Chapter 23

Mitchell's POV...

I went back to Malachi's house, feeling scared and confused, blaming myself for what had just happened. The tragic event replayed in my head, bringing sympathy to my face. Now I had become a suspect, a great criminal in everyone's eyes. I was so shocked and left with no idea of what to do next.

"Malachi, Malachi, Malachi," I shouted as I entered his chamber. I paused, waiting for his response, but none came, which only heightened my fear.

"Malachi, Malachi, Malachi… " I shouted again, walking into his office to look for him. Finally, I heard a voice coming from an angle close to me.

"I'm right here in my room, what happened?" he responded.

I walked straight into his room and began to explain.

"I remember everything, how I killed the maid. I released my hand and left her lifeless, ensuring that she was dead. I shouldn't have killed her, but she was making me feel uncomfortable, and I thought she would leak my secret. I'm really confused right now because I know that all the guards have been looking for me as an intruder in the alpha's chamber," I explained.

Malachi looked at me warily and responded, "Yes, you killed the maid because she knew too much. Why do you keep blaming yourself over it?"

I became even more confused and wondered what to do.

"What do you expect me to do now, now that everyone knows and I have become an intruder?" I asked uncertainly.

Malachi took a deep breath and then responded, "I suggest that you should leave everything to me. I'll know what to do."

I became despondent and didn't know what to do. "What do I do now?" I questioned.

"Could you return to your peak without being caught?" asked Malachi.

I became really worried and wondered if that could actually be possible.

"No, I don't think so. Everywhere has been secured, and everyone is alerted to find me," I responded.

"Okay, you can just stay here," Malachi responded.

Malachi planned to help out, but I didn't know how. He promised to try his best, but he didn't tell me how. We stopped talking for a moment, and I remained silent, staring at him.

"Wouldn't you mind resting for a while and having some refreshments?" Malachi suggested.

I felt a bit pleased about Malachi's suggestion and a bit relieved by his comfort, but my mood at that moment didn't make me feel well, maybe because of the stress I had gone through.

"I would have loved to, but I'm still not feeling well. I guess I'll do so after the whole matter is resolved," I responded disinterestedly.

Malachi looked at me ambiguously and promised to handle everything. He called his maid immediately and asked her to take me to the guest room and serve me a meal. The maid carried out the order immediately, leading me to the guest room and serving me a rice cake with wine. I took a few bites from the cake and ate slowly, without much appetite. I stopped eating a few minutes later and lay down on my bed, lost in thought. I kept lying down, thinking for some time until I became tired and rose from the bed. As soon as I rose, I stood up quietly and left the room where I was sleeping to walk around and clear my mind.

I stepped out of the guest room and met Malachi, asking him if it wouldn't be too risky to hunt nearby. Malachi responded with a yes, and I took a bow with an arrow to enjoy my hunting. I set out from Malachi's house immediately to a bush close to his chamber. I got to the bush and tried tracking the animals' footsteps to locate their whereabouts. After tracking for some time and finding no more clues of the animals, I stayed hidden and alert, waiting for their appearance. Some minutes later, I heard the sounds of steps coming towards me. I stayed alert, immediately aiming my arrow and waiting for the appearance. Suddenly, the footsteps turned out to be three soldiers passing by. I dropped the arrow immediately and remained hidden, silent and listening to their conversation.

I became tense immediately after hearing their discussion.

"What do you think the alpha will do to the intruder if she's caught?" a soldier asked, looking at the other soldier.

"What kind of question is that? Don't you know that it's wrong to intrude into the alpha's chamber without being invited by the alpha himself? What I think he will do is pass judgment on her, and that's if she's caught," the second soldier replied.

"What are you all talking about? Don't you want her to be caught? She intruded into the alpha's privacy. What if she successfully killed him? Will you be able to say this because we'll be the ones to get locked up? They will think that we don't know our job or that we joined hands together with her. All I know is that she will be caught, even if she's not caught now, we'll be later," the third soldier replied.

"Okay, we're all saying the same thing. Now let's quickly continue with our search so that we can relay the message to the alpha about our search," the second person said, and they continued their search.

I remained silent, hidden beside the tree, listening to everything they were saying. I became more scared and didn't know what to do. I remained hidden until everything got out of hand. Unexpectedly, I saw a wolf coming from a close distance. The wolf seemed so scared, and I couldn't stand it. I screamed out loudly from where I was hidden, diverting the soldiers' attention towards me.

"Help… … " I shouted and found myself surrounded by the soldiers.

The soldiers shot the wolf with an arrow, and it ran away, disappearing into the bushes. After the wolf disappeared, I bowed down, pretending to try to disguise my identity.

"Sorry, my lady, please take care of yourself," the soldier lamented.

"Thanks to you, I owe you my life," I responded skeptically, trying to show the soldier some gratitude and watching them go forward until one of them turned back, suspecting me.

"Who are you? Please raise your head," one of the soldiers ordered suspiciously.

My mood turned off immediately, and I moved closer to them, raising my head gently and holding the arrow tightly in my hand.

"Here, it's her!" shouted one of the soldiers.

The soldiers surrounded me immediately, aiming their swords at me. "Drop your weapon," the soldier ordered.

I looked at their faces and pretended to drop the arrow and bow gently. As I was about to put down the arrow, I moved closer to one of the soldiers and pointed the arrow at his head.

"Let me go!" I shouted, pointing the arrow at one of the soldier's heads.

The other soldiers looked at each other, confused and unsure of what to do.

"Don't you hear her? Drop your weapon," the soldier shouted agitatedly.

The other soldiers kept looking at each other's faces and moved closer to me, aiming their swords at me. One of the soldiers tried hitting me first, and I pushed the soldier I was holding towards him, watching him fall on his sword, split and bleeding in a pool of blood.

The soldier who killed the other soldier became so shocked and didn't know what to do. I quickly moved to the other soldier and hit him with my arrow. Watching him fall, I moved closer to the third soldier and hit him with his sword.

The three soldiers fell down dead, and I quickly ran back to the chamber to explain what had just happened to Malachi.

"It wasn't my fault, but I had to. I tried warning them several times to avoid this situation, but they seemed never to listen, so I was left with no choice but to protect myself," I explained stodgily.

Malachi took a deep breath and looked thoughtful, unsure of what to say for some time. "Just go to your room and stay hidden for a while," Malachi responded.

I nodded immediately and set out to walk out of Malachi's office and go back to the guest room. As I was about to open the door, I heard a maid knocking, and Malachi ordered her to come in.

"The alpha is here," the maid said.

I was so shocked and didn't know what to do. Malachi and I looked at each other, staring at each other's faces with concern.

"Good evening, my brother," the alpha said as he entered the room.