Silas’s P.O.V
As Gustav tackled me to the ground, I thought my end had come. I couldn't believe what was happening. I was terrified and completely defenseless under his hold, and I could feel my wolf surging inside me, urging me to fight back, do anything at all just to reverse this situation. But I knew that it wouldn't end well, and so I had to keep my emotions in check.
All I could think about was how I got into this situation. I had never expected to see Gustav again, let alone have him attack me. He was once my beta, and we had a good working relationship until I fled the pack, basically exiled for a crime I did not commit. But now, everything had changed, and I didn't know what to expect from him.
There was a time when Gustav would welcome me with open arms, given our past relationship. But the moment Gustav tackled me to the ground, I knew that I was no longer even a friend to him, our relationship having changed completely the second I had left the pack. Panic and a trickle of fear filled me as I struggled to get away from Gustav's grip.
As he held me down, I tried to reason with him as best as I could. Anything that could get me out of this situation.
“Gustav…please…listen to me.” I pleaded, keeping him at bay with both my hands. “Gustav!”
“Why the fuck are you here?”He snapped at me, keeping his voice low and he pulled his lips back over clenched teeth.
He did not loosen his grip on me. I could see the anger, or if not rage, then an emotion just as intense, in his eyes, and I knew that I had to tread carefully. I didn't want to make things worse, and I certainly didn't want to provoke him.
It was a strange feeling, being pinned down by someone who was once under my command. I had always been the one in control, but now, I was at his mercy. It was a humbling experience, one that I hoped would be over soon.
Looking into Gustav's eyes, I saw nothing but anger and disbelief, and even though it was already a given, considering our circumstance, I couldn't believe that the person I had once trusted and cared for as a brother, was now attacking me without any hesitation. I knew that my pack had turned on me but I was not able to wrap my mind around the implications of that until now that I was able to witness it firsthand. I felt betrayed and hurt by Gustav's actions, in the same way that it pained me to think that Ezra believed me a killer, of Lily, no less.
The fear of death washed over me as I felt Gustav's hand tighten around my throat. I could feel my breathing becoming more difficult, and I knew that I was running out of time. For a moment, I thought that this was the end for me, that I was going to die at the hands of a former pack member, someone who I had once trusted with my whole existence.
I struggled to free myself, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. Would he kill me, or would he let me go? It was a terrifying thought, but I had to keep my wits about me. I couldn't let fear take over, not now, not ever.
But, instead of going for the kill, his grip on my throat loosened, and he pinned my arms down instead, holding me in a grip that left no room for me to escape.
"I wasn't going to kill you, Silas. I want to know what the fuck are you doing here?" Gustav asked, startling me once again.
I noticed, though, that even as he proclaimed not to want to kill me, his grip on me still hadn’t been removed. I had a feeling that he thought of me as a ticking time bomb of sorts, ready to explode, dangerous if left uncontained.
“I need your help,” I croaked, just barely managing to get the words out.
"Why should I help you?” Gustav challenged. “You know we're enemies now."
"I know, but I also know that you don’t believe I’m guilty. Because if you did, then I wouldn’t be alive right now. You would’ve killed me when you had the chance. Please…I need to find the real killer, Gustav. And I can't do it alone."
There was silence, and then, finally, he sighed, rolling off me and standing up, offering me a hand once he was fully upright. "Get up, Silas. We need to talk."
As I stood up with Gustav’s help and the both of us decked behind a forest giant so that the other patrol guards wouldn’t spot us, I was confused by this sudden change of heart, but I didn't want to push his luck. I knew that I was lucky to be alive, and I didn't want to anger Gustav any further.
"What do you mean?" From the way he said that we needed to talk, it sounded like something was up, and I wanted to know what it was that bothered him.
"I mean that Lily's death has thrown everything off balance," he said. "And if it’s anything like you said, we need each other so we can figure out who did it."
I noticed his choice of words; he used ‘and if it’s anything like you said’ instead of outright admitting that he believed me, even though his actions clearly indicated that he thought I was telling the truth. This told me that he still had some mistrust over me. "Can I really trust you, Gustav?” I asked still, because if he thought I couldn’t be trusted, then neither could he. “You betrayed me once already."
"I know, and I'm sorry," he said. "But circumstances are different now. We had to believe what we saw and what we saw was you holding a knife over Lily’s body. However, we need each other’s help right now. How else would you prove your innocence? Moreover, the killer is still out there, and they could strike again at any moment. Goddess knows who they really were after or why they would even kill Lily."