Chapter 022

“Beta Julian!” Jacob yelled. “Beta, please, let her go. There are better ways to discuss this.”

The Alpha was quiet.

The Beta turned to my best friend and raised me even higher so that I was now gasping. “I should let her go, hm?” His eyes were blazing, but his voice remained deathly calm. “Read the letter.”

Jacob didn't move. “She's about to choke to death. She needs proper trial first before we condemn her for whatever-”

“Read the damn note, Jacob.” The man turned to glare at me. “Then you'll find out why she's a traitor.”

“I…” I wheezed. “I really *cough* didn't do that-”

My lungs were burning, and I was struggling to take air in. The Beta, on the other hand, looked like he could do that all day. His eyes flashed with anger as he tightened his grip.

“Let her go, Julian,” a familiar voice with a withdrawn tone said, just as I was about to become unconscious.

“Roman.” The Beta sounded disgruntled.

“Now.”

I could sense the reluctance in his gaze as he released his hold on me, and despite the fact that I fell to the ground hard, I wheezed and gasped for air, my insides screaming. When I’d gotten enough oxygen to function normally again, I raised my head to give my appreciation.

But the expression the Alpha had on his face caused me to change my mind. While his held disappointment, Jacob's held disbelief.

“Audrey, you…”

“I didn't write it, I swear! That's not even my handwriting!”

The Alpha's look turned blank, while the Beta maintained his barely masked vexation. “You wouldn't be the one to write it. You'd be the one to receive it.”

“I…” He was right.

But he wasn’t done. “Why do you mean by ‘The first phase is complete’, Audrey?”

“I really don't know.” Tears were beginning to form in my eyes again. “I swear, I've told you the whole story. I went for a run, ran into some rogues, and began to run back.”

“Then how did that note get in your back pocket?” the Beta demanded.

“I…I'd shifted to my human self once when I was trying to hide from the rogues, but they'd caught me soon enough. That must have been the time they framed me.”

The Alpha said nothing, and I felt my sadness at that slowly surpassing my wolf's.

“We'd have to take you in for questioning,” he finally said, and I deflated.

“...alright.”

Jacob's eyes went wide with shock. “Wait, Alpha-”

“It's the Alpha's decision, not yours,” the Beta said, and I lowered my head to the ground when I saw my old friend's heartbroken expression.

I quietly allowed myself to be led back into the pack house, and the guards that were dead were quickly replaced. I was led through the town square and towards a dark area that was apparently where prisoners were kept.

Jacob tried protesting that I wasn't a prisoner yet, but the Alpha, who'd decided to do the leading, ignored him, till he got tired of Jacob's words and ordered him to leave us alone.

Under the weight of an Alpha's command, Jacob looked at me hopelessly before walking away. The Beta, contrary to the way I'd thought he would act, gave me a cursory glance before turning away as well, leaving me, the Alpha, and a few guards.

‘Well,’ I told myself, ‘Maybe it's better this way.’

I'd just recently found out that my stepsister's fiancé was my mate, my stepmother still hated me, and I was being accused of treachery.

Maybe it was just better to die.

He dumped me in one of the darkest cells when we arrived, dismissed the guards, and just kept looking at the wall while I fidgeted.

Finally, he spoke.

“You told me you didn't want any trouble. So, why this?”

Something squeezed in my chest.

“I'm not a traitor,” I said quietly, wanting to try one more time. “I swear on the goddess herself. I don't know how that note got there. I merely wished to go for a run, and this whole thing happened. You have to believe me.”

“The evidence is too great for me to believe you.” He had a sad look on his face. “I would love for nothing more than that right now, Audrey. Even my wolf is clamoring for your exoneration. But taking a look at the facts-”

“What facts? The fact that I arrived in a time when there's so much chaos? Or that I have more luggage than is prescribed for a few weeks of stay? Fine then. I'll tell you. I was kicked out of my apartment after I lost my job. I was penniless, and I decided that I would just return home so I could have a roof over my head.”

He merely stared at me.

“I came back because my life over there was terrible. I didn't think I'd return at a time like this, I never knew you existed before Diane and Tanya started babbling about you, and I didn't plan to seduce you for any wicked schemes.”

I took in a sharp breath before desperately crying out, “And I definitely am not working with those rogues, so would you please listen to me?!”

His response to that was to stand and walk towards me before crouching before me and holding my face with his hand.

“I don't believe you.”

I blinked. “W-what?”

“Let me put it this way. In spite of all your explanations, I can't believe you. When we found you, there was blood on your paws, and after you shifted, your hands. That blood was tested to reveal the identity of one of the guards.”

“What? No, I-”

He closed his eyes, and his hand fell off my face. “You've always been found in trouble's way, Audrey. And I-” He fell silent as his eyes flashed gold.

The next moment, he stood up abruptly and walked out of the room, leaving me bewildered.