Chapter 0493

"How long have you been tailing us?" I demand, his footsteps crunching loudly on the forest floor.

Luc emerges from the shadows behind me. "Long enough."

"I was going to end her."

"And if you had, it might have damaged things between you and Athena."

I whirl around to face him. "Athena understands far more than you ever will. I intended to kill Eris for her. For us. For our family. Letting her escape would have been a grave error."

"We all know that." He moves toward Eris, still slumped against a tree. Gently, he closes her eyelids with his fingers. "But Athena is pregnant. She will need you. This way, you don't have to lie to her. Besides, she already knows I will do whatever is necessary to keep her and the babies safe. That was our agreement, right?"

"I never planned to lie."

"Okay." He mutters, hoisting Eris over his shoulder. "Let me handle this. You go back."

I take my time returning to Athena. I didn't understand why Luc assumed I would lie to my mate. Lying was never my intention; it wasn't part of the understanding between Athena and me. I simply needed to eliminate Eris first. At least now, she was another problem permanently removed from our lives.

'Alexander, come to my place now!' Sebastian links me urgently.

'What's wrong?'

'It's... complicated to explain. Just hurry.'

Sebastian is outside with Luca and Logan when I arrive. "What's going on?"

"Evrin." He gestures toward the house just as a loud crash echoes from inside. "Brianna is trying to manage him."

"He shifted?" I ask as another crash follows, accompanied by Brianna yelling at Evrin to stop.

Sebastian gives a grim nod.

I step inside to a scene of utter chaos. The house looks like a tornado tore through it. Furniture is overturned. Shattered dishes litter the floor. Clothes and food are strewn everywhere.

I hear Brianna upstairs, speaking in a calm tone, trying to soothe my son. It's met with fierce growls and the sound of heavy footsteps pounding above.

Evrin charges down the stairs toward me, launching his Lycan form at my chest. His arms lock around my neck as he buries his nose against me. His breathing is ragged, his heart racing, but as I hold him tightly, I feel his body grow heavy. He slowly begins to shift back.

A exhausted Brianna comes down the stairs, staring at me in disbelief. "Was that really all it took?"

My gaze sweeps over the destroyed house. Evrin couldn't cause much damage in his human form, but as a Lycan, he was devastating.

"Mumma." He whispers tearfully.

"I believe we've discovered the root of this." I look down at my son. He was a perfect miniature of her. But unlike Logan, Evrin seemed to sense when something was wrong with his mother.

"Is Athena alright?" Brianna asks.

"She's resting. She will recover."

"Mumma." Evrin whispers again.

"Let's get you dressed so we can go find her." I smile at him and tell Brianna I will return later to help clean up.

Logan stands up outside, raising his arms, waiting to be picked up. In true sibling fashion, they begin pushing each other, but soon burst into laughter as I carry them like footballs, playfully swinging them through the air.

They giggle all the way to the hospital, eager to get down the moment they see Athena. The boys scramble onto her bed, both vying for her attention as she hugs them tightly. My heart swells with pride.

If anyone had asked me years ago about having children, I would have laughed in their face. Yet here they were. And soon, two would become four.

"Has she gone?" Athena asks once the boys settle.

"You don't need to worry about her anymore." I assure her.

She studies me for a moment. "Did you..."

"I was going to. But Luc got to her first."

Her eyes remain fixed on me as she runs her fingers through Logan's dark hair.

"I understand what you said earlier. But after everything that's happened..."

"She posed too great a risk." She nods slowly.

"We didn't know her true motives. We didn't know if Cooper was using her, if she was playing us. This way, she can never harm us again."

"Okay. What about Silas? Do we need to prepare for him?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. But he isn't my priority right now. His story might be fabricated. Cooper may have discovered a few things to use against us. If anything arises, I will handle it."

"I would prefer if nothing happened for a while."