Chapter 3

The werewolf magic usually fades after death so he reverted to his human form and though he was completely nude, I couldn't be bothered by that.

The pain that I felt in my heart could not measure up to anything, I felt so guilty, the Alpha had died because of me. He had died trying to protect me from those nasty rogues. I cried until the tears stopped forming and all I could do was whimper. I looked at the Alpha once more and angrily punched the ground and in that instant, just like magic, I felt my heartbeat cease and an excruciating pain overtook me. 

I went into a haze as my body underwent painful transformations, my clothes tore right off of me as my body enlarged and became covered with fur. I could feel my body changing but all I felt was pain and after a while, it just stopped as quickly as it had started. 

Only then did I make sense of what had just happened to me, I had just shifted for the first time! Though I was two years late, what mattered was that I had become a real wolf at that moment and it just proved that I wasn't cursed, just more of a late bloomer. 

My joy was short-lived when my eyes caught sight of the Alpha's corpse and once more, I was plunged into a sober reflection. I barely had the time to honor the Alpha's death when my ears picked up on a heavy sound coming from afar. It sounded like lots of footsteps, and I was able to conclude that people were coming in my direction. I thought the rogues had come back to kill me this time so I straightened up.

I ran about two meters in front of Alpha's corpse and growled, ready for battle but in the short run, that turned out to be an almost fatal mistake on my part. 

The people finally showed up and though it was already nightfall, I was able to identify that they were from my pack. My mother was among them.

Relief quickly washed over me and I rushed in her direction because I needed a hug but I was quickly rebuffed by the scouts. 

"Stay back! Stay back now! You thought you could escape after killing the Alpha, you rogue!" One of them screamed at me. 

I was shocked to the marrow at his words. I shook my head vigorously when I recovered from my shock and tried to tell him that it was all a misunderstanding but then I remembered I was mute. 

"I said stay back or you'll die on the spot. It must be one of the rogues from the rival pack, she's killed the Alpha." The same man said and I don't know why but I was partially glad that they had recognized me to be female despite the severity of the situation. 

"She? I can't believe this, our brave Alpha couldn't have been killed by just one wolf no matter how strong she is." Another guy said to the first guy.

They had never seen me transform so I guessed that was the reason why they couldn't recognize me. 

"I think she wasn't the only one who attacked, there must have been others who ran away when they heard us approaching." A third guy added. 

"If that were the case then why didn't she leave with them?" The first argued and while they were squabbling about my killing the Alpha when I was innocent, my mother moved towards me to take a closer look and she gasped loudly, immediately recognizing me. 

"That's……….. That's……….. That's Evelyn." She stuttered, tears gathering in her eyes. "

Is that Evelyn, the mute girl?" The third guy questioned and though I didn't appreciate the description, I nodded and transformed back instantly, my naked body open to the cold air. 

My mother instantly removed the blanket she had formerly put around herself for protection from the cold and wrapped it around me, covering me up.

"I can't believe the high treason this girl has committed, she murdered the Alpha!" One of them accused me harshly.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to tell them that I was innocent but it was of no use, I had no voice to narrate what had happened. 

I looked at my hands and only then did I notice they were covered in blood, most of my body was because I had formerly held the Alpha while he was still alive and bleeding. 

"I know my daughter, she can be careless at times but she couldn't have done this. She's not ruthless, she can't even hurt a fly. She was close to the Alpha when he was alive, she was just like a daughter to him so why would she kill him?" My mother defended tearfully. She helped me to stand up because everything that had happened in the last hour or so, had managed to render me completely weak. 

"It all makes sense now, this was her first transformation and everyone knows just how excruciating it is, not everyone can bear that pain so she must have gone wild and attacked the Alpha and because the Alpha sees her as a daughter, he couldn't bring himself to fight back so she had the advantage and she killed the Alpha." The second scout concocted and all I could do was cry and shake my head in the negative.

How could they have cooked up such a story about me? Why would I even want to kill the Alpha? Why was all the evidence pointing against me and why did I find myself in such a terrible situation? These were all the questions that ran through my mind as my torrents of tears blurred my vision. 

I looked to my mother for succor, expecting her to put them right, to tell them this was all just a misunderstanding and I could never have done something so heinous as killing someone, especially the Alpha but instead of holding and comforting me, she pushed me away. 

"Stay away from me, you evil child." She cursed and I stepped away, my grief overtaking me. 

"Seize her, she shouldn't be allowed to escape. She'll have to face the punishment for her crime against the pack." The third scout declared and the other two grabbed hold of me while he left in the direction of the packhouse, probably to send more people. 

A few minutes later, more people came and took away the corpse of the Alpha while I was dragged to the packhouse like a criminal. 

I was locked up, awaiting trial in the small pack prison, meant for pack members that committed crimes such as stealing, rebellion, rape, and the lot but I was isolated because according to them, my crime was the worst so I was labeled wild and dangerous. 

None of my family members came to see me that night and I then knew that I was truly alone, left alone to wallow in my sorrow and misfortune. I knew that a crime such as murder would get the death penalty but I wasn't worried because I was innocent. 

I was happy in fact, that everything would finally come to an end and I wouldn't have to suffer anymore. The moon goddess would finally have her revenge on me for whatever crime I had committed and would grant me a better life after death. 

The next day came rather slowly but I couldn't get any sleep that night. I was taken from the prison and stood before the Elders of the council and the other pack members so I would be tried for a murder that I had been trying to scream at them that I didn't commit. 

The Gamma read out my crime and witnesses were called out, the three scouts and even my mother testified against me. I had already gotten used to being hurt by my mother's betrayal so I had become numb to the pain.

I had no one to defend me and what made it hopeless was that I couldn't even defend myself, just stared at them calmly as I waited for them to finally put an end to my miserable existence.

A new Beta had been chosen the previous day. Since my father has now been labeled the father of a murderer, he was stripped of his title as Beta and is now just a regular member of the Pack.

The new Beta who is temporarily in charge of the pack because the Alpha was dead and his son was yet to be crowned, was to give the final verdict. 

I wasn't surprised when he declared death as my punishment but what left me flabbergasted was when one of the Elders of the council stood up to defend me.

He pleaded for my sake and asked the Beta to reconsider his decision as I was still so young so it would be wrong for my life to be taken away from me for a crime that no one saw me commit.

Another elder wolf supported my defender and told the Beta and everyone else present that though all the evidence and witnesses were against me, it would be unfair to give me such a harsh sentence when there was no eyewitness to my killing of the Alpha.

 And because I was still so young at the time, only 16 years of age, both pleaded that justice be tempered with mercy and my punishment be reduced to a considerable level. 

The Beta considered it and excused himself to have a private audience with the late Alpha's son, Prince Zephyr. He returned shortly and gave me a punishment I never would have dreamed of.

 "Evelyn Emerson is hereby sentenced to a life of servitude as punishment for killing the alpha. From this moment onwards, she is demoted to the position of pack slave and will be treated as such." The Beta declared and the other pack members cheered while I just stood there in shock.

Thinking about it now, death would have been a much better fate than the life I was subjected to.