Chapter 19 The Alpha's Ultimatum
Sebastian's POV
"Thirteen Pack representatives have confirmed their attendance, Alpha," Beta Marcus said, his finger stopping at the bottom of the page. "Including Alpha King heir."
The room fell silent.
James cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Alpha, perhaps we should consider postponing the ceremony. Given the current circumstances with Elara, it might be wise to wait until things have settled down."
I felt something hot and dangerous rise in my chest, and before I could stop myself, my eyes shifted from their normal brown to burning Alpha gold. The dominance that exploded from me was raw, primal command that pressed down on everyone present with suffocating force.
James's eyes went wide, and then his body betrayed him, his knees buckling as he dropped to the floor in an instinctive submission posture. His head bowed, his neck exposed, every line of his body screaming surrender.
"The ceremony will proceed as planned," I said, and my voice came out layered with Alpha command. "There will be no postponement. There will be no cancellation."
"Easy," Rex, my wolf, warned in my mind. "You're about to make them wet themselves."
I forced myself to pull back some of the dominance, but I kept my eyes gold. James stayed on the floor, his shoulders trembling, and I saw Nolan and Ryan both had their heads lowered.
Marcus managed to stay in his chair, but even he had gone pale. When he spoke, his voice was carefully measured. "Alpha, the issue is that Elara has moved out of the Pack House. If she doesn't attend her own Recognition Ceremony, it will cause serious damage to Silverstone's reputation. The other Packs will see it as a sign of internal discord."
He was right, and I knew it. But the fury that burned in my chest had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the image of my daughter's silver eyes looking at me with such cold distance yesterday.
"She left because we failed her," Rex snarled in my mind. "She left because we let that woman and her brat push our daughter out of her own home."
I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound that made everyone in the room flinch. I planted my hands on the table and leaned forward, my Alpha gold eyes sweeping across each face in turn.
"Tomorrow morning, I will personally go to Elara's apartment and bring her back to the Pack House," I said, and this time I let the full weight of Alpha command flow into every word. "You three will come with me. If we cannot convince Elara to return, then none of you will return either. Do I make myself clear?"
Nolan was the first to respond, his voice hoarse. "Yes, Alpha."
Ryan and James echoed the acknowledgment a second later.
---
The next morning, I stood in the narrow hallway outside Elara's apartment with Nolan, Ryan, and James crowded behind me, and I felt my wolf's reaction to the building's shabby exterior like a physical blow to the chest. The paint was peeling, the carpet was stained and worn, and when I extended my Alpha senses, I could feel the cramped dimensions of the space beyond the door.
"This is where our daughter has been living," Rex said, his voice thick with anguish. "This place is smaller than a single bedroom in the Pack House."
I knocked on the door, and a moment later, Elara opened it. She was wearing simple jeans and a sweater, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and when her silver eyes met mine, I saw the flicker of surprise before her expression smoothed into careful neutrality.
"Dad," she said, her tone polite but distant. "What are you doing here?"
I stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, and the three younger wolves followed me into the cramped living space. The apartment was clean and organized, but there was no hiding how small it was, how the furniture was old and mismatched, how the kitchen was barely large enough for one person to move around in.
Rex was scanning everything with frantic intensity, taking in every detail of our daughter's living conditions, and I felt his rage and grief building like a storm in my chest. The small fox-like dog, Maple, was curled up on the couch, and it raised its head to look at us with intelligent dark eyes before settling back down.
I heard James mutter something under his breath, his voice carrying clear disapproval as he looked around the apartment. "How can you live in a place like this? The Pack House is so much bigger—"
"The Pack House doesn't allow pets," Elara said, cutting him off with cool precision. "So I rented this place instead."
She said the last few words slowly, deliberately, her silver eyes fixed on the three younger wolves, and I saw the moment they understood the unspoken reminder.
James's expression shifted from guilt to defensive irritation. "It's just a dog. Did you really need to move out over something so small? You're being—"
"Being what?" Elara interrupted, and I saw the silver glow begin to intensify in her eyes. "Yesterday, Sophie told me to get out of 'her house,' and not one of you thought that was unreasonable. So tell me, James, what exactly am I being?"
Nolan tried to smooth things over. "Sophie is just a child. She doesn't understand—"
"She's six years old," Elara said, her voice soft but cutting. "That's old enough to know exactly who the real outsider is in that house."
The words hit me like a physical blow, and I felt Rex howl with anguish in my mind. "Our daughter thinks she's an outsider in her own home. We did this. We let this happen."
I took a deep breath, forcing down the surge of emotion that threatened to overwhelm me, and I reached out to place my hand on Elara's shoulder. She didn't pull away, but she didn't lean into the touch either, and that small distance hurt more than I wanted to admit.
"Elara," I said, making myself meet her eyes even though it felt like looking into a mirror that reflected all my failures back at me. "What happened yesterday was wrong. I should never have blamed you without understanding the full situation first. I should never have allowed Sophie to take over your room. I failed you as a father, and I'm sorry."
I felt my voice crack on the last word, felt the tremor run through my hand where it rested on her shoulder. Elara's eyes widened slightly, surprise flickering across her face.
"I'm asking you to forgive me," I continued, my throat tight. "Please, Elara. Can you forgive your father?"
For a long moment, she just looked at me, her silver eyes searching my face. Then she gently pulled away from my touch, creating a small but definite distance between us.
"I'm not angry with you," she said quietly. "And there's nothing to forgive. I'm an adult now, and it's normal for me to want to live independently. You don't need to worry about me."
"She's lying," Rex whimpered. "She's protecting herself by pretending she doesn't care."
"I'm happy here," Elara added, glancing over at Maple on the couch. "Maple is comfortable, and we've both adjusted to this space."
The way she said it made it clear she was talking about more than just the apartment. She had adjusted to being alone, to not having a family to rely on, to building a life that didn't include any of us.
The pain in my chest was almost unbearable, and I felt my wolf thrashing in despair. She wasn't angry because anger required emotional investment. What I saw in her eyes was something far worse, it was the calm, detached acceptance of someone who had stopped expecting anything from us a long time ago.
I took another deep breath, trying to steady myself, and then I made a decision that I knew would have massive consequences.
"If you don't want to return to the Pack House, that's fine," I said, and I saw surprise flicker across not just Elara's face but also the faces of Nolan, Ryan, and James behind me. "Last night, I had Marcus purchase an independent estate on the eastern edge of Silverstone territory. If you're willing, we can move there, you, me, and Damian. Maple will have a full garden to run in, and there won't be any rules or restrictions."
Nolan made a strangled sound of shock. "Alpha, that violates the fundamental law that the Pack Alpha must reside in the Pack House—"
I turned to look at him, and I let my eyes shift to Alpha gold, let just enough dominance roll off me to make him take an instinctive step backward. "If following that law means losing my daughter, then I don't give a damn about the law."
I turned back to Elara, and I saw that she had gone completely still, her silver eyes wide with something that might have been shock.
"You don't have to do that," she said, her voice softer than before. "You don't owe me anything."
The words stabbed through me like a knife. But I saw her throat work as she swallowed hard, saw the way her carefully maintained composure wavered for just a moment, and I knew that saying I wanted to make up for the past didn't mean much right now, that I had given her no reason to trust that I would actually follow through.
"Elara, from today forward, let me and Damian give you a real home," I said, my voice rough with emotion and sincerity. "Will you let us try?"