Chapter 31

**Zoe**

Katelynn and I sit in the kitchen, both feeling the tension in the air. We’re about to have a crucial conversation with Jackson about our father, a past we’ve been trying to forget. It’s taken us years to heal from the trauma he caused. I’m worried that explaining why our father wants me might upset Jackson, but it’s necessary for him to understand the man he’s dealing with. After all, this isn’t the first time our father has tried to end my life.

We finish our coffee and head to Jackson’s office. Tyler and Ryker will be meeting us there. When we arrive, we find that Cole and Max are in the meeting as well. Max hugs me, which earns a growl from Jackson. I return my brother’s hug and then move around the desk, but Jackson grabs me and pulls me onto his lap. I try to get off, feeling embarrassed to be sitting there, but Jackson tightens his hold on me.

Jackson begins the meeting by explaining that he received a call from the council. He shares that Wyatt has cut ties with both our pack and the council. Wyatt wants me, and he is determined to get what he wants. He knows I am a hybrid—half Fey witch and half white wolf.

Tyler was the first one to shout, “How”

Like everyone else, I am utterly bewildered by this revelation. How could Wyatt, of all people, know about my hybrid nature? Not even my father is aware of this.

When Jackson inquired if our father was aware or if someone had informed him, we all responded in unison, shaking our heads in denial.

There is no way my father could know about me; we have not seen or talked to him in 10 years.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Jackson asked me if I was sure, it was not my father.

I tell him I am sure, and that’s why Katelynn and I are here. We want to explain why my father wants me.

Jackson, his frustration evident, declares that we must have a traitor in our midst. We all share his determination to uncover this threat.

Tyler and Ryker both jumped to their feet, shouting in confusion. They were desperate to know how long this information had been kept from them and who it concerned.

Jackson, his voice tinged with tension, reveals that they are investigating a traitor within our pack. The suspicion falls on our father, but he had already tasked Cole and Max with the investigation. He emphasizes his trust in them and assures the rest of us that this room is a sanctuary for our discussion, and our words must not escape these walls.

Katelynn tells Jackson that she trusts Danny, Johnny, and Eric, but she understands why they were excluded from the meeting.

Jackson then reveals another shocking piece of information: our father, whom they believed they could trust, has been colluding with Wyatt for financial gain. He has agreed to assist Wyatt in kidnapping Katelynn in exchange for a substantial amount of money.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s not entirely surprising. That’s my father, I say, the betrayal hitting close to home.

Cole is the one who speaks up and says why would your father want to hurt you?

““I am the reason he went to prison,” I tell them, my voice trembling with the weight of my words. He told me on the day he was sentenced to life that someday he would pay me back. The room fell into a heavy silence, the shock of my revelation palpable in the air.

Of course, that was before the virus and before werewolves. I never thought I would see him again.

lay my head against Jackson and start my story. The night my mother was killed, my father had been drunk. He had been hurting my mother, and I could hear them. I went downstairs to try and help. My father hit me and knocked me to the ground. He kept kicking me over and over again. My mother was begging him to stop, but he wouldn’t. Somehow, he was knocked backward. It was like a gust of wind had thrown him back words.

I pause for a moment to think, and then I realize something. Looking up at Jackson, I say, “I believe my mother’s powers were at work that day. She was trying so hard to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. Then, he unexpectedly flew backward.

When he got up from the ground, he grabbed my mother by her hair and dragged her to the car. He forced her to get in and drive him away from our house. About three miles down the road, my mother lost control of the car and crashed it. He left her in the wreck to die and walked the rest of the way to the bar, where he continued drinking.”

My mother died because he didn’t call 911. The next day, I found bloody clothes in the trash and pulled them out. When the police arrived at our house, he lied and claimed he wasn’t in the car and that she had left without him.

I was in shock over my mother’s death and his dishonesty. I went to my room, retrieved the clothes, and showed them to the officers. He denied they were his, but between the clothes and my bruises from the fight the night before, they had enough evidence. We all had to testify against him and share the years of abuse we had endured.

This was the first time I stood up to my father. He had always told us that family should never report family to the police. He had beaten Katelynn because he suspected we had called the authorities.

I was a sobbing mess at this point; I knew what I did was right, but it still hurt. My father did not care about his children, and we lost our mother. I had always wished she could have escaped from my father. She was a beautiful woman who deserved so much more than what she got. Despite her fear, she stayed with that monster to protect her kids, which was a testament to her courage and love for us.

Jackson rubbed soothing circles on my back and reassured me that everything was okay, bringing me a sense of comfort. He then stood up with me in his arms, informed everyone that the meeting was over, and carried me to our room. His actions felt like a warm embrace of support.