Chapter 180

Bianca & Isaac

Bianca

My heart stopped dead in my chest as I stared at my father.

Oliver Ravenwood looked exactly as I remembered him—tall and imposing in his tailored suit, his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back, his cold eyes surveying the scene with detached curiosity.

Those eyes flicked over me, pausing just a moment too long, and something cold and terrified settled in my chest.

Did he recognize me? Could he see through my disguise, even with my glasses back on and my hat firmly in place?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Suddenly, Isaac stepped in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking me from my father’s view. His suit jacket brushed against my cheek, carrying his scent directly into my nostrils. Even with the perfume dulling my wolf’s senses, it was enough to make her roil with excitement.

“There was a raccoon,” Isaac said with a light chuckle. “But we handled it.”

The servant who had thrown us out of the sitting room stepped into the hallway. “Sir, I believe they were fighting. There was significant damage to the room. Should I have security escort them out of the event?”

My father tilted his head, trying to look at me. But I huddled further behind Isaac, willing myself to become invisible.

For a long, tense moment, no one spoke. Then, finally, my father chuckled. “A raccoon, eh? Well, I’m glad you all scared it off. You may return to the party.”

I didn’t breathe again until we were moving past him and Mason, Isaac’s body still shielding me from their view. But I could feel my father’s eyes burning into my back as we walked away. It sent a cold chill creeping up my neck.

Had he recognized me? Just as the others had?

We made it back to the main ballroom, where the party was still in full swing. Everything sounded muffled to me, like I was underwater. Suddenly, I felt far more exhausted than before.

I was about to search for an opening to slip away when I turned and bumped into Isaac’s sturdy chest.

When I looked up at him, poking my tongue into the inside of my cheek, I expected to find… What? Hatred? Anger? A vendetta?

But I just saw blue eyes blinking down at me in shock, like he’d seen a ghost. Which, I supposed, he had.

“You’re alive,” he whispered, reaching up to touch my face.

I jerked back, bumping into the wall behind me. Isaac’s hand froze midair.

“Don’t touch me,” I hissed. “I’m not the same woman you tried to have killed. If you try anything, you’ll be the one in trouble this time.”

Isaac’s face went slack. “What?” he breathed. “You think I… Bianca, no. I would never—”

The raw pain in his eyes at the accusation took me by surprise. He looked horrified, like I’d just stabbed him in the heart.

Was it possible? Could I have been wrong about him all this time?

Isaac shook his head, glancing around at the crowded ballroom. “We can’t talk here. It’s too public.” He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. “Can we meet somewhere else? Later tonight? Please, Bianca. I need to understand what happened.”

I hesitated. This could be a trap. He could be trying to get me alone, to finish what he’d started five years ago.

But my wolf was insistent. “Give him a chance,” she urged. “Look at him! He’s our mate. He wouldn’t hurt us.”

I studied Isaac’s face—the desperation in his eyes, the slight tremble in his hands. He looked like a man who had just found something precious he thought was lost forever.

“Fine,” I finally huffed. “We’ll talk.”

Isaac’s face crumpled with relief. He quickly pulled out a business card and a pen, scribbling something on the back. “Here,” he said, pressing the card into my palm. “Meet me at this address. Midnight. You can bring Zane or whoever. If you’re that afraid of me, I won’t expect you to come alone. Just… come.”

His fingers lingered against mine for a moment, and a jolt of electricity shot up my arm. Then he pulled away, gave me one last look of desperate hope, and slipped back into the crowd with Ethan and Zelda, who both stared at me for a second before following him.

I stared after them, the business card clutched so tight in my hand I began to bend the cardstock. What the hell was I doing? Was I really going to meet him? Alone? After everything?

Zane appeared at my side and glanced at the card. “You’re not seriously considering this.”

I swallowed thickly and just looked at him.

“Bianca, this is insane,” Zane whispered. “He tried to have you killed. And now your father might have recognized you too. We need to get back to Silvermist. Get Callum to safety.”

The mention of my son sent a spike of fear through me. What if Zane was right? What if this was all a trap?

But then I remembered the look in Isaac’s eyes when I accused him of trying to kill me. The shock and pain.

And I remembered the misspelled word in that letter. The one detail that I had missed. The detail that didn’t quite fit.

I had to talk to him. Even if it was the last time we ever spoke.

…

Isaac

Isaac could hardly believe it. Bianca was alive. Alive.

Alive!

The knowledge buzzed through him like flowing electricity, making his skin tingle and his heart race. She was alive. After five years of mourning, of blaming himself, of drowning in guilt and grief, she was alive.

And that meant their child might be alive too.

His child. The baby he’d never gotten to meet. The one he’d thought died with Bianca in that terrible accident.

Joy surged through him, a force so powerful Isaac could have burst with it. He wanted to run back to her, to pull her into his arms and never let go. And she was his mate, too? That was all he ever wanted!

But along with the elation came a bitter, vengeful anger.

Five years. She’d let him believe she was dead for five years. Let him mourn her and their child, let him blame himself, let him spend night after fucking sleepless night wondering if he could have saved her somehow.

And for what? Because she thought he’d tried to have her killed?

The accusation felt like a knife in his chest. How could she think that of him? He’d loved her more than anything in the world. He would have died for her in a heartbeat. The idea that he would harm her was so absurd and fundamentally wrong that he wanted to retch.

Why hadn’t she just talked to him? Why run? Why hide? Why let him suffer for five fucking years? He’d never done anything except for prove himself to her, time and time again, that he could be trusted.

That he loved her.

“Isaac? Are you alright?”

He stiffened as Ella touched his arm, her familiar scent momentarily clouding out everything else. Sweet, intoxicating, overpowering. His wolf surged forward with excitement at her mere touch.

But this time, Isaac was ready for it. He pushed his wolf down, holding it at bay with an iron will.

He would not go to Ella.

Not with Bianca alive.

Without entirely meaning to, Isaac’s eyes found Bianca across the crowded ballroom. Her eyes were hidden behind those dark glasses, another layer of deception on top of the colored contacts and blonde hair. But he could feel her gaze on him, feel the pull of their mate bond even across the distance.

Did she feel it, too?

“Isaac?” Ella tugged on his arm. “Isaac, you’re acting weird.”

“I’m fine,” Isaac grunted without looking at Ella. “Perfectly fine.”