Chapter 0214

Athena

“Breathe.” Isabella whispers.

I snap back instantly. “I’m not dead, am I? So obviously I’m breathing!”

I freeze mid-step, realizing how harsh I sounded.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see the hurt flash in her eyes. She was only trying to help.

The darkness had such a fierce grip on my heart it clouded everything—except thoughts of my sons.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, hoping she feels the sincerity.

“It’s happening, isn’t it? You’re slipping.”

“I… I’m trying not to.”

My gaze drops to my hands. I carefully run my fingers over the tips. The emerging claws felt terrible and wonderful all at once. Like releasing pent-up pressure. Is this how Gabriel felt?

“You need to talk it out. Remember what Brianna said—look at the bigger picture. See beyond the moment. Make it all make sense.”

I roll my eyes. Brianna and her theories. Though I have to admit, they helped a little. Even if I still didn’t trust her.

“Tell me again what the lookalike said.”

“Isabella…”

She raises a brow and crosses her arms. “She told me we share the same father,” I repeat.

“But you don’t believe that?”

“I believed Caleb more. And look how that turned out.”

“Bigger picture,” she mutters.

“No, I don’t believe it. I couldn’t feel her. I couldn’t sense her, only what she is. It’s hard to explain.”

“Try.” She offers a small smile.

“With Sophia, I felt her presence. Same with Zachary and… Brianna. The other turned ones—I felt their fear when they realized they couldn’t defy me. There was even a flicker of recognition from Gabriel. But with her—nothing. She looked at me with those big brown puppy eyes, but you know what it reminded me of?”

Isabella shakes her head.

“The way Dominic used to look at me. It wasn’t hate. It was more. Like I was something he stepped in and scraped off on the grass. That’s exactly what I felt when she looked at me.”

“What did she say about your parents?”

“She claimed our father chose my mother over hers when he found his mate. But it makes no sense. The one thing I remember from my childhood is how deeply they loved each other.”

“Like how Alexander loves you?”

“More,” I whisper. I couldn’t describe it. I just remembered the feeling. Or maybe I saw what I wanted to see as a child.

“So she’s older than you, but you’re the Alpha?”

I nod. “I don’t think she’s much older. Alexander believes the Alpha blood comes from my mother’s side. But they didn’t care enough to tell me before they died. Before I was set up.” I hear the bitterness in my own voice and close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

We were set up. Nyx adds quietly. She wasn’t sure what to make of this Seraphina woman either. I was glad she kept her thoughts to herself.

“Why did you start shifting?” Isabella prods, tying her hair into a bun. She was trying to keep it casual, like we were discussing movies. But I saw it now—she was testing me. Searching for a trigger.

“I didn’t realize at first. Alexander noticed before I did.”

The claws retracted the moment she walked away. Alexander made me let her go. Then he ordered everyone: if I show up at the gates or anywhere along the border, check my eyes. If they’re anything but blue, call him immediately.

“Isabella, what if I’m meant to let this darkness take over?”

Her dark eyes widen as she searches for an answer. Finally, she says, “I don’t believe that.”

“Zachary came back from that place,” she adds with a faint smile. I knew she secretly worried about him slipping back every single day. Even when she didn’t say it, I knew—because Zachary would appear minutes later, wrapping her in his arms without a word.

“But the others didn’t.” I wasn’t looking for an excuse to turn—I wanted to understand if this was my future. I’d rather be prepared.

She puffs out her cheeks. She has no answer. I steer the conversation back to what happened with Seraphina.

“I think it was because she mentioned the twins. That’s what triggered the shift.”

Nyx?

Not me, Nyx murmurs. That was all you.

I shake my head and slump into the large armchair.

“Ah, so you went mama Lycan on her.”

I grimace. “That’s a horrible term.”

“I probably would’ve killed her if Alexander hadn’t stopped me.”