Chapter 195

[ 1,132 words ]

Author’s POV

Sebastian’s fist slammed onto the desk hard enough to rattle the coffee cup. “They want to let him walk?”

Fynn stood across from him, grim. “The Council’s initial ruling, yes. ’Insufficient evidence.’ ’Too much time passed.’ Some of the elders think punishing an Alpha over a witch’s death fifteen years ago sets a dangerous precedent.”

“A dangerous precedent?” Sebastian’s voice dropped, cold and lethal. “Henry Taylor abandoned his daughter and murdered his mate, and they think that’s not worth his title? What message does that send to every Luna in every pack?”

“I agree, but—”

“An Alpha’s first duty is to his mate and his pack. Henry failed both. If the Council won’t hold him accountable, I will.” His eyes blazed. “Find everyone who worked at that hospital fifteen years ago. Doctors, nurses, janitors. Someone saw something. I’ll handle the Council myself.”

It took two weeks. Two weeks of Sebastian calling in favors, making thinly veiled threats, reminding certain Alphas exactly how much weight the Silver Moon Pack carried. Two weeks of Fynn chasing witnesses, until he found her.

The nurse who’d been bribed.

She broke the moment Fynn confronted her, confessing everything. Henry had paid her to falsify the report, to dress Tanya’s death up as natural complications instead of what it was.

Her testimony sealed him. Combined with the fraud, the illegal land deals, and a dozen other violations Fynn’s team dug up, the Council had no choice. Henry Taylor was stripped of his title and sentenced to life in the pack dungeons.

Frostridge collapsed within days. No Alpha, no funds, creditors circling. Accounts frozen, assets seized, the mansion repossessed.

Dorothy and Linda were left with nothing.

Dorothy clutched her phone with shaking hands, staring at the contact labeled Little Brother. She hadn’t spoken to Marcus in years, not since she’d married Henry and climbed above her old pack without a backward glance.

Now she had nowhere else to turn. She hit dial.

“Dorothy?” His voice was cautious. “It’s been a while. I heard about Henry. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, help me!” Her composure cracked. “Linda and I have nothing. No home, no money. Just let us stay until we’re back on our feet.”

A long pause. When he spoke again, his tone had gone careful, almost pitying. “You crossed Alpha Sebastian Simons. Do you have any idea what position that puts me in? I have a pack to protect. I can’t bring his wrath down on us.”

“I’m your sister.”

“And I’m an Alpha. My pack comes first.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“You coward! You spineless, selfish—”

The line went dead.

Dorothy hurled the phone across the room. It shattered against the wall.

Linda looked up from the doorway. “He said no, didn’t he?”

Dorothy didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.

Linda was already thinking of the one door she believed would never close on her.

The pack house wasn’t as grand as the one she’d grown up in, but it was respectable. Clean. Stable. Brandon’s new pack.

She’d rehearsed her lines a dozen times on the drive over. Apologies, promises. She’d grovel if she had to. Brandon had always been soft for her. He’d take her back. He had to.

The door opened before she could knock. Brandon stood there, arms crossed, looking her up and down with an expression she couldn’t read.

“Linda.” Flat. “What are you doing here?”

“Brandon.” She smiled, soft and sweet. “I know I have no right to ask, but… can we talk?”

He stepped aside without a word. She followed him into a modest living room, Dorothy hovering in the hall. He didn’t offer them a seat, just leaned against the wall.

“So? Talk.”

Linda twisted her hands together, letting her eyes go glassy. “I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. I threw away the best thing I ever had.”

“You mean me?” His mouth quirked, not quite a smile.

“Yes.” She stepped closer. “I was young and foolish. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone.” Her voice dropped. “I still love you. I never stopped.”

He let the silence stretch. Then he laughed. It wasn’t kind.

“Let me get this straight,” he said, still chuckling. “You dumped me because I wasn’t good enough. You called off our engagement. You chased Alpha Sebastian like a bitch in heat, sure you’d be his Luna.” He tilted his head. “And now that it fell apart, you come crawling back to me?”

Linda flushed. “It wasn’t like that—”

“It was exactly like that.” He pushed off the wall and stepped closer, towering over her. “You thought you’d land a billionaire Alpha and live in a mansion. Instead you ended up homeless.” His smile turned sharp. “Do I look like a charity case to you?”

“Brandon, please—”

“No. I’m not your backup plan.” His voice went cold. “I moved on. I earned my place here as Gamma. I found a woman who actually respects me. A woman who isn’t you.”

Linda’s breath hitched. “You… you have a mate?”

“I do. And she’s worth ten of you.”

Dorothy stepped forward, desperate. “Brandon, please. We have nowhere to go. Just a few days—”

“No.” He didn’t even look at her, eyes locked on Linda. “You made your choice. Live with it.”

He opened the door. A clear dismissal.

Linda stood frozen, humiliation burning through her chest, then stumbled out with Dorothy trailing behind. The door shut with a final, damning click.

Linda sat on the curb outside a convenience store, staring at nothing. Her stomach growled. Her feet ached.

“We’re out of options,” she whispered. “Mom, let’s go beg Emilia to forgive us. I can’t live like this anymore.”

Dorothy shook her head, helpless. “She hates us. She’ll never forgive us. And I can’t throw away my pride to beg for her pity.”

“We have to go to her.”

“Linda—”

“We have to!” Her voice cracked. “I don’t care about pride anymore, Mom. I just want a roof and food in my stomach.” Tears streamed down her face. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Dorothy closed her eyes, and her own tears finally broke free. She’d spent years looking down on Emilia, treating her like dirt beneath her heel. Now she’d have to beg that same girl for mercy.

The humiliation was almost unbearable. But starving on the streets was worse.

“Fine,” Dorothy said hoarsely. “We’ll go.”

They pooled the last of their money for a cab to the Silver Moon Pack. The pack house loomed before them, all glass and steel, a monument to everything they’d lost.

Linda clutched her mother’s arm as they started up the driveway, shame burning in her throat.

They’d come to beg. And Emilia would make them grovel for every scrap of mercy.

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