7. Traitor
1387 Words
Naevia
The entire hall fell silent.
The whispers that had been building like a storm suddenly died, leaving only the sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.
Elliot’s face had gone from shock to rage to something darker. His mouth opened and closed several times, no words coming out, and I felt a bitter satisfaction bloom in my chest.
Yes, look at me. I’m alive. Your plans failed.
“Elliot.” Ambrose’s voice cut through the silence like a blade. “Is this how RedMoon Pack greets its new King? With silence and staring? I expected better manners.” Ambrose’s tone was dry and unimpressed.
Elliot’s face flushed red, and I watched him struggle to compose himself. Slowly and stiffly, Elliot bowed. The movement was jerky, almost reluctant, as if every muscle in his body was fighting against it. “Alpha King Ambrose. Forgive our rudeness. Your arrival caught us all by surprise.”
Then Elliot’s eyes shifted to me, and for a moment I saw something murderous flash across his face. But he bowed to me as well, the motion even more reluctant than the first, and I knew it was killing him inside.
I kept my expression neutral, though inside I was screaming. This was just the beginning. The humiliation he felt now was nothing compared to what I planned to make him suffer.
“Naevia.” Diane’s voice rang out sharp and furious.
She stepped forward, her face twisted with rage. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, and I could see the barely controlled fury in every line of her body.
The crowd erupted into whispers again, a low buzz filling the courtyard. I searched desperately through the faces for Hannah, but she was nowhere to be found. My heart clenched with worry. Had she survived the attack? Where was she? Was she safe?
“How dare you show your face here!” Diane’s voice grew louder, more shrill. “After everything you’ve done, after the crimes you committed against this pack, you have the audacity to return? You murdered your own brother, poisoned him even while he lay sick and helpless, and you think you can just walk back in here on the arm of—”
“Diane.” Elliot’s voice cracked like a whip, stopping her mid-sentence.
She whirled on him, her eyes blazing. “But Elliot, she—”
“Enough.” He grabbed her arm, his fingers digging in hard enough that I saw her wince. His voice dropped lower, but the fury in it was unmistakable. “We have important matters to discuss with the Alpha King. Matters that require privacy and diplomacy, not hysterical accusations in front of the entire pack.”
“Accusations? Elliot she…” Diane struggled to say, but the look that Elliot shot at her made her mouth snapped shut, though the rage in her eyes didn’t diminish.
I watched them with a small smile on my lips, as Diane’s furious eyes turned to me, I felt my smile widen. She looked like she wanted to claw my eyes out, and the feeling was entirely mutual.
Elliot turned back to Ambrose, forcing what I assumed was meant to be a smile onto his face. It looked more like a grimace. “Alpha King, I apologize for this disruption. There is much we need to discuss regarding the terms of peace and RedMoon’s integration into your territory. Maybe we could retire to my office for a more private conversation?”
“Of course.” Ambrose’s agreement was smooth, unbothered by the drama unfolding around him.
Ambrose’s hand found my waist again, his fingers pressing into my side. He leaned close, his breath warm against my ear, he whispered, “Remember what you promised me, Naevia.” Then he released me.
My entire body went rigid at the reminder, but I forced myself to remain still, even as the whispers around grew louder.
Elliot’s eyes flicked to me again, lingering with an intensity that made my skin crawl. Then he looked at Diane. “Take her to her quarters. Make sure she’s settled.”
Diane’s expression shifted to offense. “As Luna of this pack, I have every right to be present during discussions about our future. Surely the Alpha King understands the importance—” She trailed off as Ambrose simply kept walking, clearly not interested in the back and forth anymore.
Elliot hurried after him and Diane signaled for one of her maidens. The maid that stepped forward was new, I had never seen her before. “Take Naevia to her quarters.” Her eyes were fixed so intensely on the maid, it made me frown.
The maid nodded her head, bobbing a quick curtsy and mumbled, “Yes, Luna.”
I was suddenly adrift, alone in a crowd of people who hated me. The maid gestured toward a side door, and I followed, my head held high even as I felt the crowd’s gaze burning into my back.
She led me away from the main pack house, past the nice residence around the estate where the higher-ranking pack members lived, toward a cluster of shabby looking buildings. The servants quarters.
“That bitch.” I chuckled bitterly as I realized what Diane had done.
My own home, my father’s legacy and heir, and I was being housed like a slave.
The moment we stepped inside, several maids turned to look at me. Recognition flickered across their faces, followed by hostility. These women had once served my family for years, yet now they looked at me with undisguised hatred.
“Well, well. Look who decided to show her face. The murderer herself.”
“I heard she killed Alpha Alexander too. Arranged that whole attack.”
“Poisoned her own brother. What kind of monster does that?”
The girl who had led me here stepped back, before turning around and exiting the room, abandoning me.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I said steadily, despite the fear coiling in my stomach. “Everything you’ve heard is a lie and you know it.”
“A lie? We all heard the testimony. You’re a traitor, and now you come crawling back as some king’s whore.”
They began to circle me and my heart hammered as I realized what was happening.
“Murderer!” The first shove came from a woman I recognized, someone who had served in my father’s house for years.
Other hands joined in, my hair was pulled, I felt a slap whip across my face as accusation after accusation were thrown at me. I tried to fight back, tried to summon even a fraction of the strength I once had, but without Auren, I was just one woman against a mob.
“You betrayed RedMoon!”
“You should have died in that dungeon!”
“Monster!”
The words hurt more than the physical blows. These were people I had grown up with, people my father and I had protected, and now they were tearing into me with savage glee.
They dragged me deeper into the building, toward a tiny room that smelled of mold and decay. They shoved me inside, and I heard the lock click.
Darkness swallowed me whole and I felt a wave of dizziness hit me as I breathed in the disgusting smell in the room. I threw myself against the door, pounding hard.
“Help!” I screamed, “Somebody help me!” But it was futile, no one came.
I fell to the floor, my legs unable to hold me anymore. My entire body was shaking with rage and humiliation. The tears came without my permission, hot and bitter down my face.
I couldn’t tell for how long I sat in that dark, small room, but I must have slept off at some point because I woke up to the sound of the lock turning.
My body went rigid, preparing for another attack. The door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside holding a flashlight. The light was almost blinding after sitting in the dark, and I had to squint to make out the face.
When I finally did, my breath caught in my throat.
Sarah.
- Writer
