Helanie:
I could not believe my ears and what Kaye had just said. Still, he dragged me inside with him, holding my hand tightly to keep me steady. With the pregnancy, I was already going through so much, and now this news, along with the foul smell, made me want to throw up.
The moment we stepped back into the mansion, it was empty. We should have seen them in the living room or dining room, but they werenât there.
"Has anybody seen them?" Kaye shouted.
A warrior rushed out of the dining room. "Your Highness, they took a car and left," he said, making Kaye clench his fist. I guessed that had been their last option.
It was so sad that for months we didnât even know an innocent man had lost his life because of the greed of his own royal beta. That could only happen through deception.
"Helanie, you will stay here. Iâll go catch them, okay?" Kaye said, pressing his hand gently against my cheek.
"Your Highness, we will take care of her," the warrior added, the same one who helped us find the dead bodies of the previous Alpha and his family.
I didnât insist on going with Kaye. I couldnât sit in a chasing car with how anxious and nauseous I already felt. As soon as Kaye strode away, I sank onto the couch. The warrior sat near me. Other warriors and omegas appeared, one bringing me juice to calm me.
"Actually, weâve been waiting for someone to come and save us," one of the omega maids said, her eyes heavy with emotion.
"How did it happen? Do all of you know?" I asked. They nodded.
"We were cut off from communication outside the pack," the woman explained. "Since it had happened before too, nobody suspected anything. The other packs just thought we were being secretive like the North always does."
"But how did it happen? How did a royal beta kill not only the Alpha, but his son and daughter too?" I asked the warrior.
"The Alpha and Beta were best friends," he said. "They drank together all the time. One night, when they were heavily drunk, Mr. Coombs attacked him."
I felt frozen.
"I didnât know what to do," he continued. "By then, Beta Coombs was already controlling us. He was far stronger because he was a royal beta. Once he took over, other warriors didnât want to oppose him because we had to stay silent to protect our families."
He paused. "Before all this, they had already taken one member from every family in the pack and imprisoned them."
My eyes were left wide open in shock.
"What about Sydney? Did she know?" I asked.
He scoffed and shook his head. "The idea came from her. It was before Salem died. She was the only sensible one. But back then, she spent most of her time with her boyfriend, so she wasnât around."
"We saw a big change in her after she went to the academy," he said. "It was positive. We thought she would become the royal beta. But everything changed. She died. Then those two took over, not just the beta post, but the Alpha post too. It was a mess."
"I didnât do anything. He was sick. He died. So I gave him a burial in the backyard," he lied, as if that made sense.
"Yeah, right," I hissed. "You think that not admitting it makes you innocent? You have plenty of witnesses against you. Do you know that?"
This man was the reason his daughter grew up so messed up. Now I could see where Sydney got it from. He knew she was the reason Salem had died, yet he continued to entertain her and act like her. He didnât care about Salem. He didnât care about the daughter who was the nicest one.
"Itâs not even my fault. I didnât know they were in the backyard. My father is a fucked-up man. Arrest him, not me," Sydney said, pointing at him, blaming her father under stress.
Even he was caught off guard, doing a double take at her face. "What kind of daughter even does that?" he screamed.
"The kind who doesnât believe in her fatherâs crimes and wants to distance herself from him," she hissed, proving that if she wasnât stopped, she could endanger others. We should have punished her before for putting her sister at risk. Back then, it had seemed like just an argument, not a direct attempt to harm. But this time, she was involved.
"Actually, your warriors told us it was your plan, Sydney," I said, folding my arms.
I saw sheer disbelief on her face. She couldnât believe they would even suggest that.
"How dare they?" she hissed, watching her warriors and omegas finally reach the border.
"We know it was your idea. So stop it," one omega yelled. She took off her slipper and threw it. It landed straight on Sydneyâs face.
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