Chapter 0173

Zachary

Her fingers stay locked with mine as I place her gently on the mattress. Isabella doesn’t utter a word. Tears still stream down her cheeks in heavy, silent waves.

The agony she’s feeling is brutal. Until now, I hadn’t realized that losing a twin could cut as deep as losing a mate.

It didn’t matter that he was still breathing. He had turned his back on the pack. That meant turning his back on her, too.

And it shattered her completely.

Did he feel this same emptiness? Or was he too lost in his own grief over an unclaimed mate? Either way, I don’t think I can ever forgive him for what he’s done to Isabella.

She cries until exhaustion pulls her under. Dried blood from helping Brianna still marks her skin. Even in sleep, she whimpers softly before finally going still.

I clean her carefully. She doesn’t stir. I hope my touch offers some comfort. She’s been through hell these past few days. She didn’t need this on top of everything.

I slip out of her room and head for the stairs. I pause outside the Alpha’s door when I catch her scent. I can hear her pacing softly inside.

“I know you’re out there,” she says. “Come in.”

She doesn’t stop moving when I enter. Her hands are on her hips. A deep frown marks her face.

“Athena, you should be resting. Especially after tonight,” I say quietly, my gaze drifting to her rounded stomach. Those twins had to survive. They were vital to our future.

“Zachary, stop calling me Alpha. I’m fine. How is Isabella?”

“Asleep.”

“You’ve marked her. Tell me how she really feels.”

“Like her heart’s been torn out. She’s in deep pain.”

She nods, still pacing. “I’m going to kill him, Zachary.”

“Julian?”

“You know I’m not talking about Julian.” She stops and pins me with a look. “Are you going to try and stop me?”

“No.” There was a time I might have. When packs and Alphas meant nothing to me.

“Good.” She grabs a jacket from the closet. “Let’s go.”

“Right now? Even I know that’s reckless.”

“You said you wouldn’t stop me.”

“I’m not stopping you. I’m suggesting we pick a better time. When emotions aren’t running the show. I’ve seen people make huge mistakes when they let feelings take over.”

She rolls her eyes and drops onto the bed.

“He’s causing chaos. You almost lost your friend. Your mate. How are you so calm?”

“Practice. You wouldn’t believe what I was like before I became Lycan.”

She smirks lightly. “What, some kind of mass murderer?”

“For those who deserved it.”

Color drains from her face, but her blue eyes gleam with curiosity. “That’s why she turned you.”

I nod. “She thought I’d be a good asset to her little club.”

“Humans, I assume? Before you were turned?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“I lost count.” I shrug. The number of monsters I ended meant nothing compared to the lives I saved.

“Fifty?”

“No.”

“A hundred?”

“That’s when I stopped counting.”

“What do you mean, ‘those who deserved it’?”

“Those who hurt children. Young women. If I had known what Victoria and Dominic were doing to you, I would have torn them apart myself.”

“Is that why you’re loyal to me now? Because you feel you owe me?”

“Yes.”

“Have you told Isabella about your past?”

“No. Nobody wants to hear that.”

“You should tell her. You’ve claimed her. How do you think she’ll feel if she finds out you kept a secret like that? Trust me, I know what it’s like to have your whole life built on lies.”