Narrator's POV"Lady Shaw, the visitor is very persistent," Mrs. Hass spoke softly."Well, why didn't you ask the visitor's identity? Who do they think they are? To show up at the door of an old woman and demand an audience?" While Lady Shaw felt inconvenienced, she quickly got up. Because she knew that if somebody had the audacity to come to her door without an appointment and demand a meeting asap, it must mean that person either had everything at stake or nothing to lose. Either way, being the acting Alpha in the absence of her grandson meant that she had more responsibility for the people of her pack than she ever did before and she had been trying her best to keep things as smooth as she could."Call them in," Lady Shaw said to Mrs. Hass."I'm afraid they are already in, Ma'am." Mrs. Hass gave her best apologetic expression."Oh, Goddess. Now, that is going a step too far," Lady Shaw walked out of her bedroom where she had retired to rest for the night.Her feet stilled before h
Xavier's POVLady Shaw knew her son just as well as I knew my father.When I saw Elder Shaw standing there, hands in his pockets, as if this was just some casual midday visit instead of a random, middle-of-the-night intrusion, I knew he was up to something. He looked calm, composed—and completely out of place. But that was just like him. He didn’t care how he looked. He was here with a purpose.“Mother, step aside. Let’s have some late-night tea,” he said, his voice full of the authority he liked to pretend he still had—authority he didn’t hold over Lady Shaw, who, unlike him, had actually earned respect in the pack. She was still the acting Alpha in his absence, no matter what he thought.“It’s late, son,” she replied with a frown. “Either say what you came to say or leave.”“You don’t look like you just got out of bed to open the door, Mother,” he smirked.“Neither do you,” Lady Shaw retorted smoothly.“Well, I never said I was in bed.”“Neither did I.”“In that case, you wouldn’t m
Zoe's POVI had only been to the cabin with Xavier once. So, without the GPS that Jacob had set up, I'd be entirely lost.I tried to stay calm as the evening turned to the night. The cabin was a couple of hours away from the tunnel opening. I didn't know who built the cabin or of they knew about the tunnels. But, they had chosen the safest location in all of the pack, for a secluded, secret place. No wonder Xavier loved to go there to relax.I parked the car in the cabin garage which was also a storage room. Using the keys from the glove box of the car, I got inside the cabin and was instantly hit by the memories of the amazing, passionate time that Xavier and I had spent there. At that time, the worst problem in my life was saving my Dad and not falling for the Alpha the thought of whole sent delicious shivers down my spine.The place was just as I remembered it. The paintings, the empty canvases, the easel and random splashes of color here and there, and the hammock where I had spent
Zoe's POVI wasn’t expecting anyone when I walked into the cabin, so seeing Jacob standing there in the middle of the room gave me a serious jolt.“You gave me a heart attack!” I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest.Jacob raised a brow, amused. “You almost cost me my life.”“How?” I blinked, still catching my breath. “I’m not the one sneaking around someone’s hideout like it’s your personal Airbnb.”“Right, because you just take casual strolls through the woods while running from some of the most powerful and connected people in the country,” he shot back dryly. “Do you have any idea what Alpha would do to me if I told him I lost you on the first day?”I laughed and walked over to the sink, splashing some water on my face to cool down. “Don’t overreact.”“I’m not overreacting,” he muttered, folding his arms.“Uh-huh.”“Wow.”“Wow, what?”“Nothing.”“Jacob…” I narrowed my eyes.“It’s just…” He hesitated, looking at me like he was seeing something I wasn’t. “I’m surprised you don’t reali
Xavier's POV Spending my first night at Gramp's house was supposed to be my respite before I had to go back to my duties. But, my father's appearance had changed that. For an hour, he tried to get stuff out of me. Where was I? Why had I gone? What made me return? Who knew about my whereabouts? Who was with me? But I knew his interrogating techniques by now. He was just a man who made my existence possible. Knowing his actions against my people made it easier to see him as a threat rather than family. We hadn't been a family in a long time. When he was sure he wasn't going to get anything out of me, or maybe he just grew bored of the games, he left. I went to Gramps room and found her asleep in her rocking chair. She must've dozed off while waiting for my father to leave. Not wanting to disturb her, I decided to go back to the guest room. Since I had lost my appetite, I quickly got to making backups of all the data Luca had given me. I made physical copies to be stored in Gramp
Zoe's POVI woke up to knocking on the door. I looked around, I was still in Xavier's cabin. I grew worried. Xavier had been explicit about knocking. Both he and Jacob had keys to the cabin which meant, it wasn't them and thus shouldn't be trusted.I quickly slipped on Xavier's shirt and called on Dahlia to help if it came to that. 'I'm right here, though it would've been better if you could hand me control willingly, rather than me having to take it from you every time things get too much for you.' Dahlia yawned. She had been resting as well.I rolled my eyes, "Yes, how simple it is, isn't it?"'You don't even try,' Dahlia retorted."I am not having this conversation with you when there is possibly a hostile intruder here," I replied and got ready to defend Xavier's cabin.The door unlocked and swung open slowly. My heart was in my throat as I raised the frying pan in my hand to attack the intruder, when I got still in shock."Zoe, what are you doing?" Xavier walked in, dressed impe
Zoe's POVI ran through the woods, trying to clear my head as always. For the first time in my life, it wasn't working.The feeling of Xavier's lips on my neck, his hands on my body, his presence around me. It was all overwhelming my senses. I could still smell his cologne. When had I started to get so horny for him to start having such dreams?I ran faster and took a U-turn to return to the cabin. Jacob had been very adamant about me staying close to the cabin as much as possible. He had wanted me to stay indoors at all times, but that was not going to be an option for me. So, I was granted a few liberties. I was not going to misuse those.While returning, I decided to take one last lap around the cabin before going in to shower and getting to read my hard work from yesterday, finally.That was when I noticed something different. A certain part of the ground was covered by the bushes more thickly than the rest. If I didn't know any better I would say it looked like an attempt to hide
Zoe's POV'We should leave now, Zoe.' Dahlia said firmly.I turned to face Claire once more. She was skinnier than I remembered and had dried blood all over her body. Her nails were broken but her smirk was still there."Ask. You know you are dying to know." She said like she knew what was going on in my head.'Zoe, walk away. We cannot trust a word coming from her.' Dahlia kept telling me. If I knew how to block her, I might've."Xavier loved you. Why did you betray him?" I finally asked."She speaks," Claire mocked.'Zoe,' Dahlia warned."Answer me," I tried to ask firmly."You haven't done this before, have you? Interrogation is an art. You should learn it from your beloved. Xavier knows how to paint a body red." She mused but ended up coughing probably due to her dry throat."He wouldn't have to if you hadn't betrayed him," I replied. She didn't know how much I knew and I intended to keep it that way. But I was barely thinking straight."Oh look at the little fawn defending the hun
Zoe's POV"This is good," I complimented, taking another bite of the lobster sandwich."Mr. Malarkey is among the best chefs in this hemisphere. He comes from a long line of chefs loyal to Blood Crescent for generations." The way Xavier spoke about the chef made me feel like he was the kind of Alpha
Zoe's POVXavier and I spent the rest of the day packing up and getting ready to leave the cabin. We took a quick lunch break and then loaded up Xavier's car.The hours we spent on the road going to the pack center where the Shaw Mansion stood in all its glory, felt nostalgic. It hadn't been very lo
Zoe's POVXavier was looking at me expectantly. He was waiting for an answer. And at that moment, I loved him so much that I would follow him anywhere if he held my hands the way he was holding them. He had so many problems and wasn't afraid to make me his knowing how many problems were on my tail.
Xavier's POVI knew I should've told Zone about not keeping Claire in the dungeons. It had been a momentary decision because she was still dear to me and I was so shocked at her betrayal. And then, everything else happened and I couldn't move her or expose her yet. It was not like I was hiding the
Zoe's POVBy the time we reached the cabin, a light sprinkle had started. I liked this light summer rain. It made everything look cleaner and fresher as if breathing new life into nature. I loved the smell of wet soil. I also liked how pleasant the weather became after the rain. It was the thunders
Zoe's POVAfter yesterday's activities, Xavier and I slept in each other's arms. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have any nightmares. I slept like a log and woke up with a smile on my face. And it was all thanks to my mate, my Alpha. Xavier's face was tranquil. I had missed seeing this
Xavier's POVI have no idea how I survived without Zoe's touch for as long as did. Was it possible to die due to starvation of mate's touch? I didn't know and I wasn't going to test it either because I had no intention of ever letting her go.It didn't matter how much I tried to worship her body. It
Zoe's POVNow that it was just me and Xavier in the cabin, neither of us knew what to say. I kept thinking of how to start the conversation. We had a lot to talk about, but where to begin?"How have you been?" Xavier asked, tentatively stepping forward.After being with him for months, I wanted to t
Zoe's POVThe more Xavier talked the more I tried not to panic. I knew things were bad, I hadn't realized they were this bad. A part of me felt guilty because all of it could've been avoided if Xavier hadn't left to support me. As much as I appreciated his presence after Dad's death, I never wanted