Her shoulders gave a slight tremor. "What things… Oh, I know—it's about Serenity, isn't it? Why are you blaming me because of her?"
"I didn't bring you here because of her," I said coldly. "But since you brought it up, let me ask you this first—at the gala four years ago, you were in charge of my phone. Do you remember that call?"
Liv's smile faltered slightly, and her breathing became uneven. "What call? I don't remember. Who remembers things from four years ago that clearly?"
"That day, you said it was a telemarketer."
Her voice rose. "Elias, what are you implying? Are you questioning me because of that woman?"
I didn't answer. I just continued. "And the time you jumped into the sea. Liv, tell me—did Serenity really push you?"
Her face went white, then flushed red. "Of course she did! Who else could it have been? You saw it with your own eyes, Elias—you saw her push me?—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
I looked up. The fury blazing in my eyes finally made her realize the trap I'd set with my words.
"Why do you remember jumping into the sea?" I stood and loomed over her. My height cast her in shadow. She shrank back in fear. "I thought you had amnesia, Liv?"
"I… I…" Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. "I just remembered! It came back to me suddenly… just fragments…"
"Is that so? Since you're remembering things, try to remember some more." I fixed my gaze on her and asked my real question. "Think about where you were during the hunter attack on the pack. Who you were with. Whether anyone can confirm you didn't leave the territory to meet someone you shouldn't have."
"I don't understand…" Liv's voice shook. "I can't remember… I told you I have amnesia! You're scaring me. Please stop asking, Elias."
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." I ignored her pathetic excuses and pleas. I closed my eyes, a hollow ache in my chest. "I've already lost Serenity for good. At this point, the truth doesn't even matter anymore."
"What?" Liv froze.
"This is all my fault." I opened my eyes and faced her. "I couldn't tell the difference between gratitude and love. I mistook my appreciation for you saving my life as romantic feelings and let you get away with one wrong thing after another. The real traitor who deserves punishment is me. I failed to protect my pack, and I ended up hurting everyone I cared about."
"No, that's not true!" Liv tried to throw herself into my arms, but I dodged. "Elias, you love me! You've always loved me! You have to love me! What are you talking about—traitor? I really don't understand?—"
"It doesn't matter what you think. Now I have to correct my mistakes."
I'd always looked the other way because she was my savior, tacitly allowing her behavior. I'd been too lenient with her for too long.
But this time, I couldn't be lenient anymore. The pack couldn't harbor a traitor who'd colluded with hunters.
I glanced at her and gave the order in a cold voice. "Guards, take her to the dungeon. Interrogate her until we have the full truth, then banish her from our territory."
The guards in the room stepped forward to take her away. She stared at me in disbelief. "What does this mean? You're arresting me? Banishing me?!"
"This is the best outcome," I said. "Because you once saved my life, I'm letting you live. Otherwise, I'd kill you on the spot."
"No!" Liv screamed, lunged at me, and tried to claw my face. "You can't do this to me! I'm your savior! You owe me, Elias Vernal!"
"Keep the Alpha safe!"
The guards rushed to protect me. Two warriors restrained her while Herman directed urgently, "Get her out of here! Now! Lock her up and get the interrogation done fast—throw her outside the territory tomorrow!"
Liv cried and struggled. Just before they dragged her out of the room, she must have realized she couldn't change my mind, because she suddenly burst into shrill laughter. "Fine! This is how you treat me! I never thought I'd be the one to lose in the end. But Elias, don't think you and Serenity will live happily ever after! Dream on! Serenity is going to die! She'll die a hundred times worse than me!"
"Stop!"
I bellowed for the warriors to halt. I strode up to Liv, my expression dark as I grabbed her throat. "What do you mean by that? What do you know?!"
Liv snapped back to her senses. She tried to take it back, but I squeezed her neck harder. She immediately stammered an answer. "Hunters… it's the hunters! Those hunters from back then are still tracking the Vernal pack. They seem to have found out where Serenity is—you know, right? A unified, powerful pack versus a lone Omega wandering outside… which one do you think they'd target first?"
