Chapter 372 "I Will Not Fail You,"

The queen wasn't sure what was happening, as no one had brought her any news. She didn't even know how the questioning went yesterday, and it made her very nervous, but she tried to convince herself that if something bad had happened and Damian had said some things he wasn't supposed to say, then they would have come for her.

That thought still made her sane, but as soon as she heard her door opening, she jolted from where she was seated on the floor, looking at the door in apprehension. When she saw that it was Damian, she let out a sigh of relief, glad to see him.

Damian looked around the room once before he bowed to her

"What happened yesterday? What did they ask you? What did you say? How did they know we left the palace? Did you tell them where we went? Of course, you wouldn't. You didn't, right?" She rambled, her eyes piercing and intense.

"I only told them you needed some fresh air, and that was why you stepped out of the palace. Rest assured, My Queen, I didn't say anything that would put you in danger." He assured her.

She closed her eyes and released another longer sign of relief as the overwhelming emotion almost made her fall back to the floor.

"What about that maid? That thing that dares lie against me? Have you been able to reach her? I don't care how you do it, but you need to make sure that girl comes back and tells the truth, even if it means torturing her to the brink of death--"

"My Queen, everyone is forbidden from meeting her. That is only going to put you in a bad position. Because if we do anything to her, it is only going to make people believe you were the suspect."

"But it wasn't me! I didn't do it! This is all Harold's plan and we need to make sure she confesses that he made her say all that!" She yelled in frustration before she began to pace around.

"If I may dare, my queen. There is a way we can solve this mess in the palace."

"What way?"

"Princess Amber continues to claim that she has no memory of what happened on that night. She believes she must have been drugged by someone. What if that is correct? It means that someone is probably trying to get rid of you through this process--"

"What is your point?" She snapped impatiently.

"How about asking her for the details to know what kind of potion she was drugged with? That way, we can find the person who made the potion and know who patronized them."

"What if Princess Amber is telling lies? What if she had really done that to take revenge since she is a witch? I cannot trust her. I cannot trust anyone right now except you."

"I know, my queen. That is why I think this is the only way to survive this. We need to throw a bait for the real culprit. Let us have Princess Amber questioned again. Then we will know if she was truly drugged or if she is lying. If she was drugged, then we can find the person who did it and why. But if she is lying, then she is the culprit."

"We have no time to waste. The longer it is delayed, the more the noblemen are convinced you did it. I should probably let you know that Princess Amber was present in court yesterday and no one said a thing about it."

"What?" She asked, furious. "She joined the assembly?"

Damian nodded. "We have to do something in case they have forgotten who the real queen is."

"Find Sir Damon!" She bellowed.

"Let him know I am going to join the assembly tomorrow. I am going to use my hands to draw out the real rat and squeeze them to death." She said in anger, her veins bulging out.

Damian bowed and was about to leave when she spoke up: "You will not betray me, right?"

He turned to look at her, bowing, "I wouldn't dare, My Queen."

"Good. You know what is at stake. You owe me your life, and after failing the royal family once, you cannot afford to fail me a second time." She said in a tight voice, revealing more emotion than she wanted to.

"I understand, My Queen. I will do everything in my power to bring the true culprits to justice."

The queen leaned forward, her voice low and dangerous. "I do not care about justice. I care about my reputation and my freedom. You will find a way to get me out of this situation, or you will suffer the consequences."

Damian's eyes met the Queen's steely gaze as he answered, "I will do everything in my power, My Queen."

The queen stepped back, her expression softening slightly. "I believe you, Damian. But you must act quickly. The longer I remain in this prison, the more damage it will do to my reputation and my standing in the kingdom."

Damian nodded once more. "Understood, My Queen. I will not fail you again."

The queen gave him a small nod of approval before dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

*******

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So I mentioned being poached by some other writing platform, but I haven't really accepted their offer. They asked for a werewolf-themed book like this one and something more cliché.

So something came to my head the other day, and I wanted to share it with you all.

I don't know if I'll be writing this story on the other website or if I'll write it here after completing this one.

But I want to drop the outline here, and you all can tell me what you think. And if you want me to send you a reminder whenever I start this book, you can also leave a comment.

Thank you.

BOOK TITLE: THE ALPHA AND THE BANDIT LEADER.

Shiva had an unusual upbringing. She did not know the details surrounding her birth but found herself taken in by a notorious bandit, Adolf, who raised her in his gang. He had found her mother alone in the woods, dying with baby Shiva in her arms. Out of desperation, she had entrusted her child to Adolf with only a necklace and hairpin, begging him not to let her live like other "Omegas."

Adolf hid the fact that she was an Omega even from the gang members and gave her suppressants and every supplement he could to help her hide it. She was also trained alongside the boys until she eventually became the leader of the gang at 16 after Adolf's death.

But as the saying goes, every day is for the thief and one day for the owner. And that day came when Shiva was 18.

Her life took a turn for the worse when her gang stole from the younger brother of the leader of the Panthera Clan.

Having heard of the acts of the notorious bandits, Cain hadn't bothered to get involved for a few reasons. One, it wasn't his business. They didn't even know who the bandits were or where they lived. Two, they mainly stole stolen goods or the goods of corrupt government officials, so such officials could not make a proper report either, and three, they had never stolen from his clan.

Until now.

And the audacity almost ate him up. So much so that he was bent on ripping all of them apart.

Cain set a trap for them, and despite Shiva's instruction to the gang not to attack his fleet again because they had done so impulsively the first time, they went ahead without her consent, even drugging her.

By the time Shiva came to, half of the village had been killed in a gruesome manner, including her dear friends.

Despite the drug in her system, she got into fighting until she was faced with no one else but Alpha Cain.

Of course, she had no idea who he was and could not see his face since it was covered just like hers. But she could tell he controlled these people. So she attacked him.

Cain could also tell this person was the leader, and he had naturally assumed it was a man. But it didn't take long for him to find out her true identity because she was not able to block his pheromones, which sent her into heat for the first time in her life.

Cain wasn't sure what surprised him the most, the fact that the bandit leader was a girl or that she was able to set off his rut for the first time in his life.

Seeing how she was about to get exposed, and with the intense pain and discomfort she felt, she fled. However, there was no way Cain would let her go like that. He pursued her into the dark, and with both their instincts taking over, they mated. Without even seeing each other's faces.

When a little bit of her sanity returned, she stabbed him with her sword before fleeing, hoping he was dead.

​

From that moment on, her life was turned around for the worst.

Not only was her village burned to the ground and almost everyone killed, but her secret was revealed to the rest of the gang and she was cast out, almost dying in the process.

With life looking so meaningless now, all she hoped for was death. Unfortunately for her, realizing she was going to have a child made her more depressed. Her goal was to abandon the child as soon as they were born. And when she realized she had a girl, she prayed she was at least not an Omega. But the worst happened. Her daughter was an Alpha -- In a world where Alphas were few and considered a threat to everyone.

7 years later, the 6-year-old Fox was raised like a boy and also identified as a Beta but she was still a terror to other kids. Unlike Alphas who were reserved and cold, she was always bubbly and a troublemaker. And Shiva would be blamed for that because she trained her daughter in martial arts even before she could walk.

When Shiva journeyed to the capital after finding some clue about her birth mother, not only did Fox bump into her paternal male cousin, who immediately could tell she was a girl, but Fox also bumped into Alpha Cain, and unlike every other person who cowered before him, she challenged the 27-year-old Alpha to a fight when she saw him "bullying" a helpless man.

Whether Shiva liked it or not, her little rascal was bound to put her in trouble and bring her face to face with the man who had been looking all over for her for the past few years. The same man that ruined her life.

And she was also bound to find a lot of secrets about her real identity, which was going to lead to Shiva drawing out her sword and putting some people to sleep forever.

*****

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE UP FOR THIS LATER THIS YEAR!!!