ALPHA TRISTINE’S POV, The sight of Elder Gerald was like a breath of fresh air.
As he drew closer to the throne seat where I sat, the furrow on my brows slackened.
“Alpha!” he bowed as he stopped before me.
“You sent for me.” I quickly signaled to Lux who had been standing beside me.
“Please take a closer look at this, Elder Gerald,” I said as calmly as I could.
“Do you by any chance, recognize this bow?” Lux quickly presented the bow to Elder Gerald and I studied his face.
His brows knitted the moment the bow rested in his palms, and his gaze flickered from it to my face, then back to the bow.
When his gaze fell on the crystal emblem carved into the center of the bow, his eyes flew open, and his head jerked up.
“If I may ask, Alpha, where did you find this bow?” He asked, surprise lacing his voice, his lips slightly parted.
Lux’s brows furrowed as soon as he heard him, and he shot back, “It is not your place to kn…” “Lux!” I quickly silenced him.
He had always been skeptical about Elder Gerald, who had shown his unwavering loyalty to me ever since I became Alpha, despite the fact that he was originally from Crystal Moon Pack.
As far as Lux was concerned, Elder Gerald was supposed to hate us since we had annexed his Pack and brought it under our rule.
He believed Elder Gerald was a snake in green grass.
But I knew it wasn’t the time for suspicion.
The Crystal emblem carved into the center of the bow was the same emblem engraved on the arms and backrest of my throne seat.
I had my suspicion already, but I wanted certainty, and at that moment, that was all that mattered I tore my gaze away from Lux and let out a breath.
“It was found in my room.” I replied calmly, holding Elder Gerald’s gaze.
The furrow in his brows etched deeper as the words left my lips.
“Your room?” Then he pulled his gaze from me, and I almost saw the wheels turning in his head.
After a moment, he shook his head.
“But that’s almost impossible,” he began, frowning thoughtfully.
“This bow belongs to the previous Alpha.
How did it get into your room?” His words were the confirmation I needed.
I didn’t need anyone to tell me that the lady I had slept with was really after my life.
“Are you sure about that?” I heard Lux ask.
His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at him.
Elder Gerald’s frown deepened as he whipped his head toward Lux.
“I served the previous Alpha for thirty years, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize his bow.” His words tumbled from his lips, heavy with conviction.
Then I felt his gaze on me.
“But how did this get into your room?” He asked firmly.
“As far as I know, the Alpha’s mansion was demolished when your father took over.” But as soon as the words left his lips, his eyes lit up, and his brows shot up as understanding dawned on him.
“Does that mean someone tried to assassinate you last night?” He asked, his voice rising in alarm.
That!
That was why I kept him close to me.
His insight and quick wit was something I truly admired.
He was someone I turned to for advice, though Lux had never failed to nag me about how dangerous it was.
My lips curled into a half smile as I settled against the thrones backrest.
“What do you think, Elder Gerald?” I asked smugly.
“Do you think the previous Alpha has come back to life?
Or maybe I’m being hunted by his ghost?” I scoffed.
But Elder Gerald didn’t find it amusing at all, his gaze turned distant instead.
“This bow vanished with him fifteen years ago, Alpha,” he said absentmindedly.
“For it to resurface now during the assassination attempt indicates that whoever it was came for revenge.” The smile on my face vanished immediately.
Although that was my thought all along, hearing it from Elder Gerald filled me with a sense of urgency I hadn’t really paid attention to.
Now who could that be?
“As far as we know, the late Alpha’s only son was killed beside his father, and his only daughter’s body was recovered a few days later,” Elder Gerald’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“Her face was disfigured by a wild beast.
If not for the mole on her thigh and the bracelet on her wrist, it would’ve been impossible to recognize her.” His voice was laced with sorrow as he dwelled on his past.
“I was among the Elders who recovered and buried their bodies beside their father.” He fixed his gaze back on me.
“So who could it be?” My thoughts ran wild with the various possibilities, as I pondered his words.
“Do you think the previous Alpha had another descendant we know nothing about?” Lux blurted out, and I searched Elder Gerald’s face for an answer.
Lux’s question aligned with my thoughts.
Deep within, I believed she was strongly related to the former Alpha.
That was the only reason I could think of for why she had sneaked into my room to take my life.
His brows furrowed, then his gaze glazed over as he considered the possibility.
“I’m not certain about that, Alpha,” he replied after a few seconds.
“Although, the former Alpha was known for his promiscuity, there was never any claim of another child from any woman.” I nodded, mentally checking the first mystery off my list, but I was faced with an even bigger one.
If she was related to the former Alpha, how did she get into my room?
How did she even know my room?
Could she have been hiding in my Pack all this time?
Although I wasn’t certain about anything, I knew it had to be one of two possibilities: Either she was disguised as someone within my Pack, or she had someone working for her.
That was the only explanation I could draw from her precision.
“Alpha,” Elder Gerald snapped me out of the thoughts that had kept me busy.
“You need to tighten security, and if possible, screen everyone working within your palace,” he advised, his voice heavy with concern.
I nodded and thanked him for his concern before dismissing him.
As soon as Elder Gerald left, Lux turned toward me.
“Are you sure we can trust him?
What if he’s lying about not knowing anything about other descendants?” His words tumbled from his lips.
“What if he lied about identifying the dead Princess?
Like he said, she was beyond recognition.
Can we even trust him?” My lips curled into a half-smile and I scoffed, seeing the furrow between Lux’s brows.
“As an Alpha, if I don’t have even an iota of trust toward my Elders, how am I supposed to lead them?” I asked.
“But Alpha,” he retorted, I quickly raised a hand, cutting him off.
“You need to loosen up a bit regarding Elder Gerald, I’ve seen him stand by me.
He’s a good man.
His loyalty has been tested and proven over the years of my reign.” “You need to start seeing him as a loyal member of our pack, not an enemy from Crystal Moon Pack.” Lux lowered his gaze and nodded.
“I’m sorry for how I reacted earlier,” he said with a bow.
The words had barely left my lips when my mother walked into the room with Princess Cassy beside her.
I quickly signaled to Lux to take the bow away.
As my gaze fell on Princess Cassy who immediately lowered her own, my fists clenched at my side.