>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 only took two days and I was already on my first day on a new job. Thanks to the way John had destroyed my Dad's reputation, almost no one in the pack was willing to give me any kind of job. It also didn't help that everyone knew while growing up and was aware that I had no wolf.Maisie had to convince the owners of a huge catering company to let me work for them. The upside was it was a multi-national company so they had promised to let me at a different location than our pack for the sake of their reputation.The downside, as I found it too late, was that the different location was Blood Crescent Pack. I cursed my luck. What were the chances that I could cater unnoticed in the same pack where no one but Jacob did not hate me?"Earth to Zoe." A fellow waitress snapped her finger in front of me and snapped me out of my overthinking daydream, "You know if one of those wine glasses as much as gets the tiniest chip, it is coming off of your salary. So, be careful with t
>I placed the final tray of entrees on the bench for the waiters to begin serving and nearly jumped out of my skin to find Xavier staring at me from the door of the back room where we were operating for the event."You are not supposed to be here." I breathed."Neither are you." He replied in the same tone. "Yes, I am. I am working-" I started but stopped midsentence when he started walking towards me."I can see that." He commented glancing behind me and then refocused his attention on me."I should get back to work." I tried to bring myself back to my senses and failed as he stopped so close to me that if either of us breathed hard, our bodies would brush."You should." He placed a finger on my chin like he always used to and I felt my resolve crumble. I wanted to ask him what he was trying to do but I needed him to continue. I feared that if I asked, he would stop."But you won't." He leaned in."I won't?" I repeated in a haze."Umhm." And my eyes were closed before
>I had been working with the rest of the staff to move everything from our workplace to the event location which was revealed as the great Shaw Mansion. Even though the building was in the center of the city, it was walled in like a fortress. The vast grounds surrounded the main building in the middle. It was majestic. The architecture, the artwork, the designs, everything was so immaculately done that it was overwhelmingly intimidating.Silver Moon Packhouse was a hut compared to this ginormous beauty. "Stop drooling and get work ladies." Alan, a fellow waiter nudged us as we all followed the staff member of the Mansion to lead us from where we would be working for the night.The bus that had taken us to the back of the mansion was parked close to our work stations. We started unpacking the materials. The whole place was abuzz with people coming in and out with things, decorations, and whatnot.This was Xavier's home. His real home. Not the loft in uptown, where he too
>"But I am not a waitress." I simply said.I was hired to be a part of the prep team. That's all I did. Clean pots and pans, and keep the stations of the chefs clean. I was the help of the help."That's what I told her." He was infuriated. I understood him because I, too, had no idea what she was hoping to achieve, "That you are not trained to wait on people.""And?" I asked helplessly."And she didn't care. She wants you in there. She will get you in there." He decided against his will.Before I could protest or try to reason with him, another staff member joined us, "You called for me, Sir.""Yes. You will teach this one to wait for the guests at this party in the next two hours." The manager shocked the poor fellow."Next two hours? Sir, she is from the prep team." The guy protested and I nodded in agreement."I know!" The manager nearly screamed."You!" He called me, "Take the damn apron and scarf off. You will learn to wait the way we do in our company.""It is impos
>"Your father will see you now." My father's young assistant formally announced.I stood up and gulped the glass of whiskey in my hand in a single sip before placing it on the table and doing the button of my tuxedo coat."Just you, Alpha." Jacob was stopped at the entrance of my father's study room which he had turned into his office the moment he had returned from the King's court. I nodded to Jacob and he obediently took his place at outside the door."Father." I addressed him. I hadn't seen him for five years since he had gone to the King's court on his Majesty's orders and I had taken the command of the pack as the official Alpha."I thought I taught you better than to allow rogue attacks on our borders. Clearly, not." He spoke without facing me.Of course, it was too much to expect any fatherly notion from a man who hadn't called me his son since the day my mother died."The rogues were collaborating-" I started but he interrupted me. He turned to face me and pla
>I wanted to encourage myself and focus on the fact that my Dad needed me. But my feet wouldn't move the moment I re-entered the party and noticed Xavier with his grandmother on his arm and an intimidating-looking man who looked like Xavier would when old.They were approached by Claire who was holding on to the arm of an older man, whom I guessed to be her father. Pleasantries were being exchanged as I looked at how close yet far the man I had fallen in love with was.Why was the Goddess punishing me like this? What sin had I committed to deserve this fate?"Serve the VIPs, Zoe. The manager is glaring at you." Sara passed me by swiftly and whispered in my ear, bringing me back to my awful reality.I gathered as much courage as I could and walked straight to the VIPs, promising myself to look at no one, unless absolutely necessary.As I reached their vicinity, I brought the tray to the center, where it was easily available for everyone to reach for the entrees."Ah, the e
>I needed air.I didn't care about the job. I was about to suffocate if I didn't take a breather.I managed to slip past the manager and the rest of the employees without being asked why I was headed in the opposite way from the party.The moment I was out in the open, the doors to the backroom closed, I sighed.It was so calm and peaceful outside. The evening had overtaken the daylight and the whole mansion looked ethereal with light, shadows, and light music wafting from inside.Why was it so impossible to ask for a simple job? All I wanted was to earn some money, pay for Dad's case, get him out, and leave these damned packs.I walked away.What was the worst that could happen if I did not go back inside at all? Apart from getting fired? I doubted anyone would miss me. I was sure that the staff now hated me because it looked like I had been taking favors from high up. How wrong they were? To be jealous of my plight.I heard someone shouting profanities and walked closer
>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