Cassy pov.

When I saw dad taking angry steps towards where I waited, I felt my heart plummet to the deepest pit possible. He was enraged. Perhaps, I have done something that he had never done during his entire reign. Maybe my mistake was so grave that it was unforgivable. Perhaps it was so sinister that he most probably was going to bash me.

I felt my eyes and nostrils sting with the tears that threatened to well my eyes. These most certainly were the worst days of my life. I thought having Elliot take in that unpleasant wine and slip into the state that he was in right now, was the worst thing that could happen to me. But I was wrong.

Being stupid enough to make the mistake of putting an innocent being in the dungeon was far worse than that. It was bad enough that I didn’t have Elliot beside me to discuss the matters of the kingdom and even the simplest things in life. Now, things have become a million times worse. Miles was now depending on IVs and other medications that hopefully would make him better.

I was so glad when I heard that he was fine, just too exhausted to stay awake because of a lack of energy. A simple IV was supposed to make him better. So I hoped that he would wake up sooner.

“Carina!”

I felt goosebumps all over my body when I heard dad’s stern voice.

“You better explain this to me!” He demanded. Feeling immense remorse, I turned to face him completely.

“Dad.” I croaked. “I made a grave mistake,” I whispered and soon, the tears that I had been fighting against started to stream down my face.

“Oh yes, you did Carina! You are lucky that he is still alive, otherwise, I will make sure that I handle this myself.” He asserted.

I gulped when I saw his widened, and reddened eyes as he shook his forefinger at me.

“You must call his parents and explain everything to them. And I mean everything. Every single detail. From the beginning to the end. And then beg for their forgiveness. He may have been a prick in the past, but as far as I knew, people change. Who knows, perhaps Miles too had changed for the better. I don’t understand another reason why his father would take the trouble of coming here to inform you about giving his title back to him.” He declared, still visibly vexed about the matter.

“Yes, Dad,” I mumbled, lowering my gaze mournfully.

He was right. I had made a huge mistake and must do whatever I could to correct it.

“Now go to the office, call them and tell them everything. Now, this instance. Your mother and I will be here to see if everything is fine here.”Material © .

It was sort of a decree. I may be the Queen now, however, he still is my father and he has had a long experience of being the king. So I knew I better learn from him if I wanted to do it right. I obliged and walked out of the infirmary to do the needful. It wasn’t going to be an easy call to make. But I had to. And I wouldn’t delay it.

I dialled his number and waited anxiously for him to answer the call. I was mournful about what had happened, and as I sat all alone in the office, with my face covered with one hand, I felt as though I was the worst Queen on the face of the earth.

“Hello.” I heard his deep voice on the other end.

“Hello, Alpha Sam?” I replied with my heart racing.

“Yes. Your highness.”

There was a little pause when I sat on the seat, trying to think of the most suitable words to convey the message. How was I supposed to tell him that I had locked his son up, while he was innocent? And that now, he was in the infirmary due to unjust treatment? I gulped.

“Your majesty…. I was going to call or visit you. We are extremely sorry about what our son had done. We didn’t know that he would do something as despicable as that. Please…..”

“No. Stop,” I said cutting him in.

“I was wrong to lock him up. I should be the one apologizing. And that is the reason I am calling you. Your son was not involved. And I am extremely sorry to have wrongly accused him of it.” I sighed sorrowfully.

Swallowing my ego and admitting my mistake was the hardest thing ever. Despite my melancholic mood, I force*d myself to tell him every single detail of what had happened. From when they had given us the gifts, up to everything that had happened yesterday.

At first, I was relieved when he let me speak without interrupting until I was done. However, the silence that followed right after was the hardest to listen to.

My heart plummeted as I waited for him to say something…. anything.

I gulped, and once again, mustered up all the courage that I could.

“Alpha Sam?”

All I could do was whisper silently, hoping that he would reply. I heard him release a huge whoosh of air.

“But ….we never included wine in our package of gifts….” His voice was solemn and barely above a hushed whisper. However, it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

“You …didn’t?” My heart started to thud.

“Yes, your highness. We didn’t.” I heard him sigh. “Where is my son now?” He asked.

“In the infirmary,” I told him, once again feeling a little dejected.

“I’ll be right there in a while.” He hurriedly said into the phone. “Please excuse me.” He said and quickly ended the call.

I found myself slowly lowering the handle of the office phone, my forehead wrinkled in a deep frown.

They didn’t include wine in their pack of gifts. Then who put it there? Chewing on my lower l*p, I leaned against the office chair, lost in deep thought. I kept mentally analysing the situation.

So they must have parked their car in the garage and came in to meet me. If they didn’t include wine, it would only mean that someone had planted it there.

That could only mean that…..there is a mole in my people… perhaps a guard or another palace employee who had easy access to the garage. But it could be anyone. The security guards, any of the royal palace guards, or even those who keep the premises clean.

I felt fear grip my heart. If that is the case, then none of us is safe. They could easily poison us all by vandalising the food prepared in the palace. What I couldn’t understand was, why would they want to hurt any of us.

I massaged my forehead, as I tried to think of someone who I could trust blindly. I knew I could trust my parents and Sir Harold. I need to talk to them and find out who might be having a grudge against us.

“Carina! I could hear him!” Izzy’s excited exclamation interrupted my thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Rex is back! I can hear him! Go and see how Elliot is now!” She exclaimed again.

An involuntary smile spread across my face as I rushed towards the door.

“Can you see him?” I asked eagerly.

“No, not yet. But he says he is fine now. I think I will be able to see him after a couple of hours. She replied.

“Great!” I replied. “Izzy, what do you think about the issue? We now know that someone must have planted it among their gifts.” I inquired.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what to tell you. It must be someone who is in the palace if it wasn’t from the pack.” She said.

“Yes. And that means we might be in danger. We don’t know who to trust.” I added.

“True.” She paused. “Do you think it might have any link with the rogue attacks?” She suddenly asked, making me stop in my tracks.

“Rogues? But how could they plant anything in a car that is in the palace?” I asked her, frowning.

“Yeah. You are right. Let’s talk with mom and dad about this.” She said, “now hurry! I think Elliot might wake up soon!” She urged.

When I rushed to the private room in the infirmary, I saw that my parents were with Sir Harold. My eyes were on Elliot, who I thought was moving his fingers a little. Gasping, I rushed to his side and brushed away the hair on his forehead.

“Elliot?” I meekly called. There was a long pause when nothing happened until I saw his forehead wrinkled slightly and as his chest heaved.

The next few minutes were the most beautiful moments for me. I couldn’t hide the silly smile on my face. He moved his head to a side, deepening the creases on his forehead before finally, his eyes fluttered open.

“Elliot,” I whispered, through my tears of joy.

His father and my parents too had come to stay beside me.

“Hey.” He croaked and then winced. “Water.” He then said.

I hastened to pour half a glass of water which he gulped down. Perhaps his throat was parched.

“I’m so glad that you are okay now.” Mom said, smiling at him.

He returned her smile, however, remained silent.

“Maybe we should let him rest.” Dad voiced.

“Yes. We should let him rest for a while.” His father agreed.

“So did you call?” Dad asked me before they left the room.

“Yes. He said that he was coming.” I told him.

“Good. I’ll wait outside the emergency room. I want to see him. The poor lad has still not woken up” He stated, making me gulp.

“Oh and dad? He said that he didn’t include wine in their pack of gifts.” I added, before they left because it was crucial information. All three of them froze as their lips parted. I sighed.

“That could only mean someone planted it in their trunk,” I told them.

“We all need to discuss this. This is serious.” He stated, furrowing his eyebrows and looking concerned.

“We will call for a meeting to discuss. Right now I’m going to check on Miles.” He said and walked away.

“What is going on?” Elliot asked me, in a weak voice.

Sighing, I looked at him and offered a smile, though I knew I most probably had a sullen look on my face.

“A lot has happened babe. I’ll tell you when you are ready.” I spoke, with deep regret.

“I am ready, tell me now.” He insisted. Sighing, I nodded.

“Okay. Right after the healers check on you.” I told him and informed the healers that he had woken up.