Forty minutes after I gathered all the people gravely injured from the attack into the packhouse, I stood at the door and watched impatiently as the pack doctors healed them. Most of my pack warriors were down for the count, which meant we wouldn't have a strong pack to find and attack The Council.

Even Adan's pack was injured.

Beta Milo thrust opened the door behind me, holding Mom in his arms. My eyes widened, and I took my mother from him and placed her on a bed next to other warriors, so she could be healed.

When I knew she was settled, I glanced out the door to find Bria. "Where is she? Where's Bria?" I asked Milo.

Beta Milo looked away and refused to make eye contact with me. My stomach turned and twisted, and I balled my hands into fists so tightly that my claws sank right through the skin on my palms.

"I tried to stay," Beta Milo reasoned, head hung down in guilt. "I tried so fucking hard. You can ask your mother. I wanted to shift and run after her, capture her from Thiago and bring her with us. But..."

"But, what?" I growled, anger rushing through me. "But you didn't bring your luna home."

Milo was the beta of this fucking pack, and Bria was a new wolf who hadn't even shifted yet. She couldn't protect herself there with him. I had seen the fear in her eyes every fucking time she spoke about him. There was more than what she told me.

He had done or promised unspeakable things to her.

"I'm sorry." Beta Milo bowed his head, for the first time ever. "She ordered me to leave."

"He's telling the truth," Mom said, shaking her head. "I wanted to save her too, but as soon as those words left her mouth... Goddess, it sounded and felt like an alpha's order. Stronger than any orders you've ever given."

Whispers erupted throughout the packhouse, and I growled to silence my pack and my family. I stared at Mom and Beta Milo, my chest in tight knots. How could Bria's command be as strong as an alpha command? How could she—

"One alpha," Mom said, giving me a smile. "It's her."

"It can't be," I said. "It's a fable."

"You're a mythology professor, Callum," Mom said. "You know that many of those stories come from the truth. And I know that you believe in him—or her—too, no matter how much you think you don't. She's real, and she's Bria."

"Alpha, the fire went out," one of my warriors said, hurrying into the room.

Another wolf came from behind him with duffle bags. He dropped them in front of me and unzipped them. "There is medication here too for all our wounded wolves. We found it on the outskirts of our property."

"It's Bria. I'm sure of it." Mom smiled wider. "She pulled the silver bars apart with her bare hands. It was unbelievable what she could do even as part werewolf now. If she didn't have One Alpha's power, then she wouldn't be able to do that. At all."

"She's not even a wolf yet," I said, pacing back and forth. "Why would they want her?"

Mom pressed her lips together and stared at me through wide and watery eyes, then glanced over at Beta Milo who looked down at his feet and clenched his jaw. "You know why they want her. Thiago desires power. He will do anything to take it from her."

Unable to stop myself, I let out a growl and stormed upstairs, leaving my pack alone. I hurried up to my office, pushing a hand through my thick brown hair, and slammed the door behind me. Pain rushed through every bit of my being, my chest tightening until I could barely breathe. Why hadn't I told Bria I loved her today?

Why had I ignored her? Why didn't I protect her? Why was she gone?

If I had been a bit quicker or more on my toes or smarter, I could've stopped this before The Council descended upon my pack, started a raging fire, and stole my mate, the one woman I have been searching for my entire life.

Anger overtaking me, I slammed my fist right through the drywall, threw the bookcase to the other side of the room, and ripped the important papers off my desk. What the fuck was wrong with me? Why had I let this fucking happen?!

A ferocious roar escaped my throat as I continued to tear my office to pieces. This was my fucking fault. I couldn't be strong enough. I couldn't save her. Thiago and his asshole warriors marched onto my property and stole my mate.

The One Alpha book laid at my feet, staring up at me and taunting me. All my life, I had looked up to the man in this book. I had dedicated years of my life to try to be like him, but when the time came, I couldn't lead like this.

I kicked the book across the room and watched it slam against the wall. "Fuck."

After it slammed, the pages opened up and a piece of paper slipped from the inside, landing on the cover of the book once it fell to the ground. It must've been one of Bria's many notes she took on every mythology book I gave her.

My lips turned into a frown, and I stopped ripping up my office and walked over to it, kneeling down in front of the book and taking it in my hands. On the slip of paper, in Bria's cursive handwriting, read the words: I'm sorry, Callum. I did this to protect us. If you want to hate me, I understand, but I refuse to see you or any of your packmates die because of this.

For moments, I stared at the note in confusion. And then it hit me.

Bria planned for her capture. Bria wanted The Council to take her.

She fucking wanted to protect me and our pack, when it should've been the other fucking way around. I should've been the one protecting her, saving her from the torture that Thiago would soon put her through, if he hadn't already.

At the bottom of the page, there was an arrow. I turned the paper over and let a tear fall down my cheek, feeling so fucking helpless. My mate fucking sacrificed herself for me, after I had waited years for her, after I thought I finally got to keep her.

The rest of the note read: I'm sorry that it came to this. I'm sorry that I put you in danger. I'm sorry that the next time you see me, I'll be nothing anymore. Not the strong wolf that you marked, maybe not even a wolf. But know that no matter what happens, I will always love you, even if you dedicate your life to hunting me down and killing me for this betrayal. You're mine, and a good mate always protects her alpha.