CHAPTER 4

"Have her thrown into the dungeons," Alpha Blake's tone was icy and aggressive, daring anyone to raise a voice in protest.

All of the present Pack wolves cowered in submission at the sound of his voice and those standing close to me took quick, subtle steps backwards so they would not be dragged down with me.

"Get this out of my sight too!" He barked orders, kicking my Father's lifeless body to the side.

His face held no remorse or pity and was unyielding with his determination to mete out appropriate punishment to whoever he deemed a threat to his authority.

"No, please, don't," I lurched forward and covered my Father's body with mine. "At least let me bury him. He spent a lifetime serving you, please consider that and allow me to perform the necessary rites." I begged, my voice choking with the grief that was shattering my heart into a thousand pieces.

Alpha Blake was never affectionate, he was far from it but I viewed him as an uncle because he was a close friend of my Father.

My guts twisted together with expectation as I watched his eyes narrow into slits.

"This bastard deserves to be fed to the birds of the fields. He and everyone else who dares to defy me!" His voice boomed loudly, carrying with it an air of authority and domination.

My mouth opened and closed, I wanted to protest against this injustice, to defend my Father's innocence but Alpha Blake's look of finalized judgment was all I needed to know that there was no point to all of that now.

My Father was dead and a word from him had sealed my fate.

"Take her away." He reiterated forcefully and two warriors came over to drag me away.

My gaze remained on my Father's closed eyes, the entire world seemed to have stilled, leaving me in a haze of grief and fear.

I was led to the Pack dungeon by the two guards and harshly thrown to the grounds of a small cell.

It was dimly lit and the walls were extremely filthy but all I could focus on was the emotional pain that engulfed me.

"Vile daughter of a traitor!" One of the guards spat at me, his face twisted with disgust.

"The Alpha should have just killed her along with her traitorous Father. Who knows what kind of evil machinations she had too, enough to seduce the Alpha's son."

My head snapped up at his disdainful remarks, "My Father is not a traitor." I said through clenched teeth.

"Hey look," He called out to his mate, "This bitch still believes she is the high and mighty daughter of the Beta."

"Listen here, princess. Your Father is dead and gone and you have no backing any longer. Now, you are just a worthless prisoner so I suggest you behave or you won't like what I'm gonna do to you." The other wasn't as patient or he probably disdained to even humor me.

His harsh tone brought with it the realisation and clarity of my present predicament.

My clenched fist loosened and I fell back against the wall as rivulets of excruciating pain slipped down my cheeks.

Life was fickle. One minute, I was at the top of the hierarchy, the proud and exalted daughter of the Beta and the next, I was subjected to the lowest of ranks.

Curling into a fetal position, I sank into the shadow of despair and despondency.

**************

A stifled sob woke me from the nightmare I was trapped in, which brought with it a lifelike representation of the hell my life was to be moving forward and my eyes snapped open.

It took a moment for me to focus and regulate my quickened breaths when Sam's tear-stained face came into view.

"Maya, I'm so sorry. There was nothing I could do..."

"Sam," I interrupted with disbelief and tears blurred my vision again.

"I'm so sorry, I should have come sooner." She mumbled sadly, reaching an arm towards me through the bars of my cell.

I took her outstretched arm and slowly got up, my shoulder trembling as she wrapped her hands around me, pressing me against the cold rods.

"I'm so sorry Maya," She repeated.

We hugged each other for minutes and I relished the warmth of her embrace.

The sight and feel of someone who sympathised with me and was on my side made me cry even harder.

"How did you get in here?" I asked when we both finally calmed down.

"You should leave quickly, it'll be bad if someone sees you here," I added anxiously, beginning to urge her to leave.

Just the fact that she had appeared was enough comfort, I could not let her be implicated alongside me.

"It's okay, I bribed the guards to let me have a few minutes with you."

Her words calmed me down and I exhaled quietly in relief.

"Alpha Blake has appointed a new Beta and your house has been given to him. The rest of the wolves who served your Father have been sent away too. I tried to rally support to see if the Beta could be buried secretly but no one was willing to help me."

Sam quietly gave answers to some of the questions plaguing my mind.

"Those cowards shunned Beta Lucas and repaid his kindness with ingratitude." She hissed angrily.

A bland chuckle left my lips, "It's okay Sam, I expected that much from them."

No one would want to be associated with a labelled traitor.

"Did anyone say the exact crime my Father committed?" I had thought about it for days and realized that I still didn't know the underlying cause of Alpha Blake's anger and the reason he had labelled my Father a traitor.

I trusted my Father's integrity and his loyalty to this Pack so I was confused and wanted to know what exactly had gone wrong.

Sam shook her head, "No one knows, the only person clear on that should be Alpha Blake."

My face fell in disappointment and I bit my lip regretfully.

"I think Shawn might know too, after all, he is the Alpha's son."

Bitterness filled my heart at the mention of him and then I noticed that Sam seemed to be hesitating to say something.

"Did something else happen?" I questioned doubtfully.

Sam hesitated for a few more minutes then sighed in resignation, "I didn't know if I should tell you this but you will find out anyway."

"Tell me what?" My heart began doing flip-flops in chaos as I peered at her anxiously.

"Shawn and Rhea are getting married."