Chapter 2
Alex
They say that you never fully get over the death of a loved one.
I could not help but contemplate the notion while I stared at the skull on the table that presumably belonged to our former leader.
About a year ago, my Uncle Henry had decided to take a trip out to the castle near the lake, the one that our family sometimes used for vacation. Henry had stated that he needed some time to be alone, which was understandable since his wife and son had recently been killed in a car accident.
Unfortunately, during the first night of his staying there, he had gone missing, and in his absence, my father took over the leadership of our pack.
There had been many speculations about what had happened to my uncle.
We had spent many weeks searching for him, even going so far as to ask for help from the Wilson pack. But no matter how long or hard we searched, we came up empty-handed. It was as though my uncle had disappeared into thin air.
Some said that Henry was tired of being Alpha and had run away from his duties. Others claimed he had killed himself, unable to continue living after the sudden death of his wife and son.
Now, however, the proof lay directly in front of us.
Henry had been murdered!
I shifted in my seat, a slight frown creasing my brow while I went over what my Uncle Bertram had murmured in my ear just before the meeting had started. He had claimed that I needed to mentally prepare myself as it concerned my fiancée.
One would think from the malicious tone in his voice that Seadon had something to do with our late Alpha’s murder, but that was preposterous!
Just thinking about it had me scoffing under my breath.
My Uncle Bertram was insane if he thought my fiancée could be involved with his elder brother’s murder in any way. Seadon was the most loving and caring person I knew, and she would never hurt anyone, especially not a fellow werewolf.
Shifting my attention to Seadon, I exhaled softly.
For the past hour, the two packs had been preparing to present evidence that would exonerate their side.
The way Seadon’s green eyes had widened when she had first seen the skull let me know that she was just as appalled as I had been by what had been presented before us.
Her eyes displayed every green hue that could be found in a bright summer forest, and it was those very same eyes that gave me a glimpse into her very soul.
I knew in my heart that my Seadon was innocent.
Since I was a boy, I had vowed that she would one day be my wife, fated mate or not.
Seadon was the love of my life. Thankfully, the Goddess above had seemed to agree, and when Seadon and I discovered that we were mates, it was the happiest day of our lives, for the love we both shared for one another was beyond measure.
I had known Seadon for most of my life, and our marriage would unite our two packs. Nothing was going to stand in the way of me making her my wife.
The sound of my father’s voice pulled my attention back to the room.
“Don’t worry. We will get to the bottom of this, no matter what!” Thomas claimed while continuing to talk with some of his advisors.
Sitting up in my chair, I watched while Seadon listened and replied in hushed tones among the elders of her pack.
My chest swelled with pride at the way she carried herself.
Even though I knew that she was uncomfortable having to sit in her grandfather’s place, she showed no apprehension and did a great job throughout the meeting, even contributing on more than one occasion when certain questions had been asked.
My fiancée was not to be intimidated, even though my father and Uncle Bertram had tried to do so on more than one occasion.
I was grateful to their Alpha, Nathan. Unlike many of the Elders in the Wilson pack, he had always respected Seadon’s opinion. So, even though I could not openly support her from where I sat, I knew that there was at least one pack member on her side.
Nathan was looking at the skull while holding it in his hand.
The Wilson pack’s Alpha, known for his tactical capabilities and logical solutions, looked as though he was committing every surface of it to memory from the way he scrutinized it.
His eyes were fixated on the claw marks that were embedded within the bone, his gaze going over every crevice. With each passing moment, the crease in his brown seemed to deepen before he put the skull back on the table and sat back down next to Seadon, whispering something into her ear.
“Shall we proceed?” Thomas asked.
“I had a question–” Seadon began to speak.
“You forget your place here, young wolf. You are in no position to speak here!” Bertram interjected in a condescending tone.
I found it odd the way Bertram was speaking to my fiancée; it was as if he was already convinced of the Wilson pack’s guilt. Not to mention his words were continuing to play over in my head.
What did he mean by me needing to prepare myself?
Why was he being so rude to my fiancé?
It did not make any sense, and my fingers curled into the arm of the chair as I did my best to remain in my seat when I wanted nothing more than to reach across and choke my uncle for daring to try and belittle Seadon.
I could not help but worry over my fiancée as I always felt a strong need to protect her. She was my fated mate, and I would always do anything in my power to keep her safe, even if it were against my own family.
Nothing would stop me from protecting Seadon.
The deep sound of the Wilson pack’s Alpha pulled me from my thoughts.
Nathan cleared his throat, his voice filling the room, “There’s no need for insults here, Bertram. I’m sure that we can proceed with this matter in a more civilised manner.”
My uncle’s frown deepened as he opened his mouth to speak, but my father raised a hand, silencing him.
“Agreed, go ahead and present your case,” Thomas said.
“We need to focus on the evidence before us. This is the late Alpha Henry that we’re talking about, and as everyone within the region knows, he was one of the best fighters that either pack has ever seen.
That means there are only a handful of werewolves who would’ve stood a chance fighting against him–”
“That may be so, but he was wounded from behind, which would suggest that perhaps he was caught off guard,” Bertram interjected.
“Perhaps,” Nathan responded before stating, “but that doesn’t negate the fact that the attacker would still have to be very skilled even to be able to sneak up on Henry, much less be able to deliver a lethal blow.
There’s only a handful of people capable of such, and many of them are sitting right here at this table, you and your brother included. ”
A chorus of hums erupted from our side of the table before my father asked for silence.
“What are you insinuating?” Bertram demanded.
“We insinuate nothing! We’re merely going off the evidence that is being presented,” Nathan claimed. “What would the Wilson pack have to gain by killing your Alpha?”
“I could think of a few things…” Bertram refuted, his upper lip curling.
Ignoring his snide remark, Nathan continued, “Well, it certainly isn’t to take over the Woolf territory as Seadon’s marriage to Alex would finally see the two packs united.”
Many of the Wilson pack members nodded their agreement.
“Either way, the evidence is clear. There are only a select few who are capable of committing this crime. These claw marks do not match anyone in the Wilson pack who had the strength to do it, and this can be easily verified, seeing as most of them are in attendance here.”
Bertram huffed while my father stood.
“We will definitely validate your claims, but just as you are so sure of your pack’s innocence, it’s the same for me.
Any Woolf pack member with the ability to fight against Alpha Henry was accounted for on the night of his disappearance as they had been patrolling the borders.
Not to mention, no one else had accompanied Henry to the castle where he had been staying,” Thomas scanned the room while he spoke.
At this, another set of murmurs broke out from both sides of the room this time.
Raising a hand to silence everyone, Thomas added, “So, as is evident, it would simply have been impossible for someone of the Woolf pack to leave the borders and make it towards the castle without being seen. There was no way someone from our pack killed Henry. It had to be someone from the Wilson pack.”
“That’s a very serious accusation!” Nathan fired back.
“No different from what you tried to imply earlier! The Woolf pack is innocent!”
Squaring his shoulders, “It’s not about whether your pack is innocent or not, Alpha Thomas, but rather can you prove your innocence?
Because if you can’t, then you’re considered guilty, and the same goes for the Wilson pack.
We are ready to prove our innocence right here, right now, but can the same be said for your pack? ”
It was obvious that the Wilson pack’s innocence could be proven with a simple test.
All that needed to be done was to match the claws of the various suspected members against the markings on the back of the skull.
Whereas proving the innocence of the Woolf pack’s members would be much more difficult as there was no concrete evidence to support that someone had not snuck back into the castle to murder Henry.
Both sides suddenly began shouting, various pack members from each side of the table trying to voice their opinion at the same time.
Bertram muttered inaudibly next to me.
Turning to him, I shifted in my seat, deciding to finally ask him what had been plaguing me from the moment the meeting began.
“You seem on edge. What’s the matter?”
“You’ll see,” he replied.
“I don’t understand, Uncle. What is it that you’re not telling me?” I enquired more firmly.
Bertram leaned in to whisper something in my ear, but the slamming of my father’s fist on the wooden table calling for order silenced our conversation.
“Yelling at each other will not help resolve this!” Thomas exclaimed.
“I agree; enough of this nonsense!” Nathan reacted. “My pack has presented its evidence; it is you that have yet to present anything of tangible use.”
“How dare you speak to me like that!”
Keeping his voice calm, he replied, “I only speak the truth, Alpha. I want nothing more than to get to the bottom of this, but from the evidence presented, there’s no way that someone from the Wilson pack could have done this, and I think that you know that too.”
My father’s cheeks reddened, and from the way he narrowed his eyes, I knew that he was furious about the way the Wilson pack Alpha had backed him into a corner.
Things were definitely not looking good.
From the tight expressions displayed by everyone seated at the table, it was more than obvious to me that each pack thought their side was innocent. Regrettably, there did not seem to be any way of one convincing the other.
One thing was clear, though. Someone in this room was protecting a murderer.
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