Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Eight
Isabelle groaned as her eyes fluttered open to see her father kneeling next to her with a worried expression on his face. She looked down at her hands to see that she still held the ruby necklace in a death grip. Her head spun as she tried to focus her gaze.  
“Are you okay?” Zane asked, his eyes filled with concern and worry.  
Isabelle nodded her head slowly and sat up on the dusty floor, her eyes darting around the room as she searched for her mother, her disappointment growing as she realized that she had fallen into a trance. She looked down at the necklace in her hand, and tears ran down her cheeks.  
“Are you okay?” Zane asked again as he gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks.  
Isabelle opened her mouth to respond, but words failed her. What would she say? She could not even pretend to be fine when she knew that deep down, she was facing a storm inside her. Somehow, she regretted having come to her father’s house to seek answers. Because in seeking answers, she had also brought down upon herself unwarranted pain.  
“What happened, Isabelle?” Zane asked as he gently eased himself to sit on the floor next to her.  
Isabelle’s lips trembled as she pieced together the story of her parents…the only ones she had known to be her parents since birth.  
“It wasn’t her fault…it wasn’t yours, either…” 
Zane sighed heavily. “What happened in here? I came in and found you lying on the floor, unconscious.” 
Isabelle held up the necklace to the light again. She opened her mouth to explain how she had ended up in that situation, but thought against it.  
“I…I saw her,” she said slowly.  
“Who?” Zane asked, even though he knew who she was talking about.  
All these years later, and the thought of her name, of her face still made his heart skip a beat. He hated having to come into that very room, the one place where he had buried all memories of her, all memories of his past, and promised to move on. But Mira had always been stubborn, and she had somehow found her way back into his life…and now he found himself wishing that he could see her face just one more time.  
It was in that moment that he realized just how much he missed her. 
“My mother…” Isabelle answered after a long silence  
“What did she say?”  
“She told me everything that happened back then,” she replied. “She said that when she had met him, he had threatened your safety and tried to kill you. That was why she went with him.” 
Zane nodded and lowered his head in disappointment. He still remembered the brutal attack on his convoy like it was yesterday. He can still remember the screams of his comrades as they pleaded on their alpha to save them from the wrath and claws of the man who he would later find out to be his wife’s fated mate.  
And most of all, he hated how Mira had been forced to be the one to protect him. He hated it whenever it crossed his mind. That was his job. That was his responsibility. He should have done better, he should have protected her, he should have never given her reason to doubt his ability to protect her. His inability had cost him a lifetime of grueling pain.  
“Yes…he did…” Zane answered simply, unwilling to delve further into that answer.  
They both sat in silence, mother their minds wandering, thinking…reminiscing. Isabelle wondered what it must have been like for them…for her mother to have had to choose between the man she loved, the same one she had sworn her love to, and a random, obsessive man who was determined to have his way. And Zane thought of all the things he could have done differently…and maybe, just maybe, he would still have his Mira by his side.  
“Did you know him?” Isabelle asked, casting a glance at Zane.  
“Who?” 
“Him. My…my father.” 
Zane sighed heavily and nodded. “Yes, unfortunately. I did.” 
Isabelle turned to face him, her eyes wide open in wonder, and her interest in this mystery figure piqued. “You’ve seen him before?” 
Zane nodded again. “Contrary to what your mother had thought, he had come to find me that very night. He didn’t like the idea that after so many years of waiting for his mate, she would refuse to go home with him. That she would want to reject him,” he sighed heavily. “It was inconceivable to him.” 
“And what happened?” Isabelle probed. “How did he find out who you were on that same night?” 
Zane shrugged. “I’m not sure myself. All I can tell you about him is that he is a very dangerous man, Isabelle, and I have a feeling that he is coming after you…and very soon too.” 
Isabelle managed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can manage on my own,” she replied. “Besides, I have Khalil.” 
Zane seemed to visibly relax at the mention of her husband’s name. And it made Isabelle wonder if he had really meant it when he said he had married her off to Khalil because he had the ability to protect her. She wondered if he was insistent on her protection because he failed to protect the one he loved.  
They both sat next to each other in silence, stewing in their own thoughts. Zane heaved and rose to his feet, stretching his hand out to Isabelle to help her up. Isabelle slid her hand into his and rose to her feet, realizing that she had spent a lot of time in her childhood home. She looked down at the necklace in her hand, deciding that she was going to take it back with her. At the very least, she deserves to hold on to a bit of her mother. A woman she had never met.  
They walked out, and Zane escorted her to the front door, silence heavy between them. At the door, they both stopped, wanting to say things to each other but not quite sure how to frame their thoughts into words. After all, what does a father say to a child he had more or less ignored all her life? What do you say to someone whose whole life is a dark mystery?  
“I…I think I’ll be on my way now,” Isabelle said finally. “It’s getting late.” 
Zane looked up at the darkening sky. “Yes, you’re right. It’s getting late.” 
Isabelle smiled and turned only to be stopped by Zane’s voice.  
“I think you should have this,” he said, holding out an old and worn-out diary.  
Isabelle took it gently from him and turned it around to inspect it. “What is this?” She asked. 
“It’s a diary,” he answered. “It belonged to your mother.” 
Isabelle smiled widely and held the diary close to her chest. “Thank you…” 
Zane nodded. “I think that there might be something in there that just might be able to help you,” he said. “And…umm…if you want more of your mother’s things, feel free to some and get them. Okay?” 
Isabelle nodded as a single tear rolled down her cheek. An act of kindness from the man she had called father all her life was something that she never thought she would see happen. After all, she had always been the useless one.  
Zane nodded at her in acknowledgement, and closed the door, leaning Isabelle, clutching the diary and necklace to her chest as she walked down to the car on the sidewalk.  
“Ma’am,” Sean greeted as he opened the back door of the SUB for Isabelle.  
Isabelle places the book and necklace in her bag as Sean slides into the driver’s seat, an uneasy look on his face. She watched as he fidgeted with his phone.  
“Is there a problem, Sean?” She asked.  
Sean turned to her, his eyes wide with panic and beads of sweat on his forehead. “Yes, ma’am…” he replied nervously.  
“What is it?” 
“I have the alpha on the phone for you…” 
Isabelle’s brows rose in surprise. “Khalil?” 
“Yes, ma’am. And he’s rather insistent on speaking to you,” he said as he held out his phone to her.  
Isabelle swore under her breath as she collected the phone from him. In that moment, she realized the mistake in leaving her phone in the car.  
“Khalil…” 
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” 
Isabelle winced and pulled the phone away from her ear. She stared at the phone in annoyance, sighed heavily, and brought it back to her ear. She stared at Sean through the rear view mirror as he navigated them out of her father’s back and on to the roads that led back to the same man threatening to blow her eardrums.  
“You better have a fucking good reason for speaking to me in that manner, Khalil,” Isabelle replied calmly. “I don’t like that tone.” 
“I do not give a fuck what you like and don’t like!” Khalil yelled as he paced his office, his teeth grinding together as he struggled to control his anger. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, going to your father’s house without telling me?!” 
“Contrary to what you like to believe, Khalil, you do not fucking own me!” Isabelle yelled over the phone, pouring all the hurt and anger she held inside her into the call. “I can go and do whatever I want without begging your permission to do so!” 
Khalil growled on the other end of the line, grossly annoyed by her impudence. He was angry. She was far. Too far from him. If anything happened to her, he would never be able to get to her in time. He had a bad feeling, an annoying feeling in his gut that told him something was going to happen.  
“You will do whatever the fuck it is I tell you to do!”  
“You'd better watch your tone, Khalil. You seem to forget that you’re not even my mate!” 
Isabelle bit down on her lips, regretting the words that had escaped her. She swore under her breath as she waited with bated breath for Khalil to say something. But he didn’t. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of his labored breathing. She wanted to apologize, to tell him that she hadn’t meant it the way she had said it, that she was just angry and a little too emotional, but she held her tongue, deciding within herself that he needed to hear that.  
“I…” Isabelle started, unsure what to say.  
Fate seemed to wrestle the decision from her as she found herself being jostled in the backseat of the SUV as a car rammed into the side, sending them flying into a ditch. The last thing she remembered was the ringing in her ears as she drifted off into unconsciousness.