Page 30 of Marked For A Bite (Rebellious Mates #2)

Jared Raymond was tall even seated, though his frame showed the devastating effects of twenty-five years of captivity.

His dark hair was streaked with premature silver, and his face bore the gaunt hollows of someone who had endured unspeakable hardship.

But his blue eyes—the same unusual shade that occasionally flickered in Zoe's hazel ones—blazed with fierce intelligence and undiminished spirit.

When Jared's gaze found Zoe, his entire expression transformed.

"My baby girl," he whispered, rising unsteadily to his feet.

Zoe rushed to him without hesitation, throwing her arms around his diminished frame. Jared held her with the desperate grip of someone who had dreamed of this moment through decades of darkness.

This is what I fight for. This is why all the blood and violence and moral compromise matters—for moments like this.

"All I ever wanted was to see my baby girl one time," Jared said, his voice thick with emotion.

"I wish I knew sooner that you were alive," Zoe said through her tears. "I would've found you sooner. I would've torn that place apart with my bare hands to get you out."

Logan's wolf stirred with pride at his mate's fierce declaration.

"It was never safe for you to find me," Jared replied, pulling back to study her face. "And I worry you're still in danger. They won't stop coming for you."

"She may be in danger," Logan stepped forward, "but now that she has her mate and we're officially bonded, we're stronger together. She's not facing any of this alone anymore."

Jared's perceptive gaze shifted to Logan, taking in his tactical gear, the way he positioned himself protectively near Zoe, and the unmistakable scent of their completed mate bond.

"You're the one who's been protecting her." It wasn't a question. "Thank you for everything you've done for my daughter. I know it's been dangerous, but you seem like the perfect mate to keep her safe."

If only you knew how close I came to failing her tonight.

"She's my priority," Logan said simply. "Above everything else."

"As it should be." Jared settled back into his chair, gesturing for them to sit nearby.

"Let me tell you exactly what happened. I was captured shortly after I sent your pregnant mother away twenty-five years ago.

As Delta of the Granite Ridge pack, my Alpha wasn't pleased to learn I was courting a human mate.

When they confronted me, I tried to deny it to protect Patricia and the baby.

That's when they threw me in that laboratory—to break me, make me reveal where I'd hidden her. "

Zoe's hands clenched into fists. "Did you tell them?"

"Never." Pride and pain warred in Jared's expression.

"When they realized they couldn't extract that information, they started experimenting on me instead.

They knew my Delta bloodline carried unique abilities, some magical in nature.

They wanted to understand how to harness and replicate those powers. "

Logan's tactical mind immediately grasped the implications. "They've been building an army of enhanced shifters."

"I believe so. Probably for decades," Jared said grimly.

"Speaking of abilities," Zoe said quietly, "after Logan gave me his mate mark tonight, I manifested healing powers. I was able to draw wolfsbane poison from his body and heal him."

Jared's eyes didn't show surprise, only a deep satisfaction. "That doesn't surprise me. Healing abilities run strong in my mother's bloodline—your bloodline. The completed mate bond would have awakened what was always dormant within you."

And there's probably more where that came from. The prophecy mentioned multiple special abilities.

"Tell me about you and my mom," Zoe said, leaning forward. "How did you two meet?"

Jared's expression softened with memory and pain.

"Patricia was camping with friends in the Granite Ridge mountains, not knowing it was wolf shifter territory.

When I found them, they were being stalked by a rogue bear.

I shifted to drive it off, and when I touched Patricia to make sure she wasn't hurt.

.." He paused, gathering himself. "I knew immediately she was my fated mate. "

Tears streamed down Zoe's face as she absorbed her parents' love story.

"It was beautiful and tragic," Jared continued. "We had six months together before I realized she was pregnant and everything became too dangerous. The pack laws forbade human mates. I had to choose between my position, my pack, and the safety of my family."

"She died a year ago," Zoe whispered.

Jared nodded heavily. "I sensed it through our completed mate bond. It happened right after they performed a particularly brutal experiment—they stopped my heart for several minutes to test my healing abilities, then forced me to bring myself back to life."

Logan felt ice form in his veins. They literally killed him to see if he could resurrect himself.

"The trauma severed our connection temporarily," Jared explained. "Patricia must have felt me die and thought it was permanent. I believe she died of a broken heart."

"So the Council didn't just destroy my family," Zoe said, her voice hardening into something Logan recognized as vicious. "They murdered my mother by proxy."

There's my fierce mate. The woman who'll stand beside me and tear down every corrupt system that's caused this pain.

"They will pay," Zoe vowed, her hazel eyes flashing golden. "Every single person responsible—for what they did to you, to her, to all those people we found in that laboratory, and to anyone else across the Pacific Northwest Cascade Territory. I promise you that."

Logan felt his wolf surge with possessive pride and protective hunger. His mate wasn't just powerful—she was rebellious.