Chapter 116
The pack clearing was still reeling from the blood in the chamber. Brittany's body had been wrapped in furs and laid out under the great oak for the mourning rites—flowers piled at her feet, candles flickering against the midday breeze. Wolves milled around in knots, voices low but edged with that raw, unsteady anger that follows sudden death. Searches for the archer had turned up nothing but trampled grass and false trails. The elders were holed up in their den, arguing over Brittany's unfinished accusation. Sebastian hadn't spoken to anyone since, holed up in the Alpha quarters with Rowan clutched like a lifeline. The boy cried on and off, sensing the wrongness without words.
Rhianna had ventured out from the healer's hut only once that morning—to fetch water and herbs for Hardin's compresses. Eyes followed her every step. Whispers trailed like smoke: "She pushed too hard." "Brittany was about to spill something big." "Convenient, that arrow." She kept her head down, but the weight pressed in.
By afternoon, the sky had gone leaden, threatening rain. That's when the stranger showed up.
He came from the southern border, bold as brass—tall, broad-shouldered, with a mane of dark hair streaked gray and a scar pulling at his left cheek. His clothes were road-worn: leather vest over a linen shirt, boots caked in mud from the border lands. He smelled like tobacco smoke and pine resin, foreign but familiar in a way that set teeth on edge. Two betas on patrol spotted him first, challenged him at the treeline.
"Who goes?" one growled, hackles up.
The stranger stopped, hands raised loose. "Name's Garrick. Here to see Brittany. Got business with her."
The betas exchanged glances. "Brittany's not seeing anyone today."
Garrick's eyes narrowed. "That so? Tell her it's about the boy. She'll know."
Word rippled back fast. By the time the betas escorted him into the clearing, a crowd had gathered—gammas dropping tools, omegas peering from doorways, elders emerging from their huddle with Mara at the front. Sebastian stepped out of the Alpha den, Rowan on his hip, face drawn and shadowed. Hardin limped out from the healer's hut, Rhianna close behind, her hand on his arm like an anchor.
The stranger—Garrick—stopped in the center, boots planted wide. His gaze swept the crowd, landing on Sebastian and the child. Something flickered in his eyes—recognition, maybe hunger.
"Where's Brittany?" he demanded. Voice rough, like gravel under wheels.
Mara stepped forward, chin high. "Who are you to ask?"
"Garrick. From the border packs. She knows me. We have... arrangements."
Sebastian's grip on Rowan tightened. The boy whimpered. "What arrangements?"
Garrick's scar twisted with a smirk. "The kind that involve my son. Hand him over. Brittany promised. Time's up."
The clearing went dead silent. Then exploded.
"Your son?" A beta snarled from the edge. "That's the Alpha's heir!"
Garrick laughed—short, barking. "Alpha's? Blood test say otherwise? Word travels fast in these woods. Brittany told me the plan. Kid's mine. She carried him for me. Deal was she'd raise him here, safe in your fancy pack, until he was old enough. But things changed. Hunters pressing borders. I want him now."
"Liar!" An omega shouted. Growls rose, wolves shifting stances, claws itching.
Sebastian's face went ashen. He looked at Rowan—dark curls, the same shade as Garrick's. The muddy green on the parchment suddenly made horrible sense. "You... and her?"
Garrick shrugged. "She needed power. I needed an heir. Win-win. Now, where is she? We settle this."
Mara's voice cut through. "Brittany's dead."
Garrick froze. "What?"
"Yesterday. Arrow in the chamber. Mid-trial."
His face twisted—shock, then rage. "Who?"
"Unknown," Mara said flatly. "Archer vanished."
Garrick's eyes flicked to Rhianna. She met his stare, unflinching, but her stomach knotted. Hardin stepped half in front of her, wincing at the movement.
"Convenient," Garrick spat. "She comes back from the dead, accuses Brittany, and poof—arrow shuts her up. Hand over my boy before I take him."
The pack surged. A gamma lunged forward—"Thief!"—but Cavan hauled him back. "Order! We don't hand over pack-born!"
"He's not pack!" Garrick roared. "Blood's mine! Brittany swore it!"
Sebastian's voice shook. "Is it true? Rowan... yours?"
Garrick nodded once. "Test again if you want. But yeah. Mine."
Rowan started crying in earnest, tiny hands clutching Sebastian's shirt. The Alpha looked lost—broken. "I raised him. He's—"
"Not yours," Garrick cut in. "Brittany used you. Sorry, pal. But the kid comes with me."
Chaos boiled over. Wolves shouted over each other: "Fight him!" "Let the elders decide!" "He's lying—smells like border scum!" Fists clenched, a few partial shifts—fur rippling, eyes glowing. An omega near the back whispered loud enough to carry: "Rhianna wanted her dead. Jealous. Stole Sebastian from her once."
The words spread like sparks on dry grass. Heads turned. Murmurs grew: "Yeah, she hated Brittany." "Pushed for the trial." "Arrow came right when Brittany was about to name names." "Probably couldn't find real proof—had to shut her up."
Rhianna felt the shift like ice water. "That's not—"
But Hardin pulled her back. "Don't. Not now."
Elias from the elders' side yelled for quiet, but no one listened. A beta shoved another: "Rhianna's innocent!" "Is she? Sebastian was hers first!" Punches almost flew. Mara barked orders, but the crowd was a beast now—snarling, fracturing.
Sebastian handed Rowan to Alden abruptly. Stepped toward Garrick. "You want him? Prove it."
Garrick grinned. "Blood test. Here. Now."
Alden fumbled, but obliged—prick to Garrick's finger, drop on fresh parchment. The strip turned the same muddy green as Rowan's. Match.
The pack deflated. Groans, curses. "It's true."
Sebastian sagged. "Take him."
"No!" An omega cried. But Sebastian waved her off. "He's not mine. And Brittany's gone. Pack can't raise a border wolf's pup amid this mess."
Garrick moved fast—scooped Rowan from Alden before anyone could react. The boy screamed, reaching back for Sebastian. Garrick bounced him awkwardly. "Shh, kid. It's me. Dad."
Sebastian turned away, shoulders shaking. The pack watched in stunned silence as Garrick backed toward the treeline, Rowan wailing. "Tell Brittany—wait, she's dead. Well, thanks for nothing."
He vanished into the woods. No one stopped him. The betas on patrol just... let him go.
The clearing erupted again—louder, uglier. "We just gave away the heir?" "Sebastian's weak!" "Rhianna started this!" Fingers pointed her way now. A gamma spat: "She killed Brittany. Couldn't stand her stealing Sebastian. No evidence? Arrow fixes that."
Rhianna's face burned. "I didn't—"
Hardin growled low. "Back off."
But the rumors snowballed. Whispers turned to shouts: "Jealous bitch!" "Returned from the palace just to wreck everything!" "Sebastian was her mate—Brittany took him, so she took Brittany out." A stone skittered across the dirt near her feet. Another voice: "Pack's cursed since she came back!"
Mara tried to call order—"Disperse!"—but fights broke out. Claws flashed. Blood hit the ground from a split lip. Elders scattered for cover. Sebastian disappeared back into his den without a word.
Hardin grabbed Rhianna's arm. "We need to go. Now."
They pushed through the melee—dodging elbows, ignoring the glares. Back in the hut, door barred, Rhianna leaned against it, breathing hard.
"They're saying I killed her," she whispered.
Hardin pulled her close. "Lies. But tension's high. Pack's scared. They'll calm."
Outside, the chaos dragged on—shouts echoing, howls rising as the rain finally broke. The pack was fracturing, rumors like poison in the veins. And somewhere in the border woods, Garrick vanished with his son.