Chapter 49 Betrayal

Chapter 49 Betrayal
Jesse 

The next morning, I headed out earlier than planned, the sky still carrying that dull, half-awake light that comes before full sunrise, when everything feels quiet but not peaceful.

I moved with purpose, not rushing, but not wasting time either.

Beside me was the witness, Weiyong, walking slightly behind as instructed, and my beta followed close as well, both of them silent because they already understood the weight of what this moment meant.

There was no unnecessary conversation between us.

There was nothing to say.

Everything we needed was already leading us forward.

The location wasn’t far, but the closer we got, the more I could feel that uneasy pressure building in my chest, not fear, but anticipation mixed with irritation, because I did not like unknown variables.

And right now, everything felt like it was still unfinished.

When we finally arrived, I stopped immediately.

My eyes scanned the area slowly at first, taking in the environment, checking for movement, signs of struggle, anything that could give context before my mind fully processed what I was seeing.

But then I saw them.

Two men.

Lying on the ground.

Completely still.

For a moment, I didn’t move.

I just stared.

The silence in the air felt heavier now, different from before, like the place itself was holding something it didn’t want to explain.

My gaze shifted slightly and that was when I noticed it properly.

Drinks scattered across the ground.

Cash spread unevenly, some of it still partially inside bags, some of it thrown like it had been dropped in a rush or abandoned without care.

The scene didn’t match the expectation.

Not at all.

This wasn’t a meeting that ended normally.

This was something else entirely.

My beta stepped forward immediately when I gave a small motion with my hand.

“Check them,” I ordered calmly.

He crouched down beside them, careful and precise, doing a quick assessment before touching anything unnecessary.

The witness stayed slightly behind me, silent, watching everything unfold with visible confusion.

A few seconds passed.

Then my beta stood up slowly.

His expression changed.

“Alpha,” he said carefully, “they’re dead.”

For a second, I didn’t respond.

The words just stayed in the air, refusing to settle properly.

Dead.

Not unconscious.

Not injured.

Dead.

My gaze flicked back to the bodies again, slower this time, more deliberate, trying to reconcile what I was seeing with what I had expected to find.

That was not supposed to be the outcome.

That was not part of the plan.

“What?” I said finally, my voice lower now. “Dead? How.”

I turned my attention immediately to the witness.

My eyes narrowed slightly as I stepped closer.

“Did you tell anyone else about this information?” I asked.

The man shook his head quickly.

“No, Alpha,” he said immediately. “Only your beta. No one else.”

Silence followed again, but this time it wasn’t from confusion.

It was from understanding.

From something inside me beginning to connect what didn’t make sense on the surface.

My eyes shifted slowly toward my beta.

Damon.

And the moment I looked at him properly, I saw it.

It wasn’t obvious fear.

It was guilt written all over his face.

I didn’t speak for a few seconds.

The wind moved slightly through the area, brushing past the scattered cash, making some of it shift against the ground, but nothing about the environment felt natural anymore.

Everything felt interrupted.

Like someone had stepped into the timeline and rewritten the outcome.

I finally exhaled slowly.

Then I turned to the witness.

“Leave,” I said flatly.

He hesitated only briefly before obeying, stepping back and walking away quickly, clearly relieved to no longer be part of whatever this was becoming.

Once he was gone, the silence became sharper.

Now it was just me and my beta.

I turned fully toward Damon.

My expression didn’t change immediately.

There was no shouting yet.

No reaction yet.

Just stillness.

“Damon,” I said quietly, “let’s train.”

He blinked once.

Confused.

“What?” he asked.

That was all the opening I needed.

I moved instantly.

My fist connected with him before he could properly adjust, the impact hard enough to send him straight to the ground.

He hit the floor hard, stunned more by the suddenness than the force alone.

I didn’t stop there.

I stepped forward immediately, my control thinning now, my patience completely gone.

“Alpha I—” he started quickly, trying to push himself up.

I struck him again.

Harder.

This time he stayed down longer.

The sound of it echoed slightly in the empty space, but I didn’t care.

“You told Lisa, didn’t you?” I said, my voice low but dangerous.

He coughed slightly, trying to steady himself, panic creeping into his tone now.

“I didn’t mean to betray you,” he said quickly. “I didn’t… I didn’t…”

I hit him again.

Not because I needed an answer.

But because I already had it.

“You are my beta,” I said sharply, stepping closer again, “and you are supposed to follow my commands without question, but clearly you are not trustworthy.”

His breathing was uneven now, his face already showing signs of damage, but I wasn’t done.

Not yet.

“You told Lisa,” I repeated again, slower this time, like I needed him to hear it properly.

“I didn’t…” he tried again, but his voice was weaker now.

I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him slightly upward just enough for him to meet my gaze properly.

“Don’t lie to me,” I said quietly.

He shook his head slightly, struggling.

“I didn’t mean for it to go like this,” he said desperately. “I just… she was scared… I thought—”

That was enough.

I released him abruptly and struck him again, sending him back down.

He stayed there for a moment longer this time, not immediately trying to get up.

Breathing heavily.

Bruised.

Struggling to keep himself steady.

I stepped back slightly, finally letting the silence settle again, but it wasn’t calm.

It was controlled anger.

Contained, but very much alive.

I stared at him for a long moment.

Then I spoke again.

“I am done with you,” I said coldly.

He looked up immediately at those words, panic flashing clearly now.

“Alpha, please—”

“Forget about being my beta,” I cut him off.

The words were final.

“I don’t need an untrustworthy person by my side.”

Silence followed again, heavier this time.

I exhaled slowly, then continued, my tone still firm but now shifting back into clarity, into certainty.

“But at least,” I said, “I’ve confirmed something.”

I paused slightly.

“Lisa definitely had a hand in this.”

My gaze hardened slightly.

“That is enough.”

I turned slightly as if to leave, already done with the conversation, already done with him.

“Get out now,” I added.

Damon tried to speak again, his voice weak, broken at the edges, like he still wanted to explain, still wanted to fix something that had already collapsed completely.

But I didn’t turn back.

Not even when his voice rose slightly behind me.

Not even when the anger in me threatened to push further.

Because in my mind, everything had already been decided.

And betrayal, once confirmed, was not something I tolerated twice.