6- I AM INNOCENT

LILA

FLASH BACK...

      "Markus, tell me the truth. Did you do it?" Nana asked.

  Markus stared at her for a while before shaking his head. "Nana, you raised me well. How could I possibly do it?"

     "Why will the Luna accuse you like that? Did you do something to upset her before this? Even at that, accusing you of rape to get back is too much."

      "Nana, do not worry—"

     "But I am already worried. Our names are in the mud. I can no longer sell my produce in the pack market because every member treats me as an abomination."

      Markus approached Nana, bent down before her, and held her hands in his. "Listen, Nana. I want you to believe that I am innocent, and I will prove it."

      "How?" I asked, speaking for the first time since Markus returned. "You said Alpha Blaise does not want to hear you out at all. How will you prove you are innocent when his Luna has produced evidence? She had torn clothes, and you were seen fleeing her chambers."

      Markus sighed and stood on his feet. He said nothing to me or Nana again and just left the room. Nana called after him, bolting from the seat and went after him. Nana favoured Markus so much; she said Markus reminded her of my father, who was her only child. I could see how this whole thing was shattering her. It was breaking us all because we were all affected, and no one believed us. Nana was able to stop Markus on the way.

      "Where do you think you are going to?"

     "I want to go and speak to the Luna. I will convince her to drop all of this."

Nana glared at Markus in bewilderment as if he had gone crazy. "You want to go near the Luna again? Do you have a death wish or something? My son, please."

     "Nana, the hearing is tomorrow. I need to prove myself innocent," Markus said, bent down and kissed Nana's forehead. 

    When I saw a tear running down from his cheek, I believed in my heart that he was innocent. I know many people fake their tears, but I was strongly convinced that Markus was innocent. He was hiding something, but whatever he hid was not his guilt in the accusation. He looked at me and smiled a sad smile. I wiped my own tears and watched him move away from us.

***

      We did not see Markus again until the end of that day. I was barely asleep later that night when I heard a rattle on the door. I slowly got up from the bed and peeped from the vertical cracks on the door that let the rays of the moon into our room and saw Markus standing at the other side of the door. I gently unlatched the door and let him in. 

     "I need to show you something, Lila," he whispered as he came in.

  I was skeptical about following him. Markus was my elder brother, my father and my best friend. We grew up together and did everything together until he became a pack warrior. He barely came home, but I knew we still had that bond. He encouraged me and taught me everything I knew. He taught me some basic fighting and defence skills. I love my brother so much, and maybe I did not know how to express grief, but I was the most tortured of all. He was the only one who protected me from those who bullied me because I had not yet found my wolf, even after my eighteenth birthday. I could not even think of losing him.

      "What about Nana?" I inquired, looking back at the old woman who was deep asleep on our spring bed.

      "Nana does not need to know. Now, come with me."

   I followed him into the yard and under the giant oak tree, where we sat for leisure sometime. The moon was full and smiling down at us. I heard other wolves howling in the distance and felt sad that I could not bask under the moonlight with my mates.

      "Did you do it?" I asked, looking Markus in the eyes.

     "Lila, I need you to believe me and listen very carefully. I cannot prove myself innocent. Alpha Blaise's mind is quite made up, and I am nobody's pup. You know how Alpha Blaise frowns upon rape, so I think he would not listen to me. Tomorrow is my judgment, and I already know what will happen. I want you to know for the last time that I did not make any attempt on the Luna and would never think of it. I love Olivia enough to do that to her."

     "How is she? Olivia."

     "She left. She rejected me after the news spread."

     "And you accepted her rejection?"

     "I had to do it. She will not be happy associating with me. Listen, Lila. I do not know if I would survive that prison, but if I don't, I want you to prove my innocence. You might not be able to do that now. The case is still hot." He produced a small diary from his coat pocket and handed it to me. "This is my diary, where I write down all my thoughts. Whenever you want to speak to me, miss me, or tell me anything, I want you to open this diary. I also want you to protect this diary; do not let anyone take it away from you."

     "Markus, why are you speaking like this?"

     "Because I don't know what would happen next. This is a setup, and I do not know how it would end. Luna Aurora set me up, but I do not think it would end here."

     "But why is the Luna setting you up?" 

   

     "Because I found—"

He was interrupted by heavy footsteps coming towards us. I did not have my wolf yet, but I could still detect when people were approaching.

     "They are here for me, Lila. I cannot tell you everything, but I promise to do so when I leave the prison."

Uncontrollable tears began streaming down my cheeks, and I grabbed my brother's hands as the pack warriors surrounded us. Nana must have heard the commotion outside because she came out and joined my plea.

     "Please, don't take him away," I cried. But the pack warriors were following orders; they bound Markus in chains and took him away from us despite our pleas. One of the warriors roughly pushed Nana away, and I had to rush to Nana, help her up and hold her in my arms as we sobbed together.

    That was the first time I saw Beta Leo. His eyes were dark, and he looked furious as they dragged Markus away. But before Markus was dragged away, he stopped in front of Beta Leo, looking him straight in the eyes.

     "I will prove my innocence, even if it is not now but later. I promise you that."

Beta Leo regarded him scornfully. "Take this traitor out of here. He should not be the only one punished for this; his family should be punished, too. They are all traitors. I will speak to Alpha Blaise about this."

     "Don't touch my family!" Markus yelled as he was led away. 

   Beta Leo approached Nana and me. His eyes ran over me, a predator stalking its prey. Unease seeped into the pit of my stomach, and that was how I  came to hate the man. I mustered enough courage and glared back at him.

     "Who raises girls these days?" he asked, scanning the area. "This one is not even a she-wolf, yet she has the gut to glare me in the eyes."

   Nana signalled for me to stop looking at him, but I stubbornly kept my gaze on his face.  "My brother is innocent."

    Beta Leo crouched down to me and Nana's level and gently pushed my hair away from my face. "Is that what he told you? Tell me, little imp, what else did he tell you?"

      "Beta Leo, we are set," one of the warriors said.

Beta Leo slowly rose to his full height, his eyes still on me. "This won't be the last you will see of me, wolfless girl. You all are implicated and deserve to be put in prison."

     As he turned his back to us, Nana gasped and clutched her chest. I stared at Nana, confused, as her hold on me loosened. I shook her as she fell back to the ground.

       "Nana? Nana? Nana, what is wrong?" I looked at Beta Leo as he walked away with the other warriors. "Help me," I pleaded, but Leo never turned. He pretended like he did not hear me. Nana’s eyes were shut now, and she was gasping for breath. "Someone help me! Please, help me!"

***

     I bolted up and gasped as someone splashed water on my face. I quickly wiped the water off my face and looked up to see Agatha with an empty bucket and three other maidservants beside her. The corner of her lip twitched up in disgust.

     "I wonder why Blaise spared you. Take her away," she ordered the servants, who walked towards me and grabbed me with both arms."

    I saw Erick coming into my cell from the corners of my eyes. "Wait. I have to remove the chains from her hands." He unlocked the chains, setting me free.

    The other girls dragged me away from the cells. At this point, my joints ached from so much binding, but those girls did not care; they kept pulling me until I was out of the pack's prison area and started going to the Packhouse. I was thirsty, and my stomach churned from hunger, but those girls paid no attention until they took me into a room with a tiny bed and large portraits of the late Luna were placed on every corner of the room.

      "Why am I here?" I inquired tiredly.

      "You will spend a day with your karma. Let your guilt catch up with you in here," Agatha said as she went out of the room.

    I walked to the tiny bed, chuckling despite myself. Does Agatha really think I feel any guilt for the death of their beloved Luna? I did not kill anyone, so I will not let them guilt trip me. In fact, I was mad at her for putting me in all this. I glared at the woman smiling at me. 

     "I hate you!" I screamed and rushed to the first portrait, kicking and pushing it away. It fell, and the frame broke. I yanked the others from the wall, shattering all of them into pieces.

     I wanted to die. I would do anything to make Alpha Blaise realise that keeping me alive was not the smartest idea. The thought of letting him touch my body alone made my skin crawl.