Cassy pov

Nolan and Ava left right after the sunset leaving me behind in the infirmary with Elliot. Ever since Nolan had pointed out that Miles couldn’t have possibly done anything to the gifts they brought, that was all I could think of. I continued to think of a believable explanation. He was right. If what he had told me was true, then it couldn’t have been Miles. If he truly didn’t meet anyone, then how could he come up with a poison so skilfully prepared? Miles couldn’t have successfully looked for a skilled magician in a short period, even if he had the access to everything.

And since he was under surveillance for the whole time, they would have known his moves. In addition to that, if the high alpha had even the slightest amount of suspicion about him, he wouldn’t have taken the trouble of travelling all the way here and inform me about a change in his behaviour.

Frowning, I leaned against the seat. But then, who could it be? My heart refused to believe that Alpha Sam would do anything like that. Chewing on my lips, I shook my head from time to time. The wine was among the pack of gifts they brought. If Miles didn’t sabotage the drink, then who did?

Does this mean Alpha Sam or his Luna was having something against us? Or perhaps the members of the royal family? Maybe the purpose of the wine was not to separate me and Elliot. Perhaps whoever it was wanted to disrupt the peace among us.

My head started to pound with a bad headache. Something was not right and the problem was, I couldn’t think of a good explanation. If Alpha Sam was behind this, I honestly don’t know who to trust anymore. Because he was the one who allowed my adoptive parents to shelter me in the first place. Maybe I should talk with my parents and Sir Harold. It looks like this incident needs to be thoroughly investigated. I picked up my phone and called my mom’s number.

“Hey. Carina. Is everything okay?” She was quick to answer the call.

“Yes and no. Mom, I think we need to investigate this case further.” I sighed. “Where is dad?” I asked.

“He is here. He can hear you.”

“Some things don’t make sense. Nolan had pointed out that Miles couldn’t have done it. I mean…he did have a point.” I told them, frowning deeply.

“Really? They came over?” I heard dad’s groggy voice. Perhaps he was about to sleep.

“Yeah. A lot has happened today. We found out that magic was involved. Whoever made that poison, had it bewitched and Miles couldn’t have had access to that.” I explained.

There was a pause.

“Hmm. Let’s think about this in the morning. I believe you are already tired. It is pretty late now.” Mom said.

I sighed. She was right. I was exhausted.

“Yes, mom,” I said.

“We will be there first thing in the morning.” She promised and ended the call.

Sighing, I looked at Elliot. He did look a little better than before. At least, the colour on his cheeks was returning slowly. I just hope when we wake up tomorrow morning, we will see a better improvement in him.

I laid my tired body on the couch in the hospital room. I had no desire to go back to the palace to sleep all by myself in our room. Being alone in our room would only bring back the memories of that day.

“Just wake up soon Elliot. I don’t like it when you are sleeping all the time.” I whispered as I looked at his motionless body.

I was immersed in my thoughts when I slowly started to feel drowsy. I sighed. I might as well sleep. Perhaps I would be able to think about this better in the morning.

***

“Izzy complained that she couldn’t contact Rex and that she was certain that some kind of a spell was involved. So I called Ava and Nolan. They came over and with the help of her father confirmed that he was under a spell.” I explained as shortly as I could. Mom and dad had come to the infirmary the first thing in the morning, as they had promised.

“So that is why his condition isn’t improving despite being treated,” Dad murmured, glancing at Elliot’s motionless body. I nodded.

“Yes. Her father called for help and Ava’s grandma came over. She managed to break the spell.” I further explained.

“That’s great! But he must wake up then, right?” Dad asked, frowning.

“Yes. I was told to give him some time. But the thing I’m worried about is, since magic was involved, it could only mean Miles couldn’t have done it. He wouldn’t know magic. And according to Nolan, he wasn’t allowed to meet anyone. Besides, finding a well-learnt magician requires time. Even if he did have access to everything he used to have, he wouldn’t be able to find one and make that person agree to make it for him on such short notice. And I think making it also would take time.” I frowned.

“You are right,” Dad mumbled.

“I just…can’t think of anyone else….” I bit my lips. “And it was among the gifts Alpha Sam gave. Could it mean he had some kind of enmity against us?” I questioned.

“What? Alpha Sam of Dark Howl pack?” He furrowed his eyebrows, deepening the creases on his forehead. He shook his head after some time.

“I don’t think so. Alpha Sam was one of the most professional alphas I know.” He said and leaned against the seat. His expression didn’t change. It was still contorted in confusion. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts as his fingers tapped on the arm of his seat. Although he didn’t say anything, I knew that he certainly was thinking deeply over the matter.

I turned towards my sleeping husband. Wasn’t it time to wake up yet? I thought.

“Izzy? Any news?” I asked.

“Not yet. But let’s hope to hear from him today.” She replied.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

I wanted to stay positive, but it was hard. The hours passed by with minimal discussions among us. Each one of us was preoccupied with our thoughts. We were all thinking about the same thing. I was glad that my parents had chosen to stay beside me the whole time. Their presence did give me some support.

During lunch, we ordered food to be brought to the room we were staying in.

“So if it wasn’t Miles and Alpha Sam, then it could only mean that someone else was plotting against us.” I finally stated, addressing the issue.

“That’s enough thinking about this. We need to do a thorough investigation on this. But now let’s just enjoy food.” Mom’s remark made me smile a little.

I heard dad breathe out a deep whoosh of air as he picked up his spoon to dig into his food.

“So, where is Miles now?” Mom quizzed as she munched on her food.

“In the dungeon, I think,” I mumbled my reply. I sensed both of them freeze at once.

“But why? He doesn’t deserve to be locked up if he didn’t have anything to do with it.” Mom stated, slightly surprised.

“You cannot do that. It is wrong to keep an innocent wolf in captivity.” Dad supported her.

“Yeah. I guess I should release him.” I sighed.

Dad shook his head, visibly dissatisfied.

“No. You have to do more than that. You must apologize to him personally. I know you have a personal grudge against him, but it shouldn’t get in the way of being a just ruler. You are the Queen now, Carina. I expect you to do better than that.”

Dad’s demeanour now proved how disgruntled he was.

“I’m sorry….I’ll go to see him now,” I replied quickly.

“Finish your food and then go.” Mom replied, her face showing signs of unhappiness. I gulped. Looks like I’ve made my first mistake as Queen.

The rest of the lunch was awkwardly silent. I hastened to gulp down the food and rushed out of the door to go to the dungeon.

The guards followed me inside and led me to the cell where he was kept. The dungeon was dimly lit, just enough for anyone to see around.

“There isn’t any source of light in here?” I asked and the guards nodded. I cringed. So does that mean that he spent the entire night in the pitch dark? This isn’t good, considering that this time he most probably was innocent.

When I reached his cell, what I saw left me completely speechless. He sat leaning against the wall, motionless, with his eyes closed. There were chains of silver around his wrists and legs. Was he still sleeping? He didn’t seem to move at all.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Why is he chained? I didn’t ask anyone to do that!” I questioned sternly.

“Your highness, he was a dangerous criminal so we chained him up.” They answered.

Oh, God. It was my fault. “Release him now!” I ordered and the guards hastened to obey.

I flinched when I saw how the skin of his limbs had been burnt by the silver, but when I saw that he wasn’t responding to them, my heart sank. I dashed inside.

“Miles!” I called urgently. He said nothing. He didn’t even open his eyes. Instead, he fell onto the dusty floor of the dungeon, with no signs of life in him.

My eyes widened. Oh no! Gasping, I crouched down to check for a pulse. I placed my trembling fingers on his vein, trying to catch a pulse. I thought I did find a faint one.

“Take him to the infirmary. Now!” I beseeched, and they were quick to carry his limp body out of the lonely dungeon. I followed them and made sure that he was taken in for treatment at once.

“For how long had he been unconscious? Why wasn’t I informed about it?” I asked the guards.

“Your highness, we didn’t see him today. We took him in yesterday and that was it.” They replied.

“What! You mean you didn’t take any food to him either?” I almost shouted out loud.

The guards lowered their heads and I felt as though I had done the worst mistake of my life. I should have inspected how they treated the captives.

“Just….leave,” I mumbled, sighing in exasperation and stared at the closed door of the emergency room.

“What happened?” I heard mom behind me. I turned around. She most probably saw me outside the emergency room desperate and close to tears.

“I will never put anyone in the dungeon ever again,” I told her shakily, fighting hard against my tears.C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.