>My new client, Angelina, was an adorable girl of seventeen from another pack. She was in our territory with her friend, whose elder sister was pregnant.Angelina and I decided to meet at a small cafe to discuss the details of the event. Her friend was also there to make sure that her sister’s surprise baby shower was perfect. As it turned out Angelina’s friend belonged to an elder’s family and was willing to pay a lot for the event to be memorable in a good way. I thanked Maisie in my heart and promised myself to treat her with her favorite foods when I got paid.The meeting had gone smoothly. Thankfully, the young girl from my pack did not keep up with the news and either had no idea about my Dad’s scandal or didn’t care.I still decided to stay away from their home and elder’s eyes as much as I can. I needed this commission and I didn’t want anyone to take it from me simply because they believed in the fake embezzlement case against my Dad.We settled on an indoor eve
>Once in a grand office with polished woodwork, carpeted floors, and a wall-sized window with a perfect view of the territory with the skyline.He was still fuming when Miss Williamson walked in nervously and closed the door behind her, her skirt somehow higher than normal and a button undone on her neckline.“Alpha Councilor. Sir, I will personally see to it that this rude employee doesn't ever get to see another restaurant in this or any territory. She is a new hire and started yesterday. It must’ve been a case of misjudgment by the hiring crew.” She blamed me blatantly for the entire catastrophe that had happened.My jaw dropped and my eyes widened in shock. I was the victim. I was being manhandled and she dared turn it around on me?Xavier’s nose flared at her words as he looked at her sharply, scaring her speechless for a second.He leaned back at the table and crossed his arms, raising a brow, “I thought, you as a manager, were responsible for all the new hires. Wh
>I was furious when I saw the way Zoe was getting treated. I had no idea who the kids were, but they had no right to come to my restaurant and treat my mate like that.Spike had taken over immediately and beaten those kids to a crisp. I am pretty sure I was going to kill the one who had her in her lap if she hadn’t stopped me.One look and I knew who I was going to fire for letting this happen at all.Once in my rarely used office, Williamson had started spewing nonsense oblivious to the fact that she was digging her own grave. I had let her go on and I was proud that Zoe had stood up for herself. I was not sure how long things had been this awful for the employees of my establishment but I was glad that I was not too late,Seeing Zoe in a waitress uniform had surprised me. I was under the impression that she was the ex-Beta’s daughter and an event manager. What was she doing starting a job in my restaurant?Before I could ask her anything, she had asked about my well-
>I had talked to Maisie and Aunt Julie when I returned home. I had told them everything and we had reached the conclusion that it was not right to keep working in the restaurant. I was technically Xavier’s client and even though I was sleeping with him, only we knew that fact and it was better to stay that way.So, I was going to have to let go of that job, even though it had a great pay package, and look for somewhere else.Luckily I didn’t have to look very hard.I had gone to meet Angelina and her friend to further discuss the details of the event and somehow the topic of me looking for odd jobs was brought up.Angelina had excitedly offered, “My brother has a partner here who owns a massive boutique. I can drop by with you and introduce you to the manager. She is very sweet and knows me. I can’t promise a job but we can try. I’m sure the package would be nice.”I had to agree even though I was not sure if I should be taking any favors from people I didn’t even know.
>Could my day get any worse?I should not have asked that.I had just helped Miss Alyssa Shaw get dressed into a possible wedding dress for her wedding with my cheating ex-boyfriend.“Why do you hate me so much?” She suddenly asked, still looking at herself in the full-length mirror.“I don’t-” I started, but she interrupted me.She turned to face me and said seriously, “Just because I may act like I only think and care about myself doesn’t mean that it is the only truth. I have noticed the way you glare at me often, each time we meet anywhere. Your animosity is not as well-hidden as you would like it.” “Miss Shaw, I-”“Just call me Alyssa and be truthful. What have I done to offend you so much?” She was genuinely curious, and for a moment, I contemplated telling her and reminding her of our real first meeting in the parking lot of her hotel.Before I could answer there were screams from downstairs.She looked at me alarmed and I told her trying to stay calm, “Ma’am, ple
>I had been working on my ropes for a while now and they had come a bit loose but enough to pull out a hand yet. Alyssa had been crying on and off. I was never great at dealing with emotional stuff. After being taught to ‘suck it up’ for the most part of my life so far. I had no idea what to do or say when a person was crying for such a valid reason as being kidnapped by rogues.Our kidnappers had been gone for a few hours and I only needed around half an hour hopefully to get my hands free. It was going to be easy after that.But lady luck was not on my side. The boss returned with a triumphant grin on his face and I had to slow down and pretend to be crying and hopeless to stall for enough time to take him by surprise. That was the only ball in my court.“I must say I had half expected your guy to not come at all. He has always been a greedy bastard like that.” He told Alyssa and I felt a pain in my chest at the thought that John spent years with me and still left me
>It had been a slow at work. Jacob had informed me that Zoe had resigned from her job at the restaurant. Despite her financial issues, which I was sure about now, she chose dignity and earned the respect of everyone who knew what had happened. Myself included.Jacob had been gone for most of the day, collecting every possible information about Mister Simmons, Zoe’s father, and John.I had wanted to get deep work done on him since Alyssa had returned from her first trip to the horse races and wouldn’t stop talking about this great guy from the neighboring pack.Her trust in me had stopped me from doing it before. Zoe’s case had given me the perfect opportunity to do so without making Alyssa upset.If John was clean, my subconscious would be able to rest and be truly happy for my sister. And if he had any dirt or skeletons in his closet, It is better that everything comes to light before the wedding and not after. Alyssa was too special for me to allow her to get hurt in
>The moment I placed my hand on her shoulder she collapsed. It must be the nerves taking a toll on her.I caught her before she could fall to the ground and carried her fragile body in my arms, hugging her close.Spike had been ready to come out and tear everyone in the cabin who even thought anything wrong about her. Nobody threatened our mate and lived to tell the tale.I drove home in a frenzy. I thought about driving her to her home but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep all night not knowing if she was fine or not.Despite the looks from the staff in the lobby of my building, I went straight to my loft and placed her on the bed. She was still wearing that boutique uniform which in other circumstances would have been great for roleplay but she needed to change.I checked her vitals and made sure she was fine, just blacked-out under stress. I removed the torn uniform from her body as gently as I could, finding it hard to focus on the task at hand when her silky ski
>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