Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

DEMETRI

L iam shoved me against the wall. "What the fuck did you just do? What did you just do, you mother fucker ?"

"I did what was best."

He shook his head, lip curling as he shut his eyes. It took nearly everything in him. I could see his muscles tense and something jumped in his jaw to let me go.

He shoved me back. "No. You rejected her."

"I did. You would've–"

"No," he repeated, stopping my words. "No. You just broke up this pack."

It felt like something sliced through my chest harsh and fast. He didn't mean that. We were brothers. We were packed, and I made the decisions because I was head alpha. The leader for them because they trusted me.

But Liam turned around and walked away.

Marko stared at me.

"You know why I did it."

He shrugged. "I do."

"That wasn't the plan," Liam shouted back at me again.

I wasn't focused on him right now. We needed to stay strong. We needed to stick this to a tee to make everything work. "So you agree."

"I said I understood," Marko said plainly. "Not that I would've done it. You might've broke her, you know."

"I didn't–"

"Then you weren't looking at her face. You all have no idea what it is to want something so badly, to be afraid of it all for so long and someone throws it back in your face–to take it away. If you didn't break our little omega…" Marko shook his head. "If I find out you broke her, I won't be far behind Liam."

"Marko."

"No. Don't speak to me. Fix this."

But I thought I had. I thought I was. It would be fine in the end. We'd be alright.

I spent the next few hours trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The weight of Liam's disappointment and Marko's warning bore down on me, suffocating me with guilt.

How did everything spiral out of control so quickly? I was supposed to be the leader, the one who made the tough decisions for the pack. But now, standing alone in the clearing where it all went down, I felt like a lost pup.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned to see the pack members slowly emerging from the trees, their eyes filled with a mix of anger and confusion.

They didn't trust me anymore, that much was clear.

"We need to talk," Liam said, his voice cold and distant.

I followed him to the edge of the clearing where the rest of the pack gathered. No one spoke for a long moment, the tension thick in the air.

Finally, Liam broke the silence. "You decided without consulting any of us. You put your desires above the welfare of the pack."

"I thought I was doing what was best for us," I tried to explain, but my voice faltered under their accusing stares.

Marko stepped forward, his expression pained. "You don't get it, do you? You've shattered our trust in you. So either tell us what is going on right now, every bit of whatever plan you have or don't have, or…"

"Going to give me an ultimatum like Liam?"

"You'd deserve it," he said. "Don't you think we've trusted enough? Waited enough? Don't you think Ella has?"

I sighed. I would. I did.

I nodded. "Gather everyone up. Pack meeting."

Marko nodded once, and we headed back to the house.