Chapter 44|The Heart's Ruin.

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**16 Years Ago.

Months after the former Alpha's daughter and her husband, Samantha and Kane died of the brief plague that took over their Pack, Alpha Drake gathered all evidences and proofs that pointed at the former Beta's wife, Vanessa Collin Miles as the culprit behind the illness that took the lives of the lost Pack members.

Betrayed and missing her point for taking such an action Alpha Drake sought advice from his Father's friend, Stephano De Luca, he refrained from exposing who was behind the tragic mishap. The older man convinced the Alpha to make a decision based on the facts gathered and not from the depth of his emotions, an eye for an eye. As well as the justice to have everyone punished based on their crimes.

Stephano De Luca reeled from the betrayal they suffered from their closest friends's mate who was practically one of them, she was recognized as a part of their family. Disappointment and pain went through his and everyone else's souls after finding out that the jovial silver haired Vanessa was behind the deaths.

"Are you sure you've got it right son?" Stephano asked, patting Alpha Drake's arm familiarly and sympathetically.

The latter nodded with a distant look in his eyes, he was recalling the first arrow that pointed at the woman. He was out with the hunters in his Pack that night on a scout for the stink of rogues they smelt permeating the air. The troop found a drunken man heaving by the roadside and immediately confirmed his rogue status.

Alpha Drake ordered to have the man brought into the security department and locked up in the cells for questioning. After doing so, the Alpha himself joined the man and shot off his first question.

Rogues found lurking around a territory they do not belong to spelt bad news and the Alpha of the Bane Pack did all he could to keep his Pack away from anything negative. He wanted to have everyone's safety assured, especially after his sister's death.

"Who are you?" He asked the drunken lout who had no idea of the depth of the situation he was in. Knowing a drunkard's penchant for sprouting out words he had no intention of thinking of talkless of speaking out loud was what propelled Drake to question the man while he was still deep in his cups. Also, there was something in his instincts that told him the man could lead him to the answers he needed most. Being a technical man, Drake followed his instincts.

The stranger raised his head, reddened slopey eyes met Alpha Drake's inquisitive gaze. "I is nobody." He slobbered.

"What brings you here?"

"She ain't payin' as she 'spose to. She promiss but we dint see no pay. Whatta do? Pay for the birch?" He made gestures, flapping gestures that grated against the anxiety in his drunken complaints.

Interested, the Alpha moved in his chair, maintaining eye contact with the rogue, "Who do you mean by she?"

"Isn't spose tell no one. We prahmise not to. She made us swear ewen though she knows we ain't trustworthy. Promised two hundred dollars got fifty and nothin' 'gain. Brock says tah spray it in her face when e sees 'er."

The Alpha's brows furrowed as he listened to the drunken man' s chatter. His accent was English from the slurs, and it reminded him of sailors. "Who's Brock?"

"He my friend, we spray it in their kitchingg together, he found a slica pizza ate it in the fridge. Left me with nu'in but bread. Put it everywhere!" He swiped his hand around the air in agitation.

The Alpha's face drained of all colour, his heart galloped as he constructed his next words, words he wasn't sure he wanted to hear spoken out loud "What did you put?"

"What she gave us an told us to put, she said to watch until they ree wheeled away on deathbeds 'fore we leave. Ain't I or Brocs' fault the others die. They ain't targets, real targets made 'em die. We had to or we wasn't getting nofin." He slurred, moving to stand only to fall back from the amount of booze he had.

The Alpha put two and two together instantly. It clicked in his head but he wasn't one to play with any evidence found. He did nothing by half measures.

"Who is she?"

"Is that white haired witch, she, she told us she was gon' pay. We did our job, got no pay. Brock says to kill her too." He laughed hysterically. "She ain't gon pay." His laughter turned to sobs until he was crying a bucket full of tears.

Alpha Drake watched as the bipolar drunk slowly fell into a state of hysteria before collapsing in a heap on the ground. The man slept for two days straight with guards securing the cell room. His every sleep induced gibberish and words were conveyed to the Alpha. It was from there that he caught the words, "Sharp claws to sink through yer throat."

And on another lucky day, he heard "The crown tattoo means royalty." The clues he got were the closest he got to finding out the truth. Exasperated, the Alpha sent out a search team for the man named Brock and every man named Brock who lived within the Pack territory and the two rogues found lurking about were taken to him.

He personally interrogated them one on one until he reached the rogue with the dirty blonde shaggy hair, the man had a jaded look in his eyes that the Alpha didn't like one bit.

"I found your friend." He let his words dawn into the other man's brain and when he found no hint of the man's reaction save the distinct heart beat drop he vaguely felt, the Alpha held the miniscule reaction tight in his grasp and manipulated the man into confessing the deeds he'd done alongside his unconscious friend, Tommy.

When he shifted to the topic of the recent disease that was polluted in the air Brock tensed and defensively claimed he had no idea what the Alpha was talking about.

Two days later a tortured Brock confessed to killing Samantha and all the other Pack members. Alpha Drake felt a sudden need to wrap his hands around the man's neck until his very last breath was gone but held back because he had to know who offered the job to them.

"I know you're owing her, I might be of help, you don't know." He cajoled, manipulating the other man into thinking he was on their side.

"She ain't crazy to tell her name. She's got fancy clothes, shiny hair and a crown tattoo on her finger. Issall I know. Said we had to spray it on the couple who ruined her future. Pay up." The man's golden tooth shone brightly as he shoved his palm towards the Alpha's front.

Alpha Drake had men take Brock from the questioning room to a cell room not far from his friend, Tommy's.

The next few days, the Alpha did all he could to discover the identity of the white haired woman with the crown tattoo on her finger while the two prisoners were left in the dungeons. By then his temper was simmering to a boiling point.

The description was too vague and personal.

A few days later, a dinner was held in honor of his late sister's daughter, Isabelle's fifth birthday and he found what he was looking for in the woman who cut the slice of cake and fed it to his niece. His rage caused all the light bulbs in the room to shatter into smithereens, darkness awashed the ballroom. Only the Alpha knew the cause of it and he did nothing to repair the damage, the only thing he did was to locate his niece, pick her over his shoulder and head to her parent's tombstones.

"I found your killer." He whispered, feeling the icy cold stone beneath his fingers.

Stephano paced around the room with his head bent after Drake disclosed the whole information to him. His fingers were itching to wrap themselves around the witch's neck.

"I don't want to take chances, we're talking about the murder of more than ten lives in cold-blood. I can't let their killer live amongst us as if she belongs with us, she doesn't have the right to, she relinquished all rights the moment she stabbed us in the back. My very soul is against the thought of speaking to her again. I loathe her, Damnit to hell." He swore, a vein in his head throbbing as his throat bobbed twice.

The older man nodded in understanding before turning to the Alpha with a glint to his eye.

"Justice will be served. You're the Alpha, do what's right for your pack. We're counting on you to."

And so, the Alpha decided to have Brock and Tommy locked in the dungeons for a lifetime, Vanessa Collin Miles was driven off to the Forest of Doom which formerly housed the Octagon Pack on exile, she was banished from the Bane Pack and no offspring of hers could live in the misery she brought with her, the news that their mother was the cause of their best friend's death resulted in a heart attack on Natalie's part, she fell into a state of paralysis until she succumbed to the pull of oblivion.

Julie though cursed the reason for her mother's betrayal and kept herself away from the Bane Pack. She took Natalie's daughter, Arabella with her and raised the girl up with her son.

The former Beta though, was in total disarray at the rollercoaster of emotions that soared towards him, destroying his whole being. He was torn apart by the fact that his wife took matters into her hand without appraising him and he was more broken by the fact that the people he thought as family took away his major source of happiness and tranquil, his mate and the family they created.

Driven by pain, fueled with anger, Martin followed the wants of his heart.