Chapter 88
“It’s ‘the Black Alder pack…,” he started, looking up to meet my
gaze.
“…They’ve declared war.”
“…What did you just say?” I asked, my voice thick with disbelief.
“I said they’ve declared war,” Alexander repeated. “They’ve said that if we don’t release Bash before sunset tomorrow that they will officially announce their intent to bring him home by force.”
Less than twenty-four hours. I had less than twenty-four hours to free him or we would be initiating a war.
…And it would be my fault.
“It’s not enough time,” I whispered, the panic rising inside me once more. “…It’s not enough time… It’s not enough time.”
I took a step backwards as my mind continued to whirl. This was it. Everything had been leading to this moment and it was finally here.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” Benjamin asked him.
Alexander frowned as if he’d expected him to have a different reaction. “…No? Just that we received a letter from the Black Alder just now…-”
“You can go then,” Benjamin interrupted. “Thank you for
telling me as soon as possible.”
“What?…Uh, yeah, okay…,” Alexander said, confused.
He took a few steps backwards, still unsure as to why he’d been dismissed so quickly, before finally turning around to
leave.
As soon as Alexander was out of sight, Benjamin immediately turned his attention to me.
Everything was spinning, making it hard to focus. What could I possibly do to stop this now? Maybe confronting Isabella myself and trying to get her to confess again? But no… that energy inside me had become disconnected, like a flickering light whenever I tried to grasp it. I remembered how sick it made me last time and didn’t think I could force anyone to follow my orders right now even if I wanted to. A part of me knew that doing so would be reckless… potentially deadly.
“Winona,” Benjamin said, his voice cutting through my thoughts. It was enough to make me look up to him, meeting. his gaze directly. “Breathe. In and out.”
As he said the words, I realised my breathing had become shallow, my concentration on thinking taking priority. Slowly, I breathed in deeply and back out again.
“You’ve got that same expression that worries me,” he said. “The one where I leave you alone to calm down, only to find out you’re acting completely insane a few days later. We don’t have time for that anymore. I need smart Winona right now, not self-destructive Winona.”
He was right, I needed to slow down and think properly. Confronting Isabella myself was far too risky and almost
certainly wouldn’t work out in my favour.
And so, I closed my eyes, my breathing still shaky, but I did my best to focus.
I went over it all in my head, thinking through the different possibilities, the different outcomes… but with the limited time we had left, there wasn’t much we could do.
Shaking my head, I frowned. “There’s no time, Benjamin… our best hope is that Jonathan accidentally reveals himself tomorrow or Isabella slips up.”
“…That’s cutting it pretty close,” he said.
“I know… which is why I have one more solution as a backup plan that is almost guaranteed to work.”
He crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. “If it’s guaranteed then why don’t we just implement that one first instead?”
I bit my lip, unsure if I should tell him. I already knew what his reaction would be.
“Well… because…,” I started hesitantly.
His frown deepened for a second before finally, he
understood what I meant without me even needing to finish. I could see the recognition on his face when he realised what I was planning.
“No, no way,” he said, a tone of finality in his words. “You’re not doing that.”
“Benjamin, I don’t have a choice.”
“You’re throwing your life away,” he argued. “Everything
you’ve worked towards, everything you’ve fought for. You’re going to give it up for him?”
“I’m not giving it up for him… I’m giving it up for the pack. Both packs. I’m giving it up to save innocent people.”
He shook his head. “Winona, think this through clearly. ”
“I am thinking clearly!” I hissed. “I can’t let thousands of people die for my mistake. If the worst-case scenario really does happen… I’m going to confess. There is no other way. The side effects of my punishment do not overrule the lives of innocents. You’re the one who needs to think clearly here.”
I wouldn’t let it happen. Not again. I’d participated in too many wars already and knew too well the destruction they left behind. This time the cause wasn’t even for power or territory… it was over releasing an innocent man. A man accused of my own crimes.
I took a breath, calming my voice back down to help him see reason. “Benjamin, if you really cared about the Lock Heart, and I know you do… you’d let me do this. Please don’t ask me to stand by and let people die for me. I don’t need their names weighing on my soul any more than I already have.”
“And what if Leo sentences you to death? What then, huh? I can’t save you from that, Winona. You know as well as I do what the punishment for treason is.”
“He won’t,” I reassured. “He can’t. He’d chain me to a pole for the rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image I provide too much. The ‘Lock Heart Saintess’. No, he won’t kill me.”
“Then we’ll have every Goddess devout nutcase on our
doorstep demanding their Saintess’ freedom. You’ll become a martyr within your own oppression. We’re potentially trading one war for another.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I said, desperately trying to help him see reason. “That’s at least a more manageable problem. One thing at a time here. First, I’ll call an emergency meeting scheduled for just after lunch tomorrow. In the morning before that, we’ll see how Jonathan goes with Isabella then… well… worst-case scenario, I’ll be using the meeting to finally clear all this mess up.”
“No,” he said flatly.
His plain refusal bristled my temper once more. “Benjamin, what the hell is going on with you? Is this really due to dealing with the devout follower backlash or is this about something else? Is it Bash? Do you really hate him that much? I know you guys don’t get along but this seems a little extreme.”
“What? No, Winona… You don’t… whatever.” He sighed in frustration, giving up on whatever he wanted to say and opting for silence instead.
“”‘I don’t’ what? What were you going to say?” I pressed.
“Nothing. Forget it.”
I crossed my arms defensively. “You always do this,” I said, not bothering to hide my irritation. “I say something or do
something and you just go quiet instead of telling me
whatever it is you’re thinking about.”
“It’s called making smart decisions and knowing when some things are better left unsaid. Would you like me to teach you how that’s done?”
I clenched my jaw at the direct insult. “At least I’m not fine with killing off innocent people for the sake of avoiding a smaller confrontation. Wars don’t solve all your problems, Benjamin. What are you really afraid of here? Is it that you’re insecure over whether I’ll usurp you one day? Gather followers of the Goddess around me and take over what you feel you’re entitled to? Let me give you a quick tip for avoiding that future; don’t piss me off. I never wanted the job anyway. Why do you think I’ve tried so hard to become a Beta instead?”
“Betas don’t give Alpha commands,” he retorted harshly. “You can’t just pick and choose which title you want whenever it suits you.”
I wanted to argue back but he was right, I had overstepped that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence hung between us, neither of us wanting to concede. Finally though, his eyes softened, sighing in release of tension.
“…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you first,” he said quietly in defeat, running a hand through his dark wavy hair. “Just… do what you think is right, Winona. We’ll deal with whatever happens after when we get to that point, just as you said.”
