Ruthless Alpha, and his Curvy Saint-Chapter 36

Angel’s POV

"Someone," the Alpha continued, each word sharp as steel, "put that snake in there deliberately."

The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs.

"Who would do such a thing?" Uriel’s voice cut through the noise, deadly quiet in a way that made my skin prickle. His usual gentleness had vanished, replaced by something cold and furious.

No one answered.

The Alpha’s gaze swept across the gathered warriors. "Whoever did this has one chance to come forward now. One chance to confess and face punishment with some shred of dignity." He paused, letting the words sink in. "Because if I have to investigate myself, if I have to hunt down the culprit... that person will die by my bare hands."

Still, no one moved.

"Who was last seen near the tent?" the Alpha demanded.

A warrior stepped forward - one of the younger ones, his face pale. "It was Lyra, Alpha. She was setting it up. I saw her working on it alone for at least twenty minutes." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

All eyes turned to where Lyra stood with her father and sister.

Her face went white as fresh snow.

"No," she breathed. "No, I didn’t... I would never..."

"You were the only one there," the Alpha stated flatly. "That makes you the only suspect."

"But I learned my lesson! I swear, I wouldn’t harm the Luna! Not after what happened earlier!" Lyra’s voice rose to a near-shriek, panic making it shrill. "Why would I do something like this when I know it would come back to me?"

"Grab her," the Alpha commanded.

Two warriors moved immediately, seizing Lyra by the arms. She struggled, screaming, but they held firm.

"Someone get my sword."

The words fell like stones into water, creating ripples of shock through the crowd.

"No! NO!" Lyra thrashed wildly. "I didn’t do it! I swear on my life, I didn’t do it!"

A massive sword appeared, carried by Gareth. He handed it to the Alpha with a grim expression.

The blade caught the firelight, gleaming red and gold.

"Please!" Lyra was sobbing now, her legs giving out so the warriors had to hold her up. "Please, Alpha, I’m innocent! There’s no way I would risk my life like this! Think about it - if I wanted to hurt her, why would I use a method that points directly back to me?"

The Alpha raised the sword.

"Think!" Lyra screamed desperately. "If I were going to hurt the Luna, wouldn’t I be smart enough to hide my involvement? Why would I set up the tent, make sure everyone saw me do it, and then put a snake inside? It makes no sense!"

The sword began its descent.

"WAIT!"

My voice cracked like thunder.

The blade stopped inches from Lyra’s neck.

Every eye turned to me.

I pushed myself up on shaking arms, ignoring the protests from my injured leg. "Wait. I... I just remembered something."

The Alpha lowered the sword slightly. "What?"

"After I came back to camp. After the tent was set up, I left to... to relieve myself. Behind those trees over there." I pointed with a trembling hand. "I forgot to close the tent flap when I left. I was only gone a few minutes, but the tent was open. The snake could have crawled in then."

Silence.

The Alpha stared at me, his expression unreadable.

"You’re certain?" he asked.

"Yes." It was a heavy lie, but I forced it out anyway. "I’m certain. It was my mistake. Not Lyra’s."

I didn’t know if Lyra had actually put the snake there. Didn’t know if this was mercy for an innocent person or foolish clemency for someone who’d tried to kill me.

But I knew I couldn’t watch another person die.

The Alpha studied me for a long moment, and I had the distinct impression he knew I was lying. That he could see right through me.

Then he lowered the sword completely.

"Release her," he said quietly.

The warriors let go, and Lyra collapsed to the ground, sobbing with relief.

The Alpha turned back to me, his expression still unreadable. "You’re sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Even if you’re lying to protect her?"

My breath caught. "I’m not lying."

"Hmm." He handed the sword back to Gareth. "Very well. But from now on, someone will guard your tent at night. This doesn’t happen again."

He started to walk away, then paused.

"And Angel?" He didn’t turn around. "If you’re going to sacrifice yourself to save others, at least make sure they’re worth saving first."

Then he was gone.

I sat there, my leg throbbing, my heart racing, surrounded by warriors who looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

Lyra crawled toward me, still crying. "Thank you. Thank you, Luna. I didn’t do it, I swear..."

"I know," I said tiredly, though I didn’t know any such thing.

Uriel appeared at my side, his face tight with concern and something that looked like anger. "Can you walk?"

"I think so."

He helped me to my feet, his arm steady around my waist. My leg protested, but it held my weight.

"You shouldn’t have lied for her," he said quietly as he helped me back toward my tent.

"I didn’t lie. I really did leave the tent open."

"Angel..."

"I’m tired, Uriel. Please. I just want to sleep."

He didn’t argue, just helped me to my tent - now thoroughly cleaned and inspected by three different warriors to ensure no more unwanted visitors - and made sure I was settled before stepping back.

"I’ll be right outside," he said. "If you need anything..."

"I know. Thank you."

He hesitated, like he wanted to say something else, then nodded and left.

I lay there in the darkness, my leg aching, my mind spinning.

The monster had saved my life tonight.

The man who’d wronged me, who I’d tried to kill had knelt beside me and sucked venom from my wound.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Nothing at all.

And somewhere in the camp, someone had tried to kill me.

That was the truth, no matter what lie I’d told.

Someone wanted me dead.

And I had no idea who, or why, or if they’d try again.