My heart continued to beat frantically as we stood there in the dark. I allowed myself to look up once more, almost crying out in relief when I realized that the cloud was about to pass.

I could feel Isaacs warm breath on my neck, the sensation causing my skin to erupt in goosebumps. But if he was really behind me then surely Zee would react wouldn’t he?

Deciding to take the risk, I started running to the porch just as the moon started emerging from her hiding place. My chest tightened as I felt my eyes widen at the sight before me.

My eyes moved to Zee who had taken a visible step back. Dev was by his side immediately, growling aggressively in reaction to what he saw as a threat. And he had every right to do so.

Isaacs wolf was magnificent. He was larger than any other wolf I had ever seen—he must have been twice my size! His midnight black fur made it ideal for him to mesh with the darkness of the night, but what fascinated me the most was his eyes. Never in the history of our time had I heard of a wolf that didn’t have gold eyes.

It was in our genetics. The gold made us who we are. It was a sign that our wolf was present, that we weren’t alone. Because I mean after all, a werewolf was never actually alone.

And yet, here I was, staring at Isaacs wolf, with the black eyes. Despite the magnificence of what I was witnessing, a feeling of apprehension started building up within me.

If Isaac was one of the four he had been referring to, then that meant he had some type of unnatural ability. But was it really an unnatural ability, or was it just his unnatural size? And the unnatural eyes?

Isaac growled, bending down low, his teeth shining white in the moonlight. Fear spread through my body at the thought of the two of them sparring. He would be able to kill both Zee and Dev in a heartbeat if he deemed it necessary.

Deciding that I wasn’t going to wait around and let nature take its course, I ran out from my hiding place on the porch, and skid to a halt in front of my mate. When he saw me, he stopped his snarl, pulling himself upright and sitting down like an obedient dog.

I felt my head tilt to the side as I watched him, noticing the tiny patch of white fur on his chest. The black eyes stared at me, making me feel as if I was about to get lost in the dark pools before me.

“See what I mean? She made a mistake. You’re mated to a monster!”

I turned around, uncaring for the fact that Isaac might attack Zee. I was hoping that me defending him would be enough to keep him from shredding my future beta. My knees felt weak, reminding me of the fact that I hadn’t eaten dinner with the rest of them.

Maybe if I had done so, then I would have felt stronger in this situation.

“He’s no more of a monster than you are.“

My voice was timeless, my eyes staying glued to Zee as the gold in his eyes started to dim, and Dev’s eyes became bright gold once more. Guilt built up within me as I acknowledged the fact that maybe, just maybe, I had been harsher than was necessary.

But was I wrong?

Zee had the nerve to call Isaac a monster, when he himself had a deformity just as great. And even though it wasn’t a deformity, that was what Zee made it seem like. Never in history had he said something like that. And I hoped that what I said would prevent him from saying anything similar ever again.

“You need to go inside and calm yourself down. Take Dev with you. And if you’re uncomfortable in the pack house, then I’m sure that Dev would be more than willing to guide you to an outpost.”

My voice kept the monotone pitch constant, and yet, I could recall ever being more authoritative in my life. As much as I hated forcing him to do so, Zee needed to come to terms with the recent turn of evens, no matter how much he disliked it. It needed to be done.

My eyes remained glued to Zee as he turned around, the pack house clearly not his destination. I closed my eyes for a moment and sent a prayer to the moon goddess that he wouldn’t do something as drastic as leave the pack, but I also knew that if he chose to do so, then there would be nothing I could do to stop him

I remained watching Zee, until I could no longer hear the twigs cracking beneath the weight of his footsteps and it became difficult to see him. I turned around, expecting to see the big black wolf again, but instead Isaac was standing on his two feet, his hands covering the necessities. My eyes connected with his, these blue orbs pulling me in just as the dark ones had.

I had so many questions, but it was as if some celestial force was telling me the same thing over and over again—that he didn’t want to talk about the events that had just occurred a few moments ago.

Despite the curious urge that I had to ask him to shift for me, and to be able to run my hands through his fur and scratch behind his ears, I knew that I needed to wait until the opportunity presented itself once more. If I had gotten the instinct, then it had to be accurate, didn’t it?

I allowed the corners of my mouth to lift into a soft smile, and as much effort as I had put into it, it still felt mildly forced. I was hoping that he would react well to my show of friendliness.

But even despite the forced element of my reaction, my heart was swelling greatly in my chest. This Alpha was no ordinary Alpha, despite the fact that Zee had accused him of as much and more. He just needed someone who could understand him.

“I think we should go inside. It’s gotten quite chilly out here.”