"Yes, Alpha," Cedar said with a slight bow of his head.
He repeated everything that I had already overheard from the onlookers gathered at my bedroom door earlier.
Apparently, Violet had walked by Briar's room in the middle of the night, only to find the door ajar and the room smelling of blood. She peered in, curious, to see the windows had been shattered and there was blood everywhere. The clothes that Briar was last seen in were torn, and she was nowhere to be found.
Cedar was alerted right after, and with him, the rest of the pack.
"What does that have to do with me?" I asked, clenching my teeth. "I was asleep in my room this entire time. You can ask anyone from the servants' quarters. I've not left all evening!"
"Someone saw you sneaking around Briar's room," Violet said with a choked sob.
"You have no business here," Cedar said. His eyes narrowed. "Why else would you leave the omegas' quarters past curfew?"
"I didn't!" I yelled, exasperated. "Like you said, I have no business here!"
"There is no need to argue," Alpha Rowan said coldly. "The blood in Briar's room, your sudden presence, and the witness accounts are enough."
"She's not even dead yet!" I screamed. "No one's seen a body! You're all ready to have me convicted based on what? Because you want it to be me?"
The moment those words left my lips, I regretted it. The triplet Alphas' faces turned dark, along with Cedar's. My heart instantly dropped to the floor.
Of course they wanted me to take the blame. Why did I even need to question it?
"No," I whispered, a sick weight dropping into my stomach. "You can't. You can't seriously believe this."
"You are hereby sentenced to execution," Alpha Rowan announced, voice hard and unfeeling. "Midnight. For the murder of Briar Argyris."
***
"Willow Argyris, for the crime of murdering your blood sister, Luna Briar Argyris―"
I couldn't help but tune out. Internally, I rolled my eyes. Briar hadn't even been crowned Luna yet. In fact, all three Alphas made sure the entire pack knew of their fervent love for my sister, but none of them had actually gone to her and asked her for her hand and to become their chosen mate.
Cowards, if you'd asked me.
Werewolves found their mates at the age of eighteen. That was when their wolves would officially awaken.
Briar was a year older than me. She would've already had her wolf. The Alphas too, since they were twenty this year. There was no way Briar was their fated mate. Or else, she would've already been crowned Luna, no question about it.
On the other hand, tonight was the night I was supposed to shift for the first time, at midnight. It was going to be my eighteenth birthday.
This was supposed to be my chance to finally meet my mate and get out of the Shadowclaw Pack.
As the warriors pushed me onto the wooden execution platform, I stared at the silver blade swinging ominously.
My fated mate wouldn't even have the chance to meet me, and I them. The moment the fated bond was revealed, my head would already be rolling. If I were unlucky, maybe he would be somewhere in the crowd, watching.
Below me, the onlooking crowd cheered and booed. No matter what they screamed about, it was all united in its meaning―they couldn't wait to see me dead for what I had 'done' to my sister.
For almost two years, their hatred for me was clear.
I had no place in Shadowclaw. In fact, it would be a miracle if they didn't throw my body to the woods to feed the beasts once my execution was over.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Cedar asked, glaring down at me as though I had murdered the masses.
There was so much contempt in his eyes. I couldn't help but think back―had he always looked at me like that? Or did it start after Briar started falling sick?
"I didn't do it," I insisted, gritting my teeth. For some reason, the back of my eyes were starting to burn, but I refused to let the tears fall.
Instead, I looked up to the skies. The moon was high. It was almost midnight.
"Kill her," Alpha Cassian growled. He took a step forward, walking closer to me. "She needs to pay for her crimes."
"Crimes?" I echoed back. If I was going to die, to hell with hierarchy! "What other crimes are there? Other than the false assumption that my sister's death had anything to do with me?"
A stinging slap landed on my cheek, striking me across the face. I gasped, veering my head to the side. Pain bloomed on my skin.
"How dare you speak to your Alpha that way?" Cassian yelled. The crowd immediately went quiet due to the power behind his voice.
"Cassian," Alpha Soren's cold voice suddenly came from behind. "Leave the girl some dignity. She is about to answer to the Moon Goddess herself very soon."
Alpha Cassian sneered. He turned to me, his voice lowered. If looks could kill, I wouldn't need the executioner's blade on my neck. His gaze would've sent me straight to my maker.
"You know what else you've done," he spat the words out like venom before returning to his brothers' sides.
But I didn't know what else I'd done. There was nothing else that had gained the same amount of hatred, not even when Briar first started to get sick.
I was quiet from confusion. Maybe it was because I was about to die, but all of a sudden, I felt my entire life flash before my eyes.
Then, it hit me.
Not a memory of what happened. Rather, I felt my blood rush through my veins, along with a surge of strength. The world felt clearer, and suddenly, the air was filled with an intoxicating smell.
"It's midnight!" someone yelled in the background. "Drop the blade!"
Their words were a buzz in my ears. Even though they were heralding my death, I didn't pay them any attention. This sweet, minty smell… It was my mate! He was in this crowd!
But who?
I desperately searched through the sea of people, wanting to catch at least a sight of him before my death. However, none of them wore the same visceral reaction.
Following the scent, I turned my head as much as I could. Then, my eyes finally landed on the Alphas, who stood right at the edge of my vision range.
They wore matching looks of horror on their faces, their bodies so stiff that they could've been mistaken as statues.
"Stop the blade!"