"What are you going on about?" Rylan folded his arms, pale blue eyes glaring into her own, suspicion written across his face.

"Something tells me we're missing a very big clue here..." Arrow said, a predatory grin on his face. "And something also tells me that it's linked to your past." He might've been smiling, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "It also involves dear Alpha Finn."

"Enough, Arrow." The Alpha King sighed sharply. "We're not here to question her about her past. We're here to find out what she was trying to accomplish by stealing a bottle of blood."

"You know something about her, don't you?" The other Alpha in the room turned his red gaze on him.

"Well..." Rylan said, his shoulders sinking. "I suppose there's no need to hide it any longer."

"Hide what?"

"She's technically my sister."

"WHAT?!"

"My parents adopted her."

"You mean she's Constance?" Thorn, being the astute Alpha he was, asked, his red eyes locking on her as she knelt on the floor in front of them. "The survivor of the Flirit Massacre..."

"Yep."

"So that's why she was so reluctant to go into the city that day..." Two new figures appeared at the top of the stone stairway. "She didn't want to see the ruins of the place she'd once called home..." Alpha Blaze stepped down, a certain blue-haired man on his tail. Green eyes locked on her, surveying the state she was in as she shivered. "That doesn't explain what the hell is going on right now, though..." He turned to Arrow. "Hint, hint."

"Finn's lovely little mate was caught trying to nab one of those bottles of blood from the fridge."

"Hmm." Blu ran a hand through his messy blue hair. "That's a problem."

"It is." Thorn sighed. "But I have a feeling there's slightly more to it..."

"You mean it might have something to do with why she decided to run from Finn?" The blue-haired Alpha glanced curiously at his red-eyed counterpart.

"Exactly."

"I suppose there's only one person who can put an end to these suspicions..." Blu turned his gaze on Genesis, unable to find her purple eyes beneath the tangled locks now covering her face, giving nothing away. "Spill it."

"Why did you run?" Blaze stared down at her, finishing off the other Alphas words.

The Alphas seemed to be oddly in tune with one another – much more than they usually were. There were no petty squabbles between the bunch. They were in serious Alpha Mode.

"Does it matter?" Genesis countered, the hairs on the back of her neck pricking, a small sheen of sweat forming on her forehead despite her shivers. They were prying too much. Far too much. And Genesis didn't like it. "I'm back now."

"Only the guilty run." Blu folded his arms. "I've learnt that from experience."

Her hands trembled ever so slightly, the sound of metal grating on metal making her wince.

Her reactions had given her away.

"No." She shook her head, her lips pressing into a thin line.

She'd spent her whole life trying to hide that secret.

She wasn't just going to tell it, just like that, to the very people she'd been trying to keep it from ever since the day she'd walked into the church's arms.

"That's not an answer." Arrow strode towards her, annoyance written across his fine features as his deep-set eyes glared down at her, one hand clamping around her throat.

"Arrow!" Rylan's sharp shout made the other Alpha pause. "Don't forget she's Finn's mate."

"Probably not for much longer..." Genesis sighed softly, blinking when she realised she'd spoken aloud.

"And why would that be?" The Alpha King stared at her intently. "You can't remove the Bond Mark. You'll always be Finn's mate, whether you like it or not."

"Because of what I've done." She smiled sadly. "Nobody would ever accept me – even if they knew the full truth..."

"You aren't making any sense."

Alpha Thorn sighed deeply, striding towards her, signalling for Arrow to release his hold on her neck. "She's talking about her crime." He smiled, but it was a grim sight.

"Of course you'd be the one to realise that." Blaze said, glancing over at the other blonde. "I suppose the clues in your job title..."

"The Alpha of Punishment..." Thorn murmured, crouching down in front of Genesis. "And would you look at that?" He glanced over at the blue-haired Alpha. "You're also in the presence of the Alpha of Judgement."

"What of it?" She closed her eyes, already having a good idea of what he'd say.

"Now's as good of a time as any to confess."

Genesis gritted her teeth, her arms shaking as those red eyes continued to cut into her.

"I said it before, but I'll say it again." Alpha Blu walked ever closer. "Spill it."

"So... I think it's time you told us..." Thorn stared down at her, arms folded. "What's your sin, Genesis?"

Her body shook, her teeth grinding together once she realised there was no way out. Not without giving them answers. She was trapped. Cornered in the basement with five Alphas intent on making her state her crime.

"Answer him." Arrow was standing at her side. "Unless you want me to get creative."

Genesis shuddered, knowing exactly what he meant.

He didn't care if she was Alpha Finn's mate.

He'd use whatever means necessary to get her to talk.

A sad smile pulled at her face, her skin feeling oddly taut while she sat there, preparing herself for the worst. She closed her watery eyes, an odd sense of calm stealing over her as she sat back against the wall, her head tilted back as her lips formed the word.

"Murder."

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