Chapter 31

• Arthur’s POV
• I was so confused. I’d never been this confused in my entire life. This was bad; this was disastrous. My life was projected to end in exactly eighteen days if the curse was not reversed. I had made sure to be extra careful to make sure no one knew where she was. I had planned on making her presence under my roof, in my care, unknown. I hadn’t even told Dizane, my Luna. She had no idea what was going on, and it wasn’t because I didn’t trust her; I had thought the less people knew, the better. I had only agreed to tell the Elder because of the rumors that had been going on; thankfully, Luna wasn’t aware, or it would have been a bigger issue. I had to tell him to help me reduce the rumors and keep the people calm. I still couldn’t understand why the Moon Goddess had chosen to make the human girl my cure; this was causing too many problems for me. I was still in the dark. On what was going on in my pack. There were people betraying me—people who knew me and probably the human girl. I could remember that day she’d been brought in; there had been a handful of people. But there was no one to suspect. The Luna had been there, along with three of my elders— one of which had been my father’s friend — my Beta and Omega, and the two others who’d brought her in. The Beta wasn’t one to betray me; past experiences had proved that. I could remember how he’d been helpful in unveiling the secrets of some werewolves who’d been trying to sell me out to one of my enemies, an Alpha of another pack. The Beta had single-handedly done some digging and fished out the culprits responsible. The Omega, my third in command, was Ragel. Yes, I knew him to be a hardheaded, foolhardy, and high-handed fellow, but he wasn’t a betrayer; just like my Beta, he had made a lot of sacrifices for me in the past. Moreover, he was still locked up, serving his punishment for disrespecting me before others. I had seen the angry, vengeful glare he’d passed to Hazel, and I knew his vendetta was with her. Knowing him, he might want to get back at her, not to hurt or spite me, but he was just that way. He always thought of himself as one who should be revered by those who were beneath his class; he’d almost torn down the walls when he'd discovered one of the maids, the girl I’d asked to take care of Hazel, was his mate. He’d ignored and insulted her.
• The girl was calm and gentle, and though I threw her in prison when they’d had another fight, not because Ragel was innocent but because it was wrong for the common class to engage in a fight with one from the upper class, I had found out that she’d shared the same cell with Hazel and had been nice to her. When she’d been released, I had just known that she was the right person to care for Hazel and keep her mouth shut. Asides being calm and gentle, she behaved differently from the other maids in the manor, which was a good thing, but I had been exceptionally disappointed when she’d confessed that she’d led Hazel outside, and not because she had ulterior motives but because Hazel had made some health-related complaints that had prompted her to take her out for a walk, for some fresh air she’d believed would help make her bounce back to normal. According to the servant, she’d said the walk had been going well, and they’d avoided taking the front door so no one would see them, especially me since she knew I’d disapprove of the stroll. She further said that she’d remembered someone lurking behind the shrubs, and when it’d occurred the second time, she'd pulled Hazel towards heading back to her room when she'd been knocked out flat, and by the time she came to, Hazel had gone missing. She’s also said she’d seen Zara’s body when she had been coming towards the manor to tell me what had happened.