Chapter 0180

The warnings never stop.

They tell me he's dangerous.

That I should fear him.

That one day I'll despise him.

The way he speaks of Athena's transformation.

I release his arm. "You believe you'll return to that darkness?"

I hold my breath, waiting.

"Every day was a battle. I fought it constantly."

"Not anymore?" My voice drops to a whisper.

"Not since you came into my life."

My heart stutters in my chest.

Only one other person claimed I changed them.

Gabriel.

He wanted a blood bond.

To tie himself to my pack.

But he wasn't a Wolf.

How would that even work?

Lycans could blood-bond with each other.

Athena proved that with her first mate.

But between a Wolf and a Lycan?

Was such a thing possible?

I step back from Alexander.

My hands find the dresser for support.

"Seriously? You're thinking about my brother now?" He reads my thoughts effortlessly.

"He wanted a blood bond. We nearly completed it. Then... he discovered you." I shake my head. "I would've bowed to Dominic and Victoria. They ruined everything for us."

"Then you escaped fate. For that, I'm eternally grateful."

His eyes burn with possessive desire.

The need to prove I belong only to him.

"Let me remind you why."

His lips brush mine.

His hands grip my waist.

He lifts me onto the dresser.

He nuzzles against my neck, positioning himself between my thighs.

"You smell incredible." He murmurs against my skin before nipping gently. "But you'll have to wait."

"For what?" I gasp in frustration.

A thunderous knock shakes the door.

My brother's scent fills the air.

His timing couldn't be worse.

"I know you're in there, Zachary!"

Zachary gives me a quick kiss.

He moves to the door, letting Sebastian inside. "What do you need?" Zachary glances back at me.

I clamp my thighs together, willing my arousal to fade.

"You need to speak with Athena."

"The conversation went poorly?" Zachary asks.

"She's hormonal. Furious. She thinks I'm lying. Or rather, Nyx does. She always trusted me before. Accepted my word without question. But this... she refuses to believe."

I watch Zachary's expression harden.

It's subtle, but unmistakable.

I can't read his mind yet, but I know his thoughts.

This was his greatest fear.

That we were too late.

"Where is she?"

"Down the hall. In our room."

Zachary moves toward her when Sebastian shouts from downstairs, calling for assistance.

"I'll go to Athena." I murmur, sliding off the dresser and reaching for my crutches. "See what's wrong with Sebastian."

The men rush toward the stairs.

I make my way to Athena's room.

She's curled in the large chair by the window, cradling her small bump.

She offers a weak smile.

"Did you hear Sebastian?"

She shakes her head.

Her blue eyes hold the same sadness I saw when she first arrived at Obsidian Howl.

"Alexander told you?"

"He's wrong, right? He has to be wrong. I wasn't bitten. I..." She sighs heavily.

"Zachary mentioned some of it." I whisper, pulling the stool from her dresser. "He's worried."

She frowns. "Alexander said I sliced Ethan open repeatedly."

"You... you did." I was confused.

We were all there.

We all saw what she did to him.

No one stopped her.

It became too much.

I buried my face in Zachary's arm so I wouldn't have to watch.

"No. It was only three times."

"Athena, we were down there for hours."

She shifts in the chair to face me properly. "Hours?"

"You don't remember?"