Zayn’s face remains tight, his silver eyes serious. “I wish I were Cleo,” he confesses, his hand encircling my own. The warmth of his touch is both soothing and alarming. “It’s the truth, my mother met my father through yours. When she learned my father was her mate, she was already a few weeks pregnant, and your father was blackmailing my mother. When she died, he told my father, that was the night I killed mine. Your father I thought initially framed him, turns out he told my father his son was his.”
“That means… Oh god, that means…” The reality of the situation sinks its teeth into me, drawing out sharp spikes of panic. My father had another son, one I was completely unaware of. And I’m mated to Zayn, who shares the same mother as Vance while I share the same father as him. Did my mother know? Did anyone else know?
“I don’t understand it, either,” Zayn says softly, pulling me into his strong arms. “But we need to focus on how this changes things.”
Tears prick at my eyes as I bury my face in his chest. His strong heartbeat echoes in my ears - a steady rhythm amidst the chaos. “And how does it change things?” I whisper.
“A lot, because Vance has agreed to put this information out to take away the blackmail Dane has over your father, but that is not all.” he murmurs back. “If Vance is your father’s son and your mother did indeed sign the pack over to your father, that means he, too, also has a claim to Shadowcrest Pack as well,and my brother was of age when your father made that deal with Dane.”
“Therefore, as technically the oldest, and of age, your father had no right to make that decision on his own. If your father was in trouble, packs are supposed to be offered to the next in line to buy out before leaving familial hands. We could buy the pack back. It would give us something to fight Dane on, whether or not we win wouldn’t matter, it would give us time to find another avenue if needed.” His voice is barely audible over my own ragged breathing.
I pull away from him, wiping my tears with shaking hands. Our eyes meet, a swirl of emotions reflected in both our gazes - confusion, fear, and determination. We would find a way out of this mess together.
“So we haven’t lost yet?” I ask and Zayn smiles.
“Exactly. Vance and I share the same mother. We both belong to my pack since my mother was Luna. Your father is the Alpha of Shadowcrest, which technically makes Vance a legitimate heir to both packs,” Zayn explains, a glimmer of hope creeping into his silver eyes.
I’m in shock. I’d never imagined that my family ties could be so complicated, or that they might be the key to saving our pack from Alpha Dane’s greedy clutches.
“What did Vance say? How did he take the news?” I ask.
“The same way as you, though he seemed hurt I didn’t tell him sooner,” Zayn murmurs, cradling my face in his hands and brushing away a stray tear with his thumb.
I nod, swallowing back my fears for the moment. My head is spinning with this new information, and yet there’s one thing I can’t shake off; the idea of Zayn putting his brother—our brother—in danger.
“Zayn,” I start, gazing up at him through teary eyes. “We can’t just use Vance like a pawn on a chessboard.”
He sighs deeply, pulling me in for a comforting hug. His strong arms wrap around me tightly, making me feel safe despite the chaos brewing around us.
“I know, Cleo,” he murmurs into my hair. “We may not have any other choice for now. Tomorrow I am going over to Alpha Greyson’s, he has a friend who can hack into almost anything. The footage that should exist of your mother signing is gone.”
“I know that already,” I remind him.
“Yes, but when I spoke to your father, the news of Vance was scandalous, however he seemed to be hiding something more. I have a strange feeling Alpha Dane has that footage and was the one to delete it, I just need to find it.”
“Why would he take that footage? You said it yourself; your father wouldn’t have signed as a witness unless she agreed.”
“I know, and I know you won’t like what I suggest next, but I need you to hear me out.” He grips my chin and forces me to meet his gaze.
“Alpha Greyson and your mother were going to merge packs. What your father says makes no sense. That your mother would allow him to remain Alpha of the pack. However I can think of one reason why she would allow it.”He pauses.
“Me. He threatened to take me,” I murmur. It explains why she would willingly hand the pack over. Knowing once I was of age my mother would have given me the pack, so he’d lose that leverage over her, anyway.
“I don’t think it was a rogue attack, Cleo. I think your father sent them to kill her. No one else in your pack died. I had Vance pull up the records; only the packhouse was hit, only your mother died.”
I shake my head. “No… the rogues.” I gasp, my father always said that was one of the worst rogue attacks on our packwith so many people caught in the crossfire, unless they knew it was a hit, which would explain why they refused to submit.
“You think my father or Linda were behind it?”
He nods. “Yes, and I think Dane has proof of that,” Zayn answers. Yet that leaves one other question: where does Samuel fit in all of this?
“And what about Samuel? How does he fall into all this?”
“Because Lydia is his daughter!” he says thoughtfully. “And he has always been power-hungry, always wanting more than he should have. He and Dane are best friends; it adds up.”
My world is crumbling around me. Everything I knew is darkening into a nightmare of betrayal and deceit. But there is one tiny flicker of hope amidst it all.
“We need to find that footage,” I murmur and Zayn nods.
