Night had fallen by the time Zack returned home. It was silent and still as he made his way up the steps to the door. His wolf was tired from their run but Zack was filled with determination. He planned to speak to Jacob as soon as possible, now that he knew what he had to do he just wanted it over with.

A figure stepped out of the shadows on his left, Zack's wolf went on alert till he realised it was Matthew and settled back down as he recognised his beta. He allowed the change to overtake him and his wolf receded. Nudity was not something wolves were concerned about in the most part, so standing in front of his best friend and beta, naked as the day he was born didn't bother him in the slightest. Matthew threw a pair of jeans at him and waited for him to put them on.

Once he was decent he sat on the top step and waited for Matthew to join him. "Was everything ok this afternoon?" He asked.

Matthew looked at him, frowning fiercely. "As good as it could have been I suppose. Where did you disappear to? People had questions and you were no where to be found."

"I'm sorry Matthew, I know I bailed on you but I had to get away for a while." He paused, his shoulders stooped and his head hanging low. "Sophie knows. Everything!"

Matthew sucked in a shocked breath. "How did she find out?"

"After the mess at the healers she flat out asked me if there was anything else I was hiding from her. I couldn't lie to her anymore, but before I could even get it out she guessed."

"She deserved to know the whole truth Zack." Matthew said carefully. He could see the physical and emotional toll this had taken on his alpha.

"I know she did, and I regret that it has taken me this long to finally see how wrong it was keeping it all from her. But I'm not keeping anything else from her ever again. I'm going to speak to Jacob and tell him everything." He looked out over the pack grounds. "I went for a run this afternoon with Alpha Thomas. He helped me put things into perspective. He told me about my father when he was younger. And my mother. Things I never knew about them. It made the decision to speak to the council easier. I was going to even before speaking to him, but it clarified things for me."

"I'm so happy you've decided to do the right thing Zack. I knew you would eventually, your too honourable a male to not have. I just thought it would have taken you a bit longer." He looked at his friend. "What about Sophie?"

Zack sighed sadly. "I think I've lost her Matthew. She is never going to forgive me for keeping quiet about the drugs. And I don't blame her. She is the most beautiful, perfect mate I could have ever hoped for and I blew it. But the least I can do now is to come clean. I may never earn her forgiveness, but I can at least give her the closure she needs to move on with her life."

Zack felt such a profound overwhelming sadness envelope him and it left him cold to the bone. A single tear slowly made it way down his face and he swiped it away. "We were only together a few weeks but I will love her forever." He chuffed out a bitter laugh. "I never even got the chance to tell her I love her. But that's my cross to bear."

He stood and walked to the door. " I will see you tomorrow after I've spoken to Jacob. I would imagine there will be much to sort out."

He bid Matthew goodnight, open the door and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him, weariness weighing him down, he knew sleep would he hard to come by tonight if not impossible.

********************************************************

Sophie stood silently at the open window. Tears coursing unchecked down he pale cheeks. She should have moved away from the window the minute Zack started speaking to his friend but she had found herself unable to move.

To see her strong mate so dejected and sad broke something in her. She honestly did not know if she could ever forgive him for what he had done. For putting his parents before anyone else, even when he knew what they had done was terrible. But he had honestly believed he was doing the right thing in trying to protect the people who had raised and loved him, she knew that. He had been trying to do the right thing by so many that he had lost sight of was truly right.

When she heard him say that he was planning on speaking to Alpha Jacob she was relieved. If he had not done it himself she would have, but she had wanted it to be him. He needed to be the one to speak to them, because it would be the start of a new chapter for Hollow Ridge pack, without the shadow of what happened to her looming over them.

Sophie turned away from her window and moved over to the half packed suitcase sitting on the bed. She would wait till after Zack spoke to Jacob in the morning then Rose had offered to drive her home.

Her time, once again, in Hollow Ridge had come to an end. But this time she would not be back. She could never be truly happy here, to much had gone wrong for her in this pack. too much water under the bridge. Maybe if things had been different. Maybe if Zack wasn't Alpha. Maybe, maybe, maybe. So many maybes.

She knew now with certainty, she had fallen in love with her mate. Much as she had tried to keep him at a distance he had worked his way into her heart.

But come tomorrow none of that would matter, she would walk away from this pack and her mate forever. And she would be leaving a bit of heat behind.

😘