Chapter 60: first love

Hazel closed her eyes for a moment and let out a tired sigh. Of course. Why wouldn’t it be someone connected to Caius?

She was beginning to think that the immortal world had a personal problem with her peace of mind. Every time she tried to solve one mystery, another one appeared, and somehow, Caius was always connected to at least one of them.

"Fine," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I don’t want to think about this anymore. When my mother comes back, I’ll ask her to explain everything to me herself. Until then, you should find a way to tell Father the truth before he discovers it from someone else."

Charlotte nodded weakly, and Hazel turned to leave with Emily. This time, neither of them returned to ask another question.

...

After leaving the residence, Hazel decided to look for her father. She needed something else to occupy her mind before she started thinking about Caius, the dead Alpha, the mysterious witch, and the woman wearing her mother’s face all over again.

She eventually found Gabriel in the training grounds, standing beneath the afternoon sun with a bow in his hand. Several arrows had already landed in the center of the target, and he was preparing to shoot another one when he noticed her approaching.

For a moment, Hazel hesitated.

Their last conversation had not been the most comfortable one, and she wasn’t sure how he would react to seeing her after everything that had happened. However, she had something important to say, so she took a deep breath and walked closer.

"Father."

Gabriel turned toward her, lowering his bow slightly. His expression remained serious, and the silence between them made Hazel feel a little uncomfortable.

She gave him a small smile anyway. "I came to thank you for helping me."

His eyebrows rose slightly, as if he hadn’t expected those words from her.

Hazel continued before he could ask anything. "I understand why you pretended to play along with everything while still keeping me here. You knew the witches wouldn’t give up easily, and you wanted them to believe they still had a chance to reach me. Since your guards have been following me secretly, you could use me to draw them out and catch them when they made their move."

Gabriel watched her quietly before giving a small nod.

He didn’t deny it, and that was enough to confirm Hazel’s suspicion. Although she had been angry when she first realized people were making decisions around her without telling her the truth, she could now understand why her father had acted that way. The witches had already proven that they were willing to hurt anyone to achieve their goals, and they might have continued hiding if they believed Hazel was well protected.

Still, she wasn’t sure she liked being used as bait, even if it had helped them uncover their enemies.

Gabriel placed the bow on the nearby table and studied her face. "Is Caius still giving you a hard time?"

Hazel blinked before quickly shaking her head. "No, Father. Everything is fine."

Fine?

She almost laughed at her own answer. Nothing about her life had been fine since she met Caius, but explaining that to Gabriel would only give her another problem to deal with.

Instead, she decided to focus on what she had come to discuss.

"Father, I need you to help me arrange a gathering tonight. I want everyone in the pack to be present because there’s something I need to prove to them."

Gabriel’s expression became serious again. "What do you want to prove?"

Hazel’s smile disappeared as she thought about Scarlett. That girl had lied to everyone, pretending to be someone she wasn’t while making Hazel look like the strange one. She had accused Hazel of things she hadn’t done and tried to make others believe she was the dangerous person.

Now, Hazel wanted to end that lie once and for all.

"I want to expose Scarlett in front of everyone," she said firmly. "She’s a witch wolf, not a pure wolf like she has been pretending to be. She has been lying to the pack, and I want everyone to know the truth. I’ll show them that I’m not the person she claims I am, and she won’t be able to hide behind her lies anymore."

Gabriel studied her for a few seconds, perhaps considering the consequences of making such an announcement in front of the entire pack. Hazel had expected him to ask several questions or tell her to wait until they had more evidence, so she was surprised when he simply nodded.

"Very well. I’ll arrange the gathering for tonight."

Hazel stared at him in surprise. "Really?"

"You’re my daughter, Hazel. If you have evidence against someone who has been deceiving our pack, then you deserve the chance to present it. Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you stand in front of everyone."

A bright smile spread across Hazel’s face, and she felt some of the weight on her chest disappear. "Thank you, Father. I promise I won’t disappoint you."

Gabriel gave her a small nod before picking up his bow again, and Hazel stepped away from the training grounds feeling more hopeful than she had when she arrived.

At least one thing in her life was finally going according to plan.

However, as she walked back toward the residence, her thoughts drifted to Ryan.

Of all the people who should have believed her, he was the one she had once trusted the most. He had been her first love, the person she had imagined spending the rest of her life with, and someone she had once believed would always stand by her side.

Yet he had chosen to believe Scarlett instead.

Hazel lowered her eyes, remembering how Ryan had looked at her when she tried to explain the truth. It was as if he had already decided she was guilty before she even opened her mouth. No matter what she said, he seemed determined to misunderstand her, and sometimes she wondered if he had been trying to make her hate him all along.

Perhaps he wanted her to stop loving him so that she would never look back.

Well, if that was what he wanted, then he had finally gotten his wish.

The thought of Ryan sleeping with Scarlett had hurt her more than she wanted to admit, but it had also forced her to face the truth. She couldn’t keep holding on to someone who had betrayed her trust and made her feel as though she was never good enough.

She had already decided to let him go, and she wouldn’t change her mind.

Still, she couldn’t lie to herself about one thing.

Ryan had been her first love, and no matter how badly he had hurt her, a small part of her would always remember the boy she once loved.