Chapter 130

JAX

Mom gave me a look, the kind of look that meant she knew what was coming and wasn’t looking forward to it. She stepped over to Isabella, brushing a soft kiss against her cheek before gently reaching for Luca. “I’ll take him downstairs,” she said, her voice soothing as if sensing the storm brewing under Isabella’s surface.

Isabella hesitated for a moment, her eyes glued to our son, but eventually nodded, her movements slow and reluctant. Spencer moved toward the door, his gaze shifting between us, but he followed my mother without a word. I caught the look on his face—worried, protective. Not that I blamed him. The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on.

When the door closed behind them, it was just the three of us. Silence hung in the air for a moment, thick and uneasy. Isabella was standing there, her arms crossed, the set of her jaw so tight I could see the muscles tensing. Her green eyes flicked between me and Asher, demanding answers without a word.

I cleared my throat, trying to find the right way to start. Nothing about this felt right, but there was no other option. She needed to know, and there was no good way to explain the mess we were in.

“Asher and I…” I started, my voice low, unsure. “There’s no easy way to say this, Bella. It’s about Knox.”

At the sound of his name, Isabella’s eyes darkened, and she stepped closer, her hands dropping to her sides. “Where is he?” she asked, her voice steady, but I could hear the undercurrent of panic starting to seep through. “Where is Knox, Jax? Just tell me!”

I took a deep breath, glancing at Asher, who was still recovering, lying on the bed, his eyes closed like he was reliving the nightmare in his head. I felt the knot of tension tighten in my chest. I was used to being the easygoing one, but now, nothing about this was light or easy.

“After the vote…” I began, trying to keep my voice calm for her sake. “There was an attack. A bomb. Right after Asher was announced as king.”

Her face paled instantly, her green eyes widening. “What?” she whispered, stepping closer. “A bomb? What?”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. It was chaos. None of us could shift. The hunters, Isabella. They were ready for us. Somehow they blocked our ability to shift, and we were sitting ducks. We couldn’t defend ourselves like we should have.”

Isabella’s breathing picked up, and I could see her fists clenching by her sides. “Hunters? You mean—”

“Yes.” I cut in before she could say it. “Werewolf hunters. And they… they took Knox.”

Her face drained of color entirely, and she shook her head, taking a step back like she couldn’t quite process the words. “No,” she whispered, her voice shaking now. “No. You’re telling me… you’re telling me they took Knox?”

I nodded, feeling like the weight of the world was pressing down on my chest. “They poisoned him, Isa. Hit him with an arrow. He was already down when they took him. I tried to stop them, but there were too many.”

I saw the anger flood her eyes before anything else. It burned bright, fierce, and raw. She stepped toward me, her voice a low, dangerous whisper. “You left him there? You let them take him? You... you...”

“I didn’t have a choice!” I snapped, my voice rising with my own frustration. I hated how helpless I’d felt, how powerless we all were in that moment. “We were outnumbered. Asher was barely breathing, and I couldn’t fight all of them alone. I had to get him out of there, or we’d have lost both of them.”

Her jaw tightened, and for a second, she just stood there, trembling with rage, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “You should have told me,” she hissed, her eyes flashing with fury. “You should have called me the second it happened. I had a right to know.”

“I know.” My voice was softer now, guilt eating away at me. “I know, Isa. But we didn’t want to put you through this while you were here with Luca. We were trying to figure out a plan before—”

“No!” she interrupted, shaking her head violently. “No, Jax. I’m a part of this. Knox is my mate. You don’t get to keep me out of this.”

Her words cut deep, and I knew she was right. We had kept her in the dark, thinking we were protecting her, but that wasn’t our call to make.

She ran a hand through her hair, pacing back and forth, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps. “I’m getting him back,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what it takes, Jax. I want Knox back. Now.”

I exchanged a glance with Asher, who still hadn’t said a word, watching her from his position on the bed. His face was pale, but the resolve in his eyes mirrored my own.

“We will,” I promised, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get him back. But we need to be smart about this. Emilia, your mother—she’s leading them.”

Her breath hitched, and she looked at me with wide eyes, the shock of it hitting her like a punch. “My mother?”

I nodded. “She’s the one leading the hunters. Isa, we don’t know what her plan is yet, but she’s targeting us—and Knox was part of that.”

For a moment, she just stood there, staring at me in disbelief. Then, slowly, her expression hardened, her fear replaced with a steely determination.

“Then we’ll deal with her too,” she said quietly, her voice cold and firm. “No matter what it takes.”

And I knew she meant every word.

As Isabella's words hung in the air, I felt a tight knot form in my chest. Watching her like this—angry, determined, and hurting—it twisted something inside me. I had never seen her like this before, and a part of me hated that we had put her in this position, kept her in the dark for too long. But it was more than that.

I hated how powerless I felt, knowing that Knox was out there, possibly suffering, while we stood here, talking in circles. I should have done more, fought harder. The guilt gnawed at me, making it hard to think straight.

But even in her anger, even when she was shaking with rage, I felt something deeper for her. Pride. Watching Isabella, this woman who had been through so much and yet still stood strong, ready to fight for us, for Knox—it made me love her even more. She wasn’t backing down, wasn’t letting fear swallow her whole like most would.

I swallowed hard, glancing at Asher before turning my gaze back to her. She didn’t deserve this. She deserved to be at home with Luca, surrounded by love and safety, not facing a war with her own mother. But I knew now that we couldn’t shield her from this, not anymore.

I felt a surge of protectiveness—strong, fierce. It wasn’t just about Knox anymore. It was about all of us. My family. And I would do whatever it took to make sure Isabella and Luca were safe. To get Knox back. And to make sure no one ever made her feel like this again.

“Isa,” I said softly, my hand still on her shoulder, “we’ll get him back. I swear to you. But we have to do this together, okay? No more secrets.”

Her eyes met mine, and for the first time since she walked through that door, I saw the glimmer of tears, a crack in her armor. She nodded slowly, and I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight, as if I could shield her from all of it, even for just a moment.

But the truth was, I was just as scared as she was. Maybe more.