Alpha Princess's Possessive Mate

There was an awkwardness that spread everywhere with Channing's question. The group of eight people who had followed John started to slowly merge in the members to run out of the anger that was coming next. The innocent members all felt the guilt that was weighing down on them since that day. 

"W-What are you saying, Ch-Channing?" Diana was left in the spotlight and she had to cover up. She stammered, "We were following your o-orders to always follow the Beta i-i-in your a-absence."

"Is that so? So you did not realise John was misleading you?" Channing stepped ahead, standing taller than anyone here. He was intimidating right now, like an Alpha should be. There was a doubt even I had since that day on how did the pack take so long to reach us when I was busy fighting John and the other wolf from Waterwoods killed our former Beta. Channing saw the speechlessness from Diana and asked again, "How did you not follow the Beta when he came to kill me then?"

A shiver ran down Diana's spine, hearing his words. Oliver noticed how Diana was still pondering on how to answer and stepped behind to hide himself. His eyes were cautious, but the moment they met mine, I gave him a sweet smile and Oliver averted his eyes the quickest. 

Channing was intimidating right now, and no one wanted to be on his wrong side with John not here and Diana having taken such a rash decision of going against Channing without a plan. 

"Be quick with the answer, Diana." Channing demanded. His hand raised casually to check his nails. 

Channing's hand was changing shape, and the nails were slowly growing sharp, taking on a curved shape looking more like a wolf's. As for werewolves, we could change a few parts of the body at will and control them, even in human form. The eyes usually change colour first and then whatever change needed, followed. It helped to heighten our senses. Channing already had the ability to tenfold everything. I knew how he would hear the language of the heart because he sure read mine during the court case. 

Diana clenched her fist to force a smile on her lips, "We followed John's orders to search-"

"Sam," Channing called Sam ahead with his two fingers in a come hither motion. Diana was cut in half before her explanations could finish. Diana did not dare to speak. She rather kept quieted to think of a better answer. Channing watched Sam walk forward from the rest of the members, who had their heads hung low and strained their eyes up to watch why Sam was called ahead. 

Sam clasped his hands in front of him as he spoke with a dry mouth, "Yes Alpha."

The guilt was heavy on everyone, and since Channing had let that mistake sink in their minds for weeks meant it was like picking a scab. For a long time, Channing had not talked about what happened that day and members did not dare to start that topic with him. I did not know whether they had apologised when I was in hospital followed by the prison, but the way the members felt right now made it look like they skipped it since Channing did not say anything. 

He was smart with the timing where he had seen the people who had followed John and caught them in his clutches. Channing shifted his gaze to Diana and then back at Sam, "Where were you guys when Selene and John were fighting near my almost dead body?"

Sam gulped, "Alpha, Selene had parted from the pack breaking the Beta's orders then, so she found you. But later…" His gaze shifted to me with hesitation.

I gave Sam a reassuring smile, "it's okay Sam, tell the truth. Channing already knows how everyone talked to me about going against the Beta's orders." Channing turned to me with a milder expression, but his eyes were still golden yellow.

"Selene," Channing said, "You have said enough now I need answers from them." It was clear he demanded me to shut up when he was in the middle of this business. 

I nodded, "Yes, I will be quiet."

Channing was being stern with everyone and it was bound to come my way as well, but he was careful with his tone with me because I was the only one who stood on the not guilty side here. Channing turned back to Sam and growled, "Continue Sam, make it fast."

Sam cleared his throat and spoke hastily, "Later that night, John asked us all to run in a cluster instead of scattering through the woods. We could see him properly in the darkness of the night, we lost the scent of John, but Diana and Oliver were running right behind John with some others who continued to run as if we were still being led by our Beta."

Channing creased his brows, "So you all followed the few supporters of John like idiots even after losing the scent of John?"

Diana was the one to answer, "No, Channing-" 

Channing raised his finger to stop her from talking, "You will get your chance back till then be quiet."

Diana instantly regretted not speaking a while back when she had the chance. She went to speak against but seeing how Channing's large hand come in front of her face with a stop sign made Diana's voice get stuck in the back of her of her throat. Channing then turned back to Sam, asking him to continue with the answer. 

"We realised John was missing after a long time," Sam wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead because of standing in the sun for a long time. "There were nine members on the frontline, including Diana, Oliver, Julianne, Thomas, Maria and Leonard; rest I don't remember, Alpha. Since we were running in cluster, we could not see John was missing ahead and his special ability, anyway, included hiding his scent so..."

So it was all because of John's special ability that they had realised it late. No doubt it was a smart plan to make everyone cluster and keep his lackeys on the frontline. 

Channing turned to Diana this time and asked her, "Tell me Diana, when did John lose you guys?"

Diana was sweating buckets right now. I did not understand why Channing asked this question when he could have asked why they were quiet about John running away. 

"T-The Beta went to find Selene," replied Diana. She was cornered and regretted all the ruckus she had created here. There was not a single instance that Channing gave so Diana could revert to accusing that there was something between me and Channing or how we were soulmates. Diana gulped, seeing how Channing was still waiting for her to explain further. She spoke while cracking fingers nervously, "Our Beta had asked me and Oliver to lead the pack ahead while he looked after Selene, so did not get lost as a new member-"

"For your dear Beta, Selene was important than the Alpha?" Channing asked, making the same word play as Diana when she had referred to people close to me as 'dear friends'.

Diana shook her head vigorously, "No Channing, the Beta was concerned that Selene, being a newcomer, would get caught up with Waterwoods if she went in the wrong direction."

Channing hummed and turned to Sam, who was intently listening to Diana. Sam had crinkled brows as if what she was saying made little sense to him, and Channing noticed that. Channing inquired Sam, "Is this not the same reason what Diana had given that day?"

Sam shook his head honestly, "No, she gave the same reason, but Oliver had given a different clashing answer saying that John had asked them to split and he had gone in the opposite direction while we looked in this direction."

Channing sighed, and I knew why he felt it was too much. It was stretching for him to find the answers from the members when they were still going round in circles and he knew the culprits. But he can't just hold the collars and pull people out of the crowd without listening to the entire story. That would be unlike Channing, and more like what Fang would do. Channing turned to Oliver and signalled him in a come hither motion.

Oliver stepped ahead in a calmer sense than the mess that Diana was right now. If John had chosen Oliver in place of Diana to become the Beta after him becoming the Alpha, then today might have been different. 

Diana was a fool, if seen at right now, and it was enough to tell that John had probably trapped her in his fake love or she was his soulmate that he wanted her as the Beta with him. Maybe she wanted security in case John betrayed her and so Diana asked for this position from him. That will be a question between them, but Oliver would have been a smarter choice for John's plan. Oliver looked well composed and someone who thought before he took actions or spoke. 

"Yes, Alpha?" asked Oliver as he came to stand between Diana and Sam. Diana was looking at him with hope and fear that he might betray her, but Oliver did not even spare her a glance. 

Channing folded his hands over his chest. His claws had retracted, and Channing was back in his full human form. He saw no reason to hold his half wolf out when its purpose of scaring was served. 

"Tell me, Oliver, why exactly did John split from you guys and with what instructions, that was only given to Diana and you and no one else in the pack?" asked Channing. 

Channing was being very smart with his questions, and this one cornered the composed self of Oliver. 

There was a brief silence before Oliver cleared his throat, "Me and Diana were running the closet to John and he was in haste to go behind Selene for she had defied him. John was angry about Selene so he went behind her and assigned me and Diana the task to lead the entire pack where you were."

"You mean the opposite direction from me?" Channing deadpanned.

Oliver shook his head gently, "I think John had used his special abilities to mimic your scent in a particular direction. We simply followed the orders given by the authority. We did not know we were being misled until Selene sounded the distress signal."

I could not suppress the smirk that rose up on my lips. Oliver was very smart with pushing the blames on the person who was now dead. He was careful with referring to the traitor as John and not Beta, like Diana was referring to him, and Oliver was also making sure to not refer to Channing with his name right now, which Diana was disrespectfully doing. Oliver had perfectly paved a way for all the John's supporters to be in safe while pushing John off the cliff where Channing could not confirm things.

Hearing Oliver's explanation against John made Diana fume, "How can you say that about John, Oliver?"