Clara's POV
We are all gathered at the hall today and having dinner with the whole pack and guests. I enjoyed the tea party with the Lunas earlier, but something about Manuel's mate ticks me off. She doesn't know her place and thinks she is above me, and there are times that she talks as if forgetting that I am the Queen.
I went to Tia and Vincent's room to check up on Tia. I knocked a few times, and Lia opened the door for me. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. I saw Tia's back, and her dress was backless. It seems that I picked the right wedding dress for her. I forced Tia to let me choose her dress as my way of paying her back for everything she had done to me. She turned and looked at me, smiling.
"You look beautiful," I gasped, covering my mouth with both hands.
She sighed, trying to calm her nerves. "Don't be so nervous," I said, comforting her.
"Yeah! Everything will be perfect," Lia exclaimed.
"Thank you, girls," She said, smiling. We heard another knock on the door, and it was Ian.
"It's time, your highness," He said, informing us that the ceremony would now start.
Lia helped Tia with her dress, carrying the helm of her gown while Tia walked. I walked first and headed straight to the stairs. The music started, and I walked down. First, everyone positioned themselves, and Vincent was waiting at the end of the stairs for Tia.
Tia was on the end of the stairs, looking down at us, her face was covered with a veil, but I could tell she was nervous. Lia fixed the helm of her gown before leaving her by herself there.
She started going down the stairs slowly, and Vincent couldn't keep his eyes off her. He kept staring, and when Tia got closer, he started crying. I didn't notice that I was also crying when Erik wiped my tears. I smiled at him, and he gave me his sweetest smile. I glanced back at the wedding, watching everything that was currently happening.
Vincent offered his hand to Tia, and she gladly took it. They both walked on the red carpet happily, heading straight to where Alpha Ross was.
The ceremony was short and straightforward. Everyone was happy, enjoying their drink and food while Erik and I sat on our throne. While the party was going on, some of the pack members and alphas, together with their Lunas, gave their respect to us. When Alpha Manuel and his mate were giving their respect to us, Erik released all of his aura, mixing it with a bit of killing intent. Alpha Manuel immediately crouched down on one knee, confused about why the King showed him hostility. He glanced at his mate, still doing a small curtsy, and dragged her down to crouch.
“Who am I, Alpha Manuel?” Erik asked Manuel with a stern voice. Manuel gulped, not daring to raise his head. "You are our leader, our ruler, the King of werewolves," He said. Erik glanced at me, grabbed my hand, and glanced back at the two, looking down at them.
“Luna, mate of Manuel,” Erik said. The woman immediately stood, feeling excited that Erik had called her. She stood and faced us with her head held high.
Erik's eyes grew big, and he released all of his killing intent. The woman grew pale, and everyone's eyes were focused on us. Manuel's mate got scared and crouched down with both her knees while sweating. Manuel could only gulp, anxious for his mate.
"You dare," Erik said, his voice full of anger. I gripped Erik's hand, he looked at me, and I smiled. Erik calmed down and
"Who are you?" I asked, asking using my sweetest voice.
"I, ugh, I'm Alpha Manuel's mate," She said with a trembling voice.
"And I?" I said, releasing all of my aura. Angeline mixed some of our power with my aura, causing the woman to feel pressure.
I smiled, not interfering with my wolf. I suddenly remembered what she told me earlier during our tea party.
If the Queen can't produce an heir, we should talk about getting our King a second wife to produce an heir.
My wolf and I got angry, forgetting the current situation. My eyes are now golden, my wolf is out, and I didn't stop her since we both feel the same way.
Imagining my mate touching someone else drove my wolf crazy. I strengthened my power, the woman who called herself Luna was on the ground, almost kissing the ground. She tried to fight back, forcing herself to stand up. I was about to crush her with my power, but my eyes caught a glimpse of Tia. Remembering that this night was also for her, I stopped and suppressed my aura and wolf.
The woman coughed a few times and was catching her breath. Manuel couldn't help it any longer and come closer to his mate. Supporting her to stand up. "Who am I?" I asked, using my sternest voice.
"T-the Q-Queen, o-o-our ruler," She said while clinging to her mate to support herself from standing.
"Alpha Manuel, It seems we need to have a tea party ourselves," Erik said. He was being sarcastic. At the mention of the tea party, Manuel quickly cursed under his breath, glancing angrily at his mate.
He realized that his mate had done something during our tea party. The woman was surprised at her mate's glare at her. She did not believe that her mate could do such a thing. "I will come and visit you tomorrow before we depart, your majesty," Alpha Manuel said, full of anxiety in his voice.
Erik stood while holding his cup. "Everyone," He said. The guests and our pack members looked at him.
"First of all, I just want to congratulate Vincent and his mate Tia, congratulations to both of you," He said, raising his cup for Vincent.
Vincent bowed and also raised his cup for Erik. Everyone clapped, "My dear guests, thank you for coming here to witness our wedding and coronation. I believe that all of you will not let me down regarding the important tasks I bestowed on you," He continued.
"Vincent and Tia, Congratulations on your wedding to my guests and pack members. Enjoy the rest of the night, thank you all," Erik said, ending his speech.
Erik sat down, grabbed my arm, and held it tightly. "Babe, I can't eat properly," I whined.
"I'll feed you then," He said, took the spoon on my hand, and tried feeding me. I rolled my eyes at him and opened my mouth, letting him provide me. While feeding me, he winked and smiled. I nearly choked on the food and slapped his shoulder lightly.
He is trying to seduce you! Angeline exclaimed, giggling at Erik's actions. I looked at Erik and saw him staring at me. I gave him a questioning look, and he just shrugged his shoulders.
He tried to feed me again, but I stopped him by grabbing his hand. "What are you doing? Everyone is staring, my love," I asked.
"I just want to feed you," He said, pouting at me. My eyes grew big, surprised at his actions. He had never acted like a child before. I leaned closer to Erik, and I smelled alcohol on him. I got confused. We werewolves won't be getting drunk that fast, and the stench of alcohol is not that strong, but Erik reeks of alcohol, and it is evident that he is getting drunk at a rapid rate.
"Ian, come here, discreetly" I ordered Ian to come to us without anyone noticing that something was wrong. While waiting for Ian to come, I grabbed his cup and smelled it.
It is mixed with wolfsbane, Angeline snarled.
How can Erik not smell this? I asked.
I don't know either, and the smell is evident for him not to notice. Find who did this! Angeline growled.
Ian got closer and bowed in front of us for a greeting. "Closer," I said. He glanced at me for a second and bent even lower. "Your highness, your majesty, may I have a word," He said, not to cause suspicion. "Of course!" Erik said loudly. I grabbed his hand and tried to contain him in his seat.
Ian got closer, and I passed the cup to him. "Smell it," I said, gritting my teeth due to anger. Ian then smelled the cup and gave me a questioning look. "Can't you smell it?" I was confused as to why they couldn't smell it. I pushed the question to the back of my head and focused on Erik. "Erik drank alcohol mixed with wolfsbane. He is drunk, and we need to move him to our bedroom before any of the guests notice," I ordered.
"Wolfsbane?!" Ian said, growling. "Who dared in our territory?" He snarled and crouched down on one knee. "Forgive me, your highness, for letting this happen," Ian said, apologizing.
"Enough, we will talk about this in private. As I said, could you not make it obvious? Move discreetly for them not to notice anything, and we cannot show any weakness, especially Erik's," I said, using my sternest voice.
Ian moved to our side. Judging by the look on his face, it seems that he is mind-linking someone. "Your highness, we will be bombing one of our areas," Ian reported. I see. He will stage an attack and direct the guests' attention there. I nodded at him, glanced back at Erik, and he was fighting himself not to sleep.
"Babe?" I asked, wondering if he could recognize me. "Yes, my Queen, at your service," He said, flashing me his sweetest smile. He is handsome, and I want to kiss him right now, but it is not the right time for that. I shook my head left and right to remove that kind of thought. "Can you fix yourself?" I asked. "I'm fine, just a little sleepy," He said, trying hard to open his eyes. I saw Erik starting to sweat, and I began to get anxious.
Minutes passed, and we all heard some explosion outside. Erik stood immediately, and I followed, acting like I didn't know anything. "What are you all doing? Go!" I ordered. The pack members knew what was going on, and they still acted like we were in danger for the guests not to notice anything.
"Let's go, my life," I said while looking around. "Where are we going, babe?" Erik said, whining. "Let's go have some fun in our room," I said, trying to flirt with him, hoping it was effective. He smiled, and I felt in our mate link that he got excited. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to our room. I carried the helm of my gown for me to walk with ease.
I glanced at the door and saw Farkas, checking if we had managed to enter our room without anyone noticing. I nodded at him, and he went out. I opened our door in a rush and dragged Erik inside. "What a feisty woman," He said, still thinking we were having some fun. I pushed Erik slightly for him to sit on our bed, and I looked him straight in the eye, checking his condition. He is sweating too much, his veins are starting to show, and his eyes also have reddish.
"Who would have dared to do this?" I asked myself, biting my lower lip due to frustration. "We got the one responsible for the explosion, your highness," Ian min-linked me, reporting the status of what happened.
"Who did you pick?" I asked. "It was Lia, your highness," He said. My eyes grew for a second, but I immediately masked them. I calmed myself and glanced at Erik; he was starting to squirm on the bed. I need to act fast. I took the keys to our room and locked the door when I left. I made my way to the scene and saw Lia being held back by the warriors.
"What is the meaning of this?!" I asked, acting angry at everyone.
"Your highness, please forgive me. It's a small mistake!" Lia exclaimed. We looked each other in the eye. "Let her go," I ordered the warriors and walked closer to Lia. She crouched down on one knee and bowed before me. "Speak," I said.
"The kitchen is full, so I took some of the food to our house. I forgot that the stove was still on, causing a fire, and the tank exploded," She explained.
"Sorry for putting you up for this," I mind-linked at her. She opened her eyes for a second and closed them again. "I am honored to have some use, your highness, always," She said. My tears were about to fall, feeling guilty about what had happened. Since Erik and I are the rulers, we cannot easily show some weakness, especially in front of the Alphas. I did not intend to make Lia suffer humiliation. Even though the members knew this, she was humiliated in front of the Alphas and Lunas.
"Is someone injured?" I asked sternly.
"None, your highness, except for the house. There are no casualties," Lia said.
"I will let this matter go, but I don't want this to happen again. Beta, beta female, and gamma will follow me to our bedroom. Erik has something to announce. I am very sorry for this embarrassing sight to our guests, and I hope you all have a nice evening. Good night," I said, forcing a smile at them.
"It is nothing, your highness, have a great night," Alpha Ross said and bowed. The others followed his lead and also turned at me. I smiled at them one last time and waved my hand goodbye. When we entered the pack house, Tia walked faster to match my pace and leaned closer to me. "What is happening?" She said She was not informed of the situation since she is still not connected to our link. I looked around to check if it was safe to talk.
"Erik drank some alcohol mixed with wolfsbane," I informed Tia and Vincent since Ian was the only person who knew the exact situation. Tia gasped, looking at me with wide eyes. "The nerve," Vincent said, growling together with Ian. I gritted my teeth, full of anger.
Whoever did this will not have a painless death.
I took the keys from the pocket of my gown, opened the door, and saw Erik on the floor, squirming in pain. He must have tried to walk. This is bad, and the wolfsbane is spreading throughout his body. I rushed to his side and glanced at Tia. "What should we do?" I asked, worried about my mate. "Stand aside for a second, and I'll move him on the bed," Vincent said, and I stepped aside. When he laid Erik on the bed, he started moaning in pain. "Tia, can you put a barrier on this room so no one can hear from outside?" I said, hoping that she had some spells about it. She just nodded at me and mumbled a few words, pointed her finger to the door, and some spark was seen on the door.
"What should we do? Judging from its speed of spreading, this is not ordinary wolfsbane," I said, biting my lip to stop myself from crying.
I can feel them, and they are in so much pain. Angeline said, full of sadness in her voice.
"This is bad," Tia said in her anxious voice. "What's wrong?" I asked with a trembling voice.
"It's the Aconite, the most toxic wolfsbane."
I gasped and looked at Erik. At that point, I couldn't stop my tears. Erik's moans grew louder, and he started squirming in pain again on the bed. "Please do something! What should we do?!" I asked, glancing at all of them, scared of what was happening to my mate.
Tia tried some of her spells, but they failed. She sighed, started to feel anxious, and looked at me. "I will cast a forbidden spell, so a part of me will be corrupted," She said, gulping.
"You can't do that! There must be another way!" Vincent exclaimed. "We have no choice! Either we lose our King, or we do something!" Tia shouted back at Vincent. "No, we need to find another way. Maybe some of the pack's doctors can cure him," I said, trying to convince myself that there was still another way.
"Sorry to break it to you, but we all know the effect of Aconite. No doctor can cure this since no one succeeded in making an antidote," Tia said, and I cried.
"Don't worry, Clara. I will be in seclusion, and I can still cleanse myself." She said, and I stayed quiet, not knowing what to do.
"Do it. I trust you," Vincent said. I glanced at him and saw his serious face. I calmed myself, wiped my tears, and faced Tia. "I'm sorry for always relying on you," I said, biting my lip anxiously. I looked at Erik, who started shouting, and clasped my hands together, praying to our moon goddess to help Erik.
"I don't know if this is important or even related to this matter, but," Ian suddenly said. Vincent and I glanced back and looked at Ian.
"What do you know?" I asked him calmly.
"This is the same poison that killed the former Alpha."
I gave Ian a questioning look, and I looked at Vincent, who was deep in thought while holding his chin. "Yes, I remember. It was also Aconite," Vincent said, realizing something.
"It doesn't end there," Ian said, carefully choosing his words. "When the former Alpha was in his prime, he won countless battles and was almost called the strongest when he got killed. Now Alpha became the king" Ian shared his thoughts.
It makes sense. When his father was on the verge of getting to the top, he got killed, and now his next target is Erik since he became the King.
"Is it one of us? or is it one of the Alpha?" I mumbled. "Be quiet. The preparations are complete, I will now start" Tia butted in, and we all focused our attention on Tia.
She sighed, closed her eyes, and started mumbling unknown words. As she mumbled, smoke was coming out of her body. The smoke spread to Erik and reached us at the side of the room, but the smoke was thin. Tia raised her hands, put them on top of Erik's body, opened her eyes, and shouted.
“Sana lupi lupinotuum venenosum”