Chapter 29
"Rise and shine, Amelia," Elizabeth was in high spirits that morning, though she couldn't lay a finger on why exactly she felt that way.
"Good morning," Amelia replied, as she sat up in bed. "You're quite bubbly this morning."
"Well, it's a good day to be alive. I just hope that today doesn't come with any more drama," Elizabeth hoped for the best, but was prepared for the worst.
She was just sure that yet another episode was bound to occur that day. There were hardly any days without drama in the fortress, and that day didn't seem any different.
"So… I guess you wouldn't mind a morning walk, would you?" Elizabeth was intentional about keeping the two queens as her trusted allies. She wasn't always in the mood for a morning walk, but she just had to do it anyway.
"Sure, I don't mind," Amelia immediately got out of bed, as she slipped into a dress more presentable than her night's dress.
"Where's Charlotte?" Elizabeth inquired, as the young queen was usually at Amelia's room before she was. But that morning was different.
"I haven't seen her yet," Amelia said with a seeming look of concern that seemed a bit fake. "But I could go get her if it pleases you."
"Don't worry. I'll be right back," Queen Elizabeth said, as she made for the door. "Just get your maid ready to tag along."
She was still curious to know why she hadn't seen the concubines after Alpha Charles had summoned them to his chamber the day before. That made that moment the best time to find out.
Her head was buzzing with a lot of possibilities, as she walked towards Alpha Charles' door, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of whatever that had happened to the concubines. She hoped that Alpha Charles had somehow found out that they had a hand in the death of the maid, and had dished out a suitable punishment to them.
But then, her hopes were dashed in pieces, as she saw the two annoying concubines heading quickly towards her direction. A confrontation was inevitable at that point, as they made eye contact.
Elizabeth's attention moved to why they seemed to be so overjoyed. They had smiles on their faces as they walked towards her. Had they been making fun of her among themselves?
"Good morning, my queen…" they both chorused to her, bowing slightly in a way that seemed more like a show of mockery than a show of respect.
"If it's not the two concubines that are never up to any good," Elizabeth said, trying her best to keep her anger from surfacing. "Seems you both had yourselves a good night."
"An exceptional night with the alpha at that," Ruth being the more vocal one, spoke up first. "It's so fun to get called up by the alpha."
"But I doubt that some of the queens could relate," Stella joined in the mockery as she threw in an indirect assaulting statement which had her partner in crime surprised for a moment. "It's been a while, some people got called up—"
"It was an awesome night. I hope you did have a good night," Ruth interrupted before Stella would go overboard with her words. It was too early for all the verbal violence.
Elizabeth was speechless for a moment, as she struggled to keep her face from hardening into a frown to express just how angry the concubines were making her.
After a while, she just couldn't take it anymore. She just walked away. The suppressed laughter of the lousy concubines from behind made her even more salty to the point she contemplated getting her hands on them.
"I'll get back at them both of them," she muttered underneath her breath, as she continued her search for Charlotte.
***
"Queen Charlotte… please, I can explain what's going on, just don't…" the feelings of ecstasy that had driven Lucas had instantly turned into unspeakable fright as he realized what was at stake if Alpha Charles found out about his dealings with Zach.
Charlotte was speechless, as she hadn't seen any of that coming. She was finally seeing the reason Lucas seemed to be unusually secretive about his dealings.
For her, it was too unimaginable that someone that good-looking would choose to be with men instead of ladies who would be dying to just have a taste of him.
But then, with that, she saw an opportunity as she looked at Lucas and his secret lover staring back at her frightfully, as they were both at her mercy. She could tell that his secret lover wasn't from Alpha Charles's pack.
"Please, I beg of you," Lucas continued to plead, as his voice seemed like that of one on the verge of breaking out into a sob. "You cannot tell anyone about this."
"And what if I choose to?" Charlotte retorted, as she wanted to toy with them a little before she would tell him what exactly her conditions were. "You can't possibly do anything to your Luna, or do you intend to try anything funny?"
"No, I don't, my queen. I beg of you, my life is in your hands at the moment," Lucas continued to plead. "I will do whatever you ask of me. Whatever it is…"
Charlotte loved the sound of the words, 'whatever it is' as that meant she was free to do whatever she deemed fit. She thought of saying what her condition was, but then she wouldn't want to come off as desperate. It would be even more fun to toy with them even more.
"So you think you can cheat your way out of this mess you have made?" Charlotte asked. "There's no way such an act could be tolerated within these walls."
"My queen, please…" Lucas fell to his knees as he was almost at the point of tears. "Don't see it that way. I'll do whatever you would have me do if you spare my life."
Charlotte had him right where she wanted him, and that was the perfect set up she had been looking for. She bent down and put her lips against his ears.
"You said whatever, right?" she whispered her question deceptively.
"Yes, my queen," Lucas replied with an agile nod.
"Alright then," she said, with a smile. "If that's the case, then you're going to be my… sex slave…"
Lucas jilted like he had been struck by a fiery lightning bolt. "What?"