Chapter 0396

Brianna

My mind is reeling.

Athena watches me intently. She isn't waiting for a response. She's studying how I absorb her words.

My mouth opens and closes. Words fail me. If I hadn't been holding Luca, I would have dropped anything in my hands.

Forgiveness was something I never anticipated. Never. She made that brutally clear the day she finally let me speak.

I clear my throat, hoping my brain connects to my voice. "You do?"

She nods slowly.

"Why now?" I feel fresh tears welling up.

"You've changed. I've changed. We've both traveled difficult paths." She shrugs like it's nothing. "The person you were back then only cared about herself." A faint smile touches her lips. "I killed the man who shot you because I was furious. I thought I'd lost you too."

I never considered that perspective. She never mentioned it. Luc told me the guy was aiming for Athena. That's why I assumed she killed him. Not because he hurt me.

"I can't express what hearing that means to me." I whisper, grappling with this sudden relief. I hadn't realized how much guilt I was carrying. I grew so accustomed to its weight that its absence feels strange. But good.

"It's ironic." Athena shifts her gaze to the window. "I never imagined seeing you again. I certainly didn't think we'd live in the same pack." "Or that you'd outrank me. Significantly." I add, seeing her lips curve upward.

"Raven was my first friend. Even if she were alive, I doubt we'd be as close as you and I have become."

"She cared about you." I offer.

"For a time. But then... Anyway, do you accept?"

"Absolutely yes!" My outburst startles Luca, making him cry as Athena laughs.

I spend a few more hours with Athena. She contemplates Alexander's reaction to Evrin shifting. I'm sure it was just the shock of the unexpected. In the moment, he was probably excited. Then reality hit. Protecting him just became harder. Some people won't like it.

Leaving the house, I find Charlotte hidden behind a bush. Her back presses against the side wall, concealed from view.

She's doodling on a piece of paper. Discarded food wrappers suggest she's been here awhile.

I slip behind the bushes. She stares at me with wide green eyes, expecting a scolding.

"Charlotte?" I say softly. "Why are you hiding behind the bush?"

"I don't want my Dads to find me."

I lower Luca and sit, my knees touching hers. "You know they can smell you, right?"

"I didn't think of that." Her shoulders slump. Her bottom lip protrudes. "They're mad at me."

"Because of what happened at school?" It's the only logical reason.

She nods. Her bottom lip trembles further.

"Did something make you angry?"

She doesn't answer. She refuses to meet my eyes.

"Everyone gets angry." I tell her. "Lots of things trigger anger. You know what I've learned over the years?"

She shakes her head.

"It's always better to talk about it."

"But they'll be angrier."

"Maybe. But if we don't know why you're upset, we can't help." I hope she finds it easier talking to someone other than her Dads.

"He said I was different. That something is wrong with me."

"Liam?"

She nods. I notice how hard she's pressing the pencil into the paper. "I'm not bad. I help Athena. He called me poison. I don't even know what that means. Then he said... He said someone would kill me in my sleep because I deserve it."