CHAPTER 270: _LOYALTY IN THE STORM

Caroline’s POV

*****

It had all happened so fast.

One second, she was watching Odessa and Alpha King Kaelos laughing and enjoying each other’s company in a way that she hadn’t seen in a while.

Next, a broadcast was made showing a clip of Kaelos killing his father in cold blood using his wolf form.

It was a brutal death, one that had the people in the mall and possibly the entire world talking long after Kaelos and Odessa slipped out of the mall discreetly.

Caroline had told them she wanted to stay back and pay for the clothes they bought but in reality... She only wanted to give them space to talk.

She could feel the tension between them and knew Odessa would need as much reassurance as possible.

"It makes sense now why the Alpha King protected that hybrid from being punished for the destruction she caused at the Charity Ball." A woman holding a child snorted when Caroline stepped into the store. "It’s because he’s also a killer."

"Hush, Sabrina! Do you want the Alpha King to—" Another woman was about to scold the first one, but the latter quickly interrupted.

"To what? To kill me like he did his father? Or Luna Queen Celine? Or Madame Greyheart? Or the Gamma?!" The first woman’s voice kept rising the more she spoke.

Caroline watched them from the corner of her eye as she stood in front of the cashier.

"You’re taking things out of context now. Everyone knows Celine and the Gamma were killed because they orchestrated a coup. Not to mention the Beta is the one who killed Celine."

"Convenient cover-up!" Sabrina, the first woman scoffed, shaking her head. "Alpha King Kaelos is killing anyone who even slightly sneezes at his rule. This is only the beginning."

"Sabrina has a point." A man echoed from a corner where jeans were on display. "Have we forgotten what the Alpha King said at Elder Davina’s funeral? About how he’ll rain war on us in abundance?"

Caroline clenched her jaw at the same moment that she handed the money owed to the cashier. She couldn’t stand this.

"The Alpha King only made that decree specifically for people against his decision of appointing Odessa as the new Luna Queen." She spoke up, turning around and fixing her gaze on the older man.

But the man sneered. "Right. He does something that none of his forefathers have done in millennia, and he expects the people to follow him like loyal puppets?"

"Wait, aren’t you the Luna Queen’s maid?" The cashier queried from behind the counter, causing Caroline to freeze like a deer under headlights.

"Of course... No wonder you’d speak up. You’re privileged." Sabrina said with disdain walking toward Caroline. "You live under the protection of the Alpha King’s mansion while normal folk like us have to stay at the eye of the storm of all the atrocities unfolding in real time. Atrocities that only began after the arrival of your false Luna Queen."

Caroline’s nostrils flared with anger but then her wolf, Vilda, howled with disapproval.

’Control yourself. It’s you against an angry mob and we can’t afford to lash out or hurt anyone.’

But Caroline mentally shook her head. ’What they’re saying is treasonous. And I’d be damned before I stand by and do nothing.’

Without warning, she walked toward Sabrina, ignoring the uncertainty that flashed past her eyes or the fear she felt from her child.

The boy should be nothing older than ten and had big hazel eyes which glinted with innocent curiosity.

"Mum? Why are we talking badly about the Alpha King?" The boy asked, tugging at his mother’s hand. "He was nice to us earlier. Remember?"

"Shut up, Gerald!" Sabrina shouted at her son, dragging his hand and glaring at him. "You’re too young to understand the gravity—"

Caroline had had enough.

She shot her right hand forward, grabbing the woman’s wrist and forcing her to look into her eyes.

Sabrina gasped as Caroline’s grip tightened, her gaze icy.

"No. The boy is just old enough to know that you’re being unreasonable in your judgment of the Alpha King and the Luna Queen." Caroline spoke firmly. "You’re so quick to judge a man who has fought for peace since he ascended the throne."

Sabrina’s eyes quivered with anger. "Who do you think you are? Peace? You speak of peace?"

She successfully yanked her hand free of Caroline’s grip, pulling her son away from her.

"I guess it was also ’peace’ when the Alpha King murdered his father! That man’s death has been a mystery for over a decade. Little did we know the man ruling us is responsible." The older man standing at a corner spoke with rage.

"Who made you the spokesperson of the Alpha King and his wife anyway?" Sabrina asked, eyeing Caroline.

The latter clenched her jaw, her eyes scanning the faces of everyone present in the store. Their gazes were judgmental, and only a few didn’t seem like they wanted to tear her apart.

But before she could even come up with something to say or do, her right arm stung with a searing pain that made her groan softly.

She clutched the shopping bags in her hands tightly but then turned away from the people, raising the sleeve of her gown.

A faint slash mark on her right arm pulsed with a black light, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

The mark left behind by Regina...

Caroline swallowed hard, her gaze going beyond the store and landing on the crowd of people walking about the plaza.

It was then that she saw HER.

Regina.

The bitch stood amid the crowd, staring at Caroline with a mischievous smirk. She wore a black lace top with sleeves that flared at the bottom.

"What in the moon’s name is she doing here?" Caroline asked herself with gritted teeth, ignoring the stares of the people in the store and charging forward with the shopping bags.

However, just when she stepped outside... Regina vanished.

Gone like she was never there to begin with.

But Caroline could still feel her presence like a phantom waiting to strike if she lets her guard down, the slash mark on her arm still pulsing with a warmth that was far from comforting.

"Well, well, well..."