Chapter 3

“What has gotten over you, Matt?” Eric, the oldest of the pack voiced out. Everyone including Matt's father believed Eric was very wise but Matt did not think like them. To him, Eric was like everybody, just older. He was just an expert in twisting words. “First, the Lopez pack, then your father. Are you insane?” Eric continued. They were the insane ones but if his ears were right it was like he mentioned his father. There must be something wrong with his father. His father had suffered the same fate as the butchered Lopez pack. That was what he meant. Or was he saying he killed his father the same way he killed the members of the Lopez pack.

“My father,what’s wrong with my father” Matt asked trying to be on his feet but he couldn’t. Something bad must not happen to his father. It must not be what he thought.

“What's wrong with your father is what you did to your father, bastard” Eric was embittered and furious. His voice was sad. What did Matt do to his father that Eric was referring to? It seemed everybody was in darkness and none of them knew what was really going on. He realized his father was dead and not just dead, murdered and he would be framed for that. He would never kill his father but nobody was ready to believe with the way they looked at him. They thought he murdered their alpha, they would not be lenient. Matt was weakened, his father shouldn’t have died. He was a strong man, he would always be the last man standing unless it was a strike from someone he trusted very much. His most trusted was Matt not until yesterday when he lost that position. The murderer must have replaced him in his father’s eyes and this killer would be the one responsible for the killing of the member of the Lopez pack. He must also be planning something big for the whole pack right now if he was not apprehended. But nobody would listen or care about what Matt had to say. But he must still say it whether they cared to listen or not.

“There is a betrayer among us. He wanted to see our end. He killed the member of the Lopez pack and my father and he wanted to frame me for all that. We must find him before it is too late” Matt struggled to let out.

“Nice story, Matt. That was a very nice story. We have found the betrayer” Eric said with sarcasm. Eric put something in Dylan’s palm and the latter stooped stopped in front of Matt to show him. It was a wolf fingertip that was chopped off.

“That belong to your betrayer. It will take a werewolf many hours to grow back a finger. We used that to find your father’s murderer” Eric concluded. It took Matt a while to understand what he meant. He quickly looked at his fingers and found one of his right hand chopped off. This must be a dream. All what was happening must be a dream. He must wake up and that must be right now. He closed his eyes hard. Nothing changed when he opened. He was still in shackles, kneeling down where he was all this time. 

“No” Matt cried. This should not be happening to him. He was getting prepared for a whole new life with the love of his life. He had no quarrel with anybody. He did not seek anything beyond his reach. Why would someone go this far with him? He had done nothing.

“We forgive you for killing the Lopez, but for our alpha,you will be executed in the next full moon” Eric announced. The full moon is the worst moment for a werewolf to die. Matt gave up on all his survival instincts. He succumbed to them as they dragged him into an uunderground cell where he was chained with more than enough chains to prevent him from escaping.

He fell asleep in the cell and woke up to find a plate of food beside. They had brought him food when he was asleep. Why were they bringing him food,they were going to kill him anyway? He kicked the food away.

He pondered over the whole situation throughout the night. He couldn’t get to the base of it. He was frustrated and ready to die That would bring an end to everything including this unending problem.

Later in the evening, he heard footsteps coming towards his cell. He peeped out and saw Dylan. He must have come to hear his own side of the story. At least,someone still cared.

“Dylan, Dylan, please I didn’t do any of all what I was accused of. Eric could not just understand” Matt pleaded. Tears flowed in his eyes. He was surprised to see Dylan’s reaction. He was laughing, a big grin.

“Please,I didn’t do all of the things I was accused of” Dylan mimicked Matt funnily. Matt was stunned. He paused a little bit. He had come all the way here just to mock him. He recollected how he had slapped him previously. Obviously, Dylan didn’t like him and he was not hiding that fact.

“I know all of this is still a mystery to you” Dylan straightened his face and spoke seriously. “You have sense more than your father, you figured out there is someone plotting all this. I will have to give you a praise for that. Your father misses it.” Dylan clapped lightly. It was him all this time. He butchered the Lopez pack and killed his father. Why was he doing all that? They didn’t have any misunderstanding.

“What have we done to deserve all this?” Matt cried. He was clueless, he didn’t know what to do. If he could just summon some power powerful enough to break these chains and cell gates. He would just pounce over him and devour him.

“Patience is a virtue” he said mockingly. “One thing your family lacked that made your fall easy. Have some patience and I will tell you everything. There is much time, we have a lot of days before the next full moon”

Matt kept staring at him. Dylan would have died if stare can kill. Matt just wanted to know why he did all this. He felt like that would relieve him his pain. Nobody like being kept in the dark.

“When we were young, we knew the position of alpha is not by lineage. It is by choice of majority. But you are changing that and I can not open my eyes and see you become the alpha of our pack. Your father was the alpha, his father was the alpha and once you too become the alpha, your son might be next. Then you will turn yourselves to an alpha family. Isn’t it? That was your offence” Dylan licked his fingers. He was mocking him.