Zara's POV"Oh my goddess, Zara, we were so worried," Levi muttered when he took me into his arms. "Are you alright?"I was at a loss for words, so I just nodded.I was slowly processing everything that Alpha Jack and Luke had told me, and I was hoping and praying that nothing was true."Come," Levi said. "Your father is in the car, waiting for you."Levi thanked Alpha Jack, steered me back toward the car, and opened the passenger door.My dad remained silent and would not even look at me."I'm-""Save it!" He snarled and glanced back in the rearview mirror. "Alpha Nicholas informed me of the incident over the phone earlier.""Your father is not upset with you," Levi mindlinked. "He is just mad that Nic will not have your father sign the treaty; he only wants your signature on the paperwork.""That doesn't make things much easier," I sobbed."Nic called and asked to see you," Levi said.As soon as I did not respond, Levi turned to face me, and I could feel his intense gaze."What happ
Nicolas POV"I will be out in a minute, Levi-bear!" My heart skipped a beat when I heard Zara's voice coming down the hallway. Her sweet remarks about Levi made me feel envious and territorial.Levi raised his hand defensively and hastily, as if sensing my change in mood."It's not what you think," he defended. "Zara has been calling me that for as long as I remember. It is only a nickname. I swear.""A nickname?" The two words rolled tiredly from my tongue. I was physically and emotionally worn out. It was starting to wear on my body and mind because I had not slept at all for the previous two days.Nevertheless, I was compelled to come and attempt to correct things with Zara. I had to tell her I was sorry, hoping she would accept my apology."Yes," Levi replied."Have you heard me,...?" Zara called once more, a little louder this time."Yes, I did," Levi shot back at her. "I am eagerly awaiting your arrival. Our food is starting to get cold. Hurry up and get dressed! I am starving!"
Zara's POVI heard Nic's voice down the hallway, and I silently crept closer, my heart pounding in my ears.How could Levi allow him inside? Does he not realize that I am not interested in seeing him?"Well, technically, you did not tell him why you were not interested in seeing Nicholas," Kaya said, startling me. "It appears that he intervened on his own to encourage communication between the two of you.""That does not mean that he can make decisions about things that are personal for me in secret," I snapped.I moved to get a better look by moving toward the end of the hallway.Unaware of my presence, Nic was facing away from the hallway. His hair was neatly combed back and tied up, and he wore black pants and a white formal shirt."Stop being upset with Levi," Kaya said. "You refused to say anything more when you got home, and he seemed concerned about your emotional state. He cares about you. Levi must have been so distraught that he called Nicholas.""Nevertheless!" I clenched m
Nicolas POVI have spent the last thirty minutes standing at Zara's bedroom door, apologizing.Still, she had not even attempted to unlock the door.Will her heart ever soften enough to forgive me?Will I ever get an opportunity to present my case to her?My phone started ringing in my pocket, and I hesitated to answer. At that point, I was not ready to give up. I pressed the side button on my phone, and it went silent."Zara," I called out. "I am sure you can hear me. I apologize for saying those things, but you only heard one side of the conversation. Please accept my apology.""That would not exactly improve the situation," said Ray.I continued hammering on the door and calling her, ignoring Ray.I was aware that Zara was still in her room. Her rich, euphoric wildflower scent was still lingering in the surrounding air.I called out to Levi and moved away from the door."Yes, Alpha," he replied, looking from the door to me."Have you tried linking Zara?" I asked, desperate to find
Zara's POVI didn't even grab anything to eat. I simply bolted from our quarters, shifted as soon as I was outside the packhouse, and ran as fast as I possibly could.I did not care that I had just destroyed my favorite training outfit or that I had an appointment with my father later that day.All I wanted was to be by myself.I simply needed to get my thoughts straight and see things from a different perspective.I was aware that things were slowly eating me alive from the inside out, messing with my head and making me feel lost.Maybe Nicholas was right after all since I am still a kid at heart."You are not a kid at all!" Kaya growled. "You are just a young adult, that all!""What separates the two from one another?" I lost my temper.Kaya said nothing after that. She knew that nothing she said to me at this point would be helpful. I refused to hear it.Though I had no idea where I was heading, I knew that Kaya would not allow me to go past the pack boundary. Given my current stat
Zara's POV"Someone seems very happy this morning," Levi teased as I sat for breakfast. He was holding his piece of toast in his hand and had already served him some food. "It appears that the storm washed away all of your sorrows."I laughed and took a seat at the table, grabbing a slice of bread and piling some bacon and eggs onto my plate.Levi narrowed his eyes as he attempted to read me."You seem different this morning," he went on. "Something has changed. I simply cannot put my finger on it."Levi placed his toast back down on his plate, sat back, and watched me for a moment.I felt uneasy about his stare, embarrassed to the point where my face flushed.Could he figure out my little secret?Can I keep this secret hidden for long?"I am not sure what you are talking about," I said, reaching for the strawberry jam jar.While I carefully smeared some jam onto my toast, Levi bit his lip and observed me."I believe you do," he remarked, and I unintentionally turned to look at him.W
Nicolas POV"Looks like someone got it all this morning," Ronan said, peering in through the door of my office.I turned to face him and waved him in."Maybe I did," I said, smiling, and I leaned back in my seat. Just thinking about Zara brought a bigger smile to my face. "I feel like a-""A million dollars?" he asked, raising an ironic eyebrow in response."Something like that," I uttered as I glanced down at the document in Ronan's hand."What's that?" I asked."The information you requested," he said, handing it to me. I set it aside. "Did you manage to talk to Zara?"I nodded in response, and my thoughts quickly trailed off to last night.While Zara slept and the storm raged and poured outside, I was staring at her until the early hours of the morning. I couldn't get enough of her. She looked so beautiful under the fire's dim light and looked even more amazing in my arms.I sighed.Zara fitted perfectly in my arms, and I wanted nothing more than to hold her soft, delicate body aga
Nicolas POV"From where did you obtain the information?" I asked Ronan as I turned the final page of the file. Though I never imagined it went that deep, the contents shocked me and made perfect sense for the Nightingale Pack to be supporting the Red Claw Pack."I have my resources," Ronan said, grinning and interlacing his fingers.He patiently waited for me to complete the file review and offer my opinion."Hopefully, this information was not obtained unlawfully," I responded, closing the document. It could put a target on our backs, and I didn't want that. My pack's safety was more important to me."I did not need to; it was all done in favor," he said, grinning smugly.I turned my head to the side and furrowed my brows. My spine tingled with an unholy sensation.What was Ronan getting up to?Who and why did they provide him with this information?Was there someone he was blackmailing?"I do not think so," Ray said, listening in on my thoughts. He was interested to see what Ronan h
Nicolas POV"I am so glad you waited," Terra said with the sweetest voice. "I wanted to come and give you a personal thank you."Terra tilted her head sideways, observing the quiet Ray. He did not move. He was staring at Terra with disgust.Yet she misread the hostility as something else, which made me nauseous."Do you like what you see?" she asked. "I have ensured that every aspect of me is flawless just for you!"The dark bruises on Terra's slender body had vanished, and the cuts on her face had healed—her wolf had done her magic.Terra grinned, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and placed her hands on her hips. She was not embarrassed by her appearance; instead, she began to parade before me as though she were at a fashion show.She spun around quickly, flaunting all of her assets."This is all yours," she said, pointing to her body. "You can have a taste of me now; I would not mind, and it could be our little secret. I want to express my gratitude to you for saving me."Ray shoo
Nicolas POV"What do you mean that she is not there?" I screamed at Levi on the phone.Ronan's face turned to ash a few seconds ago, and I could see the fear in his eyes. He had given the phone to me.Levi choked, "I-I-we can find her," over the receiver. "I have searched all over for her.""When was the last time you saw her?" I paced my office as I asked."The last time I saw her, she went to her room to calm down.""And then?" My fingers around the phone went white as I snarled. The fact that I had not broken the phone while I was holding it surprised me. "Has anyone visited her? Taken her?"Was Noah responsible for this?Has he abducted her?"Her bedroom was locked from the inside," Levi clarified. "It is likely that she jumped from her window.""Remember Levi's statement that Zara would not dare do that?" Ray chipped in."If she did that, how the hell did no one notice?" I asked, disregarding what Ray had said. "Is there any other scent in her room?""No!" Levi's voice broke as h
Nicolas POVIt was well past noon, and I rubbed my eyes, exhausted from not getting a single minute of sleep.I crinkled my nose in disgust. Everywhere I went, I could still smell the stench of rogues, as if it followed me everywhere.I was so exhausted, both mentally and physically, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I needed some desperate sleep after last night.Yet, every time I closed my eyes, even for a moment, the awful assault continued to flash behind my eyes.With a sigh, I dashed to my office, not having the patience to wait for the elevator to arrive. Ray helped me accelerate to the top floor in no time. He, too, wanted to get some rest.Ronan sat in the lobby, waiting patiently. He knew me all too well. He knew I would come here first before returning to my quarters to get some sleep.Ronan gave me a tired nod, which I returned, and he stood up to follow me silently to my office.After pausing at my office door and letting out a long breath, I exhaustedly extended
Zara's POV"Perhaps we should have taken a map before trying the tunnels," I muttered to myself, lost in thought. We were running for what seemed like an eternity, and I was fairly certain that we were lost."I am sure we are on the right track," Kaya said as she heard what I was thinking. "I am still following Nic's scent.""Are you certain?" I inquired. "It seems like Nic did not take this long to get to us.""Perhaps he simply ran more quickly than we do," she said, refusing to back down. It appeared that she was confident we were headed in the right direction. "Remember that I am a little slower because of the backpack I am wearing on my back.""Should we ditch the bag?" I asked. "We can tie my clothes around your leg."Kaya grimaced with disgust. She did not like that idea, and there was no guarantee that my clothes would not get torn in the process."No need," she uttered, reducing her speed. "I believe we have discovered something."I felt a chill go down my spine as I turned t
Zara's POV"Try Beta Ronan again!" I said to Levi as I paced our living room."Zara, this was already the eleventh call," he remarked. "He is not picking up his phone.""Try Nic's number again," I said, growing increasingly agitated.Levi sighed, but he followed my instructions. A moment later, he shook his head in frustration."The call goes straight to voice mail," he said in response.What the hell happened? Why did nobody pick up our calls? Not even Nic's secretary was answering the calls.I gasped as another surge of heat swept through my body. It was getting worse. Was it the mate bond warning me that Nic was in trouble?"Zara, you do not look so good," Levi said, setting his phone down on the table. "Perhaps you need to go get some rest. I will keep on trying.""I just can't understand it," I said, feeling as if all the life was slowly being drained out of me. "You had a conversation with Beta Ronan this morning. He forwarded a copy of the contract to you. Why is he not picking
Zara's POVIt was the longest breakfast meeting of my life. It seemed like my father was purposefully playing for time.When my father revealed the attack on the Midnight Moon Pack, I instantly lost my appetite, and what little I did eat tasted bitter. Except for the surge of heat that was circulating through my body, I felt upset, queasy, and nervous.Was I about to get the flu? I was not feeling well.Can we just put an end to this meeting?I really needed to get out of there. I wanted to check in on Nic."Will you please just end this meeting?" I balled my fists and let out an inward cry of frustration.At this point, my mother had joined my father in talking about the charity event that was approaching. Her discussion about which stalls we were hosting this year prolonged the event, which made it worse."Calm down," Levi mind-linked. "Your parents are going to see that you are nervous. They will inquire as to what is bothering you. I am sure Alpha Nic is fine. If he wasn't, Beta R
Zara's POVIt was still fairly quiet in the packhouse when Levi and I went downstairs to my parents' quarters.My father wanted us to meet in his chambers for privacy's sake."What is the reason behind your father's intense desire to see us?" Levi asked. "It is not even quite dawn yet.""Your guess is as good as mine," I said, as my heart began to race.Has he found out I have not mated with Levi?Does he know about my relationship with Nic?Has anyone told him about Levi and Kyle?"You are making assumptions too quickly," Kaya said. "Slow down.""Something feels a bit off," Levi said as we arrived at the hallway leading to my father's room."Off how?" I asked, turning to face him."I do not know," he answered. "It feels like the wind is changing.""From here, it is impossible to smell or feel the wind," I said, rolling my eyes. "We are not outside, Levi.""That is not what I mean," Levi stated. "I feel a little nervous about this sudden meeting this morning.""Why?" I paused in my tr
Zara's POV"I am just playing with you!" Levi said abruptly and started laughing. "I understand that you are just making fun of me."With a sigh of relief, I shut off the shower and stepped outside."You are an asshole!" I snarled and attempted to strike Levi's arm, but he grabbed my hand and gave me a wink. "You have got me worried!""What were you worried about? Hmm?" His eyes were full of mischief as he asked. "That both of us understand that when our mates spend time with other attractive people, we will feel jealous and..."Levi's eyes gazed over, interrupting his thoughts.That was unexpected and rude!"What kind of person would mind-link at this hour?" I hissed in frustration.I let out a sigh as I noticed Levi standing motionless. It looked like a very serious conversation. In an instant, his face hardened, and his jaw muscles began to tense up. He did not like whatever they were talking about.After waiting patiently for him to finish the conversation, I finally gave up.I sh
Zara's POVLevi shuddered and turned green; he appeared on the verge of becoming sick."I am mated to his son, Kyle," Levi declared as he stood up and paced my room. "He is my second chance mate.""Alpha Wesley has a son?" I gasped in surprise. I cannot recall ever hearing of or meeting Kyle.Did he attend the mating ritual?"Yes, he does! How could you possibly believe that I was mated with that old fart?" Levi asked, his voice tinged with disappointment and rage."Because you have been acting suspiciously, and I was unaware of Kyle's existence until now," I answered. "When did the White Moon Pack accept a new Alpha? No announcement was made to the packs.""Technically, they haven't accepted Kyle as the new Alpha yet," Levi answered."Oh? How come?"Levi sighed and shot me an annoyed glance."Kyle has spent the past few years living and studying medicine overseas," Levi said, a dreamy smile forming on the corner of his lips. He seemed proud and in love with his mate. "His father made