CHAPTER 498: SUFFOCATING ME NOW, KATE

Vance stepped out of the black sedan, his eyes quickly assessing the heavily built men who flanked him. "Why exactly did you bring me to this location?" he demanded, searching for a clear answer.

"The Alpha wishes to speak with you directly," Aiden stated.

Vance frowned, still deeply confused by the abrupt summons, but he had no choice but to follow the Beta inside. His steps finally halted in the spacious, austere living room upon seeing Sage, the Alpha, seated with intimidating stillness, flipping the pages of a file.

"Alpha, I’ve brought Vance," Aiden reported, standing aside.

Sage lifted his gaze from the document, dismissing Aiden with a subtle gesture, then motioned for Vance to take the seat directly across from him.

Vance wasted no time, leaning forward slightly after sitting. "Did you find out the truth yet? I swear, I wasn’t lying to you," he insisted, his urgency evident. "I heard it myself. The killers clearly spoke your mother’s name."

"Blythe is not my mother," Sage stated simply, his voice lacking emotions.

Vance’s confusion spiked, but he wisely kept silent, waiting for Sage to elaborate.

"Blythe wasn’t my mother," Sage again pronounced. "My father married for the second time after my biological mother ran away." As he spoke those words, a noticeable tightness formed in his throat, betraying the deep-seated pain. "Gianna was the name of my mother."

Vance’s eyes widened instantly, a shocking realization dawning on him. Could they possibly share the same mother? Their eyes met, and Sage confirmed his silent question. "Yes, you’re thinking right. Our mother is the same."

Vance was utterly unable to react; the sudden, massive news simply overwhelmed him.

"How was my mother? Did she ever speak about me?" Sage murmured, his voice now low and aching, the Alpha’s authority replaced by a son’s longing. "Did she ever try to reach me? I know you might not know the answers to these questions, but I—I just wish to know." Abandoned by his mother at a vulnerable age had left him with a multitude of deep, hidden scars, and they were bleeding open now.

Vance turned dropped his gaze as he truly didn’t have answers to any of those agonizing questions.

"She never spoke about me, did she?" Sage chuckled and filled with a crushing disappointment that echoed in the room.

"Mom and Dad never revealed that to me," Vance replied. "I—I didn’t know that..." he broke off abruptly, his mind racing, utterly unable to formulate a coherent thought or finish his sentence.

Sage, unable to bear the confirmation of his mother’s silence, suddenly rose to his feet. He let the file, the one that had started this entire confrontation, slide from his lap and rest on the cushioned seat.

Without uttering another word, or sparing a glance backward, he simply walked out of the room, leaving Vance alone with the shock.

Vance wondered if he should remain or depart. He decided to leave and pushed himself to his feet just as William entered the living room.

"I—I..." Vance began, attempting to speak, but William cut him off, his voice laced with cold fury.

"You brought nothing but destruction to this family," William bit out. "But, in a strange way, you finally brought a measure of peace to Sage. While I always believed Gianna was simply somewhere far away, discovering she was so close, that I never anticipated. Blythe will be punished according to pack law." His expression hardened into a rigid mask.

"You cannot remain in this territory. Leave immediately after the punishment is officially announced. And do not come near Sage, ever again."

Vance knit his brows together, the harshness and unwanted hatred radiating from William hitting him unexpectedly. He realized the truth he had carried, the truth of their shared mother and Blythe’s deception, must have been an immense, debilitating blow to the entire family.

~~~~

Katelyn pulled the car to a stop in front of the sweeping sands of the Pearlwind Coast, a remote place Sage cherished and would retreat to during his lowest moments.

Since the afternoon, following the devastating conversation with Vance, he had completely disappeared, sending worry through the entire pack.

Katelyn removed her sunglasses, tucking them onto the front of her top. A faint, familiar scent of Sage’s pheromones signature lingered gently in her nostrils, confirming he wasn’t far. Following the subtle trail of her mate’s distress, she finally spotted him. He was seated in the sand in front of a small, rustic beach house, watching the sun sink toward the horizon.

Quietly, Katelyn approached him, her steps barely disturbing the soft sand. She paused a few feet away and softly called out his name.

Sage snapped immediately out of his deep contemplation, his head turning sharply. He was so completely engrossed in his inner turmoil that he hadn’t sensed Katelyn’s presence until she spoke.

"Kate!" Sage stood up from his place. "What are you doing here?"

And before he could get that answer, Katelyn threw her arms around him, embracing him for a tight hug. Sage was shocked, but then his hands found her back.

Katelyn took a step back, her immediate relief giving way to anger and she glared at him.

"Why did you leave without informing anyone? Do you know how worried everyone is?" she demanded. "Their Alpha disappears and refuses to pick up anyone’s calls!"

"I wanted to be alone," Sage replied, his gaze fixed on the fading sunset.

"But you should have at least notified someone!" Katelyn insisted, moving closer again. "I know after what happened you didn’t wish to be in that pack territory, but you can’t worry the others like this. Also, you have a massive responsibility to bear—the role of the Pack Alpha."

Sage finally dragged his eyes from the horizon and looked at her, and the desperation in his gaze shocked her. "I don’t want to be an Alpha of this pack," he declared. "My mother lost her life because I became the Alpha. And it’s suffocating me now, Kate. I will leave that pack. I don’t want to be a part of them anymore."

"Why would you leave the pack?" Katelyn countered sharply, her hands moving to grip his arms. "Don’t make a decision in a rush."