Love And Betrayal | ✔️

20. The tale of the unfortunate pawn.

"This is the horrible part of this talent." She mutters to herself. "I can never arrive in style."

A slight smile tugs at the corners of my mouth, but that's gone as soon as the door pulls open. I step into the hall, only to be attacked by something much smaller in size. Before I know it, I'm being crushed to pulp.

"Aden!" Her voice is muffled because she's hugging me so tightly. "You're safe! God, I was so scared!"

I glance at Kiara, then at my sister who's now sobbing into my shirt. Her cheeks are stained with tears and mascara. She looks frightened to death.

I motion Kiara to go ahead to the dungeons without me and check whatever's left of their traitor. When her footsteps fade, I lead Stella to one of the chairs. She still clings to my hand, hiccupping every few seconds. I stroke her hair and have her drink some water. Patiently, I wait for her to start. And she does, soon enough.

"Oh Aden, I thought I lost you! You need to be punched a hundred times for scaring me like that!"

I stare at her in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? I was here the whole time."

"Then why the hell didn't I see you when the alarm went off?"

My eyebrows shoot up even higher. "The alarm went off? Why am I hearing different stories from everyone?"

She pauses a moment. Blows her nose into her kerchief. "What did you hear?"

"Claire, the ex Blood Hound Gamma, was poisoned?"

She nods.

"Was it just an intruder then or was there an attack? Who else was harmed?"

"We were attacked, well kind of. Later, it was found to be a false alarm. Someone started a fire and within seconds the whole place was in chaos."

The gears in my head are turning once again as she fills me in the details. She tells me the fire was quickly doused but it was enough to cause a ripple of unrest among the other pack members. Like her, Mom was scared to her wits end, and Dad was too furious to actually worry.

Typical Dad. I can't contain the disgust at the thought.

"What are you thinking?" She asks when I'm silent for too long.

"What time exactly did the fire alarm go off?"

She furrows her brows. "Around six? We had just returned from the funeral..."

I begin pacing the floor while Stella watches me warily. "When did Evans inform everyone about it the poisoning?"

"Some time around seven."

I pause mid step.

Just like I thought.

"So the fire was just a diversion." I observe.

"Diversion? Are you telling me that the rebel infiltrated this place not to kill us but just poison a prisoner?"

Oh Stella, you are so so naive. "They didn't infiltrate our place now. The traitor has been staying with us for years."

Color drains from her face. "Are you saying Claire isn't the real traitor here?"

"Exactly." I hiss through my teeth, bending to her eye level. A mixture of curiosity as well something I can't lay a finger on, flashes through her eyes. "We were wrong about the traitor all along."

"But we have proofs! Claire Connor-"

"- was just the unfortunate pawn. The real bishop is much closer than we thought."