Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Zoey
Jackson looked uncomfortable to have so many people looking at him. I knew this was important since Jackson preferred his gadgets to people and wouldn't be in a crowd like this unless it was necessary. I had a very bad feeling about why they were here.
"We never thought Wilmington was acting alone. It was all just too easy for him to breach your security with no known tech skills. And I damn well know your system is top notch. So, it was a reasonable assumption that he had help getting in. I started digging into the electronic logs and Taylor kept an eye on the house for longer than you knew about. He noticed a woman kept driving past, slowing down, and glaring at the house. I studied the logs and saw that the night Wilmington attempted to break in, a code was used to open the gate and it looked like the same code was used to try to unlock the front door. The only reason it didn't work is that he was so pissed off that he had two of the numbers swapped when he tried it at the door. So, I backtracked the code and found it had been assigned to one Erica Stevens."
He gestured to the woman standing in front of them.
"Then I got with Taylor and together we tracked her down. It was the same woman he had seen driving past the house. I'm still not sure how she hooked up with Wilmington. Maybe she saw what happened at the party? His assault and your interest in Zoey? But my assumption is that by helping Wilmington she saw a way to get rid of Zoey and keep her hands clean. She must have given him her old code. Which is sloppy of you, Asher, to not have deactivated an eight-year-old entrance code."
I was confused.
"But Jackson, how would she know it was still active?"
"I wondered that too. So, I searched the logs for just that particular code. I saw where it had been used periodically over the last eight years, usually after the guys had left for work. The last time being three days before Wilmington attacked."
There was a lot of muttering happening in the crowd. The whole town knew what had happened to me and the confrontation with Wilmington. Erica got very pale and started to shake as Ash stepped closer, his eyes narrowing in fury. Even I felt a shiver of unease at the danger he was emanating.
"You. You helped that filth hurt our mate?!"
It seemed like she snapped. She glared at Ash.
"Yes. She is a pathetic excuse for a shifter. She doesn't even have a fucking wolf! She's defective and should never have been allowed to live! How could you want someone like her. She's practically human! She can't lead our pack. Not like I could. I would make this pack great! The strongest it's ever been. She will only weaken us and bring the pack down. I could…."
The sound of a slap rang through the air. I saw Erica's head snap to the side as a man I didn't recognize stepped up to her and bitch-slapped her. She grabbed her rapidly swelling cheek and stared at him in shock. Damn, he must have used some wolf strength. The redness was already starting to darken to purple around the edges of his handprint. I kept quiet but inside I was like a cheerleader at a football game doing cheers and cartwheels.
"Father…"
My eyes widened. This man was her dad? His voice was ice cold as he glared at her.
"Do NOT call me Father. You are no daughter of mine. You disgraced our pack with what you did. To conspire to harm our future Luna?! Our leaders' mate, a woman who has treated everyone in this town with care, compassion, and respect? You thought you knew better than our Goddess on who should be their mate?!"
I saw a woman with strawberry-blonde hair come up to stand next to him and I realized I recognized her. I'd helped her little boy about a week ago.
"You ungrateful child. That woman will make a fine Luna even if she'd been fully human. She saved your little brother from being hit by a car last week when he ran into the road, bruising her own body to shield him from the asphalt when they landed even though he has healing and would have been fine. She didn't want him to feel pain, so she took it instead. You are no longer my daughter, and I am ashamed I gave birth to such a selfish person. I pray to the Goddess it's only the human that is so horrible and not the wolf as well."
I stared at them wide-eyed as the man and woman came over to me. Their expressions warmed up as they looked at me.
"Thank you, my Luna, for saving our son at the risk of your own safety. We're forever grateful and if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask. We'd like to invite you and your mates over for dinner one night when you're all free."
I smiled at them as the woman gave me a hug.
"We would love to. I'll get your number from Ash, and we can set up a time for us to come over."
"Absolutely. Please try to enjoy the rest of your night. Don't let her selfishness and despicable actions ruin your evening."
"It won't, I promise."
"Thank you again Luna, for everything you've done for us."
I nodded and they put their arms around each other and left without a backwards glance at the woman they had once claimed as their daughter. As much as I knew how it hurt to be turned away by your parents, I couldn't find it in my heart to fault them for it or feel sorry for her. Erica was a grown ass woman and she'd made her own bed and now she had to lie in it.
"This information changes everything. Erica Stevens, you are under arrest for conspiracy to kidnap and kill our pack's Luna."
"She isn't my Luna. I will never recognize her as Luna."
"It doesn't matter if you recognize her as Luna or not since you aren't part of this pack anymore. You're a rouge with no pack and your opinions no longer matter."
I turned to Ash and got his attention as something occurred to me.
"Um, Ash? I have a question and maybe Jackson knows the answer. She knew I didn't have a wolf… but how? I've never told anyone but you three. And that isn't something known by my scent alone."
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