Elena hadn’t expected to find the warriors she had sent after Aurelia lying dead in the middle of the forest.
She certainly hadn’t expected their bodies to be rotting.
The sight had caught her off guard for only a moment.
Just long enough for confusion to settle in before something else took its place.
Opportunity.
She didn’t know who had killed them and she didn’t even think the drugged witch was capable of something like this.
But she was alive.
That alone was enough.
Now Aurelia stood a few feet away struggling against two warriors who held tightly onto her arms.
Her silver braids had come undone sometime during her escape, leaving her hair tangled with twigs and dried leaves.
Dirt streaked her cheeks, her dress was torn in several places and fresh scratches ran along her hands.
She looked like she’d crawled out of a grave.
For the first time ever she saw the unbearable proud witch looked utterly disheveled.
Elena almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, she stepped closer to Darius, letting just enough fear creep into her voice.
“She must have cursed them.”
Her words were quiet and uncertain.
As though she desperately wanted to believe otherwise.
“What else could do this?”
The murmuring around them immediately grew louder.
Speculations filling the air.
Aurelia let out a disbelieving scoff.
“Cursed them?” she repeated, staring at Elena as though she’d finally lost what little sanity she possessed.
“I didn’t even touch him!
I found him like this.”
“You expect us to believe that?” one of the warriors barked.
“I don’t particularly care what you believe,” Aurelia snapped back.
“I woke up in a bloody ditch, climbed my way out with half my body threatening to fall apart, wandered around this cursed forest trying to find my way back, and stumbled across your dead wolf.”
She yanked against the warriors holding her.
“If I wanted to kill him, do you honestly think I’d stand here waiting to be caught?”
A few of the pack members exchanged uncertain glances.
It…
Was a fair point.
Elena saw the hesitation.
She couldn’t allow it.
“Darius…” she whispered, her voice trembling just enough to sound genuine.
“There was magic on their bodies.”
Silence settled over the clearing once again.
Every eye slowly turned toward the only witch in the forest.
Aurelia looked from one face to another before letting out the most exhausted sigh of her life.
“Oh, for the love of Hecate…” She looked straight at Darius.
“You cannot seriously be entertaining this stupidity.”
Darius turned away from her.
Good.
Elena bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling.
Out of the corner of her eye she watched the witch’s expression shift.
For a brief moment disbelief flickered across her face, as though she genuinely hadn’t expected him to turn his back on her.
Then it disappeared.
She watches her grey eyes harden into something colder and angrier.
And Elena loved it.
She loved how trapped Aurelia looked.
How helpless.
The proud priestess who had carried herself with her chin high ever since arriving in the North now stood covered in dirt, held between two warriors while the entire pack looked at her like she was some monster waiting to bare her fangs.
It suited her.
Heavy footsteps crunched against the snow.
Alpha Frisk emerged from the gathering crowd, his expression as composed as ever despite the bodies of his warrior lying only a few feet away.
For a long moment he said nothing and that silence only made the air heavier.
Finally, he turned his attention to Darius.
“I expect an explanation for their deaths.”
His voice wasn’t raised yet every word carried the quiet authority of a man who got what he wanted.
Elena watched Darius closely.
She could almost see the thoughts fighting behind his eyes.
His jaw tightened.
His shoulders stiffened.
This wasn’t simply a murder anymore.
It was politics.
An allied Alpha’s warriors had died inside Crimson Fang territory, magic had been found on their bodies, and the only witch for miles stood at the scene of the crime.
No decision he made today would come without consequences.
After what felt like an eternity, Darius finally looked at Aurelia.
“How did you end up here?”
The question hung in the cold air.
Aurelia stared at him for a long second before letting out a short, humourless laugh.
“You’re asking the wrong bloody question.”
Her grey eyes burned into his.
“The question you should be asking is why your precious Luna dragged me into these woods this morning and tried to have me killed.”
“I didn’t.” Elena’s answer came without hesitation.
Her blue eyes widened ever so slightly, the picture of innocent disbelief.
“Yes,” Aurelia deadpanned, “and the sky is green.”
Elena’s eyes glistened.
“I have no idea why you would accuse me of something so horrible.” She shook her head slowly, taking a careful step closer to Darius.
“I have done nothing but welcome you into our home despite everything that’s happened.”
Aurelia barked out a laugh.
“Welcome me?” she repeated, unable to hide the disbelief in her voice.
“Is that what we’re calling attempted murder now?”
“I would never touch you.”
“No,” Aurelia nodded thoughtfully.
“You merely threw some lovely little powder in my face, had your maid drag me into the forest, and released half your father’s warriors after me.”
She tilted her head.
“I suppose that’s very different.”
A murmur swept through the clearing.
Elena’s expression cracked for the briefest second before she lowered her gaze.
“Darius…” Her voice trembled.
“She’s lying.”
Aurelia rolled her eyes so hard they almost hurt.
“Oh, for Circe’s sake.”
She looked straight at Darius.
“You cannot honestly be standing there wondering which one of us is telling the truth.”
“I found you standing over a dead warrior,” Darius replied, his voice low.
“And I found myself at the bottom of a bloody ditch!” Aurelia shot back.
“Would you like me to explain that as well?”
“You have no proof Elena brought you here.”
“And she has no proof I killed anyone.”
Aurelia slowly looked around at the faces surrounding her.
Every single one of them was watching and quietly judging.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
“Funny.” Her voice was quieter now.
“I’ve been in your pack for two days.”
She looked back at Darius.
“And somehow I’ve already become responsible for everything that goes wrong.”
Then to everyone’s disbelief, Darius sighed.
The sound was quiet, yet it somehow silenced the entire clearing.
He dragged a hand over his face before finally looking at Aurelia again.
Her clothes were torn, dirt streaked across her skin, strands of silver hair clung to her flushed cheeks and exhaustion was written all over her face.
“I believe Aurelia.” The words didn’t land well.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
Nathan looked up from the body in surprise while Nicolas slowly folded his arms, choosing to remain silent.
Even Frisk’s composed expression hardened.
Elena’s breath caught.
“What?”
Darius kept his eyes on Aurelia.
“She wouldn’t kill someone and then stand here denying it.”
A faint scoff escaped Aurelia.
“Well, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me all week.”
He ignored the remark.
His gaze shifted to Elena instead.
He watched the innocent confusion on her face falter for the briefest second before annoyance flashed through her eyes.
It disappeared almost immediately, replaced by the same soft expression she had worn moments before.
But Darius had seen it.
Something in his chest tightened.
His voice turned cold.
“We’ll investigate this matter.”
A wave of protests erupted from the gathered warriors.
“Alpha, there was magic on the bodies!”
“She’s the only witch here!”
“What more is there to investigate?”
Darius’ eyes swept over the crowd.
“Enough.”
The single word carried through the clearing with enough authority to silence every voice.
“No one is passing judgment until I know exactly what happened here.”
His gaze lingered on Aurelia for another moment before returning to the dead wolves.
“And I intend to find out.”
Darius looked towards the two warriors restraining Aurelia.
With a single look, they immediately released her.
The moment their hands left her arms, Aurelia stumbled forward.
Her knees buckled beneath her weight and she instinctively reached for the nearest thing to steady herself, only to find nothing but empty air.
Before she could hit the ground, strong arms caught her.
Aurelia froze.
One arm slid beneath her knees while the other supported her back, lifting her effortlessly off the snow.
For a brief second she simply stared at him.
“Darius…” The word came out barely above a whisper.
He adjusted her carefully in his arms, mindful of her injured shoulder.
She was lighter than he expected, and despite the cold clinging to her clothes, he could still feel the faint warmth radiating from her body.
She was trembling.
Whether from the freezing weather or exhaustion, he couldn’t tell.
Probably both.
Around them the clearing fell silent once again.
Elena’s fingers slowly curled into her palms.
Her nails dug so deeply into her skin they nearly drew blood.
She hated the sight before her.
The way Darius looked down at the witch.
The way he held her so naturally, as though protecting her was the most fragile thing in the world.
Darius shifted Aurelia’s weight slightly before turning towards the manor.
He had barely taken two steps when Elena moved in front of him, blocking his path.
“You can’t just let her roam free,” she said, struggling to keep the irritation from her voice.
“She could be a killer.”
Darius stepped to the side.
Elena stepped with him.
Again blocking the way.
Only then did he lift his gaze to meet hers.
His brown eyes had lost every trace of warmth.
“Move.”