2- More chaos

The cell was ghost-quiet.

No one spoke after she cut her story half away. Anna couldn't bear the guilt that came every time she retold what happened. The thickness of the silence was even worse and the heaviness of their eyes judged her in more ways than one.

"You interfered with the humans," was all they had to say.

"You had no right. You should've whisked the Alpha away once the mission was over-"

She shook her head like it would fall. They were missing the point and she wondered if they were missing it on purpose. Their mission had been to scan the vicinity for the rogues and where they hid themselves.

The fact that she had seen one of them that night next to the house, that was all the signs that Anna needed.

It was a trap laid out for them and they had fallen right into it.

Why was no one talking about the fact that the fire was started by a werewolf? Rogue or not, the werewolf government was to take responsibility for it and make it their mission to find whoever was responsible.

But then why was she still in a cell? Why was the chain of a prisoner on her left foot and why did they torture her each day?

Yes, she knew why. She had let him die. It was all her fault.

"Nonsense!" The words were followed by a hard smack across her face.

She tasted blood in her mouth. The only thing she had tasted over and over again.

"You expect us to believe that Alpha Weston gave his life for you?" Elder Maureen, scoffed with anger in her eyes. She stared at the shape of her claws that were fresh on Anna's face, wishing they wouldn't heal so fast. She would give anything to take away Anna's abilities- If only there was a way.

"But that's… that's what happened," Anna defended weakly. "I," she sniffed and squeezed her fist. "I-"

"Enough!" Commander Gael said in a loud voice. This man who once wooed and begged her to be by his side now condemned her with everyone else. Why did she feel like he knew she was telling the truth?

Everyone knew and saw how much Alpha Weston treated her so carefully and with so much care. Why were they acting like he wouldn’t give his life for her?

"Time and time again, you've said the exact same thing. Anastasia, it's time you give it up. For yourself and the little dignity you have left, just confess and admit to your crime. You planned this all along, you drew the Alpha to that fire on purpose!"

Every one of their words was breaking my heart.

"How can I admit to something that's a lie?" she asked them, daring to lift her head and more tears rolled down her cheek. "How do you want me to lie and say I killed him just to please you-"

"Don't play smart with us, you manipulative woman!" Pascal, a representative from the werewolf government growled at me.

How could she possibly gain a listening ear when the three that were present before her were the same ones who hated her guts and her mere presence next to Alpha Weston?

"Save us the strength and the time, Anna," Maureen spoke this time, trying to sound reasonable. After a slap like that, it was clear she was pouring her anger and annoyance for all these years that Weston didn't look at her daughter. In her defence, Anna had been the one standing in the way.

"This trial will not go on for long. The new Alpha will resume today and his first assignment is to pass judgement on you. If you tell us the truth and not try to paint Weston as your saviour in shining armour then we can give you a minimal sentence-"

"Rule one," Anna panted. "…of the 'Beta Binding' handbook," she stared them in the eye. "Protect the Alpha with all your strength, your might and your very life." she gulped as she continued, "Rule two and the punishment for being found guilty is death in three lifetimes. So tell me how you'll reduce that sentence."

They clenched their fists and gritted their teeth at her.

"I don't know about you two but I just want to rip her head apart!" Maureen screamed. The hurt in her voice was evident this time. So she was hurting too.

They stormed out of the cell, leaving her alone with the aftermath of her thoughts.

A new Alpha could only mean a relative of Weston. There was only one relative she knew of and that was because Weston seldom talked about him and his wife. He was Weston's older brother by two years and he lived abroad in another Pack.

The guards barged into the cell and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her away and towards the courtroom. It was evening and the sky was dark. They bound her arms and pulled her chains, forcing her to kneel before the judges in the big empty room.

The room was filled with scorns and scoffs as they kept their gaze on her but she wasn't in the least concerned about that. She was more worried about the judgement of the new Alpha.

If the ones who were here didn’t listen, she wondered why he should.

She was still in her thoughts when a sweet scent caught her attention. It was alluring enough to rouse her wolf that had retreated ever since the unfortunate incident.

Her heart began to pound in her chest as she sat upright, turning her head to the entrance and waiting for the stranger to come in.

Why was she feeling this way? She clutched her chest that was starting to itch for no specific reason.

This feeling- she had read it in books-

"She's over here," the guard said.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here."

The voice resonated in her heart that she had troubles breathing.

Finally the doors opened and he stepped in, fixing his suit jacket and scanning the room with a deep furrow on his brows. When his eyes landed on her, she felt the connection deep in her wolf and the knowing came.

"M-Ma-"

"Alpha Levi," one of the judges called. "We've been waiting for you. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding it here."

He tore his eyes from her immediately and threw a smile at the judge, "Not at all. The guards were a big help." he glanced at her again but he didn't linger for too long- as if afraid he'd be caught staring- before walking towards the judges where he was supposed to sit too.

Anna was too stunned to even react. She just kept her face in that direction, with her jaw almost hanging loose but a tear rolling down her left eye.

Was this some kind of a joke? A carbon copy of Alpha Weston but an older version standing before her and-

She clenched hard on her jaw and balled her hands into fists by her side. The moon goddess sure was having a blast over there.

First she took away Weston and made her life a living hell. Next she brought him back in the form of his older brother. As if that wasn't enough, her wolf was flipping and going crazy at his mere presence, wanting to sink her teeth into him and deliver her mark.

A mate she had finally found and amidst her chaos, this mate was already married.