Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
I took a deep breath then and started to explain to her all that had happened. I told her about the horror movie scene that we walked into when we got to Sterling and Alloy’s place. I told her about the magic door and the clearing. I told her about how I had healed Sterling and saved him from dying while using Alloy’s magic and asking that the Goddess mark them if they were innocent.
Aunt Glory had been quite excited upon hearing about the marks of innocence. She thought that was an amazing thing that she just had to see. Sterling was the only one who showed his mark this time, since I told her they both had matching marks.
“Worry not, Alloy, I alone will be enough this time.” Sterling had told him.
“How cute is it that the two of you have matching marks now?” Aunt Glory smiled at them. “I always knew you two were the best couple ever and I never understood why you chose to live so far away.” She frowned at them after the mark had been shown.
“You know why, Gloriana.” Sterling hung his head. “People do not approve of us.”
“Are you referring to the fact that you’re gay?” Joaquin asked him with shock. “I have a hard time believing that. Our friends were here recently, and no one had a problem with their relationship.”
“I wish that was the only thing that we had to overcome.” Sterling laughed at him. “No, King Joaquin, it is the fact that we are metal Fae. In the eyes of the other Fae, the Fae that have more natural elements to their magic, we are abominations. We are not accepted by the general population. They think that we are unnatural and evil. We have put up with it for millennia. It is not something that we care to deal with anymore. That is why we moved to the farthest reaches of the land of Fae.”
“And it is probably why Hibiscus chose us to frame.” Alloy crossed his arms. “We are already considered evil by everyone else so, if she committed a series of crimes, we would be the most likely culprits when compared to her.”
There is still one thing that I don’t understand.” Aunt Glory shook her as she thought about this. “How did Hibiscus do this if she doesn’t have any notable magic?”
That truly was the million dollar question wasn’t it? How did she do all of this if she couldn’t perform any magic at all?
As I contemplated that thought I heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming close to the private room. I could smell Landon coming up fast, but the scent that was chasing him made me breath a sigh of relief.
“Gloriana?” Athair m貌r cried her name when he ran into the room. “I am so glad that you are safe.” Athair m貌r ran to his sister’s side and hugged her, even with her mate standing so close that the two of them brushed against each other with Aunt Glory in between them.
“Brother?” Aunt Glory hugged him back with a relieved sigh.
“What has happened? How did this come to be?”
“I will explain that, old friend.” Alloy smiled at him and moved closer to him. The shock that was on Athair m貌r’s face when he saw the blood covering his friend was clear. He, like Aunt Glory, thought that something horrible must have happened, though when he heard the tale it was obvious that he had never expected the true extent of it all.
“So, it truly was Hibiscus after all?” He looked at me with an apologetic look. “I am sorry, Riviana, I should have listened to you. You were right all along.”
“Let us not lay blame on each other. What we really need to worry about now is, how we’re going to get Hibiscus to come to us willingly? I have a feeling that if we tried to take her by force, something truly horrible is likely to happen.” I brushed aside his words and redirected the conversation to where it needed to be.
“I agree. We need a plan.” Joaquin looked worried as he spoke. “Does anyone have any ideas?”
“I think I might know just how we can get her to come to us and to prove that she is the guilty party all at the same time. But you will all have to trust me. This is going to be one hell of a show that we’re going to give her..” I saw the confusion on almost every face in the room when they saw the smirk on my face and the mischief in my eyes.
****
Riviana
****
I was currently standing in the middle of the courtyard in front of the castle. My hands were in chains. There were three dead bodies lying in front of me covered with white cloths. There was a pile of injured guards laying all heaped together next to the platform that I was currently chained to. The magic cage filled with the guards that we had incapacitated was shimmering next to me to further showcase my crimes against the Fae.
Beside me, Joaquin, Vincent, Trevor, Landon, and all the rest of the members of the council were kneeling as if they too were being punished. There was a slew of guards behind them, holding them all in place.
There was already a sea of people that had arrived following the announcement that the crimes against the Fae had been solved. Despite the fact that there were so many people in the open space, there was still more coming with each passing minute.
In the distance I saw a group of guards that were approaching us as the protective guard for Hibiscus. She was giving us all a look of utter confusion as she walked to the very front of the group.
“Thank you all for responding so quickly to my summons.” Athair m貌r’s voice boomed out across the group of gathered spectators. “I have summoned you all here for a very grave issue. It has recently been discovered that there was a plot against Queen Gloriana’s life alongside the threats that have been plaguing the city. There have been three more lives lost this day. Three more senseless murders that needn’t have occurred.”
Athair m貌r paused for a moment to let his words sink in as the people looked on and the whispers started to spread among the crowd as they saw all of us ‘outsiders’ being treated as criminals.
“The first murders that were brought to my attention today were those of my childhood friends.” At those words, a guard pulled the white sheet-like cloths from the bodies of Sterling and Alloy, both of them covered in blood and deep, black tinged wounds. “These men were dear friends to both me and Queen Gloriana. I was heartbroken when I learned of their deaths.” I could hear the way Athair m貌r choked up when he spoke, tears filling his eyes as he thought about how he would never again be able to see the men that he grew up with. “I will miss these two friends so much.” It sounded like he was crying for real now, but I couldn’t see his face, so I didn’t know for sure.
“Who killed them? How did they die?” I heard Hibiscus’s voice call out, not a shred of worry or fear in the way that she spoke.
“I will get to that, Bissy.” Athair m貌r tilted his head at her and sniffled. “There is another murder I need to inform you all about.” I listened on as Athair m貌r cleared his throat and continued. “Please remove the last cloth.”
At Athair m貌r’s orders a guard walked over to the last dead body. When the sheet was pulled back there was a gasp that ran through the crowd.
“HUH!”
“NO!”
“MY QUEEN!”
“WHAT HAS HAPPENED?!”
So many frightened responses spread throughout the gathered people.
“Valerian, what on earth has happened?” Hibiscus asked, once again her voice was calm and not at all concerned.
