I stared at Alun, my eyes narrowing. "You're wrong," I said, my voice steady despite the fear and anger coursing through me. "No one in my life would take the life of another. Not my grandmother, not any of my friends, not anyone."

Alun's laughter rang out, harsh and mocking. "Oh, you poor, naive girl," he sneered. "You really have no idea, do you?"

I felt a chill run down my spine at his words. What was he talking about?

"You think you know these people?" Alun continued, his eyes glinting with malice. "You think you can trust them? Well, let me tell you something, sweetheart. You're wrong."

He took a step closer to me, and I instinctively backed away. "Your grandmother wasn't the saint you think she was," he said, his voice low and menacing. "She had secrets, dark secrets that she kept hidden from everyone, even you."

I shook my head, refusing to believe him. "No," I said. "You're lying. My grandmother was a good person. She would never have done anything to hurt anyone."

Alun's lips curled into a cruel smile. "And what about your precious Gethin?" he asked. "Do you really think he's any better? He's a wolf, Evie. A predator. And predators kill."

I felt my heart skip a beat at his words. Gethin? A killer? No, it couldn't be true. I trusted him. I cared for him. He would never do something like that.

I stared at Alun in disbelief, my heart racing as he continued his tirade against those I trusted in Llyncroft.

"Cedric, the charming vampire who runs the pub," Alun said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Do you really think he's never killed before? He's a centuries-old bloodsucker, Evie. He's taken countless lives to sustain his own unnatural existence."

I felt a chill run down my spine at his words. Cedric had always seemed so kind, so understanding. But was there a darker side to him I had never seen?

"And Fiona, the mysterious shadow weaver," Alun continued, his eyes gleaming with malice. "She's a master of dark magic, Evie. She's used her powers to manipulate and control others, to bend them to her will. And when they've outlived their usefulness? Well, let's just say she has a way of making them disappear."

I shook my head, trying to block out his words. Fiona had been a mentor to me, teaching me to harness my own abilities as an Earth Elemental. But could she really be capable of such cruelty?

"And then there's Gideon, the brooding blacksmith," Alun said, his lips curling into a sneer. "He may seem like a gentle giant, but don't let that fool you. He's a golem, Evie. A soulless creature brought to life by dark magic. And golems have a history of violence, of lashing out at those around them when they lose control."

I felt tears stinging my eyes as I listened to Alun's accusations. Gideon had been a friend to me, a source of comfort and support in this strange new world I found myself in. But was he really the monster Alun claimed him to be?

But even as I tried to convince myself, I couldn't shake the doubt that Alun's words had planted in my mind. What if he was right? What if everyone I loved, everyone I trusted, was hiding something from me?

"Face it, Evie," Alun said, his voice dripping with contempt. "You don't know these people at all. And the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."

I wanted to argue with him, to tell him he was wrong. But the words stuck in my throat, and I found myself unable to speak. Because deep down, in a part of me I didn't want to acknowledge, I knew he might be right.

I felt my blood run cold as Alun's gaze locked onto mine, his eyes glinting with a cruel satisfaction. "And what about your beloved Marcus?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom. "The one you promised your life to, the one you thought you knew so well?"

I expected my heart to clench at the mention of Marcus's name, but I felt nothing. He had killed my feelings for him by cheating on me and whatever he'd been planning before Alun showed up at the barn.

Alun's lips curled into a malicious grin, relishing the pain and confusion that must have been written all over my face. "Oh yes, Evie," he said, his voice low and menacing. "Your precious Marcus is a killer, too."

As I looked into Alun's eyes, I saw no hint of deception, no glimmer of a lie. Only a cold, hard truth that I didn't want to believe, but made some sense with the crazed wolf I'd seen here today.

"You're wrong," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Marcus would never physically hurt anyone. He's not like that." I said, hoping my words seemed sincere.

Alun threw his head back and laughed, a harsh, grating sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Oh, Evie," he said, shaking his head in mock pity. "You really are naïve, aren't you? Marcus has been lying to you from the very beginning. He's not the man you think he is. You now know he's a wolf. I hear he never told you that, expected you to mate him and then tell you the truth."

I felt tears stinging my eyes, blurring my vision as I acknowledged he was right. I didn't want to believe it. But as much as I tried to deny it, a small, insidious voice in the back of my mind whispered that maybe, just maybe, Alun was telling the truth.

"No. I don't believe you." I declared, although I felt a tinge of doubt. Hadn't I ended the relationship when I realised he was cheating on me? "He would never trick me into marrying him."

Alun's eyes narrowed, his expression hardening. "Believe what you want, Evie," he said, his voice cold and unforgiving. "But the truth is right in front of you. Marcus is a killer, just like the rest of them. And sooner or later, you'll have to face that fact. He killed Thomas. The best thong I could do to punish him was for him to live his life without his mate after all wolves mate for life."

I felt like I was going to be sick, my stomach churning with a sickening mix of fear, anger, and betrayal. I didn't want to believe it, didn't want to accept that everything I thought I knew about Marcus could be a lie.

But as I looked into Alun's eyes, I knew I couldn't deny the truth any longer. Marcus, the man I had promised my life to, was a killer.

I looked at Marcus as my heart raced in my chest. He was struggling against Geraint's iron grip. His words echoed in my mind. He was trying to make me understand why he had done what he did. "Evie, you have to believe me. I did it for you."

I felt sick. I didn't know what to believe. I couldn't believe Marcus would kill him in some sort of revenge. "What are you saying, Marcus? How can killing Thomas protect me?"

Marcus looked desperate. "You don't get it, Evie. Thomas killed your grandmother. If he could do that, what's to say he wouldn't come after you next? He'd already assaulted you. I couldn't let that go unpunished. No one harms something that belongs to me."

I was reeling. "You never owned me."

"It's a wolf thing Evie," said Gethin. "a possessiveness some ever master. A mate is to be loved and cherished, not some possession."

I nodded, acknowledging Gethin, but my focus was on Marcus. "You're saying it's true, Thomas killed my grandmother? Then you took some idiotic revenge because you think you own me."

I knew it didn't matter. Murder was murder and as I thought about it, his attentiveness during our relationship was too intense. What I had taken for love had ben his attempt to own me. I couldn't believe that Marcus, the man I loved, could do something like this.

"I can't believe this. How could you?" I said. "If I was that important to you, why did you cheat on me? Your behaviour ended our relationship long before today."

Marcus's face fell. "I'm sorry, Evie. I didn't want this to happen. I just didn't want to lose you."

I shook my head. "I can't forgive you for this. Get it into your head. We are over. There will never be a space in my heart for you."

Marcus looked desperate. "Please, Evie. I love you. I need you."