Chapter 0161

I stood there, surrounded by them all.

Each man was tied to this mess.

We were all connected because of Athena.

Every single one of us.

My gaze fell on the beast that used to be Gabriel.

I didn't recognize his voice.

His scent was gone.

All I saw was rage and fury.

Was I always meant to be rejected by him?

Was this my destiny?

Was Zachary always supposed to enter my life?

I looked from Gabriel to Zachary.

“Are you okay?” Zachary whispered, frowning.

“Yes,” I muttered. “The smell is overwhelming. I need air.”

Liar, Midnight murmured.

Zachary moved to follow me.

I shook my head. “Stay. Help Alexander get answers. I’ve heard enough. I’ll be outside.”

His frown deepened, but he let me go.

I felt his eyes on my back as I hobbled away on the crutches.

I dropped onto the grass outside.

Rubbing my bandaged thigh, I lay back under the warm evening sun.

I had been angry at Gabriel for so long.

But standing in front of him now, I felt nothing for the man I once loved.

I had spent so much time trying to move on.

In reality, there was nothing to get over.

He had made his choice.

Someone dropped onto the grass beside me.

“Are you okay?” Theodore asked.

“Just questioning some things.”

“The Moon Goddess?” he asked curiously.

I propped myself up on my elbows and tilted my head. “How did you know?”

“I would too, in your position. And because I did.”

“Silver Creek wanted a contract long before they asked. They had already started turning humans. All because Ethan discovered Athena when she was a pup,” I told him.

He nodded. “I suspected as much. Have you considered that this might be the Moon Goddess’s plan? To right a wrong done to Athena’s family? To give her a better life?” He paused, putting his hands behind his head, staring at the sky. “I’ve had the same questions, Isabella. The Moon Goddess can’t control our lives—that’s free will. But she can alter our paths. Test us. Look at me. My parents bound me. If Alexander hadn’t brought me here, I’d still be living that miserable life. She put him in my path, and I’ve never regretted it.”

“Thanks, Theodore.” I smiled. “You’ve always been good at calming my mind when Midnight can’t.”

He winked and got to his feet. “Glad I could help. Need a hand up?”

“No. I’ll lie here and enjoy the evening sun a bit longer.”

Soon, Zachary’s scent hit me.

His frame blocked the sun as he stood over me.

“Did you fall?”

“No.”

“Need help?”

“No.”

“Give her a minute,” Julian shouted from nearby. “She’s weird like that.”

“I’m not weird,” I shouted back, remembering how Gabriel always called me a weirdo before roughly kissing me.

Zachary kept looking down at me with his dark eyes.

For a moment, I was glad he hadn’t marked me yet.

I didn’t need him hearing my thoughts.

He held out a hand as I sat up.

Pulling me to my feet easily, his large hands found my waist, holding me against him.

We hadn’t had much time alone since I woke up in the hospital.

The tension between us was palpable.

“Did he say anything else?” I asked quietly, bathing in his sweet vanilla scent.

“He’s going in circles. In some ways, he’s too far gone to have a coherent conversation. We’re only getting snippets of his thoughts.”

“Are you going to kill him?”

“No. Alexander wants him alive a bit longer. He wants Brianna to talk to Gabriel.”

“Brianna?”

“She was the one who helped me.”

I stumbled back, almost out of his grip, forgetting I needed crutches.

He kept his hands on my hips, stopping me from falling.

I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner. “You fed on Wolves?”

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” he said, his voice low, dark eyes fixed on me.

“How? How were you able to turn back?”

“Desire.”