Chapter 59 Late night letter

Chapter 59 Late night letter
Zoe's POV

I got back to my chamber so late and so tired.
I was sitting on my bed staring at nothing when the doorbell rang.

I wasn't sleeping. Wasn't reading. Wasn't doing anything useful. Just sitting there replaying the night in my head like a film I couldn't switch off.

Jeremy dancing with Mia.

His eyes finding mine over her shoulder.

The way he didn't look away.

The way I didn't either.

I pressed my fingers to my temples and stood up. Walked to the door. Opened it.
Loretta. The inn supervisor. Small woman. Always neat. Always efficient. She was holding out an envelope with my name on it.

"What's this?" I barely finished asking before she answered.

"Someone from the pack post office delivered it." She said simply. "It has your name on it, my lady."

"This late?"

"It was brought earlier but you were already at the annual werewolf night."

I took it.

"Thank you." I said, looking straight into her eyes. I watched her bow her head and leave.

I closed the door almost immediately.

Stood there for a moment just looking at it.

My fake name. Written in clean careful letters. Lady Margaret.

I tore the wrap open.

The seal caught my eye first. I didn't recognise it. Not Lakewood's seal. Something else. Something older.

Then I read.

Alliance Letter.
Meet me at the love garden of Lakewood tonight. Someone will come to pick you up and bring you to me. If you really want to fight Jeremy. Show up tonight.

No name at the bottom.

But I already knew.

I folded the letter slowly. Sat back down on the bed.

Stared at the wall.

Benjamin.

I didn't know this man. Nothing beyond his name. I knew he had pulled me from a river and called it owning my life. I knew he had dark humour and darker eyes and the kind of calm that made dangerous men look nervous.
But I didn't know his history. Yet he was summoning me to meet him this late. How could I just trust someone who had shown up after being presumed dead and smiled about it? At least from what I had heard, he was supposed to be dead.

Could I trust him?

The honest answer was no.

Could I afford not to show up?

That answer was also no.

I lay back on the bed. Looked up at the ceiling.

The real problem wasn't Benjamin.

The real problem was tonight at the ceremony. Standing at that far corner. Watching Jeremy dance with Mia. Watching his hands on her waist. Watching her lean into him.

And feeling it.

Feeling something I had absolutely no business feeling.

I pressed my hand flat against my stomach.

The baby shifted. Was he supposed to already? But I should expect more of this. He was no ordinary kid. He kicked again. Gentle. Barely there. But there. I needed to end this before my bump grew any more.

I was angry. At myself. At my wolf. At this bond that refused to let me feel nothing. I had come here to destroy Jeremy Dylan. To make him pay for what his father did. To finish what I started.

Not to save him from enemy wolves. Not to feel sick watching him dance with another woman. Not to carry his child and feel it move and feel my chest crack open every time it did.
I sat back up.

Maybe tonight's meeting would fix that.

Maybe being in a room with real strategy and real hate and real purpose would remind me why I came here. I was certain it would make the fire come back properly. It should burn out whatever soft thing was growing in me before it swallowed everything.

I got dressed.

And headed to the love garden at exactly the time I was asked. A lamp in my hand. I wasn't totally alone outside. I didn't think this pack would sleep tonight.

And as the letter said, he was there. With his lantern

A quiet man. Hood up. Said nothing. Just nodded for me to follow.

I followed.

We moved through Lakewood's back streets. Quiet. Dark. The sounds of the pack still celebrating the end of the night ceremony floating somewhere behind us.

The building was ancient. Tucked behind tall hedges. Private. Beautiful even in the dark. Lanterns left out there obviously on purpose.
Benjamin was already there.

Leaning against a stone pillar. Arms crossed. That permanent smile sitting on his face.

"You came." He said.

"You knew I would." I replied.

He laughed softly. "I did actually." He pushed off the pillar. "Come. There's someone I want you to meet."

He walked. I followed.

We rounded the far hedge.

Light everywhere. Who would have thought the inside of that dark building was so lit up.
And I stopped.

There was a man standing right before us. Tall. Broad. Military posture. Straight back. Strong jaw. Dark eyes that caught the light.

My feet stopped working.

My brain stopped working.

Because the face.

That face.

I knew that face.

Not from memory. Not from a real meeting. But from something I had carried my whole life around my neck.

I reached up without thinking. My fingers found the locket. Pressed against it through my dress.

The man looked exactly like the photograph inside it.

Exactly.

Same jaw. Same brow. Same lips curve.

My father..