Chapter : 820

“What exactly are your enemies after?”

Zachary let out a breath.

“Let’s just say your father wasn’t the only one who wanted the Moon Gem,” he replied. “The gem held the powers of our daughter, Lila. When she was born, she was born with more power than any of us combined. A Seer had told us that her power would be both her greatest weakness and strength. However, it was too much for her infant body to handle, so she put her magic in the Moon Gem. We were going to give it to her once she turned 18 and could handle that kind of power…”

“But it was stolen before you got the chance,” I finished the story for him.

Zachary nodded.

“Word about this kind of power got out fast; it caused enemies to form all over, and we couldn’t trust many outsiders. Your father made it clear that even your closest friends couldn’t be trusted. That was why we went off the radar. We spent all this time in hiding, protecting ourselves the best we could. But now that we have the gem back and it’s in our daughter’s custody again, we don’t need to be in hiding anymore.”

Now it was my turn to nod.

“I’ll have to speak with my Beta and with my mate. I won’t make any decisions until I get them both on board,” I told him, my eyes narrowed.

“You’re very honorable,” Zachary stated with a faint smile on his lips. “I was right when I said you were nothing like your father.”

“My father was greedy and would do anything for power and money,” I told him honestly. “I would do anything for my family and for my territory.”

Zachary nodded.

“Which is why I’d like to do this collab with you above anyone else,” he said. “I could have gone to a different Lycan, but I chose you for that reason. Who your father was has nothing to do with this and everything to do with who you are as a man.”

Talking to Zachary made me realize that maybe I was wrong about him and his family. Maybe he could be trusted; I wasn’t detecting any lies from him, and honestly, it was kind of nice having someone as old as my father complimenting me in such a way…like a father figure of a sort. Which was insane for me to admit because I was a 39-year-old man…I shouldn’t be having daddy issues this late in life.

But my own father never complimented me; it was as if I could never do anything right in his eyes. Hearing that Zachary Blackwell sees and appreciates me gives me a good feeling.

“I appreciate that,” I finally said after a long pause. I put my hands on my knees and pushed myself to my feet. “I should get back to Judy. I don’t want to leave her alone for too long.”

Zachary also stood, his eyes warm with understanding.

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to keep you from her,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. “You’ll keep in touch, though, right? And give me a decision soon?”

I clasped my hand in his and nodded.

“Yes, I’ll be in touch,” I told him. “Now that I have more information and you aren’t being as cryptic, I don’t see why this collab wouldn’t work. Let me talk to my family, and I’ll let you know.”

He smiled.

“That’s all I ask for,” he said.

With that, I turned and left his office. I traveled down the long hallway and rounded the corner. I didn’t need to know the layout of this place to know where Judy was; I had her scent and my wolf’s instincts. Both my wolf and I could track her just about anywhere.

Just as I went around another corner, I heard some distinct voices.

I’m not sure what made me want to follow the voices, but my feet had mind of their own, and before I knew it, I was standing outside of @room that had its door open slightly.

“It burns me…” a woman said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“How long has it been glowing like that?” Another, more familiar voice asked.

“For the last 30 minutes… it started right after I ran into… her.”

“Judy?”

“Yes,” this time her voice came out as a hiss.

I furrowed my

brows at the mention

of Judy’s name and the venom in their voices when speaking about her. It made me inch closer, peering my head through the opening to see who was speaking, my hear early stopped in my chest.

Lila and Daisy?

What the hell were they doing together?

“I ran into her earlier,” Lila continued. “And ever since then, this damn thing hadn’t stopped glowing, and then it burned me. It won’t let me touch it. Even through the cloth.”

My eyes narrowed when I spotted what they were talking about.

Sitting on the table between them was the Moon Gem, and as Lila had said… it was glowing!