---- 23 The banquet ended abruptly. I locked myself in my room for many days, my mind spinning with everything that had happened. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sebastian's face when he told me about that summer ten years ago. The boy who had truly saved me. The boy whose story Kieran had stolen. I knew that in this lifetime, I still owed Kieran a debt. But I also knew I could never repay it by sacrificing my own happiness. That evening, Sebastian came to take me to dinner. His gentle knock on my door made my heart skip. "Evelyn, are you ready?" I opened the door to find him holding a bouquet of white roses. Not the red ones Kieran used to bring, but pure white ones that somehow felt more honest. "You look beautiful," Sebastian said softly. ---- I felt my cheeks warm. "You don't have to say that every time you see me." "I'm not saying it because I have to. I'm saying it because it's true." Before I could respond, Uncle Marcus appeared at the end of the hallway. His expression was dark and determined. "Evelyn," he called out sharply. ''The elder wants to see you. Now." Sebastian's grip on my hand tightened protectively. I could feel the tension radiating from his body. "Sebastian, this is Winters Pack business," Marcus continued, his voice cold. "You're an outsider after all..." The word 'outsider' hit something fierce inside me. "He's not an outsider," I said firmly, surprising myself with the strength in my voice. ---- Sebastian's smile couldn't be suppressed. He squeezed my hand gently. "Whatever happens," he whispered to me, "I'm with you." The drive to the Winters ancestral home felt like going to my execution. Marcus sat in the front seat, occasionally glancing back at us through the rearview mirror. Sebastian never let go of my hand. "Are you scared?" he asked quietly. "Terrified," I admitted. "What if they throw me out? What if I've ruined everything for my parents?" "Then we'll face it together," Sebastian said simply. "You're not alone anymore." At the ancestral home, Grandfather sat in the main seat like a judge. The atmosphere was so heavy I could barely breathe. ---- He pointed his cane directly at Alpha Winters. "What exactly are you trying to do by bringing this girl into the Winters Pack?" Grandfather's voice boomed through the room. Alpha Winters stood straighter. His voice was steady as still water. "Dad, she's my daughter. If not in the Winters Pack, where should she go?" "your daughter?" Marcus laughed bitterly. "Big brother, stop lying to yourself. Her mate even died blocking an attack for her. Obviously she's Aria Rivers." My heart clenched at the mention of Kieran's death. Even knowing what he'd done, hearing about his end still hurt. "you're still calling her your daughter?" Marcus continued. "If you don't want Isabella to inherit the pack, just say so directly. Finding a fake to fool Dad-are you deliberately trying to anger him?" "T don't understand what you're saying," Alpha