CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
1668 Words
BASTIAN
"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask in annoyance.
"It means that I don't know," Dr. Phillip responds with a shrug.
"How can you not know, doctor? You are the expert!" I tell him, and he shakes his head.
"In fact, I am an expert in alpha kings and queens, not in poisons, in that Dr. Hemming was an expert, but he left with Elina when they escaped from here," he tells me, and I look at him in surprise.
"Wait, what did you just say?" August asks.
"That Dr. Alexander Hemming was the expert on werewolf poisons," Dr. Phillip explains, and August gives me a knowing look.
“Stop with that,” I tell him once we left the hospital.
"Bastian you have to be reasonable, everything points out to the fact that it was the Red Army," he tells me.
"Yes, in the same way that everything points out that we are responsible for the attack on Elina's family, and are we?" I ask him.
"No," he splutters.
"Exactly, I would understand if you were telling me this a couple of months ago when we had not been accused of an attack that caused us to officially go to war with the Crimson Woods, but now after everything that has happened we cannot simply believe in this type of things so easily,” I tell him, and he nods.
"Do you think someone is trying to frame them just like they did with us?" he asks me.
"Yes, I think that is the most reasonable explanation, because I am sure that Elina would not break the truce, and that i***t has no power over the Red Army, in fact, how do we know if those rogues were part of the Red Army?" I answer him, and August nods.
"But, there is someone other than Elina that the Red Army would listen to," he tells me thoughtfully.
"Who?" I ask immediately.
"Her uncle, after all, he was in command of the Rogues for many years, and it only makes sense that they would obey him," August tells me.
"But, it doesn't make sense for him to go against an order from Elina, his queen, and attack us like this, why would he do that?" I say more to myself than to him.
"Perhaps he doesn’t agree with the decisions of his niece, remember that when they were under his command the Rogues always attacked to kill, but Elina changed that, and perhaps he does not agree with her methods, Arthur Bloodmoon is known for being a fierce warrior, it wouldn't be strange to think that he could be behind this,” he tells me.
“You may be right, but that would mean that Elina is in danger if she is surrounded by those kinds of people that she considers to be her closest allies,” I reply, and August pats me on the back.
"She can take care of herself, you already know that, so don't worry about it, and let's better take care of our alphas, I can't keep them at bay in this matter anymore, they are furious and demanding blood," he tells me, and I exhale with frustration.
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"They broke the truce first, it's time to strike," the alpha of the Sapphire pack exclaims.
“How are we going to attack a kingdom that doesn't exist? The Rogue kingdom is an urban myth, there is no fixed place that we can attack because they are scattered throughout much of the continent,” Corina, the alpha of Moonstone, responds eloquently as usual.
"There is the rogue castle," the Diamond pack beta interjects.
"That is just a meeting point, and it is already in ruins, it would be useless to attack it," I reply.
"Then let's attack the Crimson Woods," the Emerald Pack beta exclaims angrily, which is understandable given that he just lost his only son in the rogue attack.
“I understand that the pain of your loss is speaking for you, but we cannot attack a kingdom with which we are in a truce,” August tells him.
"They broke the truce first, we can attack them," the man tells him.
"In fact, we can't because technically it was a Rogue attack, the Crimson Woods troops weren't involved in it, so they can't be held responsible," August responds.
“To hell with diplomacy and your stupid politics! I want revenge for the death of my son!" the beta of the Emerald Pack exclaims, standing up and pointing a finger at August.
"How dare you speak to the Beta of the kingdom like that?" Iris says threateningly, and the man looks at her with disgust before sitting down again.
"We need to act, Your Majesty, they just ruthlessly attacked us, we can't just sit around arguing with each other while the enemy is out there rejoicing in their triumph," the Ruby pack alpha says.
“You are right, but we are not going to do it irrationally, we must think about the safety and well-being of our people, I know you are upset because I am too, but attacking Crimson Woods right now would be stupid, they outnumber us with their troops, and that would put our people at risk, I am sure that none of us wants this war to which we were dragged by an enemy that we have not even identified, we all know what a war of that magnitude implies, today's losses would be nothing compared to what we would have if we illogically attacked another kingdom with more resources and men than ours,” I tell them, and several of them nod in agreement.
"I think the best we can do at this time is to reinforce border security, we were too relaxed because we were in a truce, and that was our first mistake," August intervenes, and I see that the spirits begin to calm in the place.
"The Rogue Queen has the advantage over us because she married a powerful kingdom, and her new husband has been looking for allies for the war, I think it is time for your Majesty to do the same," the alpha of the Garnet pack tells me.
"The same? What do you mean by that? We have already secured two important allies, Moon Valley where my aunt reigns, and the Green Woods kingdom,” I reply with a shrug.
"No majesty, I mean marriage, we think it is time for you to find a princess to marry and be able to get an alliance that gives us the advantage in the war," he tells me, and I notice that everyone, including Iris, is nodding in agreement.
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