The Twelfth Moon || ✔️

19. Where Do Your Allegiances Lie?

"We still need to figure out who sold us out," Jerr grumbled.

Aven sighed. "That as well. All these political troubles are giving me a headache."

"A headache is the least of your problems, Aven," Jerr countered, a bit annoyed.

"I know that," he shot back. "But nonetheless, this world would be a better place without Fire Moon."

"Without Beckett," I specified. I did not care for Beckett or really anyone of the Fire Moon Pack. But I did care about Agni, who had sacrificed so much for us.

"They go hand in hand." Aven shot me a warning look. I needed to tread carefully with my next words.

"Beckett controls Fire Moon. The Pack has always been horrible to me, because Beckett ordered them to. Maybe with another Alpha -"

Aven cut me off before I could finish my sentence. "And where do you suggest we find this other Alpha? Currently, all the known wolves that possess the power of Agni are close to Beckett."

"I don't know," I said, lowering my eyes towards the floor. But if war meant children dying, innocent people becoming victims of a play between two powerful wolves, I wanted to avoid that. I didn't care about my previous pack, for all I cared they could all die. But it was the people I cared about, the humans. Benjamin and his family, Gil. Even the others, even if they too hadn't been any good to me or my parents. And it was Agni I cared about, too. I hadn't once blamed the horrors of my life on our eighth Moon. I knew that she would rage if she saw how Beckett abused her Gift.

"Some problems need to be taken out, root and stem. Fire Moon is one of those. But back to why I brought you here," Aven spoke, slightly irritated. "Over the last days, did you notice anything odd about Beckett? Did he see anyone out of the ordinary?"

I shook my head. "I avoided Beckett as much as I could. I mostly ran into him in the town, when he came to the local bar where I spent most of my time or in the streets. But now that I think about it, he hadn't shown his face in town for the last days leading up to the Ascension. I had to go to him to ask about how and when we would leave for my Ascension." I shuddered at the memory of what had happened when I visited the Central Building. I instinctively grabbed my fingers, and I saw Aven nod in understanding. He had seen my hand when I arrived at the Castle. By the time I had run into Jerr, Leya had healed it already.

"So you didn't see anything else?" Aven asked.

"No."

"Then why did you so bravely offer to sell Beckett out if you don't even have useful information?" A bitter feeling that resembled a mixture of anger and frustration hung over his grumbling.

"You did what?" Jerr asked, surprise and pride dancing on his features. "In front of Beckett?"

"Yes, I told the Alphas, Beckett included, I'd sell him out," I said to Jerr, shooting him an annoyed glance. It only amused him even more. I rolled my eyes at Jerr before I turned back to Aven. Before I even knew what I was saying, the words were spewing out of me, like liquid fire. "Don't even pretend that that is why you Ascended me. If that were the case, you would have stepped forward way earlier than you did. You even admitted you only let me in to piss him off. On the front of the usefulness of my information, I did just give you insight on Beckett's motive which lead to the discovery of his true intentions. I can also give you a lot more, other information, but I wasn't living as a spy. I had better things to occupy myself with, like finding food without mold and water without the town's waste in it."