Chapter 00002

Chapter two

Elara's pov

"Silas, what is the meaning of this?" I groaned as the wolves held me down and dragged me to the middle of the podium. I struggled against their hold as murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Is this a sick joke?" I quirked a brow up at my mate who stared at me blankly in return. His eyes were cold and unfeeling and my heart dropped. What was happening?

"Members of the Nightshade pack, we have been attacked by hunters and our pack has taken a significant hit." Silas began as everyone quieted.

"As your Alpha, I have failed every one of you. I have failed all the wolves fighting for their lives in the infirmary as we speak, I have failed all the wolves lying dead and I have failed all the wolves crying and praying for their loved ones," Silas' voice boomed loud and clear throughout the pack grounds.

"In light of this, I have searched endlessly to discover how such a weak species could have information on our pack and deliver such a fatal blow at us," he paused and glanced at me with cold eyes before he turned back to the crowd.

"I have failed all of you in the worst way possible since I discovered it was my mate herself and your Luna who had betrayed us all," He announced, and gasps filled the entire ground as my eyes bulged.

"Silas, what are you doing?" I called out to him as Asher, his beta, handed him a pile of envelopes.

"Are you going to admit it or do I have to force an admission out of you?" Silas asked me.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Silas, if this is a joke it isn't funny anymore," I assessed his features waiting for a grin to spread across his face as he announced he was just kidding but to my disappointment, his features remained hard and as I turned to Asher for help he also stared at me with anger blazing in his eyes.

"In my hands are all your correspondence with the hunters. Everything you ever told them, how you planned with them, and how you revealed as well as compromised border security." Silas threw the envelopes down in front of me but I couldn't reach them because of my restrained hands.

"Silas that isn't possible. I have never been in contact with hunters. You know my scent, you know my handwriting better than anyone surely you can-" I began defending myself.

"Exactly Elara, I know you better than anyone or I thought I did anyway." He cut me off with a growl as he signalled to Asher who sprang into action and opened one of the envelopes, holding out the letter close to my face so that I could read its contents.

My eyes bulged as my scent was all over the letter and as I stared at the letter my mouth dried at the familiar messy scribbles on the paper. Even I was fooled and thought it was my writing, how would I expect Silas to believe any less?

"I'm being framed Silas, you have to believe me," I pleaded as I looked away from the paper and stared up at him.

"What I want to know is why Elara. Why would you betray me...our pack like this?" Silas asked as his eyes reflected rage and hurt.

"I didn't do this Silas, please. I know this looks bad and the evidence seems as plain as day but I didn't write any of that." My eyes willed him to believe me but he remained stoic.

"Someone is trying to frame me and if you don't listen to me you are going to let the real culprit get away with this," I looked from Silas to Asher but neither of them seemed to believe me.

"Were you always this cunning?" Silas growled at me and my heart broke as I saw the hatred and rage in his eyes.

"As the pack law states, any traitor to the pack would be burned at the stake...your Luna is not excluded from that law," Silas announced to our pack as gasps spread out among them and my heart dropped. This couldn't possibly be happening, Silas couldn't do this to me.

Silas loved me as his mate but I also knew how he placed responsibility and his pack before everything else and in this instance it had blinded him.

"Burn her at the stake," Silas declared as some wolves roared in agreement with his decision.

"Silas- Silas," I called out to him as the wolves roughly tugged me to my feet and Silas turned away from me.

"You could at least give me the benefit of the doubt and conduct a thorough investigation," I pleaded but my voice was merely a whisper compared to the raging voices of the pack members, all of whom hurled insults and accusations at me as I was being dragged to the stakes.

"I always knew she was no good for the pack,"

"I wonder how Alpha Silas feels knowing his own mate betrayed him," several pack members talked among themselves as I was dragged into the firm logs of wood. I fought against their hold but even with my wolf's strength I couldn't win against them.

The wolves tied me to the stake and with a single light of a matchstick, the whole stake came to life as fire eagerly licked the flames. Pure fear gripped my heart as my eyes sought out Silas' in the crowd.

Was this it? Was this how I was going to be burned because of a crime I didn't commit?

The flames slowly scathed my body and I writhed against my ties but they were done with great expertise and I knew there was no escape for me.

My wolf howled as the flames consumed me and my eyes met and held with Silas' just before everything slowly faded into nothingness.