2 You killed him

Azura

I sigh and inhale a deep breath to calm my racing heart. “I will take a shower and join the gathering soon,” I tell him with a small smile on my face and he pecks a kiss on my forehead before letting me go. 

Finally, I will catch the culprit and rip his fucking heart out for murdering my father who had never hurt a single soul in his entire life. My wolf howls in my mind, ready to mangle the culprit.

I take a quick shower to get the smell of sweat off my body and dress in a black A-line dress that reaches below my knee.

I had to change my entire wardrobe and fill it with the dresses that Nicholas preferred as he didn’t like me showing off my skin. He liked modest and sophisticated dresses that would suit a Luna and I didn’t care much about my dressing style so I went with whatever he chose for me. 

After combing my long honey-blonde hair and pulling it into a bun, I cast one final look into the mirror to make sure I’m looking presentable enough and exhale loudly, preparing myself mentally for the moment I have been waiting for a week before making my way toward the front yard, the designated spot for all the pack gatherings. 

“There she is,” one of the elders points a finger at me, glaring at me disdainfully as I walk toward Nicholas who has a cold expression etched on his handsome face.

“Seize her,” Nicholas commands in his Alpha voice and his Gamma leads four men my way who immediately surround me in a circle.

“What is happening?” I ask, appalled by the way everyone is gazing at me with hatred-filled eyes.

“You killed Dad, bitch,” Aria’s shriek fills my ear and I see her standing beside Nicholas.

“What the fuck are you saying, Aria? Have you lost your mind?” My voice is strong enough to make her flinch but the skepticism and bitterness in my mate's stare weighs heavily on me.

“Don’t you trust me, Nicholas? You know, I would never do that, right?” I ask with the hope that he would support me but even before he speaks, his cold eyes tell me that he doesn’t trust me.

“All the evidence is against you,” he declares, averting his eyes away from me and handing me the reports. His hand brushes against mine, and the sparks of our mate bond flare within me, bringing me a sense of peace for a fleeting moment.

He retracts his hand as if my touch contaminated him. Tears well up in my eyes but I force myself to read the reports and the stretch marks on my Dad’s body had my blood, said the reports. 

“Your necklace was also in his hand when we found his dead body and those marks on your neck and your missing necklace…” Nicholas says calculatingly as if he trusts those bullshit reports more than his own mate. 

His incredulous gaze makes me want the ground beneath my feet to open and swallow me whole. I can endure all the pain that fate will throw at me but the mistrust from my own mate seems like a silver dagger piercing my heart.

Even if the whole world stands against you, your mate is supposed to stand with you and trust you, right?

Before I can even say anything, he turns his back on me. I strain to keep my balance as my knees threaten to give way.

How can he do that to me? Didn’t he love me? I ask my wolf who is howling in pain. 

“At least, give me a chance to prove my innocence,” I roar though my world is crumbling down and my heart is broken into pieces that will never mend again. 

I will not let them see the pain I’m feeling. Even if my mate doesn’t trust me, I will prove my innocence and catch the real culprit. 

“You’re not innocent, bitch. You killed our Beta.”

“You killed your mother while coming into this world and now, your father who should have abandoned you the day your wretched shadow cast upon our pack.”

“Beta Drake was so kind. He should have killed her right after her birth.”

“She should be beheaded for murdering our Beta.” 

The pack members’ screams fill the chilly yard and all those people who used to love me are standing against me and saying hurtful things to me which are breaking me. 

I knew that I killed my mother the moment I came into this world and that’s why I never asked for anything from my father. I was grateful that he didn’t abandon me as many other men did when their mates died while giving birth to their pups. I snatched away his mate from him but he loved me nevertheless. All my life, I had spent in guilt and believing that I didn’t deserve his love though he never made me feel like I was a burden on him. 

“How could you do this to your father who always treated you like a Princess?” Linda sobs and drops to her knees. 

Alina and Thea rush to her side immediately and console her as she breaks down. 

“I didn’t kill Dad,” I say helplessly, tears brimming in the corners of my eyes as I stand alone against all of them and face their hostility. Even the strongest spirits have a limit to withstand.

Aria walks toward me, seething in anger, and slaps me across my face. “You killed him because he transferred the ownership of all the properties to me, didn’t you?” 

I fight back my tears, putting on a face devoid of emotions. No one is ready to listen to me or hear what I have to say so it’s better that I shut my mouth and let them accuse me of whatever they want to. 

“She is not denying it, you see?” Aria speaks again, pointing a finger at me and looking at the crowd. 

“All the properties that are under your name belong to my mother. I was the one who asked Dad to transfer it to you as I didn’t need anything after having Nicholas,” my voice sounds like it belongs to someone else as it’s weak and dripping with pain that no one can see. 

With a sliver of hope, I look up at my mate. Maybe he will speak in my favor since he was there when I had that conversation with Dad but he has turned a blind eye to me and I wondered if he had ever loved me.