We waited for some time till Channing thought it was good now, he was the first to talk, “Since the attack, I am suspicious that someone from our pack betrayed Me. I’m just being extra cautious.”

I nodded understanding his situation, after all, someone did betray him!

He resumed, “Actually there is a lot of confusion that I believe you can’t solve so… Okay let’s just start with you first, Go ahead tell me what is it?”

Turning towards him I made myself comfortable and lowered my voice so only he could hear, “Channing during our run that day our Beta… I mean John Walter avoided trying to save you, So I came by myself separating from the pack to find you. John followed me to where you lay injured, I thought he was angry at me for disobeying his orders but…”

I hesitated, fidgeting with my fingers, but Channing reassured me yet again, “Don’t worry, speak whatever happened I won’t get any suspicious of you without any strong evidence!”

His words gave me confidence without him actually telling me that I have his trust, very smart of him. More than all of it, he was too good at understanding what the other person felt.

Clearing my throat I continued the story, “That day, John…he told me… He said he was the one who set up that trap for you, he was talking about how you erased the old rules and brought in some new ones that he was absolutely against. And most importantly, He wanted to kill you so he could become the alpha, as he should have before you!”

A weight lifted off my chest, although Channing’s reaction mattered the most now! but having said it out loud made me feel lighter.

Channing tried to sit up straight on his bed so I instinctively ran up to him and pushed him back, “Don’t stress your wounds! I have seen how bad they were. I’ll elevate the bed for you” I turned the handle till the bed elevated to his desired height.

“Thank you!” he smiled purely but his tone changed grave the very next second, “Actually the pieces of evidence all point towards you, we don’t know of the other unknown DNA samples so you are a prime suspect. I wouldn’t say I trust you yet, But I won’t conclude on you being the killer either!”

Lowering my head I nodded to the ground and gulped the lump that had formed in my throat. Yes, I would probably still be facing trials as the prime suspect but at least without any regrets of keeping the truth to myself.

“But Selene,” Channing called for my attention with a warning tone, “John had been the Beta for a very long time, to say precisely since the reign of last Alpha. There are lots of people in this village who know him and half of the pack practically worship him for his brains and abilities, You as a newcomer in this village so the fingers are bound to point at you till your innocence is proved!”

Channing’s words alarmed me of the reality as if I felt that till ray of hope for nothing!

And then I saw the light again, “Also!” I exclaimed, “There was another wolf there, He came crossing the Waterwoods fence. And… believe me, when I say this, that wolf was the one who attacked John, torturing him to death. I thought the wolf would come and attack me as well but he simply left after killing john”

Channing was mystified, looking aimlessly around the room trying to fit the pieces together, immediately followed by a question “How did this wolf… the one from Waterwoods look? Are you sure it was a HE?”

Recollecting that night I replied, “not sure of the gender, but the wolf was grizzled, half black and half white with a huge stature, unlike any omega!”

“The wolves from Waterwoods attacked me that night!” Channing expressions turned hurtful as if he never expected of his enemy, “They were all probably newbies but they outnumbered me. And about the wolf you mentioned, I think I know who it is. But…he shouldn’t have been in the village that day!”

“Who?”, my curiosity sparkled as this wolf was the murder, and finding him meant my innocence! But the more and more complicated this gets, like him not being in the village then, my chances of being charged false guilty increases!

“Can I ask you something, Selene?” requested Channing to which I nodded a yes, “How much should I actually believe in your side of the story?”

“W-What? I don’t understand”, there was an unknown kind of fear that aroused with that question.

Channing repeated, “should I believe your side of the story to its full extent? Selene, I have been betrayed once and it’s only smart of me to be cautious. But to tell the truth, when I was breathing my last breath and counting my last heartbeats, I heard your voice in my head” his expressions turned soft, “A voice that desperately wanted to save me, a voice that asked me to stay a little longer. But then I lost my consciousness, so I don’t really know what happened there!

“But Selene, if What you said is true I will do everything in my power and find every last bit of evidence to help you out of this case! You saved my life, it’s only fair of me to save yours as well!”, Channing had an Honest tone to his words and I could tell he meant every word he just said.

“Thank you, Alpha!”, my hands trembled as I pulled them behind my back, I was so glad that I saved a person like Channing.

“You didn’t answer my question”, required Channing

In my overwhelmed emotions I totally forgot the question, “Which one?”

“The very first one, Should I really believe in your story entirely?”, He repeated.

“Yes!” I answered without any hesitation, “You can believe everything that I have said!”

“Good!” Said Channing, “Don’t break my trust! And if there is anything else I need to know please tell it to me right now, we might not get a chance to talk properly after this.”

It was understandable that we might never get to talk privately like right now, “I’ll briefly tell all my mishaps because rest of it I believe I told it to you. That day I disobeyed John and ran away from the pack towards you. Then I fought John protecting you, as a result of which both of us were seriously injured.”

I pondered for a bit before saying the next sentence, “And…I might have had a hand in killing him!”

“What!” he exclaimed, my words had him stunned, doubtful of my claim to not have killed John.

But I clarified immediately speaking with loud gestures and a lot of excuses, “See, John attacked me first and he was trying to kill you, so my attack on him was obviously in defence! I actually only expected to immobilise him when I broke his hind leg and ripped off a huge piece of his flesh around the neck, BUT that was to protect you! He tried to attack again, and that’s when the unknown wolf showed up and tortured john till he bled to death!”

Channing’s eyes said that ‘seriously’ expression as I revealed the whole incidence to him. He cleared his throat and sighed scratching his forehead. “So you do have a hand in his murder!”

“No!” I exclaimed playfully offended, “I just injured him” and I looked away like I was truly innocent.

He chuckled, “This will be a tough one Selene! I just hope the evidence stay safe at the crime scene by the time I reach there. But don’t worry, I have given you my word so rest assured. I’ll do everything I can, to prove your innocence. But remember this, I will not support a wrong person even if they have saved my life!”

I twinkled and nodded, his words just gave me a different kind of strength to fight. It was clear why he became the Alpha at such a young age! He was ready to work for his people and that too without compromising his power or position. ‘Such good talent!’

“Also!” He suddenly remembered something, “I could tell your wounds are healed, but act as if they haven’t till the end of this week. This way the trial will start late for you and I’ll get enough time to collect evidence, okay!?”

Understanding what he meant, “Sure thing, I’ll stay here acting injured for the rest of this week.”