Torn Between my Alpha Mates

Chapter 8: Hiding Spot Part 2

Silas’s P.O.V

At this point, the two of them had already passed the bush behind which I was hiding, and I was only able to eavesdrop in their conversation by using my enhanced hearing.

The words had hurt me deeply, stabbing me in the chest like a long broadsword. I had not expected such harsh accusations coming from my own men, not after everything that we had been through together. I had treated these people like they were my own damn family, but they turned on me so easily, as if they did not care about the hardships we faced before, nor did they consider the merit of the length of our companionship. They did not even give me the benefit of the doubt! They were too quick to judge and convict me as the murderer without even listening to my side.

From this, it was easy to gather that they had chosen my brother's side rather than my own. Of course, I would not deny that I understand their sentiments to an extent, but, and I am being completely honest when I say this, I were in their shoes and the people I've known for a long time were uncharacteristically accused of a crime I did not think they were ever capable of doing, I would take their side before anything else, or at least hear them out before coming to a conclusion. Because that’s what an Alpha did. That was what an Alpha was supposed to do to pass fair judgment.

Then, what did that say about them? It meant that, to a degree, deep down inside their sub-consciousness, they already thought of me as somebody capable of such a heinous act. After all, they believed the accusation so easily that it was clear that they thought of me as someone who would kill the love of my life for the sake of revenge, and in the name of jealousy and possessiveness.

I did not know which part hurt me more, that they already had such thoughts of me before this even happened, or the fact that they quickly sided with my brother who had been exiled and away from the pack for years, before I brought him back. They suddenly trusted him more than me, their own Alpha who guided and protected them through thick and thin, helped them recover after a vicious rogue attack, not simply because it was my duty to do so, but because I had thought of them as family.

And now, what must I do? How do I fix this? How do I clear my name? First of all, did I even have someplace to go, now that I am basically exiled from my own pack?

I knew I must clear my name and prove that I was not the killer. But how do I do that when I have nowhere to go? This place had always been my life and my home, the center of my universe. I did not know any other place where I could hide and getting out of pack territory at this moment sounded impossible. Not only would my wounds slow me down, but I would be attacked and killed on sight as no pack could stand a rouge wolf, let alone that of Alpha status.

Not to mention that the borders of my pack would be highly guarded at the moment, the entire pack expecting me to cross over to find safety. So they would be guarding the borders well for now, making sure I was trapped within my own pack like a f*****g fugitive!

But what the hell? What was important was that I got the hell away from here, anyway. I had to find a safe place, somewhere. Surely there must be abandoned houses or unused shelters I could utilize for myself as a makeshift hiding place.

I had to go into hiding, I decided. And once I've gotten myself settled somewhere safe, that was when I could go and gather evidence that I wasn't Lily's killer, in order to clear my name and get myself back into my pack's good graces.

I needed to find the real killer. Aside from needing evidence in order to be received back into my home with welcoming arms, that was also my way of honoring Lily's death. I needed to give her justice. If I couldn't save her, then that was the least that I could do in her name and honor.

With this thought cementing my determination, it was time for me to leave. First, I made sure that there was nobody around using both my vision and sense of smell. Once I ensured that the coast was clear, I quickly but stealthily left my hiding place from behind the bush and ran as fast as I could without alerting anybody in the vicinity of my presence.

I ran without direction or aim. I just ran. My only goal was to cover a wide area as much as possible in search for a place I could stay temporarily. The more area I could cover, the higher the likelihood that I could find a safe house for myself.

I had been running around for a couple of minutes already, and at some point I was starting to feel the strain from the exhaustion and the hurt. And just when I was about to give up, I finally stumble upon an abandoned cabin somewhere in the south of the woods, a little further away from the residential area.

I let loose a sigh of relief and practically crawled through one of the windows at the back that was partially open, and the moment I got inside, I immediately passed out from the exhaustion and strain, the high of the adrenaline rush fading as I finally gave in to the darkness.