The Moon Goddess's Mistake

Chapter 4

"I suppose I'll have to tell you," he conceded. "Alpha Ellison has been accused of a grave mistake." That was surprising. Their alpha was kind-hearted and intelligent. In fact, the Blue Moon pack had a reputation for its successful alpha. For years, Beta Michael had been proud to work alongside him.

"What kind of mistake?" Lily asked.

"Well, according to the council, a few years back he violated century's old law. He exchanged highly confidential pack secrets for a large sum of money. And the worst part was that it was with a vampire." Lily's eyes widened. Though it was unspoken, it was practically forbidden for werewolves to even associate with their sworn enemies. Lily couldn't even imagine how much trouble someone would be in for exchanging secrets with them.

"As you can imagine, the council has taken it pretty seriously. I was up almost all of last night gathering information about it. It was covered up fairly well, but you know what I say: the truth always comes out in the end." Just the fact that the council was involved meant that the issue was grave. Most problems among packs were handled by local officials or maybe even regional. But the council? They were linked to the king himself.

"You spoke with Alpha Ellison," Lily replied after a few seconds. "What motive did he give?"

"He was in financial need," Michael spoke with a sigh. "He was young and foolish and he thought he could get away with it. Now he regrets it more than anything," he finished with a sad expression. Lily immediately felt her own heart pang with sadness. Not only did she love her alpha the way that one might love a beloved uncle, she knew how hard it must be for her father. They had been best friends since before Lily was born and she knew that they respected each other immensely.

"I'm sorry, daddy," she spoke after a few moments of heavy silence. She reached her hand over to his and grasped it comfortingly. He nodded and squeezed her small hand gently.

"The worst part is that the council is so blinded in their outrage that they now believe the worst. They've only found enough evidence to support one instance, but there's speculation that the secret meetings happened repeatedly. Some are even accusing him of having current affiliations."

"And you know for sure that these allegations aren't true?"

"Yes. I spoke with Ellison for a long time last night and he would have told me if these accusations were true." Lily nodded in relief.

"So what's going to happen?" She asked fearfully.

"Well, he's asked for my help. I'm going to speak for him when they come here."

"They're coming here?" Lily asked, astonished. The council rarely ever traveled anywhere and when they did, it usually meant the alpha king came with them.

"Yes. Unfortunately, Ellison's actions are a reflection of the entire pack. They want to 'check some things out' I suppose. There will be a formal trial, the traditional style, of course. And as beta and long-time friend of our alpha, I'll be speaking for Ellison and this pack," Michael spoke strongly, but Lily could sense his nervousness. She squeezed his hand in reassurance before collecting their empty plates and silverware and walking toward the sink.

"Don't be worried. You're a wonderful speaker, and people always listen to you. I'm sure they'll let alpha off with a minor punishment and that will be that," Lily assured as she started to wash the dishes.

"I wish it were that simple, sweetheart," he said standing up and walking toward the sink.

"No it's okay, I'll do the dishes. Just sit down and relax. Now why can it not be that simple?" Lily asked. Michael obliged and ran his fingers through his hair in an act of stress.

"Nothing is simple when the Alpha King is involved."

"I'm sure he'll be very understanding," Lily spoke gently. "He is, after all, the ruler of all so it only makes sense that he would be kind, forgiving, and fair."

Michael couldn't help but smile at his daughter's naivety. Understanding, he internally scoffed at the thought. Ever since Lily was born, she had always thought the best of everyone. Michael could've sworn she had never had one bad thought in her mind. 'What would the world be like if everyone was like her?' He thought randomly. He could only wish.

"Honey, he's Alpha Night. Haven't you ever heard about him?"

"Not really. Just that he is our Alpha King and that he's been king for hundreds of years," Lily replied.

"Well, yes, that's true but do you know why he's been king for hundreds of years?" Lily shook her head. "It isn't because he's pleased the gods and it most certainly isn't because he's kind or fair-he doesn't have one kind bone in his body. It's because of the immense power he has. No one even really knows how it happened, but not even the gods could defeat him if they wanted to. He thrives off of intimidation. Every wolf is afraid of him, and rightfully so. That man literally has no heart."

Lily sighed before drying the last plate, putting it away, and then taking a seat next to her father. "Everybody has a heart. Please don't stress yourself out worrying about this," she said. She was sure that there was some truth to what he said, but she believed that everyone had good in them. He would only hurt himself over-stressing about it.

Michael nodded, only because he didn't have the heart to tell her what could happen. In many ways, Lily was like a child. As smart as she was, in her innocent little mind, she couldn't possibly fathom the kind of evil that existed within someone like Alpha Night.