Author’s pov
The entire room plunged into suffocating silence.
After Sebastian’s declaration, everyone could feel the air grow heavy with tension.
Especially Daisy.
Her eyes remained fixed on the doorway, her gaze suggesting she expected soone to burst in at any mont and drag her away.
"Bring her phone,"Alpha Sebastian said.
A faint smile played at the corner of his lips, unnervingly calm.
"Right away,"Beta Sawyer nodded, turning to leave.
Monts later, Beta Sawyer returned with a black purse, placing it in front of Daisy before smoothly unzipping it.
The phone’s screen illuminated, displaying a na : "Victoria."
The color drained from Daisy’s face instantly, leaving her skin almost blue-tinged in its pallor.
Fighting to control her trembling hands, she retrieved the phone from her bag, drew a deep breath, and put it on speaker.
"Hello... Victoria, it’s late. Is sothing wrong ?"she managed.
An older woman’s voice ca through, gentle yet commanding : "Daisy, has Riley’s fever broken ?"
"Yes, everything’s fine,"she struggled to keep her voice steady.
"Are you certain ? Maggie and I have been worried about you. Don’t disappoint us."
"It really has. She’s right here with . Would you like to video call ?"
After a brief silence, the woman responded coolly, "Good. In one hour, co to our usual estate. Maggie wants to see you."
Daisy closed her eyes montarily. "Could we make it another day ?"
"I’m rely the ssenger. This isn’t my decision to make. But I suggest you leave now."
"... I understand."
"Good luck."
The call ended.
Daisy seed to collapse in on herself, her phone clattering to the floor.
Alpha Sebastian remarked with casual indifference, "Well ? Will you go ? Perhaps she thinks you’ve completed your mission and is waiting to give you a’reward.’"
Daisy looked as though sothing was lodged in her throat. Unable to speak, she knelt chanically on the floor, fingers scratching at the old wooden floorboards like a trapped animal.
She began muttering to herself : "I won’t go... I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die... "
Suddenly, she jerked her head up, clinging to a thread of hope : "Sebastian, help ... you know the most, you must be able to save ... "
"Why should I save you ?"he cut her off, his voice cold as ice.
Looking down at her, his eyes held no warmth. "I’m not the type who shows rcy after being betrayed. Your disappearance would be a blessing for the my grandmother’s family. Keeping you alive is the real problem."
Daisy’s eyes reddened, her voice quivering : "We’ve known each other for over a decade. Do I really an nothing to you ? I... I’ve always had feelings for you."
Sebastian’s expression remained impassive, as if her words never reached his ears.
"Instead of wasting breath on useless sentints, consider whether you still hold any value to . Be practical and say sothing that might save your life."
"You have one minute."
"If you can’t offer anything useful, I’ll send you to Maggie to tie up her loose ends."
Daisy’s mouth opened, but no words ca out.
Alpha Sebastian glanced at his watch. "Fifty seconds left."
She panicked, her eyes darting wildly, her mind blank.
"Take her away,"Alpha Sebastian said calmly.
Tang rose from against the wall like a soldier following orders.
"I can testify against Maggie !"Daisy suddenly shouted.
Alpha Sebastian remained silent, rely signaling Tang to pause with a gesture, his gaze settling on her.
She rushed to continue : "I know so of her plans. I know where she ets people secretly in Colorado Springs... I can tell you everything."
Alpha Sebastian was quiet for a mont, waiting until she had emptied almost all she could offer before speaking slowly : "Tell a few things first. Let see if you’re worth keeping alive."
"... Alright."
She finally stopped crying, though her expression looked worse than when she had been.
Cecilia and Harper had been standing silently nearby the entire ti.
Both felt a tightness in their chests.
After dealing with Daisy, Alpha Sebastian approached Cecilia and gently lifted her from the couch.
"You need to sleep. They’ll handle the rest."
Cecilia felt slightly awkward, about to speak when Alpha Sebastian had already carried her out of the room.
Daisy watched them leave, her eyes hollow and lifeless.
--
Alpha Sebastian carried Cecilia downstairs.
The stairway lights were dim, casting a chill in the air.
If she had been walking alone in such a place, she likely would have felt uneasy.
But nestled in his arms, she felt surprisingly secure.
Everything was quiet except for the sound of his steady footsteps.
Cecilia looked up at him. "Aren’t I abusing my privileges a bit too much like this ?"
Alpha Sebastian glanced down at her. "You’re pregnant. Special treatnt cos with the territory."
Their eyes t, and they both smiled almost simultaneously.
Today, they had played the part of "feuding lovers"for everyone else, acting it out as if it were real.
In truth, they had never had a genuine argunt.
Cecilia disliked confrontation and was emotionally stable; Alpha Sebastian was even more level-headed than she was.
Alpha Sebastian placed her in the passenger seat, got in himself, and drove away from the old neighborhood.
The night streets had gone quiet, the only movent the soft drift of air through the half-cracked window.
Then Cecilia caught it—a familiar scent wafting up from the corner : crispy fried chicken, the rich lt of grilled cheese, sweet buttered corn.
She turned, spotting the food truck still lit up and doing business at this hour.
"You slling that ?"She glanced over at Sebastian, who kept his eyes on the road ahead.
"That truck’s a little sketchy with hygiene,"he said, one hand steady on the wheel. "Better to play it safe while you’re pregnant. I’ll whip you up sothing good when we get ho."
Once they got ho, he actually headed straight into the kitchen and made her a sandwich piled with a runny fried egg and crispy bacon.
She ate every last bite, like she hadn’t had food in days.
"You were really starving, huh ?"he said with a smile, grabbing the empty plate to take to the sink.
"If you’d told you could cook this well earlier,"she joked, wiping a crumb from the corner of her mouth, "I would have skipped als more often on purpose."
After eating, they returned to the bedroom.
Cecilia lay in bed after her shower, feeling drowsy from the full al.
"Now that Daisy has’disappeared,’ how will you explain it to your family ?"she asked.
Alpha Sebastian lay on his side, his finger gently tracing her face. "I’ll tell them what I can, give them a general explanation."
"What about Riley ?"
"She’ll be well taken care of."
"Won’t your cousin bla us ? After all, it’s because of ... "
He leaned down and kissed her. "Stop taking everything on yourself. Maggie chose Daisy to infiltrate my grandmother’s household. You just happened to cross paths with her plan."
Cecilia bit her lip. "You knew all along ?"
"I knew so of it, but I didn’t realize how deep her influence went. I hadn’t paid much attention to the Colorado Springs situation before."
She hesitated, then asked anyway : "You ntioned earlier that Daisy’s own issues were worse than her family’s... what did you an ?"
Alpha Sebastian looked at her without answering.
She imdiately surrendered with raised hands. "Never mind if you don’t want to say. Forget I asked."
He leaned down, whispering in her ear : "That’s sothing I only tell my wife. Do you want to hear it ?"
The question was clearly a trap.
"I... let’s just go to sleep."
She pulled the covers over her face and closed her eyes.
In the next mont, a burning kiss fell upon her lips.
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