>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
>Once Zoe's father was no more than ashes, she left it there and numbly walked back to the van.Xavier didn't follow her this time. She half expected him to but didn't wait for him.Xavier knew that the disappearance of Alpha Peterson would have been noticed by this time. This meant that even if his team had arrived after Zoe and Xavier left and cleaned the crime scene. Peterson's people were going to eventually get worried and start connecting the dots. Which meant that Zoe was not safe anymore.He wanted to be with her, to be there when she broke apart in her grief. But he knew that she needed some space as well. Also, he wasn't sure how she would react to his help. So far, she had been ignoring him and keeping her distance without a word.He knew she now knew that they were mates and he had told Spike not to tell her animal that they had known all along but Spike had been overjoyed to meet her animal that he answered her every question truthfully. Zoe drove the van to
>Xavier took his time cleaning her. She allowed him to rinse every inch of her naked skin. He pooled water from the shower in his hands and let it drip down from her neck to her breasts and down through her belly button. It pained him to see her so unresponsive. But he hoped that she knew that he was not going anywhere now. That he had decided to stay for as long as she needed him to. Everything else and everyone else ceased to matter to him. He was done putting others over her. He was finally going to set his priorities straight and his mate came on top.When he was finally done, he grabbed a towel and wrapped her, gently walking her to the bed. He pulled a simple tee and jeans for her from her wardrobe and she did not resist. She just sat there silently staring into the void. It was a heartbreaking sight. It was like she had lost her fight. She had gone to many lengths for her father. She had faced everyone alone and now she probably felt like the sole reason for her
>Xavier and Zoe were not in a condition to explain themselves to the newcomer but the inquisitive and confused eyes needed answers."Zoe? What happened here?" Angelina looked worriedly around the nearly torn-apart apartment. Angelina stepped closer to Zoe but stopped when she saw Xavier crouching in a corner. She didn't seem to have noticed him earlier and was shocked to find him there."Zoe?" Her voice held a tone of alarm.Xavier slowly stood up. Zoe didn't seem in the right state of mind."Angelina, I am Xavier. There is nothing to worry about." Xavier started but Angelina's alarm and suspicions heightened as she narrowed her eyes, "It doesn't look fine. And, how do you know my name?"She instinctively stepped between Zoe and Xavier. Xavier raised his hands in front of him to show he meant no harm to either of the girls.Angelina noticed Xavier's Blood Crescent cufflinks and narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "If you don't tell me who you are right now, I'll call the cop