Chapter 117
“The council believes you’ve lost control of your pack. If you can’t even keep a pack member from stealing from you, how can you expect to prevent a war? And why was Jefferson’s daughter in your pack?”
“Her mate was part of my pack, I think she was also trying to escape her overbearing father,” Rhett lies. No, he caused a rift between me and them when he attacked my father the night he came to tell my parents I was his mate.
My heart pounds harder. “The council is worried about your ability to lead, Rhett. The fact that a pack member was able to steal from you without your knowledge is proof of that. You need to regain control, or the council will have no choice but to step in.”
Rhett’s jaw tightens, his frustration evident. “I’ve already told you she escaped and fled before I could bring her to justice.”
I swallow hard, forcing myself to keep my gaze on Max’s coloring book. The lie stings, but what else did I expect from Rhett?
Soren leans forward, eyes hard as he regards Rhett. “Exactly, she escaped your entire pack. But I’m curious about what you plan to do when she’s caught now giving her back to
Jefferson won’t be an option.”
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Rhett doesn’t answer immediately. I can feel the tension in the room rising, like a storm waiting to break. “She’ll face whatever punishment the council deems appropriate,” Rhett finally says, his voice even, but I can sense the underlying
menace.
Soren crosses his arms, clearly unsatisfied. “The council needs assurance that you’re in control, Rhett. A runaway pack member stealing from you doesn’t inspire confidence. What exactly do you suggest as a suitable punishment, especially when they learn she is Alpha Jefferson’s daughter?”
I can feel my stomach churn, bile rising in my throat. They’re talking about me as if I’m nothing more than a criminal to be dealt with. I’m the thief they’re discussing, the runaway pack member who Rhett failed to control. But they don’t know I
was framed. That I had no choice but to run.
Rhett shifts again, his voice cold and calculating. “Exile would send a message to the pack that this kind of betrayal won’t be tolerated. Stripping her of any rights, any ties to the pack or her father’s. It’s what the council would expect.”
I flinch inwardly at his words because that is not what he had planned at all. He’s already painting me as a traitor, as someone who can’t be forgiven. The man who once claimed to love me, who once promised to protect me, is now discussing my fate as if I’m nothing more than a problem to be solved. My heart clenches painfully, but I can’t let any of it
show.
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Chapter 112
Soren’s voice pulls me back to the conversation. “Exile may be what the council expects, but it doesn’t seem like enough now given all the drama this woman has caused. The fact that she escaped from your pack in the first place is troubling. If she’s found, the council may require a harsher punishment to show that this kind of disobedience won’t be tolerated.”
My blood runs cold. Harsher punishment. What does that even mean? All I know is, I don’t want to find out.
Rhett nods slowly. “I understand, Soren.”
The silence that follows is unbearable. I need to leave this. room, to get away from these discussions about my fate. “Max, honey, I need to go to the bathroom,” I say softly, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”
Soren glances at me briefly, his expression softening for a moment, but his attention quickly shifts back to Rhett as I slip out of the room. My heart is pounding in my chest as I walk down the corridor, trying to breathe through the panic clawing at me. I make it to the bathroom and lock the door, leaning against the cool tile wall as I try to calm my racing mind.
Rhett is hiding the truth from Soren, pretending like I’m some runaway criminal who betrayed him. He’s framing me for something I didn’t do. And now, the council is involved, worried about the brewing tensions between his pack and my father’s.
Islip away to the bathroom, grateful for a moment to collect
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myself. Turning the tap on, I splash cold water on my face, trying to calm the storm inside me. I can’t go back in there- not with Rhett sitting so close, not when everything feels like it’s unraveling.
However, when I step out of the bathroom after stalling as long as I can, he’s waiting.
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