Allegations

Raine's POV

Tiki has been livid and in a funky mood for about two days now. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Raine's blunder on the day of the moon dance. She tried to keep herself as invisible as possible. Carrying out her chores and doing everything she could think of to not get in trouble. She didn't want to shoulder the blame for ruining the moon dance and also jeopardizing the pack's safety. But she should have known that there was no way her family would have left her alone.

On this particular day, Raine woke up at the crack of dawn. Cold wind billowed outside her window and ring bits of it seeped into her skin. She didn't have a wolf to keep her warm and so her teeth chattered on impact.

She grabbed a fur jacket from where it hung on the door and draped it across her shoulders. She looked at the time. It was just some minutes past six. She groaned in frustration knowing she had to be fast with her chores before Shania got up. Else she would be punished for waking late.

Hurriedly, Raine quietly went outside to start up her duties. The first on her list was to sweep the entire compound. She got to work quickly trying to maintain a fast pace as well as a clean environment.

When she was done, she decided to go down to the lake to wash some of the dirty clothes that had been dumped on her. Raine hummed a melody in her heart as she trotted down to the lake.

On getting there, she dumped out the dirty clothes and began to wash. And that was when she heard it. A low hissing in the trees surrounding the lake. It sounded like two people were arguing.

Raine narrowed her eyes at the sight. It was too early to have anyone come down to this part of the pack territory. Fear gripped her as she thought of the possibility of them being intruders. But knowing the night pack, no one could ever get past their borders.

If they weren't intruders, she wondered who else they might be and what they had to hide.

Raine crept towards the sound of the voice as quietly as she could. She tried not to make a sound so she wouldn't get caught. She could see the silhouette of the people arguing. A man and a woman.

She trudged closer and hid behind a tree trying to get a better look. The thick trees shrouded the daylight that was starting to emerge and so she couldn't see their faces, but she sure as hell recognized their voices. She knew it was none other than her sister and her fiance.

Disgust laced through her upon recognition. She wondered if they came out here to have sex. She sighed at the thought and turned to leave them alone because she didn't want to witness their copulation. The next words out of Bellona's mouth stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I gave you one solid chance to take her out, and you blew it." Bellona hissed.

Tyrion hung his head in what Raine thought to be shame since she couldn't read his expression. She gulped at the sound of Bellona's voice. Who did they plan to take out? Raine wondered. She knew the answer but wouldn't accept it without further investigations.

"It wasn't that simple," Tyrion whined.

"She's just one girl without a wolf! All you had to do was aim. She has nothing to protect herself with." Bellona screamed in his face.

Hearing the admission fall out of her lips rocked Raine backwards and anger seared through her. Not only did they cheat on her, they also planned to kill her.

"I misfired. Raine has always been a friend. Doing this isn't easy for me. Besides, she's my betrothed." Tyrion explained in a calm voice.

Raine watched as Bellona stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm sorry. I'm being so hard on you. But don't you want to be with me? You know I'm a better choice than Raine. You could be beta one day and I doubt you want to have a weakling by your side as mate for the rest of your life."

Tyrion shook his head in defeat. Raine felt even more betrayed. Bellona was a master manipulator. Seeing her push Tyrion's buttons gutted her.

"What are we going to do now? Nikolai thinks someone in the park tried to assassinate him. If your father finds out what we did, he might not care for the reason." Tyrion grumbled.

"I will come up with something. I won't let anything happen to you." Bellona assured him. She took his hands and led him deeper into the woods.

Raine looked away feeling a gut-wrenching cry rack towards her body. Her sister and supposed fiance just tried to kill her. The betrayal cut her more than she could imagine. She steeled herself and got back to work.

She decided to get stronger and better. She was a good fighter, but her defect put her at a great disadvantage. Powerful features that could be assessed by others were absent from her. She had to find a way to cope. She needed the strength to carry out her new resolve. She planned to run away.

***

“Faster, Raine.” She whispered to herself.

Raine escaped the border enforcers and was currently deep in the woods. Urgency carried her feet along as moved forward trying to escape.

She knew the enforcers would be hot on her tail very soon, and so she tried to make headway as much as possible.

Her breath spurted in brief gasps, and she doubled over, trying to catch my breath.

“You can't afford to stop.” She chided herself but had no strength to continue. She hobbled over to the nearest tree and hunched behind it, trying to get her bearings. No one was in sight, yet.

Warily, she came out of hiding and the roar of the hunters slammed into her like never before. Fear gripped her and she yelped.

Adrenaline pumped through her and sent her into overdrive. Without thinking, she dashed through the forest as arrows and spears flew past her and pinned into trees.

Her heart thumped against her ribs, and her blood circulated faster with the impending doom.

“Get her.” Someone yelled.

Raine zipped through the trees and took a detour. The boundary loomed ahead, and she glanced behind. The men were gaining. She stepped over an obstacle and continued to make her escape. Freedom was near. She could taste it.

Her tank top caught on a splinter of wood from the bark of a tree and she went down, sprawling all over the ground.

Rough hands gripped her and yanked her up from the floor. Her arms and feet flailed as she struggled to free herself.

“I have her.” He announced. The wolves howled and cheered as her captor threw her over his shoulder. She struggled to be free, but his hand landed on her backside. A sharp sting zipped through her, causing her to quiet down at once.

“Good girl.” He mocked.

Raine bounced off his back as he moved with ease through the trees. Her panting subsided and soon, her breathing was back to normal.

The forest soon disappeared, and they came upon the clearing overlooking the pack house where he threw her to the ground and she landed with a thump. The men laughed, and some women snickered. Her face burned in humiliation.

“Raine!” a voice griped. She looked up at the voice and saw her father standing in her line of sight. His face held hints of displease and disappointment while his eyes sparked with anger.

"What's this about? You know the rules, child. No deserting." He chided.

“I wasn't trying to run away, Dad. I just went for a run." She lied.

He crouched down in front of her, causing her to look him in the eye.

“No?" He mocked. His eyes shone with a hit of mischief.

"You’re pathetic, just like your mother.” He stood, and she lowered her head in shame. Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“Belly.” He called.

She stepped out from the crowd and stood before their father.

“What did you have to report?” he asked.

Bellona gave Raine a sideways glance and turned to face their father again.

"I found out who it was that sabotaged the moon procession and tried to kill your friend." She announced.

Raine's eyes widened at the confession. Whatever Bellona had to say would be a lie. She knew the truth which she heard directly from her. Her eyes searched through the crowd until she made eye contact with Tyrion.

Apology and remorse laced his eyes. The raw emotions running through him sent Raine on alert. Awareness prickled through her and she knew Bellona was going to do something evil.

"Raine did it," Bellona announced.

"After you kicked her out of the procession, she returned without permission to try to take revenge. She planned to hurt alpha Nikolai and create an enmity that would send us to war."

"That's a lie!" Raine shouted.

"I found this in her room." Bellona produced remnants of the same explosives that had been used during the moon dance as evidence.

"She knew she had been found out and that is why she tried to run."

"It's not true!" Raine cried. "It was Bellona who did it. She even enlisted Tyrion's help. You have to believe me."

"You will pay for your crimes." Tiki deadpanned.