>After my conversation with Claire, I had her escorted to a room adjacent to Alyssa. By the time I entered my office, Luca was waiting for me and instantly sprung up from his seat."Alpha, news about the Councilor Peterson." "I know." I took off my coat as he asked confused, "You do?""Councilor Peterson is defending John." I told as I took my seat behind my desk."Wait, what?" He asked and I realized he had no idea about this news."What is your news?" I asked."Councilor Peterson is in the building. No idea from where he spawned overnight. No one at the borders or the building saw him come." He informed."You finally decided to come out of hiding. What are you planning?" I mused to myself before getting back to the paperwork."Alpha, shall I find out what he is planning?" Luca asked."No. He will sniff you coming for miles. And we don't have the time either. Let's focus on making sure that our witnesses stay alive. There is no limit to how low John and his allies ca
>There was blood everywhere.Pieces of werewolf flesh and fur lay scattered around me. How had things turned out so wrong?There was a stench of rotting meat in the air as I walked bare feet towards a light. My feet were so slick with blood that I nearly slipped a couple of times on top of some dead werewolf.I remembered getting everything ready for the Simmons' case at the Werewolf council but then, what happened?I showed up.Everyone showed up.John was smirking. Peterson was by his side.Despite me telling him to stay away, my father had shown up and walked straight to stand beside John.He had said something like John being a better son than I ever could be. But John was a nobody. My father hated me but why would he say that?I don't remember who started it.I remember that I finished it.I saw Zoe on the floor.I bent down. My hands were trembling as I removed a lock of hair stuck to her bloody face. No.This was not how things were supposed to turn out.I felt
>The case had started and it had been harder to deal with than I had expected it to be.I saw my Dad for the first time in months and I was horrified by what they had done to him. What his own people had done to him. They knew he was innocent and yet they made him go through so much. I was so glad to have Maisie and Aunt Julie by my side.It was the second day of the case and today was going to be about presenting proofs about every horrible thing John did related to me.There was a possibility of me being called to testify as well. Aunt Julie combed my hair as Maisie talked to someone on the phone. We were expected to be at the Council Hall in about half an hour. "Don't worry, Zo. Your dad is a tough one. And soon, he is going to be with us again." Aunt Julie was trying to reassure me. She didn't need to. I had trust in Xavier.I had been worried for a while back there when he had chosen Claire over me but having him here when it truly mattered gave me strength to kee
>The council was adjourned again after John's representative gave a bunch of fake aliases of what a stand-up citizen he was.His engagement with Alyssa was used in his Beta position to expose my Dad's non-existent crimes against our pack. I was shocked to see our Alpha taking John's side against my Dad. They had been buddies when Dad was the Beta. I practically grew up in the pack house before everyone realized I was not getting a wolf.If I was so shocked, I couldn't imagine how hurt Dad was. Throughout the procession, he had stared at the cuffs on his wrists. I couldn't imagine how humiliated he would be feeling. 'Soon Daddy. Soon, it will all be over. Hang tight.' I thought to myself.When it was Xavier's turn, he had started providing proof after proof of my Dad's innocence. He had solid proof of John being the one who did the embezzlement and how he did it. I could see that neither John nor his representative were expecting those proofs. They must have thought they
>With just a few words, my whole world shifted.The Head Councilor had announced the decision that the council had mutually agreed upon.My Dad was released free of all charges against him. Silver Moon Pack had been ordered to pay for emotional dmamges, physical abuse, and aiding John in his crimes.Xavier had prepared such a case that the defendents stood no chance against him. I was so glad to have my dad back that it never crossed my mind that John was aware of my short-lived relationship with Xavier. But he had not used that knowledge to weaken our case, even though it could have been a serious blow to our case.We were done, Xavier was not.He had presented the final speech as such that even though our case was closed, the general accusations agaisnt John were still open. I knew Xavier was not going to let the man go so easily after he tried to use his sister for power and whatnot.I wanted to thank Xavier in the hall but he, along with John's representative were qui
>Once Dad had gone to sleep and Aunt Julie had gone to rest in Maisie's old room, I had time to think.Whatever I chose, I had to talk to Xavier first. He had put his career on the line for this case. Now that I had Dad back and no immediate worries, the realization hit me. Why hadn't John told everyone about my relationship with Xavier.He had been so jealous from the start. He had threatened me. He had told Claire all about it. Why had neither of them done anything about that. I was now sure that if they had, Xavier's pristine repuation would've been over. That wouldn't only have impacted the case negatively but his credibility to do his job as a Councilor and Alpha. I had been allowed to visit Maisie. She had been given a smaller, fortified room. But she assured me that she was fine. She had convinced me to talk to Xavier before making any decision.It was certain that I was not going to stay in the same pack that hurt Dad and me so much. But before making up my mind
> I love winters. It’s the season of hot chocolate and warm fuzzy sweaters. But most of all, it’s the time of year when I go running in the freshly fallen snow, hoping to get my wolf any day now, because nights are longer than days in winter. I am Zoe Simmons, the daughter of an ex-beta of Silver Moon Pack. My father was a well-respected and trusted Beta of the pack in his time. When I turned sixteen, I expected to meet my amazing wolf, but to everyone’s surprise, she was a no-show. Ever since my mom had left us, Goddess knows why, my dad had been my sole support, my whole world. We did everything together. Everything I knew had been taught to me by my father, and I loved him for it. That day I got up after dawn, got ready, and went for a quick run in the woods that were close since our house was at the edge of the community. On the run, I saw some wolf paw prints and I longed for the day mine would be imprinted on the fresh snow like that too one day. I returned, show
>“Is this what your business is?” I had asked, trying to hold my tears until I was alone.“John? Do you know her?” Alyssa asked placing a hand on his chest. The chest that I was rarely allowed to touch for years.“Lyssa, it’s not what you might be thinking. This girl and I, we’re just friends.” John lied blatantly on my face and I was shocked to bear witness to this side of him.“Don’t get the wrong idea by what she is wearing. She is going through some stuff. Must’ve gotten upset when I couldn’t be there to help her.” He had the audacity to twirl a stray lock of her blonde hair around his finger as I stood watching in shock.“Oh, in that case, hi. I’m Alyssa. I think I remember you from today’s meeting. You were sitting at the back right?” The man-stealing bitch smiled and it stung like a viper. She extended a hand as an offer to shake mine and I glared at it.John squirmed as I refused to shake hands with the whore he was cheating on me with and glared at him, not allow