Chapter 0163

“What did he want? Did Alexander say anything about me? Was that the topic?” Her voice held a fragile hope.

“No. And you need to let this go regarding the Alpha. I’ve told you repeatedly. You have to step back.”

She moved directly in front of me, halting my progress. Her gaze was intense. “I can’t keep doing this, Zachary. It feels meaningless for me to be here. Perhaps I’m not suited for this life. Maybe it’s time we went our separate ways.”

“You are staying right here. I need you where I can protect you.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “I am not your mate, Zachary. You’ve found her.”

“You are my family.”

“Thirty days,” she whispered. “I’ll give it one more month. If she still refuses to speak with me, then I’m leaving.”

“Thirty days,” I agreed. A month was a long time. Anything could happen.

Isabella sat across the dining table, her eyes fixed on me. Periodically, she would catch her bottom lip between her teeth, her gaze drifting away. Her fingers tapped lightly on the wood as Alexander detailed the plans for my brother and the other traitor in the dungeons.

Theodore and Sebastian nodded along with his words.

“Both prisoners are scheduled for execution tomorrow at noon.” There would be no appeals. Alexander wanted them dealt with swiftly. Personally, I didn’t understand the delay. They weren’t going to be freed, regardless of any information they might give.

“Is everyone in agreement?” Alexander asked the group, but his focus remained on me.

“This is your pack, Alexander. The decision is yours. I won’t question your judgment.” I wouldn’t defend my brother. He lost that right the moment he sank his teeth into Isabella’s leg.

Theodore and Sebastian stared at me before voicing their agreement. They seemed surprised by my response. But what was the alternative? Save my brother and lose my mate forever? Leave the Alpha without my protection? That wasn’t an option. Especially not now.

“Could Brianna get anything from him?” It was the first time Athena had voluntarily asked about her. Perhaps there was still hope for them.

“No. She tried,” I replied. “Like I told Alexander, Gabriel is too far gone. There’s no humanity left in him. If he cared at all, he wouldn’t have attacked his former mate.”

Alpha Athena glanced down at her stomach, a frown forming.

“They won’t be like my brother,” I assured her. “I’ll make certain of that.”

“You believe they are Lycans?” Theodore asked me.

“What do you mean?” Isabella scowled. “We don’t know what they are yet. We probably won’t until they’re born. You can’t just assume.”

“I’m not assuming. I can tell you what they are right now.” My attention stayed on the Alpha.

Every eye in the room was on me, waiting.

“You… you can smell them?” Alpha Athena asked softly.

“Yes. For a few days now.”

“I can’t.” She looked at Alexander, who was still frowning, then back at me. “How… how is that possible?”

“The same way I tracked my brother through the forest. The same way I always located the other Rogues. I can smell Lycans.”