ZEDKIEL.
âTonight, alright, letâs meet at the princesâ lounge.
Iâll make sure there is plenty of food and drinks.â
Chasyn says, casting one last glance at Isa, giving her a curt nod, and patting my arm before he turns and walks away.
I frown as I swiftly stride to the door to my quarters, unlock it and step inside. Isa follows and I glance at the table and sofa, remembering what happened here last night, and not wanting to ruin those memories, I lead the way to my office.
Isa shuts the door and follows me. I open the office door and, heading to my desk, I take a seat behind it.
Isa walks in and stands behind the seat opposite me. Sheâs frowning as she watches me seriously.
âWhy did you call for me?â She asks, clearly disturbed.
âI want you to keep an eye on Cole, and make sure no one spots you. I have allowed his release, but I donât trust him. I think heâs under a spell⦠and if he is, he wonât have any recollection of what heâs doing and even an alphaâs command wonât be able to fix that. Follow him discreetly and if anyone questions you, play dumb. No one is to know that I have asked this of you. I donât want anyone to be alerted.â My command is clear, stressing on the importance of the task.
She nods, frowning slightly, âIs there anything specific you need me to observe? Aside from where he goes, am I to listen in on his conversations?â She asks quietly. Sheâs uneasy and clearly disturbed.
âIf you can do so without being caught, otherwise donât risk it. Just keep tabs on whoever has any contact with him. And why are you so stressed out?âI ask sharply, her behaviour grinding on my nerves.
âYou should know why.â She replies as if sheâs shocked I even asked her.
Women are so annoying. Why the hell are they so damn cryptic?
âIf I knew, I wouldnât ask. Now spit it out.â I growl.
She looks towards the door that she left slightly ajar, âWhat Prince Chasyn said, I donât want Evangeline getting the wrong idea.â
Why would Evangeline get the wrong idea? I already told her sheâs the only one that meant anything to me in that way.
I sit back and look at her.
âShe wonât,âI reply confidently.
âYouâre smart, Zed, but youâre also really dense when it comes to women. I feel as if she knows, from the way sheâs wary of me..â She has the audacity to say, crossing her arms.
My eyes flash as I frown. âNo, Iâm not dense, besides thereâs never been anything of importance between usâ
âDoes she know what happened, though?â She asks quietly.
Our eyes meet and I know she means what went down between us on her eighteenth birthday, nearly two years agoâ¦
She had drunk a lot and so had I, but it wasnât enough of an excuse⦠we had made out, to the point it almost went further, but I had backed out, knowing what may happen to herâ¦
There were women I really didnât care for, but I couldnât risk her life, she was Kashâs sister and that had made me stop and leave. Although she had tried to persuade me to stay, I had refused..
That was a long time ago and there really was nothing between us. Not anymore.
âI know, but stilI. I feel like she knows thereâs something, and then what Prince Chasyn said..â
I c**k a brow, and she shakes her head.
âMeaning?â I ask sharply.
âAbout the heir, when he thinks Azariah..â She whispers, trailing off. The fear in her eyes is something you donât see often, and her heart thuds violently.
F**k.
I was so consumed by everything else Chasyn had said that I didnât even consider what he was implying.
Azariah⦠the child that Isa currently keeps hidden and one that even Kash doesnât know of. He had been away on a mission when Isa, who had been on a trip, had returned with a newborn pup. She had been terrified and, without Kash around; she had turned to me for help.
âI didnât even realise thatâs what Chasyn was hinting at.â I sigh, running a hand down my face.
When Isa had returned, she had been forced to come to me since Kash wasnât here. She begged me to hide her baby away saying that no one must learn its truth. When I asked who his father was, she hadnât been able to tell me.
It was then Chasyn stumbled upon us and spotted the newborn pup, which was obviously fathered by a powerful alpha, something that was clear from his aura.
I had seen the terror in her eyes at someone finding out the truth that she was adamantly keeping hidden, and thatâs when I had stated that he was mine without thinking. Telling Chasyn no one was to know about him, but I never even. considered it coming to light or that Iâd ever find someone who I would feel needed to know the truth.
âYou need to tell Evangeline.â She says quietly.
Sheâs right, I donât want her finding out from anyone else. Since I have rarely even seen the child, it had totally slipped my mind with everything going on. I have only seen him twice, once when she had initially told me about him and once when I had helped her move the child to a property far away from most of the pack in the deepest corner of the southern forest. âAnd I think itâs high time you tell Kash⦠he needs to know the truth about his nephew.â I remind her, something Iâve told her before.
The boy is barely a few months old and currently lives with an elderly omega woman who works for Isa. Both she and Kash had no involvement with their father and his family, and because of that, no one had even realised she had a child. She has been able to keep him a secret â for now, but Kash needs to know.
âHe will want to know who the father is..â Isa says quietly, running her fingers through her hair.
Yeah, neither of us could tell Kash he was mine.
Heâd never forgive me. That was a rule that was unspoken. Isa should have been off-limits, and I had messed up once.
I sit back, âThen, tell us the identity of his father.
What are you so scared of?â This is something she refuses to share.
Her face pales, and she shakes her head. âI canât and I wonât.â
âThen what about the child? What are you going to tell Kash? I canât tell him heâs mine. Heâll never forgive me.â
âI know and I donât know. I will keep him a secret.
Will Prince Chasyn tell anyone? If you can make sure he doesnâtâ¦â She drops into the seat, placing her head in her hands foI a moment before sighing.
âI donât know, he shouldnât do⦠but there is a chance heâs told his mate-â
âNo! No.. not her, he canât tell anyone! It canât get out. If thatâs the problem, then Iâll take him and leave. I have to leave,â she says, her voice shrill, her heart pounding violently.
Why did that trigger her? This isnât like her.
âIf youâre not going to share the truth and the reason youâre hiding him, Isabella, then nothing is going to get sorted.â I growl, standing up.
Sheâs a strong woman and seeing her so scared for some damn reason is irritating the hell out of me.
âI canât.â She says, almost begging. âI canât. please stop asking me.â
Doesnât she trust me?
Our eyes meet and I frown. âThen Iâll mention this to Kash myself. Maybe heâll be able to think of a solution.â I snarl. She stands up, her heart thundering as she blocks my path.
âNo. You canât tell him.â She whispers.
I know I probably wonât, but I need to force her to answer.
âThen I want a name.â I push coldly.
âNo.â
I clench my jaw, my eyes blazing as I advance on her. âName Isabella, Iâm not f*****g playing.â
Her heartâs thudding and sheâs struggling. She looks.. just the way she did when she returned.
Terrified and anxious.
âWere you raped?â I ask quietly, itâs a question I had already asked her, and she had said no⦠but I need to know.
She hesitates, but shakes her head. âNo⦠I wasnât, I ⦠he⦠he was my mate.â She says, making me freeze.
Mate.
Was.
âThen why are you hiding?â I ask quietly.
âBecause Iâm better off alone or dead than with a monster like him.â She whispers. I frown, watching her walls break away, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, something that youâd never see in Isaâs eyes.
âTell me who he is.âI threaten dangerously.
Which Alpha can it be? Because it was definitely an Alpha.
She had gone away when she had fallen pregnant, meaning it wasnât one of the allied packs.. unless she got pregnant before she had left..
âTell me, Isabella!â I snarl, grabbing hold of her arm.
âGodric Astorath!â She screams.
I freeze, staring at her.
Godric Astorath..
Her eyes pool with tears and the only sound in the room is the thudding of our hearts and her shaky breathing. Now I know why she didnât want anyone to know.., especially Maryka..
Astorath and Maryka were from the same pack, although Marykaâs family had been on the run after being exiled by the previous Alpha. the story behind what happened was never revealed and Maryka said she didnât know- or pretended she didnât.
When Astorath took over as Alpha he captured her family and they are now said to be imprisoned somewhere, no matter what Chasyn tried or Dad they refused to come to any agreement and I can see her ratting Azariah out to Astorath in return for the freedom of her family.
This is worse than I could have ever imagined..
I let go of her and sheâs about to collapse to her knees when I catch her, pulling her into my arms.
F**k.
Sheâs mated to a monster⦠one far worse than me..
The Alpha of the Night Shade Pack himself.. A man who is said to have killed his own father for the title.. rumours have it, he isnât even humanâ¦
If he knew about Azariahâ¦
I knew at that moment what I needed to do, I donât care if it fvcked things up between Kash and I.. no one is to know the truth about Azariahâs heritage.
âI wonât mention it to anyone⦠as far as anyone needs to know Azariah is my son.â
No one needs to know, save-
âAm I interrupting?â
We both turn sharply towards the door and Isabella pushes away from me, her heart thundering as we both spot Evangeline standing there.
I hadnât even sensed her⦠Her eyes are blazing a brilliant blue, her breasts heaving as she stares at us with hurt and anger.
âEvangeline.â I say, trying to make sense of everything going on, but all that vanishes when I see the pain in her eyes as she looks between us.
âExcuse meâ She says, turning away.
âNo Evangeline, itâs not what youâre thinking!â
Isabella says, hurrying after her. âSh!t!â
I finally snap out of my shock and break into a run, brushing past Isabella. Evangeline has misunderstood, and I need to fix this as soon as possible.
âEvangeline!â I call through the link, but Iâm met with a block.
F**k, sheâs shut me out.