Chapter 7 Seventh one

I didn't sleep that night.

I mean how could I, knowing that the men who murdered me would be walking through these doors in a matter of hours? I stood at the window of the master suite, watching the pre-dawn mist curl through the forest, and felt the Phoenix fire simmer beneath my skin.

Behind me, the bed was empty. Avalon had stayed away after our encounter, giving me space I both craved and resented. The mate bond hummed with his presence somewhere in the estate-awake, alert, probably planning how to keep me from doing something stupid.

Too late for that.

"You're up early."

I turned to find Zane leaning against the doorframe, shirtless as usual, his scarred torso a map of violence he had survived.

"I couldn't sleep," I said.

"Because of him?" Zane nodded toward the bed. "Or because of them?"

"Them," I admitted. "Bron and my father arrive at noon. I need to be ready."

"Ready to kill them?" He pushed off the frame and crossed to me. "Or ready to pretend you're still the broken girl they think you are?"

"Both." I met his burning gaze. "I need them to underestimate me. To think I'm still weak and powerless. Then, when they least expect it-"

"You tear out their throats," Zane finished with a wicked grin. "I like the way you think, little Phoenix."

"Don't call me that," I said, but there was no heat in it.

"Why not? It's what you are." He reached out, fingers trailing down my arm. The mate bond sparked between us-fire recognizing fire. "You're magnificent. Deadly. Everything they tried to destroy but couldn't."

"They did destroy me," I corrected. "They killed me, Zane. Cut my brakes and sent me off a cliff like I was nothing."

His expression darkened. "And you came back. That makes you more dangerous than they could ever imagine."

"I hope so." I turned back to the window. "Because if I fail-if they see through the act-"

"They won't," Avalon's voice cut through the room. I hadn't heard him enter, but suddenly he was there, filling the space with his cold authority. "You're stronger than you think, Zephyr. And you're not doing this alone."

"I have to face them alone," I argued. "If they see you hovering, they'll know something's changed."

"Then we won't hover," Osilus said, appearing behind Avalon. "We'll be close enough to intervene if needed, but far enough to let you handle it."

I looked at the three of them-my mates, my anchors, my unwanted salvation. "And what if I lose control? What if the Phoenix takes over and I burn them alive before I'm ready?"

"Then we pull you back," Avalon said simply. "That's what mates do."

"I don't need you to save me," I snapped.

"No," he agreed, stepping closer. "But you need us to trust you. And we do, Zephyr. So let us be there."

I wanted to argue, to insist I could do this alone. But the truth was, I was terrified. Not of Bron or my father, but of myself. Of what I might do when I saw them again.

"Fine," I said finally. "But stay out of sight unless I call for you."

"Agreed," all three said in unison.

They arrived exactly at noon. I watched from the window as the car pulled up, my heart was racing.

"Breathe," Osilus murmured from somewhere behind me. I couldn't see him, but I felt him through the bond.

The car door opened, and my father stepped out first.

Bruin Chance looked exactly as I remembered-tall, silver-haired, with a sharp jaw that hid a rotten core. He surveyed the Cary estate with calculating eyes, already assessing its worth.

Then Bron emerged, and rage flooded my veins so hot I nearly staggered.

He was smiling. That same smug, self-satisfied smile he'd worn when he'd told me Father needed my inheritance. When he'd sent me to my death without a second thought.

"Control it," Avalon's voice whispered through the bond. "Don't let them see."

I forced my face to remain calm as the front doors opened and they entered.

"Zephyr," my father said. "You look... different."

"I am enjoying my marriage father," I said while descending the stairs. I'd dressed for this. I wore a deep red dress that hugged my curves, my hair loose, and my makeup flawless. I looked nothing like the broken girl they'd known.

Bron's eyes raked over me, and something ugly flickered in his expression. "Sister. I'm surprised you're still here. I thought surely Alpha Cary would have tired of you by now."

"Why would he tire of his mate?" I asked, letting confusion color my tone. "We're bonded."

My father's eyes sharpened. "Bonded? But you're human. Humans don't bond with-"

"Apparently I'm not as human as we thought," I interrupted, watching their faces carefully. "It seems Mother's bloodline held some surprises."

Bron went very still. "What kind of surprises?"

"The kind that makes me valuable," I said, letting a small, cruel smile curve my lips. "The kind that means you can't touch me anymore."

"Is that a threat?" My father stepped forward, and I felt the mate bonds flare in warning. Somewhere in the estate, my three mates were poised to intervene.

But I held up a hand, a subtle signal to wait.

"It's a fact," I said calmly. "I'm under Alpha Cary's protection now. And his Beta's. And Alpha Zane's. Touch me, and you'll answer to all three of them."

The color drained from Bron's face. "Zane? As in Severus Zane? What does he..."

"He's my mate too," I said, and watched them both process that impossible information. "Surprised? So was I but apparently, that's what happens when you're a Lunar Phoenix."

The words hung in the air like a bomb.

My father recovered first, his expression shifting from shock to calculating greed. "A Lunar Phoenix. Do you have any idea what that means? The alliances we could forge, the power-"

"The power is mine," I cut him off. "Not yours. Never yours again."

"You ungrateful little..." Bron started forward, hand raised.

I didn't move ot flinch. I just let the Phoenix fire flare to life beneath my skin until my eyes glowed gold.

"Hit me," I said softly. "I dare you."

He froze, hand trembling in the air between us. For the first time in my life, I saw fear in my brother's eyes.

"That's what I thought," I said, and the fire slowly went out. "Now, shall we discuss why you're really here? Because we both know it's not to check on my wellbeing."

My father composed himself, smoothing his jacket. "We're here to discuss the inheritance. Your mother's estate should have transferred to you on your wedding day, but there are... complications."

"Complications," I repeated flatly. "You mean the offshore accounts Bron's been skimming from? The ones he thought I didn't know about?"

Bron's face went white. "How dare you..."

"I know everything," I lied, but the conviction in my voice sold it. "Every account, every transaction, every dirty deal you've made using Mother's money. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"Zephyr," my father said, his tone rising. "You're playing a very dangerous game."

"No, Father." I stepped closer, letting him see the predator I'd become. "You played a dangerous game when you let Bron kill me. This? This is just me returning the favor."

The silence was deafening.

"What are you talking about?" My father asked. He was trying to figure out how much I knew, how much I could prove.

They stared at me like I'd grown a second head.

"She's lost her mind," my father said to no one in particular. "The bonding must have..."

"I'm not crazy," I said. "I'm going to make sure you both pay for what you did to me."

"Zephyr," Avalon's voice cut through the room as he emerged from the shadows. "That's enough."

But I was beyond stopping. The Phoenix fire roared through my veins, demanding justice, demanding blood.

"You used me," I hissed at my father. "Sold me to secure an alliance, never caring that Avalon would reject me, that his pack would treat me like dirt. You let me suffer for five years because my pain was worth less than your political power."

"All marriages are political," my father said coldly. "You were always too soft, too emotional. You should be grateful I found you any husband at all."

The fire exploded out of me before I could stop it.

Golden flames erupted from my hands, scorching the marble floor between us. My father and Bron stumbled back, terror stark on their faces as the temperature in the room spiked.

"Zephyr!" Osilus's called out.

But I couldn't stop. The rage, the grief, the years of humiliation, it all poured out in a torrent of Phoenix fire.

"You killed me," I screamed. "You threw me away like I was nothing!"

Arms banded around me from behind and I felt Avalon's ice crashing into my fire. The shock of it broke through my rage, and I gasped as the flames went out.

"Breathe," he commanded against my ear. "Zephyr, breathe."

I sucked in air, my whole body shaking. When I looked up, Bron and my father were pressed against the wall.

"Get out," Avalon said, his Alpha voice making the walls vibrate. "Now."

"This isn't over," my father said, but he was already backing toward the door. "You can't threaten us..."

"That wasn't a threat," I said, my voice hoarse. "That was a promise. You have until the end of the week to transfer Mother's full inheritance to me. Every account, every property, every cent. If you don't, I'll make sure the entire pack knows what you did. And then I'll let my mates tear you apart."

"You have no proof-"

"Try me!!!" I said.