The Alpha Queen Returns – Chapter 14
The banquet hall remained frozen in silence.
No one dared speak after Queen Jessica declared war on every traitor who had harmed her daughter.
Royal Guards quickly surrounded Rex, Melissa, and Reva.
“Your Majesty!”
Rex struggled against the soldiers’ grip.
“There has to be some misunderstanding!”
Jessica didn’t even spare him a glance.
Her attention was fixed on Caroline.
The young girl swayed unsteadily, her face still pale from the mysterious drug.
Jessica gently placed a hand against her forehead.
Immediately, her expression darkened.
“This isn’t exhaustion.”
She closed her eyes, allowing her wolf senses to examine Caroline’s body.
A strange black energy flowed through Caroline’s veins.
Someone had poisoned her.
Jessica’s voice turned icy.
“Who drugged my daughter?”
No one answered.
The Royal Guards tightened their grip on the Russo family.
Jessica slowly turned around.
“I asked a question.”
The terrifying pressure of her Alpha aura filled the hall.
Melissa collapsed to her knees.
“It… it wasn’t me!”
Jessica ignored her.
Her golden eyes settled on Rex.
“You.”
Rex’s confidence finally shattered.
“I…”
Before he could invent another lie, Reva suddenly cried out.
“It wasn’t our idea!”
Everyone turned toward her.
Tears streamed down Reva’s face.
“Lord Killian Darkmoon gave us the drug!”
Rex’s face went white.
“Shut up!”
“It’s true!” Reva screamed.
“He told us to make Caroline obedient before presenting her to Alpha Hunter!”
The banquet erupted in shocked whispers.
Even Alpha Hunter frowned.
“So that was his plan…”
Jessica slowly knelt beside Caroline.
She gently lifted her daughter’s chin.
“Caroline.”
The frightened girl struggled to keep her eyes open.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
Jessica’s heart broke.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Caroline weakly shook her head.
“I caused you trouble.”
Jessica immediately embraced her.
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“I caused you pain.”
For years, Caroline had silently endured abuse because she believed speaking out would put her mother in danger.
Jessica finally understood why her daughter had lied.
A deep sense of guilt washed over her.
She whispered,
“I swear…”
“No one will ever threaten you again.”
Caroline slowly nodded before losing consciousness in Jessica’s arms.
“Caroline!”
Jessica immediately checked her pulse.
The poison was spreading faster.
General Sarabeth stepped forward.
“My Queen?”
Jessica’s expression became grim.
“The drug is reacting with her dormant wolf.”
Sarabeth frowned.
“Can you cure it?”
“I can stabilize her…”
Jessica replied quietly.
“But I need to know exactly what Darkmoon gave her.”
Before anyone could respond, Mina rushed into the hall carrying another intelligence report.
“General!”
Sarabeth turned.
“What now?”
Mina looked toward Jessica.
“Our scouts captured one of Darkmoon’s messengers.”
“They recovered coded correspondence.”
She handed the documents to Sarabeth.
“The Russo family wasn’t simply abusing Princess Caroline.”
“They were ordered to monitor her.”
Jessica looked up sharply.
“Monitor her?”
Mina nodded.
“The letters repeatedly refer to Caroline as…”
She hesitated.
“‘The Sleeping Bloodline.'”
The room fell silent.
Jessica frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“No one knows.”
“But Darkmoon seems convinced that Princess Caroline possesses something extremely valuable.”
Alpha Hunter folded his arms.
“So this was never about a helpless omega.”
Mina nodded.
“No.”
“It appears Lord Darkmoon has been searching for Caroline for years.”
Jessica’s mind raced.
Caroline had never awakened her wolf.
She possessed no obvious powers.
Why would the Rogue King become obsessed with her?
Then another possibility crossed her mind.
One she had buried long ago.
A prophecy.
Years before Caroline was born, the kingdom’s Oracle had spoken of a child descended from the Alpha Queen.
A child whose wolf would awaken under extraordinary circumstances.
Jessica had dismissed it as legend.
Now…
She wasn’t so sure.
Before she could gather her thoughts, a soldier burst through the banquet doors.
“Urgent report!”
The exhausted scout knelt immediately.
“Lord Killian Darkmoon has launched coordinated attacks on three border packs.”
Sarabeth cursed under her breath.
“The war has already begun.”
Jessica carefully lifted the unconscious Caroline into her arms.
Her expression was calm.
But everyone present recognized that calm.
It was the face she wore before entering battle.
She looked toward Sarabeth.
“Prepare the army.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then she turned to Alpha Hunter.
“You owe my daughter a debt.”
Hunter lowered his head without hesitation.
“I do.”
Jessica nodded.
“Then stand with the kingdom.”
Hunter drew his sword.
“You have my pack.”
One by one, the other Alphas followed.
“We stand with the Queen.”
Their voices echoed through the hall.
For the first time since the banquet began, the fractured wolf packs stood united.
But far away, in the shadows of an ancient fortress, Lord Killian Darkmoon watched the night sky.
A sinister smile spread across his face.
“So…”
“The Alpha Queen finally knows.”
He slowly stood from his throne.
“Excellent.”
His crimson eyes glowed in the darkness.
“Bring me Caroline.”
“Only her blood…”
“…can unlock the power I’ve been waiting for.”
The true battle for the wolf kingdom had finally begun.
