Chapter 299: Dug Her Grave II
"You―"
Kyle was incensed at her words, but I held him back with an arm, making sure to keep an expression of placid calm on my face.
"How convenient," I said simply. "Judging by the layout of the mansion, if you were in the next corridor, there was no way that you could have seen my face, especially if I was running past you. The most you could have spotted would be a side profile if you were lucky. You’ve claimed that the woman was wearing a red dress, but I own no such outfit."
"You could have gotten rid of it!" Dahlia scoffed. "Do you think we’re all idiots?"
Well, I certainly thought she was one. "Fine then, in that case, let me ask you― what was the man wearing then? Milo, Darach, and Kyle all met up with Damon too. We can double-check with them and with Damon. Surely, you’re not going to accuse him of lying too?"
At the thought of involving the pack’s alpha, beta, and Fangborne’s own alpha, Gertrude’s temples started to bead with sweat.
"I..."
"Tell them Gertrude, what was Damon wearing?" Dahlia ordered, but Gertrude could only open her mouth wordlessly.
Eventually, she stuttered quietly. "I... don’t remember... I think... it was jeans?"
"You think it was jeans. The outfit that nearly every male werewolf wears when he’s not inside the training grounds," I said dryly. "That certainly narrows things down. How could you claim that I was the one leading Damon to my room, or even that the man in question was Damon Valentine? Have you seen him before?"
"Of course! He visited Thunderstrike before. And I don’t need to see him to know it’s him!" Gertrude exclaimed, casting me an angry look. I didn’t miss the look of fear she gave Dahlia― she was probably afraid that if she failed to convict me, Dahlia might beat her to death.
"Unlike you, I am a werewolf with a working sense of smell. I can smell him!"
"So... you’re telling me you can remember what Damon smells like when he has only been here once?" I raised my eyebrow. "Isn’t that more suspicious? Dahlia, you might want to keep a closer eye on your servant."
Gertrude had a vaguely panicked look in her eyes. "Miss Dahlia! Don’t get the wrong idea! Alpha Damon just has a very distinctive scent― no one could forget it!"
Dahlia sniffed imperiously. "Gertrude would never dare to rise against her station. She’s not an opportunistic vixen like you. I could smell Damon all over you these past few days. I can’t believe the Alpha of Fangborne would willingly make a trip all the way to Thunderstrike for a booty call!"
I snorted; I never expected the words ’booty call’ to emerge from Dahlia’s pursed lips.
"Since Damon’s scent is as strong as you claim it to be, you’re welcome to sniff me to see if I do have his scent on me," I held out my arms. "Gertrude, you can start first."
Gertrude looked at me as though I was insane, but at Dahlia’s encouraging shove, she ended up stumbling forward into my arms. She gave me a cautious sniff from head to toe.
"Well?" Dahlia demanded. "I bet she has Damon all over her― inside her too!"
"Miss Dahlia..." Gertrude began hesitantly. "I... I can’t smell another wolf on her. Not in that way."
"What?!" Dahlia screeched. She stomped over to Gertrude and began to twist her arm, causing her to wince in pain. "You liar! Are you siding with her now?!"
"No! But I really can’t smell anything else on her! There’s just her scent, and the smell of paper," Gertrude said miserably. "Please, let me go! You’re hurting me!"
"Useless," Dahlia seethed, and she flung Gertrude to the ground with so much force I thought I heard a bone crack.
"Stop torturing your own wolves just because they don’t align with your decisions," I said, as Kyle quickly helped her up.
"How dare you tell me how to discipline my own people!" Dahlia raged. "All of them should be glad that I even bothered to lay my hands on their filthy skin!"
Oh, this was working out a lot better than I expected. This time, the angry looks were given to Dahlia for a change, and Dahlia was so incensed, that she didn’t even realize the damage she did to her own reputation.
"I guess we’ll have to disagree on this. Meanwhile, I want everyone here to help me get justice against this accusation. Can all of you line up to get a turn?"
"What?" Kyle asked, and I didn’t need a wolf to know that he was feeling panicked. This wasn’t in the original plan. "Harper, what are you doing?"
"I want all of you to feel free to sniff me and see if there’s any other scent on me. Let your fellow wolves decide if I’m a liar, Dahlia Elrod. If I am guilty of cheating on my mate, I will leave Thunderstrike tonight. Happy?"
If the audience was shocked before, they were simply stunned into silence now. Kyle’s own eyes were bulging so hard, I almost thought they would pop out.
Dahlia scoffed, her face reddening in outrage. "Do you think I’m stupid? You must have gotten rid of the scent already! That’s why Gertrude couldn’t smell anything?"
"How can you even remove scents?" I asked rhetorically, "You’re werewolves, so you should know better― I heard that the scents from an intimate encounter can last for at least two weeks. Was I wrong?"
"No, no you’re not," One of the other women replied, and Dahlia shot her a nasty look for daring to speak up. But I guessed she was mad enough to continue anyway. "Two weeks is usually the minimum that a scent lasts on partners. It’s to ensure that other wolves are warned that a particular wolf is taken."
"But she’s not a wolf, she’s a human!" Dahlia exclaimed, delighted that she found a flaw in the argument. "So she could not retain the scent!"
