Chapter 129

ISABELLA

I woke up to a knot in my stomach, the kind that tells you something is wrong. Not just wrong—terribly wrong. I hadn't heard from any of my mates for hours, and the silence was suffocating. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of sleepless nights with Luca, but now, the quiet felt eerie. My gut screamed at me that something was happening. Something I needed to be part of.

Grabbing my phone, I dialed Maggie’s number. If anyone knew where they were, it would be her. The phone rang too many times before she finally picked up.

“Isabella, dear,” Maggie’s voice came through, way too calm, almost... too composed. She was definitely hiding something.

“Where are they?” I blurted, skipping any pleasantries. My patience was razor-thin, and I wasn’t in the mood for her to dance around the truth.

There was a pause. I could hear the slight hesitation in her breath. “They’re at my house, darling. Don’t worry, they’re fine.”

At her house? That didn’t make any sense. My gut twisted harder. I was too used to the little ways people tiptoe around me, thinking I’m fragile because of the baby or because they think they’re protecting me. But right now, I wasn’t buying it.

“Right. And I’m supposed to believe that?” I snapped, sharper than I intended. “Maggie, I know something’s wrong. I feel it. You can’t just brush me off.”

Her voice softened, like she was talking to a child. “Isabella, you have enough on your plate with Luca—”

“Luca’s fine,” I cut in, my grip tightening around the phone. “I need to see them.”

Another pause. “Isabella...”

“I’m coming. With or without your help, Maggie. I’m not just sitting here waiting.” My voice was trembling with frustration, but I wasn’t backing down.

I didn’t even wait for her to respond. I hung up and immediately started packing Luca’s bag, my hands shaking with both anger and fear. Whatever was happening, I couldn’t sit back any longer. I couldn’t keep pretending everything was fine when I knew in my bones that it wasn’t.

“Luca, sweetheart,” I murmured as I picked him up from his bassinet. His green eyes, so much like mine, blinked up at me, still drowsy but curious. I kissed his forehead. “We’re going on a little trip, okay?”

Just as I was about to make a run for the door, Spencer stepped into the living room, blocking my path. His expression was hard, his arms crossed over his chest. He had that look—the one that screamed he wasn’t going to let me do anything reckless.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Spencer said, his voice firm. “Not in your condition.”

I clenched my jaw, the anger rising inside me. “Excuse me?”

“You just gave birth a few weeks ago, Isa. And you want to drive out there? You have a newborn.” His tone was final, like the discussion was over. But it wasn’t.

My patience finally snapped. “Spencer, I appreciate that you’re trying to protect me, but I’m not fragile. I’ve been through more in these past few months than you can imagine. My mates are out there, and something is wrong. I’m not just sitting here while they’re in danger.”

“Isabella, you don’t even know where they are. What if you get hurt? What if Luca—”

“Luca will be with me. I’m his mother, remember? It’s my job to protect him, and that includes making sure his fathers are okay.” I took a step closer to him, staring him down even though he towered over me. “Now, you can either help me, or I’ll go by myself.”

Spencer’s jaw worked like he was fighting every instinct in him not to physically stop me. He opened his mouth, probably to argue some more, but then he stopped. His shoulders slumped, and he sighed.

“Isabella...” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly conflicted. “I can’t let you do this alone.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ll come with me, then?”

He let out a frustrated groan but nodded. “Fine. But we do this smart, okay? I’m driving.”

Relief washed over me, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I gave him a curt nod and adjusted Luca in my arms. “Fine. But we leave now.”

Spencer quickly grabbed his keys, muttering something under his breath, but I didn’t care. My focus was on getting out of here, finding my mates, and making sure everyone was safe.

I buckled Luca into his car seat, my hands still trembling, though now it wasn’t from anger. It was fear. Because deep down, I knew something was coming, something bigger than all of us. And I wasn’t sure if we were ready for it.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I glanced at Luca in the backseat. “We’re coming, guys,” I whispered under my breath. “Just hold on.”

The drive ahead felt like the start of something I couldn’t yet comprehend, but whatever it was, I wasn’t backing down. Not now. Not ever.

ASHER

When I came to, I wasn’t in a hospital bed like I expected. Instead, I was staring up at the familiar ceiling of my old bedroom in my mother’s house—the one I’d left behind when we moved into the penthouse. The pale blue walls, the shelves stacked with books I’d read as a kid, the same scent of pinewood and faint earth that had always clung to this room.

I blinked, my mind still groggy, disoriented by the flashes of what happened. The vote. The explosion. The chaos. I tried to sit up, but a wave of pain knocked me back down, my whole body aching like I’d been hit by a truck.

Knox. His name came rushing to the forefront of my mind. Where was he?

Before I could move, the door creaked open. Jax stepped inside, his face tight with exhaustion and something else—something I hadn’t seen in him in a long time. Fear.

“You’re awake,” he muttered, stepping closer and pulling up a chair by the side of the bed. He sat down, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

I tried to speak, my throat dry. “What... what happened?” My voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

Jax rubbed his face, his usual cocky demeanor gone, replaced by a deep weariness. “The bomb went off right after the vote. Place turned into a nightmare. We couldn’t shift, none of us. I don’t know what they did, but the hunters… they had something that blocked us.”

Hunters. The word hit me like a punch to the gut. Memories started coming back—flashes of the chaos, of alphas fighting, but none of us able to turn. My heart raced as I remembered the explosion, and then—Knox.

“Where’s Knox?” I demanded, trying to push myself up again, but the pain in my side flared up. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay still.

Jax’s face darkened, and his jaw clenched. He hesitated, and in that brief pause, I knew the answer was bad.

“He’s gone, Asher. They took him.”

I stared at him, my mind refusing to accept it. “What do you mean they took him?”

“We were ambushed. The werewolf hunters—they knew what they were doing. They knocked us out, captured some of the alphas. Knox was one of them.” Jax’s voice was low, filled with barely restrained fury. “They poisoned him, Asher. Arrow tipped with something. I tried to get to him, but by the time I did... they already had him.”

I felt like the ground was falling out from under me. Knox, taken by hunters? My brother—charming, fearless Knox—was in the hands of the enemy.

“How could this happen?” I whispered, more to myself than to Jax.

“I don’t know,” Jax muttered, his fists clenched. “But we’ll find him. We’ll get him back.”

The door swung open again, and I turned to see my mother, Maggie, standing there. Her eyes widened with relief as she saw me awake, but the concern never left her face.

“Asher,” she said softly, crossing the room in quick strides. She leaned down, cupping my face, her gaze searching mine. “Thank the moon you’re alright.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the surge of emotion threatening to spill out. “Mom,” I said, my voice weak. “Knox...”

She nodded, her expression grave. “I know. Jax told me everything.” She glanced at Jax, her lips tight. “But we’ll find him, Asher. You need to focus on healing first.”

I shook my head. “I can’t just—” The pain in my chest flared up again, cutting off my words. I gritted my teeth, frustration burning in my gut. Knox was out there, in the hands of the hunters, and I was stuck here, powerless to do anything about it.

I couldn’t face Isabella. Not like this. Not with one of my brothers missing and no idea how we were going to fix it.

Jax leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck. “I couldn’t... I couldn’t come back and face her, Ash. I couldn’t tell her.”

My heart clenched. I knew what he meant. Isabella was strong, but this? Losing one of us? It would crush her.

And as if on cue, the door opened one more time.

There she was. Isabella. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with worry, and cradled in her arms was Luca—our son.

The moment I saw them, something inside me shattered. The weight of it all came crashing down. My brother missing. The explosion. The hunters. But standing there, in the doorway, was my mate and my son—my whole world.

Isabella looked between me and Jax, her lips trembling. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice soft but laced with fear. “Why didn’t anyone pick up their phones?”

I couldn’t speak. The words stuck in my throat, my chest tight with guilt. But Luca, in her arms, blinked up at me with those wide, innocent eyes, and suddenly nothing else mattered. He was safe. She was safe.

I reached out, my hand trembling as I touched Luca’s tiny fist. He curled his fingers around mine, and for a moment, the chaos fell away. There was only this. My son. My mate. The only thing in the world that mattered.

“We’ll explain everything,” Jax said softly, standing up from his chair. “But right now, you should sit. You’ve had a long drive.”

Isabella didn’t move, her eyes locked on mine, demanding answers. And I knew we couldn’t avoid this any longer. I just wasn’t sure how to tell her that one of her mates had been taken by her own mother’s people.