Chapter 0234

Athena

The cribs were being moved when Alexander received a link.

Someone matching my description was spotted at the pack gates.

My entire body stiffened instantly.

Why in hell would she show up here?

It was strange she hadn't attempted to sneak in this time.

“Stay with Isabella and the boys.” Alexander kissed me quickly. “Zachary, you’re coming with me.”

“No.” I snapped.

Both men froze mid-motion.

“She’s clearly here for me. That’s why she came the first time—to tell me about my father.”

“Athena….”

“I can handle this.” I muttered.

I understood his real reason for wanting me to stay.

He wanted to keep me calm.

To prevent the growing darkness from consuming my heart.

But Zachary had been right about one thing.

Our sons helped keep that darkness at bay.

“I don’t….”

“I’ll go with her.” Zachary cut him off. “The boys need one parent here. I swear on my life, nothing will happen to her.”

Alexander had a complicated relationship with Zachary.

He appreciated Zachary’s unwavering loyalty to me.

But he hated how Zachary sometimes challenged his authority, even after accepting the Beta position.

“If anything….” Alexander began.

“Nothing will happen. I’d let her kill me before allowing harm to come to Athena.”

My eyes widened. “Don’t let Isabella hear you say that!”

She would be devastated hearing him prioritize another woman over his own life.

The two men stared each other down.

They couldn’t link privately, but a silent argument clearly passed between them.

One thing I’d learned in this pack: men were worse than women when arguing.

Always trying to assert dominance.

Nobody challenged Alexander except Zachary.

“Zachary!” I snapped. “Are you coming?”

I turned away before Alexander’s crimson eyes could lock with mine.

I didn’t need reminders of the risks.

My body reminded me every second of every day.

‘What’s the plan?’ Nyx whispered as I descended the stairs.

Zachary’s large frame followed closely behind.

‘I don’t know.’ I muttered back. ‘But stay quiet. Don’t interrupt me or make me miss half the conversation because I’m distracted talking to you!’

She fell silent.

We rounded the final corner.

‘And no shifting.’ I added.

I didn’t need to add more fuel to this fire.

Not yet.

‘That wasn’t me last time.’ She scowled. ‘I told you—that was all you.’

Zachary remained quiet behind me.

For some reason, his presence felt more reassuring than Alexander’s.

Maybe because he didn’t question me.

Or because he wanted me to become the Alpha I was meant to be.

Whatever the reason, I felt less tense.

Seraphina stood at the open gates.

Guards watched her every move.

She looked completely different from last time.

Instead of baggy clothes, she wore skin-tight leather.

A cropped jacket showed off her torso.

She wore the tallest heels I’d ever seen.

Red-painted nails peeked from their tips.

“You like taking your time, don’t you?” Her eyes scanned my plain black leggings and sweatshirt but she made no comment.

Her brown eyes shifted to Zachary. “You must be the other Lycan.”

“You know exactly who I am.” Zachary kept his voice level, devoid of anger.

He waved the guards back. “I’m sure Julian told you everything. How is he, by the way?”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with him.”

Zachary snorted, making me wonder what he really thought of Julian.

Did he stay quiet because he knew it would hurt Isabella?

“Why are you here?” I asked, pulling her focus back to me.

She unzipped her jacket and pulled out a large tan envelope.

She flung it onto the ground between us.

Zachary stepped around me to pick it up. “What’s this?”

“That’s for my half-sister.”

He sniffed it first, making Seraphina cackle. “It’s not poison. I thought it might clarify some things.”

Zachary handed it to me.

Inside was a photo of my father with a woman who wasn’t my mother.

Suddenly, images of my parents’ blood-coated bodies flickered before my eyes.

Their screams of pain filled my ears.

Like an energy burst, I felt the darkness flood through me.