Chapter 0167

“No!” Julian snaps. “She wouldn’t do that. She would never risk her own life! She just turned sixteen.”

“Maybe, maybe not. She could have been tricked into freeing him.” Zachary shrugs.

“Are you saying he has some kind of power to attract people?” I ask.

“How else do you think they killed so easily in that town? No humans escaped. Bodies appeared everywhere. Most would flee if that happened, but they stayed. They walked right to their deaths. I only started bringing them food after the town was empty.” Zachary shakes his head, his gaze fixed on my sister. “But she would’ve had to be down there already.”

“Stop talking about her! Just stop!” Julian shouts. “She’s still here.”

Isabella hobbles over on her crutches. “Julian. I’m so sorry, but she’s gone. We can’t bring her back.”

Julian growls and shoves her backward. He sweeps up Sophia’s bloody body and holds her tight against his chest. He storms out of the hospital as Zachary helps Isabella back up.

“We should go after him.” She whimpers, her face tight with pain.

“He needs space. He just lost his mate.”

“But he—”

“Isabella, give him space.”

“You can’t help him right now.” Zachary speaks softly. “This is something he has to face alone.”

She nods slowly as he tries to put an arm around her. I watch her shrug him off with a frown.

“What does he look like in human form?” I ask. I never got to meet Gabriel before he rejected my sister.

“I’m not sure now. He used to have chestnut eyes, but the ones I saw were like black holes.” Isabella whispers. “His hair matched his eyes.” A faint smile touches her lips.

“He had a tattoo on his neck.” Zachary adds.

“Like yours?”

He nods. “A family trait.”

“About six feet tall. He had a wide smile.”

Zachary growls as she continues describing him. Again, she moves away when he tries to touch her shoulder. The news about luring humans to their death clearly disturbed her.

I send a mental link to the whole pack. I remind them that our only guests are Zachary and Brianna. Anyone else is to be eliminated on sight.

“Stay in the house, Isabella.”

“You think he’ll come for me again?”

“I don’t know, but this way I’ll know where you are.”

She nods, glancing back at the pool of blood where Sophia had been. “Do you want me to tell Athena?”

“No. That should come from me.”

Isabella hobbles out of the hospital.

Zachary follows closely behind.

She’s already snapping at him to stay away.

Their bond is off to a much rockier start than mine and Athena’s.

I hang back, not wanting to get involved.

I clean up the blood, trying to figure out how to break the news to Athena.

The twins are already taking a toll on her.

This might push her over the edge.

By the time I return to the packhouse, Zachary and Isabella are having a full-blown argument in the foyer.

I sidestep around them and follow my mate’s scent to the kitchen.

She rolls her beautiful blue eyes at me as she eats toast.

When she sees my face, she lowers the toast and scowls. “Why is there blood on you?”

“He got out.”

“Ethan?”

I shake my head.

“How?”

I explain our theory. Still not mentioning Sophia.

“I can find him.” She mutters, brushing crumbs from her hands.

“No. He’ll be smarter this time. Zachary is sure of it.”

She shifts on the chair, her brow furrowed. “How did he get out? He could barely walk, if he could walk at all.”

“We have reason to believe Sophia let him out.”

“No. She wouldn’t... she...” Her voice trails off as her blue eyes meet mine. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”