Chapter 191

Chapter 191
ASHER

I sat across from Nicole, taking in the stark fear etched across her face as she clutched her hands tightly in her lap, her knuckles pale. She’d been defiant when she was first brought into the room, a mask of stubborn pride in place, but that was beginning to crumble now. The reality of her position was dawning on her—she was no longer a respected member of the pack but a traitor awaiting judgment. She barely looked like the same person I once knew.

“So, Nicole,” I said evenly, leaning forward. “This is where your choices have led you. Explain yourself.”

Her gaze darted around the room, and I could see her trembling. She took a shaky breath before speaking, her voice barely above a whisper. “Asher, I… I didn’t mean for it to get this far. I didn’t… I didn’t think it through. I just wanted—” Her voice broke, and she forced herself to keep going. “I just wanted to be seen. To be more than a placeholder.”

“More than a placeholder?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes. “You didn’t think I was clear enough when I told you I was waiting for my true mate?”

She flinched, her eyes filling with anger but quickly shifting back to fear. “I know you said that,” she admitted, voice wavering. “But you didn’t understand what it was like. Watching you, waiting for you to see me the way you saw her the moment you met her.”

“Isabella had nothing to do with the promises I made to you,” I replied coldly. “You knew from the start that I wasn’t going to mark you. I respected our time together, but I never lied to you about what I wanted.”

Her face twisted with resentment, and she snapped, “Maybe not, but it wasn’t just about what you said, Asher. It was about how you looked at her—how the entire pack looked at her. Like she was something special. She was just a fucking normal human. I couldn’t stand it.”

“So you betrayed us out of jealousy?” I let the words hang in the air, sharp as knives. “What did you think you’d get from siding with the hunters? Validation? Power?”

Her expression softened, fear and regret replacing her anger. “I don’t know,” she whispered, looking down at her hands. “Maybe I just wanted someone to see me as… worthy.” Her voice cracked, and she finally looked up, her eyes pleading. “I was stupid, Asher. I know that now. I just… I don’t want to die. Please.”

The ache of her words lingered, a faint reminder of the person she used to be, or perhaps who I thought she’d been. But I couldn’t forget what she’d done. She’d endangered our pack and everyone I cared about, all because of this envy that had blinded her. “This isn’t about what you want anymore, Nicole,” I said, my tone firm. “This is about what you’ve done. And now you’ll face the consequences.”

She choked back a sob, looking around the room for a way out, but there was none. I had no sympathy left. Nicole’s choices had burned every bridge, and I wasn’t about to let my guard down again.

As I stood up to leave, she reached out, her voice desperate. “Please, Asher. Give me a chance to make it right.”

I shook my head slowly, resolute. “You had your chances, Nicole. This is the end of the line.”

ISABELLA

As soon as Asher stepped out of the interrogation room, I was there, waiting for any sign of what Nicole’s punishment might be. His face was still hardened, the remnants of restrained fury in his eyes, and it was clear the conversation had affected him more deeply than he wanted to let on.

“What did she say?” I asked quietly, though I could sense the energy of the words he wanted to bury.

He sighed, the tension in his shoulders barely loosening as he took in my face. “She admitted everything—jealousy, resentment. She’s terrified of what’s coming.”

I nodded, glancing past him to the door as if I could somehow hear the confessions that room had witnessed. “And what is coming? What will her punishment be?”

Asher looked away for a moment, clearly weighing it carefully. “For her actions, she’ll be exiled from the pack.” He paused, his jaw set as he met my gaze again. “But not just that. She’ll be branded as a rogue, marked, so that any pack she crosses paths with will know she’s a traitor.”

The weight of his words sank in, and I struggled to imagine what it would mean for her. To be marked as a rogue meant complete isolation—cast out from the safety of a pack, from any sense of family. She would be vulnerable, forever seen as an enemy, prey to any pack she encountered. Exile was one thing, but this was a life sentence.

“She won’t survive out there on her own,” I murmured, half to myself, the reality dawning on me. “A rogue can’t last long without allies or shelter.”

“That’s the point,” he replied, his tone resolute. “Her betrayal nearly cost us everything. She put every single member of this pack in danger, and all because she couldn’t handle what she’d lost. She may not survive, but she made her choice.”

I nodded, letting the decision sink in, knowing that he was right—even if it felt brutal. I reached out, brushing my hand over his forearm, a gesture I hoped would steady him, and maybe me as well. “I understand. I just… I wish it hadn’t come to this.”

Asher exhaled, and his shoulders finally eased, a faint flicker of relief crossing his face. “So do I,” he admitted, “but we need everyone to understand that betrayal isn’t an option. The safety of this pack comes first. Always.”

Nicole had sealed her fate with her actions, and now, for the sake of the pack, we had to follow through.