Chapter 20: Dead

Carina's POV

I did not expect all that had happened to happen. I did not expect that Conall would take me to see Dolores; I did not expect that you would feel pity for her; I did not expect that I would be so vulnerable to the extent that I hugged Conall even after he said some mean things to me; I did not expect that he would bite me the way he did; I did not expect that he would hug me and apologize to me; and I also did not expect that he would really tell me about shape shifters.

Although he was barely ever making more than two sentences at a time, he was still able to tell me some theories about werewolves. Shapeshifters are humans that can be cursed and have the ability to transform into a werewolf form, but in most cases, they are not able to control themselves for a while, and they start doing some insane things before running completely wild, hurting anyone. That is why they are hated so much. He gave a theory that Dolores might have been in love with my real father and had gotten pregnant for him with me, but maybe she needed a better life for herself and me as well, so she came into Vilinius pretending to be a true werewolf. She was able to blend in perfectly well, and she managed to get Baldar's attention. He fell in love with her, and she began receiving preferential treatment over other werewolves because of how influential and powerful he was. I was raised to be Baldar's daughter since birth; he thought I was his daughter. Dolores somehow managed to convince him that I was his child, and because of that, I was only allowed to fall in love with an alpha, but I did not like alphas; I fell in love with a beta instead, but I was not allowed to have a right relationship with him because of Baldar and Dolores. But I was too stubborn to listen. I was still very much in love with a beta, but he got eliminated at the Battlefield; he was not fit for work, and they made him go. As time went on, Dolores could no longer control herself, so she went to kill my real dad to cover her tracks. After a while, she got completely mad and exposed herself and me as well. But she was not killed because, although she hurt and betrayed Baldar, Baldar did not want to dispose of her yet; maybe he still had feelings for her. Though all the things he said were theories of which he, Conall was not sure about some, I had to agree with him that the series of events happened just the way he said it because it made so much sense.

You would have thought that our meeting with that ended well, but it did not. We ended up arguing because of a misunderstanding. It all started when I asked you a simple question.

"So why do the real packs, especially alphas, think they make the best rules and that they are better than everyone else?", I asked.

"What do you mean?", he asked.

"You all think you're better than everyone. Why do you focus on shapeshifters so much when alphas can even pose more of a threat? Are they the only wild ones? Are they the ones who cursed themselves? Why do you make gamma only work like they do not have a life? Why do you all hate Omegas so much when all they wanted was to be free, just like you?", I asked, suddenly getting angry, and I could see he was getting angry as well.

"Alphas don't think we are better than everyone else; we are better than everyone else; we know we are. Shapeshifters have always been known for being evil, do your research, and know what is right. If shapeshifters are very good people, why did your mom kill your dad?", Conall shouted.

"Don't bring my father into this."

"And don't mention the gammas in this case; the gammas are void of emotions; they would rather work their asses out; that is how they are made; they are even forced to procreate. Back in the day, omegas weren't as good as you think they are. Sometimes the females poisoned the alphas; they were naturally sneaky, even more than the betas. Why do you think you were closer to the betas than the alphas? Because you are an Omega, the closest kind of werewolf to the beta", he continued, but I could not take it any longer; that was the longest he had said to be at a go and was visibly vibrating, clearly very angry, and I knew I needed to leave.

"You've said enough; I'm going", I said, walking away. I half expected him to try to stop me, but he did not even attempt to do so. He let me go without saying a word.

I laid on my bed and dreamt of him, but my sleep was cut short when I was harshly tapped.

"Carina, wake up! Something terrible has happened."

It was Charlotte. I groaned a bit, wanting to open my eyes. I could see Conall's face when you closed my eyes, and it felt just right.

"Carina, wake up! Linda is dead", Charlotte shouted, and my eyes flew open.

"What are you saying?", I asked, but one look at Charlotte and I knew she was not joking.

"How—"

"Just get up and come with me", Charlotte said, cutting me off from completing my question.

Linda took me to a place where a chief was standing on a podium, about to make an announcement to the crowd. Charlotte rushed into the crowd, pushing her way to the front, and I followed her.

"We are sorry to announce that Linda is dead. Please go home and take care of yourselves", the chief announced.

"But I heard that she would survive; why is she dead?", Charlotte asked the Chief, but was completely ignored. He was about to walk away, but she pulled him by the leg, and he fell. I was pretty sure that he was not expecting that, and I had never seen Charlotte this angry. I realized that if she were to fight me in her angry state, I might end up losing the fight. Charlotte and the Chief, who was equally a werewolf, were separated by other werewolves, myself included, to avoid any more casualties.

She walked away angrily, and I followed her, but she stopped to face me. "You", she said, pointing at me. "Quit following me."

"Why?", I asked, confused.

"You aren't even sad about Linda's death. The whole community is sad except YOU", she yelled. I felt the urge to yell back at her, but I did not want to hurt her, so I did not say anything. She walked away, and I did not try following her; I decided to go somewhere else.

I knocked on the door, but there was no reply, so I decided to open it myself. I striped in to see Christos sitting in a corner, his back turned against me. "I strictly demanded that I remain alone", he said quietly but quite dangerously.

"I am sorry; I just came to tell you sorry for your loss", I said. He did not say anything, so I took it as a cue to leave, but when I was about to walk out, he said, "Stay." It sounded like a threat, but I did what I was instructed to do. Without turning to look at me, he went to his table, picked up a jug, and filled a mug with its contents. Then he turned back to me. "Please have a seat on my bed."

I blushed, and don't ask me why because I had no idea. I imagined myself being in an enclosed space like this with Conall, and I felt shivers go through my spine.

I sat at the edge of the bed while Christos gave me the mug with its contents and told me to drink it which I did, and it tasted like heaven. I wanted to ask him what drink it was, but he was grieving, and I did not want to question him.

"I miss her already", he said, and I knew he was referring to Linda.

"Uhm, if you didn't mind telling me, how did she die?", I asked.

"She was hit in a place where she was supposed to be hit", Christos replied. Even though he and Conall were never going to come to an agreement, there was a similarity between them, and that was the ability to barely say more than one sentence at a time, unless when angry or frustrated.

"Was she sick before?", I asked.

He looked at me darkly. "Yes."

I suddenly felt dizzy—not the alcohol kind of dizzy; this dizzy felt entirely different, and I hated it too much.

"I don't feel so good", I complained. I could barely feel anything anymore. I realized that Christos was just staring at me, like he was waiting for something to happen.

"What did you put in the drink?", I asked softly, not having the strength to stand up. Wait! When did I lay down on his bed?

"I need answers", he said.

"What answers?", I asked. I felt so lightheaded.

"Someone from the free packs told someone in the real pack about Charlotte's disease, and you're a suspect", he started flatly.

"Disease? Suspect?", I asked, confused.

"You went to the real pack territory last night. Why did you go there?", he asked.

How did he know I went to the real pack zone? And what did he put in my drink that made me want to expose myself so badly?

"Answer my question."

I was about to start exposing myself when there was a knock on the door.

"Go away. I need to be alone", he shouted, and I wanted to shout that he was not alone, but I did not have the energy. Whoever was on the other side of the door did not listen to Conall; the person came in.