Guilty

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Sebastian's POV

It was odd.

Something had to be happening within the Lead Warrior's mansion, something serious enough to cause tension between the warriors and the officials. Even my mother couldn't do anything about it. This wasn't an ordinary situation.

I stared at the fire ravaging the Lead Warrior's house, and James's words echoed in my head—that the Lead Warrior's daughter had set the house on fire.

An obvious lie, but what annoyed me was the possibility that it might have been the other way around, that he had set the place on fire. I made sure to watch when that girl left; she locked the place. So why would she burn it again?

This couldn't be a house accident either, as the fire consumed everything. This would be heartbreaking for that young girl, and somehow, it made my chest ache.

The young omegas tried to put the fire out, but I mind-linked them to stop. They might only make it worse and cause the flames to spread. This fire was planned, and it didn't seem wild enough to jump to another building unless provoked.

"Get me Jonah," I told an omega. I needed to speak with the Beta about this. Just then, someone nudged my mind-link and informed me about some strange visitors in cars.

I remembered the Lead Warrior's daughter had arrived yesterday, and a sense of dread struck me. The thought of her worrying scared me. It would be horrible if she saw her house like this, and yet there was nothing I could do.

"Bring only the girl and the man she came with," I replied through the mind-link. "Let the cars and others stay away so their vehicles don't attract the flames."

The Beta could wait for now. He wasn't my priority. Even my mother had some explaining to do. The Beta's younger brother had a grudge against the Lead Warrior. While I was busy handling pack affairs, my mother should've controlled the situation before it escalated to this.

I wondered how long it would've gone on before she brought it to my attention. Tension filled the air when I noticed the Lead Warrior's daughter approaching.

I was disappointed. I had just approved her leave from the pack, and now she had to come back to see her last property burning. It'd be easy for her to assume this had been done on purpose because she left.

"Alpha Sebastian?"

Her voice cut through the air, angry yet tinged with tears. It hurt me. I had expected her to be too shocked to speak, to leave and return after I'd handled everything.

I turned to face her, observing her. She looked different from yesterday—the dress made her seem like a proper lady. She glanced between the burning house and me, clearly brimming with questions.

"Do you see what I meant about this pack being against me?" she cried, wiping her eyes and pointing at the blaze. "My... my parents' last gift to me was set ablaze, and someone important to me nearly died!"

I ignored her raised voice. I had expected worse. This was my fault in many ways. I looked at the burning house—it was beginning to calm down. The fire must've started before dusk, which was why it was still raging. Since it wasn't a night job, someone must've seen who did it.

"I am truly sorry for this," I said, trying to soften my tone. "It seems you weren't exaggerating when you placed a curse."

She folded her arms across her chest, giving me the same disbelieving look she had last time. I couldn't understand why. I barely knew her enough for her to question my words.

I glanced behind her—she wasn't with anyone. "Did you take everything from the house that day?"

"No," she replied, pointing in the direction she came from. "They brought a locksmith to handle it, but..." she trailed off, lost in thought.

My eyes lingered on her before I turned away. "Do what you must. I'll get to the bottom of this. Not only was the Lead Warrior's property desecrated a day after his death, but it also seems the fire was set on purpose."

She didn't seem surprised by this revelation, so she must've known. The curse she placed hadn't been out of spite, which only deepened my guilt.

James really had some secrets buried here. "You should check if anything survived. And... who was the person important to you that nearly died?"

I was sure everyone had been away when the fire started. The person who brought this to my attention, an omega girl who claimed to clean the house, said she saw the flames while on her way there. No one had been inside.

The young girl shook her head dismissively and turned away. "Do what you want to do. I'll do what I need to." And she walked off, followed by a group of men in grey uniforms.

These men seemed more coordinated than those who had come with her the other day, dressed more like fighters than bodyguards. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a threat on her life that made her keep all these people around her. I shouldn't think too much about this, considering I didn't know her well, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.

Unlike what my mother said, she seemed more reasonable and didn't act like a spoiled brat. The strange events had only been happening to her, so her reactions were valid.

A mind-link informed me that the Beta was currently with his younger brother. The warrior added that James had tried to run away when he heard I wanted to see him.

His guilty conscience, right? He was really starting to piss me off.