This chapter is a recap of all the major events that happened in the book so far. This is where the story of the wolfless Zoe ends and the story of the Hybrid Zoe with her special animal Dahlia begins. Many new problems await Zoe and her fated mate, Xavier. Many new secrets await to be revealed. Many friends old and new, many foes, old and new. And many new hurdles in the long journey.RECAP:Zoe is a wolfless girl, the daughter of an ex-beta of the Silver Moon Pack in North America. Her boyfriend, John, the new beta cheated on her with a new girl, Alyssa, who is of Alpha bloodline of an ally pack. He embezzled the pack's finances of a huge amount, framed her father, and blackmailed her to be his mistress for him to spare her father.At his engagement party, she met a stranger, Xavier Shaw, who happened to be a member of the werewolf council who could help her unveil John's schemes. She asked for his help and he agreed to help her solve her crisis for a price.Five years ago, he had a
They discuss a painting and a little bit of his past. He offers to paint a nude portrait like the Greek masterpieces. As they start Zoe gets a call from a persistent John and Xavier overhears. He gets furious and goes to chop off some firewood even though they had enough to blow off some steam. She follows him outside to calm him down where they kiss and he carries her inside to have sex after which he paints her while she acts as his therapist and they discuss more paintings.They stay in the cabin for the night and the next morning Zoe sneaks out of the cabin for a run in the forest. Xavier wakes up from a very sensual and romantic dream of himself and Zoe and not finding her there panics. Only to see her car and belongings are still there. He tracks her down and finds her near a frozen lake in the forest. He promises to bring her back there in summer when the lake is liquid and has swans.Xavier receives a call from Jacob about an important thing about the case that he needs to chec
Claire blackmails Zoe into leaving so Claire can't plant the seed of doubt in Xavier's mind about John and Zoe. Claire sabotages Zoe and Zoe ends up getting lost in the forest. Xavier saves her from a bunch of rogues and the weekend trip is cut short because of the dangers of a rogue attack.Zoe works for a catering company and goes to serve at a party. At the party the pianist suddenly couldn't play so Zoe steps up and saves the evening, until Claire gets jealous and embarrasses her at Xavier's father's birthday dinner party, which is a huge formal affair. Xavier leaves the party with Zoe (causing a scandal at the party), to drop her to her house in her pack. They argue on the way. She says they should not have left like that. Zoe retorts by telling him off in her hurt that she is not a damsel in distress, but a well-trained beta's daughter and knows how to take care of herself and he should focus on the legal matters. Xavier feels regret at talking to her like that and so does she. S
Zoe thinks she was nothing to him more than his fuck-buddy while he helped her save her father. So when her father is safe, John is being questioned for all his crimes, and his engagement is over. Zoe goes to Xavier one last time to thank him but overhears Claire offering him to join her in the King's court and work with her there, appointing Alyssa as the Alpha for the time being. Xavier says he'll think about it and Zoe takes it as his acceptance to choose Claire. Claire keeps saying that she is worried for him and that he overworks himself and needs a break. She offers to go to the island owned by his pack for leisure time, offering that she would join him too so he won't be alone. He only says he will think about it to make her stop talking as he was too focused on thinking about Zoe's next course of action.Zoe chose to leave the pack territory to move to another state because she thinks Xavier chose Claire. Zoe wants to leave without goodbye to Xavier. Zoe has a final goodbye to
Zoe's POVStrength surged through my veins. Every sound, every scent, every sensation felt a thousand times stronger.I looked around. The first rays of dawn lit up the compound. I heard a quick scuttling noise. My eyes snapped to the source. A cockroach moved across the far corner. I had never noticed such small details before.A breeze blew through a broken window. It felt like it pierced my skin, sending a deep chill inside me.The colors around me were too sharp. Too vivid. But nothing looked beautiful. The cement-grey walls were stained with only one other color—red. Blood. Organs. Pieces of fabric soaked in dark, drying pools.I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Bad idea.The stench of death filled my lungs. Werewolf remains. I nearly gagged.A massacre. More blood than anyone should ever see. I couldn't take it anymore.From the corner of my eye, I saw Xavier moving closer. Before he could reach me, I stepped away. I moved toward my father.He lay face down in blood. His c
Zoe's POVI drove the van as Dahlia instructed me.This newfound strength and these heightened senses were hard to work with. By the time Dahlia told me to stop at a clearing, the steering wheel of the van was bent and barely working.I knew Xavier had hitchhiked the ride but I was in no mental state to converse. Even if Dad were alive, I would've hated Xavier for abandoning me and choosing another over me.I stepped out and for a second just let the sounds and smells of woods envelope me. I always loved nature. It had helped me calm down back home. But I had never felt nature the way it felt now. It was like seeing the world for the first time. Like I had been wearing a dark curtain over my senses and it had finally lifted allowing me to see the true magic of the world.But I had a loved one to bury.That thought weighed on me so much that it numbed my senses again. I couldn't celebrate my first transformation or ponder on its possibility because I was too busy mourning my only relati
Once Zoe's father was no more than ashes, she left it there and numbly walked back to the van.Xavier didn't follow her this time. She half expected him to but didn't wait for him.Xavier knew that the disappearance of Alpha Peterson would have been noticed by this time. This meant that even if his team had arrived after Zoe and Xavier left and cleaned the crime scene. Peterson's people were going to eventually get worried and start connecting the dots. Which meant that Zoe was not safe anymore.He wanted to be with her, to be there when she broke apart in her grief. But he knew that she needed some space as well. Also, he wasn't sure how she would react to his help. So far, she had been ignoring him and keeping her distance without a word.He knew she now knew that they were mates and he had told Spike not to tell her animal that they had known all along but Spike had been overjoyed to meet her animal that he answered her every question truthfully. Zoe drove the van to her
Xavier took his time cleaning her. She allowed him to rinse every inch of her naked skin. He pooled water from the shower in his hands and let it drip down from her neck to her breasts and down through her belly button. It pained him to see her so unresponsive. But he hoped that she knew that he was not going anywhere now. That he had decided to stay for as long as she needed him to. Everything else and everyone else ceased to matter to him. He was done putting others over her. He was finally going to set his priorities straight and his mate came on top.When he was finally done, he grabbed a towel and wrapped her, gently walking her to the bed. He pulled a simple tee and jeans for her from her wardrobe and she did not resist. She just sat there silently staring into the void. It was a heartbreaking sight. It was like she had lost her fight. She had gone to many lengths for her father. She had faced everyone alone and now she probably felt like the sole reason for her be
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