Chapter 5: A Heart Divided Anna POV

“Tell me what happened to him! What did Leo do?” Outside the pack house, I pushed my way through the swarm of whispering voices and made my demand.

One of the bigger wolves hissed, "Back off, runt," and gave me a hard shove that almost knocked me down. I didn't stop, though. I was unable to. My mind was racing, clinging to a single thought: Leo was in trouble.

I finally made it to the clearing in the middle, where Oliver was standing with his troops encircling him. His sardonic expression said a lot, but what really stopped me was the grim satisfaction on his face.

When Oliver raised his hand, everyone became silent. He said, "Leo has betrayed this pack," his voice resonating in the quiet, each word piercing my stomach like a stone. "He will go on trial tomorrow. But tonight… tonight, he will rot in a cell.”

Like flies buzzing over a body, the pack burst into murmurs and whispers. I balled my fists up. Betrayed? No, I said to myself, "that can't be right." But the terror was beginning to sink in. Oliver shared the pack's belief that he was culpable of whatever had transpired.

Oliver suddenly turned to face me, a chilly smile twisting his lips. “Look who decided to join us. The little wanderer from the flock." His tone was brimming with mockery, and the audience burst out laughing.

Even though every instinct told me to turn away, I kept my eyes on him despite the shame and rage burning in my cheeks. I responded in a tiny but firm voice, "Please, Alpha Oliver. There has to be a mistake. Leo would never betray the pack.”

"A mistake?" Malice shone in his eyes. Allowing a traitor to be among us for a long period of time was a mistake. You're lucky that I'm not fixing that error at the moment. "

My chest ached from each sharp breath. I could tell by the look in his eyes that Oliver was having fun with this, relishing in his authority over us and his ability to take away everything I valued with a single word.

"I..." I wanted to defend Leo and fight back, but I was at a loss for words. Not in this place. Not in public. I bent my head, feeling the weight of each derisive look, and my speech died on my lips.

"Well done." Oliver's voice grew softer, but it was still icy. "Now, Omega, return to your responsibilities. You’ve disrupted this gathering enough.”

Biting my tongue, I turned away and staggered back, pushing myself to back off. As I made my way back to the pack house, feeling angry and powerless, the pack closed ranks and excluded me.

In my tiny chamber, the solitude felt oppressive. I could not breathe because the walls felt like they were closing in on me and crushing into my chest. Leo, shackled and solitary in a cell somewhere in the dungeons below, was on my mind constantly. He must be experiencing something. My sole family in this group, the man who had reared me, abandoned me like a criminal.

I needed to see him. In this nightmare, I couldn't leave him alone.

As I moved into the dungeons, the corridors were silent, the shadows lengthy and menacing in the dim light from the tall windows. If someone did notice me, they didn't give a damn. Why would anyone care about just another omega skulking around after hours?

At last, I arrived at the dim, slender staircase leading to the cells. As I descended, the air was frigid and heavy, and my heart was racing. When I got to the bottom, I noticed a shackled figure leaning against the wall. "Leo!" I yelled as I hurried to the jail.

A faint smile appeared on his injured face as his head rose. His voice was raspy and weary as he rasped, "Anna…."

I put my face between the bars and held on to them. “What happened? They're claiming that you betrayed the pack. that you caused harm to someone."

A pained giggle escaped his lips, but it soon became a cough. "They're calling it betrayal, right?" His eyes were dark with resentment as he shook his head. "Anna, I didn't hurt anyone. I promise. A rogue wolf attacked a young wolf, hardly a pup. I tried to help him, but…” He walked away, staring off into space as if he could still see everything unfolding in front of him. "It was too late by the time I reached him."

"How did it come to be like this, though?" My hands shaking against the cold metal, I asked.

He spat out the name like a curse: "The stranger. He didn't question me when he saw me there, covered in the boy's blood. He raised the alarm, called me a traitor before I even had a chance to explain. Oliver, on the other hand, was indifferent to the truth. He just needed an excuse.”

A horrible feeling crawled up my throat, twisting my gut. Oliver had taken advantage of the fact that this stranger had made such snap judgments. An occasion to harm Leo. and hence, to cause me harm.

Sucking back the tears that threatened to fall, I bit my lip. "I'm really sorry, Leo. I... I have no idea how to resolve this. I have no idea how to get them to see."

Through the bars, he extended a hand and ran a thumb across my cheek. “Anna, you don’t need to fix anything. Just promise me… promise you’ll stay safe. Don't get further involved in this than you currently are."

I gave a violent shake of my head. "I can't abandon you here. Leo, you are the only family I actually have."

He averted his gaze, an odd expression on his face. "Family," he said quietly again. "There's something you should know, Anna." His words were heavy with sadness, and his voice wavered.

"What is it?" Desperate to find out what he was trying to tell me, I leaned closer and inquired.

However, the heavy door at the top of the steps creaked open before he could respond. One of the soldiers came in, his eyes narrowing at me, and I leaped back, my heart racing. He strode up to drag me out of the cell and said, "What do you think you're doing here, omega?"

He pushed me back toward the stairs as I staggered and caught myself. “No visitors for the prisoner. Get out, or I’ll lock you up too.”

Panic gnawing at my breast, I turned back to face Leo. "Leo—"

"Anna," he remarked in a hard yet gentle voice. "Go. Please. And keep in mind what I said: be careful."

I nodded as I was ejected from the dungeon, feeling a knot form in my throat. Leo was locked in the dark as the door slammed behind me.

Leo's advice to keep cautious and his caution about Oliver reverberated in my mind as I made my way back through the deserted hallways. More than that, though, was the sorrow in his voice when he used the word "family," and the way he looked at me as if he was hiding something from me.

Leo would go on trial tomorrow, and I would lose him forever if I couldn't figure out how to support him.