The Alpha's Silent Bride: Seventh Time's The Charm

Chapter 72: 072: The Council’s Summon

~ RONAN ~

I was out of the room before anyone could change my mind. The door slammed shut behind me with a resounding thud that echoed down the hallway like a final declaration. I’d made my choice, and I didn’t see Mara in my future.

Mom might not see past the sweet facade Mara was trying to put up, but deep down, it was only a matter of time before I exposed the truth — that Mara wasn’t the innocent girl she pretended to be, or at lease she was, but not anymore.

I strode down the hallway toward my office, intending to wrap up whatever work I could for the day, then find Roselle. If she’d let me. I understood her need for space after the bomb Mara had dropped. The accusation was enough to make any woman retreat. Especially Roselle, with the trauma she’d endured. I wouldn’t push her. I’d give her time. But Goddess, it hurt like hell knowing she was hurting because of me.

Standing outside my office was a young courier, a warrior barely out of his teens, waiting patiently with a sealed envelope in his hands.

"It’s a letter from the Council, Alpha," he said, bowing his head respectfully as he handed it over.

I took the envelope, my jaw already clenching at the official seal stamped into the blood-red wax. Nothing good ever came from the Council. I broke the seal and scanned the contents, my stomach sinking with every word.

Alpha Blackthorn,

Your immediate presence is required. A territorial dispute between two neighboring packs has escalated into violence. As the appointed mediator, you are to report without delay and oversee negotiations until the conflict is resolved.

The assignment is expected to last a minimum of three days.

Failure to comply is not advised.

— The Council

Fucking hell. Three days. Which would probably turn into four or five once the posturing and endless talks began.

I read the letter three times, waiting for the words to magically change. Hoping that, somehow, miraculously, they’d say something different. But they didn’t. The Council’s summons were ironclad. Saying no wasn’t an option. When an Alpha as powerful as I was refused a direct order, the political fallout could destabilize everything I’d spent years building, alliances, trade routes, the fragile peace along our borders.

I crumpled the letter in my fist, then smoothed it out again with a heavy sigh. Leaving Roselle here wasn’t an option either. Not with Mara slithering around, backed by my mother, and Ethan lurking in the shadows like the snake he was. It would be like leaving a lamb in a den of wolves.

We’ll convince her, Kael growled in my head, his voice laced with determination. She belongs with us. She has to come.

I nodded to the courier. "Tell them I’ll depart within the hour. Prepare my escort."

The young warrior bowed and hurried off.

Few minutes later, I’m headed to the library. Celeste had reluctantly told me where Roselle was hiding when I asked earlier, the one place she always went when she needed space, is the library.

I found her in the far corner, curled up in an oversized armchair with a book open on her lap that she clearly wasn’t reading. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her shoulders hunched.

"Roselle," I said softly, stopping a respectful distance away.

She looked up, surprise flashing across her face. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t tell me to leave either, that was something.

I took a slow breath and explained everything as calmly as I could. "The Council sent a summons. There’s a territorial dispute between two neighboring packs that’s turned violent. They want me to mediate. It’s expected to take at least three days, maybe more."

Her expression remained guarded.

"I don’t want to go without you," I continued, stepping closer but still giving her space. "Please. Come with me, It’s going to be for jjdt three days and we’ll be back. We can figure things out together on the road. I need you with me, Roselle."

She looked down at the book in her lap, fingers tracing the edge of a page. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet but firm. "I’ll be fine here, Ronan. You dont need to be worry about me...,"

I shake my head. "No. You’re not going to be fine, Roselle. I don’t know what Mara is planning while I’m gone for the next three days... and Ethan’s still here. I can’t leave you here knowing they’re both lurking around."

I want to keep talking, to keep throwing every reason I can think of at her until she understands. But then she fixes me with a look so stern, so unyielding, that I realize exactly what I’m doing.

I’m treating her like she’s incapable of protecting herself.

I swallow the rest of my words and give a small nod.

"I need space, Ronan," she says quietly, exhaustion weighing down every syllable. "This isn’t the time to push me. I thought you said you understood."

She pauses, her eyes glistening.

"I can’t... not yet. Not until you prove that nothing happened between you and Mara that night."

She blinks, as though she’s fighting back tears, and then continues.

"For all I know, that one night could leave her pregnant." She lets out a bitter laugh that sounds more like a sob. "And what would that make me? The foolish woman who stayed... the one too blinded by love to walk away before she was humiliated."

I exhale, running a hand through my hair, knowing I shouldn’t push her any further. Her answer isn’t going to change, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with that.

"Okay..." I say quietly. "I’ll come say goodbye before I leave. And if anything happens while I’m gone, please... don’t hesitate to call me."

She nods.

I take a step back, even though every instinct is screaming at me to close the distance between us and pull her into my arms.

But I don’t.

This isn’t about what I want anymore. It’s about respecting her boundaries, even if every inch of me aches to hold her.