Chapter 33 CHAPTER 34

Chapter 33 CHAPTER 34
Bronte's POV

I stand there staring at the open door.

"I said pack your things," Alexander repeats.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. You leave tonight."

"Where's Sebastian?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Probably licking his wounds somewhere." He gestures to the door. "Go. Before I change my mind and make this worse for both of you."

I leave his office and walk upstairs in a daze.

When I reach my room, Irina is already there, pacing.

"I heard," she says the moment I close the door. "The whole pack heard. Alexander was yelling loud enough that—" She stops when she sees my face. "What happened?"

I tell her everything. The kiss, getting caught, Alexander's ultimatum, the wedding being cancelled.

When I finish, she sinks onto my bed.

"Oh, Bronte."

"I know."

"This is bad."

"I know that too."

"What are you going to do?"

"Pack, I guess. Like he told me to."

"And then what?"

"Go home. Face my parents. Deal with the consequences."

"And Sebastian?"

"What about him?"

"Are you just going to leave without talking to him?"

"What's there to say? We kissed, we got caught, and now everything is ruined."

"But you love him."

"It doesn't matter."

"It's the only thing that matters." She stands. "You can't just leave."

"I don't have a choice. Alexander cancelled the wedding. The alliance is broken. I have to go home."

"Then take Sebastian with you."

"He can't leave his pack."

"Why not?"

"Because he's the Alpha's brother. He has responsibilities here."

"And what about his responsibility to himself? To you?" She crosses her arms. "If you leave here alone, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Maybe. But at least I won't have destroyed the alliance between our packs and turned two brothers against each other."

"You didn't do that alone. Sebastian made his choice too."

"And look where it got us."

Before Irina can respond, there's a knock on my door.

"Come in," I call.

Alexander's beta enters.

"Luna, I'm sorry to disturb you, but the Alpha has decided you'll leave in the morning instead of tonight. It's too dangerous to travel after dark with rogues in the area."

"Fine."

"He also asked me to tell you that you're confined to your room until then. Meals will be brought to you."

"He's locking me in?"

"For your safety."

"You mean so I can't see Sebastian."

The beta doesn't deny it. "I'll have someone bring you dinner."

He leaves and I hear the lock click.

Irina and I look at each other.

"Well," she says. "At least you have one more night to figure this out."

"There's nothing to figure out."

"Yes there is. You need to decide if you're really going to walk away from this."

"I don't see another option."

"There's always another option." She moves to the window. "You could refuse to leave. Tell Alexander you're staying."

"And do what? Watch him and Sebastian hate each other because of me?"

"Or you could talk to Sebastian. Tell him how you feel. Make a plan."

"What kind of plan?"

"I don't know. But anything is better than just giving up."

She's right, but I'm too tired to argue.

"Can you do something for me?" I ask.

"What?"

"Find Sebastian. Make sure he's okay."

"And if he asks about you?"

"Tell him I'm sorry."

"That's it? That's all you want me to say?"

"What else is there to say?"

She looks at me for a long moment, then shakes her head.

"Fine. I'll find him." She moves to the door and knocks. "Let me out."

The lock clicks and the door opens. She leaves and I'm alone.

I sit on my bed and stare at the wall.

Hours pass.

Dinner comes and I don't eat it.

Night falls and I don't sleep.

I just sit there thinking about Sebastian's face when he admitted he kissed me, about Alexander's expression when I said I loved his brother, about how everything fell apart in the span of a single afternoon.

Around midnight, I hear something at my window.

A soft tapping.

I go to look and nearly scream.

Sebastian is on the trellis outside, balanced precariously two stories up.

I open the window quickly.

"What are you doing?" I whisper.

"I needed to see you."

"You're going to fall."

"Then let me in before I do."

I help him climb through and he stands in my room, breathing hard, his face covered in bruises from Alexander's fists.

"You shouldn't be here," I say.

"I know."

"If Alexander finds out—"

"I don't care." He cups my face gently, careful of his split lip. "I needed to see you before you leave."

"How did you know I'm leaving?"

"The whole pack knows. Alexander announced it at dinner. Said the engagement is broken, the alliance is off, and you're going home in the morning."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"This is my fault."

"No, it's mine. I'm the one who kissed you."

"I kissed you back."

"Because I didn't give you a choice."

"You gave me every choice. I could have stopped you. I could have pushed you away. I could have done a hundred things differently." I take his hands. "But I didn't. Because I wanted it as much as you did."

He closes his eyes. "This is such a mess."

"I know."

"I ruined everything. The alliance, your future, my relationship with my brother."

"We ruined it together."

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know. You stay here. I go home. We try to move on."

"I don't want to move on."

"We don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice." He opens his eyes. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me. We'll leave together. Tonight. Right now."

"Sebastian—"

"I'm serious. We'll go somewhere no one can find us. Start over. Just us."

"And abandon our packs? Our families? Everything we've ever known?"

"Yes."

"You don't mean that."

"I do." He takes both my hands. "I love you, Bronte. And I'm not ready to give you up just because Alexander says I have to."

"It's not that simple."

"It is that simple. Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes."

"Then come with me."

I want to say yes. Want to climb out that window with him right now and never look back.

But I can't.

"I can't abandon my family," I say quietly.

"Even if it means losing me?"

"Even then."

He lets go of my hands and steps back.

"Then I guess this is goodbye."

"Sebastian—"

"No, it's okay. I understand. Family comes first. Duty comes first. I get it."

"That's not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair." He moves to the window. "But I hope you're happy with your choice."

"Don't leave like this."

"How should I leave? With a smile? With a promise that we'll still be friends?" He shakes his head. "I can't do that. I can't pretend this doesn't hurt."

"I don't want you to pretend."

"Then what do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Well when you figure it out, you know where to find me." He climbs out onto the trellis. "Goodbye, Bronte."

He's gone before I can say anything else.

I close the window and sink to the floor.

This is really happening.

Sebastian is gone.

The wedding is cancelled.

And tomorrow I go home like none of this ever happened.

Except I'll know it happened.

I'll know what it felt like to be loved by someone who chose me over everything else.

And I'll know I chose duty over love.

The door unlocks and opens.

Irina rushes in, her face pale.

"We have a problem," she says.

"What kind of problem?"

"The kind where Alexander just summoned the entire pack to the great hall. Including you." She pulls me to my feet. "And he said it's about Sebastian and the engagement and something he needs everyone to hear."

My stomach drops. "What is he going to say?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not good."