Chapter 64
The council hall was cold that morning.
Seven elders sat behind the long stone table, looking down at Sebastian like he was a young wolf who had lost control. Warriors filled the room, guards stood at the door, and Damien stood behind Sebastian with a tense face.
Sebastian did not sit.
He stood in the center of the room, jaw clenched, fists tight, eyes dark with rage and fear.
An elder cleared his throat. “Alpha Sebastian, we hear you are causing unrest in your pack.”
Another elder added, “All because of a missing girl.”
Sebastian’s eyes snapped up. “Her name is Rhianna.”
“Yes,” the elder said, waving a hand. “The Omega girl you rejected.”
Sebastian took one slow breath to stop himself from snapping. “She was taken. Kidnapped. And we need warriors to assist Hardin’s search.”
“We denied your request,” the oldest elder said. “And we will deny it again.”
Sebastian stepped forward. “She could be dying somewhere.”
“She was a weak Omega,” the elder replied. “You have a Luna now. A future heir. Your focus should be on your pack.”
Sebastian paused.
For a moment, he looked calm.
Too calm.
Then—his voice snapped like thunder.
“My pack is my focus.”
“Then forget the girl,” an elder said sharply.
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. He leaned forward, hands flat on the table.
“I will never forget her.”
The elders exchanged annoyed looks.
Damien placed a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “Alpha—”
But Sebastian shook him off and spoke again.
“You sit here and judge me like you know what happened. You don’t. Rhianna is missing because she was left unprotected while she was weak. Someone took her from Hardin’s house. Someone hurt her. And we do not know if she is alive.”
“She is not your concern anymore,” the council leader said. “Your only duty now is Brittany and your unborn child.”
Sebastian’s breath left his lungs.
There it was.
The real reason.
“Are you saying,” Sebastian said slowly, “that the girl who was once part of my pack does not matter?”
“She is gone,” another elder said. “Let her go.”
Sebastian slammed his fist onto the table so hard the elders jumped.
“NO.”
The word echoed through the hall.
“I will not let her go,” Sebastian said. “I will find her. With the council’s help or without it.”
“Then you are acting against orders,” the elder warned.
Sebastian leaned closer, voice low and deadly.
“Then punish me. Strip me. Challenge me. I don’t care.”
“Sebastian—” Damien whispered urgently.
But Sebastian kept going.
“I made mistakes. Many. But I will not add another by ignoring a missing girl who trusted me once. I do not care what title I hold or lose. I will search until she is found.”
The council leader frowned. “You seem very attached to the girl.”
Sebastian’s jaw twitched. “It is not attachment. It is responsibility.”
“We think it is something else,” an elder muttered.
Sebastian’s eyes darkened dangerously.
The leader raised a hand. “Enough. Sit down, Alpha.”
“No,” Sebastian said.
The room went silent again.
“I will only sit when you understand me clearly,” Sebastian said. “Rhianna is missing. Someone inside this pack knows what happened to her. And I will find them.”
“And what will you do with this… traitor you imagine?” the elder asked mockingly.
Sebastian’s voice went cold. “Make them wish they were never born.”
Even the elders grew quiet at that.
Damien stepped forward. “Please… we only need a few warriors.”
“No,” the council said again. “The case is closed.”
Sebastian laughed.
A cold, humorless sound that made everyone uneasy.
“Closed?” he repeated. “My pack member is missing. And you want me to accept it?”
“Yes,” the elder said. “You will accept it.”
Sebastian turned away.
“You will regret this,” he said softly.
The elders stiffened.
“What did you say?” the leader demanded.
Sebastian walked toward the door, Damien rushing behind him.
“I said,” Sebastian repeated, “you will regret this.”
The large doors slammed behind him.
And for the first time, the council realized—
Sebastian Wolfe was no longer under their control.
BRITTANY — THE SECRET MEETING
The forest behind the pack house was quiet. Birds sang. Leaves moved. Nothing seemed dangerous.
But Brittany walked fast, looking around nervously.
She wore a black hooded jacket, dark leggings, and boots. She kept her head low so no one would recognize her.
She checked her phone.
A message from a blocked number:
“We’re here. Don’t take long.”
When Brittany reached the old storage shed, two men stepped out from behind it.
Rough-looking.
Dressed in black.
Smelling nothing like pack members.
“Are you alone?” one asked.
“Yes,” Brittany said quickly.
The taller man smirked. “Your Alpha doesn’t know you’re meeting us?”
She scoffed. “He doesn’t need to know everything.”
They exchanged amused looks.
The shorter guy leaned on a tree. “We did what you asked.”
Brittany stiffened. “Meaning?”
“She’s gone.”
Brittany looked around sharply. “Gone where?”
The man shrugged. “You told us to make her disappear. So we did.”
“I said get rid of her,” Brittany whispered. “Not… kill her.”
The man tilted his head. “What’s the difference?”
Brittany grabbed his shirt. “If you killed her, Sebastian will tear the world apart.”
“We didn’t kill her,” the tall one said, brushing her hand off. “Not exactly.”
Brittany froze. “What does not exactly mean?”
“We chased her,” he said. “She fell. Might have hit something. Then the river took her.”
Brittany’s heart pounded. “Did she drown?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” The man smirked. “The current was strong.”
Brittany stepped back, shaking. “You idiots. You weren’t supposed to make it obvious!”
“Relax,” the man said. “No one knows it was us. Everyone thinks the weak Omega ran away.”
Brittany swallowed hard. “Is… is there a body?”
“Not yet.”
Brittany closed her eyes.
A missing girl was a problem.
A dead girl was a disaster.
“Sebastian can’t find out about this,” she whispered. “If he learns I was involved—”
“That’s your problem,” the man said. “Not ours.”
She glared at him. “We had a deal.”
“We did what you paid us to do,” the shorter man said. “And if you want us to stay quiet… you will keep paying.”
Brittany stepped back slowly. “Fine.”
The tall man smirked. “Good girl.”
They turned to leave.
But the shorter one paused. “One more thing.”
Brittany’s stomach dropped. “What?”
“If she survived… she’s not coming back the same.”
Brittany swallowed hard. “Why not?”
“Because girls who fall into rivers during kidnappings usually come back angry,” he said with a grin. “Or they don’t come back at all.”
Then the two men disappeared into the forest.
Brittany stood alone, breath shaking, hands trembling.
“Please be dead,” she whispered.
“Please be dead so he can forget you.”
But deep down, she had a sick, twisting feeling—
Rhianna wasn’t dead.
Not even close.
BACK TO SEBASTIAN
Sebastian stormed through the pack house, shoving open doors, searching for clues, ordering everyone to be watched.
“Someone inside this pack knows,” he muttered. “Someone helped.”
Damien kept pace. “What now?”
Sebastian stopped, eyes blazing.
“Now?” he said softly.
“Now we hunt.”
And for the first time…
Brittany felt true fear.