Chapter 148

He settled Laurel into his lap as the carriage began to pull away. It had been a night of revelations and surprises.

He had never known that Gavin couldn't shift, though he wasn't surprised that Gavin had hired staff that also couldn't shift, whether they were human or simply out of contact with their wolves.

He had never expected that Basil had gone through the shift alone. The grief made his heart clench. The first shift could be terrifying. Without guidance, it could have done so much damage.

Then, there was the matter of his son on the edge of going rogue.

He'd had his suspicions about them not being fated mates, but he had never imagined that they had no mating bond beyond a marked bond. His head ached.

Basil would need treatment and he would need to speak to his son about his shifting experiences.

Basil told him that he didn't remember. Did that mean he only shifted under duress? Did he blackout during it?

Had he ever *truly* shifted or did he just think he had? If he had been hiding his red eyes for months, he could have been hiding his lack of shifting for years.

By the goddess, what was he going to do?

It was possible that Basil couldn't shift, the same way that Gavin couldn't, but that didn't feel true to him.

He would figure it out and hope that it wasn't too late to fix that problem. He looked down at Laurel as she started to stir.

"Hey," he said gently as her eyes fluttered open. "How are you feeling?"

She blinked, though her eyes seemed unfocused. He stroked her hair gently.

"Can you hear me?" He asked.

She blinked again and her eyes drifted around the carriage before her eyes turned glossy.

"... killed me."

Adolph froze as she sniffled.

"Took everything and killed me. Why?"

Adolph swallowed, pulling her closer, pressing her head to his chest.

"Only she would know that. You can't try to understand the ambitions and cruelty of others, Laurel."

She shuddered against him, "But But she"

"Won't get away with it," Adolph said, "And if if you need the answers, I will get them for you."

One way or another.

Days passed, and Delia was starting to get dizzy. The soldiers dragged her out multiple times to be interrogated and listening to Tina's insane ramblings in the cell next to hers was getting to be too much.

Where was Eden? Had he heard about the way she was being treated? When would he come to get her out?

The keys rattled in the door again and a guard pulled her onto her feet and out the door. They weren't going to an interrogation hall, it seemed as they dragged her through the hallways towards the throne room.

Did that mean she would be in front of Adolph? She didn't want to see him. He'd kill her. She knew it.

She pulled back, digging in her heels, "Let me-"

Her voice broke off as she watched a familiar form walk towards the room escorted by several guards. In place of his merchant's clothing, he wore long robes of white over pieces of armor. His gray eyes were clear and his expression had lost its mask-like feeling. He looked content and peaceful as he walked.

Yet, he didn't look at her as he proceeded her into the hall.

She kept her mouth shut as the guards pulled her into the hall. Laurel was there on her throne beside Adolph, looking a bit pale, but her eyes were steely and determined.

On the other side of Adolph, Basil sat, his eyes distant and hard as she was brought to the center of the room.

Eden looked around the room. He knew the faces in the room, but he couldn't remember any of them exactly. As Adolph began to speak about everything he'd done, but couldn't remember, none of the details struck anything in his mind.

"Have you anything to say?" Adolph asked. "Anything to add?"

He frowned looking at Adolph, "Do you want me to say anything? It doesn't seem like you do."

Adolph's eyes narrowed, "I don't."

Eden nodded and shrugged, "I have no memory of it, but it doesn't seem like anyone is jumping to my defense, so I have nothing."

"You are wrong," Laurel said, drawing his attention. Something stirred in his chest, like the faintest memory of a dream.

He had known this woman at some point

"While you may have been involved in the plot of the vampire queen, you are also the reason she is dead," Laurel said. "You kidnapped me from the city, but never harmed me. The current state of the vampire lands and the end of the war is largely your doing."

The words didn't seem false, but they were colored with an odd sense of the events. This woman had cared about him before.

She still cared about him in some way.

"Are you the white wolf?"

Her eyes widened in shock. Adolph's eyes narrowed at him.

"What does that matter?" Delia hissed, drawing everyone's attention as she looked at Eden. "What about me?"

Eden looked at her, dragging his gaze over her trembling, wretched form. Her eyes were wet and glossy, but she seemed furious.

"You are being charged with attempted murder of the luna," Adolph said coolly. "It is only due process and happenstance that has allowed you to stay alive this long."

"B-Basil, alpha, how are you going to let them accuse me like this?"

Basil's jaw tightened as Eden looked between them. His eyes flashed red as golden light flickered across his chest.

He turned to Delia, "You seem to know me."

Delia's eyes widened as her jaw dropped open, "You"

She sniffled, "You don't know me?"

He titled his head, "I gave you something, didn't I?"

She choked.

"What?"

"There's only one reason you would want to kill the current luna, and that would be to take her place. You're impulsive; otherwise, you would have chosen a better place to attempt to kill her. Morrigan likes the impulsive so I assume you worked with her."

"M-Morrigan?" Delia asked. "Wh-What? Who-"

"The vampire queen," Eden said, "She sent you here, didn't she?"

"I- What?"

"Answer me," Eden said, his voice shaking the air though it was barely above his normal speaking tone.

She shuddered as the truth wanted to work its way free of her mind.

"... Yes," she grit out.

The gasp that went around. 
"For what purpose?"

"How is he doing that?" Adolph asked.

"As I said before, Your Majesty," Taliesin said, eyeing Eden warily, "Eden is quite powerful Though even I didn't know he could compel a werewolf to tell the truth."

"She is a rogue," Eden said, "The rules are different. Her lack of pack bonds, mate or familial, leaves her defenseless. Answer the question."

Delia's eyes watered as she tried to resist, but the words came, "She planned to take over the werewolf kingdom, make it collapse from the inside."

"And how were you meant to do that?"

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to resist, holding back the words, but she couldn't.

"Basil!" She gasped, groaning as the compulsion pushed her. "I had to get Basil on the throne."

"And the king?" Eden asked, tilting his head, "What was meant to come of him?"

"He was going to die on the battlefield!" Delia said, "She she only planned to retreat and then ambush him in the capital after I'd gotten them inside"

She turned her head, "Eden, stop! Please! What about the plan?"

"What plan?" Eden asked.

"You You said that I'd be lunaYou said You offered me up as an option for her plan!"

"I doubt you were supposed to kill the luna in the process," Eden said, "Morrigan would have wanted to do that herself."

Delia growled at him, "Laura was in the way! She had to die!"

Basil went still and pale, "What?"

Delia shut her mouth and Eden glared at her, *"Answer him."*

She turned her head, "I I pushed her off the cliff I would have pushed Laurel off that cliff too if she hadn't been wearing that necklace!"

"Why?" Laurel asked, "If Laura had already been divorced, why not just let her leave the kingdom in peace? Why kill her?"

Delia scoffed, "Obviously, she was a threat to the plan! The queen didn't see that. Eden didn't see that! I was doing it for the plan!"

"You did it for yourself," Eden said. "I gave you a potion, didn't I? To help this along?"

"What about it?"

"Grief is a strong emotion. You undid the main work of that potion when you killed her," Eden said. Delia gasped in horror. "I'm sure I would have explained this to you at least, though I wouldn't have told Morrigan. The potion enchants and allows you to form a bond, but you have to work at it, slowly and supplant the feelings that were already there. You were better off emulating Laura and slowly getting him to fall for you than using the potion to control him and killing her."

Eden chuckled, "But as I said, Morrigan likes the impatient. I'm pretty sure I offered you up because I knew she would take the bait though I am sorry that the former luna had to die."

Delia let out a wail, "Stop! You're ruining everything!"