"What's happening here?" Arshe asked in a clear disapproving tone that sent a shiver through everyone there.
Even Tahra who was still curled up on the ground was affected by the aura he sent out. But above all, she felt more relieved at the thought of being rescued, even if it was by the Alpha Arshe himself.
"I won't ask again!" He spoke again in a deeper tone and a biting glint in his eyes that showed that he was ready to cause havoc if he got a response he disapproved of.
Harry and John who got the full brunt of the annoyed look Arshe sent out immediately began to speak.
"W-we were just teaching her a lesson!" Harry stuttered to say.
"We-we thought it was fine since it wa--" John began to explain looking in Marina's direction about to rope her in.
Terrified by the surprising and unexpected behavior Arshe displayed.
Marina, on the other hand, had no intention to sit and let it happen.
The moment she saw Arshe, she had been surprised but not the least worried even after he had growled at them.
But that was until his reaction peaked in a way that showed that he had no intentions of supporting her, having caught the way he glanced at her and shifted his gaze away.
"Al-alpha Arshe!" Marina hurriedly called out running to his side with a bow.
"I was surprised to come across the scene in front of me and didn't dare to move closer!" Marina softly confessed, turning her back to Harry and John which was why she didn't catch the exact moment their faces turned fearfully pale.
"You saw them beating her?" He asked in a low tone, openly glaring at Marina, who knew enough to flinch and act as miserable as she could, considering how Arshe was making it obvious that he wasn't on her side.
"Yes, Alpha! I only caught him kicking her!"
Harry was confused, flabbergasted, and extremely concerned.
Marina was throwing him under the bus but if he did the same to her, there was no way Alpha Arshe would take his side. The worst part- Marina would also get revenge on him for snitching.
He was furious as he gritted his teeth together, balling his fists tightly by his sides as he realized that he would have to take the punishment he would receive with his mouth firmly closed.
Harry came to terms with it, but John didn't. At that moment his fear was working overtime way more than the logical part of his brain.
"Do you know the punishment for beating a fellow pack member?" Arshe firmly asked and John felt his knees almost give way.
The punishment was to be publicly beaten and stripped for all to see.
He had a mate and a lover and the embarrassment he would receive would be a stain on him for the rest of his life.
Before he thought harder about what he could do, John immediately fell on his knees, begging, confident that if he implicated Marina there was no way the Alpha would allow his Mate to be stripped in public and beaten.
"She-she was the one who hired us! I swear, we were just doing a job! She's lying, she wasn't just passing by. What business could Marina have at the border?" John pleaded at the top of his voice on the verge of tears.
It wasn't spoken about but everyone was very much aware of just how deadly Alpha Arshe could be.
Stories of people who had angered him and had simply disappeared, but at that moment John didn't care.
Being announced as a criminal in front of his entire family and his mate who would immediately reject him was worse.
Raising his hand to point directly at Marina with a pissed-off look on his face.
"This was all planned and she's in on it!"
Marina didn't hesitate and immediately moved to stand in front of Arshe falling on her knees, from a height that would hurt.
"I'm at the border for the hidden assignment you gave me. I would never do anything else!" Marina softly informed him, not daring to meet Arshe's eyes, especially since she had no idea why he was acting the way he did.
Feeling his silent gaze on her skin only made her feel even more self-conscious than usual as she squirmed a little on the ground she knelt on without doing anything else.
At this point, Tahra had half-raised her body off the ground, enduring the pain that came to it as she tried to figure out what was lying.
Marina was lying through her teeth but she could see that Arshe seemed to believe her when she mentioned something about a hidden assignment.
Not surprised to hear Arshe's next words, having already expected it.
"I did indeed send her to the border for a reason, which means that-" he said, pausing for dramatic effect before he turned to look directly at John.
"...You're not only lying but you're trying to deflect blame on another pack member!" increasing his pitch even as his black eyes seemed to get even darker than before.
The accusation only served to make John panic even more even as Harry buried the urge to shake his head, wishing there was a way he could telepathically tell John to shut his mouth if he still valued his life.
Sighing deep within his soul he heard John continue to insist on the truth.
"I swear! She's lying!" John pleaded. " I would never--" but he was still speaking when he was cut off the second Arshe opened his mouth to speak, unable to continue speaking at the same time the Alpha did.
But this time around the person Arshe turned to speak to was Tahra, who was still seated on the ground, half convinced that her right hand was broken.
"How would you like to deal with them? They're your attackers! You should decide!"
The last thing Tahra wanted was to meet his eyes she immediately lowered her eyes and nodded her head.
"Any way you deem fit is fine by me!" Tahra responded, wanting nothing more than to get her whole body fixed and lie down in bed doing nothing.
"Then my judgment is this!" Tahra heard Arshe say only to hear a sharp shrill of the wind, surprised by the suddenness of it.
Alarmed by the metallic smell that followed she raised her head to see John standing on a spot without his head attached.