Not Guilty

Not Guilty
Celeste's room had been sealed by Connor's warriors. Two guards stood outside. They looked at us when we approached.
"Alpha's orders," Connor said from behind us. He'd followed. "Let them in. Marcus and Darian only. This needs to be documented properly."
The guards stepped aside. Marcus and Darian entered. I stayed outside with Connor and Elizabeth. Waited. Watched pack members walking past. Staring. Judging.
My wolf paced inside me. Anxious. Angry. Wanting to do something. Anything. But there was nothing to do except wait.
"This is bad," Elizabeth said quietly. "Even if they find evidence, the damage is done. Pack members saw her injuries. Heard her accusations. Some of them already believe you did it."
"I know."
"The Council will hear about it immediately. Celeste will make sure of that."
"I know that too."
Connor was silent. Just watching the door. Waiting like the rest of us.
Inside, I could hear movement. Voices. Marcus and Darian searching. Looking for something. Anything.
Ten minutes passed. Felt like hours.
Finally the door opened. Marcus emerged first. His expression was grim. "We need to talk. Privately."
We moved to Connor's office. Away from curious eyes and listening ears. Once inside, Marcus closed the door.
"The room is staged," he said. "But it's good. Really good. Better than I expected."
"Explain," Connor said.
"The window was forced open from outside. There are scratches on the frame. Consistent with someone breaking in. The room is disturbed. Furniture knocked over. Things broken. It looks legitimate."
"But?" Darian prompted.
"But there are inconsistencies. Small ones. The kind most people wouldn't notice."
Marcus pulled out a small notebook. Flipped it open. "First, the blood. There's blood on the floor near the window. Presumably from the attacker cutting themselves on broken glass. But the blood pattern is wrong. It's too contained. Too neat. Like it was placed there deliberately rather than dripped naturally."
"Could be explained away," Connor said.
"Maybe. But there's more. The furniture that's knocked over? It fell in the wrong direction. If someone was fighting near the window, things would fall toward the walls. Away from the center of the room. But everything fell inward. Toward the window. Like someone pushed them that way deliberately."
"What else?" I asked.
"The bruises on her face. They're real. But they're fresh. Very fresh. I'd say less than an hour old. Which means they happened this morning. Right before she came outside to report the attack."
"She did them to herself," Elizabeth said.
"Or had someone do them for her. Either way, they weren't from last night. The attack she described couldn't have caused those injuries."
Darian leaned against Connor's desk. "Will the Council believe that? Or will they think we're grasping at straws?"
"Depends on how we present it. If we have a medical expert examine her, verify the timing of the injuries, it could work. But we'd need her cooperation. Need her to submit to examination."
"She won't," I said. "She'll refuse. Say it's invasive. Say we're trying to humiliate her."
"Probably. But the refusal itself is damning. Why refuse if you have nothing to hide?"
Connor stood. Walked to the window. Stared out at the settlement. "The Council arrives in three hours. We need a strategy. Need to present this in a way that makes sense. That doesn't look like desperate accusations."
"We present the physical evidence first," Marcus said. "Show them the inconsistencies in her room. The blood pattern. The furniture. The timing. Build the case that something doesn't add up. Then we request the medical examination. When she refuses, it supports our theory."
"And if she doesn't refuse?" Elizabeth asked.
"Then we have an expert examine her. And the expert will confirm what I'm saying. That the injuries are too fresh. That they couldn't have happened when she claimed."
It sounded logical. Reasonable. Like it might actually work.
But I'd learned not to underestimate Celeste. She'd been planning this for weeks. Had every move calculated. Every counter-argument prepared.
"There's something else," Darian said. He'd been quiet. Thinking. "We need to figure out who actually attacked her. Or who she paid to make it look like an attack."
"That could take days," Connor said. "We don't have days."
"Then we make an educated guess. Who has reason to help Celeste? Who benefits from making Lyra look violent?"
"Her family," Marcus said. "But they're not here. They're at the Citadel."
"Are they?" Darian looked at him. "Are we sure? The Council arrives today. Celeste filed the petition weeks ago. What if her family sent someone ahead? Someone to help her. Someone to stage this."
Marcus's eyes widened. "You think there's another vampire here. In the settlement."
"I think it's possible. I think Celeste has been too confident. Too prepared. Like she has backup we don't know about."
"If there's another vampire here, the pack would know," Connor said. "We'd sense them. Track them."
"Unless they're hiding. Unless Celeste is sheltering them. Keeping them out of sight until needed."
The room went silent. Everyone processing. Everyone realizing what this meant.
If there was another vampire. If Celeste had help. If this was bigger than just her. Then we were facing more than we'd thought. More than we'd prepared for.
"We need to search," Elizabeth said. "Her quarters. The guest houses. Anywhere she could be hiding someone."
"We can't," Connor said. "Not without cause. Not without proof. If we search and find nothing, it makes us look paranoid. Desperate. Exactly what she wants."
"Then we watch," Darian said. "We post guards. We track her movements. We wait for her to slip. To lead us to whoever's helping her."
"We have three hours."
"Then we work fast."
Connor made the decision. "Do it. Marcus, organize the surveillance. Darian, you're with him. Elizabeth, prepare the medical expert. Make sure they're ready to examine Celeste the moment the Council requests it. I'll handle the Council when they arrive. Stall them if necessary. Give you time to find evidence."
Everyone moved. Purpose. Direction. A plan. Not a great plan. Not a guaranteed plan. But something.
I stayed where I was. "What do I do?"
Connor looked at me. "You stay visible. Stay calm. Show the pack you're not guilty. Show them you're not hiding. Not running. That you have nothing to fear from the investigation."
"They already think I'm guilty."
"Some of them do. But not all. And the ones who know you. Who've trained with you. Who've fought beside you. They're watching. Waiting to see how you respond. Show them strength. Show them control. Show them the Lyra they know. Not the unstable person Celeste is trying to paint."
It sounded impossible. Like asking me to perform when I was barely holding myself together.
But Connor was right. Running would look like guilt. Hiding would confirm their suspicions. I needed to be visible. Needed to face them.
"Okay," I said. "I'll try."
"Don't try. Do. This is your pack. Your home. Your family. Act like it."
He left. Elizabeth followed. Marcus and Darian were already moving. Planning. Organizing.
I stood alone in Connor's office. Took a deep breath. Steadied myself.
Three hours. The Council would arrive in three hours. And we needed to find proof. Needed to expose Celeste's lies. Needed to save everything.
Three hours. To find a hidden vampire. To prove staging. To build a case. To survive.
I walked out of the office. Into the settlement. Into view. Head high. Expression calm. Like Connor ordered.
Pack members stared. Some looked away. Others held my gaze. Challenging. Questioning.
I met their eyes. Didn't flinch. Didn't apologize. Didn't act guilty.
Because I wasn't guilty. And I'd be damned if I let Celeste's lies make me act like I was.