~Lily~
I was still in a complete daze when the Alpha guards surrounded me.
"Arrest her!" Rowan growled.
Immediately I was seized and thrown into the dungeon.
Thankfully my mom was following us and I was allowed to see her. But only while I'm in my cell.
"Mom, what happened? The dagger…the woods…how did I come to be there…"
"Lily…" she called, tears streaming down her face.
My wolf whimpered in pain within my frame.
Feeling my mom's pain was the hardest thing for me. Knowing that I was the cause of it made it even more unbearable.
As I looked at her, my biggest fear slowly unraveled.
I have been framed.
"Mom…" My chest tightened in pain. "I'm sorry Mom. I should have not left the house…I should have listened to you…it's all my fault…"
"No…we could never avoid our fate even if we tried."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I should never have gone to the bonfire. Then I wouldn't have been framed."
I feel so stupid. So stupid.
Mom glanced around cautiously. The guards were watching us.
"Listen to me, Lily," she said through mind link. Where only the two of us could hear each other.
"Once you come out, you must leave this pack. Go somewhere else, to another Pack and start anew."
"Mom…never!" My voice broke. The tightness in my chest threatened to choke life out of me.
"I'm not leaving here without you and Dad," I clenched.
Through the demarcated cell rods, she grabbed my hands while avoiding the laced silver rod.
"Listen to me, Lily. This is the only way."
"Who is it Mom? The dagger that was planted in my hand…who was it used to murder?"
Her face crumpled, her eyes heavy. "The Alpha triplets'maternal Grandmother."
My entire body stilled instantly, horror flashing before my eyes.
There was no one, absolutely no one in the whole Blood Moon Pack that hadn't heard of the Alpha triplets' maternal grandmother.
The Alpha triplets cherished her to a fault. No one dared mess with her. No one.
I swallowed painfully. "Still, I can't leave you and Dad here."
"Your time is up!" A guard growled.
"Do as I say, Lily." Mom mind linked me before she hurried out.
Abandoned to the eerie silence of my cell, the chain in my wrists rattled.
For a moment, I stared blankly at them.
"At least it wasn't silver chains," I tried to comfort myself.
When did it all begin to go wrong?
I looked around, my nose finally registering the horrible stench in the cell.
Dad was probably in one of the cells. I need to find him. I would break out of here, find Dad and leave this Pack with Mom.
It would be so unfair to suffer for something we didn't commit.
"Alpha Rowan is here," One of the guards announced in hushed tones to his colleagues. But my sharp ears picked it up.
I felt myself crumbling under a weight.
Riley and Ryan loved their grandma but it was no news that Rowan was her favorite.
The fact that I knew deep in my core that he was heading to my cell made my legs weak.
"Open the cells!" He commanded.
In the center of my cell, I stood. Expecting nothing but the worst.
He stormed into my cell. Straight to my neck, his fingers found and curled.
Slamming my back into the nearest cell wall, he sneered. "I thought you were only a deceptive bitch born of a murderer father…but I didn't know you were also a murderer yourself."
"I di–"
I tried to speak, but at this point, it was easier to die than speak.
My wolf whimpered inside me.
Rowan must have noticed my breath leaving because he suddenly let go of his grip.
I reeled backwards, panting heavily.
When I looked up, all I saw was a nineteen year old boy covered in rage.
But was it enough to let go of his values?
"You said you don't hurt a girl…" I reminded him, forcing my tears back.
This was one of the reasons I started crushing on him. When he had taught a guy a lesson for grabbing a girl's throat.
"Right now you are not a girl to me. You are nothing but a criminal," he spat.
"You murdered someone precious to me. You will pay for it with your life. This dungeon? Death? They are too peaceful for someone like you. And no, don't think I'll kill you. I'll make you beg for death. You will crawl and beg for death but I won't give it to you easily."
Saying that, he stomped out of the cell.
I collapsed onto the floor, my body shaking.
What did he mean by I will beg for death?
What was he planning to do with me?
Now, more than anything, I knew I must leave this Pack.
"Hey! Excuse me!" I called out to one of the guards.
Only Lucy could prove my innocence now.
I tried to remember what I was doing before I woke up in the woods. But all I recalled was Lucy going over to the three Alphas to talk to them.
Nothing else.
Whoever did this to me had carefully planned and perfectly executed it.
"Yes? Begging for death already?" The guard passing my cell growled with contempt.
"Let me talk to my best friend. Please. Her name's Lucy. Lucy Brandon."
He scoffed. "I doubt she can see you now."
"What do you mean?"
His lips curled to the side. "Not that it will be of any use to you now. I mean, you will be rotting here your whole life but Lucy's father has been promoted to Beta. They are holding the ceremony today."
"What? How? when?"
"How about you ask when you see her–that's if you ever see her." He chuckled and left.
A part of me dwelt on what the guard just said. But I refused to let my mind linger on it too much.
For all I know, Lucy could have suffered something similar last night too. If she hadn't visited me up until now. Then I refuse to jump to silly conclusions all because of some ramblings of a guard. There was probably something else that only Lucy could explain to me. Something she hadn't told me yet.
And I would wait.
As soon as the corridor's door was closed, I was left with darkness.
The cell room was damp and barely let in any light. There was no window and it boasted only of a couple slits on the wall.
I sighed heavily, sinking to a corner.
Suddenly the corridor's gate opened.
A guard unlocked my cell.
"Alpha Rowan has ordered your release. Come out."
My release?
"You will directly serve the Alpha sons and attend to all their needs. Your things have been moved to the Pack house. Get going."
"Wait…what about my father?"
"Plead your case to the Alpha or the Alpha sons."
I came out of the dungeon confused. Now I could save Dad. But why did Rowan…
Immediately his very words in the cell echoed in my head.
I stopped, a sense of dread filling me.
On my way to the maids' quarters, I caught sight of a familiar body frame.
Lucy?
What was she doing in the Pack house?
"Lu–"
I was already calling, but the rest of my words hung in the air.
I watched in absolute shock as Riley and Ryan joined her. And as though it was a perfectly normal routine, Lucy, my best friend, leaned forward and met Ryan's lips halfway. Riley pressed his face onto her neck.
Hovering. Lingering.
Like a dominant wolf.
Like he belonged there.