Logan and his gamma walked back to the pack house in relative silence. Several thoughts kept running through the alpha's mind. At least now, Aella's name would be cleared, albeit not completely. She would still be seen as a rogue wolf that was sent to spy on them, and the only reason Jesse was assigned the position of a spy in the pack was that Aella had failed at it by getting herself mated to him.

Jesse was the last person he had expected to be the spy though. He stole a sideways look at the man as he dragged him forward by the collar. He was one of those silent, sidelines people, those you'd never know they were there until they spoke. Logan had seen a lot of himself in the man and had admired his knack for staying level-headed even in very tough situations. That was the very reason why he had made Jesse his Gamma.

Logan's mind flashed back to when they had been younger. While Casper had been his best friend, Jesse had been that boy that sort of tagged along anytime they went on their adventures. His parents who had been friends with Logan's father had died of a rare wolf illness, and so he had been invited to live in the pack house by the former alpha. Casper had never understood why Logan took him along when they went out because he thought Jesse was too calm for adventures.

Then, three years after Logan had become the alpha, Jesse had come to Logan and asked for a leave. Logan had readily granted him the leave, and the 18-year-old Jesse had left for a period of six months. Then he had come back without luggage and tattered clothes, looking as emaciated as a sickler. As Logan remembered that period, he guessed that was when the gamma had joined the Rogue Pack.

Logan could almost see him being the perfect spy for the Rogue King. He would be the last person anyone would suspect to be a spy. In addition, he was very close to the alpha and had ready access to getting information from Logan without anybody knowing. 

Jesse had been so gentle and level-headed. Where then did it all go wrong? What was his motive for joining that accursed pack and their cruel king in the first place? Did he join voluntarily or was he forced?

Soon they got to the pack house and Logan dragged Jesse in by the collar. People stopped to watch in confusion as he dragged the traitor, all bloodied and beaten up, to the strategy room where he knew they would be having a meeting at this very minute.

On his way, he mind-linked his beta. Meet me in the strategy room, now. Come with Louve. Don't ask me questions, he added as Casper was about to say something, and closed the mind link.

He got to the strategy room and fortunately for him, Elias was having a meeting with the other eleven Head Wolves. A shot of anger went through him as he saw Elias sitting on the Alpha's Seat that was meant for him, but he swallowed his anger.

Elias was saying something, then he stopped as Logan and Jesse burst in. He raised his eyebrows questioningly as they walked in, then the smirk that was so familiar to Logan came upon his face.

"Oh wow." He said, settling back into his chair. "This should be interesting."

"I demand an audience," Logan called out. The words felt bitter in his mouth as he knew that by all rights, he shouldn't be asking to speak when he was the rightful alpha. "There is something I would like to tell everyone, and in the process, clear my mate's name."

Casper and Louve walked in at that exact moment. They looked at Logan and Jesse with questions in their eyes but didn't say anything. Logan sighed in relief, grateful for their presence in the room. It would give him the strength to say what he wanted to say.

"All of you have believed in the past that Aella, my mate, is the spy who killed all our pack members in the past because of a tattoo on her shoulder. Well, I'm here with another piece of information." He raised Jesse's right arm up and the sleeve of the gamma's shirt fell down, revealing the crescent tattoo in the crook of his elbow.

"Holy fuck!" Casper exclaimed. Louve gasped and closed her mouth with her hands and the rest of the Council had similar looks of shock on their faces. "Traitor!" One of them yelled.

Logan looked at Elias, waiting for his response. The man was twirling a strand of reddish hair on his beard thoughtfully.

"And where is this mate you speak of, Aella?" He waved his fingers in a dismissive gesture. "Why isn't she here to clear her own name? Or, are you hiding her?"

"That's not the point—"

Louve stood up from where she was sitting and came forward to stand by Logan. "Will you at least put aside your pettiness and listen to what he has to say?" She said.

"Quiet, woman!" Elias yelled at her. "You are not meant to speak when the Head Wolves are deliberating on matters."

Logan pushed Jesse forward and the man stumbled and fell to his knees. He looked up and grinned at Elias with bloody teeth. "The Rogue King is coming for all of you. All of you!" He yelled, then coughed and spat out blood.

"Speak!" One of the Head Wolves yelled at him. "How did you become a spy?"

"I was given this tattoo when I was 18 years." He started, confirming what Logan himself had believed. "I have been a member of the Rogue Pack ever since then. I couldn't just leave here though. My presence would be noticed. And so, towards winter last year, Aella was sent here to spy on this pack, give useful information to the Rogue King in exchange for keeping her life."

"What do you mean, keeping her life?" Logan asked.

"I'll never tell!" Jesse replied, still grinning. "But Aella failed woefully at that too, the same way she had failed at the others. She claimed that she couldn't kill innocent people for our King. In fact, she took it a step further by getting mated to him." He pointed at Logan. "And so, the King ordered me to kill her in any way possible. I tried, twice, but Aella is surprisingly strong. I could see why they called her The White Wolf."

"Tell them about the cave," Logan commanded.

"Oh, the cave!" He laughed a raspy laugh that sounded a lot like a snake hissing. "That has been my hideout for so many months now. The only reason nobody in this pack has ever discovered the cave is that nobody can! Only those who have the tattoo, and those in whose veins flow the blood of the Rogue Pack can see or enter the cave. That was why Logan was able to see and enter, because his mom was a Rogue Wolf, and his mother's blood runs in his veins."

The gamma then struggled to his feet and beat his chest proudly, swaying like a drunk man on the spot. "I killed Kylie! I killed Ryker and all the other wolves of this pack that died. I killed them, and I would forever be proud of it!"

The whole strategy room erupted in shouts and yells after that last statement. Screams of "Kill him! Avenge us!" went around as Jesse laughed like a maniac. Logan looked at Elias, gauging his expression. The man was gripping the hands of the chair and looking around in fear. He could tell that Elias was scared.

"And what do you say to all of this, Elias?" Logan called out and the whole room went silent.

"This—all of this, is a farce!" The man yelled, waving his arm around, then turned to the Council of Head Wolves, seeking support. "How can we say that your so-called alpha isn't conniving with the Rogue King himself?"

Logan almost laughed out loud at his ludicrous statement. "I can see you grasping for straws here, Elias. Just give up and come down from that seat. You do not deserve it."

"I would rather break all ten of my fingers than give this up." He was grasping the seat now, looking like an overgrown baby.

Logan smiled without humor, then turned to the Council. "This meeting is hereby dismissed." He commanded and all the Head Wolves filed out. Casper came forward and dragged Jesse out by the shirt, followed by Louve.

The room emptied out till it was only Logan and Elias in the room, facing each other. Logan walked towards him as a predator walking towards its prey till he was almost nose-to-nose with the man, who was visibly shaking. "You had better start preparing yourself and your family to get banished from this pack, Elias. Because that'll be the first thing I would do once I get my throne. Mark my words."