Chapter 378: Bite 2
ALDRIC
"My brother here is a master manipulator and a scary werewolf," he said. His voice was steady and clear. "This mostly started for
when our brother died and the Alpha seat of Skollrend was up for grabs."
I kept my face neutral.
Gabriel continued.
"My brother placed himself as soone who was not interested in the Alpha seat. He convinced
that our nephew here was not ready to hold that kind of power. I was convinced. And I did try to run against Cian."
He paused.
"But I saw that I was wrong. My nephew had fire in him. He had matured. He wanted the seat to honor his father, my late brother, and he had plans for the pack. It occurred to
that I only wanted this because I had this archaic idea that I knew better. Because I was older."
Gabriel’s voice softened slightly.
"I thought even my brother over there, Aldric, had his priorities right. He was not pathetically hungry for this like I was. So I withdrew."
He looked at .
"But then I realized quickly how wrong I was. My brother was hungry. Far hungrier for power than I ever could be."
The room was completely silent now.
"He lashed out," Gabriel said. "He said things. Strange things. Like how he had put the idea in my head to oppose Cian when he contested for the seat."
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
"His goal was that the enmity between us would grow so much that it started to chasm. And if we did not decide to kill each other, the elders would just determine we were not good fits for the pack. And the seat would go to him."
I felt my hands curl into fists behind my back.
Gabriel stepped closer.
"You see, my brother has a problem. Aside from being power hungry, he likes being loved. It is what prevented the world from seeing the extent of his monstrosity for a long while now. He is capable of bribery, blackmail, and even murder."
He paused.
"So when I did not follow the script, he locked
up."
Gabriel turned to face the crowd.
"A lot of you, before this mont and even now, believed
to be a traitor. And I am certain that even now, many still do. But that is the story my dear brother sold you while he imprisoned . He made
the villain."
The hall erupted again.
People were shouting questions. Demanding proof. So were already convinced. Others looked skeptical.
Elder Callum raised his hand.
"Those are vile things to have happen to you if they are true," he said carefully. "But how can any of this be proven? How did you even get free?"
Wilhelm stepped forward from the gallery.
I had not noticed him before but he was there now. Standing beside Valentine.
"We are practicioners and we have our ans," Wilhelm said. His voice was calm. Matter of fact. "My sister suspected sothing from what Aldric said in his own pride, drunk in his own power. We had to find out."
I turned my attention to him.
"My estate is brimming with security and servants," I said. My voice was steady. Reasonable. "I doubt they just let you in."
I looked at Wilhelm directly.
"None of this can be true. But what happened? Did your kind use your cruel spells on them?"
I let the words hang in the air for a mont.
"Witches toying with the bodies and autonomy of wolves. A tale as old as ti."
I could feel the shift imdiately.
The room had been turning against . But now I had given them sothing else to think about. Sothing older. Deeper. A wound that had never fully healed.
People started whispering.
"They used magic on innocent wolves just doing their job?"
"Those accords and laws are useless. These monsters can never really change."
"Witches cannot just force their way into werewolf stronghold like that."
Elder Callum leaned forward.
"The Alpha has a point," he said carefully.
Wilhelm’s jaw tightened.
"We did use force when they resisted," he admitted. "But that was only because we knew they were blindly allied to Aldric and posed a risk to the prisoner."
I turned away from him and looked at Cian.
Then I addressed the court directly.
"I have my secrets," I said. My voice was calm. asured. "Like my secret son, which is my sha. But none of the rest are
at all."
I looked at Cian.
"You have to see that this is a ga that Skollrend’s enemy number one, Gabriel, is playing. I am not the enemy. He is working with these witches to destabilize us."
The words were not for Cian.
Cian knew better now. I could see it in his eyes. He had already made up his mind about
a long ti ago. All he needed right now was to hear the word behead.
But the others had not.
The ones who were still wavering. The ones who wanted to believe that an Alpha like myself could not have done these things. The ones who needed a villain they could understand.
I was still giving them Gabriel.
And it was working.
The whispers grew louder.
Gabriel’s face twisted with fury.
"I believe kin slaying is worse," he said. His voice rose. "So let us keep the conversation on you. After all, you killed Cian’s father."
The words landed in the hall like a bomb.
Everything stopped.
The whispers. The movent. The breathing.
Everything.
I felt my blood go cold.
Gabriel stared at
from across the hall. His face was hard and just as unforgiving.
"You killed our own brother," he said. "And you made it look like an accident."
The silence stretched.
I could feel every eye in the room on .
Cian had gone completely still in his seat.
Ronan was staring at
with wide eyes.
Even the elders looked shocked.
I opened my mouth.
But no words ca out.
Because Gabriel had just done the one thing I could not defend against.
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