Chapter 4

• Chapter 4
• Conrad Stone
• ~•~
• “Unfortunately, he was killed by my former Luna, Zoey Malik.”
• Knowing that your mate murdered your best friend was a traumatic event. And the worst part? She was constantly denying it after being caught.
• Everyone saw her clothes soaked in his blood.
• I couldn’t even give her the benefit of the doubt if I wanted to. What would the other members of the pack think? That they can commit crimes and go free?
• The pain of the bond severance stung but it was overshadowed by grief. I had to cut ties with Zoey before sending her into the dungeon.
• I knew how I felt about Zoey the first time our wolves sensed each other. I felt I was being cursed by the moon goddess.
• I mean, I always expected Wendy to be my mate. But it turned out to be a mere maid in the pack. A powerless orphan. I didn’t want to accept her at first, but my mother convinced me to do it.
• As time passed, I gradually warmed up to Zoey.
• I discovered that she wasn’t that bad.
• Zoey just needed to clean up. She was an attractive girl but was too poor to keep up with her maintenance. But after I marked her and took her into my home, I noticed that her appearance changed and she started to look the part.
• I wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her anymore.
• With time, I even stopped cheating on her with Wendy.
• Just when I thought I could fall in love with her, she went ahead to commit an unforgivable crime. A part of me wishes she didn’t do it because I had developed a soft spot for her.
• But I had to give her the same punishment I would give to every other person.
• “She will be thrown into the dungeon to pay for her sins.” The crowd was pleased as I announced Zoey’s punishment. “We will all gather some other time to give Ethan a befitting funeral.”
• I never imagined having to plan a funeral for Ethan.
• It was heartbreaking to even say it out loud.
• I already missed Ethan dearly. I just wanted to get the punishment over with, so I would retire back to my room and grieve properly.
• When I was done addressing the crowd, I walked over to Zoey and asked. “Why did you do it?” I wanted some sort of closure.
• I wanted to know her motive for killing him.
• He didn’t deserve to die.
• “I didn’t do it, Conrad. I’m being framed. There’s a real killer out there and you want me to pay for a crime that I didn’t commit.”
• As usual, she continued to deny it.
• I wasn’t surprised.
• “Take her,” I whispered to the men who would be taking her to the dungeon.
• But just as they were about to do it, a loud voice echoed from the crowd. “Mate!”
• The crowd went silent and parted like it was the Red Sea.
• I was surprised when I saw Sean.
• He was a Lycan king from a neighboring pack. We met a few times but we weren’t exactly friends. But we weren’t enemies either.
• He was more powerful than me and I always learned to keep my distance from Lycan kings. I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance to win a fight against them.
• It took a second before I realized that he found his mate in my pack. My eyes darted through the crowd as I anticipated to see who the person was.
• Sean didn’t stop walking until he came to where I stood with Zoey and the men who were about to take her.
• “Mate.” He repeated, his gaze fixed on Zoey.
• It must’ve been a mistake.
• Sean and Zoey couldn’t be mates.
• I was her true mate.
• Even if I rejected her, no one else could sense her as their mate. It was all a big misunderstanding. He must’ve gotten the wrong person.
• Before anybody could say anything, I stepped in between them. “No, you’ve made a mistake. Zoey can’t be your mate.” I said, looking up at Sean.
• He was a few feet taller than me.
• It felt like he was hovering over me and I was a little bit intimidated, but I stayed calm. “Zoey is my mate,” I added.
• Sean looked at me, his eyes raking over me from head to toe.
• “Are you trying to say that the moon goddess made a mistake?” He asked, his voice hoarse. Then he turned to Zoey. “Is he your mate?”
• She hesitated for a second, then she stuttered as she tried to respond. “Y…no…not…not anymore.”
• Sean smiled. “She’s not your mate.” He replied as he reached out for Zoey’s trembling hand and interlaced his fingers through hers. “She’s coming with me.” He declared.
• The crowd erupted with frustrated roars.
• “I’m afraid that you can’t take her right now.” I continued my voice firm. “She committed a crime and she has to pay for her sins.”
• Sean brushed off my concerns with a dismissive wave. “Oh, about the murder? I know that my mate isn’t capable of killing someone.” He vouched for Zoey as if he knew her. “And I’ll prove it to you by exposing the real killer.”
• The crowd erupted again, this time with louder whispers.
• I raised a brow at him. “How do you intend on doing that?”
• Sean smiled. “Just give me a few weeks. If I don’t expose the real killer, then you can throw Zoey into the dungeon.” He replied, his voice calm.
• “He can’t just walk here and do something like this,” Wendy murmured on my shoulder. “Ask him to leave.” She added, her voice thick with disdain.
• Normally, I wouldn’t have agreed.
• But thinking about it, Zoey wasn’t capable of killing someone. I wasn’t completely ruling her out as the murderer.
• However, if there was a chance that someone else was the killer, I was interested in knowing. I knew that the pack members wouldn’t be happy, but I had to take my chances.
• “Fine, you have four weeks,” I said aloud.
• “I’ll only need two.” He answered with a cocky grin.
• As the crowd reacted, my gaze was focused on Zoey.
• If Zoey and I were true mates, then how did she form another bond?
• And if she didn’t kill Ethan, who the hell did?