Zian:

Flashback:

"You want me to believe that you are actually Zian, Ian’s twin brother?" Rue asked me, watching me with tired eyes.

I had just saved her and let her watch Rick die.

I would have picked Rick for my mission, but when I watched him throw her to the monster, I realized he was not trustworthy.

At least Rue would be desperate to get out, but not to the point that she would go against me.

"I mean, I am just confused why you are here?" she asked, her eyes on the protein bar I was holding in my hand.

It is not that I was hungry or anything.

I did not plan to eat it either.

I just wanted her to watch it and feel the pressure to survive.

She was basically just skin and bones now.

"Because I have a mission for us," I uttered, opening the packaging, and a gulp ran down her throat.

"What kind of a mission?" she questioned.

"I want to kill my father—," I trailed off, because I watched her attention shift from the protein bar to my face.

"And my brother," once I added, her jaw dropped.

"You want to kill your family, and you want my help with it?" her voice came out trembling, and rightfully so.

My family was not just some people we could get rid of.

They were powerful.

And untouchable.

"You have a problem with that?" I asked and finally extended my arm, holding the bar out for her.

She gulped once again before she snatched it out of my hand and started to chew it down.

Her first bite was big.

She did not even swallow it before she closed her eyes to express her feelings for the taste and texture of food.

"So, you in?" I smirked, cocking my head.

"I am. He threw me into the dark side of the north. Of course, I am in," once her stomach was full, she answered my question.

"I thought so," I chuckled.

"Well then, I will return soon," I said to her as I handed her a bag of supplies, and she immediately started to go through it.

Then she looked at me with wishful eyes.

I knew she wanted to get out of here, but I could not risk her leaving yet.

Once she is out, she will catch eyes, and then our plan will be exposed.

Worse, she will try to run away.

"Bye," I said without paying attention to the request in her eyes and left for the mainland.

End Of Flashback:

The moment I snatched the stone from my brother’s hands, I saw the way Clementine looked at me.

She looked like she wanted to tear me apart.

She rushed to Ian while I stepped back, tossing the stone into the air and catching it.

"Ah, what a precious little thing," I said lightly.

"What the hell?" Troy snapped.

I already knew him. I had stayed with them for a few days before.

"Oh, Troy. You’re still alive? I honestly thought you’d die early. You always seemed a little... slow to me."

He took two or three threatening steps toward me.

"Oh no, I’m terrified," I said dryly.

"He’s just like Ian," the girl standing beside him muttered and I smirked.

"And who’s this hot one?" I added.

Troy immediately pulled her behind him.

I knew what I was doing. I was enjoying this.

"Relax. I’m not interested in her," I said casually, though my eyes shifted to Clementine. She was still trying to wake Ian.

I shook my head.

"So you kids came all the way here to play games?" I said, holding up the stone. "Wasn’t this supposed to separate the mainland and the North?"

I circled them slowly.

"Did you accidentally kill the stone and now you’re burying it to avoid prison?"

Miss Rue stood on the other side, holding the gun we had found earlier in Sector 13.

"You think you can just show up, scare us, and everything will be fine?" Troy said sharply, stepping after me as I circled.

"We outnumber you," he muttered.

"Troy," I said calmly, "here’s some advice. Take your girl and leave. I’ll even open the fence for you. You’re welcome to go."

I paused and looked at Clementine and Ian.

"But they’re not going anywhere."

Leysa and Troy exchanged a look.

That reminded me. Leysa and Clementine never really got along.

I could use that.

"Leysa, why would you stay here?" I asked smoothly. "You’ve found your mate. He loves you. Your life is changing. Why risk it? Go back to your pack. You’ll have two now. Yours and Troy’s."

As I spoke, Leysa glanced at Troy, looking uncertain.

"You’re not seriously suggesting we take that deal, are you?" Troy snapped at her.

"Don’t be rude," I said mockingly. "She’s just trying to save both of you."

"But he’s right," Leysa said softly, nudging Troy’s elbow. "What will standing here do?"

Troy stepped away from her.

"Leysa, I can’t believe you’re saying this. I thought you’d redeemed yourself."

They began arguing.

I was already bored.

My gaze shifted back to Clementine and Ian.

If Ian woke up, everything would spiral. He wouldn’t care what was happening around him. He would just attack me.

My father had already planned to sacrifice me for him.

So I had to move first.

I signaled to Miss Rue.

"Silver bullet! Clementine." I mouthed the words to Rue.

She needed to lose consciousness.

Because when I killed Ian, there couldn’t be witnesses.

When Clementine woke up, I would tell her that I was Ian. That Zian was dead.

And she would believe me.

The moment Rue caught my signal, she began moving toward Clementine with steady steps, raising the gun and taking aim at her.

"You’re not listening to me. You’ve gone insane!" Leysa shouted, her voice cutting through the tension as she tried to convince Troy to leave for the mainland, but Troy suddenly shook his head and pointed at me instead.

"You know what? I should never have given you a chance," he said, and before I could react, he grabbed Leysa and shoved her backward.

At first it looked like he had pushed her away in panic, but instead of falling, Leysa twisted sharply at the last second, and that was when I understood what they had planned.

Troy had timed the shove perfectly, because Rue had stepped directly behind Leysa while aiming at Clementine, and in one swift motion Leysa snatched the gun from Rue’s hand and began striking her with it.

That was when I realized this was not going to be easy.

Troy lunged at me immediately after, but I was faster.

I pulled my gun from my pocket and fired twice into his stomach before he could reach me.

He froze mid-step, staring down at the spreading blood, then looked back up at me in disbelief before collapsing backward onto the ground.

"You–how dare you!" Clementine had regained consciousness, and instead of going to Ian, she threw herself at me.

I dodged her attack, and she lost her balance.

The moment she hit the ground, I moved over her and pinned her down, wrapping both hands tightly around her neck before she could recover.

"Pass out," I muttered coldly. "Or I’ll kill your husband."

It was deliberate. I wanted her to be panicked and desperate.

If she reached for a weapon, she would think she was saving Ian, and later I could twist the story however I wanted.

While I tightened my grip, Leysa and Rue were still struggling violently on the other side, both scrambling toward the gun that had slid across the ground during their fight.

Troy was bleeding heavily a few feet away, barely moving, and Ian still lay unconscious.

Then I saw it. Ian’s fingers twitched. His eyes began to move.

He was waking up.

That had never been part of the plan.

For all my calculations, I had missed one variable.

I had not expected Troy and Leysa to interfere the way they did, and that delay was costing me everything.

Clementine clawed at my hands, her nails scraping into my skin, but the angle I had pinned her in gave her no leverage.

She had fought mindless monsters before, creatures driven only by instinct.

But a monster with a mind was far more dangerous.

And that monster was me.

Ian’s eyes opened fully just as Clementine’s eyes started to close.

I could feel her strength fading beneath me, but at that exact moment, my grip faltered because something powerful wrapped around my neck from behind.

An arm locked tight around my throat and yanked me backward with force, pulling me off Clementine and throwing me onto the ground.

For a split second, everything spun.

When my vision cleared, I saw Troy lying in blood, Leysa and Rue still fighting, Clementine coughing and barely conscious, and Ian standing in front of me.

If Ian was in front of me, then who had grabbed me from behind?

"I knew you would never change," my father’s voice came from behind me.

And in that instant, I understood my mistake.

I should have finished him first.