Chapter 03
Alex
The rain had subsided. I knew there was no way those two traitors could have gone far. I had instructed the wolves to spread out. We had to find the moonstone or else great calamity would befall the pack.
I got to a path where there was a strong smell of cow dung. This was quite confusing as there were no settlements close by and we never took our livestock out for grazing. Our lands were wide enough. I began to suspect the cow stench was deliberate. Wolves had a strong sense of smell and the only way to throw them off was to scramble the scent. This made me more determined to follow the stench. I quickly linked the pack members that were near to join me.
Samantha
The luna came to see me in my cell. I wasn't happy about her visit because she never liked me. The situation was scary. I dreaded what they would do to me. Stealing a pack's moonstone was an unforgivable crime.
I was brought before Luna Michelle in chains. They had beaten me so badly that my body ached and my left eye was swollen.
"Where is my moonstone!" she yelled. I began to cry because I did not know where it was. It was true that the three of us had gone into their room to fix it up but I had only cleaned the toilet and left. I did not take anything. I tried to explain to her but she wouldn't listen instead, she requested a whip and asked the guard to drag me to the field.
Most of the pack members were there waiting. I knew immediately what was about to happen. Luna Michelle intended to disgrace me and punish me in the open. The moonstone was gone, the Alpha and Luna had to show control by catching the people that stole it, retrieving the stone, and punishing the culprit. What she was about to do to me was an effort to keep the pack's confidence in her and her mate. Deep down I believed if they searched their room hard enough they would find their stone. I didn't want to believe My friends would have been stupid enough to steal the moonstone.
"Behold one of the thieves. A rogue whom we took pity on." she announced to all " My son is out there in the rain trying to apprehend the rest of the culprits. Thank the moon goddess we caught this one before she could get away." she said.
She had just lied to the pack. I didn't steal anything and I wasn't trying to run away. I was sleeping in my room when they came for me. I was disappointed at the way she lied. She was meant to be a leader and she ruled by lying to her people. My mother never lied no matter how embarrassing the situation was she never lied. This luna was wicked and cruel.
"Kill her!" some people began to scream.
"We will only show her mercy if she tells us where her accomplices are." the luna said.
"No mercy" I heard one growl. I knew that there was a possibility that I would die that night. Before I could plead for mercy the thrashing began.
Alex
We finally found the two rogues hiding in a tiny cave in the forest. They were covered in cow dung. The older one immediately shifted into a brown wolf for defense. I did not intend to kill any of them. Instead of killing it, I wounded it and we carried them back to the settlement.
What I discovered angered me. My mother had beaten the rogue I locked up to a pulp. The rogue was unconscious. I wondered where my father was. I knew my mother could be extreme but it was uncalled for especially when I had linked her and told her the rogue was innocent. Immediately I left to get my father but I let her see the look of disappointment on my face.
"I have gotten the rogues responsible," I told my father getting to his office.
"Thank the goddess," he said sighing, "and the stone?"
"They didn't have it. All they had on them was money." I explained.
"Are you sure son?" my father asked I could hear the worry in his voice.
"Yes, apparently, one of the rogues was rejected by her mate and she decided to flee. The plan was to steal some money and run away." I explained.
"What about the one you caught earlier? " he asked.
"That one wasn't involved. She was only punished because she was part of the cleaning party." I explained. I immediately saw the disappointment on my father's face. A few minutes later my mother walked in.
"Why would you lie to the pack like that?" he asked her "You knew the poor girl was innocent yet you chose to treat her like that. What will you tell the pack now? In fact, as the custodian of the moonstone, where did you keep it? " My father asked. My mother was too afraid to respond. He was angry and it was easy for him to show disgust towards my mother because she was not his fated mate. He had only mated and marked her out of desperation when he didn't find his fated mate, something he had lived to regret.
" Alex, send Samantha to the infirmary," he ordered.
Looking at him I knew my parents were going to fight that night.
Because of what my mother did, we had to let the pack continue to believe the rogues had stolen the moonstone while a selected few searched my parent's quarters thoroughly for the stone. The stone was found in one of my mother's jewelry boxes.
My mother had panicked when she found money missing and did not bother to search properly before raising an alarm. My heart was heavy for Samantha, she was the youngest and yet the most innocent of the rogues. She had not been tainted by reality yet. I knew I needed to protect her innocence. So I requested to have her moved to my quarters and clean my apartment. That way she would be away from the pack and protected from the hatred my mother had created towards her. She was only sixteen. The wolves in my quarters knew the truth and I instructed them to be kind to the rogue. As for the other two they were to remain in servitude for five years under harsh circumstances. If they hadn't stolen money my mother would not have panicked about the moonstone. They were left in the packhouse to face the consequences of their actions.