Chapter 0262

He shook his head. “Honestly, I despised the idea of Brianna being my mate. I fought it every step of the way. Yet I could never bring myself to reject her. She kept showing up, making sure I wasn’t drinking. Even when I told her to get lost, she came back. Eventually, I found myself watching her. I can see her front door from my kitchen window. Every evening, she does the same thing. Sits outside with a mug of tea. Just watches.”

Now I understood what Brianna meant when she said she liked to watch.

“A few nights ago, she broke her routine. I followed her scent into the forest. I overheard her mind-link—it wasn’t meant for me. My heart dropped when I realized she was in danger.”

“The mate bond does that to you. You knocked Julian out?”

“Yes. But he wasn’t himself. He didn’t wake up like I expected.”

“He’s in the hospital. Fighting for his life,” I muttered.

“It’s that serious?”

“Yes.”

“Brianna filled me in. I know I’m not your Beta anymore, but she kept me updated. I want to help if I can.”

“Where is she now?”

“I think Athena is letting her see the twins.”

That surprised me more than anything. Athena had outright refused to let Brianna near them until now.

“Have you really quit drinking?”

I couldn’t smell a drop on him. “A couple of weeks.” That matched what Brianna had told me. “I’m in a much better place now.”

I imagined Brianna had a lot to do with that.

“Good. I need a second Beta.” He raised an eyebrow. “Zachary is a great Beta, but he hasn’t taken the blood oath yet. It makes sharing information with the pack difficult. You could do that, just like before. But you’ll be working alongside Zachary.”

“Of course. Where do you need me?”

I filled him in on the little Julian had said before he collapsed.

Sebastian smiled slightly. “Brianna is smart.”

“Much wiser than any of us gave her credit for.”

He nodded. “I’ll speak to the guards. Set up a new rotation. Upgrade training again, I suppose.”

“Include weapons training. From what I’ve heard, Seraphina is well-trained. It might throw her off.”

He left, and I headed upstairs to the nursery. Logan and Evrin were staring at Brianna in amazement as she played peekaboo with them. They giggled every time she ‘reappeared’.

Charlotte was sitting on Athena’s lap, whispering something almost directly into her ear.

“You know where the snack box is,” Athena murmured back with a smile.

Charlotte had been with us for a while, but she still asked permission for almost everything. Still afraid of being told ‘no’ or going hungry. It tugged at Athena’s heart because of her own past. She always kept the snack box stocked with Charlotte’s favorites and never said no.

She skipped past me toward the stairs, but Athena’s eyes were on me. “What happened?”

“Julian is in the hospital.”

“Wait,” Brianna muttered. “You were going to give me forty-eight hours.”

“Turns out he didn’t have that left,” I sighed. “The forced shift killed his wolf. Julian died with him. We restarted his heart, but it doesn’t look good.”

“Can he survive that? I thought only Alpha blood carries an extra spirit?”

“I don’t know. But you were right, Brianna. He said he messed up. His stubbornness to ask for help means we might be too late. Isabella is doing what she can.”

The twins were oblivious to our conversation, tugging on Brianna’s sleeves to keep playing. She forced a smile and continued playing as she asked what we were going to do.

I repeated the same plan I had told Sebastian.

“Is she really coming?” Athena asked quietly.

“I don’t know. But it felt like a warning.”

“Don’t let the darkness in now, Athena,” Brianna warned. “That might be exactly what she’s looking for.” She turned to me. “We need to find more Lycans.”