Chapter 65

Cameron's Point Of View

I clenched my jaw tight as a sharp scream tore from Cirilla's lips from whatever Zeriyah was doing to her and Asher's growl instantly followed, his wolf a second of unleashing but I caught his eyes and shook my head, and his face only eased when Cirilla visibly relaxed.

Zeriyah turned to the table, nodding.

Alex was the first to speak. “How did you first meet Mason?”

I rolled my eyes as everyone's gaze shifted to Cirilla's.

“At the bar, I worked as a partimer one night. He seemed nice and harmless and I had no idea what or who he truly was, I didn't know who I was myself. But he obviously knew. I thought he cared genuinely about me,”

“So you had no idea who he was?” Alex repeated, and my daughter shook her head.

“No, I had no idea who he was,”

“What do you know about the prophecy?” Greg asked.

“I only found out about it a month ago. And I know that somehow I am the reason Mason is here, but contrary to what you may all think, I am not like him and will never be like him,”

“Are you in some kind of cahoots with this darkness?” A member of the Dragon circle questioned, his tone serious, and tension prickled.

“No. I don't work with or for him. I only want to see him dead,”

Everyone looked up at Zeriyah who nodded like this was now completely unnecessary.

“Then how did he find out about the human girl?” Sofia asked.

“I have no idea. I was equally as surprised as everyone,” Cirilla replied with a trail of frustration in her voice, her eyes scanning through the court as if in search of something.

Elder Alex began again. “That's not good enough—”

“But it's the truth, isn't it?” Her eyes moved up to Zeriyah who nodded to the court she was telling the truth.

“Someone must have told him—”

She cut him off on cue. “I couldn't agree less. Someone must have told Mason about Ria and her location. Someone that knew every piece of that information…” She paused for a second, her eyes once again going through the courtroom. “Someone within the Council, or affiliated with someone within the Council,” As she hit the nail on the wall, I leaned against the table, mentally prepared for whichever course this profound accusation was going to take.

“What absurdity is this!’ Alex was up seething with rage, and it was directed at me.

I remained in my seat, meeting his rage with my calm. Deep down he was the top on my suspect lists. Now more than ever pissed me off I couldn't read their minds, all of these would have been a lot easier. But unfortunately, everyone in this room had a spell on them, making their bloody thoughts unreadable.

The rest of the Council members broke out in murmurs and Elder Phillip's instant growl silenced the chaos.

“What is this?” His eyes were on Davina and me.

“Didn't you want to find out who could have told Mason about the girl?” Davina asked, scanning through everyone's faces. “Isn't that why we are here? I think we've established the fact that my daughter isn't the one. And if there's someone within the Council working for Mason, I suggest now is the best time to pluck them out,”

“This is a wild accusation,” Mirabel said after a quarter second of silence. “How do you plan to uncover this mole?”

“Easy,” Cirilla was up from her chair. “Using the same method you did just now. It's pretty effective—”

Frederick shot up from his seat, yelling and eyes glowing. “This is ridiculous. This was your plan all along, isn't it? There's no bloody mole, all you all want to do is pitch us against one another,”

Another round of chaos broke around, and the court was filled with disapproving grunts and murmurs. Everyone had lost it. Elder Phillip, Zeke, and Zeriyah were on top of the matter, trying to reign in order. While some members were up from their seats, storming to the exit door in a fit of rage, but before they could take a step further there was an instant release of magical aura, sealing the doors, and using her vampire speed, Davina zoomed towards the door, baring her fangs in utmost anger and frustration.

“Not a single person is leaving these walls!” Her eyes torched a bright burn blue that ignited the small ancestral rune on her right wrist.

The warning coated in her voice was enough to pierce through the chaos within the court, and silence flooded in.

“What in the name of—” Alex started, and one deadly glare from my mate cut him off faster than I could ever, and at this point, I could hardly hide my smirk.

Elder Walter and Mirabel were about to speak, but she pulled a hand up, silencing them as well.

“You think this is ridiculous?” She yelled, her fangs already retracted but the blue spitfire torching in her eyes still remained. “But no! This—” Her fingers danced in the air, “—this is exactly what's ridiculous. We are at a bloody war with an enemy we have no fucking clue how to put an end to. Day by day we are forced to watch our very own die one after the other while this rotten darkness grows stronger. Until Cyrene's last breath, she did her very best to warn us all of what the future held. And I saw it from her visions. Everyone in this room ends up dead. No one is safe. We all want the same thing but you all are unbelievably dumb enough to realize at this point that we are our own enemy. Idalak couldn't be stopped a thousand years ago when he was only but a child and it's ridiculous to think we can now. But we have something they didn't. Her…” She pointed at our daughter, standing right next to her mate. “She isn't our enemy, and she may be the only viable weapon we have against Idalak and while trying to find out who the actual traitor is, you are all acting like fucking idiots,” She paused shutting her beautiful eyes, breathing calmly through her nostrils, giving a second for her words to sink in and when she opened her eyes. The blue glow in them had vanished, and with a final glare, she said. “No one is leaving these walls until we find that damn mole,”

Another wave of silence filled the court, and quietly, everyone had begun to return to their seats when Zeriyah spoke up.

“Do we begin?” Her eyes darted from Davina to Cirilla whose gaze was already on the crowd.

“There's no need for that. I know who the mole is,” At her words, everyone in motion froze.

We all turned to look at each other and I searched for any sign of nerves on their faces, attentively listening for the slightest change in the rhythm of the jam of several heartbeats in the court.

Nothing. So far.

“How do you know that?” Daemon asked from where he had been seated all along.

Before Cirilla could speak, I heard a heart start to race rapidly and I followed the sound and Cirilla's gaze to where Sofia was standing in front of her daughter.

I guessed everyone heard it too, because their attention drifted to Sofia.

She staggered a step backward, panicking. Her heart raced faster and her eyes petrified.

“Sofia?” Mirabel asked in disbelief.

“Please. No. I swear it isn't what you think…”

“Why?” Alex growled, his wolf almost at the surface. His sudden outbursts caused Sofia to flinch and tears began to roll down her eyes.

“I swear I didn't do anything—” She stammered more as Zeriyah stepped forward, raising a finger and creating a golden halo that materialized into a pair of magical cuffs around her wrists, binding her powers. “No!” She screamed more in tears. “Listen to me, it's not what you think. Falix and I didn't do anything wrong. Yes, Idalak had come to see us a month ago, needing the loyalty and backing of the Fae clan in exchange for our safety but we declined, and as a result of our refusal Falix died. That's all, please, believe me,” She was a sobbing mess. “Someone is trying to frame me up, please, I didn't do anything wrong,” Her cries filled the court and by the look on everyone's faces, they didn't believe a word she was saying.

“She's telling the truth,” Cirilla's voice cut through and everyone's gaze shifted to her.

Sofia's cries stop immediately, and her eyes shift towards Cirilla's standing with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

“The night Asher's pack was attacked, Mason found me and he took me. He tried to brainwash me into thinking he was the good guy and Kali was the darkness and when he saw it wasn't possible, he tried to stop me from leaving. I was attacked by a woman and was badly wounded and in terrible shape, but I could never forget her scent. It was disturbing and the instant I stepped into the courtroom I smelled it again. The suffocating smell of citrus fragrance,”

At Cirilla's words, another heartbeat spiked up and instantly I knew who it was.

“I could never be mistaken, it has to be her. She's the one working for Mason. She's the mole,” As Cirilla's gaze shifted from Sofia, it went straight to Sofia's daughter whose cold stare broke into a furious glare and she let out an annoying snarl.

“Elle?” Sofia screamed her name in shock.

Everything happened within seconds. Elle released a volt of energy to us all the instant I was behind her, grabbing her and shoving her against the wall where Davina grabbed her, and did something to her with magic, causing Elle to collapse to the ground, completely unable to move and quickly Cirilla neutralizes the volt of energy Elle had sent. The Council members stared in shock at the sudden turn of events.

“Let me go!” Elle hissed but was unable to move, her eyes shooting daggers at the small circle that surrounded her.

“Elle, why on earth —” Sofia staggered forward, her hand on her lips, still in shock.

“You should have helped him when he asked,” She shouted, glaring. “I love him. And if you all think Mason could ever be stopped you are insane,” She chuckled. “There's no stopping him. As she says, all of you will end up dead, that's your future!”

Immediately, Sofia's hand collided with her daughter's cheek, and we could see the imprints her hand left behind. “Oh Elle, what have you done,” She broke down, more tears rushing from her eyes. “He killed your father. He—”

“That's what you deserve by standing against Mason,” A cold smile found Elle's lips. “If you all think Mason would do nothing when he finds out I'm being held, you're more stupid than I think. He's going to have you all—”

Mirabel stepped forward and abruptly, Ellie's lips were forced shut with magic.

“We've heard enough already,” The witch said, looking at everyone in the Court, her eyes briefly falling on Sofia who had a lost distant stare on Elle. “And on behalf of the Supreme Council, we offer you all our apologies for the misunderstanding,” Her eyes briefly glanced over at the others before moving to my mate and me.

I tried not to scoff at her last word, and instead accept her sincerity.

“What do we do with her?” Xanax's question brought our gaze back on Elle and everyone's gaze shifted to Davina instantly.

“First, we must find out everything she knows about Mason. Nothing is to be overlooked no matter how small it is—” Davina paused, her eyes moving to Sofia who now sat on the cold floor still in shock.

But the aftershock in her eyes vanished and she dragged herself up on her feet, dusting her dress. “You have nothing to worry about. She sides with the same bastard that killed her King. So she equally means nothing to the fae kingdom. Do whatever you need to extract what you need from her,” Sofia finished coldly, walking back to the table to have her seat.

“Well, you have the Council's permission,” Elder Phillip cleared his throat. “And thank you for what you all did here today. If we had spent more time focused on Idalak and less time on the tribrid princess, we would have spotted the treachery going on under our noses, and for that and more, we apologize,” His eyes moved from mine to Davina's before dwelling on Cirilla's who was in Asher's arms.

“Let bygones be bygones, Philip. The most important thing right now is Idalak. And I do hope to the goddess that she has a lot to share,” I said, my eyes falling on the motionless fae princess. “I really do hope,”

*****

Asher's Point Of View

Well, that went better than expected, although the turns of events were unexpected. My hands ran up and down the soft skin of my mate in my arms as we watched the Council warriors drag Elle to the dungeon.

We slowly tailed behind the small group, sauntering to the dungeon.

I peered down at Cirilla, who seemed lost in thoughts, pulling a hand around the bare skin of her waist in between where her crop top stopped and jeans started. Intense sparks formed on cue, shooting through our skins as I asked. “You okay?”

She nodded, her lips twitching as I began to draw tiny patterns on her flesh, teasing her.

“What?” I asked innocently, a naughty smile of my own brewing as she stopped walking, and the group ahead entered the building up ahead.

“What do you think you are doing?” Her slender hands swing over my shoulder, her fingers finding refuge in my hair as she presses her body against mine so that I could feel every piece of her even with our fucking clothes still on.

I sucked in the quick air, my eyes darkening, and my body igniting in flames with a new wave of carnal desire building within me. I was fucking turned on and the only thing that filled my mind is the image of her naked body on my bed while I was buried deep into her and she screamed my name.

I released a small growl, burying my face in her full blonde hair, inhaling her scent to calm myself as it was all I could do at the moment. But the smell of her arousal undoes me completely.

As quickly, I gripped her by the waist and we moved at a fast speed deep into the woods. I backed her against a tree, crashing my lips on her, kissing her like it was the only thing I was made to do. Her sweet moans were the only thing I would gladly hear even on my deathbed.

We were panting like crazy by the time we pulled away, her lips pink and swollen as I gently kissed them again, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Her arms wrapped around me and my eyes fell into the worry in her blue depths.

“Please, come back to me,” Her words were barely above a whisper as she added. “Safe,”

There was a heavy thud in my chest at her words and once again, I was reminded of tonight's mission. The unshed tears and worry in her eyes caused Ryker to whimper, even Azalea stirred.

“I will,” I planted a kiss on her nose. “Don't you for a second think I'll let you go that easily now that I finally have you,” I joked, and she chuckled but the worry in her eyes still remained.

“I mean it,” She added.

I smiled. “So do I, princess,” I kissed her once more. “I'll be back. Without a doubt and when I do, I swear there's no stopping what bad things I'll do to you,”

Finally, a genuine smirk appears on her face, and the worry in her eyes disappears. “Oh, I'm so scared, Alpha Asher,”

She kissed me aggressively, and I matched hers with mine. “You should be princess, cause by the time I'm done with you, you'll be a whole new creation,”

I smile to myself. You'll be all mine.