Chapter 0196

Athena

A strange scent filled my senses before I even opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar Wolf.

I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep.

Alexander had to be nearby.

He wouldn't leave me alone yet.

This Wolf couldn't be a threat.

"Let her sleep, Charlotte."

Who was Charlotte?

"She has babies in her tummy." Isabella told this Charlotte person.

"It makes her tired."

"She's very pretty."

A small voice whispered.

I opened my eyes to find a young girl inches from my face.

Wide bright green eyes stared back at me.

Dimples appeared on each cheek as she smiled.

"Hi."

"Hi." I muttered, confused.

Where had she come from?

She hurried back to the desk and plopped into Alexander's chair.

She clutched a small teddy bear to her chest while doodling on paper.

Isabella smiled at me as I swung my legs off the bed.

"Zachary is back and he brought us a friend. This is Charlotte."

Charlotte ignored us completely.

Her tongue stuck out as she concentrated on her drawing.

"Does that mean...?"

"No." Isabella cut me off before I could finish.

"He is out there," she pointed to the door, "with Alexander, discussing it."

A shiver went down her spine.

She visibly shook it off.

"What are you not telling me?"

She glanced at Charlotte, choosing her words carefully.

"The boys weren't Sebastian's. We think they were... Julian's. Remember everything about him and Natalie. It seems it was going on much longer than he led us to believe."

"Are you serious?"

"Are they dead?" Charlotte asked without looking up.

Neither of us realized she was listening.

"You don't need to worry about that." Isabella muttered.

"Was it the monster? The monster killed lots of people." She still didn't look up. "Then my new Daddy found me."

I watched the color drain from Isabella's face.

She turned whiter than the paper Charlotte was drawing on.

"Your new Daddy?" I asked.

I still didn't understand why he brought her here.

I had only been asleep a few hours.

Yet I had missed so much.

"He broke my bracelet and carried me to a car. He got me the best food. He told me who you all are." Her bright green eyes caught mine as she looked up. "Alpha Athena." She put her pen down and held up a paper covered in squiggles. "Do you like my picture?"

She drew like a two-year-old.

Like me when I couldn't hold a pen properly.

The door swung open.

Alexander, Zachary and Sebastian strolled in.

Zachary went straight to Charlotte.

"What are you drawing, Lottie?"

"The monster, Daddy."

"Lottie, we talked about this. I'm not your Daddy. Call me Uncle Zachary."

Her face scrunched up as she thought.

I saw relief on Isabella's face.

Motherhood wasn't something she was ready for.

Especially not to someone who wasn't her child.

I wasn't even sure if I was ready.

The only difference was, I was already a mother.

My boys would be here soon.

"Everyone needs a Daddy." Charlotte grinned.

My eyes flickered around the room.

Only Sebastian and my sons had a father.

"Please?" I saw tears building in her bright green eyes.

Zachary squatted next to the chair.

Before he could speak, she threw her arms around his neck.

She sobbed into him.

Looking at Isabella, she seemed stunned by the whole situation.

Zachary lifted Charlotte from the chair.

He held her against him as she continued to cry.

His dark eyes looked pained.

I wondered how often he had helped other little kids.

His human past slowly creeping up on him with one little Wolf.

Charlotte's sobbing stopped.

An arm fell from Zachary's neck.

She had cried herself to sleep.

"Do you want to set her up in the room next to Isabella's?" Alexander offered. "I assume you'll sleep there tonight and want her close by."

Zachary shook his head.

"Holding her is the only way to stop the nightmares." He swayed back and forth with her against his chest.

Nightmares.

I had lived with them for years.

Fought against them every night.

Eventually, my mind became so used to them, they became a comfort.

They stopped a few years before Alexander came into my life.

"Where did you find her?" I asked when I heard her subtle snores.

Zachary told us everything.

The bracelet Charlotte mentioned was a chain.

It kept her locked up as a pet.