Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Sera

The room felt like it was closing in. I sat down heavily on the bed, trying to process Maya's words.

"Marcus hired someone to kill me," I said slowly. "He was planning my death while lying in that hospital bed, crying about loving me and Lydia."

"It gets worse," Maya said quietly. "The confession was witnessed by three healers and recorded according to Council protocol. But Marcus also said he wasn't the only one who'd paid Vaughn. Someone else had hired him independently, for a different purpose."

Dante's whole body went rigid. "Did he say who?"

"No. He died before he could finish. But he did say one thing that might be relevant." Maya pulled a folded paper from her pocket. "The healers wrote down his exact words. 'Tell Sera the wolf closest to her new Alpha is not what he seems. Trust no one in the inner circle.'"

The words felt like ice water down my spine. Inner circle. In any pack, that meant the Alpha's most trusted advisors. His Beta, his head warriors, his closest family.

Adrian.

"We need to get you out of here," Dante said immediately. "Council custody is out of the question. If Vaughn has someone on the inside, you'd be sitting prey."

"Running makes me look guilty," I countered. "Garrett will use it as proof I'm hiding something."

"I don't care how it looks. I care about keeping you alive." Dante was already moving, grabbing our belongings and shoving them into bags. "We leave now, head to neutral territory, somewhere even Vaughn can't track us."

"Alpha, there's a problem with that plan." Maya twisted her hands nervously. "The Council has already posted guards at all the exits. Elder Miriam anticipated that you might try to run. She's ordered that Sera not be allowed to leave the grounds until the noon decision."

I looked at the window. We were on the second floor, surrounded by Council guards, with less than an hour before I had to choose between custody or exile.

"There has to be another way," I said. "Some way to prove the medical records are fake, that Garrett's witness is lying, that all of this is Vaughn's manipulation."

"There's no time for proof. We need to act now." Dante went to the window, assessing the drop, the guards' positions, possible escape routes.

"If I run with you, I'm proving their suspicions right. They'll say I manipulated you, that I'm using the mate bond to control you." I stood and went to him. "Dante, you need to think clearly. Not as my mate, but as an Alpha. What does your pack need?"

"They need their Luna safe."

"They need their Alpha making smart decisions, not emotional ones." I took his face in my hands, making him look at me. "Marcus's confession changed things. If Vaughn has been hired by multiple people, that means this goes deeper than we thought. Running won't solve anything. We need to expose the whole conspiracy, not just survive it."

"And if you're dead, none of that matters."

"Then we make sure I don't die." I turned to Maya. "You said Marcus's confession was recorded. Can we hear it?"

"I have a copy. The healers thought you should know everything." Maya pulled out a small recording device. "But Sera, it's hard to listen to. He was in a lot of pain at the end."

"Play it."

Maya pressed the button. Marcus's voice came through, weak and distorted by pain, but audible.

"...hired Vaughn three weeks ago. Paid him to discredit Sera, make her seem unstable. If the legal route failed, he was to... to eliminate her. Make it look like an accident." A pause filled with labored breathing. "But I wasn't the only one. Someone else contacted Vaughn. Someone from Blackwood Pack. They wanted... wanted something different. Not just Sera's death. Something about the child."

A healer's voice: "Who? Who from Blackwood Pack?"

"Didn't give a name. But Vaughn said... said it was someone close to the Alpha. Someone who stood to lose everything if Sera became Luna. They paid more than me. Had different goals." More painful breathing. "Tell Sera... the wolf closest to her new Alpha is not what he seems. Trust no one in the inner circle. The baby... they want the baby."

The recording ended with the sound of monitors flatlining.

We sat in silence. The baby. Someone wanted our child specifically, not just me gone.

"For what purpose?" I whispered. "What could they possibly want with an unborn baby?"

Dante's expression was grim. "An Alpha heir with true mate bloodlines would be incredibly powerful. If raised and trained by someone with ambition..."

"They could challenge your position. Claim they're protecting your legacy while actually creating a puppet they control." I felt sick. "Someone in your pack wants to steal our daughter and use her against you."

"Adrian is the obvious suspect," Maya said carefully. "But there are others in the inner circle. Your head of security, Marcus. Your chief healer, Marie. Your father's old advisor, Garrett—"

"Wait." I held up a hand. "Garrett. Like Alpha Garrett from Riverside Pack?"

"Different Garrett. This one is old, served Dante's father for decades before retiring. He still lives in the pack house, still attends important meetings." Maya looked between us. "Actually, now that I think about it, he's been asking a lot of questions about you, Sera. When you arrived, what your background was, whether you could be trusted."

"That could just be normal concern for his Alpha's wellbeing," Dante said, but doubt colored his voice.

"Or it could be reconnaissance for Vaughn." I paced the small room, trying to think. "If this Garrett served your father, he'd know pack history, pack politics. He'd know who to contact for hire work like Vaughn. And if he's old and retired, he probably thinks he deserves more respect or influence than he gets."

"He did oppose my relationship with Catherine," Dante said slowly. "Said I was too young to take a chosen mate, that I should wait for a true mate bond. When she died, he told me it was proof he'd been right." He paused. "And he's been vocal about me staying unmated. Said the pack was stronger with me focused solely on leadership instead of family."

"Let me guess—he suggested Adrian as your successor if anything happened to you."

Dante nodded. "Multiple times. He and Adrian are close. Have been for years."

The pieces were falling into place. An old advisor who thought he knew what was best for the pack. A Beta who stood to inherit everything if the current Alpha remained unmated and childless. And now, suddenly, a true mate and baby threatening to disrupt those carefully laid plans.

"We need to talk to Elder Miriam," I said. "Tell her about Marcus's confession, about our suspicions. She can investigate—"

"And if she's compromised too?" Dante interrupted. "Vaughn has killed Lydia, manipulated Marcus, created false medical records. Who's to say he hasn't bought off Council members?"

"Elder Miriam has been serving the Council for decades. She has no reason to—"

"Everyone has a reason if the price is right." Dante's voice was hard. "We can't trust anyone outside this room."

A soft knock at the door made us all freeze. Maya moved to check the peephole.

"It's Elder Thomas," she whispered. "The one who confirmed your true mate bond."

"Let him in," I said. "If we can't trust him, we can't trust anyone."

Maya opened the door. Elder Thomas entered quickly, glancing behind him to ensure he wasn't followed. He looked worried, older somehow than he had just two days ago.

"We don't have much time," he said without preamble. "The Council is voting right now on whether to enforce immediate custody or allow you until noon to decide. There's a faction pushing hard for immediate detention."

"Let me guess—Alphas allied with Garrett," Dante said.

"Yes. And some I wouldn't have expected. There's money changing hands, favors being promised. Someone is working very hard to isolate Sera from protection." Elder Thomas looked at me. "I came to warn you. Whatever you decide about custody, don't agree to it. The guards assigned to watch you aren't Council regulars. They're outsiders, brought in specifically for this detail."

"Outsiders working for Vaughn," I said.

"Most likely. And if you're in their custody, in a locked room without Dante's protection..." He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

"So running is the only option," Dante said.

"Running won't work either. They have the building surrounded, the forest patrolled. You'd never make it past the perimeter." Elder Thomas moved to the window. "But there's a third option. One that might buy you time and safety."

"What option?" I asked.

"Sanctuary. Ancient pack law allows anyone to claim sanctuary in a sacred space. Once claimed, you can't be removed by force. The Council would have to negotiate terms for your release."

"What sacred space?" Dante looked skeptical. "The Council Hall itself?"

"No. There's a shrine in the forest, about two miles east of here. It predates all the current packs, built by the original wolf clans. Anyone who reaches it and claims sanctuary is protected under the oldest laws we have." Elder Thomas pulled out a hand-drawn map. "The guards don't patrol near it. They consider it neutral territory, not worth watching. If you can get there before noon—"

"They'll just wait us out," Dante interrupted. "Sanctuary doesn't solve the larger problem."

"No, but it gives you time. Time to investigate, to gather real evidence, to expose whoever's behind this conspiracy." Elder Thomas pressed the map into my hands. "And there's something else. The shrine has properties that amplify mate bonds. If there's any doubt about your connection being genuine, spending time there will strengthen it to the point where even skeptics can't deny it."

I looked at the map, then at Dante. Through the bond, I felt his uncertainty, his protective instinct warring with tactical thinking.

"How do we get there without being seen?" I asked.

Elder Thomas smiled slightly. "Leave that to me. I've been navigating Council politics for forty years. I know every secret passage, every blind spot in the guard rotations." He moved to the door. "Be ready in ten minutes. And Sera? Once you claim sanctuary, you can't leave until the Council negotiates terms. It might be days or weeks. Are you prepared for that?"

I thought about my options. Council custody with guards who might kill me. Running and being hunted like Lydia was. Or sanctuary in an ancient shrine, protected by laws even Vaughn couldn't break.

"I'm prepared," I said.

Elder Thomas nodded and left. Maya immediately started repacking our bags with essentials—food, water, warm clothes.

Dante pulled me aside. "Are you sure about this? Sanctuary means you're trapped there until this is resolved. If something goes wrong, if Vaughn finds a way around the protections—"

"Then at least I'll be alive long enough to fight back." I kissed him softly. "We're out of good options, Dante. This is the best of the bad ones."

Through the bond, I felt his acceptance, his determination to protect me no matter what it took.

"Together," he said.

"Together," I agreed.

Ten minutes later, Elder Thomas returned with robes that matched the Council attendants. We put them on over our clothes, hoods up to hide our faces.

"Walk slowly, keep your heads down. We're just attendants moving between buildings." Elder Thomas led us out into the hallway.

My heart pounded with each step. Past guards who didn't look twice at us. Down a back staircase used by servants. Through a kitchen where wolves prepared meals without noticing us pass.

And finally, out a side door into the forest where the shrine waited, along with whatever answers—or dangers—it might hold.