Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Sera

The next morning, Elder Miriam called an emergency Council session. Not for us—for something else entirely. But the timing felt wrong, and the tight expression on her face when she passed us in the hallway made my stomach clench.

"What do you think it's about?" I asked Dante over breakfast in the guest quarters.

"Could be anything. The Council oversees all pack disputes in the territory." He pushed eggs around his plate without eating. "Or it could be about Lydia's murder investigation."

We'd barely finished eating when Maya arrived, slightly out of breath.

"The Council wants to see you both. Now." She looked worried. "They wouldn't tell me why, just said it was urgent."

The Council chamber felt different today. Colder somehow, despite the morning sun streaming through the windows. All twelve members were present, but so were others—Alphas I didn't recognize from packs I'd never visited.

"What's going on?" Dante asked, his hand finding mine instinctively.

Elder Miriam stood. "Last night, we received a formal complaint. From Riverside Pack." She gestured to an older man seated to her left. "Alpha Garrett has brought serious allegations."

The man stood. He was in his sixties, gray-haired and thick-built, with cold eyes that assessed me like I was a problem to solve.

"Alpha Blackwood, I'm sure you remember our agreement from last month. Free passage through my territory in exchange for access to the northern hunting grounds."

Dante's jaw tightened. "I remember."

"Then you'll understand my concern when I learned that one of your pack members was found dead on my land. Murdered, in fact, with evidence suggesting she was being pursued." Alpha Garrett's eyes shifted to me. "The woman was Lydia Hayes. Sister to your current mate."

"We're aware," Dante said carefully. "The Council is investigating."

"Yes, and that investigation has revealed something interesting. Lydia was carrying documents when she died. Documents that prove Alpha Marcus Hayes of Clearwater Pack offered me territorial concessions in exchange for supporting his claim against Sera." Garrett's expression didn't change. "Documents that also prove I accepted that offer."

Murmurs rippled through the assembled Alphas. I felt Dante tense beside me.

"You're admitting to conspiring against a fellow pack?" Elder Tobias spoke up, sounding almost gleeful. "That's grounds for Council sanction."

"I'm admitting to making a territorial agreement that I later decided not to honor. There's a difference." Garrett looked directly at me. "But the documents also contained something else. Medical records showing that Sera underwent a procedure at Clearwater Pack medical facility approximately four months ago."

My blood went cold. "What procedure?"

"According to the records, you were given fertility treatments. Hormone injections designed to increase chances of conception." Garrett pulled out papers from his jacket. "Signed off by the healer Sarah and administered over a three-month period. The last injection was given five weeks ago."

"That's impossible," I said. "I was never given fertility treatments. I would have known."

"Would you?" Garrett handed the papers to Elder Miriam. "According to these notes, the treatments were administered as 'vitamin supplements' to avoid making you anxious about the process. Alpha Marcus's orders, apparently."

Dante took the papers from Elder Miriam's hands, scanning them rapidly. His expression grew darker with each page.

"These are fake," he said flatly. "Someone forged these to discredit Sera's claim about the pregnancy timeline."

"The signatures match Sarah's handwriting exactly. We had them analyzed." Garrett crossed his arms. "And there's a witness. One of the medical assistants at Clearwater Pack has come forward, willing to testify that she helped Sarah administer these treatments to Sera without her knowledge."

"Let me guess," I said, my voice shaking with anger. "This witness is being paid by someone."

"She's being offered protection. There's a difference." But Garrett wouldn't meet my eyes when he said it.

Elder Miriam held up a hand for silence. "These are serious allegations, Alpha Garrett. If true, they would cast doubt on the entire timeline we established yesterday. If Sera was given fertility treatments, it's possible she conceived with Alpha Marcus before meeting Alpha Blackwood."

"Which would make the child Marcus's legal heir, regardless of the true mate bond," Elder Tobias added, looking satisfied.

"This is ridiculous!" I stepped forward. "I was never given fertility treatments. Sarah would have told me—"

"Sarah is currently being held by Clearwater Pack on suspicion of conspiracy," Garrett interrupted. "She can't corroborate or deny anything."

I turned to Dante. "This is Vaughn. It has to be. He's planting false evidence to muddy the waters."

"Or you're pregnant with Marcus's child and trying to pass it off as mine," Garrett said bluntly. "The timing is suspicious, you have to admit. You conceive after three years of trying, right when you're about to leave Marcus? Then you conveniently find your 'true mate' and claim the pregnancy is his despite medical evidence suggesting otherwise?"

"The medical evidence you're presenting is fake!"

"Prove it." Garrett's voice was cold. "Because right now, we have documents, witness testimony, and a very convenient story from a woman who has everything to gain by claiming true mate bond with an Alpha King."

The other Alphas were murmuring among themselves. I could feel their skepticism, their willingness to believe Garrett's version over mine. I was nobody to them—just a former packless wolf with questionable loyalty and timing.

"We'll investigate these claims thoroughly," Elder Miriam said. "But until we can verify the authenticity of these documents and interview the witness, we must consider the possibility that they're genuine."

"What does that mean for the ruling?" Dante asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

"It means the ruling stands for now, but we're adding a condition. Sera will remain under Council custody instead of returning to your pack, Alpha Blackwood. Just until we sort out the truth."

"Absolutely not." Dante moved in front of me protectively. "She's my mate. She stays with me."

"She's a potential fraud artist trying to manipulate pack law for personal gain," Garrett said. "The Council has the right to detain anyone under investigation."

"Investigation for what crime, exactly?" I demanded. "Being pregnant? Forming a mate bond?"

"Conspiracy to defraud pack inheritance laws. If you knowingly conceived with Marcus and then claimed the child as Alpha Blackwood's to secure better standing, that's a serious crime." Garrett finally looked at me directly. "Punishable by exile from all pack territories."

The room spun slightly. Exile. Again. Just when I thought I'd found a home, found safety, they were threatening to take it all away.

"This is insane," Dante said. "Elder Miriam, you examined the true mate bond yourself. Elder Thomas confirmed it. The medical evidence from our healer shows accelerated development consistent with true mate pregnancy. How can you even consider—"

"I'm considering it because I have to," Miriam said, and she sounded genuinely regretful. "Pack law requires us to investigate all credible allegations. And like it or not, Alpha Garrett's evidence is credible enough to warrant investigation."

"How convenient that this evidence appears the day after Lydia is murdered," I said. "How convenient that the only person who could confirm or deny Sarah's involvement is being held incommunicado. This is all too neat, too perfectly timed."

"Which is exactly why we need to investigate," Elder Tobias said. "To determine if there's a conspiracy or if you're simply trying to deflect from your own deception."

I looked at Dante. Through the bond, I could feel his rage, his desperation, his fear of losing me. I could also feel him calculating, trying to find a way out of this trap.

"How long would this Council custody last?" he asked.

"Until the investigation is complete. A week, perhaps two." Elder Miriam stood. "Sera would be housed here in the guest quarters under guard. She'd be comfortable and safe, but unable to leave the grounds."

"And if she refuses?" Dante asked.

"Then the Council will assume she has something to hide, and we'll rule against her immediately." Garrett smiled slightly. "But I'm sure she'll cooperate. Unless she's actually guilty, in which case she'd have reason to run."

It was a trap. Agree to custody and lose my freedom, possibly my connection to Dante, definitely my ability to investigate Vaughn or defend myself. Refuse and be branded guilty by default.

"I need to think about this," I said.

"You have one hour." Elder Miriam gestured to the guards. "Please escort Sera and Alpha Blackwood back to their quarters. We'll reconvene at noon for her answer."

The walk back was silent. I could feel Dante's mind working, probably running through every possible angle, every potential escape route.

Once inside our room with the door closed, he pulled me into his arms.

"We're not doing this," he said. "We're not letting them separate us."

"What choice do we have? If I refuse, they rule against me. The baby becomes Marcus's legal heir, I'm exiled, and we lose everything."

"If you agree, you're trapped here while whoever's behind this—Vaughn or Garrett or someone else entirely—moves their pieces into place. You're vulnerable, alone, easier to manipulate or eliminate."

"I won't be alone. You'll visit, Adrian will—"

"Council custody means restricted visitation. I might get an hour a day if I'm lucky." Dante's grip tightened. "Sera, listen to me. This is about more than just proving paternity or investigating fake medical records. Someone is systematically trying to destroy your credibility and isolate you from protection. And I think I know why."

"Why?"

"Because you're the only one left who can connect all the pieces. Marcus is dying, probably won't last more than a few days. Lydia is dead. Sarah is imprisoned and can be silenced permanently. You're the last loose end." He pulled back to look at me. "If you die or disappear, the entire scheme dies with you. Marcus can be blamed for everything, Vaughn vanishes back into the shadows, and whoever hired him gets away clean."

"You think Garrett hired Vaughn?"

"I think Garrett is involved, yes. But I don't think he's the mastermind. Someone else is pulling strings, using Garrett's ambition and Marcus's obsession to create chaos." Dante moved to the window, looking out at the grounds. "We need to figure out who benefits most from your destruction."

I sat on the bed, my mind spinning through possibilities. Who benefited? Marcus wanted the baby but that didn't require destroying me completely. Garrett wanted territory but that could be negotiated. Vaughn was hired help, not the primary player.

"What about your pack?" I asked quietly.

Dante turned. "What about them?"

"You've been unmated for twenty-five years. Suddenly you have a true mate and an heir on the way. That changes succession, changes power dynamics." I met his eyes. "Who in your pack would lose the most if I become Luna officially?"

Dante's expression went very still. "Adrian."

"He's your Beta. If you die without an heir, he'd be next in line to become Alpha, wouldn't he?"

"Yes. And he's made no secret of his distrust of you." Dante ran a hand through his hair. "But Adrian's been with me for fifteen years. He's loyal, honorable—"

"Honorable enough to murder my sister to frame me? Ambitious enough to hire Vaughn to make me disappear?" I stood. "Dante, think about it. Adrian was against our bond from the beginning. He's questioned my motives repeatedly. He'd have access to your territory, your resources, your information. He could easily communicate with people outside the pack without suspicion."

"He wouldn't. I've trusted him with my life."

"You've trusted him with yours. But would you trust him with mine?"

The question hung between us. Through the bond, I felt Dante's conflict—loyalty to his Beta warring with growing suspicion.

A knock at the door made us both jump. Dante opened it to find Maya, her face pale.

"Alpha, there's news. Marcus just died. The silver poisoning finally stopped his heart."

I felt nothing. Just numbness where grief or relief should have been.

"There's more," Maya continued. "Right before he died, he confessed to something. Said he hired Vaughn not just to discredit Sera, but to kill her if the legal methods failed." She looked at me with frightened eyes. "He gave Vaughn a deadline. If Sera wasn't declared unfit by the end of this week, Vaughn was ordered to eliminate the problem permanently."