Chapter 28 The Birthday Dinner

Alpha Sebastian got back to the Hale estate after eight.

The moment he stepped inside, Isabella launched into a complaint—something about the party she’d wanted versus the dinner she got.

He slipped off his jacket and held it out without thinking.

No one took it.

For four years, Eira had always been there. She hung it up, asked if he wanted tea, made sure dinner was ready before anyone noticed it needed to be.

Tonight, his arm stayed raised in empty air. One second. Two. Long enough to feel stupid.

Serena watched him from the dining room.

"I can take that," she said.

Alpha Sebastian lowered the jacket himself.

"You didn’t tell me you were coming."

Serena glanced at Isabella, then smiled. "Isabella invited me. I thought it might cheer her up."

"It does," Isabella said quickly. "Serena came for me. Not you."

Alpha Sebastian gave a distracted nod and hung up his own coat.

He sat down across from Serena.

She looked effortless in a dark green dress, like she belonged in the Hale dining room more than Eira ever had.

Alpha Roger lifted his glass. "To Isabella. And to better days ahead."

Glasses clinked.

Serena smiled. "The tech expo’s next week. A lot of attention on the processor launch. Companies ready to support the rollout will have opportunities."

Alpha Roger leaned forward. "Hale Group could be one of them."

"I’m not saying anything specific," Serena said lightly. "Just that it pays to be ready."

Luna Margaret’s eyes brightened. Alpha Sebastian watched Serena, but his attention kept sliding back to his phone.

Eira hadn’t come home. Hadn’t called. Hadn’t even sent one of her careful little messages explaining where she was—the ones he’d spent four years half-ignoring and only now noticed the absence of.

He opened their conversation.

Sebastian: Why didn’t you come tonight?

Nothing.

Sebastian: You knew it was Isabella’s birthday.

A reply came a full minute later.

Eira: Mrs. Thorne’s doctor came by. I couldn’t leave.

That was all. No apology. No promise to make it up. No question about whether he’d eaten.

His jaw tightened. He typed, deleted, typed again.

Sebastian: Are you with Sterling right now?

The word Sterling sat on the screen a second before he sent it. He told himself it was about the job. It wasn’t, and some part of him knew it.

Delivered. No reply.

He watched the screen until it dimmed, then locked it too hard.

"Sebastian?" Serena’s voice pulled him up. "You’ve checked that phone six times."

"Work."

"Mm." She didn’t argue. She just let the silence say she didn’t believe him, which was worse.

Dinner moved on without him. The wine was too warm. One of Alpha Roger’s preferred dishes was missing. The staff had forgotten Isabella’s birthday candles. Small things. Eira’s things. No one said her name, but the whole table felt the shape of the gap she’d left.

"So." Isabella broke it, bright and pointed. "The Sterling mixer next week. You’re going, right?"

"I am."

"Who are you bringing?" Serena tilted her head. "Those nights are always easier with a plus-one."

"Obviously Serena," Isabella said, before he could answer. "Who else? Eira would hate it. She doesn’t know anyone. She’d stand against the wall all night looking miserable." She turned to him. "You’re the Alpha of Hale Pack. You need someone who can work a room."

Alpha Sebastian had assumed Eira would be there. Not because he’d planned to introduce her—because she always handled the parts he didn’t want to think about. The right names. The right files. The right answers, before he knew to ask.

Instead she’d be there for Sterling. Sitting at Alpha Killian’s table. Wearing whatever Alpha Killian had bought for the night.

"She’ll be there," he said. "With Sterling."

The table went quiet.

"With Sterling Group," Luna Margaret corrected gently, watching her son. "She works for them. That’s all that means, Sebastian."

"That’s all it means." He heard how flat it came out. So did everyone else.

Serena set her fork down, delicate. "You know, it’s funny. My grandfather’s been to every one of these. Alpha Killian comes alone. Every year. And the year before." She let it breathe. "I only mention it because people will notice if he changes the habit. For her."

Something moved across Alpha Sebastian’s face before he could stop it.

Serena saw it. She’d been fishing for exactly that, and she’d caught it clean.

"But I’m sure it’s nothing," she added sweetly.

"It’s nothing." He said it too fast. His hand had closed around his water glass hard enough to whiten the knuckles, and he made himself let go.

Alpha Roger and Luna Margaret exchanged a look. Isabella, for once, said nothing—just watched her brother realize, a beat too late, that he’d shown the whole table something he’d meant to keep off his own face.

Serena moved in to cover for him, gracious, the picture of understanding. "Anyway. I have my own invitation—I can go on my own. And Isabella should come. A room full of Pack heirs is good for her."

"Take your sister," Luna Margaret said, relieved to change lanes. "It’s a good opportunity."

Alpha Sebastian nodded, distracted. "All right."

Serena waited a beat. Then, light as a feather dropped on purpose: "So you’ve got your date. Does that mean I can bring someone? A guy I’ve been seeing—it’d be nice to introduce him."

The question landed soft. Everyone at the table heard the test underneath it.

She wasn’t seeing anyone. She just wanted to see his face.

"Sebastian?"

He looked up.

"No."

It came out before thought did—clipped, fast, too much weight on one syllable. The kind of no that answers a question no one had actually asked yet.

For a second he heard it too. So did his mother. So did Serena, whose eyes warmed with quiet triumph she was careful to fold away.

"No?" she echoed, gentle.

He reached for the correction and couldn’t find one that sounded like indifference. "It’s a business event. Keep it professional."

"Of course." Serena lowered her lashes, hiding a smile. "Good."

Across the table, his phone lit up face-down. He turned it over before he could stop himself.

Not Eira.

He set it back down, and this time everyone pretended not to watch him do it.