Zoe's POVI placed the envelope on the coffee table between us, staring at Xavier. "What are these?"His brows furrowed as he leaned forward, confusion flickering across his face. "A letter to you?""The numbers. What do they mean?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes—or worse, to kiss the perplexed look off his face. He was trying not to upset me. I didn't know why he suddenly cared, but a small part of me was relieved he hadn’t mentioned his so-called chosen mate. Right now, it seemed like he only cared about me. I didn't want to let him in again, but deep down, I wasn’t sure if I had ever truly let him go."Looks like coordinates," he murmured, thinking out loud.I knew it. Snatching the envelope back, my fingers brushed against his, and for a brief moment, we both pretended not to feel anything."I can have the location checked. If you want," Xavier offered softly.I didn’t answer. Dahlia, my beast, was already debating with me.'Say yes,' she urged, practically purring."I won’t.
Zoe's POVI ran to my room, grabbing everything from the box. My old laptop barely held together, but I powered it up and searched the coordinates. Then, I rushed outside to my broken car.Xavier and Aunt Julie followed as I yanked open the backseat door."You can't take that. It won’t even start," Xavier commented."It better. The coordinates are a two-day drive away," I muttered, then turned to him. "Key?" I held out my hand."Zoe—""Key. Now."He sighed, pulled the key from his pocket, and placed it in my palm. I grabbed it and turned without a thank you."You can't let her go alone," Aunt Julie protested."I'm not," Xavier assured, arms crossed as I tried to start the car. It didn’t even sputter.I kept turning the key, refusing to admit he was right. The car had been through too much. It wasn’t taking me anywhere.Aunt Julie whispered to Xavier, "How long do we wait?""You can wait inside. She won’t last long," he replied, knowing full well I could hear him."I heard that!" I sna
Zoe's POV"What are you so happy about?" I asked Aunt Julie whose excitement was confusing me.Instead of answering right away, she gave me a nostalgic look, sat me down on the couch, and took my hands gently, like a mother would."Did your dad ever tell you that you have your mother's eyes?" she asked, her smile soft but sad.She didn’t wait for me to respond—probably because she already knew the answer, "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 apparently, it was deep enough for
Zoe's POVI barely heard Xavier start talking. I knew he had been planning this speech since we got in the car two days ago."Zoe, I won’t pretend to understand your pain. I won’t insult you by saying I do. But I know how many times I’ve let you down." His voice was careful, like he was walking on thin ice."Don’t. Please." I turned away. I had dreamed of this moment so many times—Xavier realizing what a huge mistake he had made. But not like this. Not when I was barely holding myself together."Let me say this. You need to hear it, and I need to say it." He stepped closer, his hands resting lightly on my arms. Not trapping me. Just asking me to stay."Why?" My voice was bitter. My body tensed under his touch. I hated how my senses reacted to him now—too sharp, too raw. "You didn’t care about talking months ago.""Believe me or don’t, but I thought letting you go was the right choice. I wanted you to have a fresh start." Regret thickened his voice, but I didn’t care.I let out a short
Zoe's POVI climbed the stairs, leaving Xavier in the garage. He needed time to calm down. My forgiveness—if it ever came—wouldn’t be immediate. That was his problem, not mine.He wanted to tell me something about Claire, probably to convince me I had nothing to worry about. But I didn’t care about her. I was done caring about him. His past didn’t matter to me anymore.The only thing that mattered was getting to those coordinates. I had no idea what I would find there, but it was my only lead. My mother left me that clue for a reason. I wouldn’t ignore it. A decade had passed. Anything could have changed. But I needed answers.I rushed through the house, grabbing only the essentials. Clothes, water, a flashlight, a knife. I packed quickly, like I had done this before. Because I had. Running was second nature now."She’s really doing this," Aunt Julie muttered from the kitchen doorway.I ignored her. Nothing to say.Xavier, however, had other plans. By the time I reached the garage, my
It took an hour and a lot of emotional blackmail from Aunt Julie to convince me to let Xavier come to Kansas City. The only reason I agreed was to test if he could keep his word. Nothing more, nothing less.After endless talk about mates, second chances, and the Moon Goddess, Aunt Julie smiled and patted my back. "I'll go tell him you need to talk. Be nice, okay?"I didn’t roll my eyes, though I wanted to. I respected her too much for that. Instead, I shook my head, knowing she had played me perfectly. She always did.If anyone had a right to push me, it was Aunt Julie. She had done more for my family than anyone. More than just a distant cousin of my dad or a housekeeper—she was family. The closest thing I had to a mother."Be nice, Princess." She gave me one last sweet smile before heading inside.I sighed, leaning against the hood of my car and fidgeting with my keychain. My fingers itched for something that wasn’t there—my father’s necklace. The one I had given him in the prison.
Zoe’s POVI love winters. It’s the season of hot chocolate and warm fuzzy sweaters. But most of all, it’s the time of year when I go running in the freshly fallen snow, hoping to get my wolf any day now, because nights are longer than days in winter.I am Zoe Simmons, the daughter of an ex-beta of Silver Moon Pack. My father was a well-respected and trusted Beta of the pack in his time. When I turned sixteen, I expected to meet my amazing wolf, but to everyone’s surprise, she was a no-show.Ever since my mom had left us, Goddess knows why, my dad had been my sole support, my whole world. We did everything together. Everything I knew had been taught to me by my father, and I loved him for it.Today I got up after dawn, got ready, and went for a quick run in the woods that were close since our house was at the edge of the community. On the run, I saw some wolf paw prints and I longed for the day mine would be imprinted on the fresh snow like that too one day.I returned, showered, and go
Zoe’s POV“Is this what your business is?” I had asked, trying to hold my tears until I was alone.“John? Do you know her?” Alyssa asked placing a hand on his chest. The chest that I was rarely allowed to touch for years.“Lyssa, it’s not what you might be thinking. This girl and I, we’re just friends.” John lied blatantly on my face and I was shocked to bear witness to this side of him.“Don’t get the wrong idea by what she is wearing. She is going through some stuff. Must’ve gotten upset when I couldn’t be there to help her.” He had the audacity to twirl a stray lock of her blonde hair around his finger as I stood watching in shock.“Oh, in that case, hi. I’m Alyssa. I think I remember you from today’s meeting. You were sitting at the back right?” The man-stealing bitch smiled and it stung like a viper. She extended a hand as an offer to shake mine and I glared at it.John squirmed as I refused to shake hands with the whore he was cheating on me with and glared at him, not allowing t
It took an hour and a lot of emotional blackmail from Aunt Julie to convince me to let Xavier come to Kansas City. The only reason I agreed was to test if he could keep his word. Nothing more, nothing less.After endless talk about mates, second chances, and the Moon Goddess, Aunt Julie smiled and patted my back. "I'll go tell him you need to talk. Be nice, okay?"I didn’t roll my eyes, though I wanted to. I respected her too much for that. Instead, I shook my head, knowing she had played me perfectly. She always did.If anyone had a right to push me, it was Aunt Julie. She had done more for my family than anyone. More than just a distant cousin of my dad or a housekeeper—she was family. The closest thing I had to a mother."Be nice, Princess." She gave me one last sweet smile before heading inside.I sighed, leaning against the hood of my car and fidgeting with my keychain. My fingers itched for something that wasn’t there—my father’s necklace. The one I had given him in the prison.
Zoe's POVI climbed the stairs, leaving Xavier in the garage. He needed time to calm down. My forgiveness—if it ever came—wouldn’t be immediate. That was his problem, not mine.He wanted to tell me something about Claire, probably to convince me I had nothing to worry about. But I didn’t care about her. I was done caring about him. His past didn’t matter to me anymore.The only thing that mattered was getting to those coordinates. I had no idea what I would find there, but it was my only lead. My mother left me that clue for a reason. I wouldn’t ignore it. A decade had passed. Anything could have changed. But I needed answers.I rushed through the house, grabbing only the essentials. Clothes, water, a flashlight, a knife. I packed quickly, like I had done this before. Because I had. Running was second nature now."She’s really doing this," Aunt Julie muttered from the kitchen doorway.I ignored her. Nothing to say.Xavier, however, had other plans. By the time I reached the garage, my
Zoe's POVI barely heard Xavier start talking. I knew he had been planning this speech since we got in the car two days ago."Zoe, I won’t pretend to understand your pain. I won’t insult you by saying I do. But I know how many times I’ve let you down." His voice was careful, like he was walking on thin ice."Don’t. Please." I turned away. I had dreamed of this moment so many times—Xavier realizing what a huge mistake he had made. But not like this. Not when I was barely holding myself together."Let me say this. You need to hear it, and I need to say it." He stepped closer, his hands resting lightly on my arms. Not trapping me. Just asking me to stay."Why?" My voice was bitter. My body tensed under his touch. I hated how my senses reacted to him now—too sharp, too raw. "You didn’t care about talking months ago.""Believe me or don’t, but I thought letting you go was the right choice. I wanted you to have a fresh start." Regret thickened his voice, but I didn’t care.I let out a short
Zoe's POV"What are you so happy about?" I asked Aunt Julie whose excitement was confusing me.Instead of answering right away, she gave me a nostalgic look, sat me down on the couch, and took my hands gently, like a mother would."Did your dad ever tell you that you have your mother's eyes?" she asked, her smile soft but sad.She didn’t wait for me to respond—probably because she already knew the answer, "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 apparently, it was deep enough for
Zoe's POVI ran to my room, grabbing everything from the box. My old laptop barely held together, but I powered it up and searched the coordinates. Then, I rushed outside to my broken car.Xavier and Aunt Julie followed as I yanked open the backseat door."You can't take that. It won’t even start," Xavier commented."It better. The coordinates are a two-day drive away," I muttered, then turned to him. "Key?" I held out my hand."Zoe—""Key. Now."He sighed, pulled the key from his pocket, and placed it in my palm. I grabbed it and turned without a thank you."You can't let her go alone," Aunt Julie protested."I'm not," Xavier assured, arms crossed as I tried to start the car. It didn’t even sputter.I kept turning the key, refusing to admit he was right. The car had been through too much. It wasn’t taking me anywhere.Aunt Julie whispered to Xavier, "How long do we wait?""You can wait inside. She won’t last long," he replied, knowing full well I could hear him."I heard that!" I sna
Zoe's POVI placed the envelope on the coffee table between us, staring at Xavier. "What are these?"His brows furrowed as he leaned forward, confusion flickering across his face. "A letter to you?""The numbers. What do they mean?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes—or worse, to kiss the perplexed look off his face. He was trying not to upset me. I didn't know why he suddenly cared, but a small part of me was relieved he hadn’t mentioned his so-called chosen mate. Right now, it seemed like he only cared about me. I didn't want to let him in again, but deep down, I wasn’t sure if I had ever truly let him go."Looks like coordinates," he murmured, thinking out loud.I knew it. Snatching the envelope back, my fingers brushed against his, and for a brief moment, we both pretended not to feel anything."I can have the location checked. If you want," Xavier offered softly.I didn’t answer. Dahlia, my beast, was already debating with me.'Say yes,' she urged, practically purring."I won’t.
Xavier's POV"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.""What d
The next morning, I was up and out of the house just as the dawn broke through the sky.I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, the same nightmare burned through my mind. I had waited for my wolf for so long, only to realize I would never transform like the others because I was wolfless.But now, I had a beast. Not a regular wolf, but an animal nonetheless. And I wanted to transform. I needed to know it had actually happened, that I wasn’t imagining it. Focusing on that need kept me distracted from my grief, kept me from falling apart over the loss of my father."Dahlia," I called out, dropping to my knees. I willed my bones to shift, for my skin to be covered in thin gray fur, for my canines to elongate and sharpen. But nothing happened.Dahlia tried to help me, pushing her strength into me, but it was useless. No matter how hard we tried, my body refused to transform.“UGH!” I screamed in frustration.I could talk to her. That was proof enough that I wasn’t wolfless anymore. Bu
[WARNING: This chapter contains details of gore and death. Proceed with caution.]Zoe's POVThat night, I slept in my old bed. Apparently, no one had known about our departure from Golden Eclipse or our arrival at Silver Moon. Xavier chose to stay, and Aunt Julie offered him my father’s room, but he refused. He knew I’d be furious if he stayed there. I blamed him for my father’s death, and honestly, so did he.Aunt Julie wanted to ask Xavier about his pack, but he’d been so quiet that she decided against it.I sat on my bed, staring at the contents of the wooden box. I looked at the pictures again, this time paying more attention to the details. I read the notes on the back of each one. Some were simple comments about the photo, while others were written in the same unfamiliar language as the bundle of papers and needed to be deciphered.It was all too much to process at once. The only good thing about opening the box so far was that it had distracted me from my grief, even if just for