Oliver ignored Diana's sudden shift and did not speak to add fuel to the already done damage. If Diana was really that smart, she would not have smeared Oliver's quick save this way. Channing titled his head to the side to watch the change in character and did not speak anything to divert from it.

The whole situation had already aggravated Diana, with no one giving her the right kind of response and with the quietness that was followed by Oliver made her top explode. "Why don't you answer me when you can answer Channing?" Diana hissed.

Oliver had a subtle, troubled look on his face as he turned to Diana to speak, "Because Channing is our Alpha." His next words were low, which were only heard by us few standing closer to them, "it would be better if you understood that as well." Oliver was not being too secretive with his voice, playing a good game.

Diana looked at him with creased brows and tried to pull him away from everyone as if it was perfectly fine to go discuss your matters when your pack Alpha was this angry.

Oliver was quick to get his hand released out of Diana's hold. This little action offended Diana further. She was playing as if Channing and she stood on an equal level and becoming the Beta would grant her the same authority that John had, little was that true because what John had, he had built it with efforts since before Channing was even the Alpha and Diana was trying to have it in just weeks.

"Alpha," Oliver quickly said to avert away from Diana, "That was all I knew and happened. As proved in the court, John was trying to have you killed and none of us was aware of it. We simply followed his orders and thought John went behind Selene because she had openly defied him and it must have hurt his ego-"

"How could you Oliver!" Diana demanded. "You are openly throwing mud on John!"

I stepped ahead to stand just a step behind Channing and looked into his eyes to see what he was going through. Channing turned to me and passively looked back at Diana, who was now on the verge to break the entire truth in front of everyone. Channing himself was trying to hold a lot inside.

Oliver clenched his jaw so as to not say anything to Diana, even by mistake. He had smoothly covered all the blunders that Diana had created here, and she was going against his efforts.

Diana turned Oliver, pulling by his elbow, to stand face to face with her. "John gave you everything, and this is how you talk about him."

Oliver spoke this time instead of giving out silence, waiting for Channing to fill it, which he was not going to do anytime soon. "Diana keep quiet. You are simply over-reacting and pulling me into your plans."

I smirked, seeing how Oliver was breaking as well. Just a right nudge he would be past the line he wouldn't have crossed on his own.

Diana was hurt by what Oliver had said it was evident on her face. Her facade of holding herself high and mighty and always composed, Diana looked petty right now. "John trusted you, he was going to make you the second-"

"Diana!" Oliver did not let her finish as he almost screamed her name. My eyes narrowed at them. He had smartly blocked the right information and no matter how much I wanted to ask what it was, I had to keep quiet and let them reveal it on their own. From what Diana had said, it seemed like Oliver was promised some second position and what other position than the Beta or the second Chief of police was there an Alpha could offer. Oliver continued with clenched teeth, "Just be quiet!"

"So you could continue slandering John like that?" Diana bawled. She was hurt right now and I could only come to one conclusion that she loved John.

Oliver held Diana by her shoulder to try and shake her back to reality and bring back the Diana who would not take rash decisions or speak in such a way with no second thought of the surrounding. "Diana, stay calm here, let the Alpha finish"

Channing got all the looks, but not as much as Oliver and Diana were receiving right now. The members were watching the drama unfold, guilt still weighing on them.

Diana slapped away Oliver's hand, "No! Channing was not supposed to be our Alpha. He is not better than John." There were tears that glistened in Diana's eyes as she spoke about John and it was not missed by anyone on how deeply she must have loved John Walter. Her voice hitched as she continued, "My John was supposed to be the Alpha. It is how things are. After the Alpha retires, the Beta takes his place. Channing was just adopted by our Alpha, so what if he is a Warchild he has no right to barge in to take what was rightfully my John's."

Oliver sighed helplessly to whisper, "You ruined everything, Diana."

Diana's eyes met Oliver's eyes and sobbed, "John was going to make you the second chief, give you everything and work with his brother Jack to handle the investigative team. You are the one who is ruining John's face here."

Oliver watched Diana's lips tremble as tears trickled down her face. There was nothing he could say as the damage was done. His lips pursed into a thin line as he rubbed Diana's shoulder before turning back to Channing and meeting his eyes saying nothing. I saw Channing's eyes and there was an odd hurt mixed with anger at Diana's words. Even Channing had once trusted John. Him being tricked by John was a proof of that trust.

Oliver's eyes met mine for a brief second and there was nothing I could react to. The mess that Diana was in right now, I did not know how to get her out of it, as no one was close to her here.

Channing cleared his throat and asked Oliver in a low voice, "call the eight people ahead. If they feel they are in wrong, I will let it slide with the official trial and sentence a minimal punishment as repentance for siding with the traitor of our Village." Oliver gave a single nod and looked back to signal the members who had followed John to come ahead. With Diana in such a wreck, there was only little that Oliver could do.

She screamed at Channing, "John was not a traitor to the village!" Her frame offensively moved ahead, with eyes turning golden and ready to attack Channing.

I was quick to step in front of Channing to signal a stop to her with my right hand and my left hand ready behind me to push Channing out of the way when needed. "Diana, calm down we can talk about John later on. Let the Alpha do the needful right now."

Channing placed his hand on my shoulder from the back, "It's okay, Selene." He was equally protective of me, but he had made his Beta and it was my duty to let any harm on him go through me first.

I turned to face Channing halfway and give a faint smile to him, "Let me do my duties Alpha." He was already hurting I did not want more on Channing.

The eight people had stepped ahead with their heads hung low. They were guilty and probably would take the easier option that Channing had presented, unlike Diana, who was raging right now. Julianne stepped ahead on Oliver's signal to hold Diana back. But Diana jerked Julianne away, pushing her back.

"Look at you, Selene," said Diana, eyeing my body language that looked protective about Channing. "Did you not feel that skip in your heartbeat when I was about to attack Channing. Having a soulmate makes you very protective of them even if he is an Alpha." My eyes narrowed at her averting back to her baseless accusations. Diana stepped ahead threateningly just to go back and look at me. How my body tensed to protect Channing. She snickered and spoke with hurt in her eyes, "This is how I felt about John as well. But you both took him away from me!"

"What happened to John was what he pulled on himself," I said, while being more attentive about Diana's actions for any incoming attack. She was slowly turning in her half wolf's form with claws growing and nails curving and canines growing.

Diana sneered through her gritted teeth, "John did nothing wrong! You killed him because he was taking what rightfully belonged to him. We had marked each other, and I always felt the torment he went through. Knowing that he was serving a position that was supposed to be his." There were surprised looks about the news of them having marked each other. Diana screamed at my face, "I knew better than anyone how agonisingly he died!"

Diana lunged ahead, and I pushed her in another direction from Channing with my right hand while my left hand pushed Channing, but it resulted in him not moving but me getting a momentum to push against Diana.

I held one of Diana's wrists while my other hand clutched her throat. Diana held my arm that gripped her throat with her free hand, but her efforts were futile in front of my Alpha strength.

Diana grunted while pulling at my top and tearing the fabric around my neck with her nails that had grown in size with her eyes now shining golden yellow. I whimpered at the open wounds that were being inflicted by her and kicked her abdomen to send her stumbling away from me. Diana coughed as she found her footing and her angry eyes rose to me, "You will pay Selene, just how you took my soulmate I will take away Channing from you and let you feel the pain of losing someone so important when you can't do anything to bring them back."

I stood straight and my body instinctively winced as the fabric of my top rubbed against the fresh wounds Diana had inflicted on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and chuckled, "Diana, you live in misunderstanding. Channing is not my soulmate, I am simply doing the job a Beta is supposed to do." I took a fighting stance as I spoke in a serious tone, "Protecting the Alpha and not letting him be killed by imbeciles like you." My words aggravated Diana more that I pointed out indirectly what John failed to do as the Beta.

Diana ran ahead in her half-turned state, and I stopped her by her shoulder just centimetres away from me. Her teeth were turning jagged, and she tried to bite my face, but I simply pushed her away from me.

"Diana, don't fight the Beta and add up to your crimes," I heard Julianne's panicked voice from behind.

But Diana had turned deaf ears to everything. While she stumbled back, her long grown wolf nails dug around my neck and tore away a piece of fabric around the area to bare my skin.

I felt the deep wound form and close quickly, and I covered my neck immediately with my palm. The wound had really healed but only around a certain area of my neck and I got conscious about it.

Did my special ability act on its own!?

Diana watched me and then at me, at the skin that was covered right now and healed under my palm. Other members missed it, as that side of mine was facing the away from them, but Diana was quick to notice it. A wicked smirk rose on her lips, "You are quite a liar, Selene. Look at that full moon on your shoulder. An Alpha has marked you and you say Channing isn't your mate."