Narrator's POVZoe and Xavier listened to the detailed account of events that Maisie had gone through with full attention. Zoe worried about her friend and pitied everything Maisie had to go through. Zoe blamed herself for pulling Maisie into her problems. After all, Maisie had to give up such a grave secret in front of so many people because Zoe's father's life was on the line. Xavier, on the other, was worried about his friend just as much as he was worried about Maisie. At least, Maisie had made it. Xavier had often checked with Jacob (his secretary) about Luca and nobody had heard anything since Maisie and Luca had escaped from the Werewolf Council Headquarters after Mr. Simmons' case."Maze. How did you get away from them?" Zoe asked softly. Maisie sighed and didn't meet the eyes of her friend. It was hard enough thinking about that. But talking about it all made it more real and unbearable."I'm not exactly sure what happened next. I swear, I just closed my eyes for a second.
"I thought you were taking me out of this jungle. Did you just bring me to your home? Or the center of the jungle?" Maisie asked confused but stepped closer nonetheless.The roots of the huge tree were spread on the forest floor. The moment Maisie accidentally stepped on a protruding root and slipped, falling face-first to the forest floor. She tried to hold something in vain. There was nothing to stop her from falling as she saw the ground get closer. Again, she closed her eyes but tried not to scream. Screaming had brought her problems so far.She fell, but instead of hard and moist ground, she felt a soft, dry, furry rug on her face. It still hurt but not as much as falling into the insect-infested forest floor might have.Confuzzled, Maisie opened her eyes and quickly got up only to stop stunned.She was now in a different location. The open jungle had vanished and she now stood in a cozy cottage that looked very normal at first glance.Then, she noticed the brown bird that had l
Zoe's POV"Oh god, MJ—" I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around my trembling friend. Xavier stayed back, giving us space. His jaw worked silently as he processed Maisie's story.Something felt off as I held her. The Maisie I knew would have been sobbing uncontrollably after reliving such trauma. But her breathing was steady, her posture stiff. Too controlled. Like she'd built walls around whatever emotions should have been there.Xavier cleared his throat. "Maybe we should continue this somewhere... cleaner." His nose wrinkled at the dusty, cluttered space.Maisie pulled back with a small smile. "AlphaXS34, huh?""Cornhead24," Xavier shot back.I blinked between them. "What?""Your boyfriend here contacted me on the dark web," Maisie explained. "Cornhead24 was my username. Twenty-four's my age."Xavier crossed his arms. "AlphaXS was perfectly discreet.""Except when you're flirting with a girl twelve years your junior," Maisie teased."I'm not that old!" Xavier's indignant protest m
I didn’t know how to change the subject, so Xavier just blurted it out: "We need to find a way to get into a human-only club. Can you do that?"Maisie and I exchanged a look, like, Seriously? Now? But Xavier didn’t seem to notice. He just raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry."I almost snorted. Yeah, like an apology fixes anything."You're right, Zoe," Spike’s voice echoed in my mind. "Anyone would feel abandoned. You left her in our hands, and look what happened."I bit back a sigh. "What do you want now?" Xavier muttered under his breath.Spike didn’t hold back. You know I’m right. Zoe left her behind, and now we’re paying for it.Maisie had turned her back to us again, fiddling with random things on a shelf, clearly trying to ignore the tension in the room."Maisie," I started softly, "we are really sorry for what happened to you." I nudged Xavier to continue, "And we want to make things right. No matter how hard it is."Xavier added, his voice quieter now, "It starts with you com
Xavier came back after two hours, but something was off."Okay, someone catch me up," he said, his eyes scanning the scene. "That's not how I left you girls."He stopped in his tracks, confusion clearly written on his face as he looked us over.Maisie and I were sitting on the floor, which was surprising in itself since we’d somehow cleared a little space despite the clutter. I didn’t know why, but for some reason, I was dressed in rags that looked a lot like the ones Maisie had on. My hands were resting over a large bronze bowl, filled with some weird, unfamiliar ingredients.Maisie was holding a ceremonial blade with a rune carved into its handle. She was about to start chanting when Xavier’s voice interrupted her."Where have you been for the past two hours?" Maisie asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at him."I asked first," Xavier shot back, still eyeing everything suspiciously."We’re doing the ritual that you came for," Maisie said in a tone that made it sound like
"I hope you're not planning to wear that." Xavier walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a sleek, expensive clubbing outfit, ready to go, while I was still in my sweats, trying to finish my makeup."What’s it to you?" I replied awkwardly, stretching my mouth to put mascara on my curled lashes."Why are you making that face?" He asked, stepping closer with a mix of curiosity and amusement."Again, what’s it to you?" I rolled my eyes, cursing under my breath when the mascara smeared across my eyelid from the movement.Xavier laughed, and I shot him a glare. We were like an old married couple, even if we hadn’t realized it yet."Why are you here? You ready?" I asked, annoyed."What’s that supposed to mean?" Xavier twirled around in his outfit, flipping his coat with a smirk, clearly offended that I didn’t think he was ready."What’s gotten into you?" I asked, confused by his carefree behavior."What do you mean? I'm going clubbing with my mate for the first time." Xavier said it like we
Xavier and I stepped out of the car, handed the keys to the valet, and walked toward the entrance. There was no line. If you were a member, you walked in. If not, you had to buy an expensive ticket, hoping they’d let you in.Xavier had secured two VIP tickets under fake names. We were directed to a non-member lobby. The receptionist asked us to wait while they confirmed our identities.I opened a mind-link. “What if they find out?” I wasn’t ready to give myself away yet.Xavier was surprised. He looked at me and I yelled in his head, “Look ahead!”He flinched but replied, “They can’t hear us. Don’t yell at me in my head.”“Sorry,” I whispered, feeling awkward.“You don’t need to whisper either,” he said with a smile.I rolled my eyes. “Stop smiling and stop being my teacher.” Then I asked seriously, “What if they find us out?”“They won’t,” Xavier said, but his voice wavered. He didn’t know, but he was trying to stay calm.I repeated, “What if?”“Then they can’t do anything to a Werew
I turned the door handle, my stomach in knots with anticipation. I pushed the door open and saw stairs leading down. I stepped forward, Xavier close behind me. We descended slowly until we reached an elevator.I pressed the button to call it. The wait felt like the longest moments of my life. Finally, the elevator dinged open.We stepped inside, and Xavier noticed a camera with a blinking red light. We were being watched. I saw the elevator had buttons for four floors—one, two, three, and the last one with the same seal as the one on the door. Without thinking, I pressed that button.To our surprise, a voice came over the speaker, confirming Xavier’s suspicion that we were being watched."What will happen if a pair of Moonstones is found?" a woman’s voice asked. I froze and looked around, startled. Who is it?Xavier nudged me, motioning toward the camera, and asked, “Do you know the answer?”I frowned, confused. “Answer to what?”He rolled his lips. “Answer to her question?”I had no
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