Chapter 216 Choose

Chapter 216 Choose
The forest was quiet. It was the kind of silence that made Piper uneasy.
She and Ember had spent most of the night following the trail connected to Cecil. The area had once been used as a neutral meeting point between the packs before their alliances had collapsed and suspicion had replaced trust.
Piper stepped carefully over a fallen branch, her eyes moving across the surrounding trees as she searched for anything unusual.
“I’m getting a really serious déjà vu right now,” Ember said quietly beside her.
Piper nodded because she felt it too.
The trees stood completely still around them. There was no movement from nearby animals, no sound of branches shifting in the wind, and no indication that anything lived within the area. It almost felt as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
They continued deeper into the woods until Piper noticed something that immediately caught her attention.
A small trail cut through the trees.
It was not the kind of path created by animals moving through the forest. It was a path created by someone who had been trying very hard not to be noticed.
Piper stopped.
“Ember.”
Her friend followed her gaze and studied the trail carefully.
“You see it too?”
Piper nodded.
“Someone has been here recently.”
They followed the path slowly, remaining alert as they moved farther away from the main territory.
The deeper they went, the more certain Piper became that this was not the place where Cecil had disappeared.
It was the place where Cecil had been hiding.
Eventually, the trail led them to an old abandoned building hidden between the trees.
Piper felt her chest tighten as she looked at it.
The building appeared forgotten, abandoned by time and left to disappear beneath nature. But the slightly open door told a different story.
Someone had been there.
Ember immediately reached for her pocket knife.
“Careful.”
Piper nodded, and together they stepped inside.
The interior was dark and cold. Dust covered almost every surface, but the room still carried signs that someone had been living there recently.
A blanket rested in one corner.
Empty containers were stacked near the wall.
Several notes were scattered across a table.
Piper moved closer, carefully scanning through them.
Then she heard it.
A sound.
A quiet breath coming from somewhere inside the room.
Someone was there.
She turned quickly.
A girl stood at the far end of the room.
For several seconds, nobody moved. Then the woman slowly stepped forward.
Piper froze.
Cecil.
Alive.
Ember stared at her, unable to hide her disbelief.
“You’re alive.”
Cecil looked exhausted, as though she had been carrying the weight of the world alone for years.
“Don’t look so surprised, Ember,” she said, lowering the baseball bat Piper hadn’t realised she was holding.
Piper felt too many emotions hit her at once.
Relief.
Anger.
Confusion.
Everyone had believed Cecil was dead after she went missing for over a week.
“Everyone thought you were dead,” Piper said.
“I know.”
“Do you understand what happened because you disappeared?”
Cecil lowered her gaze.
“I do.”
Piper stepped closer, her frustration growing.
“Then explain.”
Cecil looked between Piper and Ember before finally speaking.
“I didn’t disappear because I was running from the person behind everything.”
She paused.
“I disappeared because I was running from what I found.”
The words immediately caught Piper’s attention.
“What did you find?”
Cecil swallowed, but before she could answer, her words became trapped in her throat.
Her body suddenly went tense.
Within seconds, she collapsed before Piper or Ember had the chance to catch her.
By the time Piper and Ember returned to the school hospital, everything had already changed.
The news of Cecil being alive spread quickly throughout the territory, but the information she carried was far more dangerous than her disappearance.
The investigation was no longer about murders.
It was about the truth.
But Piper barely had time to process everything they had learned before another problem reached her.
Archie.
The council had called an official gathering.
Every member of Crescent Moon was present.
Every warrior.
Every elder.
Everyone was waiting.
Piper stood at the edge of the crowd as Archie walked toward the platform.
After everything that had happened, the council wanted the future Alpha to stand before everyone and prove that Crescent Moon still had a leader.
Piper watched him carefully.
She wanted to believe this moment would be different.
She wanted to believe that even with the pressure surrounding him, even with the entire pack watching, Archie would find a way to remind her that she was still part of his future.
That he could choose Crescent Moon and still choose her.
The elder stepped forward.
“Archie Quinn.”
Archie looked toward him.
“The pack needs stability. It needs someone willing to accept the responsibility that comes with your position.”
The crowd remained silent.
Piper held onto the slight hesitation in Archie’s expression.
For a moment, she thought maybe he was thinking about her.
Maybe he was trying to find the right words.
Maybe he would show everyone that becoming Alpha did not mean leaving behind the person who had stood beside him through everything.
The elder continued.
The elder continued.
“Do you accept your place as the future Alpha of Crescent Moon and choose to leave everything behind, even your mate?”
The entire crowd waited.
The question hung in the air longer than Piper expected.
For a brief moment, she searched Archie’s face, looking for any sign that he was struggling with the choice. She wanted to believe that the silence meant he was fighting for her, that he was trying to find another answer.
But Archie remained still.
Then he answered.
“Yes.”
The crowd responded immediately.
Approval.
Relief.
Pride.
The sound surrounded Piper, but she barely heard any of it.
Because all she saw was him choosing them.
Choosing the title.
Choosing the duty.
Choosing a future that didn’t have her in it.
And she felt completely forgotten