Chapter 4

I don't care what information you have about my parents' disappearance or death," I spat, backing away from Noah's intense gaze. My hands trembled but I forced steel into my voice. "And mind you, my parents aren't dead. I was told they left me. I made a vow to find out what happened, and I will do it myself."

The moonlight streaming through the stairwell windows cast harsh shadows across Noah's face as he took a step toward me. "Zara, please-"

"Keep your information to yourself," I cut him off. "Not that you care. None of you get to use information about my parents to manipulate me."

My voice cracked on the last word, but I lifted my chin defiantly. "Watch me as I find out about anyone involved in this. I don't care if it's people close to me. I will crush them all."

Noah's expression softened, though his eyes remained intense. "We're not trying to manipulate you, Zara. We're trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" I laughed bitterly. "Like you protected me all these years? By making my life hell?"

Heavy footsteps on the stairs made us both turn. Liam and Ethan appeared, their formal attire from the ceremony replaced with casual clothes.

"She deserves to know," Ethan said quietly, exchanging looks with his brothers.

"Know what?" I demanded, though my wolf whined at the hostility in my voice. The mate bond pulled at me, urging me to trust them, to let them in. I fought against it.

Liam ran a hand through his dark hair, a gesture I'd never seen from him before. It made him look younger, more vulnerable. "About the night your parents disappeared. About why we turned on you."

"I don't want to hear it," I said, but my voice wavered.

"You do," Noah said softly. "You've spent nine years wondering, searching for answers. We have them."

My heart thundered in my chest. They were right - I did want to know. But could I trust them? After everything they'd done?

"Fine," I said finally. "Talk."

Liam gestured toward his study. "Not here. Somewhere private."

I hesitated, but followed them into the familiar room. This time, instead of taking his place behind the desk, Liam sat in one of the leather chairs. His brothers followed suit, leaving me standing uncertainly by the door.

"Sit," Liam said, then added more gently, "Please."

That 'please' again. It still felt foreign coming from him. I perched on the edge of a chair, as far from them as possible.

"What do you remember about that night?" Noah asked.

I closed my eyes, memories washing over me. "Not much. I was nine. My parents tucked me in, said they'd see me in the morning. When I woke up, they were gone. Everyone said they'd left the pack, abandoned their debts... abandoned me."

"They didn't abandon you," Ethan said fiercely. "They would never have left you willingly."

My head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"Your parents were investigating something," Liam explained. "Something that threatened the entire pack structure. They got too close to the truth, and they paid for it."

"What truth?" My voice was barely a whisper.

The brothers exchanged looks again. Noah leaned forward, his dark eyes intense. "About the real power behind the pack. About who really controls everything."

"Your mother," I realized, pieces clicking into place. "Selene."

Liam nodded grimly. "Our mother has been manipulating pack politics for years, long before we were born. She married our father for his position, knowing she could control him. When your parents started asking questions about missing pack funds and suspicious deaths..."

"She had them killed?" The words felt like ash in my mouth.

"We don't know for certain," Ethan said. "But they disappeared the same night they confronted her with evidence of her schemes."

My hands clenched into fists. "And you? Why did you turn on me?"

"Because she threatened to kill you too if we didn't," Noah said quietly. "We were twelve, scared, and stupid. She convinced us it was the only way to keep you safe - to make you insignificant, invisible. If everyone saw you as just the servant girl, no one would connect you to your parents' investigation."

"So you tormented me for nine years to protect me?" I laughed harshly. "That's quite a sacrifice."

"We were wrong," Liam said firmly. "We should have found another way. But we were children, and she had us convinced that any kindness toward you would put you in danger."

"And now?" I asked. "What's changed?"

"We're Alphas now," Ethan said. "We have the power to protect you properly. And as our mate-"

"Don't," I cut him off. "Don't use the mate bond to try to fix this."

"We're not," Noah said. "The mate bond is separate from what we need to do. Your parents deserved justice, and you deserve the truth. We want to help you find both."

I stood abruptly, pacing the length of the study. My mind raced with implications. If they were telling the truth, Selene had orchestrated my parents' deaths, manipulated her own sons, and controlled the pack from the shadows for years. But could I trust their word?

"Prove it," I said finally. "Show me the evidence."

Liam nodded, moving to his desk. He pulled out a thick file folder, weathered with age. "We've been gathering information since we were old enough to understand what really happened. Bank records, witness statements, everything we could find without alerting our mother."

I took the folder with trembling hands. Inside were documents, photographs, handwritten notes - nine years of investigation compiled in secret.

"Why now?" I asked, looking up at them. "Why tell me all this today?"

"Because you're eighteen now," Ethan said. "Old enough to claim your place in the pack, old enough to help us expose the truth."

"And because we can't bear to keep hurting you," Noah added softly. "Mate bond or not, we've watched you suffer for nine years. It ends today."

I sank back into my chair, overwhelmed. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing you're not willing to give," Liam said. "We'll help you find justice for your parents with or without the mate bond. That's not conditional."

"But?" I prompted, hearing the unspoken word.

"But we hope you'll give us a chance to prove ourselves worthy of being your mates," Noah said. "Not because fate decided it, but because we've earned your trust."

"And if I can't?" I asked. "If the past is too much to overcome?"

"Then we'll respect your choice," Liam said, though pain flashed across his face. "We won't force you to accept us."

I looked down at the folder in my hands, years of secrets and lies contained within its pages. "I need time," I said finally. "Time to process all of this, to verify what you've told me."

"Take all the time you need," Ethan said. "We're not going anywhere."

I stood, clutching the folder to my chest. "I should go. People will wonder where we've disappeared to."

"Zara," Noah called as I reached the door. I turned back. "Whatever you decide about us... be careful. Our mother is dangerous, and if she suspects you know anything..."

I nodded grimly. "I know how to play invisible. I've had nine years of practice."

The walk back to my room felt endless. My mind spun with revelations - about my parents, about Selene, about the triplets themselves. Could I believe them? More importantly, could I forgive them?

My wolf had no doubts, urging me to trust our mates, to let them protect us. But my human heart wasn't so easily convinced. Nine years of cruelty couldn't be erased by one conversation, no matter how earth-shattering the revelations.

I locked my door and sank onto my bed, opening the folder with trembling hands. If I was going to uncover the truth about my parents' disappearance, I needed to start here. But as I began reading, one thought kept circling in my mind:

How do you learn to trust the very people who taught you never to trust anyone at all?