Chapter 56
The witness Janet wanted to talk to was Maxie.
Although Baron hadnât been very nice to Maxie, he trusted her very much. He brought her to the first betweenâpacks competition, and he even let her fill in as the substitute trainer while he was absent.
Maxie must know something about his dirty deals.
The only problem was whether or not she would be willing to tell Janet everything that she knew.
It seemed that Maxie was terrified of Baron. She didnât even dare to say a word of defiance when Baron blamed her for the mad bear incident.
Baron must have found a way to control her somehow.
Janet needed to find out by what means Baron was controlling Maxie.
And she needed to win over Maxieâs trust.
Maxie was living in the central packhouse. Since she didnât show up in the training field today, Janet thought she might have the luck of finding Maxie in her room.
Janet arrived outside of Maxieâs room and gently knocked on the door.
Nobody answered.
Janet didnât give up. She knocked again.
This time she heard a series of light footsteps approaching the door, followed by a guardedly tensed voice asking, âWho is it?â
âIt is me, Janet, from the Blood Moon Pack.â Janet leant closer to the door and
asked, âCan we talk for a minute?â
âI canât think of anything we can talk about,â said Maxie warily.
It didnât kick off with a great start.
But Janet didnât leave.
Instead, she held the doorknob and insisted, âGive me a chance to talk to you Maxie. This is important. You donât need to come out. We can talk through the door if you like.â
There was another long silence.
And then, the door was opened up a crack, revealing a small part of Maxieâs face.
âWhat do you need?â Maxie asked lowly.
âYou were not at the training field today. I heard that Baron replaced you with Owen. But you were doing great training your soldiers. So what happened?â
âGamma Baron felt that Owen is a better fit than me. And I donât mind that, really. I was temporarily filling in anywayââ
âNonsense!â Janet gasped, raising her voice. âBoth you and I knew that is bullshit. Have you met Owen? The guy knew nothing but waiving his fists in the air like a giant gorilla. And you are counting on a guy like him to train your soldiers?â
Maxieâs face went pale.
After a pause, she muttered, âThis is Riverside Packâs business. And you are Blood Moon Packâs Gamma. This doesnât concern you.â
She wanted to close the door, but Janet took a step further and put her foot between the door panel and the wall.
And Janet insisted, âBut this is an alliance, Maxie. And we are going to the battlefield together one day. I canât stand aside and do nothing when a real capable person like you gets bullied and dismissed, while scumbags like Baron and Owen take the control!â
Maxie bit her lips and subsided into silence.
Janet stared at her and asked abruptly, âWhat happened to your arm?â
Maxie was wearing long sleeves, But her sleeves rolled up when she tried to shut the door, revealing her upper arm skin.
There were a few striking bruises on her skin. All seemed relatively new.
Maxie panicked and quickly pulled off her sleeve to cover her skin. But it was too late.
âDonât bother. I saw it already.â Janet said solemnly, âI get it. It isnât easy for you to stand up against Baronâs tyrant. It took me a long time to learn about how to fight for my own right as well. But you can do it, just like me. This is your chance now, Maxie!â
Maxie inhaled sharply. Her lips started to tremble.
She still had the door halfâopen. But she stopped trying to close it.
âWhat do you want then?â
Maxie asked eventually.
âAre you trying to get me back to the training field? We both know that Gamma Baron wonât allow that.â
11
âAnd that is why we canât let Baron take the wheel.â
Janet looked into Maxieâs eyes and said,
We need to take down Baron.â
A look of shock flickered across Maxieâs eyes.
âYou are crazy!â Maxie gasped in disbelief, âDo you know who Baron is! He is-â
âA respected warriorâs son, right? And so what? His father won all those glories, not him. We canât let him keep corrupting your army. Even your Alpha is with me on this. We have your back!â
Maxie was still shaking her head, âBaron is too respected among the soldiers. You canât kick him out of power. You will cause a riot.â
âAnd that is why we need to show those soldiers that Baron doesnât deserve their respect.â
Janet took in a deep breath and got to the gist.
âAlpha Daran told me that there was an account book, documenting all details of Baronâs secret deals. If you happen to know where that account book isââ
âNO!â Maxie snarled abruptly.
There was a mixed look of fear and anger on Maxieâs face as she glared at Janet and cried, âForget it! I am not giving you that account book!â
âCalm down, Maxie. Letâs work it out-
âNo, I am done talking to you. Goodbye!â
Maxie slammed the door close with a huge bang and shut Janet outside.
Janet took a quick step back to avoid getting hit by the door.
Then she frowned.
So there was indeed an account book.
And Maxie knew where it was.
Which were all great news.
And Maxie didnât seem to hate the idea of taking down Baron. She must hate Baron
too.
But why did she react so strongly when Janet asked her about the account book?
Did Baron threaten her with something?
Janet knew that she wouldnât be able to get Maxieâs trust unless she found out what Baron threatened Maxie with.
Janet turned to leave Maxieâs room while still pondering on these questions.
When she reached the end of this hallway, she heard a series of conversation coming
from around the corner.
Two maids were talking in a cautiously low voice.
ââ¦Miss Maxie was still in her room?â one maid asked.
âYes. She hadnât eaten anything since yesterday. Poor thing. I was thinking maybe I should bring her something to eat.â
âShe wonât eat. She wonât even open the door. She is always like this afterâyou know.â
âShush!â the other maid snapped, âAre you crazy? We are not supposed to talk about it! Do you want to be expelled? Or do you want to be dead?â
Janet narrowed her eyes standing in the shadow.
It seemed that these two maids knew what happened to Maxie. But they were too scared to say a word about it.
âI just feel terrible for Miss Maxie! She didnât deserve to be treated like this.â the maid cried with an aggrieved voice.
âI know. But what can we do about it? We are only maids. There was nothing we can do about it.â
The two sighed and were ready to walk away.
Just before they left, Janet stepped out of the shadow and cried out, âWait!â
Two maids jerked around in panic.
âGamma Janet!â one gasped, âWhen did you-â
âI have heard everything.â
Janet walked toward them and surveyed their pale and frightened faces, âSo tell me what happened to Maxie. And why did she lock herself inside of her room.â