Ezra’s POV
Zoya's words hung in the air, weaving a web of confusion and disbelief around me.
"I know… I know what you truly are."
Did she just say what I thought she just said? Or were my ears deceiving me?
Her revelation pierced through the shield of denial I had hastily constructed, urging me to confront the truth that had been concealed for far too long.
A flicker of resistance danced in my eyes as I searched for a way to dismiss her claims, to attribute them to the haze of her fevered state.
What could I even possibly say in response? What if she was talking about something else entirely, and if I wasn’t careful with my words, I’d end up giving away my identity as a werewolf when in fact it wasn’t what she meant at all?
What did you know? What are you talking about? How much do you know? How? When? What? Why?
So many questions clouded my mind that it was getting almost impossible to single out a response to her statement.
However, if I didn’t respond and simply waited for her to elaborate, would that lead her to believe I was guilty of whatever she was thinking of? Or would she just forget about everything once she fell back asleep and then she would think this was all a dream and I wouldn’t have to explain anything to her?
I seemed to have been frozen in place, unsure of how to deal with this sudden development that Zoya had thrown at me, catching me completely off-guard.
But her unwavering gaze, filled with conviction, shattered my feeble attempts at denial.
“Zoya,” I tried to speak past the lump in my throat. “I think you should-”
“Don’t even try to deny it, Ezra,” she told me tiredly. “I know everything.”
"Zoya," I began, my voice tinged with uncertainty. "You're not well. The fever... It might be clouding your thoughts. This... this can't be real." I said the last words in a whisper, not wanting her to hear them.
Her eyes held mine, unyielding and resolute, as she spoke with a clarity that cut through any doubts I might have had. "Ezra, I know about your brother and what happened to your mate. I know what you are. I know the truth."
My breath caught in my throat, as if the weight of her knowledge pressed upon me with an unrelenting force.
I didn’t know how to react. Panic and vulnerability mingled within me, waging a silent battle against the facade I had carefully maintained.
How could she have known? How could she have uncovered the secrets that were meant to remain concealed from the world of humans? Had she stumbled upon someone changing form? Had she witnessed something she shouldn’t have? But then…how would she ever know about Lily and Silas?
Several questions swam in my mind but I couldn’t seem to grasp any of them as shock had me utterly flabbergasted. I was at a loss for words. My mind going completely blank as she continued to meet my eyes without fear or hesitation.
How was she not panicking? How was Zoya, a human who had just discovered the existence of the supernatural, acting so calm and composed in front of me with all the knowledge that she now had at her disposal?
“How do you know?” I asked her tentatively, unsure if this calm façade she had was just the calm before the storm. “How do you know about my brother and my mate?”
I watched as Zoya's expression changed to that of guilt and she finally lowered her eyes to her hands on her lap. She bit her lip as if she was trying to hold back, but at the same time, fighting an inner battle to tell me the truth.
Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear what she had to say, if I wanted to know how she knew, because there was now this sinking feeling in my gut, a feeling that I had had for quite some time now.
“Silas,” she began, and I nearly flinched at the mention of his name, “your brother had been living with me this whole time.”
The confirmation of my fears, the confirmation of the doubts that I had had since the very first day I had appeared in front of this house, in search of my estranged brother…it hit me like a punch to the solar plexus. If I hadn't been sitting already, I would’ve doubled over, the pain and betrayal crashing onto me like a tidal wave.
Why? …How? …When?
“The night I arrived at this cabin…I found him injured and passed out on the floor,” she told me, her lips trembling slightly as she refused to meet my eyes. “And… well, it’s a long story, but I basically saved his life and gave him shelter until recently. As a doctor, I felt obliged to take care of him. He never really told me much about him but I always thought that he may have been wronged somehow…honestly…I still don’t understand why I kept on protecting him when the story about Lily’s death and how he kept on lying to me started to add up…but , I…”
Silence enveloped us, punctuated only by the rhythm of our breathing and the sound of Zoya’s soft sobs. I watched as tears fell from her eyes and I couldn’t help but want to wrap her in my arms tightly and tell her that everything was going to be alright…that none of it was her fault…but I couldn’t.
The weight of her revelation pressed upon my chest, constricting my breath. My mind whirled with a potent mix of disbelief, anger, and a tinge of regret.
Silas! He had been here all along! Right under my nose and he had been deceiving everyone! His own pack! And I had failed to get to him! I had failed my pack…my Lily…
"How... how did you find out?" I stammered, my voice laced with incredulity. "How did you find out who he really was? Or about us…?"
Zoya swallowed, her expression tinged with a trace of regret. "It was... after the accident yesterday."
The mere mention of the accident made me alert almost instantly. Almost instinctively, I found myself searching her face and body to search for any signs of injury. But apart from the cut on her forehead that I had already tended to, there wasn’t anything else significant.
“Tell me.” I urged, wanting to know what exactly happened.
“There was this…giant black animal that had hopped onto the bonnet of my car last night,” she said. “I didn’t know what happened next but it must have startled me enough to cause the crash.”
She pressed her lips together, as if thinking about holding back, but I didn’t need to urge her to continue for her to speak again. “It was when I woke up a little while later that I saw it…them.”
“Saw who, Zoya?” I urged gently. There had been an intruder inside my territory last night and now I was thinking that it must have had something to do with Silas.