Hazel's eyes shot open, and she saw it was morning. She sat up, clutching her aching forehead, and looked around, unfamiliar with the sight she saw.
The room was large, filled with luxurious furniture, and the bed felt way too comfortable. Definitely not the slave quarters for sure.
As Hazel wondered where she was, she looked downwards and noticed her clothes were ripped. This is when memories of what happened the previous night began flooding in.
Being called in to sleep with the alpha, Levi, all over her body, her taking out the hairpin. Hazel sucked in a deep breath, her heart coming to a stop.
"Don't tell me, did he do it while I was unconscious?" Hazel hurriedly checked her body for any signs. She was worried Levi might have had his way with her while she was out, but from how she felt, it didn't feel like he had done a thing.
This made Hazel confused as to why.
Not like she wasn't grateful to have kept her dignity. In fact, she was about to kill herself to keep it.
When she raised the hairpin, her target hadn't been Levi but herself. She had tried to kill herself by stabbing the hairpin into her neck, as she knew attacking Levi was impossible because of the seal.
But then she remembered Levi catching her hand before the pin pierced her throat and then it seemed like he hit her on the head, which caused her to pass out.
It was strange how he didn't touch her, despite all the threats he made. Hazel didn't think Levi was so considerate that her being unconscious was going to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.
Hazel then shook her head, not wanting to think about it. She had managed to escape the night; now she just had to escape forever.
Hazel got off the bed, taking the bedsheet with her as she was naked.
As she reached the door, she opened it silently and peeked to see whether or not Levi was in. Maybe he was biding his time, waiting for her to be awake before he resumed his torment.
To Hazel's relief, she saw no sign of him. She walked out, holding the sheet over her firmly, looking around with caution. But there was no trace of him.
Levi wasn't in the house; this was her chance to escape. She hurried towards the door but then felt something moist beneath her feet.
Hazel looked down and saw she was stepping on red liquid, and with a sniff, she recognized what it was.
Blood.
Chills ran through her body, and she froze in shock.
There was so much of it.
Trembling, she raised her head to see where it came from and caught someone lying on the ground.
The clothing the person wore told Hazel it was someone she knew, but she wanted to confirm.
With shaky breathing and heavy steps, she walked towards the body.
Catching sight of the pale deathly figure, she let out a gasp of shock and fell to the ground, her covering stained with the blood of the dead alpha, Levi.
He was dead.
Levi was dead. Her tormentor for three years had finally died.
Was this real, or was she still dreaming? She just couldn't believe what she saw.
How... How did he die?
His throat was gone, which meant he was obviously killed by someone. Someone killed the alpha in such a brutal fashion, the powerful alpha that conquered whatever packs he set his eyes on.
How?
Hazel was still shook by the scene when the door suddenly slammed open.
Hazel turned towards the entrance and saw Malcolm, Helen, some enforcers and a couple guards, with looks of panic on their faces. Their gaze then went to the body of the alpha, and the expression on their faces turned to that of horror.
Levi's presence had disappeared all of a sudden, and everyone in the pack felt it.
When something like this happened, it only meant one thing — the alpha was dead. Helen then fell to her knees and screamed in agony.
"Alpha Levi!"
The enforcers and the guards were also filled with disbelief and sadness.
Malcolm with a deadpan expression walked to Levi's body, ignoring Hazel.
Being a shifter, he had enhanced hearing and could pick up heartbeats meters away, but this time, he couldn't hear any coming from his Alpha.
He went on his knees and placed a finger on Levi's neck, checking his pulse to see if he was alive, but he felt nothing. Levi's body was cold to the touch.
This confirmed it.
His expression turned somber. "Alpha Levi is dead."
Helen screamed even more at the news, and some of the enforcers began to tear up, others expressing their frustration as this had happened so suddenly.
If the alpha was in danger, he would have alerted, but he didn't, and they had only sensed his death this morning.
From the looks of Levi's corpse, it was obvious Levi had died a while ago. So why the hell did they feel nothing from the pack link until it was too late?
Malcolm was one of the level-headed ones having this thought.
He turned towards Hazel, who sat on the ground, trembling. If anyone knew something, it would be her.
"What the hell happened here?!" Malcolm asked in a demanding tone, his gaze on Hazel.
Hazel shrieked away from the pressure seeping from Malcolm.
She had no idea what had happened; in fact, she was just as curious as them.
"Are you deaf!" Malcolm said and Hazel was forced to reply.
"I--I woke up and s-saw he was dead,"
"What!... What sort of nonsense was that?" Malcolm yelled, looking visibly enraged.
He moved towards her, with a demeanor that was everything but friendly, causing Hazel to instinctively crawl backward, away from him.
Reaching her, he grabbed her by the neck, raising her up her feet, causing the blanket she used to cover herself to slip off her body, leaving her naked.
Malcolm didn't care about her looks, as his cold demanding eyes were plastered to hers. "How the hell did this happen?"
"Did you do this?" Malcolm asked, tightening his fingers wrapped around her neck.
Hazel felt her throat constrict under his grip, and she found it hard to breathe.
There was no answer to his questions, as all Hazel knew was that she was about to get raped, but he knocked her out, and when she woke up, her assailant was dead in a pool of his own blood.
As for if she did it, well, that was a dumb question.
How would a weak omega like herself kill the alpha? It was impossible, especially not with the cursed seal on her neck.
Levi then let her go, and Hazel fell to the ground, breathing heavily as she touched her neck.
"Speak," Malcolm demanded, looking down at her with a displeased expression.
"I-I didn't do it, I-I was asleep, and when I woke up, he was already dead."
"You were asleep while all this mess was made, while your alpha was getting killed? Shame on you." Helen interrupted with teary eyes.
"No, I passed out, I fainted from the pain of the seal," she said, placing her hand on it, but she felt nothing.
Strange, it was gone, her cursed seal was gone.
How? Hazel thought,and then, the sound of a beast growling rang in her head, and her long-lost connection with her werewolf retuned.
After years of disconnect, her wolf was finally back.
Hazel wondered how this was possible, but she quickly realized it was because Levi was dead. Levi was the one who put the seal on her, but then the seal disappeared when Levi died, so it made sense.
Malcolm also noticed the cursed seal on Hazel's neck was gone, and this made him furrow his brow, seemingly confused. But then, all of a sudden, his eyes widened as if realizing something.
"Oh, I see... so that's how you did it,"
Did what? Hazel thought, and Malcolm said slowly.
"Your seal is gone, which means you could shift into a werewolf any time you wanted. That's how you were able to kill him, isn't it?"
Hazel froze for a second, processing what she just heard, and then her eyes widened in shock, her mouth agape at the accusation. Her seal being gone was something that just happened after Levi died and not before.
"It wasn't like this last night; the seal was definitely there 100%,"
Hazel said, but suspicion didn't leave Malcolm's eyes.
"The seal was put on me by Levi, so it made sense it disappeared when Levi died, didn't it?" Hazel said in a desperate tone, but Helen spoke up.
"Then if that's the case, why do I still have the seal on my shoulder?"
Helen stretched her collar, revealing a skull-shaped crimson seal still there.
Hazel was speechless; now she was confused.
How did Helen still have the seal after Levi was dead? It didn't make sense to her.
"The alpha cursed seal doesn't disappear until seven days after the alpha passes away, giving the new alpha a chance to rebrand his target with his own seal," Malcolm explained. "No," Hazel's eyes widened in disbelief, muttering, "This is not possible."
Malcolm then turned towards the guards behind him and made a gesture, prompting them to grip Hazel at both arms.
"No, I didn't do it, I'm innocent..."
"Shut up! You bitch!" Helen interupted.
" No wonder you were always giving me such a defiant look. You were never sealed, biding your time to get revenge on the alpha for what you did to your pack, isn't that right? "
"No, that's not true."
Hazel said, but no one was ready to listen. In their minds, she was already the killer.
How was this possible?
"Omega Hazel, for the murder of the alpha of the Nightshade pack, you are under arrest; you will undergo a trial where the council will decide your fate."
"No," Hazel said, not believing her ears.
Everything was happening so suddenly it felt like a dream.
The guards pulled her away, and Hazel kept repeating she was innocent, but no one was listening.
Her sight then fell on Levi's corpse, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth in hatred. Even in his death, he still found a way to torment her.