Zion

“Who is she exactly?” I ask, crossing my arms as Drexel steps harder upon the gas. Grabbing my purse, I pull out my phone, the cracked screen bringing back memories of my life as a rogue. The lock screen is still the same, a picture of my mother and I, her smile bright, her eyes just like mine, and Niagara Falls in the background.

Right away my emotions try to surface. I hold myself together, unlocking the device as I look upon past texts. “You need to get rid of that.”

“You already took-

My phone is grabbed, Drexel rolling down the window of the rental car as he throws it out.

My jaw drops, shocked by his sudden movement. “King Zion knows some of the best trackers in the world,” Drexel explains.

“Why didn’t you take it away sooner?” I ask, looking out the window to where Drexel threw my phone out. “Zion knows could of been-” I drop it, not even bothering anymore as I pull out my wallet from the purse. Since we landed in Utah, I’ve been pulling out my wallet, looking at my license, knowing I still have something to my name that doesn’t tie into Zion.

Do I miss him?

Is that something to soon to ask? Only seven hours ago did I leave Zion with Drexel. On the whole flight Drexel went over what we are to do, how we are to cover out tacks and for my final questions to be answer. Not only do I want to uncover who was Zion’s true mate, but I need time. Sure, just telling Zion the truth and asking for the same in return, I need time. No one just agrees to marriage out of the blue in months.

“So, who is she?”

“Lily?” Drexel asks, meeting my gaze briefly as we pass the sign into Newton. “A Luna, one of the few who won’t let Zion know where you are or even know of you.”

“She doesn’t know of me? That’s a relief,” I respond, glad that no one is tied up in the stupid drama of the palace.

“She’s human.”

Surprised for sure. For a wolf to mate with a human is rare for sure. Although it is growing more common, it’s still rare to hear of a human Luna. “Which Alpha?” I ask, guessing already. After spending so long with these Alphas I know each one by heart practically.

As we pass the bridge and enter a small town, my eyes scan the scenery as Drexel doesn’t respond. For the most part, Newton looks like your average small town, the cute little stores around Main Street, a high school decorated for the season of graduation, and the usual people my age hanging out near different shops or the park. People my age. Sure, some may be werewolves, but I doubt any are rogues that don’t know whether to marry the King or stay away. Hell, war is about to take place!

Drexel takes a sharp left turn, the car heading up a hill with beautiful houses on display. Goddess these people are loaded, and no doubt one of these houses are property of the Alpha. “The pack is one of the few that interact with others internationally,” Drexel comments, breaking the silence as we pull into a massive and modern house’s driveway, the garage underground. No doubt Zion has something like that. With a massive door and walls replaced by windows, I only wonder which Alpha this is.

“What do I say? Will the Luna be here?” I ask, looking around at the house.

“Notice anything out of place?” Drexel asks as I raise an eyebrow.

I spot it, a car that does not quite fit into the high society and expensive items these people own. So the Luna drives a Mini Cooper. Letting out a deep breath, I collect myself, fixing my hair quickly as Drexel waits for me to leave. “And on what to say, Sybil,” Drexel pauses, “if you can talk back to the Alpha King and negotiate with rogue leaders, then you can talk to a human Luna.”

He’s right. I should have more confidence. Hell, I’ve even slapped the Alpha King, something not many live to say.

Exiting the car, I head towards the front door, happy that I changed before we left the hotel, a pair of jeans and light blouse paired with a confident yet second-guessing smile. As I knock on the door, I use my werewolf hearing, picking up on a pair of light feet.

A brunette stands before me, pretty, maybe a year younger than me. “Yes?” She asks, her voice soft as I can see what an Alpha would see in her. They would see submission with a witty mouth.

“Lily?” I ask, watching as she nods. “I’m Sybil, a friend of your mate.”

She’s shocked, her eyes widening. I guess she was not expecting someone like me to be a werewolf. For sure she has to be new to this whole werewolf idea. “Nixon knows you?”

Nixon?! Alpha Nixon?! That’s her mate. She even bears his mark, even parts of his scent. For sure I can see why he would want her more than anything. “Yes, I’ve met him at the palace?”

“Palace?”

I already know what to say next. “Let’s talk inside.”

In ten minutes I’ve explained that I am the fiancée of the Alpha King and am needing some said uncovering a question or two.

Lily hands me a cup of tea as we take a seat in the kitchen, her eyes scanning the grand piano in a conjoining room. I guess she plays. “So you are just trying to get some answers and think I would have them?” She asks, cocking her head to the side. Lily. Could that be short for Lillian? It’s beginning to hit me, that maybe Lily is Lillian. No, Lillian was a warrior wolf and Lily is human. Did she ever know her?

“Do you know a Lillian?”

Her skin pales. I’ve hit the treasure spot. I’ve got someone with answers. “Lily?”

Standing up, she grabs my hand, not even bothering to explain as I’m led up the stairs, Lily’s hands shaking. “Can you break into something, something that will get us both answers?”

“Break in?” I ask, shocked that she would ask this. Does Nixon not tell her things she has the right to know as well?

A door stands before me, one with a key code and finger scanner. Drexel. Drexel could do this. “I have a warrior wolf from the palace with me, he could get us in this...”

“Office, it’s Nixon’s office and I also want to know what happened to Lillian.”

“What happened?” I ask. “I thought you were Nixon’s mate?”

Her gaze turns cold. I’ve hit a spot. “Lillian, Nixon had a bracelet of hers in his office downtown.”

So Nixon is tied to Lillian more than I ever would think. “I’ll be back.”

Running down the stairs and heading out the door, I spot Drexel taking a drag of his cigarette. “What now, Princess?” He asks, bothered as I grab his arm.

“Can you break into something with a code and finger scanner?” I ask, leading the warrior into the house as my thoughts are processing too much for me to comprehend.

“Easy, just get me a knife.”

I don’t even question the warrior as he grabs some random objects from the kitchen. Once all gathered, we head up the stairs, Lily waiting as she says hello to Drexel who doesn’t acknowledge her. Typical guards of the palace. For five minutes we let Drexel do his magic, my palms sweaty as Lily paces back and forth.

Click.

“Why do you want to know about Lillian?” Lily asks as she runs to the door, Drexel almost close to getting it open.

“She was a warrior of the royal family I need information on,” I halfway lie. Lily nods, watching with me as Drexel slides one last wire through the door, unlocking the massive barrier.

As the door opens, my nerves pickup and I can hear my heart thump in my chest.

A desk stands in the middle with a small picture frame on one side. We rush in, the bookshelves on one wall calling to me as I head right for them. “Lillian was a wife of Nixon’s and I want to know what happened-

“Wife?” I interrupt, stopping as my fingers land on one book.

“Yah, married for three years or something and it ended out of the blue,” Lily explains, looking at a picture no doubt of Lillian and Nixon. So Nixon never told Lily he had been married.

Drexel heads for the drawers of the desk, pulling out two thin folders, one holding Pack Business as stated on the front and the other a white folder with a name in cursive. Lillian in pink ink.

“Do you trust Nixon?” Drexel asks Lily, and already I know whatever he has found cannot be good. Lily nods, but I can tell she is hesitant. “Lillian Rice died at twenty-three only four years ago, murdered in her home as her husband was late to the scene.”

What?! Found dead? If mates shouldn’t Nixon of felt the pull as his mate was being murdered? “It looked like a planned murder, how no fingerprints were left nor any sign of an intruder. Authorities found out about the murder because of a mysterious phone call from a man.”

What? This sounds too planned to have no cause. Maybe a rogue? Maybe a pack member? Hell, for all I know it could of been Nixon himself.

“This isn’t stated here, but I had heard of Lillian before she died. I had heard of her before I was a warrior and even after,” Drexel informs.

“Of what?”

“She, Lillian, she had a thing with King Zion.” So Lillian may be the Alpha King’s mate? She may be the woman Zion wants to talk nothing of. “People told me she would often sneak out to see the Prince, and eventually, King Zion’s father found out and banished her from the Royal guard.”

Zion said his father did not like his mate. But he said his mate went off to marry someone else and never wanted to return, plus she had a family. Lillian was married to Nixon, meaning she could be the woman I’ve been wanting to know of. But could that mean Zion killed her? Could Zion of killed Lillian, his own mate, because she found someone else and made a world with that person? Could Zion be a heartless man so much to kill his own mate and never speak of it again?

So many thoughts fly through my head as Lily looks through pictures of the couple, of Lillian and Nixon as I stand still. Did Zion kill his real mate and just lie about her name all along? Would he kill me because I ran away? I know he’s looking for me, chasing after me, but would he be doing all of this to only lock me up again and make sure he never looses someone like a mate again?

“Would Zion of killed Lillian?” I ask, facing Drexel as he looks at me as if I’m insane.

Does he think I’m crazy for assuming something that makes me want to run from Zion? “Would he?”

“I have no idea,” Drexel replies, tossing me something from the thin folder.

There, in one of the pictures, is Nixon and Zion standing beside one another as Lillian is beside them, a beautiful blond. She looks just like the girl Zion would go head over heels for. She reeks of status and lady-like features. She makes me feel jealous even though she’s dead. She makes me jealous because she was made to truly be Zion’s other half.

“Go to the next page.”

I do, finding a small doctors note. Zion said his mate had started a family. Here is shows that they had started a family, that together Nixon and Lillian had a daughter named Amber, a baby girl to only live two years and die due to a heart problem. Following that, Lillian had two other miscarriages.

My heart breaks at her story, only to find she had a happy beginning, heading to MIT for a degree in computer programming, to then quit and head to the palace and become a guard.

Lillian Rice was Zion’s mate. End of the story. He lied. He may have killed her.

The man I’ve fallen for so many times may be the devil himself. Zion may have been so heartless to kill his own mate. Does that mean he would kill me? Is he using me? If I know one thing, that if he killed his own mate, then I’ll never return to the demon in flesh. That is a promise, no matter how much Zion keeps me falling head over heels for him.