4

Chapter 4

Conrad Stone

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“Unfortunately, he was killed by my former Luna, Zoey Malik.” 

Knowing that your mate murdered your best friend was a traumatic event. And the worst part? She was constantly denying it after being caught. 

Everyone saw her clothes soaked in his blood. 

I couldn’t even give her the benefit of the doubt if I wanted to. What would the other members of the pack think? That they can commit crimes and go free? 

The pain of the bond severance stung but it was overshadowed by grief. I had to cut ties with Zoey before sending her into the dungeon. 

I knew how I felt about Zoey the first time our wolves sensed each other. I felt I was being cursed by the moon goddess. 

I mean, I always expected Wendy to be my mate. But it turned out to be a mere maid in the pack. A powerless orphan. I didn’t want to accept her at first, but my mother convinced me to do it. 

As time passed, I gradually warmed up to Zoey. 

I discovered that she wasn’t that bad. 

Zoey just needed to clean up. She was an attractive girl but was too poor to keep up with her maintenance. But after I marked her and took her into my home, I noticed that her appearance changed and she started to look the part. 

I wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her anymore. 

With time, I even stopped cheating on her with Wendy. 

Just when I thought I could fall in love with her, she went ahead to commit an unforgivable crime. A part of me wishes she didn’t do it because I had developed a soft spot for her. 

But I had to give her the same punishment I would give to every other person.

“She will be thrown into the dungeon to pay for her sins.” The crowd was pleased as I announced Zoey’s punishment. “We will all gather some other time to give Ethan a befitting funeral.” 

I never imagined having to plan a funeral for Ethan. 

It was heartbreaking to even say it out loud. 

I already missed Ethan dearly. I just wanted to get the punishment over with, so I would retire back to my room and grieve properly. 

When I was done addressing the crowd, I walked over to Zoey and asked. “Why did you do it?” I wanted some sort of closure. 

I wanted to know her motive for killing him. 

He didn’t deserve to die. 

“I didn’t do it, Conrad. I’m being framed. There’s a real killer out there and you want me to pay for a crime that I didn’t commit.”

As usual, she continued to deny it. 

I wasn’t surprised. 

“Take her,” I whispered to the men who would be taking her to the dungeon. 

But just as they were about to do it, a loud voice echoed from the crowd. “Mate!” 

The crowd went silent and parted like it was the Red Sea. 

I was surprised when I saw Sean.

He was a Lycan king from a neighboring pack. We met a few times but we weren’t exactly friends. But we weren’t enemies either. 

He was more powerful than me and I always learned to keep my distance from Lycan kings. I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance to win a fight against them. 

It took a second before I realized that he found his mate in my pack. My eyes darted through the crowd as I anticipated to see who the person was. 

Sean didn’t stop walking until he came to where I stood with Zoey and the men who were about to take her. 

“Mate.” He repeated, his gaze fixed on Zoey. 

It must’ve been a mistake. 

Sean and Zoey couldn’t be mates. 

I was her true mate. 

Even if I rejected her, no one else could sense her as their mate. It was all a big misunderstanding. He must’ve gotten the wrong person. 

Before anybody could say anything, I stepped in between them. “No, you’ve made a mistake. Zoey can’t be your mate.” I said, looking up at Sean. 

He was a few feet taller than me. 

It felt like he was hovering over me and I was a little bit intimidated, but I stayed calm. “Zoey is my mate,” I added. 

Sean looked at me, his eyes raking over me from head to toe. 

“Are you trying to say that the moon goddess made a mistake?” He asked, his voice hoarse. Then he turned to Zoey. “Is he your mate?” 

She hesitated for a second, then she stuttered as she tried to respond. “Y…no…not…not anymore.” 

Sean smiled. “She’s not your mate.” He replied as he reached out for Zoey’s trembling hand and interlaced his fingers through hers. “She’s coming with me.” He declared. 

The crowd erupted with frustrated roars. 

“I’m afraid that you can’t take her right now.” I continued my voice firm. “She committed a crime and she has to pay for her sins.” 

Sean brushed off my concerns with a dismissive wave. “Oh, about the murder? I know that my mate isn’t capable of killing someone.” He vouched for Zoey as if he knew her. “And I’ll prove it to you by exposing the real killer.” 

The crowd erupted again, this time with louder whispers. 

I raised a brow at him. “How do you intend on doing that?”

Sean smiled. “Just give me a few weeks. If I don’t expose the real killer, then you can throw Zoey into the dungeon.” He replied, his voice calm. 

“He can’t just walk here and do something like this,” Wendy murmured on my shoulder. “Ask him to leave.” She added, her voice thick with disdain. 

Normally, I wouldn’t have agreed. 

But thinking about it, Zoey wasn’t capable of killing someone. I wasn’t completely ruling her out as the murderer. 

However, if there was a chance that someone else was the killer, I was interested in knowing. I knew that the pack members wouldn’t be happy, but I had to take my chances. 

“Fine, you have four weeks,” I said aloud. 

“I’ll only need two.” He answered with a cocky grin. 

As the crowd reacted, my gaze was focused on Zoey. 

If Zoey and I were true mates, then how did she form another bond? 

And if she didn’t kill Ethan, who the hell did?