Chapter 72
Everyone in the room turned to look at Janet, who frowned at Glen’s question.
“Rogue’s language? What are you talking about?” she asked.
Glen looked reluctant. After letting out a long sigh, he continued, “I didn’t want to say anything at first but since we are naming names now… Remember that strange howling we heard? None of us knew what that meant. But your guard Kass understood it completely.”
“So? He helped us. What is your point?” Janet snapped.
“It is odd for a soldier like him to know the rogue’s language. And you encountered the rogues following Kass’s instructions, right? To a creek down the West. How do you know if he was lured into a trap on purpose?”
“Yeah, that does sound weird,” Jeff echoed. “And didn’t you say that you got separated from Kass right after you went into the woods? He was sending you into the rogue’s hands!”
Janet sprang out of her seat, her face looking furious.
“Kass is my most trusted warrior. I won’t let you question his loyalty like this-” she hissed.
Steven let out a sarcastic snort, “Oh so now we can’t do it to your soldier? But it is OK to question other people’s loyalty? Way to play the double standard, Gamma Janet.”
Daran looked towards Janet.
“Did you tell Kass about our plan, Janet?” he asked with a deep voice.
Janet clenched her fists. She seemed reluctant but eventually gave a small nod, “…I told both him and Balvina. Because they are both captains of our advance force.”
“Well, there you have it!” Steven clapped his hands together, “The mole! We found him!”
“Hold on a second,” Maxie interrupted him, “Kass is a great warrior. And he has been in battles against the rogues many times before. It doesn’t make any sense for him to leak our battle plans to the rogues. What can he get out of it?”
“What is the back story of this soldier, Janet? Where does he come from? Does he have any families?” Glen asked.
Janet bit her lips in silence
She seemed that she didn’t want to answer his questions at all. But the other’s were too sharp. She was left with no choice.
gazes
“Kass grew up by the border.”
She began slowly.
“There was a brutal battle against the rogues…He came to us after the battle and volunteered to serve in our army because he had lost his entire family in the war. He
*VA
didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“So that’s what he told you,” Jeff chimed in and said, “Did you do a background check on him? See if he is really a member of your pack?”
He stared at Janet waiting for her answer.
“We tried.”
Janet said with a strained voice.
“But he lived in the forest alone with his parents. His house was burnt to the ground during the war. True…there isn’t any hard evidence to back his story. But he was only 12 years old at the time! Do you seriously think the rogues would send a kid to spy on us?!”
“It is possible! That age is old enough to hold a gun. And it didn’t raise any suspicions!” Jeff cried loudly.
“So it all adds up! Doesn’t it!” Steven banged the desk hard, “Kass is a rogue the entire time. He hid among us for years, working his way up and stole information from us and leaked it to the rogues. I can’t believe this! You brought enemies into this alliance, Janet!”
Janet felt a cold chill down her spine.
At this very moment, even she started to question it.
…Could Kass be the mole?
But then she remembered all the times they spent together, all the laughs they shared. She also remembered all the tears in Kass’s eyes when he talked about his parents, who got killed by the rogues. The hatred and longing for vengeance didn’t seem made up.
She didn’t believe that Kass would betray her.
Not in a million years.
Taking in a deep breath, Janet looked around the room and said, “Kass grew up by the border and it is natural for him to know the rogue’s language. He had been nothing but a loyal soldier so far. Until any hard evidence came up…He still has my trust.”
Steven let out an angry low roar.
Maxie and Glen both frowned with disapproval.
Jeff looked between two sides, and he seemed torn, “Now we are back to square one again. Alpha Daran, you have said a word. Any thoughts?”
Daran rose from his seat.
With everyone staring, he walked to the door and called over a Riverside soldier, asking him to find Kass.
“We should hear what Kass has to say,” said him deeply.
Moments later, Kass was brought into the room.
“You requested to see me?” he asked blankly. “Did anything happen?”
“Listen…”
Maxie briefly concluded what they had been discussing and asked Kass with a soft voice, “Don’t worry, Kass. We won’t accuse you of anything you didn’t do. But you have to be honest with us…Did you, or did you not, leak our battle plan to the rogues?”
“NO!” Kass cried loudly, his eyes widened with shock.
“I–I can’t believe this… You think I am working for the rogues?” he snarled, “The rogues killed my parents! They cut open my mother’s belly and let her bleed to death! I hate them! ALL OF THEM!!”
“But you spoke the rogue’s language,” Glen asked. “How do you explain that?” “I grew up by the border. It’s natural—”
“Many people grew up by the border and they don’t speak the rogue’s tone,” Maxie shook her head.
“I–We lived in the forest. So I met the rogues more often than the others did-
“Oh, what an easy story!” Steven cried loudly, “Alpha Daran, I am telling you, this kid is guilty! We should execute him right now and send his head to the rogues as a message!”
Kass’s body trembled.
He looked at Janet, his eyes gleaming with tears.
“G–Gamma Janet… You believe in me, don’t you?” he said with a shaky voice. “You know me the best…Please say something…”
The painful look on his face made Janet’s heart ache. She walked to his side and took his icy cold hand into her palm.
“Yeah. I trust you,” she said lightly.
“Unbelievable!” Steven roared.
Janet stood in front of Kass and turned to face the others. There was a determined look on her face.
“Kass is a victim of the rogues, just like me. I believe in him. Until we have any hard evidence at hand, I won’t let anyone touch him.”
“But the mole-”
“I am with Janet,” Maxie sighed. “We shouldn’t wrong the good. Or what is the difference between us and the rogues? I guess we will just have to keep looking for any signs of that mole.”
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