06. Accused (a)

ELISSE

My heart skipped a beat, the word hanging heavy in the air.

Rogue, an outcast, a werewolf who’d broken from the pack, sometimes dangerous and unpredictable.

He didn’t need to say more. Without hesitation, he eased away from me and whispered, “we’re not alone.”

I slid off him reluctantly, skin still warm from our closeness. His gaze was sharp, every muscle tensed as if ready to strike.

I asked, "why can't I smell anything?"

“Because you’re weak, Pupcake.” He said it so casually, as if it was no big deal at all.

"What?"

"Don’t get pissed. At least, you’re strong enough to take me down … to bed.”

"This isn’t the time for jokes, okay?"

"Relax, I was just testing if you could keep up."

I stayed silent, listening to his annoying chatter. He just stared at me with that usual arrogant look. How could he be so sarcastic at a moment like this?

“Better if you stay here for a bit. Just keep an eye on your cousin, she’s still out cold. I’ll go check outside real quick," he said again.

I suddenly remembered my cousin lying unconscious on the floor and couldn’t help but ask, “so, what exactly did you do to her to knock her out like that?”

He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he shrugged and said, “She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”

Without a word or glance back, he yanked open the window and slipped through, plunging into the darkness below with a powerful leap from the mansion’s upper floor.

I edged closer to the window, eyes fixed on him as he landed silently in the shadowed side yard.

Another figure emerged from the darkness, a man moving with purpose, clearly his beta.

Before Dario disappeared into the deep darkness of the forest, his beta glanced up at me with an unreadable look.

His eyes locked onto mine, as if trying to find secrets I was hiding. Without hesitation, he then ran after Dario, disappearing into the night.

That look … it wasn’t just suspicion. It was a warning. Honestly, I didn’t care because I had nothing to hide.

There had been an intruder here.

Who? And what business did a rogue have showing up at a match-making event like this?

I was deep in thought when the door suddenly burst open, the force jolting me out of my focus. I hadn’t even noticed the faintest scent of his arrival.

It was him. My uncle.

His eyes blazed with shock and fury the moment he saw his daughter sprawled, unconscious on the cold floor.

And here I was, standing silent by the bed, like a statue caught in a moment frozen in time. I could tell this would start a big misunderstanding.

My uncle’s fury exploded like a storm, his alpha aura roaring around him like a living beast, and ready to devour me whole.

"What the hell did you do to my daughter, you worthless wretch?!” His voice thundered through the room, sharp and deadly.

His words carried a heavy threat that made my blood run cold.

***