Ezra’s POV
She shook her head, sighing. “There was just…a woman. I don’t know who she was but they were arguing…Silas and her. She told him that he’ll forever be a fugitive or something like that. I don’t remember everything clearly. I heard her tell him that everyone thinks he killed your mate.”
“And then what happened?” I asked, eager to find out. God! How could I have missed this? How could we have failed to get to the intruder?
The gravity of the situation crystallized before me, overshadowing my own personal turmoil — Silas, my brother, the one I had been searching for with unwavering determination, had slipped through my grasp once again.
I could feel the tendrils of opportunity slipping away, slipping through my fingers like sand. Should I ask her where he is? But what she was telling me was also important. I needed to know what happened between Silas and this mysterious woman, this wolf that had entered our territory last night and escaped without us noticing as well.
Would she still defend him?
“And then she turned into this…giant wolf and she ran away.” She looked up at me with guilt filled eyes. “I panicked and I ran, but Silas saw me there after she left and he followed me home. That’s when he told me everything. About werewolves and you and him and Lily.”
“Did he tell you that he killed her?”
“No.” She shook her head immediately. “He told me that when he had gone into the house, she was already dead. That she had been lying in the living room floor in a pool of her own blood.”
If that was the case then why did he run? Why didn’t he face me and tell me the truth?
Desperation welled within me, urging me to seize this moment, to chase after the elusive silhouette of my damn brother. "Zoya," I implored, my voice laced with urgency. "Where is he? Where did Silas go?"
Zoya's eyes flickered with a mix of sadness and resignation. "He left last night," she replied softly. "I told him that I couldn’t deal with this anymore…deal with him. So he left. I’m so sorry, Ezra.”
A pang of disappointment reverberated through my core. The elusive threads of fate had played their hand, separating us once again. The chance to confront Silas, to unravel the tangled truths that bound us, slipped away like smoke, leaving only a hollow ache in its wake.
Zoya's voice quivered with a fragile resolve, as if she had reached the precipice of her endurance. I could sense her longing for escape, for a reprieve from the harshness of the world that had dealt her such unrelenting blows.
"I don't want to be a part of any of this anymore, Ezra," Zoya confessed, her tone laden with vulnerability. "The world has been cruel enough to me in my own life. I want nothing to do with all of this supernatural bullshit. I just want to erase these memories and start afresh."
I feel sorry for her.
A torrent of conflicting emotions surged within me, crashing against the shores of my heart.
On one hand, the desire to chase after Silas, to untangle the web of secrets that enveloped him, burned with an intensity that threatened to consume me.
Yet, on the other hand, the weight of responsibility for Zoya's well-being anchored me to her side.
I stood at the crossroads of my choices, torn between my duty to pursue the truth and my genuine concern for this woman before me who was my second chance mate.
She did not deserve the circumstances she had been forced into, and I would have to be an absolute asshole to leave her alone in this state.
Besides, there was no telling where Silas was now. If he left last night, for all I knew, he could be halfway across the country by now. Without knowing who that woman was, and I had this vague idea that she was the person that Silas was with now, I had no clue as to where to even begin searching for him.
So I fought back the urge to run, to go after his scent and rip the entire world apart in order to search for him, and focused on the most important task right then.
"I don’t blame you, Zoya ,"I told her earnestly. “And I understand your need for escape more than anyone else, trust me, I do. Because I’ve been there countless times myself. This urge to undo everything and just…forget. But it’s a truth than none of us can escape.”
“Believe it or not, you’re now a part of our world and I promise to protect you no matter what.” I placed a hand on top of hers. “But please, allow me to take care of you, at least for now. Your health is of utmost importance."
Her gaze softened, searching mine for sincerity. I extended my other hand, offering her the thermometer, a small beacon of care and concern in the midst of uncertainty, like an olive branch of sorts. "Get your temperature,” I said, “and I’ll do the rest.”
A flicker of curiosity danced in her eyes as she accepted the thermometer, her delicate fingers wrapping around its slender frame as she accepted it.
Good. I'd force the damn thing into her mouth if I had to.
Zoya did seem like the stubborn people-pleasing type who didn't want to bother anyone for fear of being a nuisance.
But then, just when I thought she would back down without a fight, she asked, "Ezra… why aren't you going after Silas?”