Dagen's POV
“This is ridiculous! Honourable men, I have nothing to do with what happened there; It is unfortunate and I will have my people investigate what is going on immediately,” Alpha George was seated on the other side of the table. This was different than the last time. The last time, we sat around a table for a chat but this time, there was no round table. Alpha George was seated opposite us_ myself, Elder Thaddeus and Elder Davis.
“The recently passed Moon season, where did you spend it?” questioned Elder Davis.
“Elder Davis with all due respect…”
“Alpha George, please answer the question.”
“I was on vacation with my wife. I had my Beta take care of pack duties in my stead,” came his response.
“Is that so? And you vacationed in The Underworld?” questioned Elder Thaddeus.
His face turned white. There was something he wanted to hide about this so-called vacation of his.
“I wanted to buy some rare items,” came his response. He knew that there was no way to deny this. If the Elders mentioned something it was because they had irrefutable evidence to back up their claim.
“Rare items? May we know the items you procured?” asked Elder Davis.
That is confidential information, Elders. I am afraid I cannot say,” said Alpha George.
“The investigation we have opened demands that you cooperate fully with us,” returned Elder Thaddeus.
“Elders, I assure you that there is no need for this. The items I…”
“Usually, all Alphas are required to document their activities with the Council of Elders when they visit The Underworld. You have to explain why your visit was such a secret,” questioned Elder Thaddeus.
“It is a personal matter. I believe Alphas should have privacy too…”
“As Alpha, your life is not private. Ask Alpha Dagen here, the Council mandated that he marry his mate irrespective of his own wishes,” said Elder Davis.
“I have said it before that I want to pull out of the Council. I want to pull my pack out of the Council but you have refused to grant me permission to do so,” said Alpha George.
“It is simple; If the suspicions about your sorcery are true then it follows that the result of the vote will be manipulated,” returned Elder Thaddeus in a calm voice.
“This is nonsense, you only want to destroy me and…”
“If our suspicions are true then it would follow that you have destroyed lives to sit on the throne and we will not have it,” Elder Davis said.
I watched the man closely. He had never stopped to think of the consequences his actions would lead to. One could not obliterate an entire family and wipe out mass memories just for selfish reasons without expecting it to backfire.
What was confusing to me however was the relationship this man had with Regina. How were they connected? Would I find out if I played his card?
“Alpha George, we requested the requests filed to the department of sorcery during the time of your visit and it turns out that someone requested the very same things that would have made possible the mass sacrifices that happened in your pack. Do you still wish to hold on to this rare item you purchased from The Underworld?”
“This is an ambushment and I will not…” Alpha George had lost his temper. He was basically screaming atop his voice at this point.
“Do you have anything else to add?” asked Elder Davis.
“No,” he said rather weakly.
“Let me ask you this, you mentioned that you vacationed with your wife. Did Lady George return with you on this trip?” asked Elder Thaddeus.
They had ignored his rant and carried on as though he had not raised his voice a few minutes ago.
“Lady George is in Peru with our daughters,” returned Alpha George.
“Peru? Interesting. When was the last time you spoke to Lady George? I believe you write letters to each other?” questioned Elder Thaddeus.
“Now that you mention it, it has been a while,” I could see the man reach to itch his nose. It was clear that he had something to hide.
“And your daughters? Surely they write to you often?” asked Elder Davis.
“What are you getting at Elder?”
“Just answer the question.”
“It has been a while since I spoke with my daughters,” returned Alpha George. I could not help but notice the smirk that crossed Elder Thaddeus’ face at this response. It could only mean one thing; Elder Thaddeus had caught him in a lie.
“But we know that you received one from her the previous week where Irvette mentioned that the bird had drowned itself. Can you explain what she meant by that?”
“You read my letters? That is a violation of…”
“Alpha George I will strongly advice that you hold your peace. If you continue to do this, you will be held in contempt. When you agreed to the investigation, you surrendered your privacy also,” I explained.
“I had forgotten about that letter and I am sure she must be referring to her pet bird or some such thing.”
“We would like to speak with Lord Harlin if that is no trouble?” questioned Elder Thaddeus.
It was clear what Alpha George's response was going to be.
“I am afraid I cannot allow that. The investigation has nothing to do with him.”
“He is a member of the pack. He is answerable to this Council.”
“Nothing will come out of questioning him,” Alpha George said.
“Why don't you leave that to us?”
We took a break after that while we waited for Lord Harlin to join us.
Thirty minutes later, we had Lord Harlin with us and the interrogation continued.
“Thank you for honouring our invite, Lord Harlin.”
“It is a pleasure and I want to say that I have full confidence in my Alpha that the allegations brought against him are nothing but lies,” returned Lord Harlin, he looked confident also in what he said.