Crimson Moon Redemption: My Alpha's Brutal Mistake
Chapter 72: Good over evil (Annabelle)

Chapter 72: Good over evil (Annabelle)

Over a year ago, I found myself in that state, but I still wasn’t satisfied Kari was in this situation because of how I endured the brazen bull.

Zach turned around and hurried to the bin, vomiting inside. At the Lunar Echoes Tribe, he kept his distance from all she-wolves so I had momentarily forgotten about it.

His allergies had kicked in, I guess, but why was it different with me? I was just realizing that during those times, he wore gloves when he dealt with me. If he hadn’t worn them, he would have found out the truth long ago.

The man in the shower that morning was him, meaning that even before the mate bond, he was never allergic to me.

Now I was beginning to wonder how different things would have turned out if he knew by then that I was his mate, but still manipulated by the spell into thinking I killed Iris.

Would he have stood by me irrespective of the spell for the fact that I was the only she-wolf he wasn’t allergic to, apart from his family?

I could still taste his arrogance yesterday when he showed up at the pack house and refused to give up. He even called it even, meaning he didn’t believe in my innocence.

"I’ll get your gloves," Gaius murmured and rushed into the packhouse to retrieve them, but Kari continued to clutch the bottle from before.

"The Alpha is back, and he just slapped Kari," one of the tribe members reported. My eyes met another’s. "Isn’t that the wolfless omega with attitude? Why did she dye her hair, and why is she back?"

They weren’t my focus, but Zach addressed them just as Gaius returned. "Because she’s your soon-to-be Luna. Keep talking, and you will be punished."

I wanted to refute his words, to crush his hopes of me becoming his Luna. Spell or no spell, the pain was too much for me to forget, and now that I have a pup, I can live the rest of my life without a mate.

The tribe members looked at me strangely, as if they had more to say, but the look in Kari’s eyes as Zach put on the gloves eased my pain a little. The tribe members seemed hesitant to speak further, intimidated by their Alpha’s words, while Kari screamed, "No, it can’t be. You slept with me and should marry me."

Zach knelt in front of her, a gesture reminiscent of when he had questioned me before. Gaius hurried over with a video, and as Zach watched it, a pained expression crossed his face.

"Do you know why I killed Reid?" he asked, catching me off guard. Gamma Reid had seemed suspicious that night, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. Kari nodded. "Because he tried to take your position."

"Wrong," Zach corrected. "That’s just a cover story I came up with."

Fear flickered in Kari’s eyes as she began to shuffle away from him on the floor, but Zach smiled. "I killed him because I discovered he had slept with you. Even though we’re not mates, he had no right to do so after I had publicly announced you as my fiancée."

No wonder Gamma Reid was always at her beck and call. It turns out they had a fling going on. Kari was shivering like a fish out of water. "What are you saying? How did you know?" she asked, as Zach smiled again, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

"I will explain, but Gaius, bring out the brazen bull for some testing," Zach said.

The mention of it caused a painful sensation to stir inside me, but Kari rose to her feet, about to run when Zach caught her by the leg with his gloved hand, causing her face to hit the floor hard. She groaned from the pain.

Despite the torture, she refused to let go of the bottle. I approached them and spoke up. "Alpha Zach, I want to know what’s so special about the bottle she’s holding onto."

The mention of the bottle caused Kari to glare at me with hatred. I guess she never expected my attention to be drawn there.

"It’s all your fault," she accused, but I smiled and replied, "You’re the one who impersonated me and made my life a living hell. That bottle looks like the one you gave me during the banquet," I pointed out, her expression darkening.

"I will never let you have it," she said through gritted teeth, Alpha Zach was about to take it from her, but I stopped him. "Don’t touch it. It could be another spell for you."

His eyes widened with astonishment, but Kari was furious. "You ruined everything. How could you know everything? I should have killed you when I had the chance."

Her words made me scoff. "You never had the chance to kill me, and you never will. I was the one who blinded you in one eye, so what can you possibly do?" It must irk you that I have both of my eyes restored," she mocked. I smiled at her. "What’s the point when the brazen bull is waiting for you?"

Being in that torture beast was the worst thing that could happen to anyone, and she was about to experience it. The thought made me nervous.

Everything felt like a dream, and I wondered what would happen if I woke up to find that nothing had changed.

"Zach, please, give me a chance to explain everything. That woman is a witch..." she started, but another slap dislocated her neck. It must have been very painful because she couldn’t turn her head towards me.

Having fought with Zach before, I knew exactly the amount of pain his punches carried but, her wolf would heal her soon. "Haven’t you heard that good always triumphs over evil?" I taunted, but the warriors had already prepared the brazen bull.

The sight of it terrified me, even though this time, I wasn’t the one to be punished. I would be outside, watching it all unfold from the other side.

"No, you can’t put me in there. It’s Ivy..." she began, but as the sun rose, a sense of discomfort overwhelmed me in the most irritating way.