Hated By The Alpha Bound To Me

Chapter 42 - The Next Two

The argument started before the knock came. Voices drifted through the door as clear as day.

"You need to speak to Delta Rafe."

Torin scoffed.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because if he stopped putting your patrol route past the prison, none of this would have happened."

Elara looked toward the door.

Were they admiting to something without realizing what they are doing?

A heartbeat later, Torin's voice came through the wood.

"This is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes, your fault."

"I was doing my job."

"You were staring at me."

"I was not staring at you."

"You looked directly at me."

"I looked in your direction."

"You challenged me."

"I did no such thing."

"Your beady little eyes are always looking at me like I'm beneath you."

"What does that even mean?"

"I can't help it if you're imagining things."

Torin scoffed.

"And there it is."

"What?"

"That attitude."

"If you hadn't challenged me, we wouldn't have fought."

The office door rattled.

Rowan frowned.

"What fight?"

Rafe sighed.

"The one from last week."

Nobody looked any less confused.

Rafe rubbed the back of his neck.

"Torin was running patrol near the prison."

"And?" Elara asked.

"And he looked directly at Jace."

A pause followed.

Rowan blinked.

"That's it?"

"Apparently not."

Rafe pointed toward the door.

"Jace took it as a challenge."

Outside, both wolves immediately started talking over each other.

"I did not."

"You absolutely did."

"You threw the first punch."

"Because you squared up to me."

"There."

Rafe spread his hands.

"That's the fight."

"It lasted three days."

The smell of coffee still lingered in the office from earlier.

Elara leaned back in her chair.

Three days.

Three full days.

Over eye contact.

She wasn't sure whether that was ridiculous or impressive.

Judging by the look on Rowan's face, he seemed equally uncertain.

Before anyone could say another word, a loud thump sounded against the door.

Kaia closed her eyes, her shoulders visibly tensed.

Then she pushed away from the wall and crossed the office.

The argument outside had somehow become louder.

"You started it."

"You looked at me."

"That's not how starting a fight works."

Kaia grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

Two wolves stumbled into the office.

Jace hit the floor first.

Torin nearly landed on top of him.

For a moment neither moved.

Then both immediately pointed at the other.

"He pushed me."

"He was in the way."

Kaia folded her arms.

Both wolves froze.

"Sit."

The scrape of chairs echoed through the room as both wolves dropped into their seats.

Neither looked comfortable.

Jace's knee bounced beneath the table.

Torin sat rigidly still.

Elara wasn't sure which reaction looked more suspicious.

Or more nervous.

Kaia waited until both were seated.

"Good."

She moved behind them.

Elara could see how both wolves fought between glaring at each other, looking at their Alpha, or trying to keep track of where Kaia was behind them.

Apparently they feared the Beta more than they disliked each other.

"You two are incredibly disrespectful."

The room went still.

Jace and Torin straightened immediately.

Thorne's gaze moved between them.

"Fighting outside my office."

Neither spoke.

"Arguing loud enough for half the territory to hear."

Torin opened his mouth.

Closed it again.

"I should have both of you thrown into the cells for the disrespect alone."

"Sorry, Alpha."

"Sorry, Alpha."

For several seconds Thorne simply looked at them.

By the time he spoke again, both wolves looked thoroughly miserable.

"Good."

Thorne leaned back slightly.

"Now that you've finished embarrassing yourselves, we can begin."

Neither looked reassured.

"We have a spy in the pack."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

The irritation disappeared from both wolves.

Elara watched the realization settle across their faces.

This wasn't a lecture.

This wasn't punishment for fighting.

Whatever they had expected when they walked into the office, it hadn't been this.

Jace frowned.

Torin's shoulders stiffened.

"We have reason to believe information has been leaving Draegon and finding its way to the council."

Silence filled the office.

"And we're here because..." Jace started.

"Your names are on the list."

For once, neither argued.

Then Torin pointed at Jace.

"Well, it isn't me."

Jace looked offended.

"You answered suspiciously fast."

"That's because I know it's not me."

Torin folded his arms and smirked at Jace.

"Jace is too stupid to be a spy."

A grin spread across Jace's face.

"So that makes Torin the spy."

Torin groaned.

Jace ignored him and looked directly at Thorne.

"Alpha, I think the best course of action would be to throw him out of the pack."

Rafe rubbed a hand over his face.

"You've been accused of being spies for less than a minute."

"Exactly."

Jace pointed at Torin again.

"And I've already identified the problem."

"You identified nothing."

Elara rubbed her temple.

These two were exhausting.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

Could either of them really be the spy?

Torin looked toward the ceiling.

"Alpha, if there is a spy in the pack, it's Jace. He spends his time guarding one spot, and he talks too much."

"That is an unhelpful statement, Torin," Rowan said.

He sounded slightly irritated.

Rowan glanced down at his notes.

"Torin. Where were you the night before the prisoners escaped?"

"North border patrol."

"Who was with you?"

"Darren. Cole. Misha."

Rowan nodded.

The Gamma's pen moved steadily across the page.

Every answer received another note.

Another date.

Another location.

The soft scratching sound filled the brief pauses between questions.

"He complained the entire next day," Jace said.

Torin looked offended.

"I did not."

"You spent two hours talking about a twisted ankle."

"It was swollen."

"It was barely swollen."

Rowan made another note.

Then he looked at Jace.

"The night the council delegation arrived."

"Prison."

Torin snorted.

"He practically lives there."

"I work there."

"You practically live there."

"The roster will show I was there."

"It will," Torin said.

Everyone looked at him.

Torin shrugged.

"What?"

"You just confirmed his alibi."

"I know."

"Then why are you helping him?"

Torin looked horrified.

"I'm not helping him."

Jace looked smug.

"See? Even he knows I'm innocent."

"That's not what I said."

Torin's expression suggested he had only just realized what he had done.

Jace looked unbearably pleased with himself.

Elara wanted to laugh and quickly looked away.

Encouraging either of them felt dangerous.

The questioning continued.

Every answer seemed to create another alibi.

Every timeline matched.

Every location was supported by witnesses.

And somehow, the more they argued, the more they proved neither could be the leak.

The longer the questioning continued, the more obvious the answer became.

Neither wolf was clever enough to maintain a lie under pressure.

More importantly, neither possessed the patience.

Half their answers consisted of correcting each other.

The other half consisted of arguing.

Elara found herself fighting a smile.

They spent so much time watching each other that they practically tracked one another's movements.

Across the room, Rafe remained unusually quiet.

The Delta's attention never left the two wolves.

Rowan eventually lowered the papers.

"Unless you've both mastered being in two places at once, neither of you could have passed the information."

Jace immediately pointed at Torin.

"I told you it was him."

Rafe groaned.

"You were both just cleared."

Jace paused.

"Oh."

A beat passed.

"Right."

"Stop trying to get each other arrested."

Jace considered that.

"Fair."

Rowan drew a line through both names.

The room grew quiet.

Elara looked at Thorne.

"Why were those two even on the list?"

Both Torin and Jace looked offended by her question.

"You can both leave."

Thorne nodded toward the door.

The group watched as they both left.

They reminded Elara of her and Draven when they were younger. Not the constant arguing, but the pushing, shoving, and muttered complaints as they disappeared through the doorway.

As the door closed behind them, the office felt noticeably quieter.

For the first time all afternoon, nobody was talking.

The silence felt almost unnatural.

"I don't think either of them has enough time to relay pack information."

She shook her head.

"They seem fully occupied fighting each other."

Thorne released a slow breath.

"After that, I'm questioning my own judgment."

A laugh escaped Rafe.

Even Rowan's expression softened.

Across the room, Kaia looked thoughtful.

"That leaves Marder."

The amusement disappeared immediately.

Rafe frowned.

"It can't be him."

Nobody argued.

Marder was Head Warrior.

One of the most trusted wolves in the territory.

One of the most loyal.

"He deserves the same questioning as everyone else," Thorne said.

Rafe didn't look convinced.

Neither did Rowan.

Thorne glanced toward Kaia.

"Bring him in."

Kaia nodded and headed for the door.

Elara looked down at the list.

Brent.

Jace.

Torin.

Three names crossed out.

One remained.