Too Late, Alpha. My Silence Was Goodbye Chapter 03

Too Late, Alpha. My Silence Was Goodbye Chapter 03

Theo’s funeral was held at the Blackthorn Estate. The pup’s white casket rested in the center of the Lunar Hall, surrounded by heaps of laurel and cedar branches. Because Theo had always loved the color blue, Mara had someone drape his favorite blue velvet blanket inside the casket, right next to his well-worn stuffed wolf toy.
She hobbled into the mourning hall on her crutches, wanting nothing more than to see her son one last time before the cremation. However, Lucian’s mother, Ophelia Thorne, charged forward and slapped her hard across the face.
“You still have the nerve to show your face here?” Ophelia shrieked. A second slap landed with a sharp crack, leaving Mara’s ears ringing. “You forced a pup who couldn’t even shift yet to participate in the Coastal Trial! You knew Theo couldn’t swim, yet you threw him at Selena. You killed your own son!”
The entire pack had already heard this version of the story. After Theo’s death, Alpha Lucian had personally announced the details of the accident to the Elder Council. He claimed that Mara had insisted on making the child take the trial early, and that Selena had nearly lost her life trying to save him.
No one dared to question their Alpha.
The angry pack members quickly swarmed her. Someone tore off Mara’s Luna mantle, while others threw stones at her or snatched away her crutches, shoving her hard to the ground right in front of Theo’s casket.
“Get out of here!” someone yelled.
“A mother who kills her own pup doesn’t deserve to t***h him!” another spat.
Blood trickled down Mara’s temple and dripped onto the pristine white casket. The chaos only ceased when Lucian shoved his way through the crowd and shielded her behind his back.
“That’s enough!” he roared. His dominant Alpha presence forced every werewolf in the room to lower their heads simultaneously.
Lucian scooped Mara into his arms and carried her upstairs, personally wiping the blood from her face. She kept her eyes fixed on him the entire time, waiting until the bedroom door clicked shut before finally speaking.
“Why is everyone saying I was the one who took Theo to the beach?” she asked softly.
His hand paused for a fraction of a second. “Selena’s position in the Blackthorn pack is already difficult enough,” he explained. “She isn’t of Blackwood blood, and the Elder Council has always wanted to drive her out. If they find out she took Theo away on her own, she’ll be stripped of her pack status and exiled to the Wastelands.”
“So you made the entire pack believe that I was the one who killed Theo,” she stated.
Lucian avoided her gaze. “You’re my Luna. As long as I acknowledge your status, they wouldn’t dare to truly hurt you. It isn’t the same for Selena, because she has nothing.”
Mara looked down at her cracked, bleeding fingernails and let out a sudden, hollow laugh. “Did those people down there look like they were respecting me?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened as he replied, “I will punish them.”
“They only believed what their Alpha told them.” She pointed out. He didn’t answer her, and she didn’t bother pressing the issue any further. “Okay.”
Lucian looked at her as if he hadn’t heard her clearly. “What did you say?” he asked.
“I said okay,” she repeated calmly.
She didn’t cry, nor did she demand to know why she and Theo had to be the ones sacrificed. Lucian should have felt relieved, but his heart inexplicably sank.
“This is only temporary,” he said, gripping her shoulders. “Once things settle down, I’ll find an opportunity to explain the truth. I can also transfer half of the Blackthorn pack’s private territory into your name as compensation.”
“Whatever,” she replied dismissively.
“Mara,” he warned.
“Is there anything else?” she asked, cutting him off.
For the first time, a clear look of panic flashed in Lucian’s eyes. In the past, she would have grabbed his shirt and asked him over and over again why Selena’s lack of family entitled her to take everything Mara had. She would have cried and told him that she needed protection too. Now, he was offering her half a territory, and she couldn’t even be bothered to look at it.
A sudden burst of crying from Selena echoed from downstairs. Lucian’s younger sister, Freya Thorne, had returned. Knowing that Selena had been present when Theo’s accident happened, she had lunged at her, grabbing her and demanding the truth.
“Lucian, save me!” Selena screamed.
Hearing her desperate cry, he immediately stood up. “I’m going to check on them. You stay here and don’t go downstairs again,” he instructed.
After the door closed, Mara could hear Freya yelling hysterically downstairs. “I’m your actual sister, and Theo was your own flesh and blood! Why do you always only protect her?”
Lucian harshly ordered her to shut up. A few minutes later, he left the estate, carrying Selena, who had sustained a cut on her forehead. He left in such a hurry that he didn’t look back toward the upstairs room once.