Chapter 59

Zora POV

"What happened?" I asked.

My heart feared hearing the truth, but my mind needed to know it. I knew Max cheated on his wife with Astra and had me, and that was tough to know.

"I kept you, Zora. I took care of you for six years until that stupid tattoo!" Astra shouted.

"Enough! That's not how things went. She wants the whole truth," Max yelled.

"What tattoo? I don't have one."

"I'll get to that. The story has a beginning, and that's where we should start," Max said, folding his hands together.

I think I would know if I had a tattoo.

Max exhaled and rubbed his face before he spoke. "Astra and I had a brief affair."

"Brief, huh?" Astra commented.

Max glared at her but didn't respond to her. "I was married at the time, and I am still married. I'm a scientist, and my work takes me to a lot of places and on my travels, I met Astra. At this time, I'd been studying the Pandora for a few years. I think I still believed it was a myth."

Everything came back to the Pandora.

Astra seemed pissed listening to this man talk but we had no choice but to listen.

"Well, we had you, and then I had my first encounter with the Serpent organization. At this point, I'd located the Pandora. I intended to go out and find it. Zelda and her Mother were safe, but you and Astra weren't."

"Whose fault is that?" Astra snapped.

"It's my fault. I acknowledge it. I wanted to keep the location of the object safe, so I put it somewhere I knew no one would ever look, and I was right. No one ever looked."

I frowned. "How were Zelda and her Mom safe?"

"Well, their identities were sealed, but they weren't always safe. Anyone could use them against me at any time. That's why we moved around a lot. I couldn't provide you that. My wife didn't want anything to do with my love child."

I nodded, blinking back the tears. "Okay."

"That doesn't mean I didn't want anything to do with you. We were so close until you turned six."

"Yes, after that, you pretended to be my doctor! Mr Fleming."

Astra gasped! "You told me you never saw her after we separated that night."

"Okay, I lied."

"Wow, that's something new, Max. You're a bastard."

I cupped my face and sighed. This is impossible. These two hate each other. They would never have co-parented. It made me more grateful for my parents, Janet and Martin Fisher. They died for no reason.

"Back to the issue, Astra. I only pretended to be your doctor to ensure your safety. Janet and Martin were good friends of mine. Their death hurt me incredibly. They kept me up to date over the years. Janet sent pictures, and Martin shared stories."

"All of which you withheld from me." Astra shut her eyes and shook her head.

"So you supposedly gave me up to protect me, but how were you protecting me when you created a mate bond to Gabriel? The man who killed my parents."

Max's eyes went wide for a second. "You know about that?"

"I've met him. He's here."

Max stood. "Gabriel is here? No, no, this is bad."

"He's tied up and in the hands of two Alphas. I'm not worried about him."

"The Serpent organization will come after him. He's a dangerous man."

"You didn't answer my question," I said, my voice cracking.

I felt my confidence and courage flee me.

Max sat back down. He refused to meet my eyes this time.

"I only did that because I knew it would save you just in case something happened to me or your protectors."

"My parents…"

Max nodded. "Martin told me you weren't seeing anyone, so I believed it wouldn't affect your life. I knew if I gave you to Gabriel, he wouldn't kill you because of the mate bond. A wolf can't kill his own mate, it's taboo."

"You didn't give me a chance. There's a man in my life whom I love. Gabriel's in the way of that. He won't accept my rejection."

"I was only thinking about your life."

"Tell her about the damn tattoo, Max. Tell her what you did," Astra spat.

My heart slammed against my ribcage.

"When you were five, I drew the map to the Pandora on your arm. It's microscopic, so it's invisible to the naked eye. It's the only map to the Pandora."

"And it's on my body!" I shot to my feet. "Are you insane? Oh my gosh, this is horrible."

I frantically checked my arms for any signs of it.

"You can't see it, Zora. Only Astra and Zelda know about it."

"Zelda knows?" I gawked at him.

He nodded. "I had no choice but to tell her. Now that you two are together, it makes things even more dangerous."

"You have to move the Pandora before it's too late."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Zora. Any move I make is under surveillance. I can't stay much longer."

"You have to do something. Gabriel can't get it."

Max bobbed his head. "His Father was just as bad. None of them can get it, but moving the Pandora is risky and can only be done with a well thought out plan."

"I think we should leave, Max. I don't want to be in the same house as you or that man."

Max scowled at her. "I have to see my Father anyway. When he found out we put you up for adoption, he put himself in an old folk's home. He wanted to be close to you but still remain safe from the organization."

He kept himself drugged most of the time. I felt horrible for him.

"Before you go… what is the Pandora? What does it look like?"

"It's a purple jar no bigger than your hand. It's made out of glass, but it holds incredible powers," he said with glee and excitement in his eyes.

I nodded. It sounded like a fragile object. At that moment, I knew what I had to do. I was going to find the Pandora and break it.