17 Story Time with a Betrayal on Top

Korū and Hikari settled for a spot that was the furthest from the Moonlight pack, eyeing them as though expecting them to attack any time. "C'mere, Kage," Hikari called, and the gray-eyed cat leaped onto her lap. Kaguya proceeded to curl up around Korū's neck while Kagami sat stiffly between them.

Alina cleared her throat, now serious, meeting the eyes of everyone at the table, glaring at Jen for a moment longer than everyone else before moving on. "Six years ago, some of my pack set off for the 19th Gamma Tournament. My brother, one of the strongest his age, was invited to watch, and I was invited to tag along. I was 11 then, he was 15. We were travelling in a small group, a mix of Bloodlust and Night Stalker members. Those participating in the tournament itself had already left a few days earlier.

"Out of nowhere, we were attacked by rogue griffins, and while we were trained and they weren't, we were greatly outnumbered. Everyone died, one by one. Except me, and that was only because my brother protected me to his last breath. I had to face off with the last griffin myself, but I managed to win due to the extensive damage that he had already received. Once he was down, I ran. I thought he would die. Hell! I thought they were all dead.

"7 days ago, the dead bodies of the late Bloodlust Gammas, along with their mother and her brother," she nodded towards the twins, "Only the other brother survived - we found him half dead. How? We suspect that it was rogue griffins, and a dragon. Me? I know it was rogue griffins. And one werewolf, teamed up with the dragon.

"How am I so sure? Well, the style that the griffins killed with was distinct. Furthermore, they always left deep slashes in the abdomen of their victims. A crude, stylized ア. I have no idea why, but that's not necessarily the point. The dragon, he can be vouched for by the twins. The werewolf, however, that was more tricky. He or she did not take part in the murder, but her smell lingered in the air. I only noticed because that's the same scent as that six years ago, the same scent that mine often lingered with when I was a pup.

"Jen," she turned to the person - the monster - in question with a very dissatisfied stare. "you are undeniably trash at covering your scent.

"Furthermore, I remember now. I remember that that day, six years ago, you were in the group that I was travelling in. We were chatting, looking at the sky, telling each other what we thought the clouds looked like. I remember I never saw you once during the fight. I remember the shock on your face when I showed up at the venue, bruised and battered. At that time, I pinned the cause as my appearance. But that wasn't it, was it?" Alina paused, observing Jen, who had her eyes lowered to the table.

"You guys asked me why I was here. My original plan was to kidnap Jen and run for it, before coercing answers out of her, but this way is so much better, isn't it? I won't be the one pegged as a criminal." Alina finished, looking around the table once again and smiling a very self-satisfied smile, ignoring the fact that her eyes were watering.

The mask. Always keep it on.

"ア?" Korū muttered. "'A'... Holy fucking shit."

"Ah, so it does actually mean something…" Alina said.

"Yeah," Hikari chipped in. "My grandfather's," she practically spat the word, "name is 悪意, which is spelled as A-K-U-I. Thus, the 'A'."

"You know, a lot of things start with A, like Aloha, Alpha, Alps, Alina…" Alina said.

"Okay, look." Korū looked even more done with life, if that was even possible. "That bitch is a dragon which just so happens to be the thing that killed a crap ton of people, his name starts with an 'A' which happens to be the letter that the corpses all have carved into them, and he's a fucking sadist, anyway. That's too much of a coincidence to even be one."

Linda stood up, visibly fuming. "Alpha, I would like to personally interrogate Jennessa Wilkes." the Alpha of Night Stalker nodded. His Betas, Jen's parents, were suspiciously unshaken.

"Bring the Betas too." Alina commanded, picking up on their detachment, before sweeping out of the room. She needed some space. She was just guessing connections between each piece of evidence and each memory she prayed was not false. Judging from Jen's reaction, however, she guessed right.

It was another stab to her heart. Another bit of trust that fell away. How much did she have left to spare?

How much before she became too tired to even care?

Why? Why were there people in the world who would do such a despicable thing as murder? Cold blooded -no, bloodthirsty- murder, no less? How did they not care? How did they sleep at night? Did they sleep at night?

Korū left Kaguya draped around his neck and picked up Kagami, Hikari holding Kage, and followed Alina out.

At this point, she was already to the edge of the forest. She just needed a little break. She had been doing this too long, after all.

Shortly after, a few pack warriors came to drag the Beta family to the dungeons. As they left, the Alpha buried his face in his hands, "My god, if they really are traitors…" and his guests silently filed out.