CHAPTER 3
1182 Words
The news didn’t settle in as fast as it would have if it were something normal. I ran out of my bed and out of the house, where I found the girl who looked to be sixteen running around and shouting the news to whoever would hear it and engage in it.
“What do you mean by that? How could the Alpha have been murdered? That’s not a normal thing to go around pranking people with. If you’re caught, you’ll get punished. Even your family could get punished. I advise you to shut up and go home,” I told the girl in a scolding tone.
“Well, that’s what I heard. The Alphas has been murdered. I heard some of the warriors talking about it. They said they heard it from the servants,” the girl countered.
“And what if it’s all a lie? Why do you insist on spreading unconfirmed news?”
The girl shrugged, running along to pass the news to everyone who cared to hear the news from the lips of someone who was a little to excited to disseminate the news of her Alpha’s murder.
My mother and my father made it out of the house, rubbing the sleepiness of their faces.
“What is that child going around and talking about? It sounded like—”
“Alpha Marley has been murdered. We don’t know if it’s true yet,” I replied.
“Go make breakfast,” Mom commanded, walking in the direction that the girl had gone in, setting out to satisfy her curiosity.
“You heard her; go make breakfast,” Dad instructed. “And don’t burn it this time around. You’d be looking for trouble.”
I rushed towards the makeshift fireplace and started to make breakfast as my mind wandered towards what the girl had said.
It wouldn’t have haunted me as much if she had announced that he died in his sleep, but murder was taking it too far. If it was just a rumor, Alpha Marley would have to fish out everyone who was involved in it.
If it wasn’t…
“No,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. It couldn’t be true.
I rushed through the breakfast, only having little for myself as I ran out of the house and towards my meeting spot with Nathan.
I sat there, waiting. I had told him last night that I was going to see him that morning, so he would have to be there. The only reason for him to miss something like that was…
Again, I shook my head. The Alpha couldn’t have been dead.
I waited for hours until it was high noon, and I made my way back to my house when I saw the pack messengers walking along paths in the town, announcing the death of the Alpha.
“Goddess, help us,” I said, clutching my shirt as I wondered what exactly had happened.
“All members of Moonflower Pack are expected to be gathered in the town hall in two hours!” The messengers announced on top of their lungs.
“There has been a new development in the case of the Alpha’s brutal murder!”
“There is a witness, and that witness has decided to come out and tell us who did it. Failure to attend the meeting will be an admission of guilt, and all who will miss this meeting will be executed!”
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“I heard he was stabbed in the chest.”
“Daniel has been crowned the Alpha in private, they say.”
“Already? The Alpha hasn’t even been buried yet.”
Everybody had something to say as we all walked towards the town hall in the next two hours for the meeting that had been called.
“Who do you think the witness is?”
“I bet it’s one of his sons. It could be a soldier who was on duty that night. What I wonder is who the culprit was and why they thought they could get away with it.”
I started to wonder the same. How could someone have stabbed the Alpha of the pack in the chest and thought that there would not be consequences? Even without a witness, I was sure that proper investigation would have been conducted, and they would still have been caught.
I looked around, examining faces for people who looked uncomfortable or suspicious. I was also on the lookout for Nathan. I had not seen him the whole day, and I was worried. I wondered how he was feeling at the moment.
When the town hall was filled up and nobody walked in through the doors for about forty minutes, the doors were closed.
Daniel and Nathan appeared from the back door of the town hall, and the whispers started.
Daniel looked exhausted, and Nathan looked unfeeling – numb to it all.
Even though he had rejected me, I still felt the need to comfort Daniel as much as I felt the need to comfort Nathan. Neither of them deserved it.
Daniel addressed us, telling us how deeply regretful he was that he couldn’t be there to protect his father from an intruder and a murderer.
“Will the witness step forward, please?” Nathan called out.
We all waited with our breaths held until a woman stood up and walked forward. She walked towards the addressing stage and stood to face all of us.
“Do you swear that you are sure of what you saw? You were in no way mistaken, and you can point out who the killer is in the midst of a crowd?” Daniel asked.
“I swear.”
“What did you see?”
“I saw the suspect late at night. She walked into the Alpha’s house and ran out. It was so suspicious that I committed it to memory. When I heard that the Alpha was killed, I just knew it had to be her.”
“It’s a woman?”
“Oh, Goddess.”
“Who could it be?”
“Is the alleged killer in this room now?” Daniel asked her.
“Yes.” She nodded without hesitation, making everyone uneasy and suspicious of who they were sitting beside.
A row of warriors ran forward and stood in front of the crowd, ready to draw their weapons if needed.
“Have you already told some of the guards who the killer is?” Daniel questioned for good measure.
“Yes, I have,” she confirmed. “They have been sent to search the killer’s house.”
“Point out the killer.”
She walked to our midst and looked around.
“Who is responsible for the death of the Alpha? Speak!” Someone demanded from the crowd.
I watched in eagerness, wondering who it was that she would pick.
Her hand rose to point to the person she had seen that night, and my entire body went rigid as I followed her hand towards the person she was pointing at.
Me.
- Writer
