Chapter 0148

Zachary

She was stunning from the very first moment I saw her. My destined mate. A Wolf. Far too good for someone like me.

I observe her interacting with the Alpha. She’s sharp and reacts swiftly.

Her dark hair is tied back loosely with a band, a few strands falling free near her neck. When her dark eyes meet mine, I catch a speck of light brown beneath her left pupil. She quickly turns away, focusing entirely on the Alpha again, smiling as the steady heartbeats echo around the room.

Her joy amplifies her strawberry scent. For a fleeting moment, I wonder if she would taste like strawberries too.

I barely register Alexander pushing past me. I just watch her lips move as she scolds both of them.

Once everything is calm, I finally ask the question that’s been on my mind since I first detected Athena’s pregnancy.

Isabella glares at me as if I’ve committed some terrible offense. She snaps a sharp “No!”

Alexander’s unusual red eyes lock onto mine, and I recall what he told me earlier. Isabella doesn’t like us. Maybe she despises the idea of being mated to one of us.

I step outside the room, leaving the three of them alone. But I don’t go far. I stand guard outside her door instead. I will protect the Alpha whether she wants me to or not.

Alexander steps out, closing the door behind him. “That question… it’s been asked repeatedly by the bastard in my dungeon. That’s why she’s short with you.”

“Sorry.” I don’t usually apologize, but he needs to know it was genuine curiosity, nothing more. In theory, if I don’t reject Isabella, they become my nephews too. They become my family.

“The man in the dungeon, he’s the one who wants the pups?” I ask.

He nods. “He was also the one who had Sophia removed from the house. His brother was the one you left for the Rogues.”

“Right.”

“Thanks for convincing her to get checked.” Alexander mutters. “Just give my sister time. She was rejected by her first mate.”

“You know?” I ask, surprised. I intended to keep it quiet until I figured out if we were compatible.

“She’s my sister. Of course I know.” He slaps my back. “Like I said, give her time.”

Her first mate was a fool for rejecting her.

He heads back into the room, and Isabella takes his place. She stares at me with those beautiful dark eyes, and I can’t help but glance over the rest of her. The blue shirt hides her frame, but the skinny black jeans show off her legs and ass.

“You want to protect Athena?” she asks quietly.

“Yes.”

“Why?” She raises a brow, pressing her lips together. “She has Alexander. She has the entire pack.”

“She is our lifeline. The only pure blood left.”

“Right.” Her brow furrows as she folds her arms over her chest. She sighs. “If you’re going to reject me, just get it over with. I have things to do.”

I stay silent, just watching her. I can see the anger simmering in her eyes. The longer I don’t speak, the more irritated she becomes.

“Fucking Lycans!” she growls, storming off.

After a quick glance back at the Alpha, I follow Isabella. She marches across the grounds and into the forest. Is this what they do here? Just leave without telling anyone?

I trail after her, keeping my distance. She weaves through the trees, dragging her hands along each trunk. It takes me a moment to realize she’s marking them with her scent in case something happens.

“He’s an asshole!” she mutters to herself.

“No.” she says under her breath.

Who is she talking to? There’s no one else here.

She reaches a stream.

She pulls off her boots and socks, rolls up her jeans, and wades into the water. Her eyes are glazed over as she continues talking to herself, mostly complaining about me.

I listen to her one-sided argument with amusement. She couldn’t be linking the Alpha. Only her mate and other Lycans could do that. Yet it sounds like she’s talking to someone who knows we’re mated. So who is it?

With her eyes glazed, she’s oblivious to me watching. Even when I step out from the trees into full view, she doesn’t notice me or the creature hunting her.

I had been so focused on protecting the Alpha when Isabella seemed like she needed it more.

The crack of a twig snaps her attention back. Her glazed eyes focus on me, but I hadn’t moved. I wasn’t the one who made the sound.

“What do you want?!” she snaps.

I hold up a hand, listening to the forest sounds. It takes me a second to hear the erratic heartbeat. Shit, it must have tracked me here.

“Isabella, get out of the water and come toward me.”

She doesn’t move, just glares.

“Isabella. Move. Now!”

She turns to look behind her. The leaves of the bushes begin to rustle. Isabella starts backing out of the stream toward me.

I spin her around to face me, seeing the panic on her face.

“Run. Find Alexander.”

She takes off running as the Rogue Lycan reveals itself. It’s on all fours, creeping forward. The Rogues found it easier to move that way, using four limbs to propel themselves faster.

Drool hangs from its bared teeth. Its snout wrinkles as it growls at me. Its claws dig into the dirt as it slowly approaches the stream.

It sniffs the air. “A whole place full of Wolves.”

It was something I should have told Alexander. Not only had they become feral to the point of no return, but they had learned to speak.

“You are not welcome here,” I growl back. “Leave before you end up like the others!”

It laughs at my words but backs into the bushes where it came from. The erratic heartbeat fades until I can no longer hear it.

“FUCK.”

The surviving Rogue was the worst of them all. It had a hunger unlike the others. I had seen it make its food last for days, enjoying the screams of its victims, torturing them as it ate piece by piece.

But I was partly responsible for that. I brought them food when they couldn’t find any.

I hear footsteps moving quickly through the forest. I smell Isabella, but she’s accompanied by others. Alexander appears first, followed closely by a couple of other men and Isabella.

Her dark eyes scan me, checking for wounds.

“Where is it?” Alexander demands.

“It backed off,” I mutter.

“You brought it here? It followed you?” he presses.

“Apparently.”

“Why didn’t you kill it?” a man with long dark hair asks.

I sigh. Only Brianna knew the truth, but I had to tell them. “He was my younger brother.”