Chapter 25: The Alpha Who Finally Chose Me

Faye’s POV

The doors of the great hall opened.

A line of silver-armored wolves entered first.

Behind them came the representatives of the Crimson Council.

At their center walked an elderly man with white hair and crimson eyes.

The moment he stepped inside, every Alpha in the hall lowered their gaze.

Except me.

He stopped several feet away.

“Faye.”

I met his eyes.

“You know my name.”

“Everyone knows your name now.”

His gaze shifted toward the silver mark on my wrist.

“The Moonborn should never have returned.”

I smiled faintly.

“Yet here I am.”

A murmur spread through the hall.

The man raised his hand.

“You have caused enough chaos.”

“Return with us, and the ancient bloodlines will spare your pack.”

Sebastian stepped forward.

“She isn't going anywhere.”

The Council leader looked at him.

“This doesn't concern you, Alpha.”

Sebastian's eyes flashed gold.

“It concerns me the moment you threaten my family.”

I turned toward him.

For a moment, our eyes met.

I remembered the other life.

The life where I had waited for him to come back.

The life where I had believed his promises mattered more than his choices.

Now he was standing beside me.

But this time, I didn't need him to save me.

I simply wanted him to stand beside me because he chose to.

The Council leader laughed.

“Family?”

“You abandoned this woman once.”

The hall fell silent.

Sebastian's jaw tightened.

I remained still.

The old man continued.

“You left her in the human world while you took your son and another woman back to the pack.”

Several Alphas looked at Sebastian.

He didn't defend himself.

Instead, he said quietly,

“I was wrong.”

The words surprised everyone.

Sebastian looked at me.

“I was wrong to believe power was more important than the person who trusted me.”

“I was wrong to make decisions for Faye without asking what she wanted.”

“And I was wrong to think she would always wait for me.”

My chest tightened.

But I didn't answer.

The Council leader sneered.

“A convenient apology.”

Sebastian's gaze hardened.

“Maybe.”

“But I don't need Faye to forgive me today.”

“I only need her to know that whatever she chooses, I will respect it.”

Silence followed.

Leo suddenly stepped forward.

“And I choose Mom.”

Sebastian looked at him.

Leo lifted his chin.

“I don't care about ancient bloodlines.”

“I don't care about being the strongest Alpha.”

“I want my family.”

His small voice echoed through the hall.

I crouched and opened my arms.

Leo ran into them.

I held him tightly.

The Council leader looked furious.

“You are corrupting the future of an Alpha.”

I stood.

“No.”

“I'm giving him a choice.”

The silver light around my body intensified.

One by one, the ancient records on the walls began to glow.

The Council leader took a step backward.

“Stop this.”

“You can't command the Moonborn.”

I looked at him.

“That's exactly the point.”

The ancient symbols spread across the ceiling.

Every lie hidden in the Council's records began appearing in the air.

Names of murdered bloodline heirs.

Forbidden experiments.

Forced marriages.

Territories taken through bloodshed.

Children separated from their families.

The hall erupted in whispers.

One Alpha stepped forward.

“These records are real.”

Another followed.

“My grandfather disappeared because of the Council.”

A third Alpha clenched his fists.

“They killed my sister.”

The Council leader's face turned pale.

The ancient order he had protected for decades was collapsing in front of him.

He looked at me.

“If you destroy us, there will be chaos.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“There will finally be freedom.”

Mira stepped beside me.

Roman followed.

Then Sebastian.

Then, one after another, the pack leaders stood.

The Council guards lowered their weapons.

Their leader looked around and realized he was alone.

“What do you want?” he whispered.

I answered calmly.

“Three things.”

“First, the Crimson Council ends today.”

“Second, every bloodline record becomes public.”

“Third, no Alpha will ever again have the right to decide who someone must become.”

The old man stared at me.

Then he slowly lowered his head.

“And what will you become?”

I looked at Leo.

Then Mira.

Then Sebastian.

“Nothing you can control.”

The silver mark on my wrist faded.

For the first time, the power inside me felt peaceful.

Not because I had won a throne.

But because I had finally stopped fighting for a place in someone else's world.

Sebastian approached me after the Council guards surrendered.

He stopped a few steps away.

“Faye.”

I looked at him.

“I know I don't deserve another chance.”

“But if you ever decide you want one…”

He paused.

“I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can be worthy of it.”

I didn't give him an answer.

Not yet.

Because for the first time in either lifetime, I didn't have to rush toward a decision.

I could choose.

And this time, my choice would belong to me.