek, "Nobody asked for your opinion, you wolfless Omega!"My eyes widened. He knew. How long had he known?"You will pay for that!" Xavier started walking towards us determined and in a flash, I had been pulled up to my feet, my back to Richard's chest as he held a
>Everything hurt.I couldn't focus on which pain was more unbearable. The ache in my heart at the loss of my last family member, my only shelter in the cruel world. Or, the pain from the bones that kept breaking on their own for some reason.I wailed with everything I had until the pain consumed me. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. All there was, was a terrible, unbearable, red-hot pain, all over me.I felt like my brain was being boiled. It was like my skull was about to explode. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't focus. The pain was overwhelming all my senses. I couldn't move. I wanted it to stop. I didn't know how to stop because I had no idea what was happening. It was like every bone in my body was breaking. From my fingertips to my guts, I could feel all my nerves getting stimulated at once. How could one be conscious of one's gut? I wanted to scream. I opened my mouth. I don't know if any sound came out. I wanted to cry.I closed my eyes.
>Alphas had similar strength levels. During alpha to alpha combat the difference usually came from training. But Richard couldn't have more training than me. No one could. No one had a madder father than me. No one could've started as young as I did or trained as hard as I was forced to do.That is why I was confused about how Richard was able to overpower me. I could feel him trying to knock me unconscious as he tightened his head lock on my neck stopping air flow to my body and circulation to my head.I glanced to the other side and saw Zoe bloodied and bruised holding her father's dead body. I had failed her.She yelled and I looked around. Most of my men were dead or dying. We were losing. I was going to lose Zoe.That thought woke up something inside me.Spike took over without a warning.The transformation took Richard by surprise and we were able to get out of the headlock. We kicked him back and took a deep breath. A few seconds more and we would've passed o
>The pain had started again and this time the creature wasn't there. I wanted to cry. I think I heard my scream echo through the woods.I don't know how long it went on. The bright day of the woods had once again shifted to the night. I had curled up in a fetal position and closed my eyes in pain. The feeling of shifting guts was back but worse.Finally, I heard it again.'I'm sorry that I had to leave like that.'I looked up and saw the creature and I could feel empathy radiate off of it."Where were you?" I asked as the pain slowly eased and I could breathe again.'Our fated mate needed saving.' It said in a matter-of-fact tone."We have a fated mate?" I asked in surprise and disbelief.'You didn't know?' It asked surprised at my reaction. I shook my head.'So, you've never met the tall, guy with the grey eyes and his wolf called Spike?' It asked curiously.My eyes widened."Spike?" I asked in disbelief. Xavier's wolf was Spike. How many wolves were named Spike? The d
This chapter is a recap of all the major events that happened in the book so far. This is where the story of the wolfless Zoe ends and the story of the Hybrid Zoe with her special animal Dahlia begins. Many new problems await Zoe and her fated mate, Xavier. Many new secrets await to be revealed. Many friends old and new, many foes, old and new. And many new hurdles in the long journey.RECAP:Zoe is a wolfless girl, the daughter of an ex-beta of the Silver Moon Pack in North America. Her boyfriend, John, the new beta cheated on her with a new girl, Alyssa, who is of Alpha bloodline of an ally pack. He embezzled the pack's finances of a huge amount, framed her father, and blackmailed her to be his mistress for him to spare her father.At his engagement party, she met a stranger, Xavier Shaw, who happened to be a member of the werewolf council who could help her unveil John's schemes. She asked for his help and he agreed to help her solve her crisis for a price.Five years ago, he had a
>Zoe felt a new strength surging through her veins. Every sound, smell, and sensation felt a thousandfold.She glanced around. The first rays of dawn were illuminating the compound. She heard a swift pitter-patter and turned in the direction before her eyes focused on a cockroach in a corner on the other side of the compound scurrying around. She had never seen or heard anything this distinctly before.A breeze flew in from one of the broken windows, and Zoe felt like it breached her skin and chilled her to her core.The colors around her were more vibrant than she had ever seen them. But it was not a pleasant sight. The only color other than the cement-grey of the compound was red. Blood and organs red. A random shoe or piece of fabric could be noticed drenched in thicker blood that was coagulating and drying quickly.She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to prevent herself from hyperventilating. Wrong move. She only managed to inhale the vomit-inducing scent of
>I drove the van as Dahlia instructed me.This newfound strength and these heightened senses were hard to work with. By the time Dahlia told me to stop at a clearing, the steering wheel of the van was bent and barely working.I knew Xavier had hitchhiked the ride but I was in no mental state to converse. Even if Dad were alive, I would've hated Xavier for abandoning me and choosing another over me.I stepped out and for a second just let the sounds and smells of woods envelope me. I always loved nature. It had helped me calm down back home. But I had never felt nature the way it felt now. It was like seeing the world for the first time. Like I had been wearing a dark curtain over my senses and it had finally lifted allowing me to see the true magic of the world.But I had a loved one to bury.That thought weighed on me so much that it numbed my senses again. I couldn't celebrate my first transformation or ponder on its possibility because I was too busy mourning my only r