Right so I MISTAKENLY posted half of Chapter 2.62 as 2.63 earlier.
How? I'll tell you. I wrote the two chapters together but it turned out to be long so I copy pasted half of it in Chapter 2.63 BUT I FORGOT TO CUT THAT PART FROM CHAPTER 2.62.
Thanks to moneyboxD who texted me about that orelse I wouldn't have known.
Anyways I thought that I'll publish this chapter on Friday but well... accept this as an apology chapter. I can be silly sometimes. Lol.
Enjoy
Zayn's frown only deepened, pushing hard into his eyelids. "What?"
"Um, the prisoners," Liam whispered. "They're our-"
His voice trailed away when Zayn turned towards them.
"What?" he said again.
(No one-
Literally no one-
Le me- Abbe behra hai kya?
English translation- Are you deaf?)
Liam curled his fingers around Zayn's hand, staring up at him. He opened his mouth but couldn't find the right words.
Zayn was impatient and turned his back to them. "What is it?"
"Well.."
"I know I look a mess but am I really that unrecognisable?" asked one of the men.
Zayn was looking at Liam when he spoke, and his breath hitched. Zayn visibly tensed and slowly turned his head. His eyes stared at all three prisoners. "Who said that?"
"I did" said the tall man in the middle, sitting forward so the orange light fell on his bearded face.
"You recognise my voice, don't you?"
Zayn did. The way it sounded raised hairs on the back of his neck like he had heard the voice many times before. "Who are you?"
The man's eyes briefly flicked to Liam. "It might take you a moment to understand, I know it's been a while, and the last time you saw me, I died."
He paused, long enough for Zayn's frown to shape with confusion. "It's me, Zayn, your father."
The silence stretched out for a long awkward moment as Liam looked back and forth between Zayn and Xavier.
Zayn stared intensely, narrowing his eyes. "Fuck off."
Xavier could only chuckle. "It's been two years and you greet me like this? Wait till your mother hears."
Zayn's face didn't move. He didn't move. He barely breathed.
Liam could only imagine the emotions soaring through him. Xavier must have sounded familiar, but he was a shell of the man Zayn remembered.
"It is Xavier," Liam whispered, squeezing Zayn's loose hand.
"No." Zayn couldn't look away from the tall man sitting with his thin legs crossed beneath him. "Liam, my father is dead. Why would you say that?"
Liam was told it and believed it. His parents had proved it by sharing memories, and under the filth and malnourished bodies, they still looked like themselves. "My parents are here too."
Zayn then tore his eyes away and stared oddly at his mate. "You hit your head a bit too hard."
"They are my parents. They proved it, they told me things only they would know! Ask Xavier anything he would know!" Liam smiled at his mother and father. His heart jolted when they smiled back. He knew his mind would do anything it could to make
him second-guess himself. He could barely believe it, and wondered when the madness would sink in.
Zayn flinched at the mention of his father's name. He looked to the people sitting on either side of the man who claimed to be his father. The man had dimples like Liam, the man had brown eyes like Liam, but that was the only resemblance he could see. He then connected his gaze with the man in the middle. There was a resemblance to his father that made Zayn's heart stumble. His eyes, the way they watched him with mild amusement, caught Zayn off guard. He knew those eyes, but it wasn't possible.
"You're dead" he blurted.
"I was, but Mira brought me back. The last thing I saw was you in the office, leaning over me. I must say, I was a little shocked to well... not die too"
"But- no. This is not possible. My mother lost her wolf. My father died. The end. You don't get to fucking revive yourself!"
"I don't know how Mira and Jaiden did it. I didn't reconnect the bond with your mother. I lost my wolf too, Zayn. I thought my Ana had died."
Ana. A shiver twisted through Zayn's spine. He hadn't heard anyone call his mother that in two years. "I don't believe you."
"Zayn-" A loud boom disturbed the conversation.
Zayn and Liam spun towards the small, curved exit.
Liam could see daylight flooding in from down the tunnel. He grabbed Zayn's arm in a panic, thinking Rogues were coming to avenge their leader's death, but the wolves that busted into the room where big, strong, and healthy wolves.
"Northern wolves," Zayn said, wrapping a reassuring arm around Liam's waist. "Most of the Rogues were human. We're getting them out, and we should get out too." Zayn eyed the man who claimed to be his father. Zayn felt weird, fuzzy, a little dizzy and cold at the sight of him. His mind was being rational, but his heart was screaming.
"Someone unlock their chains" he said in a small voice. "They're coming with us."
Liam had expected Zayn to believe Xavier the way he believed him. Zayn was the most stubborn person Liam had ever met. He should have expected a huge rejection.
Reena and another one of Zayn's Omega's collected the key still lodged in the chains that Liam had worn Reena stopped first, staring at the man in the middle with a strange frown.
To Zayn's surprise, the other Omega stopped and stared too as if they recognised him. They both glanced from him, to Zayn, then back to him. Reena sniffed the air and her face slowly paled.
No way. There's no fucking way. Zayn stormed to her and snatched the keys.
"I'll do it myself then," he snapped. He chose to unlock the woman first.
Now that he was closer, she had Liam's cute nose. He frowned at her as she watched him in return. Zayn needed hard evidence to believe anything they said.
He would make them do a DNA test if he had to. When the woman was unlocked, Liam limped to her and fell into her arms. Zayn watched in shock as his mate hugged a stranger. Liam wasn't stupid.
He was a little gullible and far too trusting, but when it came to his parents, Liam wouldn't believe just anything.
They must be. He purposefully ignored the tall man sitting next to him, to stare at the other man watching Liam with longing sad eyes. Zayn scooted over and unlocked his chains. He made Reena help him to Liam, so he could join the hug.
Reena stared at the tall man the entire time.
Zayn could barely believe what he was seeing. Liam was so emotional and so were the humans holding him. He wanted to push them away and shield Liam from others. They had been apart for longer
than Zayn would have liked. Being separated in a Packhouse was one thing but being at other ends of the country felt horrendous.
The tall man then cleared his throat, and their dark eyes clashed. Zayn lowered his gaze immediately, moving closer to unlock the rusted metal around his wrists. As he searched for the right key, the man leaned forwards a little.
"Did you find the Alpha Journal?"
Zayn froze. His eyes trailed up slowly.
"The only book you never stole from my office. I worried you'd never find it."
Hearing his voice and being close to his face, Zayn then knew. His heart screamed too loud for his head to ignore. His expression couldn't hide the realisation seeping through his skin. Zayn's eyes widened when, just for a moment, a familiar smell broke through the dirt.
A sudden lump formed in his throat and Zayn dropped his gaze again. His hands trembled, jingling the keys. His father held them, holding his hands as tightly as his weak body would let him.
"It's alright," he whispered. "I know this is a shock."
Zayn tried to fit the key into the lock. His hands were shaking too much.
Liam's hands softly landing on top of theirs, taking the key.
Zayn had lost all function. Only his eyes moved to Liam, who was a little concerned. Liam unlocked Xavier and motioned for their Omega wolves to come close. They were all staring, even the turned wolves.
"Don't mention anything about knowing the prisoners until we're at the Shadow Packhouse."
All of them nodded, but just like Zayn, nobody could bring themselves to speak. Liam wasn't usually the most stable one in the room. He had no idea where his strength came from, but he had to use it.
"Let's get out of this cave," he said to Zayn,
touching his shoulder.
Zayn was a pale, wide eyed, trembling mess. He stared at a ghost and his body didn't know how to process it.
"Zayn" Liam held his cheeks and turned his head. He softly massaged them with his thumbs. "Let's go."
Zayn shuffled back a little, so the Omega's could help Xavier's weak body off the floor. They helped Liam's parents up too, who were pleased to be close enough to touch each other again. They had been chained just out of reach for two years.
Liam stayed with Zayn who sat on his knees, staring into space.
"Hold on a little longer. We just have to get out first." Liam did all he could to avoid Mira's body swelling at the other side of the room. He was strong if he ignored that.
Liam pulled on Zayn's shoulders and he finally got to his feet, helping Liam too because his shin hurt too much. Their eyes rooted to the back of their parents as they all hobbled from the cave and into the tunnel.
The prisoners shielded their eyes from the sharp daylight.
"My god," Sylvia breathed, peeking through her fingers. "I never thought." she choked
up, "that I'd see the outside world again!"
Spenser reached for her hand and the Omega's held them closer together. Xavier stood with an arm around Reena, staring blankly ahead. His glossy eyes showed how much the daylight meant to all of them.
The sun was their freedom, each step was their success, seagulls above were sirens screaming that the war was finally over, blaring their victory.