“He was my friend! He was like an elder brother to me! And your mate killed him!” Caleb screams.
“What! You and Alexander were friends! Since when?”1
“Oh? So, now you are interested in knowing about my friendship with him? Alexander and I were friends from many years. And our brotherhood was broken the day Albert killed Alexander.”4
“What was Albert supposed to do? Alexander had kidnapped his sister and tried to kill his mate! What would you do if your sister’s and mate’s lives were at stake?”
“Shut up!” He screams again.1
“Don’t tell me to shut up when you know I’m right!” I exclaim with an equally loud voice. 1
“Are you guys blind? Didn’t you see what Alexander did? He attacked my pack with the intention of killing all the unmated female members! Many people died because of his thirst for revenge! What he did was wrong! Do you even know what his father did to Albert’s mom?”
“I know everything! I admit what Alexander’s father did was wrong but he didn’t deserve to die the way he did. Albert was very brutal with him!”
“And what about Alexander’s father? Wasn’t he brutal with Albert’s mom?”
“What was the need for Albert to take matters in his own hands? He wanted to see his enemy punished but his approach was wrong.” He pauses. “You know who the real culprit is? It’s not Albert but his former Alpha who trained him. He could’ve approached the matter in the right way but he decided to do the opposite. He could’ve called all the leaders, held a meeting and asked justice for Albert and his mom. But what did he do? He trained a ten year old boy to kill someone else? Is that what Alphas are supposed to do? To teach their members to kill?”0
He leaves me speechless. I never thought about it in this way. I never thought that I’ll ever see Albert’s former Alpha in a bad light. I’ve always seen him as a perfect Alpha. But now, I can see his perfect image being shattered into pieces.
“What happened? Why aren’t you arguing with me? Are you agreeing with me?” Caleb laughs. “I never thought that there will be a day when both of us agree on the same thing. Do you ever think about how things would’ve been if Albert wouldn’t have killed Alexander’s father? I think about it everyday. I think about Albert’s Alpha not teaching this young man how to kill. I think about Albert’s Alpha reaching out to all the leaders of the werewolf community to seek justice for Albert and his mom. Things would’ve been so much different. Alexander’s father would’ve got punished in the right way. Alexander wouldn’t have developed a feeling of revenge. He wouldn’t have attacked our pack. A wise choice on the part of Albert’s father could’ve saved so many lives. But he was blinded by rage. And it’s because of his rage that we are where we are now.”7
A moment of silence passes between us.
“What are you going to do now?” I ask.
“First, I will kill you to punish Albert and then I’ll kill his Alpha to punish him for his wrong choices,” he answers.
“Who are you to punish Albert and his Alpha?” I question him. “Just minutes ago, you were talking about reaching out to the leaders to seek justice. Why don’t you practice what you preach? Why don’t you reach out to the leaders and seek justice? Don’t get blinded by rage just like Albert’s former Alpha-“
“Don’t you dare compare me with him!” Caleb interrupts me.
“The path you’re walking on won’t save lives! It would in turn end up destroying lives! Make wise choices!”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”1
“I’m just reminding you your own words! If killing me will give you satisfaction then go ahead. But let me tell you what will happen after my death. Albert will find out that you killed me-“
“He’ll never find out.”
“Trust me, he will. The truth never remains hidden. No matter how hard you try to hide the truth in the dark, it will always come to light. When Albert will find out that you are my murderer, he will kill you. What will happen when uncle and aunt will see your dead body? They obviously won’t be happy. Do you know what the biggest nightmare of parents is? It’s to see the death of their child. Do you want to torture them? Do you want to see them cry for you? Do you want to see them dying everyday?”1
Caleb doesn’t answer. He just stares at me.
“There’s still time, Caleb. Don’t let your hatred dictate your decisions. I know you want justice but this is not the right way.”
“There is no right way now,” Caleb says. “Times have changed.” He turns around and heads towards the table. When he faces me, I see a syringe in his hand. And I know at once that the liquid in the syringe is wolfsbane. He continues to talk while coming to me. “Do you know, Albert killed Alexander in front of all the leaders? None of them tried to stop him. No one questioned him. No one cared about justice. So, it will be stupid of me to think that they will fight to get Alexander justice.” He kneels in front of me. “I’m sorry but you have to die.”
“You are on a suicide mission,” I tell him. “Just think about your parents. Don’t make them suffer.” At this point, I don’t care about my life. I just care about uncle and aunt.
“I’m firm in my decision. Do you have any last wish?” He asks seriously. I don’t know why but I feel as if he’s in conflict with himself. He’s finding it difficult to kill me but he’s still go ahead with it for the bigger picture.
“Make sure that you kill me for good. Don’t leave any scope for me to recover. Because if I’m left alive then I won’t let you kill anyone else.”
“I’ve thought about everything. I cannot let you live since you will be an obstacle in my way. I’m going to inject the wolfsbane in your heart. You’ll feel as if a lightning has struck your heart. After a minute, you will feel at peace.”
The syringe comes closer to my body. I close my eyes, waiting for the prick that will end my life.1
“Caleb, stop!”