Knightly " Ruin , " Phoebe says . The fear in her voice is obvious . " Who are these two ? " " Four intruders ," my Dad calls out . * This is Jason and Vernon . They're friends ," Ruin answers . " Wow , you cut your hair , " " Yeah . It feels more practical ," she says tightly . " It looks amazing ," he compliments . " Come have a seat with us . We need to talk , Princess " What's going on ? " she asks . That fucking asshole . How the hell does she know these people ? How long have they been so fucking close to her ? " Kenny told me about the twins ' father , " he starts . " I don't see how that's any of your business , " she says angrily . " It wasn't her place to say anything . I trusted you . It hasn't even been a fucking hour ," " Phoebs , I'm only trying to help . The Blakes are not- she pauses . " Phoebe , you can trust me . I've known you for three years now . I love the twins . I would never do anything to hurt either of you ," " What is happening , Kendra ? " she demands . " What is all this ? Who the fuck are these people in my apartment ? My kids are here , " " That's why I called ," the woman raises her voice . " You can't let the Blakes get to them . You have no idea what it is you've landed in with those people , " " And you do ? " " Yes ," " Then explain it to me ," I hit the brakes and put the car into park as I get out with my phone in hand . The Bluetooth disconnects and I put it to my ear . I don't have the patience to wait for the elevator . I take the steps as fast as I can with my dad and a team of betas . When I get to the door , I have to stop myself from tearing the door down . I knock . " Who is that ? " I hear Ruin ask . " I don't know , " Phoebe says . Ecoverthe peeptate Th door opens and a woman all but Successfully unlocked ! screams when she sees me . " Ruin , " she calls out . My dad and I step inside to find them all sitting in the living room . 14 " Ruin fucking Alcantar , " I growl . " Knight , " he holds his hand up when his guys stand up . " Alpha Blake , " " Mr. Alcantar , " my dad greets him politely . " Phoebe , go get the twins , " I instruct her . She stands up and starts to move . " Wait , " Ruin stops her . She looks between the two of us . " You don't know him , Phee . If you go with him , you have no idea what they'll do to you and your kids . We're trying to help , " " You don't want to do that , son , my dad growls . " Don't make this harder on her than it already is . She doesn't belong to you . Step back and let my son through ," " Just like you to stand behind your old man , Knight . You couldn't cut it as Alpha then and you sure as fuck can't now . When are you going to grow the fuck up ? " he growls . Phoebe steps away from the animalistic sound . " Phoebe , move , " I say pushing past the woman . She doesn't hesitate this time . When I get close to her , she hands me the gun . I take it and put the safety back on . The backpacks , " she says . Once inside the room , she runs to the closet . I take the two backpacks off the bed . The little girl runs out first . " You , " she points at me . " Me ," I smile at her . " May I ? " " Yes , grab her , and let's get the hell out of here , " she all but shouts at me . She lifts the boy into her arms when I pick the little girl up . " You smell nice , " Ayrie says when she rests her head on my shoulder . " Thank you . So do you , " I breathe her in . My wolf is fully aware right now . Holding Ayrie for the first time has him more awake than when I put my hand in Phoebe's . This is my daughter . I can feel it deep in my bones and so can he " Thas a lot of peoples , " she mumbles and wraps her arms around me . I can hear her little heart kick into gear . I place my hand on her head . " Don't look at them . Stay right here ," I whisper into her ear . I pull her little hood over her head . " Phoebe , " the woman tries to stop her when we get to the doorway . " Get the fuck out of my way , Kendra , " " Mommy , " Ayrie giggles into my neck making goosebumps lift down my back . " Don't go with him , Phoebs . You know me ," " Do I ? I thought I was just some useful bitch , " Phoebe stands her ground even when the boy tries to cover her mouth for saying a bad word . " Mommy , " he laughs . " I didn't mean that , " the woman tries to calm her . " The men in my home say differently , " she shoves her out of the way and walks out . She pauses when she sees the armed betas . She places her hand on his head and . then looks back at me . Tears slip from her eyes as she heads to the elevator . This further proves that she had made the right choice by not telling me . I need to look into everyone around her . I have to see what other packs are part of this and who else is a threat . This is exactly what I didn't want to happen - why I had to walk away the first time . " Go with her , " my dad pushes me to her as we make our way to her car . I place the little girl into the car seat and start to help her into the straps . There are a lot of parts . " This one , " she whispers tapping two clips at her chest . I click them together and reach for the two metal ones not knowing where they go . She reaches between her legs and pulls out the other piece . " Like this , " She fits them together but she's not strong enough to push it into place so I do it for her . She claps her little hands and smiles big . She looks just like her . " Thank you , " " Welcome ," she opens and closes her little hand rapidly . Phoebe reaches over and hands her a little teddy bear in pjs . She wraps her arms around it tightly without taking her eyes off me . " I can drive ," I offer her . Phoebe nods and climbs into the front seat . I press the start button and get us the hell out of here . My dad and his team follow . She's sniffling . quietly trying to get a hold of herself . " It's going to be okay , " " I don't see how she wipes away her tears and turns the AC on . " I don't know what to say , Phoebe . I didn't think things would catch up this fast . I didn't mean- " I trusted her , " she stops me . " I let her into my home . I mean she didn't even hesitate ," " This isn't your fault , " " I have to call , Cev , " she says " Who is Cev ? " I ask feeling my wolf surge forward . She puts her finger to her lips . " Shh . Shh . D.A.D. , Ayrie giggles from the back seat . I don't know what to do or say . She didn't exactly call me dad , but holy shit . " Cevin ," she lets out a sigh of relief . " I know it's late , but I need you to clear my schedule for tomorrow ," there's a pause . " Oh , perfect . Listen , if Kendra or her brother stop by the office tell them you haven't heard from me and I don't ever want them on the premises again , " a small pause . " Thank you , Cev . You're the best . I love you too , " I 15 Knightly