Chapter 40
Mariana
“Did you see the news?!” Rita asked, barging into the living quarters of the palace.
I furrowed my eyebrows together as I processed everything that was happening. My father was walking back and forth, fury boiling throughout him. My brother Joff was clenching his fists, ready to fight at any moment. Even Sean was furious.
The television was broadcasting the latest rumors that were spread about me. This time they had a picture that was clearly photoshopped. I had never taken a picture that risky before; I was completely nude. Of course, they couldn’t show everything on TV, so they blurred out a portion of the image, but it was obvious I was in the nude. I was wrapped in the arms of a couple of men I have never met before. They were saying I was a paid sex worker.
I knew right away who started these rumors. We all knew who started these rumors. I just wanted this nonsense to end already. I was sick of defending myself against Ella and Tina.
“I’m going to rip their throats out!” Rita hissed, her eyes flashing a madness I recognized all too well.
“Not if I get to them first,” Joff hissed as well.
“No,” I said to them both, shaking my head to clear my mind. “That won’t help anything except pin you both as criminals.”
They both stopped to glare at me.
“She’s right,” my father said, talking over us all. He had the type of booming voice that silenced the loudest of crowds. “We need to think logically about this; violence isn’t the answer.”
“Then what do you expect we do?” Joff asked, sounding annoying.
Silence fell around us and after a moment, Sean spoke.
“I know some people in the media. I can talk to them and try to settle things. Let them know that everything they’ve said is a rumor. The photo is an obvious fake. They could get in trouble for spreading fake news like this. A little threat will scare them into taking the story down.”
My father nodded in agreement.
I sighed relieved; I was glad that we had Sean on our side.
“Thank you,” I said to him softly.
He gave me a small smile in return.
“We can’t just let those assholes walk free,” Rita hissed.
“We aren’t,” my father cut in, glaring in her direction. “But we also aren’t painting ourselves as criminals and resorting to violence. I’m still the king and this is still my kingdom; I have a reputation to uphold.”
“But your majesty…” Rita whined.
“It’s final, Rita,” my father said, staring down at her.
She sighed and nodded; she was defeated but I could still see the fury flashing over her face.
“So, what do we do then?” Joff asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Joff and Rita worked closely with one another considering he oversaw the grammar warriors, and she was the toughest warrior on his team. So, it didn’t surprise me that they both felt the same fury and wanted to resort to the same amount of violence. But my father was right, it wasn’t going to solve anything, and we had to be logical about our approach.
I was hurt that these rumors spread so quickly and right under Joseph’s nose. Alice felt a severe amount of pain knowing that our mate betrayed us, but she kept quiet. She was still so weak and heartbroken. We haven’t transformed since the night she came back from hibernation. It took a lot out of her, and she was already weak, to begin with.
The quadrennial king pack meeting is this evening,” my father said to us. “That’s when we reveal the truth.”
