Chapter 302: Tail Tucked
It was safe to say training was the last thing on anyone’s mind after this turn of events. Gertrude began to wail and beg at Milo’s feet, her knees supplanted on the floor.
"Please, don’t send me to the dungeons! I beg you! I’m innocent! I’m not a traitor! I swear― I did everything because Miss Dahlia paid me to!"
"How dare you implicate me!" Dahlia screamed, incensed. "You weak-willed bitch! I knew I should never have trusted you!"
"I heard enough," Milo growled and he gestured for the guards to restrain her and Dahlia. But while Gertrude offered no physical resistance to being manhandled, soon to be hauled away for interrogation, Dahlia was a whole kettle of fish altogether.
Then again, Dahlia wouldn’t be Dahlia if she went easily. She snarled and swung her fists, not letting the guards get close enough to touch her. I noticed how the men were reluctant to lay hands on her the way they did to Gertrude; even without her title, old habits were hard to break.
Milo narrowed his eyes as we exchanged a glance. He caught it too. Dahlia had been Thorton Elrod’s beloved daughter for over two decades, and it was hard to override such reverence in a few months.
She hadn’t been truly convicted of a crime yet.
But in the meantime, Darach was going to need new guards. Or at least guards without any lingering deferential treatment for his sister. I wouldn’t put it past some of them to help her escape — unwittingly or not — if she spun a sad enough sob story for them to sink their teeth into.
Meanwhile, Dahlia was making a spectacular effort to shatter everyone’s eardrums with her voice box. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on me!" Dahlia shrieked at the unfortunate guards. "Don’t you know who I am? Unhand me this instance and I’ll spare your lives!"
"You are in no position to make demands. Lock her up in the dungeons," Milo said evenly as he stared down at the woman who could have been the light of his life.
Then he raised his head and met the eyes of the pack.
"If I catch anyone indulging the whims of Dahlia Elrod, whether it’s to sneak her items for communication or otherwise, they’ll be punished severely." His eyes then focused on the man that spoke up in support of Dahlia. "Needless to say, if anyone is foolish enough to help her escape would be immediately and irrevocably deemed as a threat to Thunderstrike, and will be punished with exile."
Grave murmurings sprung up at his words. I saw how several faces paled at the severity of Milo’s proposed punishment. The guards made another move to arrest her.
"Miss Dahlia, stop making our lives difficult," one of the guards said pleadingly. "Please submit to the interrogation."
"Rubbish! I have done nothing wrong. Why should I be interrogated?" Dahlia snarled, and then she met my eyes.
"You heard them. Stop making our lives difficult," I said, smiling at her placidly, but it seemed to infuriate her further.
"You bitch, you set me up! Just you wait, this won’t be the last you see of me!"
And that was all the warning anyone got before Dahlia shifted, her clothes tearing apart as she made an attempt to escape. My mouth fell open, I couldn’t believe the prideful Dahlia was literally running away with her tail tucked between her legs.
If that wasn’t a sign she was guilty, I didn’t know what would be.
She ran in the direction of the sewers, but Milo reacted quickly enough― he shifted without hesitation and immediately chased after her. Screams erupted throughout the field at the sudden turn of events. Never had anyone thought that Dahlia Elrod would literally run from an interrogation.
Kyle yelled. "What are we all standing here for? If you can help, go and chase her! Idiots!"
It was as though a spell had been broken by Kyle’s words. Around me, more people quickly began to shift to help chase down Dahlia Elrod. I was pleased to note that the woman who spoke up against Dahlia had also transformed.
"Harper―" Kyle looked at me with a severely conflicted look on his face.
"Why aren’t you giving chase?" I asked cheekily. "Go. You won’t get this chance again." If only I had my own wolf. Nothing would have stopped me from tackling Dahlia Elrod down a ravine. Just the very thought made me beam like a lunatic.
"But what about your safety?" Kyle asked worriedly.
"I am perfectly safe with the guards and dear Gertrude here," I said, smiling at Gertrude. Her face paled further when she glanced at me― something I thought was completely uncalled for. At least I wasn’t going to beat her to death the way Dahlia would. "Also, someone has to update Darach."
Besides, Dahlia’s capture took priority. We still needed to wring out the identity of the hidden party.
"Alright," Kyle said, and with one last look at me, he transformed to chase after Dahlia.
The air was full of howls, as though Thunderstrike was out on a pack run. I sent a quick message to Darach, updating him about the situation just in case he thought his wolves were rioting. Update complete, I decided to settle the next issue on my list.
"Well, let’s not dawdle here," I said, clapping my hands, drawing the attention of pack members who were still on the training grounds. There weren’t many left, and I was pleased to note that most of them stared at me with a healthier dose of respect in their eyes.
Or perhaps it was fear.
Nah, it couldn’t be.
"Come on, it’s time to send sweet Gertrude to the dungeons. I’ll come along with you. In addition, we’ll need to search her quarters. Perhaps that might give us more clues."
The guards that were still holding onto Gertrude stared back at me as though I had grown another head.
"Charlie Harper... that’s not very..." He began, and I waited patiently, wondering how he was going to finish that sentence.
"Not very?" I prompted when his mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
"Nevermind. As you wish," the guard said with a heavy sigh.
