FORTY EIGHT

FORTY EIGHT
Neo POV

I flung my gaze toward Zeke, still standing near the door, watching with that same fucking unreadable expression he always wore around her. I locked eyes with him and let the command slip into the depths of my stare.

Stop her. Now.

But he didn't move. Not a twitch. Not a fucking step. His face remained blank, lips pressed together, arms tense at his sides—but no order came, no intervention, no restraint. They were letting her do this. He was letting her do this. Another photo. Another click. Sky leaned in closer, lowering her voice so only I could hear.

"Smile, Alpha," she whispered. "You look like shit." I saw red. Not just anger—blood-red hatred. My stomach twisted with nausea, but it was the bile of shame that stung the back of my throat.

"Fucking remove her!" I snarled, voice cracking as I looked over my shoulder at Joren and Micah. Neither moved. Not until Sky knocked on the bathroom door just as I slammed it shut behind me.

When I got out of this bathroom… When I stood tall again… When my wolf returned, and my body stopped betraying me…

She would pay.

There would be no mercy. No more second chances. I would burn this pack to the fucking ground if that's what it took to watch her scream.

But right now, I was too weak to even stand. Gritting my teeth, jaw locked so tight it popped, I grabbed the edge of the sink and stumbled upright, legs wobbling, knees buckling. The reflection staring back at me was a pale, trembling mess. My eyes were bloodshot, my shirt stuck to my back with sweat, the fabric yellowed and stained with vomit. My stomach gave another warning twist, and I barely made it to the toilet before vomiting again.

"Guess I'm not going into the kitchen after all, bro," she purred through the wood. Her voice dripped with sarcasm and poison. I braced myself against the sink. Bile rose in my throat. Rage simmered through my nerves—but it was powerless now. I had nothing left but curses and sweat. Outside, I heard Zeke's boots thud forward.

"Alpha," he called through the door, voice tight. "Your appointment is here." My blood ran cold.

Shit. The Elder.

My mind raced. That meeting was today. He'd come all this way—probably to inquire about the absence from yesterday's hearing. I'd forgotten. No—I'd blocked it out when I left to retrieve Sky. I never expected to still be sick like this.

"Tell him…" I gasped, collapsing back onto the toilet, "Tell him I'm sick. I'll speak to him tomorrow."

"Neo, that's not how this works," Zeke said through the door.

"Don't be silly," Sky cut in, her voice soaked in false sweetness. "You can't keep an Elder waiting."

"No. Sky—" I panted.

"I'll go in your place," she finished with a bright laugh.

And then… silence.

Their footsteps retreated. The door clicked shut. And I sat, barely holding onto consciousness, listening to the rhythm of my insides purging themselves violently.

They were gone. And I was alone. Broken. Humiliated. Powerless. But I wouldn't stay that way. They wanted war? Fine. I'd give them one. As soon as I could fucking stand again. 

I stared at the floor, at the ugly grey tile littered with flecks of sick, piss, and shame. My chest heaved, air rasping in and out like my lungs had to claw for every breath.

Where the fuck was my wolf?

"Come on," I rasped. "Help me. Please."

Silence.

He wasn't answering. But I felt something. A presence. A flicker. He was still there, buried deep beneath the surface.

"You let her do this to us." The words echoed in my skull, but they weren't mine. They were his. Weak. Distant. Accusing.

"She won't win," I whispered. "I swear to you. She won't win."

I forced myself upright again. Pain flared through my spine; my knees nearly gave out. I stumbled toward the desk and collapsed into the chair, my body soaked with cold sweat. My hand fumbled for the drawer. Inside were old files, comms tablets—and a small communicator.

I activated the link and sent out a call to those I could still count on. The ones who held grudges against Sky. The ones who hated what she represented. Chaos.

"Kade —report to me," I growled.

Static. Then a voice.

"Alpha," Kade answered, "We were informed by Beta Zeke that the Elder had arrived. We brought him to the receiving room. Sat him down. Coffee's already been served."

Ice licked up my spine. Sky. Sky was going to talk to Marius.

"You what?" I gasped, chest tightening. The sharp throb in my side warned another cramp was coming. "You let them—"

"Zeke said you were indisposed, Alpha. He was calm. Controlled. We thought—"

"You thought wrong!" I snapped, slamming a fist down on my legs in frustration. Pain exploded through my body, but I didn't care. I closed my eyes, bile rising again, and fell forward into my palms as the anxiety clenched around my heart like a noose.

My wolf stirred again. Weak. Unsure. But present.

"She's stealing everything." I reached through the mind-link again, this time pushing harder—desperately seeking anyone still within reach.

"Joren, what's happening?" I growled.

A beat passed. Then—

"All good here, Alpha," Joren replied coldly. Like I was a no one! not his fucking Alpha!

"Where are they now?" I gripped the edge of the desk.

"Zeke just went in to see the Elder. With Sky."

Silence. Deafening. Final.

A scream built in my throat, but I didn't have the strength to let it out. My thoughts spun like a hurricane. My chest heaved. She was going to ruin everything. Destroy me. Strip me bare before the Elders. Tell them everything—about the women, the sales, the silence.

She's taking my fucking pack.

My fingers curled into claws. My teeth ground together. But all I could do was collapse forward, heaving into the waste bin again as the poison poured out of me from every direction.

They wanted a new Alpha?

Let them. But I'd be the last fucking thing they ever bowed to.