Chapter 14 - THE BEAST WHO CHOSE MERCYMATLA
I have never forgotten the sound Hlengiwe made when her mother fell.
It wasn't merely a scream.
It was the sound of someone watching the world threaten to take away everything that mattered.
My wolf hit the ground running.
The gray animal stood between us.
For a heartbeat, our eyes met.
I recognized the scent.
Sifiso.
A distant relative from another branch of our people.
He had once worked as a security contractor.
Years earlier, I had dismissed him after discovering that he used intimidation against people who couldn't defend themselves.
He disappeared from our circles afterward.
Now he stood between me and the woman I loved.
I attacked.
We collided in a violent rush of fur and muscle.
Sifiso snapped at my shoulder.
I struck him hard enough to knock him backward.
Then I turned toward the water.
Hlengiwe's mother clung to a narrow section of exposed pipe beneath the damaged embankment.
The current pulled at her legs.
Hlengiwe was trying to reach her.
"Stay back!" I wanted to shout.
But my human voice was gone.
Instead, I barked sharply.
She looked toward me.
"Matla, help her!"
I leaped onto the lower bank.
The water was freezing.
Mud shifted beneath my paws.
I braced myself and reached the woman.
She looked into my eyes.
For one strange second, I saw no fear in her expression.
Only determination.
"Get my daughter away from here," she whispered.
I shook my head.
Not without you.
I caught the loose fabric of her jacket in my jaws and pulled her toward the stronger section of bank.
The water fought us.
My muscles burned.
Then Hlengiwe and one of the emergency workers reached down with a rescue line.
Together, we pulled her clear.
She collapsed onto the grass, coughing.
Alive.
I turned back toward Sifiso.
He was trying to escape into the trees.
Every instinct inside me wanted to chase him.
I wanted to make him pay.
But another sound reached my ears.
People calling for help.
The engineers were still working near the emergency channel.
Motsumi was somewhere beyond the ridge.
And the water was rising.
Revenge could wait.
I changed back behind the shelter of the trees, dressed quickly in the clothes I had hidden in my emergency bag, and returned to Hlengiwe.
She threw herself into my arms.
"She's okay."
I held her tightly.
"I saw."
"Matla, the other wolf—"
"I know who he is."
Her eyes widened.
"Who?"
"Sifiso. Someone who used to work for us."
She looked toward the forest.
"Why would he attack my mother?"
"I intend to find out."
Before I could say more, my phone rang.
Motsumi.
"Abuti!"
Relief nearly brought me to my knees.
"Where are you?"
"With Sello. We're near the upper service road."
"Are you safe?"
"Mostly."
"Stay there. Security is coming."
He hesitated.
"Matla, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"They've armed several charges. The water barrier isn't the only target."
My stomach tightened.
"What else?"
"The old control room and the drainage tunnel."
I looked toward the pump house.
They intended to destroy the evidence.
And possibly anyone trying to recover it.
I called the police incident commander and relayed the information.
The explosives officers had already been dispatched.
No one else would approach the charges.
A few minutes later, an emergency worker announced that the diversion channel was reducing pressure on the lower villages.
The evacuation was continuing.
The danger wasn't over.
But people had a chance.
For the first time that morning, I allowed myself to breathe.
Then one of my security officers approached.
"Sir, we caught someone near the western fence."
"Who?"
"Sifiso."
I followed him to a secure area away from the public response teams.
Sifiso sat on the ground, nursing an injured shoulder.
Two guards stood nearby.
When he saw me, he lowered his eyes.
"Matla."
I stared at him.
"You attacked my future mother-in-law."
He didn't answer.
"You could have killed her."
His voice trembled.
"I know."
I stepped closer.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't hand you over to the police right now."
"You should."
The answer surprised me.
Sifiso lifted his face.
"Just make sure my daughter is safe first."
I frowned.
"What daughter?"
"Amara. She's eight."
He swallowed.
"Radebe has been paying for her medical treatment. When I refused to work for him anymore, he threatened to stop the payments and make sure nobody else would help us."
My anger didn't disappear.
His suffering didn't excuse the attack.
But I understood something about the man sitting before me.
Radebe had discovered his weakest point and turned it into a weapon.
"What were your orders?" I asked.
"Frighten Hlengiwe. Separate her from the others. Recover the pendant if possible."
"And her mother?"
He lowered his head.
"She wasn't supposed to fall."
I felt my fists clench.
"That doesn't make it better."
"I know."
I looked toward the guards.
"Call the police. Tell them he wants to make a statement."
Sifiso looked up sharply.
"You're not going to kill me?"
I stared at him.
"No."
"Why?"
I thought about my father.
About his recording.
About the lessons I had forgotten while trying to become a leader everyone feared.
"Because if I become the same kind of monster I'm fighting, what exactly have I saved?"
His eyes filled with tears.
"I don't deserve your mercy."
"Mercy isn't the same as escaping consequences."
I stepped away.
"You will answer for what you did. But your daughter shouldn't be punished for your crimes."
He began crying.
I left him with the officers.
By midday, Motsumi had been brought back to the ranch.
When he stepped out of the vehicle, I grabbed him and held him like I would never let go.
He laughed weakly.
"Abuti, you're crushing me."
I released him.
Then I held his face.
"Are you hurt?"
"Just a little."
"Did they feed you?"
"Matla!"
"What?"
"I'm fine."
I looked at him.
He looked back.
Then we both started laughing.
It was the first time I had laughed since the nightmare began.
He grew serious.
"Abuti, I didn't run when Sello got trapped."
I nodded.
"He told me."
"I wanted to."
"But you didn't."
Motsumi swallowed.
"I kept thinking about what Dad would have done."
I touched his shoulder.
"He would have been proud of you."
Motsumi's eyes filled.
"So would Mom."
We embraced again.
For a moment, the years seemed to fall away.
We were no longer the frightened boys who had buried their parents.
We were brothers.
Alive.
Together.
That afternoon, Naledi called.
She had examined the documents recovered from the pump house.
"Matla, there's something you need to see."
"What?"
"A bank transfer connected to Radebe's earliest payments."
"To whom?"
She hesitated.
"Someone who received money shortly after your parents died."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
May you like
Naledi exhaled.
"The account belonged to Mangoane Lisebo."
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