The Queen Within

Chapter 19

Alandra

My cheeks were starting to hurt by how much I had to force a smile on my face. I knew that not everyone could be a part of the problem, but I wasn't sure who was so there was no way to put my guard down. Currently, I was sipping on some lavender And chamomile tea while munching on some raspberry macaroons and finger sandwiches. Everyone was mingling and every now and again someone would come to my table and express their condolences.

It was excruciating to hide the anger and I had to beg Onyx to keep our aura locked up to appear defeated and weak. My mood didn't improve when the vampire council kept sneering at me. They must've heard that Gwen was coming for me, and it was clear that they despised her after the first time I saw them interact with her.

"Alandra!" A high-pitched sing-song voice called out to me. I smiled and turned, knowing exactly who it was coming from. I saw Beldora running/floating to me, her wings outstretched. I was awestruck once again by the sheer magnificence of her wings. She was wearing a white and gold drapey dress that flowed well past her feet and would drag along when she fluttered in the air. I stood up from my seat and hugged her when she reached me. One thing still holds true, Beldora was, and still is one of my closest friends.

"Bel, I didn't know you would be here. I thought you would be away at your kingdom?"

Beldora's face fell and she looked confused at me for a moment."You don't know? I thought... Wait, if you're not here for me, why are you here?"

Puzzled, I explained to her about the attack and the murder of my family. She was shocked and asked me a million questions wondering if the baby and I were ok. Apparently, she had been dealing with an issue of her own and has been out of the loop since the announcement of my baby.

A man stood from the far corner of the room and clinked his cup a few times to gather everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone. Now that everyone is here, shall we get down to business?" His voice was raspy like he has been smoking his entire life.

Beldora squeezed my hand and promised to chat later with me before she went over to her table where the rest of the Fae were. I sat back down and took another sip of my tea. I wasn't sure what was going on, but for now, I had to play my part. Once everyone was seated back in their spots, the man cleared his throat before continuing.

"As some of you may know, this meeting was called in a bit of haste by the Queen Fae herself, Beldora. I shall give the floor to her so she may better explain. I know that majority of us know what is going on, but for those who don't, let's remember to be respectful and allow her to explain." He gestured for Beldora to begin.

Beldora stood and nodded her thanks to the man. She smiled and took her time to look at each person in the room in the eyes, one by one. You could feel the regalness overflowing from her. She was the embodiment of royalty. Her presence commanded a room. After she had given her time to look at every person, her face became very serious.

"We come to you today, as humbly as possible, to ask for all of your assistance... Especially from the wolf shifters."

My eyes went wide as everyone turned their attention to us. From us? What could we do? What did we do?

"As you all know, Alandra is my friend and I have tried to avoid bringing this problem to her for fear that it will affect her pregnancy. The last thing my people, especially me, want to do, is adding stress to such a precious time. Unfortunately, I have to bring it to attention now..."

I stood and looked at my friend, trying to match her regalness but probably failing. My friend was in trouble, and I could do something for her. "I am here for you Beldora. What can we do?"

She nodded her thanks. "My kingdom has been attacked, time and time again by what we suspect to be rogued wolves. I say suspect because I know no sane wolf shifter would do this. It started out as just them coming to our borders and weaving in and out of them. Over the weeks, it became progressively worse. This week alone, we have lost numerous lives to these attackers."

The collective gasps that traveled around the room were deafening. The rogues. I thought they were attacking just us. Other shifters and beings usually don't attack each other unless provoked or wanting to start a war. Beldora could've easily taken the attack as a sign of war from the wolf shifters, but she trusted me as her friend to know we had nothing to do with this and I was thankful for that.

But, what are rogues doing attacking the Fae? What possible reason could they have to attack them? And why go that far out of the way? Beldora's kingdom is way, way, way up north deep within the Forrest, and to be honest, no one knows the exact location. Just a general idea. So how did they even find it?

"I am so sorry Beldora. I was unaware that our rogue problem was reaching outside our territories. We will do everything we can to investigate this I swear."

"Well that's the issue isn't it?" A to familiar voice spoke out. Irritation and anger boiled inside of me. I turned to see none other than Council Elder Steven Smith. "A child is ruling our packs, and look what happens. Simple rogues becoming such a pest that now other kingdoms and territories must suffer." He crossed his arms and rose his chin up defiantly. I gritted my teeth.

"Councilmen Elder Steven. A pleasure to see you again." It was hard to keep the venom out of my voice.

"It's a displeasure to see you. Do you see now that my words ring true? You are not fit to lead us."

If we weren't in a council meeting, I am sure he would've been dancing and singing for my demise. As much as I wanted Onyx to rip this mans head off, I had to play oblivious. I was certain the rogues attacking the Fae kingdom was not a coincidence. This was deliberate.

I was surprised when Beldora stood in front of me, to block Councilmen Elder Steven's glare from me. "You miss understand me, Steven. I do not blame Alandra at all and in my eyes, she is doing a wonderful job ruling her people. This attack has nothing to do with her inability to lead. In fact, I have proof."

Councilmen Elder Steven c****d an eyebrow at her, but I didn't miss that look of panic in his eyes. I had a gut feeling that our suspicion is true and that he is somehow a part of the problem.

"Proof how?" You could hear the panic and disbelief in his voice. Beldora smiled at him and slowly walked back to her table, waving her hand in the air, causing two of her people to walk out of the room. When they came back, a man was chained in silver and dragged to the center of the room. The collective gasps that were happening again were starting to sound like people had hiccups.

"This proof. We caught this one on our lands with the others, but kept him alive."

My anger soared to new heights. I am sure that he was just following orders, and he may or may not have done anything himself, but he was part of the problem. I stepped forward, ready to make him pay when someone grabs my arm. My head whips around and I growl at Ebonie. She winced but looked me in the eye, conveying a clear message. We need answers first, kill later.

I take a deep breath and collect myself before turning back around, and making my way to the man. He had a feral look in his eyes, but he looked scared. I stood before him and he tried to lunge at me, but I just simply kicked him square in the chest. When I did, he went flying across the room, his back slamming into the wall. Beldora snapped her fingers and her men grabbed him again and dragged him back to me.

I stared him down, holding back a growl. I waved Beldora's men away and the man looked up at me as he was still trying to catch his breath. I may have held back a growl, but I did snarl at him, showing him I meant business. Giving Onyx the ok, the menacing aura we had held back for so long, came forth. Other shifters were having trouble trying to not submit to me, while all the wolf shifters were baring their necks. Even the pathetic rogue in front of me.

"I will only say this once. Lie, or avoid answering my questions, you die. Understood?"

The rogue hesitated but nodded.

"What proof did you share with the Fae Queen?"

"I... She... She asked me..." The rogue looked at me, then looked to the side and even though I didn't look to see who he was looking at, I would bet thousands that it was Steven.

"It seems you don't value your life. Ebonie."

The rogue's eyes went wide as Ebonie started stalking toward him.

"Wait! She asked me who sent me! I-I told her that I didn't know! We don't see our leaders anymore, we are just mind-linked what to do!"

"Leaders? You are a rogue! Rogue's do not have leaders!" This time it was James who stood up and spoke out. He had a point. Rogues tended to stick to themselves and followed no one. That was the point of them being rogues. They had no pack, no leader, nothing.

The rogue laughed maniacally. "That's the old ways. We are under new management."

"Whose management?" I brought his attention back to me and he again averted his eyes for a moment before looking down.

"I don't know."

"You don't know, or you won't say?"

The rogue stood quiet, staring at the ground. A part of me wanted to end his miserable life right there. He wasn't going to talk. I had to find a way to make him talk and pry out all the answers before I sent him to the Moon Goddess. I gave a slight nod to Beldora and she motioned for her men to take him away. They dragged him out as he thrashed and screamed for us to release him.

"What are you going to do with him? Just end his life now!" Council Elder Steven shouted. I rolled my eyes and walked up to him, plastering on my best smile when I was toe to toe with him.

"Councilmen Elder Steven, I may be mistaken, but are you giving me orders?"

"W-What?! No, of course not! Just a mere suggestion that you shouldn't take lightly." His eyes narrowed as he tried to stare me down.

"Well, since it was a 'suggestion', allow me to give you one. Do NOT interfere with this investigation. I will be leading it and therefore I decide what happens to the rogue. Do I make myself clear?"

He grumbled but nodded, knowing he couldn't openly defy an order of mine in front of the other council members. He would have to play this my way to avoid the others from suspecting him.

I beamed him one last smile before turning away and making my way back to my table. For it being my first day, my plan was already looking fruitful.