Chapter 120: Who is truly at fault?

The rest of the day dragged on without much event. The storm clouds on the mountain peaks grew darker and heavier until the sky finally shattered, pouring rain endlessly and turning the air chilly.

Anthony and Pandora returned from the Academy just as the downpour reached its peak. They stepped through the foyer together, holding hands, Pandora laughing at something Anthony said.

The moment their eyes landed on Jake and Alec sitting in the main living room, they instantly dropped hands and moved apart.

"Hey, you two," Pandora called out softly, crossing the room and sinking into the couch beside Alec.

​"How did it go?" Alec asked, turning his head.

"Surprisingly well," Pandora replied with a sigh. "The moment the administrators heard the Luna would be enrolling for the upcoming entry examinations, they were practically tripping over themselves to welcome her."

"Dorian is going to send a horde of guards along with her," Anthony chuckled, shaking his head. He glanced around the spacious room. "Where is he, anyway?"

​"Upstairs with the Luna," Alec answered quietly. "You missed out on the interrogation with the stepsister."

Pandora’s eyes widened with instant curiosity. "Dorian already interrogated Melinda? Did she spill anything useful?"

"I have no idea," Alec shrugged. "I wasn’t there. But Jake was."

Pandora turned her sharp gaze onto Jake instantly. "Did she reveal anything, Jake?"

Jake didn’t even bother to glance away from the flickering TV screen across the room. "If you want answers, ask the Alpha." His defensive tone hung heavy in the air.

Pandora scoffed, rolling her eyes, but as she studied his rigid posture, her playful demeanor vanished. She noticed Henna’s absence. "Where is Henna?"

"Sleeping," Jake muttered, his jaw set in a tight line.

His cold, monosyllabic responses startled both Pandora and Anthony. Pandora exchanged a confused look with Anthony, who merely raised his shoulders in an uncertain shrug.

"What is wrong with you?" Pandora asked, shifting in her seat to face Jake directly. "You’ve been unnaturally quiet all evening."

"That is exactly what I told him," Alec chimed in, leaning back. "I tried asking him what happened, but he refused to speak. I gave up."

​Anthony studied Jake silently for a long beat, his sharp eyes searching the beta’s tense features. "Are you alright, bud?"

Jake let out a long, slow exhale, forcing a rigid nod. "I’m fine. Just exhausted."

"Exhausted?" Pandora repeated in a teasing tone. "Or are you just sulking because Henna is fast asleep and you have no one to entertain you?"

"Haha, very funny, Pandora," Jake muttered flatly. He forced the corners of his lips up into a smile, knowing it was the only mask that would stop their probing questions.

As they continued to chatter, the doors leading to the arched hallway swung open and Samantha stepped into the living room.

She was completely drenched; her hair plastered to her skull, her clothes clinging wetly to her skin, as though she had spent the past hour standing motionless under the downpour.

Alec noticed her presence, his gaze lifting to meet hers. For several long seconds, their eyes locked and held, until Samantha abruptly looked away and disappeared through a side door without uttering a word.

Alec stared at the empty doorway, only to catch Pandora watching him with an arched eyebrow. He frowned defensively. "What?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "I just feel a bit of pity for her. Losing her father and her twin brother almost simultaneously. No matter how cruel or manipulative she has been, she is still mourning."

Alec didn’t offer a response, but deep down, a confusing knot of pity twisted in his gut. It was an unsettling emotion, one he didn’t want to name.

Later that night, when the storm finally subsided into a light drizzle, Alec stepped out into the night air to clear his head. He exchanged a few brief words with the guards patrolling the perimeter before wandering toward the garden behind the mansion.

As he drew closer, the sound of quiet weeping drifted through the night air; soft, heart-wrenching sobs echoing from the edge of the garden.

It was Samantha.

Alec froze on the gravel path, debating whether to turn back and give her the privacy she needed. But the sound of her raw, shattered weeping weighed strangely heavy on his chest, igniting a bizarre, uncomfortable ache deep within him.

Before he could change his mind, his feet moved forward, carrying him down the path until he found her. She was huddled into a small ball at the edge of the garden, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her body trembling violently with choked, breathless sobs.

Alec stood in the shadows, watching her in complete silence. He didn’t understand why, but deep within his chest, his wolf suddenly stirred, pacing restlessly against his ribs at the sight of her distress.

He slammed the beast back down, infuriated with himself for feeling any semblance of sympathy for a woman like her.

He took a silent step forward, but a twig snapped loudly beneath his boot.

Samantha whirled around in terror. The second her tear-stained eyes landed on him, she scrambled to her feet, her hands rushing up to wipe the wet streaks from her cheeks.

"What are you doing out here?" her voice cracked, trembling despite her desperate attempt to sound fierce. "Haven’t you all taken enough from me? Have you come out here just to mock my misery?"

Alec rocked back on his heels, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets.

"I’m sorry about the death of your father and brother," he murmured, his voice surprisingly calm. "Accept my condolences."

The response caught Samantha off guard. She stared at him, her eyes wide and burning with unshed tears. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Alec muttered. "Look, let us get something straight between us. I don’t like you, so I won’t pretend like I do. But you lost your entire family in the blink of an eye. That is a level of agony nothing in this world can compare to. I would be a monster if I stood here and mocked you for that."

Samantha blinked, completely stunned. She had braced herself for a cruel taunt, a snarky remark poking at her ruined state, or simply cold indifference. She had expected him to gloat over the demise of her traitorous father and brother. She had never, in her wildest dreams, expected words of comfort from Alec.

A sudden, overwhelming warmth flared in her chest, a brief flicker of light in her dark world. But almost as quickly as it arrived, a wave of bitter humiliation washed over her, twisting her features into a cold, defensive snarl.

"I don’t need your pity!" she spat, her voice rising venomously. "I don’t need anything from you. You say you don’t like me? I hate you! I hate everything about you! So you can take your fake condolences and shove them straight up your ass!"

Alec didn’t flinch at her explosive outburst. He had fully anticipated the venom. But instead of turning his back and walking away, he planted his feet firmly on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know what your problem is, Samantha?" he shot back. "You’re a bitch."

Samantha’s face flushed crimson with indignation. "How dare you?"

"You are a spoiled, arrogant, self-absorbed bitch!" Alec repeated coldly, taking a slow step toward her. "And every single tragedy that has destroyed your life is entirely your fault. You tried to murder our Luna. Twice."

"What do you mean, twice?" Samantha spat, her breath hitching.

"Cut the innocent act, Samantha," Alec snapped. "I know for a fact that you and your brother tried to poison Alyssa on her wedding day. The Alpha knows too, so don’t bother lying to my face. The only reason he didn’t rip your throat out that very night was because he lacked proof and wanted to catch you both red-handed."

Samantha froze, the words dying in her throat. Her mouth opened and closed helplessly, her mind racing in horror. She had believed that her and Seth’s attempt on Alyssa’s life had remained untraceable.

"This is where your problem is," Alec continued ruthlessly, stepping closer until his shadow towered over her. "You blame every single person around you for consequences that were born entirely from your own choices! You hurt Alyssa, you get stripped of your status, and yet you play the victim! You try to assassinate her, your family gets caught in treason, and somehow, in your twisted head, it is everyone else’s fault!"

Samantha stood frozen under his merciless gaze, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at her sides. Silent, angry tears spilled down her face, tears not just from grief, but from the brutal weight of truth in Alec’s words. For the first time in her life, she had no venomous retort to throw back at him.

"If you hadn’t targeted Luna Alyssa from the very beginning out of petty jealousy," Alec laid out flatly, "the Alpha would never have had a reason to strip your father of his title. You would never have been demoted to a common servant scrubbing floors. Your father and your twin brother would likely still be alive. So look inward for once in your life, Samantha. Who is truly at fault here?"

"You have no right to judge me!" Samantha finally screamed, her voice breaking in agonizing despair. "No right at all! You have no idea what I have suffered, or the pressure I was under to do those things!"

"No one can force you to inflict evil on another soul," Alec retorted smoothly, his eyes cutting through her. "It doesn’t matter what horrors you have endured. Cruelty is a choice, and you chose it every single time. Luna Alyssa has suffered horrors far worse than anything you could ever imagine, yet she remains the gentlest, sweetest soul you will ever meet. You don’t see her poisoning people or blaming the world for her scars."

Samantha stood completely silenced. Her mind went utterly blank as the stark reality of his words shattered her remaining defenses.

"It doesn’t take much to be kind, Samantha," Alec added, his tone softening just a fraction. "You can still choose to break this cycle and become a better person. It is not too late. Perhaps then, things will turn out better for you. But if you choose to remain bitter, heartless, and cruel, you’ll end up with the same fate as your family."

Having spoken his truth, Alec turned on his heel and walked back toward the mansion, leaving Samantha standing alone in the freezing drizzle, her soul laid bare under the dark sky.