Chapter 219- Rightfully Mine

Chapter 219: 219- Rightfully Mine

Arabella POV:

It had been ten days since Chris and Rick left for the Royal Palace, and by now, panic was spreading throughout the pack.

Everywhere I went, people were whispering about their disappearance. Some believed the King had sent them on a confidential assignment, while others suspected something terrible had happened on the way to the palace.

Ava and Vikki were becoming increasingly restless. They wanted to organize a search party and personally find out what had happened to their mates, but a few senior pack members had advised them against making any hasty decisions.

With both the Alpha and Beta missing, they couldn’t afford to send warriors out without a proper plan.

As for me, I was waiting for the right moment.

I opened my closet and took out the file I’d kept safely hidden beneath my clothes. Everything I needed was inside.

It was almost noon, and perhaps it was time to pay the council a visit. I was still considering whether to leave immediately when someone knocked on my door.

"Yes?" I called, turning around. The door opened, and for a moment, I couldn’t believe who was standing there.

"Toby?"

He grinned. "Surprise!"

"Oh, Goddess! What are you doing here?" I dropped the folder onto the floor and hurried toward him, wrapping my arms around him before he could answer.

He laughed and hugged me back. "Whoa! Someone missed me."

"You have no idea." And I was really missing him.

With Lucien away and Maya barely responding to my messages, I’d been feeling lonelier than I wanted to admit. Seeing Toby standing in front of me reminded me how much I’d missed having someone close, someone I could talk to without constantly worrying about what I said.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, pulling back slightly. "How’s everything going?"

"I’m good." I smiled up at him, although I had no idea why my eyes were suddenly getting wet. Toby noticed because he gently wiped beneath one of my eyes with his thumb.

"Hey! I thought you’d be happy to see me."

"I am, idiot." I laughed and pushed his hand away.

He chuckled. "I wanted to come earlier, but I’ve been busy. Made a few friends around the palace, and we started reselling some products together. It’s going pretty well, actually."

I tilted back my head and placed a hand on my hip. "Excuse me? And what happened to YaRa Café?"

"Nothing happened to it." He shrugged. "It’s still mine, and I’ll visit whenever I can. But I’ve never been the kind of person who stays in one place for too long. I stuck around at YaRa because of you. Now that you’re not there, I figured I might as well try something new."

I studied him for a moment before smiling. "Well, as long as you’re happy."

"I am. And don’t worry, I’m not abandoning the café."

"Good. Because I’d hate to find out you’ve ruined all our hard work."

He wandered farther into the room, and his attention soon landed on the folder I’d dropped onto the floor.

"What’s this?" he asked, picking it up.

"Just some documents. I was about to go out when you arrived." He looked at me properly then, taking in my outfit.

I’d chosen a fitted black pencil skirt that reached just below my knees, paired with a cream blouse tucked neatly into the waistband. A pair of black pointed-toe heels completed the look. I’d gathered my silver-white hair into a thick side braid that rested over one shoulder.

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Well, look at you. Going somewhere important?"

"The council office," I replied, taking the folder from him.

He nodded without asking why. "All right, then. Let’s go together." When I didn’t respond, he turned his head to look at me. "What? You don’t want my company?"

"Of course I do."

I slipped the folder into my handbag and hooked my arm through his as we headed toward the door. Then I remembered something. "By the way, have you spoken to Maya recently?"

Toby shook his head. "No. And I honestly don’t know what’s going on with her lately. She’s stopped answering my calls."

I frowned. "Yours too?"

"Yeah. I thought maybe she was just busy, but it’s been going on for a while now." That was strange.

I’d been trying to reach Maya for days, sometimes calling her several times before giving up and sending a message instead. Most of my texts went unanswered, and whenever she did reply, it was usually something brief.

I wasn’t expecting her to drop everything and come to Blackthorn. I knew she had her own life and responsibilities. But a phone call every now and then would’ve been nice, especially when she knew what I was dealing with here.

And now Toby was telling me she’d been avoiding him too? What on earth was going on with her? "Maybe something’s bothering her," I muttered.

Toby shrugged. "I’ll try calling her again later." I nodded, although that uneasy feeling remained there.

For now, I had something far more urgent to take care of. I tightened my hold on Toby’s arm and picked up my handbag.

"Come on. I don’t want to keep the council waiting."

***

The funny thing was, I’d chosen Chris’s car to take me to the council office, and nobody had questioned me about it. Perhaps everyone was too busy worrying about their missing Alpha and Beta to notice that a former omega was using Alpha’s official car.

Well, it was going to be my car soon enough, anyway.

Even the chauffeur looked nervous when I told him where I wanted to go. He hesitated for a moment, glancing toward the packhouse as though he didn’t want any trouble. But when I repeated my instructions in a no-nonsense tone, he quietly opened the rear door for us.

I settled into the back seat with Toby beside me, trying not to look too pleased with myself.

"Why are we going to the council office?" Toby asked in a whisper once the car started moving.

I leaned closer to him and whispered back, "Surprise!"

He made a face and rolled his eyes. "Very funny. You’re making it sound like you’re going to compete for the Alpha position."

Oh, Toby. If only you knew.

Because that was exactly what I was going to do. My heart was beating faster with every passing minute. I had imagined this day so many times, but now that it was finally here, I couldn’t help feeling nervous.

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling and turned toward the window.

"What’s with that look?" Toby asked suspiciously. "The one you get when you’re planning something."

I laughed. "You’re imagining things, T."

With a sigh, he leaned back against his seat. "Just remember, if we end up getting arrested, I’m telling everyone you kidnapped me."

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get the best cell."

He shook his head, chuckling, and I looked down at the handbag resting on my lap. Inside it was the file I’d spent so much time preparing. In a little while, I would find out whether all that work had been worth it.

For the first time, I was heading toward the council office not to beg anyone for help, but to demand what rightfully belonged to me.