The Alpha Queen and Her Rogue Kingdom

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BASTIAN

"I NEED ANSWERS AND I NEED THEM RIGHT NOW!" I shout towards the leaders of the elite group.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but we couldn't find any information regarding this issue," the leader of the scout team tells me, and I scowl at her.

"They just declared war on us for acts we did not commit, we need to know what the hell is happening and who is behind it, there is someone trying to frame us for what happened, and I have to know who it is," I tell them through clenched teeth, and I see some of them pale in response.

"I thought we were already at war with that w***e, for almost a year now," Iris intervenes, and I have to take a deep breath not to yell at her too because of the way she just referred to Elina.

“This is different, it's much more serious,” August responds to his sister, and then adds by way of explanation: “What Elina has been doing all this time are sneak attacks and theft of supplies , she couldn't do more because she didn't have the means to do so, because although it is believed that the Red Army that she commands is much larger than what has been seen, they do not have the training, weapons, or supplies necessary to start a war against a kingdom as large as ours.

That is why we were concerned when her marriage to the king of Crimson Woods was announced, because that means that now she has at her disposal everything that she needed before , the only thing they needed to declare war against us was a valid reason, because the fact that Bastian had sentenced one of his subjects to death for treason, even if that subject was the adoptive father of their new queen, was not reason enough for the Crimson Wood’s alphas and their allies to agree to go to the war , but a direct attack on his men and the queen's family is a powerful enough reason for it,” August explains to them, and I see on their faces the concern that is surely reflected on mine as well.

"But, it wasn't our men, can't we just categorically deny our involvement in that attack?" the scout team leader responds.

“They believe that it was us and they showed proof to their alphas, we already denied the accusations, but the king of Crimson Woods responded by saying that our word has no credibility after we tried to assassinate his wife's family, and his children,” August responds, and I feel the bile rise in my throat when I hear him utter the last sentence.

I still find it difficult to believe that it is true, it is not possible that if those babies are really Elina's, he is the father, the dates simply do not fit, those babies must be at least five or six months old, and if to that we add the five months that the pregnancy of an alpha like her lasts, the time of conception was when she was still here with me, the problem is that I have no way to prove it and nobody seems to share my suspicions, everyone thinks that she surely went straight to look for that jerk when she ran away from here, and got pregnant on purpose to make sure he married her so she could have access to his resources.

"I know what you are thinking, and I just have to say this is not the time for your crazy conspiracy theories, we have to prepare for a war," August tells me, and I snap my head towards him to find him alone in the middle of my office, and I notice that I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't even notice the moment the elite team leaders left.

“You have to admit that there are too many coincidences, August, the night I felt her pain was almost six months after she left, our guard said that he had seen her thinner when she reappeared, also, if they are really the children of that asshole, why hadn't they announced it before? Why didn't they get married first and then have an heir? Why did they keep it a secret until now? It just doesn't make sense,” I tell him in a tone that sounds almost desperate, and he looks at me sympathetically.

“I know you want to believe that it is not possible, but you know that it is, it is perfectly possible that she sought support in his kingdom when she fled from here, it is possible that he took advantage of her vulnerability to make her slept with him, they may not have said anything because at that time the old King Crimson was still alive and he would not have accepted Elina as his son's wife, what surely happened is that they waited for the old man to die so they could marry and then reveal that they already had children together, I know that is not what you want to hear, but now the most important thing is to focus on the war that is coming and not on the fatherhood of the children of who is now your enemy,” August tells me.

"Of course it is important, August, I know that those babies are not that asshole’s children but mine, I feel it inside me, and if that is so, it means that they are the heirs of this kingdom, not of that one, it is important to me, and I need to know the truth, don't you understand?" I tell him, and he purses his lips.

“Don't you think if they were your children, she would have already said it? After all, as you just said, they would be your heirs, and if what she seeks with this war is to take away your throne, what better weapon to use for this than an heir to that very throne that she is trying to win?" he tells me, and I frown.

I hadn't even considered the possibility that that could happen.

"I need to see them, I will know if I see them," I say stubbornly, and August rolls his eyes.

“And how do you think we are going to do that? They won't let us get close to those babies, especially now that they think you tried to kill them,” he tells me, and I look at him with wide eyes.

"That's right, that's the reason behind the attack," I tell him, and he looks at me as if I had suddenly lost my mind.

"Don’t you understand?" I ask him, and he shakes his head, so I add by way of explanation: “The person behind this wants to make Elina believe that I wanted to kill her babies to get rid of them, because if they really are my children then they would be the natural heirs to the throne of my kingdom; that is why they used my symbol, that is why now they announced that the babies are his, why did they wait so long to do it? Surely she did not want it to come to light that she had children and therefore a weakness that her enemies can use against her, I know Elina, she would not have accepted that they made that announcement if she did not believe that in that way her children will be safe, the problem now is to make her understand that she does not need to put them safe from me, but from whoever is behind this,” I tell August, and he looks at me with his mouth open.

"You really can be eloquent when you put your mind to it," he says, and then adds, "And how do you plan to do that?"

"I have to see her alone," I reply, and he exhales with concern.

"I see there is no point in trying to convince you otherwise," he tells me.

"So, will you help me?" I ask him.

"I will find a way for you to see her alone," he tells me, and I smile at him.

We will soon find out the truth.

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