CHAPTER 218: MULTIPLE PLOTS

*~Hazel’s POV~*

"So what is the council saying?" Klaus asked.

We were gathered around the long oak table, the air heavy with tension. Caspian and I sat at the head—Alpha’s seat—while the rest of the elders filled every space beside him.

One of the elders spoke first. "We are saying this is unacceptable. Leon will not be banished, but we cannot approve of his relationship with Sophia. She remains a prisoner."

"Yes," Caspian added, his voice calm but firm. "But I still don’t see why he shouldn’t be banished. He chose Sophia as his mate."

Cayden turned toward me. "Alpha Hazel, you must consider the law. If he insists on mating with a prisoner, then he is going against us—and the punishment is clear. Banishment. For him and his chosen mate."

"But we can’t banish him," Klaus interjected sharply. "This is Leon. The man has risked his life for every single one of us. He has served this pack faithfully from the day he became our Gamma—now Beta. We can’t just ruin him over one mistake."

"We’re not casting him away," I said quietly. "He’s casting himself away. He made this choice, Klaus."

"He didn’t choose her," Elder Gina interrupted. "The Moon Goddess chose her. You all know that."

I turned to her. "And what about Aurora?"

Gina’s eyes narrowed. "And what about her? Do you truly think this council will accept a bond between a wolf and a witch?"

"But this pack—" I started.

She cut me off. "This pack is not meant to mix Crescent witches and werewolves. It never has been. Wolves mate with wolves. Witches mate with witches. Maybe the goddess sent Sophia into his life to end that nonsense between him and the witch."

"What?" I looked at Caspian, waiting—needing him—to say something.

He finally spoke. "I agree. I will not accept Leon’s relationship with Aurora."

My heart sank.

"But," he added, his tone deepening, "I will also not accept this union with Sophia. Both are unacceptable."

"What are you saying?" Klaus snapped. "He doesn’t even love Aurora anymore. He said it himself—it was a foolish mistake. And what’s wrong with Sophia? Yes, she was a prisoner, but maybe it’s time we stopped treating her and her sisters like criminals. Their father sinned, not them. They paid for his crimes—they served their sentence. A full year. That should be enough."

"They will remain prisoners," I said firmly.

Klaus frowned. "Those women were horrible to you, Hazel—not to the Alpha. There’s a difference."

Another elder leaned forward. "The council agrees. They have suffered enough. They will no longer be considered prisoners."

Caspian’s jaw tightened. "You can’t just—"

But Klaus cut in. "It’s done. Their punishment has been revoked. Sophia is no longer a prisoner. She’s simply another she-wolf, and Leon can choose her if he wishes. That’s better than him being tied to a witch."

"And this witch we’re talking about," I said, my voice trembling, "is Aurora. The same Aurora who has risked her life for this pack—again and again. She’s used dark magic to save us more times than I can count. Are we truly not going to give her even a crumb of happiness?"

"She is a witch," Elder Gina replied coldly. "She can find another of her kind to love—not a werewolf like Leon."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to hold in my fury. "No. This is unacceptable. Leon will not mate with Sophia."

Then Caspian reached for my hand—softly, almost pleadingly. "Hazel," he said, "I think it’s time you understood. The council has decided. Sophia is no longer a prisoner. And you said it yourself—Leon has the right to choose. He has chosen, and there’s nothing we can do."

My chest tightened as he stood and gently pulled me to my feet. His touch felt like betrayal.

"We’ll go downstairs now," he continued quietly, "and announce that Leon and Sophia’s bond is accepted."

My heart shattered into a thousand splinters. My hands trembled as we descended the stairs together.

Down in the hall, Leon’s grip on Sophia’s arm was firm, possessive. Caspian adjusted his tie, his face unreadable, before addressing the crowd.

"The council has decided," he announced. The room tensed instantly. All eyes were on him. "Leon and Sophia’s mate bond is hereby accepted. And the Gilbert family is no longer considered prisoners."

Silence. Then a wave of whispers.

Sophia threw her arms around Natasha and Lillian, squealing with joy, while Selene stood back with a sly, venomous smirk curling her lips.

Leon didn’t look happy. His eyes were scanning the room—searching, desperate. Searching for Aurora.

But she wasn’t there.

I stood still, watching it all unfold, and I couldn’t decide what hurt more—

The fact that the family who tortured me for years was now walking free...

Or that my best friend just lost the love she fought so hard for.

Because the council, and the man she loved, turned out to be absolute dicks.

I immediately turned away from that place, hoping to find Aurora—just to hold her hand and share her pain, because I had promised her a happy ending. As I was heading to the chamber where she was, I passed by my children’s room and heard Heather chuckling.

Heather? Chuckling?

I turned back and opened the door. Christian was fast asleep, while Heather was staring out the window, laughing as if something incredibly funny was happening outside. Her eyes were wide and gleaming, like she was seeing her mother up there dangling a bottle of milk.

I froze, then peeked through the window—and caught a glimpse of someone. A flash. A figure. But just as quickly, it vanished.

Heather turned to me. "Mama?" she said.

I immediately scooped her up, along with Christian. My heart was pounding.

What the hell was that? Who was here?

And why was she so excited to see... whatever that was?

Why only her? Not Christian?

Whatever made her crawl out of bed and stare up at the sky like that—yeah, that was definitely weird. Weird and eerie.

Damn it. What was that?

Hello, everyone!

We have officially reached the end of Volume 1, which concludes the story of Hazel and the Triplet Brothers. Now, we will be moving on to Volume 2, featuring Aurora and Leon’s story. There will also be a Volume 3 that tells Heather’s story!

Get ready for an exciting ride!