Narrator

Cassy managed to calm down after the four traitors were executed. Izzy silently retreated to the back of her head, letting her relax for a while.

“Hey.” Elliot collected his mate in his arms and let her relax in his arms. Cassy closed her eyes and hugged him back.

“I am okay now.” She whispered. “I can’t believe they think that we were snatching something which isn’t ours when in reality it is the other way round.” She spoke in a shaky voice. Her parents patted her back, offering their support to her.

“It is our fault, I guess. We shouldn’t have promised him the throne. But we were hopeless. We had given up on having a child when it finally happened.” The former king remorsefully muttered.

“No. Dad, it isn’t your fault,” Cassy whispered and turned towards them. “It just isn’t.” She added, strengthening her statement.

“Let’s just go from here.” Her mother, the former Queen declared. “We have better things to do than stay here.” She said as she heaved deep breaths.

“Yes. Let’s get out of here.” Cassy agreed. All of them returned to their quarters in the palace. Cassy decided to take the rest of the day off and stayed in her room, binge-watching movies and snacking to cope with the shock she had received. Although she was relieved that the traitors were now gone, watching them get killed had shaken her up. However, she believed that it had to be done and that traitors deserved nothing except death. Letting them live would only cause more problems. They had caused enough trouble already.

Elliot stayed by her side the whole time until he was informed that the results of the tests were now available. He was quick to respond. He listened carefully to what the caller had to say.

“The corpse is tested positive for a poison made using a mixture of liquid silver and wolfsbane. When we tested the pills, they also contained a similar extract. But the strange thing was, it acted weird when it was dissolved in water. It released some bizarre kind of sparks and then it died down.” The caller explained.

“Okay.” Elliot nodded. “And I don’t suppose anything else was found. Not a trace of a strange fingerprint or anything?” He asked.

“Nothing, your highness. Not even any signs of being forced to take the tablet.” He explained.

“Okay.” Elliot sighed. “Great work.” He whispered and hung up.

“So was it a suicide?” Cassy asked nonchalantly, still staring at the screen of the television.

“Seems so.” He replied. “Just questioning the driver is left. If he knows why everyone was carrying those tablets could confirm that it indeed was a suicide. I don’t think it was a murder case.” He sighed.

“Let’s go and check the things out in the dungeon,” Cassy said, surprising Elliot. Her face remained emotionless and her eyes were still glued to the TV screen.Material © .

“Uh… now? I think you should rest.” He refuted. “You sure look like you need some rest.” He added.

“No!” Her abrupt response was firm. “I am Queen and I cannot rest until everything is settled.” She replied and got up from the bed. She walked out of the room with Elliot following her. He frowned at her as he followed. Something had happened to her without a doubt. However, he didn’t say anything. She didn’t wait until she reached the cells.

“It is still so dark in here. Why aren’t the lights still not installed in the dungeon? We at least need a couple of strong lights to light this place up.” She murmured, clearly displeased by it.

She called the chief guard and sent out the orders to clean the dungeon up to and install a couple of lights, in addition to cutting and clearing any wolfsbane vine growing into the cells.

“I need the lights installed tonight. Cleaning may be delayed but the lights must be installed tonight. And no excuses!” She growled.

“Yes, your highness.” The guards hastened to obey and carry out her orders. Using their phones to light their way, they moved forward until they reached the cell the driver was kept in. He seemed to be resting when they arrived, however, he sprung up from his position as soon as he noticed the leaders.

“Have you had food tonight?” Cass asked as soon as he stood up.

“Yes. Your majesty.” He responded.

“Good.” She sighed and gestured to Elliot to question him.

“Do you know what this is?” Elliot asked, showing him a picture of the bottle.

“Ah! That! I think his men are given that bottle. They are instructed to use it if they get in trouble. You know, if they ever get caught, like I am. I also was given one but I refused. Because…..” he sighed sadly. “Because whatever I’ve done was against my consent.” He paused his lips.

“We were told that those pills would help us out of the situation. Like, transport us elsewhere magically.” He explained.

“Magically?” Cassy frowned.

“Yes, your highness. They have access to magic. I don’t know how, but they do.” He said.

“Magic….” Elliot whispered.

“But the one who took a tablet died on the spot. He was poisoned. These tablets contained a mixture of silver and wolfsbane.” Cassy furrowed her eyebrows.

“They were lied to,” Elliot muttered.

“We should leave, Cass.” He added after a short pause.

“Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.” She thanked the driver before leaving.

“Cass, I think magic is involved. Perhaps they aren’t just wolves. Maybe hybrids? Was your cousin a hybrid?” He asked, making Cass stop in her tracks.

“I… don’t know.” She replied, her frown deepening. “I don’t think so. He is the son of my aunt and her mate who is a warrior. We can ask my parents. They should know. Wait. I’ll mind link them. Let’s go back to our room. I need to rest.” Cassy added.

As they walked towards their quarters, Cassy contacted her parents through a mind link and was told that Zander, her cousin, was not a hybrid. He was a pure lycan.

“I wonder how they are having access to magic. The tablets seem to be bewitched. I was told that they released some sparks when it was dissolved in the water.” Elliot voiced his thoughts.

Cass said nothing. However, worrying about the matter never ceased for her. Even when they went to bed. Elliot knew that she was thinking about it.

“Babe. Relax, we will solve this.” He told her, as he pulled her closer to himself as they lay on their bed.

“I’m worried.” She admitted. “I am responsible for this kingdom. I can’t believe that a huge war is in front of us.” She spoke out.

Pausing his lips, Elliot studied the face of his mate. Her forehead creased, she continued to bite her lower lips. He knew that she was stressing herself.

“We will inform all the dukes and prepare for war first thing tomorrow. But for now, let me….” He trailed off as he climbed on top of her.

“Babe.” He whispered and started kissing the exposed skin on her neck and shoulders.

“Elliot.” She gasped.

“Shhh. Just enjoy this.” His husky whisper made her shiver. The movements of his hands and tongue were enough for her to forget her worries for a while as they indulged into the depth of their pleasure.

Meanwhile, deep in the jungle, the ‘master’ was infuriated. He had not been able to contact any of his allies in the lycan kingdom. Even the bugs that had been embedded in their bodies seemed to have stopped working.

He kept throwing whatever that he got his hands on. Soon enough, his ‘office’ looked as though it had been hit by a typhoon. All the furniture were trashed and his belongings were all over the place.

“I’d be damned if they betray me!” He screamed, making his followers cower with fear.

“Master, maybe they were found?” One of them meekly said.

“Found you say?” He sneered. “Found? They don’t know who they are messing with! Me, Zitao! Master of the dark magic!” He roared.

“I haven’t killed a teenager and impersonated him just to live like a rogue! I refuse to let all of that work go to waste! That throne is mine! All mine!” He was shaking with fury.

His followers kept their eyes downcast, Not moving a muscle lest they might anger him more. They feared what he might do to them. They knew that their ‘master’ was merciless. If he didn’t hesitate to kill an innocent teenager, he wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of anyone who infuriated him.

“They don’t know who I am!” He hissed, his eyes burning with rage, as he gritted his teeth. “They were clueless when I killed that boy, buried him in the jungle and changed my appearance so that I look like him. Everything was perfect until the Queen got pregnant. He should have known better than expecting me to accept his stupid pup. It was my cursed luck that Richard saw me when I was leaving the palace that night with his firstborn. I was going to throw her in the river. But I was so unfortunate, a single silly mistake was enough to ruin it for me back then. I had to leave her in the middle of the jungle to mislead him that night and he caught up with me. He didn’t leave without breaking every bone in my body. I had to use all my energy and powers to heal myself and by the time I was able to go and look for her, she was gone! I was hoping that a wild animal took care of her! But damn that family! They had kept her hidden until she was ready to become Queen!”

He continued to rant while his followers remained silent.

“I won’t let them get away with what they have done to me. I won’t!” He growled. “I will avenge every broken bone in my body! I will finish them off!” He promised through his gritted teeth.