chapter 5
1167 Words
I calmly observed Selena, studying the perfectly measured mix of terror and righteous indignation on her face. Her acting skills were becoming increasingly polished.
Alpha Kaden's gaze fell upon me, his eyes seeming to dissect me. "Arya, do you have anything to explain?"
"I have nothing to explain," I replied calmly. "Because it wasn't mine."
Serena immediately retorted, "You're lying! This is what I found under your bed! Many witnessed it!" Several Omegas beside her promptly nodded in agreement, clearly prearranged.
"I did indeed go near the Sacred Spring," I continued. "Because the Alpha punished me by making me clean the Gamma barracks, which are very close to it."
I turned to the tribal doctor. "Doctor, may I ask—is the dose of wolfsbane in the Sacred Spring potent?"
The tribal doctor shook his head. "The dose was minimal, mixed in with other substances, hence it wasn't immediately detected. It has little effect on adult werewolves, but for pups, it can cause severe distress."
I nodded, then retrieved the cloth bundle I had found from my coat.
"This," I said, handing it to Alpha Kaiden, "was found under a bunk in Gamma Barracks. It also contains wolfsbane."
Alpha Kaiden took the bundle, opened it, and sniffed. His expression darkened further.
Selena's face instantly drained of colour. She hadn't expected me to possess an identical cloth bundle.
"You... you're slandering me!" she screamed. "To absolve yourself of guilt, you're attempting to frame the warriors who defend our tribe!"
"I'm not framing anyone," I said, looking at her, enunciating each word carefully. "I'm merely stating a fact. These two cloth bundles are identical in material and craftsmanship. It's clear they were made by the same person."
I surveyed the room, my voice quiet yet clear enough for all to hear: "Poisoning the Sacred Spring is a grave crime. But such a small dose would not prove fatal. It seems more like... a means of framing someone. The killer's true aim may not have been to poison the entire tribe, but to eliminate a specific individual."
My words plunged many clear-headed werewolves present into deep thought.
Alpha Kaden's gaze flickered uncertainly. Though he despised me, he was no fool. This affair was indeed riddled with inconsistencies.
"You say you found it in the Gamma quarters," he asked coldly, "which bunk was it?"
"The innermost one, by the window," I replied.
A tall Gamma warrior's face paled abruptly. He immediately stepped forward from the crowd and knelt on the ground. "Alpha! It wasn't me! I don't know what's going on!"
Alpha Kaden's gaze swept over him, then turned to me, finally settling on the panicked Selena.
"Take all three of them to the dungeon," he ordered. "None are to leave until this matter is sorted out."
As we were led away, I caught Selena's venomous glare!
She must despise me, resentful that I wasn't as foolish as in my previous life, allowing her to manipulate me.
To which I merely returned a calm smile.
Selena, this game has only just begun.
The dungeon was dark and damp, illuminated only by a faint beam of moonlight filtering through the high windows. Selena, the unfortunate Gamma warrior, and I were confined to adjacent cells.
"It's all your fault! You b***h!" Selena hissed through the bars, "Why didn't you die in that alley? Why did you ruin my plans?"
"Your plan?" I leaned against the cold stone wall, my voice flat. "Your plan was to climb over others' corpses?"
"So what?" she sneered. "In this world, Omegas are the lowest scum! If I don't fight for myself, am I supposed to end up like you, waiting to be trampled underfoot? Alpha Kaden is my chance. I won't let it slip!"
"So you framed me? Just like in the last life?" I murmured softly.
Selena froze. "You... what are you talking about? What past life?"
I didn't answer her, merely closing my eyes. Every additional word with her filled me with revulsion.
The next day, I was brought to the interrogation room!
Alpha Kaiden sat in the chair of honour, his Beta—the tribe's second-in-command—Liam!
stood beside him.
"Alya," Alpha Kaden cut straight to the point, "I'm giving you one last chance. Tell the truth, and I'll show leniency."
"I've already told you, Alpha," I met his gaze. "I found the cloth bundle in the Gamma barracks. I did not poison the Sacred Spring."
"Stubborn," he snorted coldly. "Do you know what? That Gamma warrior has confessed. He admitted the cloth bundle was his. He was instructed by someone to throw wolfsbane into the Sacred Spring and frame you for it."
My heart skipped a beat, but my expression remained impassive. "Who ordered him?"
"He said it was you," Alpha Kaden's gaze was like knives. "He said you promised him that if he helped you eliminate Selena and clear you of suspicion, once you became Luna, he'd be showered with endless favours."
What a laughable lie. How could an Omega possibly command a Gamma warrior?
"Alpha, do you believe this account?" I countered.
"Whether I believe it matters little," he replied, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop. "What matters is that all the evidence now points to you. Witness testimony, physical evidence—it's all there."
I understood!
He didn't care about the truth at all!
He merely requires an outcome—one that provides legitimate grounds to dispose of me!
He despised me, his destined mate—my very existence was a disgrace to him!
Now that I've 'committed' such a grave crime, he can finally be rid of me.
"I did not do it," I insisted.
"It seems you won't see reason until you're at death's door," Alpha Kaiden lost his patience. "Liam, deliver my command. In three days, before the Moonstone, the sinner Alia shall face public trial. She has betrayed the tribe, her crime unforgivable. She shall be burned at the stake."
Burning at the stake!
This was the ultimate punishment reserved for the most vile traitors!
He not only wanted me dead, but dead in utter humiliation, my soul wailing in the flames!
To find no peace for eternity.
"Alpha!" The guards behind me were stunned. Even for a grave offence, banishment was already the ultimate punishment for an Omega. Burning at the stake was simply too much.
But Alpha Kaiden's mind was made up. "Take him away."
I was dragged from the interrogation chamber. At the doorway, I saw Selena. She had evidently been cleared of suspicion, her face bearing a triumphant smile.
"Arya, I told you, you cannot defeat me," she whispered, her voice audible only to us. "In three days, I shall watch you turn to ash in the flames. Then, I shall take your place as the Alpha's woman."
I stared at her smug face, my heart turning to ice.
No, I won't die. I absolutely will not die here.
I still had a chance. I had to find that chance.
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