Betrayal in the Pack
939 Words
The meeting was supposed to be routine.
That was the first lie.
Remington Hayes felt it the moment she stepped into the council hall.
The air was too still.
Too arranged.
Even the guards at the doors stood in positions that felt… rehearsed. Not protective. Not welcoming. Waiting.
Aspen stayed close to her leg, fur low, eyes scanning every shadowed corner.
Rae leaned in slightly. “I don’t like this room.”
“Noted,” Del whispered back. “We leave if she starts hacking anything mid-meeting.”
“I make no promises,” Rae muttered.
At the front of the hall, William Carter stood with Trey and Elijah on either side.
Alpha presence filled the space, but even that felt muted today—like something else was pressing against it.
Elders lined the raised platform.
Some familiar.
Some not.
And one in particular—
Elder Marrow—
watched Remi like she was a calculation that had finally produced an answer.
That alone made her spine tighten.
Will’s gaze flicked to her briefly.
A warning.
Or reassurance.
She couldn’t tell anymore.
The council elder at the center stepped forward.
“Dr. Hayes,” he began, voice smooth. “We appreciate your service during the recent incident involving wolfsbane exposure.”
Remi crossed her arms. “I didn’t do it for appreciation.”
A few murmurs rippled through the room.
The elder smiled faintly.
“Of course.”
Too calm.
Too rehearsed.
Then he nodded slightly.
The doors behind her clicked shut.
Locking.
Del stiffened instantly. “That’s not normal.”
Rae was already checking her phone.
“No signal,” she said quietly.
Aspen growled.
Low.
Warning.
Remi didn’t move.
Because she was watching the guards now.
All of them.
And realizing something was wrong.
Their eyes weren’t on the council.
They weren’t on Will.
They were on her.
Not protection.
Containment.
Will stepped forward slightly. “What is this?”
The elder tilted his head. “A necessary clarification.”
Trey frowned. “Clarification of what?”
Another elder stood.
Then another.
And another.
Not all at once.
Not chaotic.
Organized.
Like it had been decided long before Remi ever returned.
The first elder spoke again.
“There has been a disturbance in the natural order of the pack.”
Elijah’s jaw tightened. “Say what you mean.”
The elder’s gaze shifted to Remi.
“We mean the return of the anomaly.”
Silence hit like a blade.
Remi didn’t flinch.
But something inside her went cold.
Rae muttered under her breath. “I knew it.”
Del whispered, “That’s not a medical term.”
Will’s voice dropped. “Explain.”
Elder Marrow finally stepped forward.
“Remington Hayes was not supposed to return.”
Remi’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
A faint, almost sad smile.
“As a child, you were observed. Studied. Marked.”
Her pulse slowed.
That was new information.
Even to her.
“You were removed from pack influence for a reason,” he continued. “To prevent disruption.”
Rae stepped forward instantly. “Wow. That’s illegal in like seventeen ways.”
A guard shifted slightly.
Del noticed. “Rae…”
Rae lowered her voice. “Yeah. I see them.”
Remi didn’t look away from the elders.
“You’re saying my return was… planned?”
The elder nodded.
“Corrected.”
Will’s expression changed instantly.
Dangerously.
“That’s not possible,” he said sharply.
Another elder spoke.
“It is already in motion.”
Trey stepped forward. “You’re talking about her like she’s a variable.”
“She is,” the council replied simply.
Elijah’s voice hardened. “She’s a person.”
A pause.
Then—
“Not entirely.”
Remi’s breath hitched once.
That landed differently.
Too specifically.
Her hands curled slightly at her sides.
Aspen moved closer.
Closer still.
Rae’s voice dropped. “Remi… this is bad.”
Del grabbed her arm lightly. “We leave. Now.”
But the doors stayed locked.
And the guards shifted again.
Subtle.
Closing distance.
Will stepped fully in front of Remi now.
Alpha fully present.
“Release the doors,” he ordered.
Silence.
Then Elder Marrow spoke again.
“This meeting is not for negotiation.”
Trey growled low. “It is if I decide it is.”
The council didn’t react.
Because they didn’t need to.
A sound came from behind Remi.
Metal clicking.
Weapons being drawn.
Her body went still.
Rae swore under her breath. “Okay. That’s definitely not protocol.”
Del whispered, “We’re surrounded.”
Remi finally turned her head slightly.
Just enough to see it.
Guards.
Pack guards.
People she recognized.
People she trusted.
All stepping into position behind them.
Blocking exits.
Blocking escape.
Not protecting the council.
Containing them.
Will’s voice dropped dangerously low.
“This is treason.”
Elder Marrow didn’t deny it.
Instead—
he looked at Remi.
And said quietly:
“You were never meant to leave Bayou Falls alive.”
The words landed like a trigger snapping into place.
Everything changed at once.
Aspen lunged forward.
Rae grabbed Remi’s arm.
Del stepped back into Elijah instinctively.
Trey shifted into a defensive stance.
And Will—
Will turned fully toward Remi.
Because now it wasn’t politics.
It wasn’t prophecy.
It was survival.
And the council’s final words echoed through the locked hall like a sentence already passed:
“Contain the anomaly. Eliminate her influence. Remove the variables.”
A pause.
Then softer—
“And if the Alphas interfere…”
The guards tightened their grip on their weapons.
“…remove them too.”
Silence shattered.
And the attack began.
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