009 A Higher Rank

Lilith’s POV

As much as I understood that he was no longer the Orion I knew, I couldn’t bear watching this familiar face say such cruel words as if he were merely a stranger to me.

“Apologize,” Orion led Hannah to his side with a hand on her waist, his voice stern and stone cold, “...if your attitude is genuine enough, then maybe I will cancle the punishment.”

“You can’t do that,” Hannah looked up at Orion, real worry in her eyes, “There are witnesses. If anyone were to report this higher, you will be held responsible!”

Orion let Hannah finish quietly, his eyes focused on me.

“Do you believe me, or not?” I insisted, looking right back at him.

I never needed him to bend the justice for me. I never needed him to bully Hannah for me. I just missed my Orion, the boy who would have trusted me without a condition.

Orion closed his eyes with an impatient sigh: “...It doesn’t matter. Just apologize--”

“It matters to me!” I shouted.

“Why would Hannah frame you if you didn’t do it?!” Orion growled back.

In Hannah’s smirk, tears broke out of me.

Werewolves mate for life. I thought I would spend a whole lifetime with Orion. I thought nothing could apart us except death.

Orion was alive. But the boy inside him who loved me had surely died. How could I accept such a death? It was almost like someone replaced his soul. I felt like a stranger embedded his body, cutting me apart with a tiny but real knife, with every cruel word they said through my Orion’s tongue.

I needed to let go.

I just didn’t know how.

“Dominic offered me a ride,” I repeated, but I could hear my voice being so empty as if my own soul was also dead at the death of my mate, “I demand a higher rank’s judgement on this matter because Dominic would confirm my story.”

Everyone turned to look at Dominic, who was still lying on the ground, half-conscious.

Hannah let out a cold laugh. Orion glared at me with fire burning in his eyes. And I kept my eyes away from him.

Our mate bond was yet to be severed, but our souls were.

“First, you accused me of assulting you; then, it’s that Dominic never attacked you,” Hannah sighed, again using that patient tone as if she was nothing but a patient teacher, reasoning with a misbehaving child, “there isn’t enough room for doubt in this case to require the presence of a higher rank because such decision comes from two that out ranks you.”

She and Orion.

I needed another high rank. Anyone. A beta. Even just another Gamma.

I shoot my head up, glaring at her, weighing my options between dragging her into a fight to upgrade the case and going with the guards to make my demands later. It could work, but it would be harder once I accepted her punishment. Not to mention, if Hannah came with us, she would block any demands I could make.

“Lilith--” Orion warned. I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted me to apologize--

He knew Hannah was doing all this to humiliate me. He must. She never cared about giving me a few whips today or any other. She just wanted to pull ranks on me, to watch me kneel at her foot. He wanted me to apologize, and by giving Hannah what she wanted, he could “cancel” my punishment as if he did a favor for me, at the price of my dignity!

“Fine!” I turned to the two guards, “I’ll go with you!”

So long as they take me instead of letting Hannah do, I’ll have a chance.

But Hannah stopped them.

“Orion, would you want to take her instead?” Hannah turned to Orion with a considerate look, “I know you two were childhood...sweethearts?”

“The pack’s law is equal to everyone,” Orion denies with a cold voice. As if worried that Hannah wouldn’t believe his lie, Orion adds, “Besides...she is my mother’s guest, you know that.”

Hannah’s friends burst into laughter. She didn’t. She kept her eyes on Orion, as if she really cared.

I could see why any man would cave in when looked at in that way by a powerful, beautiful beta’s daughter like her.

But love was supposed to be more powerful than that.

He didn’t deny the “childhood sweetheart”. He might as well.

Because what he did was worse. He wanted to stay on Hannah’s side, so he told himself that so long as it wasn’t a direct deniel, then he wasn’t betraying me.

He betrayed our bond the moment he started to treat me as his shame.

I fixed my eyes on Orion, and he looked away. Why did you look away, if you didn’t think what you did was wrong?

“This way, Lilith Vex,” Hannah put on a serious face, as if just performing her pack duty, “It’s nothing personal.”

I turned to follow her, my eyes caught a little shiver of Orion’s finger, as if he wanted to stop me. But he didn’t. He stood there and watched as I passed him.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting,”

A man walked past me, an arm in front of Hannah to stop her as his voice landed, pausing everyone’s movement.

He was wearing a tight service uniform, the bottons neatly tied all the way under his sharp jaw. A tight, offcial uniform in the pack was not common. It means power beyond a normal wolf because they wouldn’t need to shift often for anything.

A beta. Or above.

“I’m Grant, Beta serving under Alpha Hawthorne,” His voice was clear but gentle, no threat intended, but power spouted out nonetheless. The crowd held their breath instinctively, all except Lycoris.

[He is the one who brought us home! I recognize his smell!] Lycoris shouted in my mind.

I shoot over a curious glance, only to find the same kind of curiosity in his eyes, too.

But I didn’t know this man.

“Young miss,” Beta Grant walked to me confidently, paying no attention to the people around, “You required the ears of a higher rank?”