Chapter 0241
Athena
The twins slept through the entire night.
Not a single cry or whimper.
It should have been a relief, but part of me wished their first night alone hadn’t been so flawless.
While they slept, Alexander made up for every moment we’d lost since their birth.
I could still feel the effects this morning.
“Good thing they slept,” Isabella murmured, bouncing Evrin gently.
“I know. I’m just being…” I sighed.
“You’re being a mom.” Her dark eyes lifted to meet mine, and I knew what was coming. “You’re really meeting with her?”
“Yes.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Worried I might shift and kill her,” I joked, but she stared back, alarmed. “Kidding. I’m kidding. I stayed calm when Seraphina visited. I can do it again.”
“Zachary said he would—”
“I know, and I appreciate it. But this is something I need to do alone.” I sighed heavily. “I’ve been torn over this for too long.”
I hadn’t spoken about it to anyone.
Most believed I despised Brianna.
But that wasn’t entirely true.
I didn’t trust her. Or her motives.
“You never said anything.”
“I felt like I was supposed to hate her. And I did. She almost killed me. She thought she had.” I shook my head, lifting Logan from his high chair. “I could’ve ended her life multiple times. But I didn’t. She’s Zachary’s closest friend. He sees something in her that I don’t. Or maybe it’s just history.” I shrugged. “I’m giving her this one chance. To clear the air.”
“If you need backup,” Isabella said softly, “you know where I am.”
I set Logan down on the rug surrounded by toys and kissed his head. Then I kissed Evrin. “You’re sure you’re okay watching them?”
“Absolutely.”
I took a deep breath and stepped out the back door.
I walked toward Brianna’s house.
She flung the door open before I could knock.
A wide smile stretched across her face.
Her dirty blonde hair was half-up, half-down.
She wore dungarees over a white tank top.
A cleaning rag was clutched in one hand.
“You actually came,” she said, sounding genuinely surprised.
She tossed the rag out of sight.
I nodded.
She moved aside to let me enter.
I’d avoided her small home until now.
Her eyes darted behind me. “Zachary’s not with you?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She sucked in her cheeks.
“I wanted to come alone.”
“Right.” She gestured toward a small wooden table.
A steaming teapot sat in the center, surrounded by cups and biscuits.
“Wasn’t sure what you preferred. I have coffee too.” She motioned toward the kitchen counter.
She seemed nervous. A far cry from the arrogant woman she used to be.
“Please sit,” she whispered, chewing her bottom lip. “Ask me anything. I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”
I chose the chair facing the front door.
She slid quietly into the one across from me.
Her brown eyes avoided mine at first, as if she was deciding how to begin.
“You ran,” I stated. “After you thought you killed me, you fled.”
She nodded. “I always swore I wouldn’t become my father. But I did. When I stood over you, watching you bleed, I knew my life was over. I had become him. I hated myself.”
“We have that in common,” she added quietly. “Neither of us wanted to be like our parents.”
I swallowed hard, fighting the irritation that flared at her comparing us. “You killed your father?”
“I had to.”
“After me?”
She nodded, cheeks hollow. “I became the thing I feared most. At the time, that mattered more than turning into a Lycan. Becoming Lycan was supposed to be my fresh start. A chance to belong to a pack that valued me.”
I scoffed, but she continued.
“Instead, I became even more like what I hated. So I hunted him. I killed him. Then I ran.”
“You watched your father murder your mother?”
“I saw worse growing up. He raped her. He beat her.” Her voice grew darker. Tears welled in her eyes. “He put cigarettes out on her skin. Once, she dropped his plate. He made her lick the food off the floor. The list goes on.”
My stomach dropped.
That was degradation I had never experienced.
‘Fucker,’ Nyx muttered inside my head.