My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, my mind was in overdrive.
I looked around at all the guards standing outside the station.
There were all here for me and I knew it.
But it just didn't make sense. I hadn't even done anything wrong.
Neither had Roman.
This must have been a huge misunderstanding.
They weren't letting me see Uncle Victor. But I could hear him outside arguing with literally everyone and anyone who had played a role in taking me out of our home and basically dragging me here.
I wiped my hands on my jeans for the fifth time since I had entered the office.
I kept looking at the door. Waiting.
Ro would walk in any minute now.
They would see that this had all been some huge misunderstanding. He hadn't stolen anything like they had said.
Those files they spoke of must have just been misplaced.
Everything was okay.
Roman wasn't a traitor.
He wasn't a spy.
He wasn't any of the things these people had been calling him.
It was all so ridiculous. I think I would have noticed if I was dating a spy!
The door swung open and I sighed in relief when I saw my uncle walk in, Captain Park behind him.
I rose and embraced Uncle Victor.
"What's going on?" I asked, my voice shakey.
Everyone here was treating me like I had killed someone or committed some atrocious crime.
"Everything will be okay, baby." He spoke, whispering into my ear.
He then pulled away and his eyes focused on Captain Park who had walked around and was standing behind her desk now.
"I can't believe you're treating a kid this way."
"Crystal will be a legal adult soon, Mr Benson. And if you think the Silvercrest pack takes matters of treason lightly, you're greatly mistaken."
Uncle Victor narrowed his eyes at Captain Park.
"I didn't commit treason." I sputtered out.
Captain Park zeroed in on me as if just remembering I was there.
"Then you won't mind answering a few questions."
I looked at Uncle Victor.
"I didn't do anything wrong." I spoke. If they wanted me to answer a few questions, I could do that.
"I know but..." he looked at Captain Park. "I need someone here to defend you. So that they don't use your words against you."
"Roman didn't do anything either." I spoke up. "He could have."
Uncle Victor frowned, putting an arm on my shoulder.
"Defending Mr Desiree isn't doing you any favours Miss Swan." Captain Park spoke.
"You're accusing him of breaking into the alpha's premises and stealing top secret information." I told her. "Do you even have proof?"
I knew I shouldn't have been questioning such a high ranking official. But I couldn't help it.
I was so worked up, scared and confused.
Captain Park leaned over placing her foot on the table and raising her pants. There was a deep scratch there which explained her slight limp when she had entered.
I grimaced at it. "I was there." She spoke.
My hand flew to my mouth. "No. Roman wouldn't-"
"The alpha is here." One of the guards announced to Captain Park.
Next thing I knew Tristan was walking in, Bridgette behind him.
His face looked like it meant business.
He walked around to his desk not making eye contact with anyone.
Not even me.
"Leave us." He ordered.
Captain Park looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me, alpha but-"
"I'm taking over the questioning." He spoke sitting down in his chair.
"And I suppose you think it's fitting to break protocol-"
"Yes I do. I am the alpha." He spoke, his voice carrying authority.
Captain Park looked insulted.
"Now leave, all of you." His eyes landed on Uncle Victor who stubbornly stood behind me.
Bridgette placed her hand on his shoulder.
"You can't do this, Crystal's a minor, she needs -"
Tristan rose, slamming his hands on the desk. "I don't owe you any explanation." He growled. "Someone has betrayed me and my pack and I won't stop until I find out who's responsible."
I felt myself start to shake in fear.
"I'll escort you out." Bridget told Uncle Victor. It wasn't a question.
"I'll be outside, baby." Uncle Victor reassured me.
He gave Tristan one last angry look before leaving with Bridget.
Captain Park did the same. Not turning around to say anything more or do anything else. But her eyes did find mine and I spotted an intense dislike.
When the door closed I looked at Tristan.
I had never seen him like this.
And I was frightened.
What would he do to me.
Tristan's head slowly rose to meet mine.
"I'm only going to ask you this once, Crystal." He seemed to be fighting to control his rage. "And don't lie to me because I'll know if you're lying."
I placed my hand on my other arm feeling the chills again and my blood run cold.
"Did you have any idea about what Roman was doing?"
"Wow." I spoke as I looked around the Melrose basement.
Josh and Mikey had definitely been busy. There were tables all around, boards set out with various photos and notes pinned up, sort of like the one Tristan had but not nearly as organised.
There were folders strewn around all over. I stopped at one. It had the name Kimberly Sun on it.
I turned to look at Mikey.
"Kim?"
Michael walked forward, taking the folder from me. "We've been looking into everyone. And by everyone I mean everyone. And the people who were in the AAP with Roman felt like a good start."
I thought about Kim and the major encounters I had had with her. They hadn't been many. I remember her not knowing Roman and I were dating and how upset he had seemed by it.
I remember her at the AAP ball trying to score a dance with him. And she had also been one of his first partners in the program.
But I couldn't see the peppy, popular cheerleader being a mole.
But then again, I knew not to judge a book by its cover by now.
"So, what do you have so far?" I asked turning to look at the twins and Bea.
Joshua stepped forward towards one of the boards. "As Mikey said, we started off with the people Roman spent the most time with."
I walked up to the board. Right there at the top was a picture of me. Immediately below, Kat and Chris followed.
I turned to look at Josh. "Really?"
Bea came up beside him. "If there's anything the AAP taught us, it's not to leave a stone unturned." She smirked.
I turned away, ignoring her comment.
I looked back at the board. Surely all the people Roman had been in AAP with were on the board.
Sal and Milly as well.
"Roman's foster parents were barely even part of his life." I told them.
When the entire investigation started, they hadn't even shown up except when they were supposed to. And they had no problem bad mouthing Roman to everyone.
"Yeah." Josh spoke staring at the photos. "We ruled them out as well. They had no real motive and they don't exactly fit the bill -"
"They're sketchy - but they're not smart enough to be the moles." Bea spoke bluntly.
"So who are the prime suspects?" I asked curiously.
Bea smirked at me. "You mean other than yourself?"
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Joshua came in between us as if blocking us from each other's view would help keep the peace.
"So here's the thing." He begun explaining. "Whoever was the mole must have been someone who knew Roman. They didn't have to interact with him publicly but they had to be around him enough."
"And they had to be someone with enough power to get Roman in and out of Silvercrest territory without raising any red flags." Josh added.
I stared at the board looking at the suspects. We were all people who had thought we had known him. We were the people he spent the most time with.
In fact, if you asked anyone on this board who Roman spent the most time with, we'd all point at each other.
"They had to be a part of his life somehow." I muttered. "There's something very biased about this list."
"Oh here she goes." Bea spoke rolling her eyes.
"No." I spoke pointing at it. "Don't you realise that everyone on this list are people Roman interacted with publicly? People he wanted to be seen with?"
Joshua looked at the photos with a sort of renewed concentration. "He controlled the narrative with all these people."
"Exactly." I spoke excited that someone was getting it.
"If I was the mole, helping Roman with getting in and out of Silvercrest and feeding him intel, of course I wouldn't want to be known as a public known acquaintance of his. I'd have to be someone no one would even consider. Someone no one would have their eyes on."
During the trials and investigations, I was watched 24/7. That alone ruled me out of any foul play. They were always watching me.
"You have a point." Mikey spoke. "We've been trying to assimilate data from what we already knew about Roman when he got caught. But what if we're missing the bigger picture. What if the mole only became operational when this all started."
"So we would have to look at the very first attack." Bea spoke as she spun around and walked towards the table picking up a folder and opening it.
We all followed her. She had what looked like a report from that day. I didn't even want to know how they had gotten their hands on this.
"The wolf that attacked Josh was obviously Shadow pack."
I looked at the description, dark coat, brown eyes... it definitely fit the description.
"Are there any records of where it could have come in from?" I asked.
"No." Josh spoke.
I stared at the report. It was written that I was the one with him when it happened and then the others had found us...
"Wait a minute." I spoke.
"What about the second attack? Do you have the report on that one?"
"I could only steal one at the time without anyone noticing." Mikey spoke.
It didn't matter anyway. We had four witnesses standing right here.
"Remember how May taught us that when looking for suspects, more often than not you have to search for the common denominators?"
Joshua looked at me as if wondering where I was going with this.
"Think about it." I told them. "The first attack. Who found us first?"
I turned to Josh with this question.
He furrowed his brows. "Bea, Courtney, Allison -"
"Who was leading them?" I clarified.
"Instructor Raphael." Bea spoke in a smaller voice.
"Why was he so close to the scene in the first place?" I asked.
His response time had been quick. Too quick.
"He's our instructor. He's supposed to be close by." Joshua spoke defensively.
"Close enough to rescue us but not to hear the alpha's little brother getting attacked?" I asked.
This shut Joshua up. He pursed his lips still not looking happy with my conclusion.
"Okay. What about the second attack?" I asked. "Unless those wolves knew my scent, they wouldn't have known which car I was in. Raphael's was in front of us yet we got the brunt of it all."
Joshua was quiet. He looked thoughtful.
"They came after us after Instructor Raphael left his vehicle." Bea spoke.
"They hardly even touched him." Mikey muttered.
Joshua slammed his hand on the desk. "You're all being ridiculous. Raphael fought alongside Tristan in the war. He looked out for him. He looked out for us. Why would he do all that only to turn against us now?"
"War changes people." Bea spoke in a low voice. "My dad came back half the man he was."
"Your dad came back a drunk who hated humans and halflings." Josh snapped. "Raphael came back a hero."
Bea clenched her jaw. It was clear she was upset now.
Josh's face softened. "Bea -"
Bea didn't even listen to anything he said before spinning around and leaving.
Joshua looked like he was about to go after her but Mikey stopped him.
"Hey, we still need to figure this out." He spoke gently.
Joshua huffed before walking over to another table.
"It's not him. Let's find another damn suspect." He spoke as he started sorting through papers aggressively.
Mikey sighed. He closed the report.
"Ralph's been there for all of us since we were kids. It just wouldn't make sense for it to be him." Michael explained calmly.
I nodded even though I didn't completely agree.
I had two people who had been there for me betray my trust so far. I had learnt the hard way that sometimes the people closest to you could be the villains the entire time.
But I didn't want to push. I had obviously struck a nerve in the twins. If they didn't believe it was Raphael, I would give them the benefit of the doubt.
But that didn't mean I was completely ruling him out.
Raphael had clearly disliked me from day one. That alone seemed like a pretty good cover.
We continued skimming through all the info the twins had. I didn't share anything about Meggy.
Honestly, even just thinking of my one encounter with her put me in a state of unease.
I couldn't even imagine the things she must have gone through to have gotten her in that state.
I thought of what she had told me. How she had called me selfish for turning my back on my people.
But that's the thing, I didn't even know these people.
We had been going through notes and scenarios for what felt like hours before I decided to take a break.
I walked up to the kitchen wanting some water. I was shocked to find Bea seated there.
Honestly, I had thought by now she would have left.
"Hey." I greeted quietly.
She looked up, a scowl on her face as if me greeting her was an insult.
I shook my head out of it. I wasn't here to start an argument with her.
I needed to help Mikey and Josh figure out who the mole was so that we could help Tristan.
"You ruin everything, you know." I heard her speak. "Everywhere you go, chaos follows."
I froze at the sink.
Her words struck me in a way I hadn't been expecting.
Without thinking, I spun around.
"What's your problem with me anyway?" I asked.
Bea got up from where she had been sitting behind the island as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Yeah well, I had too. I wasn't shy and scared little Crystal anymore.
"Where do you want me to start?" She asked with a sneer.
I slammed the cup on the island walking closer to her. "I have never done anything wrong to you."
Bea scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Course you haven't-"
"No I haven't." I spoke more firmly. "You and Courtney have hated me since day one. And why? Because you thought I was a halfling? That's a really crappy reason to not like someone... because they're different?
Well now you know I'm not a halfling. I'm a fully fledged wolf just like you. Just like Courtney. So please, enlighten me on the new reason you hate me."
Bea balled her hands into fists and I could see her fighting her anger. I was on guard as well willing to let my wolf come out if it came to that.
"I have never done anything wrong to you. And you hated me anyway." I repeated. "I just want to know why you're so bitter."
I then remembered something. What Joshua had said down in the basement about Bea's father.
"It's about your dad, isn't it?"
Mentioning her father just seemed to make her more mad.
I sighed. "What happened to your father that made you hate humans so much?" My voice was softer now.
Because to be honest, I didn't want to hold on to hate like Bea seemed to have done with me. I didn't want to hurt someone else because of it.
"I'm not going to stand here and be disrespected by the likes of you. I don't owe you an explanation." Bea spat at me.
Her words triggered something in me.
"Bea wait!" I called before she could leave.
I stared at her, my eyes wide. "I know who the mole is."