Chapter 149: Terrible accusations

Christopher

The air was thick with tension. Something was happening in the pack - I could feel it in every fiber of my being. The looks of the people of this pack, the whispers behind my back, and the mocking laughter confirmed it. I had no idea what Joaquin had done, but he had poisoned their minds against me. I tried to move, but the wolfsbane-soaked ropes bit into my skin, weakening me even more.

Then, through the trees, I saw two familiar figures - Alpha Samuel and Olivia. They had come to help me. I knew the Alpha had believed me, and during his visit to the pack, terrible things had happened, but an important alliance had also been forged. Still, fear gripped me along with hope. Olivia shouldn't be here. What if something had happened to her? But I couldn't help but feel relieved to see her. Her presence gave me strength - she had come for me. My wolf was still weak, but just feeling her there made me feel its power returning.

"Ha! Look at the great Christopher!" one of the warriors shouted, his voice dripping with mockery. A blow to my shoulder made me turn away. A rock landed at my feet, quickly followed by another. Some members of the pack laughed and hurled insults, while others shouted in my defense. Chaos spread around me, but there was nothing I could do.

"Christopher always helped us! He has always stood by us!" some shouted.

"He's a disgrace! He wants to take everything from us!"

"They say he even fuck with a human!" others shouted, but I kept my eyes on them, worried. The hunters kept their distance as if waiting for Joaquin's order to attack, perhaps they had plans of their own. The young hunter who had once promised to help me stood off to the side, silent. I wondered if he would keep his word, or if he was just another pawn in Joaquin's game.

Then came the moment I feared. He was close - I could feel it - and with him, the situation would only get worse. But what no one expected happened, and the force of it made me stagger. 

A series of explosions shook the pack. The house burst into flames, sending wolves flying through the air. Painful screams filled the night. 

Hunters and warriors lay on the ground, trying to recover from the attack's violence. I looked for Olivia and Samuel, but I couldn't find them.

Panic hit me like a blow. 

"Olivia!" I yelled. Pain coursed through my body. The post I was tied to had remained standing, leaning but not letting me fall, but the explosion had sent shards of wood and stone flying, some of them embedded in my skin.

"They must be alive," I said to myself. The attack had been brutal, especially for those inside the house. Those outside had cuts and bruises, but werewolves would recover in two minutes. The young hunter had taken cover and was looking at me uncertainly. 

I realized that none of them knew this was going to happen, which meant it had to be my allies who had set it off. Olivia... I thought. 

"Run!" I whispered to him. He hesitated, not sure what to do. 

But before he could decide, movement inside the burning house drew our attention.

Joaquin emerged from the fire. His skin was scorched, and half of his face and body burned, but his eyes still glowed with pure malice. He was dragging Casandra with him, though surprisingly she seemed unharmed.

No. This can't be happening, I thought, unable to believe it. My sister couldn't be in the hands of that bastard. He must have been inside - close to the explosion. Maybe his allies had been there, too, and had died. But he didn't care about that, nor about the injured members of the pack, not even about his own burned body that wouldn't heal as it should. If he had been full of hate before, now it radiated from every pore of his skin.

With impressive effort, he raised his voice:

"People of Silver Claws! Look what they have done!" His tone was that of a betrayed, wounded man. "I told you long ago that there were traitors among us! I told you that some could not accept that our pack was superior - that we were meant to be an example to the rest of the werewolves! And so they came here to destroy us!" He scanned the crowd as the rest of the pack struggled to stand. 

Of course, he would not take responsibility for anything. Instead, he would use this as the perfect moment to solidify his leadership. There is no better way to unite people than to give them a common enemy - and he had just found his.

"The cursed siblings have come to destroy us!" Joaquin declared. "Christopher and Casandra are responsible for this! They created the sickness that killed so many! You all know it! So many of our men and women have died! We have tried to contain the rebellion, but it has been difficult! We have fought to find an antidote, a cure, but many of our own have died trying!" I wasn't even surprised anymore. Joaquin was a man with one goal - to destroy us. It didn't matter who died or suffered.

"They're the ones to blame!" the pack shouted.

"They didn't bring the sickness! The disease came here on its own!" others countered. I could see that the pack was divided. Some believed Joaquin's lies and even profited from them, while others saw his true face.

"Do you need more proof?" Joaquín demanded, his voice rising above the others. He moved closer to me. His skin, raw and burned, was so damaged that it didn't seem to be healing. But his hatred was so strong that he showed no signs of pain.

"You have brought invading wolves into our lands! They are out there waiting for us to fall! They caused those explosions to try to wipe us out! But they will not succeed, for Silver Claws will stand tall! We will not kneel to anyone!" he roared.

Some howled in agreement, while many hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Joaquin is the one who created the sickness! Those Alphas came to help us!" I shouted.

But Joaquin slapped me and continued to spew his lies, which struck deep into the people's hearts.

"Tonight was supposed to be my mating ceremony! Tonight we were supposed to welcome a new Luna!" His voice broke with emotion. "And Christopher... he was the one who murdered our Luna, Caterina! He stole the love of my life - the mate I had chosen - because he wanted her! Because he had a human mate that he rejected out of shame, and now he wants to destroy us! Destroy everything we have built!" His words dripped with conviction, and with his pathetic appearance, I knew some would pity him. 

Others would admire his resilience and strength. Joaquin's words spread like poison through the crowd. 

I saw doubt in their eyes - fear, anger. Casandra cried, and gagged, while my brother dragged her along as if she were an object.

"This can't be true!"

"Did Casandra and Christopher really do this?"

"Traitors!"

Panic spread. But before Joaquin could continue his manipulation, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

Olivia.