Xavier's POVAfter my conversation with Claire, I had her escorted to a room adjacent to Alyssa. By the time I entered my office, Luca was waiting for me and instantly sprung up from his seat."Alpha, news about the Councilor Peterson." "I know." I took off my coat as he asked confused, "You do?""Councilor Peterson is defending John." I told as I took my seat behind my desk."Wait, what?" He asked and I realized he had no idea about this news."What is your news?" I asked."Councilor Peterson is in the building. No idea from where he spawned overnight. No one at the borders or the building saw him come." He informed."You finally decided to come out of hiding. What are you planning?" I mused to myself before getting back to the paperwork."Alpha, shall I find out what he is planning?" Luca asked."No. He will sniff you coming for miles. And we don't have the time either. Let's focus on making sure that our witnesses stay alive. There is no limit to how low John and his allies can sto
Xavier's POVThere was blood everywhere.Pieces of werewolf flesh and fur lay scattered around me. How had things turned out so wrong?There was a stench of rotting meat in the air as I walked bare feet towards a light. My feet were so slick with blood that I nearly slipped a couple of times on top of some dead werewolf.I remembered getting everything ready for the Simmons' case at the Werewolf council but then, what happened?I showed up.Everyone showed up.John was smirking. Peterson was by his side.Despite me telling him to stay away, my father had shown up and walked straight to stand beside John.He had said something like John being a better son than I ever could be. But John was a nobody. My father hated me but why would he say that?I don't remember who started it.I remember that I finished it.I saw Zoe on the floor.I bent down. My hands were trembling as I removed a lock of hair stuck to her bloody face. No.This was not how things were supposed to turn out.I felt a ha
I had only glanced at her once and I could see how upset she was at me for being my sister and yet finding all the gory details about her fiance at the council and not being prepared before. I knew I should have but due to the time limit, it was impossible to cross all T's and dot at the i's.By the end of Day One, the Council had asked to meet with me and Peterson alone. A proper Council meeting.There was no rest for us.As the hall emptied. I gathered my stuff and we all went back to the Council office where private Council meetings were held. The most fortified place in the entire building, other than our offices."Councilor Shaw." I was addressed first. I nodded in acknowledgment."I am a little confused. Who is your client exactly? Mr. Simmons or his daughter?" I was asked.I knew this question would be raised. I was glad that even though I had not seen this outcome of events, I had kept my mate bond with Zoe only to myself. It could've been a strong argument against my validity
Zoe's POVThe case had started and it had been harder to deal with than I had expected it to be.I saw my Dad for the first time in months and I was horrified by what they had done to him. What his own people had done to him. They knew he was innocent and yet they made him go through so much. I was so glad to have Maisie and Aunt Julie by my side.It was the second day of the case and today was going to be about presenting proofs about every horrible thing John did related to me.There was a possibility of me being called to testify as well. Aunt Julie combed my hair as Maisie talked to someone on the phone. We were expected to be at the Council Hall in about half an hour. "Don't worry, Zo. Your dad is a tough one. And soon, he is going to be with us again." Aunt Julie was trying to reassure me. She didn't need to. I had trust in Xavier.I had been worried for a while back there when he had chosen Claire over me but having him here when it truly mattered gave me strength to keep goi
Zoe's POVThe council was adjourned again after John's representative gave a bunch of fake aliases of what a stand-up citizen he was.His engagement with Alyssa was used in his Beta position to expose my Dad's non-existent crimes against our pack. I was shocked to see our Alpha taking John's side against my Dad. They had been buddies when Dad was the Beta. I practically grew up in the pack house before everyone realized I was not getting a wolf.If I was so shocked, I couldn't imagine how hurt Dad was. Throughout the procession, he had stared at the cuffs on his wrists. I couldn't imagine how humiliated he would be feeling. 'Soon Daddy. Soon, it will all be over. Hang tight.' I thought to myself.When it was Xavier's turn, he had started providing proof after proof of my Dad's innocence. He had solid proof of John being the one who did the embezzlement and how he did it. I could see that neither John nor his representative were expecting those proofs. They must have thought they had
Zoe's POVWith just a few words, my whole world shifted.The Head Councilor had announced the decision that the council had mutually agreed upon.My Dad was released free of all charges against him. Silver Moon Pack had been ordered to pay for emotional dmamges, physical abuse, and aiding John in his crimes.Xavier had prepared such a case that the defendents stood no chance against him. I was so glad to have my dad back that it never crossed my mind that John was aware of my short-lived relationship with Xavier. But he had not used that knowledge to weaken our case, even though it could have been a serious blow to our case.We were done, Xavier was not.He had presented the final speech as such that even though our case was closed, the general accusations agaisnt John were still open. I knew Xavier was not going to let the man go so easily after he tried to use his sister for power and whatnot.I wanted to thank Xavier in the hall but he, along with John's representative were quickly
Zoe's POVOnce Dad had gone to sleep and Aunt Julie had gone to rest in Maisie's old room, I had time to think.Whatever I chose, I had to talk to Xavier first. He had put his career on the line for this case. Now that I had Dad back and no immediate worries, the realization hit me. Why hadn't John told everyone about my relationship with Xavier.He had been so jealous from the start. He had threatened me. He had told Claire all about it. Why had neither of them done anything about that. I was now sure that if they had, Xavier's pristine repuation would've been over. That wouldn't only have impacted the case negatively but his credibility to do his job as a Councilor and Alpha. I had been allowed to visit Maisie. She had been given a smaller, fortified room. But she assured me that she was fine. She had convinced me to talk to Xavier before making any decision.It was certain that I was not going to stay in the same pack that hurt Dad and me so much. But before making up my mind abou
Zoe's POVI was done packing in no time but Dad needed rest and I wasn't going to disturb him.I had no idea how long Maisie was going to have to stay at the HQ and what they were planning to do about her. But with my current plans, it was possible that we might not see each other for a while.I wasn't going to leave without a goodbye.I went to her guarded room and was allowed to meet in the presence of a guard. I didn't want to do this in front of a stranger but I couldn't fight with the rules either.I entered the room and Maisie rushed to hug me."It's so good to see a familiar face." She smiled. I could sense a hint of sadness in her tone but I knew that she wanted me not to worry. She knew I would never stop worrying about her. "Don't worry, you will be out of here in no time." I gave a fake reassurance and she nodded because we both knew that it was a lie. Werewolves have never been kind to witches. "Let's see what the law says for a hybrid." She said wistfully."You are a wer
Zoe's POVI sighed and sat down on the bench beside her. I went there for a reason, I was going to see it through."You say that when you know that not only we weren't aware of the Blood Contract, we were a little busy not knowing you even existed. Excuse us for wanting to accept our fated mates and
Zoe's POVI was braiding the hair on the edge of my shaved scalp when Olivia rang the intercom. Xavier walked out of the wardrobe with a spring in his step and let Olivia in, who rolled in a trolley of steaming breakfast.It was Xavier's idea to have breakfast in the bedroom. He said he wanted to sp
Zoe's POVWhen I woke up next, my head felt like I had been hit by a truck. Xavier's arm rested on my belly as he lay deeply asleep beside me. It was strange to wake up to him after spending weeks of him coming and going while I slept. I took the time to cherish his touch and light breath. He looke
Zoe's POVMy head was pounding. It was like someone had cracked open my skull and was performing brain surgery without anesthesia. It was torture. I wanted to yell,' Stop it,' and I think I said something, but different words were coming out.I tried to yell. I knew Xavier was holding me, but every
Xavier's POVMy head was fuzzy. I was trying so hard to focus on the conversations around me. It was like I had been underwater and just resurfaced. The light, the sounds, the colors, everything felt weird. I blinked as I tried to focus on the fork in my hand. I whispered to Zoe, "Please get ready
Zoe's POVThat night, I stayed up and waited for Xavier. He took his time coming to the bedroom. He must've thought that I was asleep, and that's exactly what I pretended. But, I had a theory and I was about to test it out.I stayed still, kept my heartbeat calm, and eyes closed. Until Xavier went t
Zoe's POVWhen Xavier and I walked in hand in hand, every jaw in the dining hall dropped, but no one was as shocked as Blondie, who entered after us. She must've been waiting for him when he was walking me to the dining hall. She swallowed her shock and forced herself to sit on the opposite end of t
Zoe's POVFinding friendship with Alyssa was one of the strangest things that happened to me that week. Since then, I saw less and less of Xavier. He came to the room when I was already asleep and often left before I had woken up. We missed that one meal we used to share before the coronation.He sp
Zoe's POVThe conversation with Xavier was the hardest I've ever had with anyone. He was acting like I was just another wolf in his pack that he was responsible for. The only emotion I got from him was regarding the baby but even that was fleeting. I was so bewildered that I ended up asking, "Are y