Choose or Lose

Sebastian’s POV

“Are you planning to sit there like a brooding statue all day?” Damien asked, irritation evident in his voice.

I didn’t bother responding, just continued staring at the glass of bourbon in my hand, contemplating how my relationship with Thea had suddenly become so complicated. I understood her reaction completely. Her behavior was perfectly reasonable—like anyone who’d been hurt repeatedly by someone they loved deeply. Something inside me ached to heal all her wounds, to mend her broken heart. But how was that even possible? Especially when I was the one who had inflicted the deepest cuts.

“Sebastian, you can’t keep going on like this. If she doesn’t want to see you, fuck away! Goddamnit, Aurora is still waiting for you. It’s not like you’re short on she-wolves who want you,” Damien complained, dropping heavily into the chair across from me.

I ignored his bullshit and shot him a glare. “If my mood bothers you so much, you’re free to get the hell out.”

He didn’t understand, and I wasn’t in the mood to explain. My entire being—body and soul—wanted only Thea now. Not Aurora, not any other she-wolf.

This was my own damn fault, wasn’t it? Just when I finally admitted my feelings for her, she decided to cut ties with me completely. She was carrying another male’s pup, proof that she was determined to move on with her life.

I had once been the only male to touch her, the only one she’d been intimate with. Back then, I hadn’t considered that anything special. But now, thinking about Kane or any other male touching her, their scents mingling together, drove my wolf and me nearly insane. It was torture to the bone. Perhaps this was how she felt when I ignored her because of Aurora.

Fuck! How could I make her understand my sincerity? I didn’t want to hurt her anymore; instead, I wanted to heal what was broken.

“You still haven’t admitted that you love her,” my wolf commented bluntly. “If you didn’t truly love her, would you care this much about a she-wolf?”

The door suddenly opened, but I didn’t turn around.

“What’s with him?” Damien asked, confusion in his tone.

Without looking back, I knew Roman had entered. The three of us had grown up together, understanding each other better than anyone else.

“Thea.” At the sound of her name, I turned immediately.

Roman looked completely drained, as if every ounce of energy had been sucked out of him. He’d lost significant weight over the past few weeks, causing all of us to worry.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I went to ask for her help with the Pack’s situation, but she refused,” he sighed.

I had offered to help him before, but he declined. The Kincaids had kept their promise, and the Sterling Pack was declining rapidly. Without quick action, it would collapse soon. The reason our Pack remained stable was because our power matched the Kincaids’. Their efforts to isolate us through other allies hadn’t affected us significantly. But I wasn’t naive enough to think it would end there. They might not have destroyed our Pack, but I was certain they would seek other ways to take revenge. If that happened, I wouldn’t even resist. After how we treated Thea, we deserved whatever consequences came our way.

“So that’s what’s got you looking like shit? Because she wouldn’t help you?” Damien asked with sympathy.

Roman exhaled deeply: “No. It’s what she said. She told me she no longer considers me family. In other words, I’m nothing to her.”

I could see how much this hurt him, but I felt zero sympathy. We had been terrible to her. Her current attitude was far better than what we deserved.

“What the fuck did you expect?” Damien chastised. “I’ve been asking you both this question for ages.”

“I know. I don’t understand why I still expected her to be the same as before. The old Thea is completely gone. You only see glimpses of who she was when she’s with Leo.”

Just then, my phone rang. Unknown number. I considered ignoring it but decided to answer.

“Didn’t I tell you I would get my revenge?” a male voice came through. My heart jumped, and I immediately connected this to the threatening letter I’d received earlier. I instantly knew who it was.

“Graves, what the fuck do you want?” I asked, fury building inside me, not in the mood for games.

The man on the other end laughed. “Don’t you want to know what—or rather, who—I have in my possession?”

I typically didn’t rattle easily, but Graves was a complete psychopath. His confident tone put me on high alert.

“Just get to the point, I don’t have time for your bullshit.”

My voice sounded calm, but panic was rapidly spreading through me. He had taken someone I cared about. That alone was enough to maximize my anxiety.

“Since you’re so impatient, I’ll tell you,” he deliberately paused, as if to create suspense, which only infuriated me more. “I’ve captured two beautiful she-wolves—your beloved, and the mother of your pups.”

My heart stopped, then began hammering against my ribcage. Roman and Damien obviously sensed something was wrong because they immediately stopped talking and focused entirely on me.

“What do you want?” My entire body was rigid, as if frozen.

“It’s actually quite simple. I want you to make a choice,” his voice was slow and almost gleeful. “Choose who gets to live and who must die.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Every muscle in my body tensed as I struggled to believe what I was hearing.

“I’ll spare the one you choose and kill the other. How’s that? I’m being generous, aren’t I? You at least get to take one of them home instead of losing both.”

Damn it! The situation was worse than I had imagined. This bastard was completely insane.

“Remember, time is ticking,” he said, then hung up.

“What is it?” Damien asked, seeing the fear on my face.

“Graves has taken Thea and Aurora,” I paused, taking a deep breath to calm myself. “He wants me to choose one.”

“Fuck!” Roman roared, his voice echoing throughout the room.

This was a nightmare. I would do everything in my power to bring both of them back safely. But if pushed to the absolute limit, forced to make a choice, I knew what my answer would be. The only question was, could I be forgiven for causing the death of the other?