FORTY NINE

FORTY NINE
Zeke POV

The hallway leading to the meeting rooms had never felt so long. My boots thudded softly against the marble floor, Sky's lighter footsteps a beat beside mine. She moved with that impossible confidence she always had, chin high, lips smirking like the world was hers for the taking. I should have admired it. I did. But it twisted something deep inside me—a knot of nerves I couldn't unravel.

I kept my expression still, eyes ahead, but inside my head was chaos. I had no idea what Elder Marius knew. Or what Sky planned to say.

She hadn't seen him in years, not since before our world flipped inside out. And this? Walking into the room like she hadn't vanished, like she still belonged here—it scared me.

I reached the door first and paused, my hand hovering over the brass handle. Sky gave me a sideways look, brow raised.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

"No. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About how fast this could go wrong."

She just grinned like she was going to enjoy the chaos, nodding for me to open the door as if she wasn't about to bring this pack to its knees in the next few minutes.

I opened the door with a heavy sigh. Elder Marius looked up from where he sat at the head of the long oak table, the steam from his mug curling like smoke signals in the air.

The moment his gaze landed on Sky, something shifted in his features—his sharp eyes narrowed, jaw slackened slightly.

"Have I seen a ghost?" he asked.

Sky's smile widened. "Not unless ghosts come with great hair and a better tan."

She strolled in like she owned the place, cutting straight across the room to where Marius sat. I moved in after her, slower, shoulders tense. My instincts buzzed with warning.

Without asking, she leaned down and kissed the Elder on the cheek, then spun and hopped up onto the edge of the table directly in front of him, legs swinging.

My jaw tightened. My hands clenched at my sides.

Innocent or not, she was mine.

A low growl escaped me before I could stop it.

Marius arched his brow and chuckled. "Still territorial, Zeke?"

Sky glanced over her shoulder and whispered, "Down, boy."

I shifted in place, biting back my retort. Payne, my wolf, was practically pacing inside me. That little display had stirred something deep.

"Skylar," Marius said slowly, turning back to her. "You've changed."

"Time does that," she said easily.

"You're not who I was expecting."

"Neo's sick," I said, stepping forward. "He asked us to meet with you in his place."

Marius's gaze snapped to mine. "He asked you, or you decided?"

Sky cut in before I could answer. "Does it matter? He's not here. We are."

She crossed one leg over the other and gave Marius a cheeky smile. He didn't smile back.

I took a seat, feeling like the floor might crack open beneath us.

"Neo has missed two previous appointments," Marius said, voice like ice cracking across a lake. "The last time he ignored a Council summons, he received a formal warning."

"He's unwell. Truly," I said.

Marius sipped from his cup, never breaking eye contact. "And the cause of his illness?"

"Probably food poisoning," Sky said, tone bright. "He ate something bad."

I shot her a warning look. She smirked.

"Do you know what he's been doing, Zeke?"

There it was.

The question that could burn us both.

I cleared my throat. "I know he's made changes. Some I didn't agree with."

"And yet you stayed."

"I stayed to protect who I could."

Sky's legs swung back and forth, lightly brushing against mine from time to time. She wasn't nervous. She was composed. Commanding.

Marius turned to her. "What do you know, Skylar?"

"Do you remember those stories you used to tell me?" She asked as she leaned back on her hands, voice soft.

"About the big bad wolf?" He asked, a smile biting at his usual stoic lips.

"That's the one." she grinned, leaning forward on her elbows. "Well, buckle up, buttercup, as I have one of my own to share." I felt my lips thin as tension ate at my brow. 

"Do we intervene?" I asked Payne, who seemed to still be pissed at her little stunt with Marius and not willing to speak.

"Once upon a time," she began, "there was a little girl. She lived in a proud, strong pack. Her father was the Alpha. Her world was safe. Predictable. Until a big bad wolf came and tore it all down."

My chest tightened. Marius tilted his head slightly.

"This big bad wolf didn't use claws or fangs," she continued. "He used silence. Rules. Fear. He locked up the strong. Sold the defiant. Whispered in the dark while the pack howled in ignorance." She was quiet for a second, but once she had Marius' attention fully, she added, "And worst of all, he wore the crown that wasn't his."

"Those are serious claims," Marius stated dryly, my stomach lunging as ice prickled my spine. 

"Don't trust him." Payne warned silently.

"never have. Never will." I replied. Although have of me truly believed Payne was just pissed; he still wore Sky's kiss.

"They're facts," Sky snapped, earning my attention again.

Marius considered her, fingers tapping his mug.

"Do you intend to challenge your brother?"

Sky didn't answer. She just tilted her head.

I spoke instead. "We want to restore the pack."

"Neo is the Alpha," Marius said. "And this pack follows strength."

Sky slid off the table and placed her cowboy hat—the one she'd brought just for drama—on Marius's head.

"Then maybe it's time they remembered what strength actually looks like."

She crossed the room, heels clicking, and moved to where I sat.

Her hand came down on my shoulder—firm. Steady.

I froze.

Payne growled inside me.

Sky glanced at Marius, smile gone.

"Prove to me you're not part of this," she said. "Then I'll trust you with what comes next."

She winked at me—and left.

Gone in a swirl of pink hair and fire.

I stared after her. We both did.

Goddess help us all. She was unstoppable.

"Did you know she was alive?" Marius' voice cut through my mind. Turning, I glared at him, wondering what the fuck he meant.

"Of course. Why wouldn't she be alive?" I replied through mindlink, knowing if he was asking privately, there was a reason for it.

"Because Neo claimed otherwise." his words shook me, almost knocking the air out of my lungs. 

"And is that a problem?" I asked aloud, unable to keep the distaste from my tone. "Her not being dead?" I clarified, my jaw tightening painfully.

"I guess we are about to find out." His only reply, before standing and following Sky by leaving. Without removing that damn cowboy hat.