CHAPTER 5
1176 Words
Zoey
My throat closed up and I could not get words out because this was impossible.
He was supposed to be far away living his life, and I was supposed to be in Storm Forest living mine. We were never supposed to see each other again.
But here he was standing, in front of me like a ghost from my past.
"Josh," I finally managed to whisper.
Noah looked between us with confusion on his face. "You two know each other?"
Josh moved toward me so fast that Noah stood up like he was going to block him, but Josh was not a threat.
He was my brother and I had not seen him in years. Suddenly I was crying. Everything was too much and seeing him here made it all crash down on me.
"How are you here?" Josh asked as he reached the bed. His hands hovered over me like he wanted to touch me, but was afraid I might disappear.
"We thought you were dead. Mom and Dad thought you were dead. I thought I would never see you again."
"I am sorry," I sobbed because that was all I could say. "I am so sorry."
Josh pulled me into a hug and I buried my face in his shoulder, crying harder than I had in years.
He smelled like home and safety and everything I lost when I married Eric and left my human family behind.
Pack law stated that when you mated into a new pack, you had to cut ties with your old life. I had done exactly that because Eric insisted and I was too stupid to question it.
"Where have you been?" Josh asked and his voice was rough with emotion. "Seven years, Zoey. Seven years with no word and no contact. No way to know if you were alive or dead. Do you have any idea what that did to us?"
"I could not contact you," I said against his shoulder. "Eric said it was pack law and I had to leave my human life behind."
Josh pulled back and his eyes were red but his expression turned dark. "Eric? Who is Eric?"
"Her former Alpha," Noah said quietly and there was something dangerous in his voice. "The one she is running from."
Josh looked at Noah and then back at me, and I saw understanding dawn on his face. "You mated with an Alpha. That is where you have been all these years."
I nodded because I could not find words.
"Did he hurt you?" Josh asked, his hands gripping my shoulders. "Zoey, look at me. Did he hurt you?"
"Not the way you think." I answered. How could I explain what Eric did without sounding pathetic?
He did not hit me or abuse me physically but he used me and lied to me. He made me believe I was nothing without him.
Josh looked at Noah again. "I need to talk to my sister alone."
"Of course." Noah answered but he did not move toward the door right away.
Instead he looked at me and waited like he was checking to make sure I was okay with being alone with Josh.
I nodded to show him it was fine, and Noah finally left the room, but not before giving Josh a look that clearly said he would be right outside if anything happened.
The door closed and Josh sat down on the bed beside me. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything."
So I did. I told him about meeting Eric seven years ago when I was naive and thought I found my fairy tale.
I told him about how Eric said we were mates and how he marked me and brought me to Storm Forest and made me his Luna.
I told him about Olivia and how I thought I was happy, but even though looking back now, I could see all the signs that something was wrong.
Then I told him about finding Eric with Juliet and learning that I was never his real mate. About Olivia calling Juliet mommy and about running away.
I left out the part about me being pregnant because I could not bring myself to tell him right now.
By the time I finished, Josh looked like he wanted to murder someone, His hands were clenched so tight, his knuckles were white.
"I am going to kill him," Josh said flatly. "I am going to go to Storm Forest and rip his throat out."
"You cannot," I said quickly. The last thing I needed was Josh getting hurt because of me.
"He is an Alpha and he has an entire pack backing him up."
"I don’t care," Josh said. "He used you Zoey. He made you cut off your family and he lied to you. He threw you away like garbage. That is not okay."
"I know it is not okay," I said and my voice broke. "But I don’t know what to do about it."
Josh pulled me into another hug and this time, I let myself relax into it. He was my big brother and he always protected me when we were kids.
"You don’t have to do anything right now. You are safe here. Noah will make sure you stay safe."
"How do you know Noah?" I asked because I still did not understand how my brother ended up in Eclipse pack territory.
Josh pulled back and gave me a small smile. "I am his Beta. Have been for five years now."
I stared at him because that made no sense. "But you are human. Or at least you were human the last time I saw you."
"I was human," Josh agreed. "Until I was attacked by rogues. Noah saved my life. The bite changed me and when I recovered and Noah offered me a place in his pack. I have been here ever since."
My mind was spinning because this meant Josh was a wolf now and he was Noah's second in command.
He had been living just a few territories away from Storm Forest this whole time. If I had known, I could have reached out and maybe none of this would have happened.
"I looked for you," Josh said like he could read my thoughts. "After I turned, I tried to find you but it was like you vanished off the face of the earth. Pack records are private and without knowing which pack you joined, I had no way to track you down."
"Eric made sure nobody could find me," I said bitterly. "He did not want anyone from my old life interfering."
Josh's expression darkened again but before he could say anything the door burst open, and Noah rushed in.
His eyes were wild and his wolf was right at the surface and he looked like he was ready to fight.
"We have a problem," Noah said, his voice was hard. "There are rogues at the border."
My blood turned to ice and my hand went straight to my stomach.
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