Laura’s POV:

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Maxwell, innocent?

But he was the one who gave me the poisoned wine. I thought Maxwell nally caved into his father's persuasion to end my reign as the alpha and end my life. That was all I thought when I ordered the guards to arrest him.

But all this while, it was Sonia who planned all of this.

How could I have been so blind? I thought back to the events leading up to his imprisonment, back towards that day after I met with Ryker, and how Sonia had been so quick to point fingers at him.

How she made peace with me when Maxwell was gone. It all made sense now.

I turned to Leila, my eyes blazing with anger and determination. "Dammit. I had been so blind all this while. Sonia is getting smarter all this while” I spoke to myself rather than Leila.

“We need to get Maxwell out of the cellar,” I growled.

Leila nodded, her eyes shining with tears. "I'm so sorry, Laura. I should have spoken up sooner."

I shook my head, my mind racing with plans. "It’s alright. It’s never your fault. It’s in the past, we can't change it, but we can x this now.”

That was true. How would Maxwell forgive me now even after I failed to believe him? Maxwell, I’m so sorry.

I took a deep breath, trying to see how I was going to x all of this but a voice reached my sensitive ears:

“We were involved in Laura’s parent's death. We killed them so that we could get that throne. Laura was only but a weak female heir and she would need her mate beside her to control and rule this pack. That’s why I made Alex her mate so that he can kill her” the deep voice spoke and I could recognize that voice from anywhere.

It was Elder Magnus.

“I know, you did all you could to serve our purpose but now see where we are. Laura has become too strong for anyone to comprehend. It’s getting harder taking her down” another voice interjected elder Magnus, and I recognized it as Elder Amanda, one of the oldest and only females in the council of elders.

My mind wasn’t able to register their words as I tried to remain quiet.

They killed my parents.

My parent's death was not ordinary.

Elder Magnus was involved in my parent's death.

My mother is dead.

My father is dead.

Myself. Dead.

All because the elders wanted to take the throne for themselves.

I grol, my anger and grief sparkling. A tear fell down my cheek and I didn’t bother to clean them.

“Laura, oh my goddess. I can’t believe this, I’m so sorry” said Leila, but I didn’t listen to her words. I could still remember the sweet voice of my mother and my father's wise voice as he trained me to learn the ways of the pack so that as his heir, I would take control in the closest time when he stepped down. But I didn’t know that time was so close and all because of these hooded power-hungry gures in front of me.

They were about ve, all gathered in a circle around themselves.

“Kill them all” a voice spoke inside of my head and I couldn’t be more glad. They all deserve to die. Elder Magnus, Maxwell’s father, and all three others were present. They need to die by my claws.

They killed my family. They killed them.

I slowly stood. My eyes were ablaze with grief and re. The usual yellow color of my wolf’s eyes changed to a bright crimson red ever since I was reborn but this time, it was even brighter than ever. I felt my claws elongate as furs began to lengthen out of my skin.

‘They killed them, they killed my family.’ The word echoed in my mind, replaying over and over again. More times than I could count.

I took a step towards them but suddenly fell back to the ground, a strong hand holding me down. I turned to see Leila holding me tight with panic and pity in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Laura. But this is not the way to go about this. We need to be careful, they’re dangerous” Leila whispered lowly, her voice strained as if she were in pain.

She doesn’t realize the pain I feel now. It was even worse than when my mate killed me. This was more painful. Because of power, my parents were dead.

“No, I will end their life now. Let me go if you don’t want to lose your hands.” I threatened, growling as my claws dug deep to the ground.

“No, Alpha. We will nd another way to make them pay but killing them now would not solve anything. If you want revenge, then I’ll help you achieve that. We have to nd others involved in your parent's death and end all of them at once. That’s how you get your revenge, but going now, it’s not beneficial” I softened, listening to her ramble as my heart nally calmed down and my claws retracted.

I sni ed a painful sob that threatened to explode from my chest.

“Who’s there?” Elder Amanda’s voice rang out and I could sense their figure approaching the fallen log. They were

getting closer.

“We have to get out of here, Now,” I told Leila, who nodded urgently. I grabbed her hands and ashed my eyes, using the new power that I gained after my rebirth, and zoomed out of that place and to the pack house, faster than the eyes could

register.

I walked back to my chambers, careful to sense if anyone was coming from ahead. As we walked, I couldn't help but think of my parents and the life they were robbed of.

Even Maxwell, his freedom was robbed of him when he did nothing wrong. I couldn’t save my parents, but I could save Maxwell.

“I’m going down to the dungeon. I need to free Maxwell from the cellar. He is innocent” I broke the silence and Leila nodded but as I was about to go, she grabbed my hands.

"I’m sorry and I can’t imagine the pain you must be feeling but you made the right choice. We need to gather evidence,"

Leila suddenly said, "We can't just accuse the elders without proof. We need to be strategic and careful."

I nodded, knowing she was right. I couldn't let my emotions cloud my judgment. I needed a clear head to plan and execute my revenge.

“Thank you,” I was grateful for her help. “And goodnight. I have a wolf to save” I said while heading down to the cellar.

“Morning Alpha” the guard blocking the gate bowed and opened the door. I went inside and looked through the silver cages that were currently empty except for one.

He was staring straight into my eyes and I looked down, ashamed.

“Hello, Maxwell”