Human Greed

Zara’s POV 

No one moved at first; they lingered where they stood, their attention shifted between him and me, like they were waiting for something to happen. 

Disappointment flickered on their faces as they all turned to leave. 

Ryan turned to Karl, “Even you, Karl.”

Karl's gaze didn’t leave me. 

Not even for a second. 

He had this dead look on his face that sent a chill down my spine. 

Sharp and promising, like he was waiting for the moment he would be allowed to tear it apart. 

He didn’t obey willingly. 

He obeyed because he had no choice. 

The doors shut behind them one after the other, and the sound echoed through the hall until it didn’t. 

With all of them gone, the hall felt heavier, quieter. 

Why was he still keeping me alive?

Why did he want us to be alone? 

I could feel the weight of his stare even without looking at him. 

Not aggressive. 

Like he could see through me.

It made my skin crawl. 

“Drop the act,” he said.

Something about the way he said it felt off.

“You are trying too hard,” he said. “Fear looks different on you.”

“Then look closer,” I said. “You might find something way worse than fear.” 

“You don’t belong here,” he said as he stepped closer.

Close enough, I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

“I’ll ask you once who sent you?” he asked. 

“No one sent me,” I said. “I came for you. I came for revenge.” 

“Not just for my father,” I snapped. “For all the innocents you slaughtered, you fucking coward.”  I continued, screaming this time. 

“Innocent?” he repeated. “There is nothing innocent about humans,” he interrupted.

Something in me shifted, a cold resolve settling as I faced him, my pulse pounding louder than before.

His expression changed.

Anger. 

Pure anger.

 Stronger than Karls, but more controlled.

But I didn’t care. I knew death was inevitable, so why not embrace the thrill and take the leap?

“Then why did you kill my father?” My voice hardened. 

“Kill? I haven’t seen your kind since they took everything from us.”

“That’s a lie,” I snapped. “You carved a mark on his body,”

For a moment, his composure slipped; he wore an expression I couldn't comprehend.

“My mark,” he repeated. 

"Do you ever think about the innocent lives lost because of your actions?" I stepped closer despite everything in me telling me not to. “My father was one of them, one of your victims.”

“I don’t mark corpses,” he said. 

He sounded so sure, so certain. 

His face showed no guilt. 

“Liar!”

“You crossed into a territory you don’t understand,” he said, lowering his voice this time. “You came here blinded by hatred, accusing people you know nothing about.”

"Are you really asking me to believe that wolves are innocent?" I challenged him.

Then he moved. 

Frustrated. Like I was reminding him of the hidden memories he buried deep.

 He dragged his hands through his hair, his jaw tightened for the first time since I entered the hall, trying to keep his emotions under control.

“You know nothing about what happened,” he said quietly, 

Not with rage. 

Not shouting. 

Quietly. 

He locked his eyes with mine; his amber eyes burned against the dim firelight.

“Your people were consumed by greed, leading to the Great War and the loss of countless innocent lives, including children, because of a little power.” He continued.

My heart sank. 

“No,” I said immediately, “that can’t be true.” 

My voice sounded weaker this time. 

Ryan noticed it. 

I hate that he noticed it.

“You were taught one perspective of the story,” he stated. “That doesn’t mean it reflects reality.”

“You are trying to manipulate me,” I said. 

“What will I gain by doing that?” he said, calmer than the last. “You are going to die here anyway.”

I almost forgot that. 

My death is nearer than I think.

“Talk all you want, I don’t believe you,” I said.

“I will find who killed your father.”

“You must take me for a fool,”

“Only a fool will walk into enemy territory alone.”

“And yet I am still standing here.”

“You are only alive because of me.”

“Why am I still alive?” I said, “Why keep me here?”

“Someone has to carry the punishment for human greed.”

“You think that scares me?”

He didn’t reply to that; he had already made up his mind about what he was going to do to me. 

There was something deeply unsettling about it. 

About him. 

He felt less than a person and more like something that’s holding itself back from becoming more dangerous.

And maybe that’s what terrified me.

Not the wolf in the forest. 

His control. 

“Guards.” He called out. 

Immediately, two wolves walked in with their head facing the ground the second they saw him. 

“Take her to the lower wing.”

The guards exchanged looks, then hesitated slightly, but I caught it.

“Th- the lower wing?”

Ryan's face hardened. 

“Did I stutter?”

“No alpha,” they echoed, “We will do that right away.”

There was a problem, I could feel it.

 I could see it in the way they suddenly avoided looking at me. 

“What's in the lower wing?” I

Neither guard answered. 

Of course, they won't. 

“That doesn’t concern you,” Ryan said.

His calm tone irritated me more than shouting would have.

“You keep talking like I chose to stay here.”

“You lost every right to choose the moment to walk into my territory.”

“I would rather die than stay with monsters,”

Something flickered across his face at that word. 

Monsters. 

“You still don’t know where you are.”

His gaze sharpened. 

“But you will.”

The guards walked towards me. I closed my eyes, mentally bracing myself for the worst to come. 

As the guards wrap their hands around my arm, I wanted to fight. Honestly, part of me wanted to. 

But exhaustion weighed me down. If I keep up like this, I could die before they get a chance to kill me.

As they reached me, Ryan spoke again. 

“Don’t harm her…yet.”

The command surprised all of us. 

I saw the frown on their faces, “Yes, alpha.”

Ryan turned away after that, dismissing me as if the conversation were over. Before I reached the door, his voice stopped me.

“If you are telling the truth about your father’s death.” He said without looking back. “Then someone wants war badly enough to start with your father’s blood.