CHAPTER 12: SHADOWS OF POWER AND PAST

I woke up around noon and looked around. I didn’t recognize this room, and my mind began to race trying to figure out where I was. I sat up and looked around more carefully, and slowly everything came back. The accident, the children, my mates. I looked around the room.

The walls are a cozy light golden brown color with white trim and doors. The floor is dark cherry hardwood. There is beautiful crown molding around the room and a gorgeous crystal chandelier with added recessed lighting.

I sat there looking around for a minute while debating what I wanted to do today. I should probably go talk to my mates. I owe them a lot of answers, and I need to ask about the pack. I guess I should get up.

There are two doors other than the one leading out to the hallway and balcony. The bathroom and closet, I’m assuming.

I open the door on the right and it opens into a beautiful, huge bathroom. The sink has a circular glass bowl setting into white marbled countertops which match the large tiles on the floor. The wall color is the same as the room with recessed lighting. Above the sink is a very detailed golden Victorian mirror.

On the back left corner is a shower that is under construction with a tarp covering it. To the right is a white clawed footed tub. I tried to turn on the water but nothing came out. Then it dawned on me, they turned it off for construction. Duh.

I decided to get my bag so I can take a bath in another bathroom, when I realized I don’t know where my bag went. I looked around but I couldn’t find it. So, I opened the other door in the room in case it was put in there.

I walked into the closet and just stopped and stared. This is the closet of my dreams. I am not a girlie girl, but this one had everything and then some. I love it. The walls were covered in all kinds of clothes, shoes, purses, makeup, perfume, and anything else you could ever want. It was like my dream closet come to life.

“This is a super expensive closet just in jewelry not to mention the designer clothes. Whose is it?” I said out loud.

I guess I need to find out who owns this closet and eliminate them. I chuckle.

In the center is an island with a jewelry glass display on top. The glass case opens upwards and I took out a couple of rings. I tried them on and they fit perfectly.

After putting them back I looked at some of the gorgeous bracelets and necklaces. I froze as my eyes landed on a necklace.

No freaking way. Is that ‘The Heart of the Ocean’ necklace? It is worth millions. The chain is made of the rarest diamonds. The main piece is a 45-carat blue oval diamond outlined by more white diamonds. I would know this necklace anywhere. My daughter and I fell in love with it when we watched Titanic. Rose wore it in the scene where she was being drawn naked by Jack.

I stood there looking at it completely shocked. I carefully closed the glass door as if it was the most fragile object in the world.

I have no words. There is no way this is real. I have one suitcase with some work clothes, workout clothes, and weapons. This was like something out of a movie.

I found a pair of black skinny jeans, a light pink tank top, and a black leather jacket. I found a pair of thigh-high boots to go with it. I even added mascara, lip gloss, and light eye shadow.

I took a good look in the mirror. Damn, I look hot. I should wear clothes like this more often. I sighed. This world isn’t meant for people like me.

After finishing my business, I walked into the kitchen and it is busy.

“Um, excuse me,” all heads turned to me. “May I get something to eat please, nothing special. I know you are all busy so, I can make it myself if you point me in the right direction.”

“Nonsense,” said an older woman as she walked to me. “I’m Julie. I can make you a plate, just have a seat.”

“Sure, that would be amazing, thank you,” I said, looking around at the food. It smelled so good and made my stomach growl.

She giggled, “Well, someone’s hungry.”

“Yeah, I didn’t eat much yesterday,” I told her.

“Well, let me fix that. Are you allergic to anything,” she asked. I shook my head and she loaded up a plate and handed it to me. “The Alphas are in the office if you're looking for them.”

“Thank you,” I said and turned to leave.

“You can stop by any time, dear. You have polite manners,” says Julie with a smile.

I return the smile before leaving with my plate of food and head to the office. I stopped at the door and knocked since it isn’t my office.

“Enter,” says Jason in a deep voice. I know they don’t try, but every time they speak, it sends shivers down my spine.

I open the door and step inside. They are all working so I silently walk over and sit on one of the couches and start eating.

After a several minutes, Jason looks up in my direction and slightly jumped. “Max, I didn’t hear you enter. Did you get enough sleep?”

Oops, didn’t mean to scare him. “Yes, thank you for asking,” I said shyly before clearing my throat. “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt you. I just wanted to ask you some questions if that’s okay?”

“Of course, ask away,” said Dean in encouragement. They got up and moved to sit in the same seats as this morning.

“What is the proper etiquette with Alphas?” I asked not wanting to offend others or embarrass my mates.

“You have seen packmates bow or bare their necks to us, that is customary. As our mate, you don’t. You can show a sign of respect by giving them a slight nod of the head. However, you always address them by their title unless they say otherwise. That goes with any rank,” explained Luke.

I tucked that away for later, deciding to just follow my mates’ lead.

“Cece said it is unheard of for a pack to have four alphas, so how does that work? Do each of you each have different responsibilities or do you share them?” I asked.

Luke’s voice was steady. “We all bring something different to the pack. Dean handles finances—keeping our wealth secure. I manage our businesses and serve as pack lawyer, settling disputes when they arise. Jason is our strategist—calculates every move before a fight, weighs the risks, and strikes where it hurts most. And Zane? He trains our warriors, commands our borders, and when battle comes, he’s the Alpha we follow into war.”

Luke paused, his eyes holding mine as if waiting for questions. When I only nodded, he continued.

“What else,” I say, soaking in the information.

Jason took over. “The men are our responsibility. Yours will be the women and children—but you’ll also work directly with each of us in business, finances, strategy, and warfare. We all share the weight of leadership. Overseeing one domain doesn’t mean standing apart—our responsibilities overlap, and we step in where needed. Above all, we stand as equals in every respect.”

I stayed silent, just taking it all in. But deep down, I ached for it to be real again: the warmth, the belonging. I’ve been alone so long that isolation became my shield, keeping others at arm’s length, afraid of the shadows I carry. My world has been blood and silence, and I couldn’t risk pulling anyone into that darkness. But now… now I want to remember what light feels like

“Hey, you okay?” asked Dean.

“I’m fine,” I said with a sad smile. Cece chose now to speak.

“Healing would be nice. Maybe we could be whole again.”

“You want this?” I asked her.

“Yes, more than anything,” she said with tears in her voice. I would give Cece the world.

“I wanted to ask, how is it possible that we are all mates? I thought it was one person per mate?” I asked.

“Not always. The moon goddess chooses mates. She doesn’t follow any rules, and she always has a reason for doing what she does,” said Luke.

I just nodded. It’s not like I understand how gods and goddesses work.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” asked Zane.

“Sure,” I said preparing myself. Scared of what he wants to know.

“You are very skilled. You move with training and ease. Most people would not know what to do in a crisis like the one we found you in. You kept a level head and did what needed to be done. That’s not something you just know how to do. That is something that is learned and practiced. You don’t need to answer this if you don’t want to, but were you in the military?”

I looked at him and thought for a second. “No, I had to learn to fight to defend myself. Which reminds me, who found me when I was attacked by the rogues?” I asked.

“We did, and we were almost too late.” That surprised me. “We were searching for rogues when we heard the fighting. We knew instantly that you were our mate as soon as we saw you. I don’t think I have been so scared in my life.” Dean had to take a second.

I’m glad our paths crossed. Otherwise I wouldn’t have met these incredible men. I thought.

“Us too,” said Jason, looking at me.

“What?” I’m confused. No one said anything.

Then I hear Jason in my head, “We’re glad we found you too?”

“What the fuck, you heard me?” I jumped to my feet and said in my head at the same time.

Zane smirked. “Mates can speak in each other’s minds after they accept the bond.”

I blinked. Wait— “Hold on. You mean all my thoughts? Unfiltered? Like, right now?” Panic edged my voice. I need my privacy.

Luke tilted his head, confused. “Yes…?”

“How do I turn it off?”

Jason snorted into his drink, but Luke looked genuinely wounded. “Why would you want to?”

I waved a hand. “Dude, you do not want a front-row seat to the chaos in here.” Leaning in, I dropped my voice to fake a whisper. “Let’s just say not all of it’s… lady-like.”

Jason barked a laugh. “Oh, I definitely don’t mind the dirty thoughts.”

I shot him a grin. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

Luke rolled his eyes, but the tension in his shoulders eased. “Relax. It’s not an open floodgate. You have to direct thoughts at us—like talking, but quieter. And we can only listen if you leave the connection open.” He tapped his temple. “If you want privacy, imagine a wall. Or a curtain. Something solid.”

I pictured slamming a door shut. “Like that?”

Jason’s smirk returned. “Congrats. You just mentally ghosted us.”

“Good,” I said, grinning. “Now I can panic in peace.” We chuckled.

For the first time, I truly see them—not just their faces, but the men beneath them.

Dean is the calm at the heart of the storm, a gentle giant with a soul made for mending. He moves through the pack with quiet care, tending to those who don’t carry blades, balancing ledgers like they’re fragile lives in his hands. Cece once told me they would each challenge and heal me in different ways. Dean? He coaxes out the part of me I’ve buried the deepest—the tenderness, the instinct to protect. The maternal.

Luke is knowledge wrapped in charm, a lawyer’s precision paired with a scholar’s hunger. He commands rooms without raising his voice, his mind always three steps ahead, always chasing the next piece of wisdom to strengthen the pack. My own education in business and accounting makes his world familiar, but it’s Cece’s warning that lingers: He’ll awaken the fire in you. Not just passion, but the steel beneath it—how to stand firm without losing sight of mercy.

Jason is sunlight breaking through clouds. His laughter is contagious, his wit sharp enough to cut through the darkest moods. He makes me smile—really smile—without thinking, without forcing it. But beneath the playful exterior lurks a strategist, a man who shifts from mischief to command in a breath. Cece promised he’d teach me to balance joy and cunning, to see every angle before I strike.

And then there’s Zane.

A statue carved from winter, his silence speaks in glances, his emotions locked away where no one can reach them. But I see the ghosts behind his eyes, the way he watches the world like he’s already mourned it. Death knows him. Maybe that’s why I do, too. We recognize each other—two souls who’ve walked the same hollowed ground. He’ll be the hardest to unravel, the one who keeps his scars hidden. Yet something whispers that he might be the first to let me in.

Because grief speaks a language only the broken understand.

“Maybe you can help heal each other,” replied Cece softly.

I looked at Zane. “What time do you start training in the morning?”

“Four am,” he said, like it was the most reasonable hour in the world.

“Okay. I’ll be there,” I told him.

The look of shock on his face was comical—eyebrows nearly in his hairline, mouth half-open like I’d just declared I was running for president. “You want to train?”

“Of course. I almost died fighting three wolves,” I said bluntly. “I need to learn how you guys fight —both as a human and as a wolf. Besides, my body’s used to training. I’ll go crazy without it,” I said, shrugging.

A slow, dangerous grin spread across his face. “Well, okay then.”

Jason’s POV

Our mate is something else. I would never have guessed we would have such a strong, fierce, amazing and talented mate. When I first saw her, I thought she looked strong and determined. The more time I spend with her, the more I want to know everything about her.

We know she had to fight from a young age to defend herself, which explains a lot about how she handled the children. She was fiercely protective and quick to act—instincts honed through years of survival. When she took command, it was with the quiet certainty of someone used to making life-or-death decisions. No one in the pack even questioned it

She is something else, I thought.

After she rescued the pups, the way she moved—backing up effortlessly, loosing arrows with deadly precision, then flicking out blades in the same seamless motion—was unreal. The kind of thing you’d only see in movies.

And later, when she stood up on her bike like it was nothing, my heart damn near stopped. But she made it look easy. Magnificent, even.

I’ve never seen anyone handle a bow or knives like she does. Not even Zane. She’s lethal. We all sensed it before she even said a word. Every movement screams danger. Honestly? She could give Zane a real challenge.

I linked Dean and Luke and asked, “Who do you think would win—Max or Zane?”

Luke considered it. “Too close to call. I’d need to see more of Max in action, but with weapons? She’d give him hell.”

“Her fighting style would be just as fluid as her shooting,” I added with a grin. “She moves like water—like a damn dance. We should set up a sparring match soon.”

Dean nodded. “Was thinking the same thing. But my bet? Weapons go to Max. Hand-to-hand? Zane.”

What we told her last night—that we accept her—wasn’t just words. Now that I know her better, I’m even more certain she’s the perfect mate for us. Losing her entire family in a single hour? I don’t know if I could’ve survived that. She’s stronger than any of us. I wish I could take that pain away.

Her past is as dark as Zane’s, maybe worse. And we’ve all seen how hard it is for him to move past his own demons. Our lives haven’t been easy, but Zane’s? Max understands that kind of pain. Maybe she’s exactly what he needs—someone who gets it, who can help him heal when we can’t.

“I feel the same, brother,” Dean said, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t realized they were still listening.

Luke leaned in, serious. “I’m going to dig into dormants. So much has changed for her in the last ten years—I want answers. And I might know someone who can help without dragging the elders into it. But something tells me we need to be careful.”

We all agreed.