Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“Well,” she sighed. “They shouldn’t have been talking about that, even if they thought you were asleep.”
“Why?” he asked. “Was it supposed to be a secret?”
“It’s complicated,” Alice said. “There are sides to every story and a spin to every tale. But gossip always leads to muddied waters and half-truths.”
“Will you tell me the whole truth?” he asked, sitting forward with a serious look. “Do people really think that she did that? Do you?”
Alice looked at him carefully, observing the expression on his face, the look in his eyes. It was clear that he didn’t believe what he had heard. Anyone else might have looked at him and assumed it was the innocence of a child. That his belief in Selene was purely out of the na?ve notion that people are always good at heart.
But that was not Stefan’s experience in this world.
He had many innocent and na?ve notions and beliefs. But his sense of justice and moral standards were quite high for someone so young. So, as she looked at him now, Alice wondered if the look of disbelief was based on the stories of Selene’s heroics or if it was based on something more from his experiences in Moonguard.
Alice sat back in the chair. She took a deep breath as she decided the best way to have this conversation.
“Yes,” Alice said. “People believe that Selene is to blame for what happened to you, Sadie, and Myka in Moonguard.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because to a degree… she is.”
Stefan clenched his jaw and looked away. Alice raised her brow as she watched him. He was upset.
‘Are you disappointed in your hero? Or me?’ she wondered.
“It’s not true,” he said, looking back at Alice.
The corner of Alice’s mouth lifted just slightly as she saw the angry look in his eyes.
‘Me, it seems,’ she thought.
“Selene didn’t do anything to make those creatures attack us,” he said, “and without her, we would have died.”
Alice listened as he spoke but said nothing.
“She saved Myka from the treant, and then she stayed behind to fight the monster alone so we could get away,” he huffed. “So, I don’t see how anyone can say it was her fault.”
He crossed his arms over his chest with a pout, quickly dropping them as the sting of his wounds flared through his nerves.
“Are you mad at me, Stefan?” Alice asked.
Stefan looked at Alice, she held a soft smile on her face, but she didn’t look angry or offended.
“A little,” he said.
“Why?”
He swallowed and looked away.
“Because people always blamed you for things you didn’t do, they called you names. They said you couldn’t be trusted and would hurt Alpha Axel,” he said. “None of them knew you. They just made stuff up and spread it around. I don’t like that. And it seems like that’s what is happening to Selene too.”
Alice looked at Stefan. He reminded her of Axel. The proud defender. She smiled.
“Thank you,” she said.
Stefan furrowed his brows and looked at her.
“What?”
“Thank you,” she repeated. “For coming to my defense, for believing in me when others did not.”
Stefan took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders.
“They didn’t know you. I do.”
Alice smiled.
“Still,” she said. “Some of what you heard was very likely true.”
Stefan shook his head.
“No, they said horrible things.”
“Stefan,” Alice said. “I have done horrible things.”
Stefan furrowed his brow and looked at her.
“I won’t tell you about it right now,” she said. “But I will tell you that while those people had no reason to fear me or suspect me from anything I had done here or to Axel, they did have a reason.”
“I don’t understand,” Stefan said.
Alice smiled again.
“Every story has sides. Every tale has a spin,” she said. “Those people saw one side of my story, but eventually, they learned more about me and who I really am.”
Stefan wasn’t sure how to react or what to think.
“As far as Selene,” Alice sighed. “That story, too, has many sides.”
“Then tell me the side that you know,” he said. “Do you blame her for what happened?”
Alice smiled.
“Hmm,” she began. “Do I blame her… hmm.”
She sat back in her chair and took a deep breath.
“Rather than telling you what I think,” she said. “I will tell you the facts I know, and you can decide.”
Stefan swallowed and nodded.
“Selene had a reason for wanting to go to Moonguard,” Alice began. “She hoped to find an answer to stop her pain. But she needed Myka to go with her, and he would only go if Alpha Axel approved.”
Stefan nodded. He had heard Myka and Peter talking about getting approval for the trip from Alpha Axel.
“But, Moonguard had already been reported as hostile,” Alice continued. “Alpha Axel would only give his permission if he received an all-clear from the scout he sent to re-investigate. Only, when the report from the scout arrived, it didn’t go to him, but to Selene.”
Stefan swallowed. Selene had been born a Winter wolf, but she was now a Summer wolf. So she should not have had access to a scouting report.
“The report that Selene saw said that Moonguard was still dangerous, that new creatures had control of the village, and it was unsafe to enter the territory. But the report she left for Axel said it was clear.”
Stefan furrowed his brows.
“How?” he asked.
Alice tilted her head.
“Selene changed it.”
Stefan clenched his jaw and looked down toward the bed.
“Alpha Axel gave his approval, and Myka invited your troop. But, unfortunately, we learned the report had been altered on the second night you were in Moonguard.”
Alice sat up.
“So, what do you think?” she asked. “Is Selene to blame for what happened in Moonguard?”
Stefan thought about what Alice had said, and he thought about everything that happened on the trip. Then, after a few minutes of quietly thinking it through, he shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
He was surprised and disappointed to hear that Selene had altered the scouting report, but he still didn’t feel like what had happened was her fault.
“You said the report talked about the village being dangerous, right?” he asked.
Alice nodded.
“She didn’t take us there,” he said. “I heard her and Myka talking about it. She didn’t want us anywhere near it. She picked the lake because it was far from the village and gave us a chance to go fishing.”
“I see,” Alice said.
“And she was always checking the defenses,” Stefan added. “She made sure to look for any danger anywhere we went. And there was no way she could have known about the creatures in the lake.”
Alice nodded.
“I agree,” she said.
Stefan furrowed his brow.
“I thought you blamed her?”
Alice shook her head.
“I said that, to a degree, she was to blame. But I never said I blamed her,” she said. “Selene never should have changed the report. If she hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been there and wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“Yea…” Stefan said. “But… she did try to keep us safe. I don’t think she meant for anyone to get hurt.”
Alice smiled.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?