Page 59 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

“Zayn showed me this video,” I begin, my heart racing as I recount the events from earlier, keeping out the part where Zayn killed him, instead telling him Zayn scared him off.

I don’t know why I don’t share that information.

I just can’t bring myself to throw Zayn under the bus for murder.

As I speak, my father listens intently, his expression unreadable.

“Deacon was trying to hurt you?” he asks, his brow furrowing with concern.

“Zayn claims he was protecting me,” I reply, frustration lacing my words. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” My hands tremble as I clench them into fists, tears threatening to spill over once more.

“Sweetheart,” my father says gently, reaching out to touch my arm. His calloused fingers feel rough against my skin yet oddly comforting. “I understand your confusion, but you need to trust yourself. What does your gut tell you?”

“Everything is so tangled,” I admit, my voice cracking. “I want to believe Zayn, but I can’t shake this feeling that there’s more to the story.”

“You’ll figure it out,” he promises, pulling me into a tight embrace.

The warmth of his body envelops me, and for a moment, I allow myself to forget the pain and doubt that consume me.

I take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts.

I can feel the warmth of his embrace radiating through me, and I realize I need to trust myself and move on because whatever Zayn and I were started as a lie and ended on the truth, no matter how painful that truth is.

Despite what the rogues told us, there are two sides to every story, and I plan on finding out what both sides are. Maybe somewhere in the middle, I will find the truth. My father’s appearance is unexpected, yet it might be a way for me to figure out what truly happened all those years ago.

“Thank you, Dad,” I whisper, my throat tightening with emotion.

“I just… I need to know the truth, and what evidence Zayn had wasn’t enough; I need more than a video that is obscured and without audio.

” He takes a deep breath and looks away.

I can tell he is struggling to find the right words.

He takes a moment before he finally speaks.

“What if the truth isn’t what you want to hear? What if Zayn is lying? What if he did set all this up to get back at me?” he replies, releasing me from his embrace. I take a deep breath and bite my lip.

“I can handle it,” I say firmly. I need to know the truth.

I sigh heavily. That scares me the most because I truly don’t know Zayn the way I should, not enough to say he didn’t have a hidden agenda. “First, let’s get you out of this place and back to the pack.”

“Back to the pack?” I ask hesitantly, my heart skipping a beat at the thought. “After everything that’s happened?”

“Sometimes, the only way to find the truth is to face it head-on,” he says, his voice laced with conviction.

I furrow my brows. “We can still fix this. You can still be Alpha. Instead of putting your life on hold, take your birthright, Cleo. I don’t want the pack to go to Lydia, but with you gone, who else am I to hand it to?

” he mumbles the last part. I chew my lip, unsure because after all these weeks, one thing I know for sure is that I can’t trust him either.

At least I know what to expect from my father.

Everything with Zayn came as such a shock and so quickly out of the blue that I can’t trust him.

“Zayn claims I am his mate,” I tell him, this seems to take him by surprise. His brows scrunch together, and he seems to think hard for a second.

“Well, I guess you’ll know in a couple of days,” he shrugs.

“And if he is?”

“Do you think he is? Though if he is, that might explain his actions because I know if our roles reversed and this was all happening with Linda, I would destroy this city for the bond. Bonds won’t allow you to ignore them.

Some have successfully, but even taking a mate, you still recognize those bonds; it just depends on how long you’ve been with your chosen one to see how strong that bond remains. ”

“And if he is my mate?”

“Nothing stops a mate bond, but you can survive a broken one; I promise you that.”

“Like Alpha Greyson and Mom?” I ask, gauging his reaction.

He swallows thickly. “Yes, he survived, he never got over it however. Maybe because he and your mother never made the bond official, they hadn’t marked each other yet.”

“So you admit Mom and Greyson were mates?” I ask him.

My father sighs heavily. “I guess we are having this chat now. I was hoping it could wait until we went home. If you need to know first, I guess I can tell you.” It is so strange to see him now talk about my mother, for so long he refused to allow her to be mentioned because of Linda.

“It was never a secret, you just never asked. You could have looked that information up in the council if you wanted. Yes, they were mates. They wanted to merge packs.”

“What would that have meant for you?”

“Not much. Your mother and I had an arrangement; the pack would be hers, and I could still run this side of it, nothing would have changed.”

“Coming home now? What does that mean? Won’t that breach your treaty with Alpha Dane?” I ask him.

He pulls me into a hug, his familiar scent of pine and earth calming me slightly.

His arms wrap around me, providing a temporary refuge from the chaos outside.

“Come back to the pack. Apologize to Alpha Dane, and we can work out the details of the marriage agreement with Boyd. We can make this right.”

My heart lurches at his words, the prospect of marrying Boyd making my stomach churn. My voice comes out in barely a whisper, raw and desperate. “Dad… I don’t love him. I don’t know him.”

“Sometimes, love grows with time, and you didn’t know Zayn either but took a chance with him,” he murmurs, rubbing my back soothingly.

“You don’t have to say yes right now. We need to know if Zayn is your mate first because a bond won’t allow you to marry another.

Let’s just get you home for now, focus on your birthday and getting your wolf in two days, the rest we can work out.

” I nod, relieved I don’t have to make a decision right away.

I know I need to take the time to know if Zayn is my mate like he claims and my father is right. I’m safe here for now. We still have time to work this out.

Swirling in my head is a maelstrom of doubts, fears, and conflicting emotions.

I want to argue that the idea of marrying someone other than Zayn terrifies me because Zayn is where my heart is.

Maybe he’s right. Perhaps this is my chance at redemption and at making Mom proud.

I take a deep breath, determined to make the best of this chance.

I make the decision to trust my father and take him up on the offer. It’s my chance to make things right.

“Okay,” I choke out, swallowing the bile that threatens to rise in my throat. “I’ll come home, but that isn’t a yes to marrying Boyd.”

“Good, that is fine.” He releases me from the embrace and steps back, his gaze searching my face for any hint of hesitation. “Let’s just get you home.”

Dad helps me pack everything up that I have here, which isn’t much—just one backpack, which makes it easier.

We also clean up the little mess we made from dinner before heading down to his car, where I notice Zayn’s guard is knocked out cold.

I slide into the passenger seat of my father’s SUV, the leather cool and unwelcoming against my skin.

“Will Linda be angry about you bringing me home?”

“It doesn’t matter what she feels, I am Alpha, and you’re my daughter.

She doesn’t get a say in this.” I nod, and Dad places the key in the ignition.

The engine roars to life, a growl that resonates with my own unease as we set off toward Shadowcrest territory.

Trees blur past the window, each one larger than the last, as we near my old pack on the outskirts of the city, nearest the forest.

“Everything will be alright, Cleo,” my father reassures from behind the wheel, his voice steady like the constant thrum of the road beneath us.

I take a deep breath, feeling the anxiety knotting in my stomach.

I’m not ready for this, but I don’t have much of a choice.

I have to trust Dad knows what he’s doing and won’t hurt me again.

The knot in my stomach tightens as images of Alpha Dane’s stern face and Boyd’s expectant eyes invade my thoughts. I try to focus on the scenery, the lush greenery of my childhood now feels like a backdrop to a stage where I’m forced to play a role I never auditioned for.

“Remember, you’re doing this for the pack,” I murmur to myself, though the words taste bitter on my tongue.

As we cross the invisible line marking our territory, memories cascade through my mind.

The forest that surrounds our pack was once a place of joy and freedom, where I ran carefree as a young girl and laughter echoed off the trees.

Those days are long gone, replaced by the weight of responsibility and the sharp sting of betrayal.

My father glances at me, concern etched in the lines of his face. “Are you okay?”

I forced a smile, knowing he can see right through it. “Fine.” The lie slips out easily. I’m far from fine. The events of the past week have left me reeling, and my heart is heavy with the weight of it all.

As we near the pack house, my thoughts turn to the marriage treaty.

And knowing I will have to see Alpha Dane.

I just hope my father sticks to his word and doesn’t force anything because if he does, I may have no choice but to go rogue and risk insanity.

I can’t shake the feeling of foreboding that has settled in my gut, a sense that this meeting will not end well; how could it after everything that’s happened?

I push those thoughts aside and focus on the present. We are here, and there is no turning back now.