Page 5 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 1

“We have her secured, sir.”

“Thank you, Aiden.”

“What?! Dad, what is going on? And why are they in my bedroom in the middle of the night?”

“I’m sorry for the intrusion, Matilda,but it is a necessary precaution.”

“What happened? Just tell me.”

“Your sister was taken about an hour ago.”

“Chelle?”

“Michelle is gone, Matilda.”

My whole world came crashing in around me. I shook my head. No, it couldn't be possible. She was fine. I'd seen her just this afternoon. She’d said she had something important to tell me later. She'd been excited and a little nervous.

She'd come back and tell me what was going on. She had too. I had expected her earlier but fell asleep waiting for her to return.

“Tilly,” my father's voice softened. “Chelle isn't coming back.”

I shook my head again. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

“How? Who? Why?” I asked in a soft voice.

“We don’t know. She was out on a run tonight when it happened. Chloe was with her. She’d already shifted and dressed for the walk back, but Michelle was still in her fur.”

“Hunters?” I asked, feeling like I was going to be sick.

“We aren’t sure yet. There were no guns fired.”

“Trappers then?”

“It’s possible,” my father said, uncomfortably. “Could you all step outside to give us a moment, please?”

Why was he asking these guys to leave? This was my father’s territory and he should be demanding it, not asking. I had a very bad feeling that I was missing something here.

He waited until they had all left.

“Matilda, Tilly,” he corrected, knowing how much I preferred the nickname to my full given name, though he only used it when trying to butter me up to something. “As the oldest, your sister was expected to mate honorably for our Tribe.”

“Mate? What are you even talking about?” Chelle hadn’t met anyone she was serious about that I knew of.

She would have told me.

My heart nearly stopped beating. Was this what she was excited and nervous to tell me?

I shook my head in disbelief.

“Sometimes, high-ranking positions such as Alpha or she-Alpha require great sacrifice.”

My stomach lurched at his words.

“Oh no. What did you do?”

“I did what I know is necessary for our people. We can’t keep the feud up between us and the Campbells. It’s costing too much. So I have worked out an alliance. Your sister was to mate Aiden at the next full moon.”

“That’s in three weeks, Dad. Are you crazy? She couldn’t possibly agree to this. It’s Aiden Campbell. Is that it? Did she actually run away?”

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