Page 31 of Marked For A Bite
THIRTEEN
ZOE
Lena suddenly leaned forward as they sat around Kieran's dining table discussing the High Council's corruption. Her unusual violet eyes gleamed with a piercing intensity that made Zoe's breath catch in her throat. The petite healer had been quiet throughout most of the dinner conversation, but now she commanded the table's attention with quiet authority.
"It's absolutely crucial that we find these hybrids before the High Council does," Lena said, her voice carrying weight despite its softness. "The High Council isn't just protecting their current power structure—they're guarding secrets that run three centuries deep. The hybrids represent a direct threat to exposing those secrets as well as being the keys to bridging the human and wolf shifter worlds back together."
Zoe felt Logan's tension spike through their bond. His hand squeezed hers under the table, his fingers tightening possessively as he listened to Lena's words.
"Which brings me to why I'm here tonight," Lena continued, her gaze settling on Zoe with an expression that felt almost reverent. "The Lunar Prophecy is unfolding in real time around us. First with Maya, and now with you."
The words sent an electric shock through Zoe's system. Her birthmark tingled with warmth against her wrist, as if responding to some ancient recognition. "What is the Lunar Prophecy?"
Lena's voice took on a ritualistic cadence, as if she were reciting sacred text. "'When the blood of both worlds runs through the one who bridges understanding, the old ways shall return and harmony restored.'"
Zoe's breath hitched as the words resonated through her body like a tuning fork struck against something deep in her soul. Through their bond, she felt Logan's protective fury building, his wolf clearly not pleased with the implications of ancient prophecies targeting his mate.
"Maya fulfilled the first part," Lena explained, her eyes shifting between the hybrid women. "By becoming Luna of the Silvercrest pack and beginning the reforms that challenge centuries of rigid traditions. Before Maya's influence, our laws strictly forbade any human integration into our shifter society."
Logan's jaw clenched visibly, and Zoe watched that familiar shadow pass over his face. Through their connection, she felt the wave of regret and shame that crashed through him—the weight of all the enforcement actions he'd carried out in service of those very laws. Her heart ached for the burden he'd carried alone for so long.
"How am I involved in this prophecy?" Zoe asked, though part of her already suspected the answer. Her obsession with Pacific Northwest artifacts, her inexplicable connection to the wolf imagery, and the way her body had reacted to the art critic's dismissive words—it all felt like pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place.
Lena's smile held both sadness and hope. "You're the second part, Zoe. The prophecy indicates that one who can read and interpret the ancient texts will reveal the truth about bridgingour worlds. The High Council has hidden away an ancient scroll in a secret location—a document that contains the real history of human-shifter relations and the instructions for restoring the harmony that once existed."
The revelation hit Zoe like a tidal wave. Her academic background, her expertise in ancient Pacific Northwest cultures, and her ability to decipher symbolic language and artifact significance—it hadn't been random interest. It had been preparation.
"I'm a museum curator," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I've spent years studying Pacific Northwest ancient texts and artifacts. I've been obsessed with them, actually."
"Because you were being called to it," Lena said gently. "Your hybrid nature recognized what your human mind couldn't yet understand."
Logan's entire body had gone rigid beside her, his protective instincts warring with the terrible understanding of what this meant. When he spoke, his voice carried a dangerous edge.
"This is extremely dangerous for her." His green eyes flashed with protective fury as he looked around the table. "If this scroll is hidden in some secret location, it's probably heavily guarded or protected somehow. The risks are astronomical."
Zoe felt his fear for her safety through their partial bond, but beneath it was something else—a deep, primal terror of losing her that went beyond normal protective instincts. The mate mark on her neck throbbed with warmth as his emotions flooded through their connection.
"I'm one of the chosen hybrids who can help you get to the bottom of this corruption and expose the High Council's secrets," she said, turning to meet his intense gaze directly. "I'm the only one who can read that ancient scroll and figure out exactly how to bridge our two worlds together."
Logan's hands clenched tight into fists on the table. "Zoe?—"
"She's right." Maya's voice cut through the building tension. "The pattern is too clear to ignore. Two hybrid women, both with specific skill sets that directly threaten the Council's power structure. This isn't coincidence—it's destiny."
Zoe felt a thrill of validation alongside her concern about the risks involved. She knew now that her obsessive interests and unusual abilities served a greater purpose than academic curiosity.
"We all need to work together to unravel whatever the Council is hiding," Maya continued, her green eyes bright with determination. "Find out who the corrupted members are and take them down before they kill more innocent people."
Logan's protective fury radiated through their bond like heat from a forge. "And what happens when they realize what she can do? When they figure out she's the key to exposing everything they've hidden for three centuries?"
The questions hung in the air like a threat.
The weight of ancient prophecy settled around Zoe like a cloak she'd been unconsciously tailoring her entire life. Every artifact she'd cataloged, every ancient text she'd deciphered, and every sleepless night spent obsessing over Pacific Northwest indigenous culture—it had all been leading to this moment.
Kieran's silver-blue eyes hardened with Alpha authority as he leaned forward across the dinner table. "Then we protect her with all of our lives. She's part of our pack now as your mate, even if she's not officially claimed yet, and we will keep her safe."
Zoe could feel Logan's skepticism crash against her consciousness like waves against stone. His jaw worked silently, those deep green eyes calculating threats and probabilities with the ruthless efficiency that made him the territory's most feared enforcer.
"The rebellion is going to flare up even more when they catch wind of the Council's corruption," Kieran continued, hiscommanding presence filling the cabin's dining room. "They won't stand for the threats against reform or the hybrids who are the keys to their cause. The rebels will have both Zoe and Maya's backs, as well as any other hybrids. Zoe has more protection around her than she may realize."
