I'll do anything he wants. I'll agree to anything as long as Adam's safety is secured.

Ester's voice fades with distance. The only things audible are my heavy breaths and the frantic beating of my own heart in my ears. I hurry through the trees like a blind woman guided by the hand of another, trusting in the abilities that I know will turn on me. Forest surrounds me, and just when I begin to feel trapped in the lush illusion, voices surface. I chase after them. I power through the brush until the jarring presence of my father taints the air. He leaves a trail of pollution everywhere he goes as if his presence on earth defies the laws of nature.

The voices morph into words. It's Adam. I'm sure he can sense that I'm near, but I can't risk being caught by him. My father is hunting my mate, and I am hunting my father.

I step carefully, scan the area, move again and scan again. Never have I felt so animalistic. Just when I fear that I am getting too close to Adam, I spot him through the undergrowth. He's standing with Ben and two other men I have never seen before. He peers back as if he can feel my eyes on him.

"You've caught me."

My heart lurches forward. I turn swiftly, coming face to face with the being I have been so religiously avoiding. My father stands and gazes with glossy eyes. I imagine his mouth dripping, salivating in hunger.

"Why are you after him?" I question immediately.

"I know what you've done."

I say, "You know everything. I know. But Adam has never been a part of this. Leave him out of this."

My father gazes off. "I knew it. I knew it from the exact moment you became pregnant."

"It's for him. Just let me do this for him first."

"No."

"I-I know that I can't be with him, okay? I know that, but I can't move on if I know he's suffering without me."

"You've let her get to you," he says, steady, still like a machine recording. "You've let this bond overpower you, and so I must destroy it."

"All I'm asking for is his safety. His well-being. Please."

"You don't have the right to ask for anything."

I take a breath, trying to control my temper. "Please. Just this one-"

"You want to give him a child? How dare you? How dare you give my blood to his family? That child inside of you is not a lifeline to give away. You are giving their bloodline power that you have no right to give."

"It isn't like that. I'm not doing it so-"

He stops me. He raises his hand like it is the hand of God. "He cannot survive. He is ruining you. You are acting foolish."

"No no, don't. Just-I won't give him the baby, okay?" I say desperately. "I won't give him the baby."

"That child is useless to us."

"What? I said I won't give him the power, so I'll keep the baby. His family won't have your blood."

He glares at my stomach as if he can see through my skin. "That child's blood is tainted with that of a shifter's. It is useless."

"Useless? For what? It's my baby, just let me have it. You don't have to see it ever, just let me care for it."

My father pauses in disagreement.

"You will understand, Wrenley. It is time I tell you our plans so you understand why this child is a waste of time."

I keep my lips sealed despite my eagerness to defend my unborn baby. I need to hear this. I need to know my purpose.

"You see, the shifters have their system. They have their superior Alpha blood-blood with the power to rule over the others of their kind. They are stronger, quicker, born leaders. But Alpha blood is nothing compared to my blood. My blood is the superior blood to all beings on this earth. My powers are the greatest powers. I am the Alpha of all living things. You are my daughter, my bloodline."

My blood runs cold. My limbs grow stiff.

"I walk this earth because it will be mine," he says passionately.

I ask slowly, "Who are you?"

He steps closer.

"I know you aren't John Aymon."

"I have many names," he tells me. "And now you will have another as well. Luna. You will be the Luna. You will be their leader."

I shake my head. "Why? Why don't you make yourself their leader? Why do you need me?"

"You are the beginning of my bloodline."

"But you don't need a bloodline. You can't die."

He falls silent.

"Why don't you just take over and rule as an Alpha forever? You don't need me to do it for you."

"Do not question why I do what I do. There is reason behind all of my actions."

I swallow. "Is this because you hate her? Because you hate the moon goddess?"

He watches me.

"I-I'll do whatever you want as long as Adam is left alone. You'll never hear a word of refusal-just leave him alone and I'll come willingly."

My father peers back at my mate through the trees, but it's like we're no longer on the same plane of existence as him. I've been pulled to a different dimension. We can see him, but he can't see us. It's like I'm looking through a two-way mirror. "Come, then," my father says coldly. "We will be leaving."

"Going where?"

"Home."

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Update of two shorter chapters, so continue to fifty-one.