Wolves of Betrayal

Chapter: 29. The choice..

Amara took a deep breath, her voice breaking as she recounted the memory that had haunted her for so long. “He attacked me,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “He said he’d rather see me dead than let me become Luna. I was terrified, Darius. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to push him away, just to get him to stop… and he bumped. He hit his back into a tree, and he… he died.”

She choked back a sob, her whole body shaking with the weight of her confession. “I don’t know how it happened. I never meant for it to happen. I was just trying to protect myself. I was so scared.”

Darius’s face was a mask of shock and disbelief. His mind was reeling, trying to process everything she had said. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” he asked, his voice quieter now, filled with a deep sense of betrayal.

Amara shook her head, her eyes filled with desperation. “I was terrified, Darius. I thought you’d see me as a monster, just like everyone else. And after everything Killian did to me… I wanted to forget. I wanted to move on.”

Darius’s expression remained conflicted. He was torn between his love for her and the reality of what she had done. “You should have trusted me,” he said, his voice heavy with disappointment. “You should have told me the truth from the beginning.”

Amara reached for his hand, her voice breaking. “I’m sorry, Darius. I’m so sorry. But please, don’t let Killian take me away. You know what he’ll do to me. He’ll destroy me.”

Darius looked away, his face tight with emotion, his shoulders tense. He was silent for a long moment, his breath coming in uneven, ragged bursts. He could feel the pressure mounting from all sides—the expectations of the other Alphas, the weight of the law, and his own feelings for Amara.

“Just stay close to me,” he finally said, his voice strained and uncertain. “I’ll see what I can do.”

They returned to the gathered Alphas, who were still murmuring amongst themselves. The tension in the air was thick, almost suffocating. Killian stood at the center, his stance relaxed but his eyes sharp, watching every move. The other Alphas—each powerful, each with their own agendas—were waiting for a decision, and Darius felt the weight of their gaze like a leaden burden on his shoulders.

Darius stepped forward, his voice steady but laced with tension. “Amara admits to what happened with Marcus,” he said, addressing the group. “But it was not murder. It was self-defense. Marcus attacked her, and she reacted out of fear. It was a tragic accident, not a crime.”

Killian’s sneer was immediate, his voice filled with contempt. “How convenient,” he mocked. “Self-defense, she says. The last refuge of a guilty mind.”

“She’s telling the truth!” Darius snapped, his frustration boiling over. “I believe her. She was terrified. She had no intention of killing him.”

Alpha Terrence, a seasoned and respected leader, stepped forward, his face serious. “Regardless of intent, a death occurred. The laws of our kind are clear. A life for a life, especially when it involves the kin of an Alpha.”

Darius’s eyes flashed with anger. “And what, exactly, are you proposing? That we let Killian drag her back to his pack to exact some twisted revenge? That’s not justice.”

Alpha Raymond, a strict enforcer of tradition and law, spoke up, his tone unwavering. “This is not just about one pack, Darius. If we don’t uphold our laws, we risk chaos among all packs. If one Alpha defies the council’s decision, it sets a dangerous precedent.”

Darius was breathing hard, his mind racing. He wanted to fight for Amara, to stand against them all, but he could feel the ground slipping away beneath him. His voice cracked with desperation. “You can’t honestly believe handing her over to Killian is justice. He’s not seeking justice—he’s seeking vengeance!”

Killian stepped forward, his smile confident, his eyes cold. “The law is the law, Darius. If you refuse to surrender her, you risk defying not just me, but every Alpha here. You risk a war with all of werewolf kind.”

Darius’s heart pounded in his chest, and he felt the weight of the world crushing down on him. His eyes darted around the circle of Alphas, seeing their stony expressions, their resolve. They were united, and he was standing alone. His mind was a storm of emotions, his heart screaming for a solution, but no words came out. He felt paralyzed.

Killian’s smile grew wider, sensing the weakness in Darius’s silence. He gestured to his warriors. “Take her,” he ordered coldly.

Amara's eyes widened in terror, and she instinctively took a step back, but two of Killian’s warriors moved forward, grabbing her roughly by the arms. “No!” she cried, her voice breaking with panic. “No, please! Darius, don’t let them take me!”

Darius felt a surge of helplessness and rage, but his body wouldn’t move. His mind was screaming to do something, to stop them, but he was frozen in place, caught between his love for Amara and the impossible situation he was in. He had never felt so powerless.

Amara struggled against the warriors, her voice rising in desperation. “Darius, please! You promised to protect me! Don’t let them do this!”

Tears streamed down her face as she fought against them, but they were too strong. She looked back at Darius, her eyes wide with fear, her voice cracking with emotion. “Darius, please! I’m begging you!”

But Darius could say nothing. His throat felt like it was closing up, his body numb with shock and despair. His heart was breaking, torn between his duty as an Alpha and his love for the woman who had come to mean everything to him. His tears fell freely now, his face contorted with the weight of his decision—or rather, his inability to make one. He had failed her, failed to protect the woman he loved. He reached out a hand, but it fell uselessly to his side.

“Please!” Amara screamed as they began to drag her away, her voice echoing through the woods like a haunting plea. “Darius, don’t let them take me! Don’t let them—”

But her words were cut off as one of Killian's warriors covered her mouth with a hand, silencing her cries. Darius's knees buckled, and he nearly fell to the ground, his vision blurred with tears. His heart ached with a pain so intense it felt like it might tear him apart. He had lost her. He had let her go.

Killian turned back to him, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “You made the right choice, Darius,” he said mockingly. “For your pack, at least. But I’ll make sure she pays for what she did to my brother. And you’ll know that her suffering is on your hands.”

With that, Killian turned away, leading his warriors and a struggling, terrified Amara back toward the territory of the Blood Moon Pack. The other Alphas began to disperse, their expressions grave but resolute. They had gotten what they came for.

Darius stood there, alone, his heart shattered, his tears flowing freely. He had been powerless to stop them. He had been unable to save the woman he loved. And now, as her desperate cries faded into the distance, he was left with nothing but the crushing weight of his failure and the knowledge that he might never see her again.

He sank to his knees, his body wracked with sobs, the realization hitting him like a wave. He had let her go, and there was no undoing what had just happened.

Amara's body was dragged roughly along the uneven forest path, her feet barely touching the ground as Killian's warriors hauled her back toward the Blood Moon Pack. Her arms were pinned painfully behind her, and she stumbled, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps. The forest around her was thick with shadows, the early morning light barely filtering through the dense canopy above. She could hear the crunch of leaves underfoot, the snap of branches, and the steady, cruel laughter of Killian as he walked ahead, leading the way.

"Please," she begged, her voice hoarse with desperation. "Killian, please let me go. You don't have to do this. Just let me go!"

Killian didn't even turn around. Instead, he chuckled, a low, menacing sound that sent a chill down her spine. "Shut up, Amara," he growled, his voice laced with malice. "You had your chance to live freely, and you threw it away. Now, you're mine again."

Tears streamed down Amara's face, and she stumbled again, her knees buckling as one of the warriors yanked her forward. "Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Please, Killian, I’m begging you."