“You do not have to say anything again Sandy, because I believe you.”
It was as if Sandy didn’t hear the words correctly. She needed to hear the words right, she needed to be sure it was her brother that had said what she’d just heard.
“You… I didn’t get what you said.”
“I said I believe you, Sandy. You were right, Samara is conniving with the rogue king.”
Those words couldn’t have brought any more joy to Sandy’s heart, but before she began her excitement, she needed to know how all of this came to be.
“How did you know I was telling the truth? Did she confess it herself?”
He shook his head, “no… In fact, she did the exact opposite, she denied everything. She lied to me through her teeth. I sent you away because I thought that if we were alone together, then perhaps she might be moved by our closeness to be able to trust me, but she didn’t. She denied everything.”
“How were you able to find out then?”
“I spotted her wolf when she returned through the border, at first, I doubted what I saw, until I convinced myself enough that it was her. There was no mistaking it, I could recognize her wolf anywhere.
“Samara would never leave these borders without telling me, and just like you said, I knew she was hiding something from me then. I decided to ask my men to trace her paw prints back to where they were coming from, as she wasn’t so smart in covering her tracks. They led straight to one of Rakur’s camps where he’d settled after retreating from the battle.”
“So, you see!!! You’ve seen how deceitful Samara is! You’ve seen all she’s planning and you knew that I wasn’t lying to you after all!” Sandy’s heart leaped. At least now Samara’s cup was full, now she would get all she deserved.”
“Yes, you weren’t and I want to use this medium to apologize to you, Sandy. I should have never hit you because of her, I should have never pushed you away because of her… treating you badly, I should have never have done any of that.”
“It’s okay, brother. My only joy now is that you’ve gotten to see the truth for yourself. I am happy that Samara’s evil plans have now been exposed. Has she been arrested yet? You know she can’t escape before we get the chance to. She must pay for all her crimes.”
“I didn’t arrest her, Sandy.”
Another set of words that came from his mouth which took her aback, this one she wished he didn’t say.
“You didn’t arrest her? Is this some kind of joke or something? With the way you sound now, it’s like you’re not even willing to.”
He nodded, “exactly. I am not.”
Walden was being difficult again and Sandy hated this so much, “but why?” She sulked.
“I cannot give Samara a harsh punishment by banishing or executing her because she hasn’t committed any major crimes against the night shadow pack.”
“What major crimes has she not committed already? You said so yourself that you followed her tracks to Rakur’s camp. You saw the mighty battle she had planned with him…”
“Against the silver and lotus pack, not ours. I’ll repeat what I said. Samara has not expressed betrayal or treachery in any way against us. She might be against other packs and connive against them, but that should be none of our business.”
With his words, Sandy felt like hitting her head against a nearby wall.
“Do you think someone worthy of keeping such a big secret cannot be considered dangerous to us? Open your eyes, Walden. Please… open them before it becomes too late,” Sandy begged.
“They are well open, Sandy, and note that for any other reason I would not have come here to apologize, but I had to do the needful as an alpha who leads by example.”
“You are not doing the needful by letting Samara go Scot free, Walden. In fact, what you are doing is far from the needful.”
“You will not be the one to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do, sister. I cannot convict Samara because she offended the Lotus and silver pack, not the night shadow pack. As long as this pack was not affected in any way, I have no obligation to arrest her.”
“She lied to you, Walden. She deceived you and made you believe she was innocent when she clearly was not. Doesn’t that tell you anything, brother? Or do you possibly think that she means well for you?”
“I am angry at her for that, and don’t get me wrong, she will get punished, just not for the crimes you think. I have decided to strip her off all her duties as a commanding officer of this pack, but that will be all for her punishment. She will not be executed or banished.”
“But Walden…”
“How many times do I have to explain this to you for you to understand, Sandy? I can only give a hefty punishment to an offender of the night shadow pack according to pack laws. She will not be executed or banished because she is not a traitor to us.”
“So, even though? What if she’s not a traitor to us? Isn’t she a traitor to the one you love? Don’t you care about Miranda anymore by exposing her enemy to her?”
“Miranda and I are not lovers, and we will never be. She has made that very clear the last time we spoke. I have finally decided to accept things as they are and move on with the rejection. As for Samara’s mild sentence, it has nothing to do with my personal feelings for Miranda.”
“Oh, yes it does, brother! It clearly does. Look at you! Now you refuse to help her because she rejected you, but that’s not enough reason for you to abandon her when she needs you, Walden. I’m sure that Miranda would have done the same thing if your life was in danger.”
“Yes, she would have, and I did. I helped her and her pack the last time. I lost a great number of men just to win back her love. I realize now that I should have never wasted my time trying to get her back. Rakur can do whatever he wants with them so long as it doesn’t affect me. This time, I will not be interfering.”