Chapter 0227

He flashes me a wide, idiotic grin. “She’s found her beacon.”

‘Beacon?’ Titan questions sharply inside my head.

“What does that mean?” I demand out loud.

Zachary shakes his head slowly. “She is constantly battling a deep darkness that surrounds her. It’s a weight that crushes you slowly. It invades every part of you when your guard is down.”

“Athena fights it, but that struggle leaves no room for her to embrace her full strength as an Alpha. We can shield her. We can offer her tools to maintain control. But we cannot fight this battle for her. That is her journey alone. She can only truly conquer it when she discovers what gives her hope. And it seems she has. She just hasn’t realized it yet.”

‘We weren’t her hope?’ Titan’s voice is heavy with defeat. ‘We are her mate.’

‘I don’t believe that’s his point,’ I reply silently.

“There must be something more I can do for her. What is it?” I ask the Lycan watching me.

His dark eyes hold mine as he gives a slow, negative shake of his head.

With Athena, I often felt completely powerless. It was a terrible feeling. Watching my mate suffer and being unable to fix it. She was having more good days than bad recently. But the darkness was always there. Lurking. Seeping into her thoughts when she least expected it.

Sometimes I would find her just staring into nothing. Her mind trapped in a cycle of heavy, dark thoughts.

“So you’re saying the twins will save her?” I press him for clarity.

“They will save her. They will give her strength. They will make her truly understand her own power. Isabella is my light, just as those pups are hers.” He rises to his feet. “This could be her turning point, Alexander. This could be what finally secures her power. She just needs to hold tightly to that light.”

I had questions about Isabella being his light. From what I knew, he had escaped the rogue life long before meeting her. But those questions weren't important right now.

He reaches the door and glances back over his shoulder. “I will be your Beta, Alexander. But my main priority will always be protecting Athena. And you can be the one to tell her the news. Also, I won’t be calling you Alpha.” He smirks before walking out.

I take a moment to tidy the office. It gives me time to think. To decide what to say. I finally choose the truth. Lying could lead to a much worse outcome. I want to grow old with her. Surrounded by our children and our grandchildren.

I find her in our bedroom. She’s sitting in the large armchair by the window. A twin is cuddled into each of her sides. She is reading them a story. I recognize the book. It was one of the first ones Theodore had given her to help her learn to read.

A children's book about animals. She had thrown it across the room countless times in frustration during those early lessons.

Her eyes flick up to meet mine. But she continues reading smoothly. As if she had never struggled with a single word.

Both boys are asleep by the time she finishes. She closes the book and smiles at me, hugging them tighter. But her smile slowly fades. “What’s wrong?”

“Gabriel is dead.”

“That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“Seraphina killed him.”