Chapter 36 - Ants, Courts, and Trials

"Zee." 

"..."

"You know, you need to learn to be a little bit selfless." 

"..."

"A little bit more accepting and maybe open minded about stuff…" 

A twitch on the eyebrow.

"Despite how much you despise them, you have to learn how to love yourself. Self-love is really important for your mental health. The world has no right to curse you for being that way, that's just showing how human we are--" 

"Stop beating around the bush, spit it out," Zeke felt his patience so close to snapping that he was tempted to hire a fugitive to murder this blondie. 

"I am confident that what he meant was that hiring a bodyguard is not a bad idea at all, like what your fiance did," Dong-Hyun answered nonchalantly as his hands were busy doing something.

"I don't have a fiance…" Zeke sighed as he looked at both of his only friends. He really needed to put a standard in choosing friends in the future. These people were a bunch of weirdos! 

Mika was sniffing for an unknown reason, using the side of his blanket to blow his nose. If he wasn't bedridden like this-- he wouldn't dare move or he would face Uncle Lynn's wrath-- he would smack that crybaby. 

And Dong-Hyun. 

That nerd had been crouching down the corner of his room for a damn while. What the hell was he doing? 

Unable to resist himself for asking, he blurted the question out. "Jeon Dong-Hyun, What the hell are you doing in my room?" 

"We are here because we are worried about your well-being and to mentally support you, of course," Dong-Hyun answered without even glancing back at Zeke. 

"If you are, you wouldn't be facing that corner for more than half an hour! And you--!" Zeke pointed at Mika with one hand while the other pulled his own blanket hard, snatching it away from Mika. "--Stop using my blanket! Where the heck is your handkerchief?!" 

"I'm just wondering if I can play a villain among these ants…" Dong-Hyun drawled. 

"What?" Zeke spluttered. How the hell did he pick up these weirdos again?

"I saw an ant passed by, so I decided to borrow the sugar cubes from that tray--" He pointed at the tea tray left for them on the table. "--and placed it here." 

Dong-Hyun explained it so seriously that Zeke was starting to question his sanity. 

"He went back to call his friends and by that time, I will take the sugar cube away," Dong-Hyun continued. "Do you think his friends will call him a liar?" 

Zeke paused. That was one good question. Would they or would they not? 

"They will probably execute him for lying to their queen," Mika piped in. 

"Shouldn't they conduct an investigation beforehand?" Dong-Hyun questioned. 

Zeke unconsciously nodded along. 'Yes, why not conduct an investigation? There need to be a jury trial for findings of facts and a witness--' 

"Will you be there as a witness, Dong-Hyun?" 

"Of course!" 

"Ohhh! How dirty you did those ants, not knowing the real villain behind this despicable act!" Mika cackled, amazed by how evil his friend could be. 

The conversation about ants went on longer than expected. Unbeknown to them, Lynn was standing outside, right in front of the door to Zeke's room, busy picking up his jaw from falling to the ground. 

He had just witnessed such an absurd conversation in his life which he shouldn't be shocked about. The gens ran in his blood. 

Damn you, Derek. 

XXX

Clementine panted as she reached the Cathedral, only to see that it was surrounded by the police that were guarding the place. 

There were crowds surrounding the place, curious about the murder. Clementine was the same. She was hoping to get at least a glimpse of the corpse. 

"My Lady, the body had been taken to the mortuary," Jian Yu informed her. 

The silver-head beta had seen the panicked look on her face and decided to ask about the incident. It was his luck that Rei was here as well. That was how he got his information. 

"Mortuary?" Clementine whirled around to look at the beta. "When did the murder take place? Was it yesterday?"

Jian Yu was slightly taken aback by her reaction. Why was she so worried about it? "Last night, around 1-3 a.m." 

"Last night… Last night…" The female Alpha furrowed her brows, placing her fingers under her chin as she thought about something and Jian Yu was perplexed by it. 

"Has the murder been solved yet?" Clementine threw the question out after a while. 

"It hasn't been solved yet, My Lady." 

She nodded her head slowly and Jian Yu could see gears turning in her head. What was she thinking about? Did she know the victim? Was that why she was so worried? 

No. 

It was more like she knew who the murderer was. Jian Yu narrowed his eyes at her. If so, what would she do? Even though he tried not to look that obvious, he really wanted to know what step she would take. 

XXX

Heels clacked against the pavement as a young female Omega walked home after a long day of work. 

She was humming a melody softly and played with her long golden hair, twirling it around her finger. She was totally unaware of a dark figure darting between the building, following her from behind. 

It wasn't until she heard another pair of footsteps sounded so close to her, however, it was too late. She let out a startled cry as she hadn't smelt anyone at all. 

It all happened rather quickly. 

She was forced into a corner by a tall figure wearing a dark cloak; she couldn't tell his subgender because he didn't give off any scent. She could no longer decide which was more terrifying, knowing or not knowing the subgender. 

A needle was forcefully stabbed into the side of her neck, injecting her with something unknown. 

She gasped as she felt her entire body begin to feel hot immediately. It made her movements slow and heavy despite her mind racing with adrenaline and fear. 

Gradually, her body started to shut down and her world blackened completely.