The morning assembly had been held very early because they had a lot to discuss. And reports needed to be made. It wasn't only about the Beta's nightmare that they were investigating; King Cedric was arriving soon and was going to meet them there for questioning. Not just him, but his entire family.
For some reason, Harold felt very exhausted and sensitive to everything around him, including light, sound, and smell. It had never been like that for him before until this morning.
After their coupling last night and after cleaning up Alicia, he held her close and refused to take his eyes off of her. He knew that the moment was limited, and the moment she began to change, he knew it too.
It was a painful moment for him.
He shut his eyes and held her tight as though it was going to stop the change, but it didn't. And by the time the feel of her long hair, which caressed his arms, began to slowly disappear, he felt it too but still kept his eyes shut.
Another troubling thing that had happened was how repulsed he suddenly felt for the body in his arms. It was so intense that he felt like throwing up, which was strange.
His wolf kept forcing him to push her away, and when Harold refused to budge, Rold tried to force its way out, but Harold remained willful and tried not to cast her body aside, tightening his hold around her. Yet she did not wake up.
When he left the room this early morning, she was still deeply asleep. Looking at her had been really difficult too, which was something he could still not explain. However, he covered her properly with the blanket before leaving the chamber.
Despite it still being very early, he had met Williams, who seemed to be walking towards the chamber, and asked if he had seen Susan this morning, to which he replied that he had not. But knowing what a busybody Susan was, he guessed she was properly snooping around. But now that he could not find Sir Evan or Harvey in the assembly, it made him curious.
While trying to find anyone else that was missing, his eyes landed on Damian, who was standing at the far back, close to the door. He kept his gaze straight ahead the entire time.
As usual, Damon chaired the assembly. His demeanour was nothing like it usually was. For some reason, he seemed very less confident, and even his voice, which is usually very loud, seemed rather low.
He greeted all the noblemen and the queen, who was standing at the back, before he gestured at Sir Gregory to tell them how far they had gone with their search.
Sir Gregory stepped forward and began to speak.
"Just like I promised to do, I supported the effort to find out what had happened to Sir Wilson by providing some gold as a reward, and it didn't take long to get some answers. There is still more to investigate, but we have a lead." He gestured at Sir Rager and stepped back while Sir Rager stepped forward and bowed to the House before he began to speak.
"From our findings... Sir Wilson had been planning to run away with his family before he was killed."
Murmurs and questions began to arise as they all wondered why he wanted to run away and why he was killed. Most importantly, who killed him?
"It was done by... royal guards with crested swords." Sir Rager announced, and this piece of information made the room go wild as everyone began to talk and ask questions at the same time.
The sound sensitivity grew, making Harold uncomfortable as it felt like his eardrum was about to explode.
"Silence," He breathed quietly in discomfort, but that was enough to make everyone shut up at once.
"How can we believe that?" Damon asked Rager, who turned to face him.
"How can you believe what exactly?" Sir Rager asked him.
"That was done by royal guards. Does the king have any reason to kill him? Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't do that in such a manner."
"Do you expect to get an answer from me when you are the King's Beta?" Sir Rager asked Damon, making the latter grit his teeth in annoyance.
"We cannot get confirmation from the king about it now, but we can hear what the queen has to say about it."
The queen let out a sharp squeak when she was suddenly put in the spotlight by Sir Gregory, with all eyes turning towards her.
She looked at all of them and swallowed hard.
Harold could smell her anxiety from where he stood. It was disgusting. freewebnovel. com
"I... think that is a lie. No... one from the royal family has any reason to hurt Sir Wilson."
"So are you trying to say someone else told the royal guards to kill him?"
"You dare not mock the king's authority!" She snapped at the nobleman, who had innocently asked. "No one else has the right to control the king's guards except himself."
"So you are trying to say the king killed Sir Wilson and took the Beta's nightmare?" Another nobleman asked since she wasn't making any sense.
"I didn't say the king killed him! But 20 years ago, we all knew that the only person who controlled the royal guards was the king." She yelled defensively.
"Then what is your point?"
"She is not making any sense."
"Is she trying to say the king did it or not?"
"Women are so troublesome."
The noblemen murmured among themselves while the queen continued to look around.
"Why are you all asking me? Do I look like the king? How would I know why he asked them to set his house on fire?" She yelled at all of them before looking at Damon, who hadn't said anything.
"Do you think I am responsible, Sir Damon?" She asked him while giving him a pointed look.
The atmosphere grew tense, and silence filled the hall while the queen and Damon just looked at each other.
"Queen mother?" Harold called in a calm tone that made the hairs on her body rise as she broke eye contact with Damon to face him.
"You don't think the king has any reason to set his house on fire, and neither do you think anyone else is capable of controlling the royal guards?" Harold asked her.
"That's what I said." She answered arrogantly.
"But... no one mentioned that Sir Wilson's house was set on fire." Harold reminded her.
Silence.
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