You need me

You need me
SERENA'S POV

And just like that, all the pack citizens returned home grumbling. The Alphas did not show up at the training ground, and the execution did not take place.

I remained worried about Dean even though the hefty guard assured me that he was doing just fine in the prison where he had been kept.

“I cannot trust him,” I told Aria. She needed to tell me what to do at this point.

“Your arms are tied until you find either Alpha Basil or Alpha Bernard,” she replied.

“Where else would I go in search of them?” I asked out of frustration.

I had checked every possible place they could be, but they were nowhere to be found. They should not have ghosted everyone like that, and I would be sure to tell them after finding them.

I could not help being restless. I did not care so much about Willow, so what happened to her was none of my business. I just needed Dean’s innocence to be proven.

Each time I got close to leaving for Shaun’s pack, something always came up, and that was exactly what was happening again. I would be stuck here for days.

“Where are you off to?” Aria asked after I rose to my feet.

“To have a word with the guard again,” I replied as I stepped into the compound. My mental health was at stake here.

“He is probably tired of you already,” she howled. He did not have a choice.

“Unfortunately for him, I have more questions to ask,” I mumbled as dusk settled in.

The least Alpha Basil could have done was reach out to me before leaving the mansion. I could not stop blaming myself for thinking he would help Dean.

“Where is your boss?” I asked a guard standing by the prison gate. I would have preferred to question the hefty guard instead.

“Here I am.” My ears caught a deep husky tone, and when I turned around, my eyes landed on the hefty guard himself.

“Why do you look so stressed?” he asked. Since when did he start caring about me?

I should have demanded to see Dean before leaving earlier. Now I was here again to do just that and to ask more questions.

“I want to see my brother, even if it is for a second,” I said softly. I did not have the energy to raise my voice.

“We already talked about this earlier, ma’am, and I gave you my word,” he said, raising a brow.

The Alpha of the pack had given me his word once, and I believed it. Now I was filled with regret. It would be unwise of me to take the word of a guard.

“Let me in,” I muttered. My head had begun to ache, and too much talking would not help.

“The Alphas gave strict orders, and I have to abide by them if I still love my life and my job,” he explained.

His job was at stake, while my brother’s life was at stake. I looked into his eyes while he spoke, and part of me believed him. Even Aria did.

I could force my way into the prison, but I did not have the strength to do that now. I gulped and heaved a deep sigh that was far from relief.

“Did you say Willow was carried out of the prison, or did she walk with both legs out?” I asked.

“I am not an eyewitness. I have told you this earlier,” he reminded me. He did mention it before, but I could not be blamed for asking again.

I wanted to have everything figured out so I could know what Alpha Bernard and Alpha Basil were up to. Curiosity might kill me at this rate.

“I think we should go in search of them. They might be in danger,” I suggested.

“They did not go alone, and if they need help, they know how to reach us,” he replied.

“If it turns out that my brother is not fine in prison like you said, I will be sure to kill you,” I said with the last strength in me.

“I will have that in mind,” he replied.

I batted my eyelashes, not at him but at the emptiness around me. It had been a while since I felt this exhausted, both physically and mentally, without doing anything strenuous.

“Nothing has gone into your mouth today,” Aria reminded me. That was the least of my worries right now.

I thought I had it all figured out. Alpha Basil and Alpha Bernard could not afford to have Willow executed because she was their favorite plaything. 

Not She knew how best to handle them in bed, and it might be impossible for them to find another like her.

“Now I have it figured out,” I told Aria.

The Alphas did not know, but I really did not care about what they did to Willow. It was none of my business if they chose to spare someone who betrayed the pack. 

If they spared her and she sold the pack out to another group of rogues again, it would not concern me. I would not be here to help them next time.

I had taken revenge for my parents, who were killed by rogues, and that alone made me fulfilled. Dean, who refused to leave with me to Shaun’s pack, had also become a millionaire. It would not be hard for him to flee the pack if trouble came.

“Alpha Bernard will want Dean to take the fall, so we have to do something,” Aria howled.

“Alpha Basil too. He wants the same,” I responded inwardly. She needed to stop thinking Alpha Basil was innocent.

“Alpha Bernard likes Willow more, so he has a reason to want Dean to take the fall. Plus, he is not so happy that Dean would be living off their wealth,” she lectured, still sounding like she trusted Alpha Basil.

“This is not the time to take sides. We need to act fast, or Dean will be done for,” I told her.

“Alpha Basil exposed her in front of the pack citizens. He would not have done that if he could not do without her,” she continued defending him.

I could not blame her. She had been entangled with his wolf, and that was the least she could do for him.

“What do you think is the way out?” I asked again.

“Violence. It is not the best option, but it is our next available one,” she said.

“If I go with this plan of yours, will I be able to return to Shaun soon?” I asked, knowing she would hesitate to answer.

She had gone from being obsessed with Shaun to not wanting to hear his name at all. That was how crazy the mate bond could be.

“All I know is that it will get Dean out of prison, but the pack citizens might think he is Willow’s accomplice,” she said.

“Can I not get him out of prison and still prove his innocence?” I asked.

Dean cared too much about his reputation. He might not appreciate me freeing him without clearing his name. He could be difficult sometimes.

“Unless you know how to kill two birds with one stone,” she growled.

I was confused, and all I wanted to do was scream and throw tantrums, but I refused to do that with the little strength I had left.

“If I were you, I would ponder over it throughout the night,” Aria added.

The ball was in my court, and I had to decide. Should I get my brother out of prison and have his reputation ruined, or should I leave him there to remain a suspect?

If he remained a suspect, he stood a chance of being executed at any time. I hated it here so much.

Willow, who happened to be the real offender, was probably in a nightclub with them, while my brother, who had the best interest of the pack at heart, was in prison.

“You again!” I did not regret raising my voice at Gigi. It felt like she was stalking me.

“I have something to discuss with you.” She looked around before speaking, as though she was running away from someone or something.

“Well, I am not in the mood to listen,” I told her. There was something about her that just did not sit right with me.

“You need me if you want to get your brother out of prison,” she said just as I walked past her.

Her words made me pause. I wondered who exactly she was and what she had to say to me. Could she actually be trusted?