Chapter 82

(**Sebastion**)

The atmosphere in the meeting hall was tense as I watched my pack members come back into the meeting hall an hour later with their children. Sadness was written all over the faces of each parent. Most of the children are confused on why they are joining the adults in the meeting room.

My mother is sitting next to the stage, quietly rocking Theo in her arms. Arianna, with Danae in her arms, is sitting next to Flynn on the stage. The three older children of the Drakos family are sitting on the floor by my mom, putting a puzzle together.

Irina is pacing behind my mother’s chair with Oksanna in her arms. When she looks up at me, my heart lurches at the agony in her eyes. I hate hurting her like this, but I know if any of our children fall into the Collectors’ hand, it will hurt her worse than what is happening now.

I look towards the door as the last of our pack members arrive. Arabella steps up next to me before I can walk to Irina. Her eyes give nothing away as she looks out into the crowded room.

“Is this everyone that will go?”

“Yes. We thought it would be a good idea to send some of our pack members, too. It was a way for me to assure my pack members that they will get their children back.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“Can I ask where they are all being sent? Something I should have done earlier. No, wait. Don’t tell me. I trust you.”

Arabella looks at me with surprise but smiles. “They will all be safe. I assure you.”

“Thank you.”

She nods her head, then walks away. She walks to where the other witches are, then they all walk up onto the stage. I walk over to Irina as they start the spell that will transport everyone away from Redwood. Irina is watching them with interest, but she turns to me as I approach her.

“I am not ready, Sebastion. I need more time. Please, can I have more time with them?”

I pull her into my arms loosely, then look down at our daughter. “Baby, I don’t want to send them away, but we have to.”

“Please, Sebastion...”

My mother stands up from her chair then speaks softly to Irina. “You are strong, Rinny. I know you can do this for their safety. This isn’t ideal for anyone. However, you are this pack’s Luna, and you need to be brave for them. I will be with Theo and Oksanna the entire time. I promise.”

Irina hands Oksanna to me before she drops to her knees with her head in her hands.

“Take her home. I will see that everyone here gets where they need to go.”

“No, I am their Alpha and I asked this of them. I need to stay here. They need to see me as I stand at their side.”

Thirty minutes later, I feel like there is an enormous hole in my pack. Every child that was in the room is now gone. The witched closed the portal they opened after they walked through it themselves. Now, the meeting room is filled with the sounds of sobbing parents.

I need them to be strong by the time Treadstone gets here. He will have to search for us, which I know will take some time. My pack name gives our general location away, but it is a big forest, and we have the element of surprise on our side.

We know he is coming.

Irina is worrying me. She hasn’t moved since the portal closed. Her eyes are glassy and blank. So, I walk to her, scoop her up in my arms, then carry her to our now empty house.

When I get to our room, I place her on the bed, then curl up behind her. The minute I pull her back against me and wrap my arms around her, she starts crying. Because her pain is my pain, I let out all the tears I have been holding back.

I hold her in my arms for hours as she cries herself to sleep. A hollow feeling creeps into my heart before I slip into the darkness of sleep. Treadstone’s death will end this, at least for our part in this. That can be the only outcome of this coming storm.

I won’t let myself think about anything other than his death.

*The next morning*

The sun filtering through the curtains of our room looks dull to me this morning. I ripped my heart out of my chest yesterday when I sent my children away. I know they are safe, and I tell myself that is all that matters right now. So, to keep my mind busy on other things, I get out of bed to go train with the other warriors.

I want to stay in bed with my sleeping mate, but my wants are not important right now. The survival of my pack, my family, and my allies is now my focus. They are what keeps me going.

“Hey, is she still sleeping?” Natalia asks as I pass her in the hallway

“Yes, but I don’t think that will last much longer since I am not in there with her.”

“You are leaving?”

Her expression if full of understanding but I can tell I surprised her. “I need a distraction, so to keep myself from tearing this house apart, I will go train with my warriors. Can you stay with her?”

“Yes. My father and Oleg are in your kitchen making her some of her favorite foods. We will stay with her until you come back.”

She doesn’t mention Pavel. “Where is Pavel?”

Natalia’s eyes drop to the floor and her fists clench. “My brother refuses to be anywhere near her. She is moving on with her life and his is angry.”

“He slept with her mate. Why the fuck is he angry that she is moving on? Does he want her to be miserable and pine after Gustav for the rest of her life like he is?”

Her eyes meet mine and I see the answer to that question is a yes. When this is all over, I want him out of my territory. He didn’t join my pack like the rest of his family. Pavel is no longer welcome here. My thoughts must have shown on my face, because Natalia nods her head.

“I agree with you. My brother needs to move on with his life and leave here. Gustav died in Russia, so that is the best place for him.”

I gave her a nod then make my way out of the house then to the training grounds. To my surprise, the field is packed with warriors. From the sheen of sweat on most of them, they have been here for some time. Instead of joining them right away, I make my way to the various training rings.

Everyone that have been training over the last four months is out on the fields today. This makes me proud of their strength and determination. Some of these warriors spent yesterday sending their children away, yet here they are busting their asses. Training hard to be the best of the best for their pack and children.

I spend the next four hours running trainees through their moves or sparring with the pack’s elite warriors. My entire body is on fire, and I can feel Aires healing my cracked rib as I walk back towards the house. All I want right now is a shower then to crawl into bed with Irina.

The sound of footsteps behind me makes me stop to look behind me. I see a someone duck behind a nearby house when I turn around. The scent of my follower is faint, but I can still smell him. I chuckle softly, then turn around to continue walking home.

I don’t get too much further away from where he was before I smell him again. This time, he is much closer to me than he was before. The idiot must realize that I know he is there. Why game is he playing? I already know he hates me, so him following me now doesn’t really shock me.

A sudden rush of air from my right lets me know he has decided to attack me at last. I spin away from him as he rushes at me. The glint of silver in his hands makes me laugh. He brought a silver weapon to this fight.

After a few deft moves, I dodge his attacks and have his arm pinned up high between his shoulder blades. The silver knife is now in my other hand at his throat. I can smell his blood trickling from the cut I made when he struggled further.

“You know, I was willing to put up with your attitude for my mate’s happiness, but after this, I think that your time here has ended.”

With the knife at his throat, I lead Pavel to the pack dungeons. I mind link Flint on the way to have him meet me there. Pavel continues to struggle against me as I walk, but each time the silver knife pierces his skin, he stops struggling.

By the time we reach the door to the dungeons, my hand is coated with his blood that ran down the knife. Flint looks at Pavel, then shakes his head. Justin and Wade come around the corner of the house with anger in their eyes. Flint must have called them.

“What the fuck is this shit?” Wade demands.

“Justin, will you call for Alexei and have him come down here?”

“Yes, sir.”

Flint opens the door for me so I can lead Pavel down into the dungeons. He follows behind me, then walks around me once we are downstairs to go open one cell. I move the knife off his throat and then push him into the cell. Flint closes the door and locks it before Pavel regains his composure.

“Why now?” I ask him.

“Fuck you.”

“No, thank you. Answer the question. Why attack me now? We both know you have had ample opportunities before now. So, why now?”

“Fuck you.”

“I am not your type.... oh wait, I guess I am. Unavailable and your sister’s mate. Is that all you need in a man?”

I smile as his face turns red with rage as he lunges at the bars of the cell. I laugh in his face but turn my head when I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Alexei is the first one down, followed by Justin and Wade.

“What is going on here? Why is he in a cell?”

“He tried to attack me.”

Alexei turns to look at his son. Disappointment is written all over his face as he shakes his head. “Why, Pavel? What has he done that would make you attack him?”

“Because I hate her, and he paid me way too much to say no.”

Confusion then understanding hit me like a freight train. “Treadstone. When and how did you meet him?”

“None of that matters because his is coming soon. I was to weaken, but not kill you. Then he is going to take your bitch of a mate, your sister, then you. He plans to burn this pack to the ground afterwards.”

“You would do this to your sister? Why Pavel?” Alexei asks.

“Because I fucking HATE her!!! She had the one thing that I always wanted but couldn’t have. I had him in the end, though. It was his cock buried inside me, not her! Gustav was MINE!!!! Now here she is with another man, living her life like he never fucking existed. I hate her for moving on so easily.”

He pants heavily after his rage.

“One of Treadstone’s men approached me when were in that horrible tourist town. He knew who I was and had a proposition for me. If I did what they wanted when the time was right, they would spare your life, father. So, I agreed.”

“What does he want you to do?”

“I was to get in, gain your trust, then wait until I saw signs you were aware he was coming for you. He told me that if that happened, I was to wait until I had proof, then I was to attack you and weaken you. However, I think when he gets here and sees that you two had pups, he will want them too.”

Pavel doesn’t know that my children are no longer in the area. That benefits me greatly and makes me feel better about sending them away. This will hurt Irina when she learns about this.

“Does he know our location?”

“No. I have no way of communicating with him to give that away or I would have done so months ago. I hope he kills you both.” Pavel spit out at me, then turns his back to us.

Well, that was unexpected, but he never had my trust. I might have trusted him if he joined the pack and attempted to be friendly. He was a poor choice for a spy. His personal grudges got the better of him.

“Well, I have some surprises for Treadstone when he gets here. Too bad you will be locked down here and won’t get to see the show. I was going to send you home to Russia after all this, but now I am not so sure.”

I turn to Alexei with sadness in my eyes. “I am so sorry, Alexei.”

“This isn’t your fault. I do, however, ask that you spare his life and send him far away when this is all over.”

“I will consider it. Come now, let’s go back to the mansion. It will be better with you there when I tell her that her brother wants her dead.”

Unless I just don’t tell her until after this is all over and she asks where her brother is.

Once we are outside, I turn to Alexei. “On second thought, I think it will be better for her to just keep this between us for now. She is already an emotional wreck after we sent the twins away.”

“I agree with you.”

Together, we walk back to the mansion. I hear Irina and her sister in the kitchen, so I head straight upstairs to shower. It will give me time to calm down. The anger I feel for her brother is almost overwhelming.

Treadstone took a chance that Pavel would be his spy. He must have been watching their pack for a while before he attacked them. How else would he have known about Pavel’s love for Gustav?

Unless there is another spy in my pack.

Oleg.