I Would Do It

Dragana POV

“Regina Dominum???? You are not the Luna Queen yet, Alice!!!” I heard a strong booming voice of Alpha King Jonathan as strong as a command almost, his eyes piercing and blazing at her. I could tell he was none the more pleased with her invoking the ancient rite. “My son has not marked you, nor mated you from what I can tell from your scent… You do smell… well.. different… in some way, that I must admit… But you do not smell of my blood!!! You do not smell of Spieta line!!” he now all but growled, his hazel eyes turning almost crimson. I had never seen him that mad, nor did I know that his eyes had such a deadly hue to it. He looked quite intimidating, in fact.

“Ah… ah.. no matter old timer”, Alice snickered.. “Roman and I will be mated and marked in no time, as soon as he is back from whatever idiotic and self-serving trip this betrayer, this murderer sent him to. In fact, how do we know that she is not planning to overtake the pack itself???? She must have sent Roman to his death!! My beloved mate, bestowed onto me by the Moon Goddess herself, my mate, the destiny of my life”, she said, starting to sob as if she were genuinely worried or hurt by it all, eliciting numerous voices of support. Rose, in fact ran to her shooting daggers from her eyes at me. “Alice, my Queen… Alice….. Roman will come back to you.. Roman loves you and you alone. He has announced you to the pack as his mate and Luna Queen!! In honor of my dead husband, my mate, and father of my children, the Janson family stands with you!!! As do our allies!! I am the daughter of Alpha Caden of North Moon Pack. My brother, General Jacob and our pack armies are at your disposal, my queen!!!”, she said bombastically, pulling Alice into a massive hug, looking at me as if she could kill me. “Rose… you cannot claim…” Alpha King Jonathan started saying, to which she cut him off..

“MY HUSBAND, A LOYAL SERVANT OF THIS PACK HAS BEEN MURDERED!!! M- U- R – D- E -R -E- D!!!! ON YOUR WATCH!!”, she screamed, her pain and anger sending shivers down everybody’s spine. “And YOU!!!! YOU… Alpha King Jonathan… YOU!!!!!!! My family look up to you.. My husband sacrificed everything.. We put blood, sweat, tears, love and faith into you, into your father, your father before you and now your son.. And now, when my husband’s dead soul needs justice, when it needs to be avenged so he can rest in peace at the halls of the ancestors… YOU … YOU.. YOU STAND WITH HIS KILLER!!!!”, she glared into his face, pointing her finger at him, her eyes blazing, her hair almost catching fire. There was something about Rose, something magical, something I had never seen before. I have read the stories of Elemental Wolves, those who, just like their witch counterparts, had control of elements – just as I did. However, this was the very first time that I had seen, from what I can tell, an elemental wolf in action. And judging by the flames sparkling from her rose-gold hairs, she was a fire-wolf.

“HOW DARE YOU???? HOW DARE YOU BETRAY HIM LIKE THIS???? HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY TEARS, LOOK AT MY SOUL BROKEN AND DEFEND HER!!!”, she screamed again, pointing at me.

Alice, as sly as she always was, went over to her, and wrapped her in the hug, into which Rose broke down again and sobbed. With a sinister expression and a tight smile, Alice turned to me, feeling all powerful in that moment. Her aura was pulsating darkness, but it was not just that. Somewhere, somehow, I sensed that she genuinely was just a horrible person, devoid of any compassion, devoid of any moral compass, only interested in self-serving goals and willing to do anything to accomplish them. “She has already done so many horrible things, do not think she will not come after us in every way she can”, I heard Vasilla speak, and I trusted her. “Alpha Jonathan, what you say is true indeed. It has been a very busy time and Roman and I were trying to be respectful of you, and everything that was happening. We wanted a traditional wedding, a traditional marking ceremony, and …..” she smiled demurely… “I have waited for my fated mate, unlike people who sleep around”, she said, focusing her gaze on me. “I wanted to honor my mate, and Roman in turn, aware of his past, wanted to honor me, and mark me only after the official Luna Queen ceremony.. We wanted to do things the right way, to respect the pack, you and the ancestors”, she said, again demurely, stealing eyes from him, from the pack audience and playing the part of the traditional well-behaved she-wolf.

“She is right… That is our way.. Family.. She is the Luna Queen… This is how our women should be.. She is pure… She is innocent.. Alpha King is so lucky to have her as his Luna Queen”, the voices echoed in agreement and admiration. Alpha King Jonathan was stunned into silence, briefly giving me a quick glance. Solomon stood there, his face not moving, his eyes locked on Alice, yet somehow, I knew that he heard and saw everything. “And besides, Alpha Jonathan, with all due respect, the Elder Tribe Decrees state that once I am announced as a mate and as a Luna Queen, all the authority of that position, belongs to me. I would hope and anticipate that Rising Moon would respect the Elder Tribe and ancestors after all”, she spoke sweetly. “So, as you see, I do not need to be marked or mated to invoke the right of Regina Domimum”, she again smirked at him.

Alpha King Jonathan seemed stunned with the turn of events. The pack was murmuring and glaring at me with hate and fear, some calling for my execution on the spot. I did not know what to do. It felt surreal. I did not understand how something like this could happen, how somebody could manipulate such a sad, devastating situation for her personal gain. Leave it to Alice. I realized I had underestimated her. I thought myself wrong to feel for Roman, to kiss him, even though I knew he was my mate. I felt that she must have loved him so much that she faked the bond only to get close to him. I was so wrong. Her desire for power, for dominance, her wishful persona of absolute control and reign shone brightly through this interaction. And there was something else. Her soul held nothing but darkness.

“So…” I heard Solomon speak finally breaking me from my trance. “Luna Queen Alice…. If I understood your position correctly, you are invoking Elder Tribe Decrees??? Is that so?”, he asked calmly. She quickly zoomed into him, moving swiftly, and now facing him, glaring at him with all her might. “Yes old man.. I invoke the Elder Tribe Decrees!! I, the Luna Queen of the Rising Moon, by powers vested on me by my future husband and Alpha King of all werewolves, sentence Dragana the witch and murderer of Gamma Aldar to death!!!” she screamed to cheers all over the pack. Horrified faces of Alpha King Jonathan and few pack members looked pale and stony, pleading with me. “Use your magic Dragana, run child! I am not sure I can stop her!!” I heard Alpha King Jonathan’s voice in in head. Before I could say anything, Solomon spoke again. “Luna Queen… that is not how the Decree works. Elder Tribe ..” he started, walking around, looking everybody in the eye, his hands behind his back, his robes grazing over the soft grass he walked barefoot on, his ring glistening gold in the morning sun. “The Elder Tribe was fair and just. They did not execute anyone without proof… Since you had committed to follow The Decree Luna Queen… Where is your proof???”

She sprung with all the anger in her being… “You… You need to leave!!! You are not welcome here!!!” she now screamed at him. “KING SOLOMON IS A PROTECTOR OF THIS PACK AND ITS FRIEND!!!” Alpha King Jonathan now boomed and spoke in his Alpha voice. It sounded more like a lion’s roar. I never heard him speak like this in all years of my life. “YOU DO NOT GET TO BREAK ALIANCES MY FAMILY HAD NURTURED FOR CENTURIES, LUNA QUEEN OR NOT!!’, he said, now red in the face, grabbing Alice by the neck swiftly, his face in hers, his canines out, his claws breaking her skin. He was half shifted and by all accounts, he wanted to kill her or at least seriously injure her. Her neck was bleeding and, despite her Alpha blood, he was much stronger than her. Nobody moved as his Alpha command kept them all in place.

“Jonathan.. my friend”.. Solomon walked over, touching him gently on the shoulder, somehow managing to break him out of the murderous rage. “The Decree states there must be a fair trial for those accused”, Solomon said and looked at her poignantly. Coughing up after Alpha King Jonathan released her, she simply stared at Solomon with immeasurable hate. “Very well… If The Decree demands it, we shall indeed have a trail. In the meantime.. Throw her to the dungeons!!!” she again screamed, turning swiftly on her heel, followed by Rose and few others. I was stunned. A couple of warriors approached me and pulled me unceremoniously towards the south side of the pack house. To the dungeons. “I will come see you later today.. Nothing is what it seems, be strong my child”, I heard Solomon in my head. I did not know what to think or what to say. All I knew subconsciously as this all began was that I could not divulge my Tribrid nature, that I could not fight out in the open. “We must let this play out.. Something is going on, something we need to discover” Aisha said, and I knew that if push came to shove, I could easily break out of any dungeon. However, for now, if it meant to suffer to expose whatever dark, twisted game Alice was playing – I would do it.