[JEREMY]
The Sicario pack was once again filled with whispers on that early morning. Since their alpha had come and made a mess at the gates they were bound to talk. They had known that she was out there alone for eighteen days.
She was a fighter and strong, really strong but, that was one thing that they had to admit even though it wasn't exactly pleasing to them considering how they had sent her away. She had shocked the whole of Sicario though.
What Awuor had done was unexpected, of course after the kind of banishment she had been given. There were rumors about what she was doing out there, and everyone who had seen her yesterday wanted to be of help to her, but she hadn't let them.
She didn't want them to be branded as traitors to the crown.
In the eight months that Awuor had been away from home, some of her people were slowly getting convinced that the alpha had taken the fall for someone else.
They had analyzed all the possible reasons that could have ended in Awuor murdering her own mother but no matter how any scenarios they tried to create, none of them added up. Absolutely y none of them.
While the people outside the packhouse were thinking of whether their alpha had been betrayed, their rulers were trying to make sure that nothing of the sort happened.
Awuor was a force to reckon with and they all knew it. But they need to deal with her soon enough because otherwise, Awuor Hawi would come after them and none of them would be spared. In the alpha's office were Elodie, and Dominic, Awuor's brother.
He had heard of his sister showing up, but he hadn't cared one bit to go and look at her or see whether she was okay. He was so invested in the narrative of his sister being murdered that consequences be damned, he would always believe that, and even make Awuor the anti-hero.
She was everything Sicario had once loved and now that she was out of their way, the power-hungry leaders of Sicario were determined to take their share of the power. And Dominic was at the center of it all.
He knew it and Jer ken w it too. maybe Elodie and Alpha Sicario knew it too, but did they?
"Heard my sister came. What did she want?" Dom asked Elodie who had been in the alpha's study, helping with the projects. She wasn't doing much other than being there for Her who apparently seemed to need her even more.
She knew she was useless in this office, but then the pay was good, and she wasn't about to pass that up just because she refused to roll with the elites. Besides, she knew Her would want a strong woman to help him run the pack.
Jer's proclamation earlier had made her feel like a powerful person, even though that was at the expense of her own best friend. Then again, life was cruel to those who just sat and waited, and Elodie Kane wasn't going to be sitting around.
"She wanted to see the alpha. She really got some nerve coming home after what she did to the luna," Elodie said, her tone going from disbelief at Awuor's audacity, to anger because the woman wasn't seen showing any remorse.
Eight months had passed and the least thing Awuor could come home to say was to apologize for taking the life of their luna. Instead, the woman had come empty-handed and made them seem like they were too cruel to their people.
Sicario hadn't grown to be so strong because they were lenient to wrongdoers, but then Sicario was a powerhouse because of the alpha that had been leading them. The alpha that had sat with grace on the throne and wasn't scared of getting her hands dirty to make things right.
Funny how they had ousted that alpha at the first suspicion when even she was worried and checked about how she had ended up killing the woman who meant everything to her. Then again, facts over rumors and all evidence pointed to Awuor, but did they?
"She did put up an excellent show though. Eighteen days? She's insane worse than I imagined her to be," Jer said, as she walked in. He had come from training with the warriors and it seemed like they were making good progress.
He, however, had been worried about his mate since the first day he had heard that Awuor had been accused of murder. He had really loved her and for some reason, if Jer could have vouched for his mate on that fateful day, then the whole of Sicario could have believed him.
But then he didn't. Despite his wolf clawing at him and telling him to tell the truth about what had happened that day. He had been quiet and watched them do her dirty, and even if he wanted to fix shit, right now wasn't the time.
Seeing Awuor so hurt and fatigued yesterday made Jer want to apologize to her and take care of her, but he couldn't. Because he knew if she cleared her name, she would be the alpha again, and er, he would be without the amount of power he had been thirsting for.
He was a power-hungry bastard and even though Awuor had her suspicions of it, she had long conformed it when she walked the clog of penance and there wasn't even remorse on her mate's face. Oh, that bastard.
"Oh, tell me about it. Starving herself at the gates, making us look like we refused to shelter her when she was the banished murderer," Elodie said, her tone not going down. She was angry with her friend for murdering the Luna Eniola and in her mind, Elodie wanted justice for Luna Eniola, just like everyone else.
Dom looked at the woman who is proudly showing her ex-best friend and just sighed. He couldn't understand why Elodie would do this, but as long as Elodie wasn't trying to defend his sister and her actions, then everything would be okay.
He didn't want anyone looking at him with eyes that hoped for the banished alpha's return to their home. She needed to stay away, for the sake of their sanity, but knowing Awuor, she wouldn't ever stay away. Dom was painfully aware of it.
His sister never took accusations simply, and she would never rest until she either confirmed that's why was the one who murdered her mother, or if she had been framed. And that too, would be another year of chaos at the Sicario pack.
She was dangerous, and she was coming for them.
"She looked terrible though and I felt bad for her—" Jer said, making all eyes in the room turn to him. They couldn't believe that each of the people could defend the woman who had just killed a luna.
The consequences of murdering a royal were intense and Awuor had been served the worst of them all. However her mate talking like he could have saved her but wasn't going to, was just ridiculous and an absolute shame.
"What? It's not like the mate bond will just disappear like that?" Jer added, defending himself under the pretense of the mate bond. He knew what he was doing, but what he heard next hadn't been in his bucket list for power.
"Then reject her."