**3rd Person POV**
“No, Nathan, don't,” Shawn was shaking his head vigorously. He had been the one to dare Aaron and he would never live it down if it was discovered that he had done so. The village was very conservative and it was possible they could demand his head in exchange for Aaron's.
“He shouldn't do what? Somebody, please talk. I want to bury my son, at least,” returned Aaron's mother in a high-pitched voice. The older people in the group nodded their heads dismissively at the boys to show their disapproval of their behaviour.
“There is no body to bury,” Nathan said in a soft voice. It was so soft that the crowd barely made out what he said.
“Child? Speak up!” someone in the crowd said.
“There will be no body. He… he went down the valley,” Nathan finally gave in to the pressure. He was generally a good kid but he always got in trouble hanging around with the wrong crowd.
The second Nathan uttered those words, the boys were forgotten altogether and a match was made towards the valley. They were joined by more people who brought torches and guns and sharpened knives. They were going to take out the monster that had killed him by all means.
They went down the valley but they only saw blood where Aaron should have been. Aaron's mother broke down in fresh new tears. She could not be consoled and insisted on remaining where she saw what she believed was her son's cloth wrapped in a lot of blood.
Some of the women offered to stay with her and some men stayed back to ensure their protection. The others broke up into groups of twenty to search the entire valley for the monster. Judging by the fact that the blood was still fresh, they believed he was not far gone. They searched until they came to a little building that was more like a cage. They were able to get the others and the place was surrounded. They intended to give the monster no escape route.
They forced the door open and they saw him.
He was nothing like they were expecting. He looked just like the sketches that had been circulated around the pack of George. They knew what he looked like but in their minds, they had assumed he had horns and pines and claws. Regardless, they saw that his mouth was froth with blood and they knew it was him who had done it.
The mob’s decision was swift.
They torched the place with fire.
****
“What the hell happened? We had George… we had him. How did we lose him?” Dagen demanded out loud.
“Perhaps you care to explain why Nydia is receiving care in your palace?” quipped Emily with sarcasm. Dagen and Edvin exchanged eye contact. How could Emily have found that out?
“That is not the issue now. The problem is we have lost George and the only possible link we have to him,” said Elder Thaddeus. He was angry and it was frustrating not knowing who to direct his anger at.
Perhaps she ran away with her daddy,” Emily said with biting sarcasm.
“Perhaps you planned this? You have always held a grudge against Irvette,” returned Dagen in a harsh tone.
The room became a cacophony of noise. Everyone was talking at the same time until Lady Tristan shouted, “Enough!”
The room fell silent at Lady Tristan’s voice.
“We regret what happened to Queen Irvette but I can assure you that was never our intention. George murdered my son and made my granddaughter suffer horrible things. If that was not enough, he subjected my great-grandchildren to very ugly experiences. Besides, I was alive when Rowan, my son-in-law was made king. I remember clearly that during his coronation there was an older brother by the name of Reuben and he had an infant child named Irvette. We want George brought to justice as much as you do and more than that we want Irvette to return to safety,” Lady Tristan's clear voice brought some reasoning among the people in the room. Emily looked at her grandmother in surprise. It was the first time she had heard that her grandmother knew Irvette as a baby.
The speech from Lady Tristan made everyone sober. There was no point in pointing fingers at one another but rather getting to the root of the matter. George was still on the loose and they had just lost a vital asset.
****
Queen Emily found that she had to accommodate top leaders in her pack overnight. They were all situated in her library discussing all the possible scenarios that could happen from this. It was not until the next morning that they had a breakthrough when a messenger came for Alison, who was by far the most worried to deliver news that a certain village in Monrovia had burnt George alive.
When she shared the news with the rest, it was met with mixed feelings. Everything was in ashes so it would be difficult to ascertain if George had been able to escape. Alison also shared that there had been no evidence of Irvette being there, and neither had the eyewitness account reported any other person with George.
“We can't just sit on our hands. It is possible that he escaped,” said Lord Edvin who did not want to take any chances.
“We have to prepare for the worst but it is safe to assume all our leads on George are gone,” said Lord Phillip.
“And Irvette?” Alison's voice was broken. She had only followed her sister here to lend her support. She could not wait to leave this long meeting so she could have a good cry. She did not want to believe that her sister was gone for good.
“We'll do our best to locate your sister and Queen. In the meantime, I believe your sister was clear about her line of succession. You will act in her capacity henceforth.”