7. Conspiracy and Accusations

"Good morrow ladies and fair gentles."

As soon as Christopher entered the hall for breakfast, everyone from the day before's excursion gang groaned.

"You people are no fun either." He retorted and took a seat.

"So Ariana! When is your birthday?" came an unexpected question from Ivory, daughter of Alpha of Pack Ziram. She had a smug look on her face.

Ariana composed herself before asking "Why the sudden interest in my birthday, Ivory?"

"Ivory is only asking for your birthday, Ari. There is no harm in telling her." Persephone too had a smug look on her face.

"It is near actually. Four days from now to be precise." Ariana answered this time, without a qualm.

Judging by everyone's face, they had connected the dots. They looked less relaxed than before and the atmosphere had tensed up. Ariana tried hard not to let this affect her. She finished her plate and took a leave.

Emma, still eating the delicious steak, turned towards Christopher and asked, "So, where are you taking us today?"

"I was thinking of exploring vicinity of the castle."

"I suggest you take them to see the market, young man. They all would like to take back something from this place as a souvenir, I presume." Duke addressed Christopher.

"I was thinking the same, your highness." He answered.

"All of you! Meet me at the gate in an hour, will you?" saying that, he got up and headed outside. As everyone completed their breakfast, they too dispersed.

**~~~**

After an hour, Ariana, Naomi and Emma were standing at the gate. Ever since the word had gotten out that Ariana Saoirse Bennet, daughter of Alpha Edward was born on the same day their King and Queen had died, it spread like wildfire. Even the guards at the gate were giving her weird looks.

As Christopher was on his way, he heard giggling. He quickly hid behind a wall and listened to the conversation in hope of getting some juicy gossip.

"Did you see her face?" One of the girls asked.

"Yes! She became pale instantly." The other laughed.

He recognized those voices. It was of Persephone and Ivory.

"I cannot believe everyone was starting to take a liking to that weakling." Persephone huffed.

"Right? I got so pissed when my own father started praising her right in front of me. I knew then and there that I had to do something about it."

"Now people will see her for what she is. A curse. A bad luck. I mean, it could definitely not be a coincidence that the King and Queen died exactly when she came into this world."

Ivory nodded, agreeing to whatever was being said. Just then they heard Mary calling out their names.

"Sticks to me like a gum that one, I tell you." Persephone rolled her eyes. Ivory giggled.

As Mary approached them, the three of them headed towards the gate.

Christopher took time to process that not only others but Ariana's own sister had hatched a plan to hurt her. People already looked down on her due to absence of her wolf. Right when she had managed to win their respect with her words, they had started being skeptic of her even more than before. He wondered what else Persephone must have done back in their home to hurt her.

All the members of excursion gang were already at the gate except for Christopher. They were waiting for him. Ariana was running out of patience. She folder her arms and started to look here and there to distract herself when she caught eyes of a man. No, it wasn't the man from the ethereal garden. This man had a long bushy beard, ruffled hair and wore a gray cloak. Ariana narrowed her eyes towards him. This made him frown and leave. She let out a small laugh.

Christopher, without his usual merry attitude, showed up.

"You ask us to be on time and come late yourself." Ariana scolded.

Christopher shifted his gaze towards her and his face softened. He smiled. "Sorry."

Ariana pouted and smiled back.

"Excuses, excuses." Mary rolled her eyes.

"I did not give one?" Christopher raised his eyebrow.

Everyone laughed while Mary lowered her head and bit her lip.

"Anyways, Ivory is coming with us too." Persephone ordered.

"No, she is not." Christopher snapped.

Everyone was shocked by his reaction.

"You cannot order us around." Persephone argued.

"Neither can you. I am taking you all to the market. So, I will decide who is coming with us and who isn't." Christopher used his Alpha voice this time, leaving everyone stunned.

Ivory let out a wail before running back inside.

"Do you want to return as well?" Hearing this, Persephone shook her head no.

Surprisingly, Christopher had already lightened up when they reached the market. Anwar and Naomi parted their ways. Persephone too, upset by the previous event, dragged Mary with her and disappeared leaving Ariana with Christopher and Emma.

"There are so many shops!" Emma clasped her hand, roaming her eyes her and there, excited to shop. She pushed Christopher out of the way to link her arm with Ariana's. "Your brother took away my sister. So now you're stuck with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Christopher furrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh you can tag along too, Christof." saying this, she linked her other arm with Christopher's. Then, the trio started walking.

"Christof?" He frowned. "I am a soon-to-be Alpha. I am not a pup to be given nicknames. Do not call me that."

"Nicknames are also given to our loved ones. And Christof isn't a bad name either." Ariana argued.

Christopher turned towards her. "If you say so, Ari." He cooed. Ariana grunted.

"Ari? Is that really your nickname?" Emma inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh great! I shall call you that from now on wards."

The trio, surprisingly, got along very well. With all the jokes and teasing going on between them, they seemed like close friends to other people in the market.

**~~~**

After the shopping spree, everyone gathered at the entrance of the market. Anwar and Naomi seemed to be cosy with each other. Ariana, Christopher and Emma too were smiling from ear to ear.

"You know what? We should be named Ace club." Emma suggested.

"What?" Anwar showed interest.

"As a matter of fact, we are excellent. So, it could be a good name for our team." Christopher smirked.

"No silly!" Emma chuckled. "Ace because it is out initials. Ariana, Christopher and Emma. Making it ACE."

"Emma! That is brilliant." Ariana exclaimed. Emma smirked.

"No way. Where are we?" Naomi pouted.

"You and Anwar are with each other and we do not care about Persephone and Mary." said Christopher with a smug look on his face.

Persephone's face immediately turned red after this. Before she could burst with anger, everyone climbed inside the carriage headed for the castle.

**~~~**

Everyone was seated at the dinner table but nobody seemed to be chatting. Luna Iria of Pack Ziram broke the ice. "Alpha Henry. I would like to inform you about the tyranny of your little son."

"Beg your pardon?" Alpha Henry of Pack Celik asked, confused.

"Would you like to confess it yourself or rather I do it for you?" She turned to Christopher.

"What?" asked Christopher, equally confused.

Luna scoffed. "Alpha Henry. Ivory, my daughter, wanted to go to the market with her friends as suggested by the Duke. But your son not only denied her but also tried to overpower her using his Alpha voice."

"I was there too, Alpha. He did the exact." Persephone supported.

Alpha Henry shook his head in anger. "Christopher, apologize to Ivory, now."

"Father, I am a soon-to-be Alpha and I know how to act accordingly. Wouldn't you want to know the reason behind my action?" said Christopher, calmly. Alpha Henry seemed baffled by his words.

"Would you like to confess it yourself or rather I do it for you?" Christopher mocked Persephone and Ivory.

"It would be unfair to punish anyone without knowing the whole event. So present your side, young man." Duke Lorenzo encouraged him.

"As you command, your highness." He bowed slightly. "I was on my way when by accident I heard Lady Ivory and Lady Persephone. They were talking nasty about Lady Ariana and about how she did not deserve respect from anyone. This morning at the breakfast table, Ivory had deliberately asked Lady Ariana her birth date, intending to hurt her reputation."

Ariana's eyes widened.

"That was all their plan, your highness. They were jealous of Lady Ariana - " He was cut mid sentence by Ivory.

"No, we are not. There is nothing to be jealous about a deformity." Everyone gasped.

"Lady Ivory!" Duchess Lily snapped.

"Your pup has grown to be insolent, Alpha Henry." Luna Iria sneered.

"You might be talking about yours." Alpha fired back.

"Your highness! My daughter could not have done it to her own little sister. They get along very well." Alpha Edward defended his daughter.

"We did no such thing, your highness." Persephone stated with so much conviction that people actually believed her for a moment.

"Liar!" Christopher roared. "Everything that I've said, is it not true?" He shifted his murderous gaze on Ivory.

Ivory hesitated before giving in. "Yes, it is." She whispered. Persephone let out a sigh in defeat.

"Your highness, my daughter only talked about the deformities in Alpha Edward's youngest. It's not as if they are not true. And she only asked for her birth date. It is not my daughter's fault that she was born on that day with her deformities." Luna Iria tried to win an argument that she had already lost.

"It isn't my fault, either." Ariana whispered, her face blank. Everyone's attention shifted towards her. She excused herself politely and headed out.

While walking along the corridor, she could hear shouts and roars coming from the dining hall. Her eyes started to become misty. She tried hard not to be swayed by her emotions as she was still being followed by gaze of the royal guards. Taking long strides, she entered her chamber hastily and stood in front of a mirror. It was something she did when she wanted to regain control over herself.

Her eyes lingered at her reflection before she shut them. Memory of her father desperately trying to defend his golden child made her cringe. She opened her eyes slowly to gaze back at her reflection. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"Disgusting!" She spat before wiping her cheeks roughly with the back of her hands.