A Rogue?

The trial was taking place in the pack's central gathering area, within the pack territory—a clearing nestled in the woods. Tall and majestic trees surrounded the opening, their branches forming a natural canopy that filtered dappled sunlight onto the forest floor, which was carpeted with a thick layer of moss softening the footfalls of those who tread upon it.

At the center of the clearing was a large circular platform raised from the earth. In the middle of this platform was Hazel, her wrists bound with silver chains that seared her skin. Two guards stood behind Hazel, holding spears, ready to react if she dared make a move. Surrounding the stone platform were rough-hewn wooden benches arranged in a semicircle to accommodate pack members and guests invited to witness the trial.

Murmurs filled the air of the trial room as pack members chatted about the sudden loss of the alpha and the vile omega that committed the murder. They stared at her with eyes filled with accusations, disdain, and hatred.

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

"You don't deserve to live!"

The crowd yelled hatefully and began hurling things at Hazel. She remained quiet, not so much as squirming as objects bounced off her body.

"Enough!" Malcolm commanded, and the noises ceased. Malcolm was the overseer of Hazel's trial, as he was the one with the most authority after the alpha. He slowly moved towards the platform, his movements economical and his expression grave. He stood still for a while, as if deliberating the words he should use, before finally speaking.

"We've gathered here today because we lost our pack leader, our savior, our strength, Alpha Levi."

Malcolm achieved the desired effect he wanted as the tone of his voice turned the mood bleak in an instant.

The pack members began to mourn, some tearing up as they screamed Levi's name. This made Hazel confused; was everyone in this pack blind to how cruel Levi was? He was a monster, yet the people were crying for him; it didn't make sense to Hazel.

"The main suspect is an omega, her name Hazel Whitman, the daughter of Ember Ridge pack, which our Alpha conquered three years ago. Alpha Levi had graced her with the opportunity to spend the night with him." Hazel frowned at Malcolm's statement. He made it seem like what Levi did was something honorable, and it was sick that the crowd saw nothing wrong with that because she was an omega. Hazel balled her fingers, her claws digging into her palm as blood dripped out; her jaw clenched.

"We suddenly felt the disconnect early this morning and hurriedly went into the alpha's room, only to find his corpse riddled with stab wounds—five hundred, to be precise. The culprit had used a hairpin. The same hairpin she had used to adorn her hair."

The crowd gasped in horror, and even Hazel was in shock. Hazel was the first to see his corpse, and she remembered seeing no stab marks on Levi's body. His throat had simply been ripped out, so what nonsense was Malcolm spouting about stab wounds?

"Now you may wonder how an omega managed to pull this off? Well from our investigation, we found poison in the alpha bloodstream, and from analyzing it, we found it capable of incapacitating someone as powerful as Levi so he wouldn't put up a fight. The poison could also affect the pack link, thus why we weren't able to sense our alpha in danger until it was too late."

Malcolm said in a voice filled with regret.

The crowd got noisy again, the hatred for Hazel intensified.

"Why is there a trial in the first place? She should have been killed on the spot!"

"Yes, she deserves to die, five hundred stab wounds?"

"Kill her right now!"

"Murderer!!"

"Stab her 500 times with a spear!!"

"Murderer!"

The pack members rained another assault of objects on Hazel's body. Stones, egg, fruit, tomatoes, anything they could throw.

"I didn't do it!" Hazel yelled, but the assault only intensified.

'Brandon was right...Malcolm was really trying to frame me for Levi's murder.'

Innocent or not, she would be made guilty no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Malcolm had the power to do that. It's his words against that of an omega slave.

Who would believe her?

"I'll be calling on the daughter of the head of the slave to hear her statements." Kayle stood on the platform with a face that looked like she had been crying a lot. Hazel couldn't help but frown at this. She knew Kayle hated the alpha, so what's with the act?

"Tell us about Hazel"

"Yes, beta." Kayle began to explain in a teary voice.

"Hazel has always been a very prideful person since she came to the pack. Never spoke to anybody, most likely because she has a superiority complex. She was always very defiant, looking at me and my mum like she wanted a fight. We tried to make her feel accepted and at home, but she called us fake."

Hazel's nostrils flared as she gritted her teeth. If not for the chain holding her down, she might have gone for Kayle's throat and then Helen's, who sat among the pack members, nodding as her daughter shamelessly lied.

"When she heard of the alpha's call, she tried to escape, but we caught her in a storage room." Kayle sniffed.

"This same storage room is where we found this."

Malcolm raised a vial of black liquid, showing it to the crowd.

"That's right, it's the same poison that we found in the alpha's bloodstream."

"That's absurd."

The lies were getting out of hand, and Hazel couldn't help but react.

"Where and how would I have gotten poison?"

Malcolm ignored her outburst and calmly continued.

"Also i forgot to mention, that Hazel is the only omega who doesn't have the alpha cursed seal on her."

This earned gasps from the crowd.

"This is how she was successfully able to carry out the assassination. Initially, we didn't know how she was able to hide the fact she had gotten rid of the seal, but with thorough investigation, we were able to find out."

....

"It also explains where and how a mere omega slave would have gotten this kind of poison as well."

...

Everyone was silent, awaiting the reveal, and even Hazel, though irritated, was also curious.

Malcolm exhaled. "We believe Hazel is an assassin sent by the...