Betrayed by the Beta, Loved by the Alpha

13. His Offense

Eden’s pov:

The pack house was buzzing with life as per usual when I went down for breakfast. And yet, something was different. It was alive with far too many whispers – whispers that didn’t follow me for once.

I tried to keep my head down, eating my cereal in silence, not quite in the mood for any kind of drama, much less any gossip, when I heard the most appalling thing.

“Alpha Hunter almost killed him, you know?”

Hunter? I echoed mentally. He was fine yesterday evening though. What had happened? What could have upset him so?

The questions were endless, and I turned so quickly to the omega who had just spoken, she startled back, eyes wide.

“What happened?” I asked her urgently, my voice louder than I would have preferred, attracting attention I wasn’t sure I liked. .

“I don’t really know the specifics,” she shook her head negatively.

“Nobody knows for now,” another one quipped in a hushed tone of voice.

“Speak,” I commanded in a tone that almost made me jump out of my own skin.

I was never quite the type to order people around, but that seemed to do the trick.

She didn’t just speak, she sang, “Gamma Daniel has been thrown into the dungeons. He must have messed up something really, really bad. Someone said Alpha Hunter was so furious, he almost killed him. And the guard said that Beta Mark was the one to lead him to the dungeons and chain him up.”

Well, that was unexpected!

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline at once, “What did he do?”

The title of Gamma wasn’t given lightly. He was the third-in-command in the pack. His offense must be quite something, especially considering the treatment he got for it – and the punishment that was sure to follow.

Before long, I remembered our not so pleasant interactions. He made it his life mission to exclude me and send me spiraling down a path of depression. He made me feel unworthy and unfit for training too. His words always stung, tearing at something inside of me, making me feel less than, but his eyes… his gaze always had shivers running down my spine.

“That’s just it, you see? We don’t know,” she shrugged, shaking her head.

“Thank you for telling me,” I nodded in appreciation.

I might not get along with a lot of people… Hell, many pack members distanced themselves after I didn’t shift, as if I were some contagious curse. But this omega, Cindy, used to be my playmate back in kindergarten.

“Anytime,” she offered me a small smile, and then scurried away.

** ** ** ** **

By the time I was back from school, the whispers were louder… or maybe I just paid more attention to them. I wasn’t quite sure.

“He’s in for quite the punishment,” one of the men let out.

“Serves him right,” another one commented.

“I truly hope our Alpha won’t let him off the hook easily.”

I was ready to step forward and ask them about Gamma Daniel’s offense, when someone called my name.

“Eden,” Sebastian’s voice reached me from behind, and I had to grind my teeth together to keep a shout down. “We haven’t seen you all day. Have you been ignoring us?”

Glued to his side was Clarissa. Though her eyes were slightly glassy, and her lips were pouting, I wasn’t fooled – and I vowed to never be fooled by her again.

“Yes,” I heaved a sigh. “What do you want?”

They were taken aback, not expecting my answer no doubt.

Sebastian’s charming mask fell for a few seconds before he recovered, but I could see right behind the confident smirk. The simmering anger was there for sure. I had witnessed it first hand one too many times already.

“Are you still angry with me?” Clarissa dared to ask, and I didn’t even acknowledge her question with a response.

As always, she tried to shift the narrative. For once, I didn’t let it get to me though.

“Oh come on, Eden. Don’t be like that,” Sebastian tried to sweet-talk me, his eyes boring into mine.

His gaze, which used to make me blush, now left me indifferent.

And heavens, I was oh so ready to punch him in the face if he got into my space.

Somehow, he seemed to have sensed danger, for he didn’t get close.

Instead, he dropped his hands intot he pockets of his hoodie, and went on, “You don’t have to take everything personally, you know?”

I bit back a snort.

“Funny you would say that,” I drawled sarcastically. “Considering you’re precisely the kind to take everything personally.”

“Now you’re really pushing it, you know?” The way he shot that carelessly almost sounded like a threat, and I had to hold back the bitter laughter bubbling in my throat.

“What do you want?” I asked again, ready to walk away from the despicable and scheming pair.

He rolled his eyes at me, and then declared, “The Alpha has summoned everyone to the training grounds. 6 PM sharp. I just thought you should know.”

I found myself nodding at him, thanking him before I could help myself.

Angry as I might be, I was not ill-mannered. And maybe, I reasoned that I just wasn’t furious enough.

He merely clicked his tongue, and then was onto his nonchalant way. Clarissa followed right after him, but not before flashing me a somewhat smug smirk.

Being the nerd I could be, I decided to hit my room first, to get my homework done, or at least some of it… I naturally set an alarm so that I wouldn’t miss the summons. Missing an Alpha’s summons was considered disrespectful after all.

I was halfway up the stairs when I met Cindy.

“Where are you going?” She all but whisper-yelled, her eyes wide, a frown marring her face.

“To my room?” My words sounded much less confident than this morning when I demanded that she speak.

She shook her head negatively and heaved a sigh, even as she placed a hand on my arm, “Didn’t you hear? The Alpha summoned us all to the training grounds.”

“Yes, 6 PM, right?”

“No,” her frown deepened. “5 PM… As in, we’ll be late if you keep arguing with me right now.”

I let out a stunned Oh at that. I couldn’t believe that Sebastian and Clarissa would set me up in such a manner – again.

Cindy began to drag me back down the stairs, and I looked at her properly for the first time in years. She had grown taller. Her olive skin glowed. Her eyes, sharp almond in shape, were among some of the most caring I knew.

“How did we ever drift away?” I let out under my breath, asking myself more than her really.

I hadn’t expected an answer, but I got one nonetheless.

“When you began to mix with the wrong crowd,” she flashed me a grin, and I could only giggle. Indeed, Sebastian and Clarissa weren’t exactly the right crowd.

And today, I was going to give them a piece of my mind.