Chapter 128

KNOX

I woke up with my head pounding like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. Blinking against the dim light, I realized two things: one, I was tied to a chair, and two, I was probably in deep trouble.

The ropes binding my wrists and ankles weren’t giving anytime soon, and as much as I loved a challenge, this wasn’t the kind I had in mind. I took a deep breath, trying to piece together how I ended up here.

Oh, right. Bomb. Explosion. Werewolf hunters.

I was in some kind of underground bunker—cold, damp, and definitely not home. The room was small, no windows, just the faint buzz of a fluorescent light flickering above. Classic creepy villain lair. I tried to move, but the restraints were solid. No shifting, no breaking free.

“Well, this is fun,” I muttered to myself, twisting my wrists in vain. “Bet my brothers are having a blast, too.”

Before I could make another sarcastic remark to the empty room, the door creaked open. A group of hunters walked in, dressed in black tactical gear, weapons strapped to their sides. And then, leading the pack, was her—Isabella’s mother.

Emilia.

She looked just like Isabella, except older, her eyes sharp with a hard edge. Dark hair, pulled back tightly, and that same intense gaze. The resemblance was uncanny, but the vibe? Completely different. Emilia wasn’t just dangerous—she was lethal. The type of woman who could kill you without blinking.

“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Emilia,” I said with a grin, despite the situation. “Nice to finally meet the in-laws. Though, I gotta say, the whole ‘tying me to a chair’ thing? A little much for a first impression.”

She raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or punch me in the face. Probably the latter.

“You must be Knox,” she said, her voice cool, controlled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good things, I hope?” I shot back. “Isabella talks about me constantly. Can’t blame her, though. Have you seen this face?”

Emilia didn’t take the bait. She stepped closer, her eyes scanning me like I was some kind of insect under a microscope. “Where is Isabella?”

There it was. The reason I was here, tied up and at her mercy. She wanted to know where her daughter was. I leaned back, still trying to play it cool, even though my heart was pounding in my chest.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I smirked. “You’ve got an interesting way of showing family love, you know that?”

Her expression hardened. “You think this is a joke?”

“No, but it’d be a lot funnier if I wasn’t strapped to a chair.” I gave a quick glance around the room. Hunters lined the walls, weapons ready. The whole place was locked down. Not exactly a situation I could charm my way out of, but hey, a guy’s gotta try.

“I’m not here to play games,” Emilia said, her voice icy. “I’m here because you and your brothers are in the way.”

“Of what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Your whole werewolf-hunting career? Because let me tell you, your daughter’s got a lot to say about that. Family therapy might be in order.”

Emilia’s eyes flashed, and for a moment, I thought I’d struck a nerve. “This isn’t about me and Isabella.”

“Oh, isn’t it?” I shot back. “Because from where I’m sitting—well, tied—it looks like you’ve got a lot of unresolved issues. Maybe instead of hunting werewolves, you could try talking to your daughter for once. Just a suggestion.”

Her jaw tightened, and she signaled one of the hunters forward. The guy stepped up with a silver-tipped arrow already loaded in a crossbow, aimed straight at me.

“I’m giving you one last chance,” Emilia said, her tone dangerously low. “Tell me where she is.”

I swallowed, glancing between the crossbow and Emilia. “I’m not telling you a damn thing.”

For a second, I thought she might shoot me right then and there. But instead, she turned away, signaling the hunter to lower the weapon. She paced the room, her back to me, before finally speaking again.

“You don’t know, do you?” she said quietly, almost to herself. “You have no idea who Isabella really is.”

That caught me off guard. I frowned. “What the hell are you talking about? She’s your daughter, isn’t she? The one you abandoned?”

Emilia’s lips tightened, and she turned to face me again, her green eyes gleaming in the low light. “I didn’t abandon her. I left to protect her.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah? Seems like she’s doing just fine without your ‘protection.’ In fact, she’s better off without you, if you ask me.”

“You don’t understand,” Emilia said, stepping closer. “Isabella’s father wasn’t just a human. He was—”

“A human, yeah, I know,” I interrupted. “Everyone knows that. What’s your point?”

Emilia’s gaze hardened. “He was a human I was ordered to kill.”

That shut me up. I blinked, trying to process what she just said. “What?”

“I was part of an elite group of hunters,” Emilia continued, her voice cold and unrelenting. “We were tasked with eliminating any humans who allied themselves with werewolves. Salvatore—Isabella’s father—was one of them. I was supposed to kill him, but I didn’t.”

My head spun. “You... fell in love with him.”

She nodded, but there was no softness in her expression, no sign of warmth. “Yes. And because of that, I became a target. I thought leaving her behind would keep her safe, but now... now they know.”

“Who?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “Who knows?”

“The other hunters,” Emilia said. “And they won’t stop until they’ve erased every trace of her bloodline.”

The room felt like it was closing in around me. Isabella’s father was supposed to be a human, but now, she was saying that he was hunted. That he was supposed to die. And if these hunters knew about Isabella’s existence...

“They’ll come for her,” Emilia whispered. “And they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way.”

The crossbow hunter stepped forward again, raising his weapon, but before he could fire, I saw a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye. A blur of motion, a sharp sting in my neck—

An arrow. Poisoned.

I gasped as the world started to tilt, my vision blurring.

“Damn... you guys don’t play fair...” I muttered, the words slurring as darkness crept in.

The last thing I saw was Emilia’s face, her expression unreadable as I slipped into unconsciousness.