My Omega Queen
Chapter 37: Finding the Traitor

POV: Emily

Edward listens intently to my detailed summary of the previous days, nodding along as I go through every decision made. After a long while of only me talking, he puts his hand on my shoulder and says with a smile:

“Everything you did while I was away was impeccable. I’m really proud of what you managed to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Thank you for protecting the pack and for gathering information about the attack. You can rest for now, I’ll take over from here and we can discuss more in the evening.”

His response makes me feel warm inside. Edward is proud of how I carried my duties, but in my opinion, they are not over. Thus, I reply:

“While I’m glad I proved myself worthy, I’d like to assist further in finding the person who did all of this. Take me with you, this concerns me as well.”

Edward grins proudly at my response, then shares a nod of agreement with Michael.

“Very well, Emily. Join me and Michael in my office for a quick briefing about our negociations with Frostcrest. Afterwards, we shall head for the dungeons, just so that I can cover more bases of investigation. We also need to set a date for the execution of the rogues, of course. Let us meet in half an hour, give everyone some time to unpack.”

The recently arrived pack members part ways, each going in their own direction, with me going towards Edward’s office. I still have not told him about my suspicion of Andrew and Lance, but I’m thinking of doing so as soon as he also questions the captive rogues.

Soon after arriving at the office, Amanda joins the room and we chat for a bit. Not a long time passes until Michael and Edward enter the room, joined by the two remaining elders. Everyone takes a seat, except for Edward, who starts speaking about their time with the Frostcrest pack. I try to be attentive, but my eyes seem to be fixated on the elders. What are their facial expressions? Are they scared or happy? Perhaps plotting something right this second? They seem oddly normal, for now. I wonder what they were doing at the time of the attack. Maybe… My thoughts are interrupted by Edward raising his voice to end his speech:

“…and so we have secured the trading route, while also agreeing to help their pack. Any questions? If not, we only need to sign some paperwork and decide a schedule for the escorts.”

Seconds pass and nobody speaks, which is taken as a sign of unanimous understanding and complete agreement. Edward continues:

“Great, that means we’re done here. Michael and Emily, please remain in my office to discuss further matters. That is all.”

The room clears pretty fast, after which Edward tries to get my opinion on how to proceed next:

“Emily. You have interrogated the rogues responsible for the attack. What do you think happened here? Should I be concerned or try to find out more about something specific? Do you have any ideas as to who we are dealing with?”

This is my time to explain everything that I’ve been mulling over these past few days:

“Alright, here’s what I think happened. We have a mysterious werewolf, recruiting rogues by pretending to be a high-ranked member of various packs, promising them entrance if they are to capture me. Now, as to who this person might be, my only suspicion, frankly, is that they are someone from inside this very pack. I would like to probe deeper into the history of what happened with this pack, because I am currently suspicious of both Andrew and Lance. They seemed to try and dissuade you from executing Cole, maybe because they were also part of his plan of overtaking you. I apologize if I’m completely misunderstanding here, but that’s what has been on my mind lately.”

I hold my breath, anxious to hear what Edward thinks of my theory. He seems to scratch his head a lot, but finally replies with a saddened look:

“No need to apologize for merely speculating. I feared this would happen eventually, but all in all, your reasoning makes sense. We will move forward with that as the main possibility, but keep an open mind. So far, there has been nothing to fully confirm or deny their involvement, so I’ll keep my senses perked up. Thank you for your analysis, let’s head to the dungeons and see if we can dig up more information.”

Myself and Michael nod, then we get out of the office and go straight to the cave where the rogues are being held. After the formalities are out of the way, Edward goes alone to see the prisoners. It takes him a couple of minutes, but eventually he comes back with a disappointed look and says:

“Nothing new, unfortunately. They were just hired under the promise of joining a pack if they succeed. From their description of the werewolf whom they were speaking to, I can tell it was neither Andrew nor Lance. However, another wolf of the pack might be working with the elders, so ruling them out this early would be a mistake.”

Everything just got a whole lot more complicated. We need to act quickly, but have no information. Despite this, I have an idea, which might be a long shot. Well, doesn’t hurt to try:

“I think we can find out more. If they were to kidnap me, they needed somewhere to take me so that they might complete their mission. Maybe there is still some trace of the mysterious figure at that location? Is this worth trying?”.

Edward puts his hand on his forehead, effectively facepalming, then says with a sigh:

“Of course, how could I not think of this until now. Thank you, Emily, be right back!”, he finishes, while running out into the hallway and back to the rogues. Returning in just a few minutes, he shares the new information:

“The guy set up a campfire south of the village. They were to follow the smoke and give you over. Michael, please investigate the area.”

“Of course, right away”, he says dryly, then leaves in a fast pace. Edward continues:

“Have you decided on when to execute the rogues? Do you think they’re still worth keeping alive?”

Accalia is urging me to kill them right now. I need to consider every possibility here, as we almost forgot to ask a seemingly basic question. Is there more we can find out from them? Giving myself a grace period for additional inquiry, I reply:

“Let’s keep them for three more days in case any more questions pop up. We can execute them afterwards.”

“Good, it’s decided. What shall we do while we wait for Michael? I’d like to speak to the elders, perhaps I can get some information out of them without being too obvious about it.”

While his idea intrigues me a bit, I have some unfinished business, so I tell him as such:

“You should do that, it sounds like a good idea, but be careful not to antagonize them, in case they had nothing to do with it. I’d like to join you, but I also want to finish reading this book I found in the library about the history of the pack. Please keep me updated if you or Michael come up with anything.”

Edward smiles, then hugs me and whispers into my ear:

“Yes, my Queen. We shall discuss our second date tonight, after you finish your history study.”, then he k****s me softly on the neck.

This sends a chill up my spine and makes my whole body tingle. He’s so attractive I could jump his bones right now. But, I need to focus and finish my research. Finally, I manage to respond, whispering back:

“As you wish, my King.” He gets visibly red, which makes me giggle. We share a quick k**s, then part ways and head out of the dungeon. I make my way to the library and pick up where I left off.

I open the book at the chapter about war and begin reading. It started as a minor battle between two random packs, out of which one was allied with the Midnight and the other one was allied with a pack from the far West called the Whitemane Pack. That last name sounds weirdly familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. The war kept going, so the Midnight pack got involved, even though it doesn’t specify exactly why. One grim day, enemies managed to infiltrate the village and killed Lyra, the Queen, while Caesar was away on the front lines. Edward spoke about this, but it seems the elders began investigating who was responsible for the assassination. As I turn the page, Edward mind-links me with his and Michael’s findings:

“Hey, Emily! Michael found the remains of the campfire and managed to actually track a smell, but it doesn’t seem to be from our pack. To add onto that, Andrew and Lance had legitimate reactions at hearing about the rogues’ plan, hence I doubt they had anything to do with it. I’m going to be doing some more paperwork in my office, then I’ll be at the library as soon as I’m finished.”

“Thank you for the update, sounds good!”, I reply quickly, eager to find out about the war. Alright, time to see what the elders found out!

Reading further, it seems that they found a suspect for the murder, injured and not too far away from the pack’s territory. They killed him after finding out his pack of origin, which turned out to be the same Whitemane pack. They were not directly participating until now, so it seems they wanted to stifle the war from the shadows, but failed. Anyway, it seems to have been quite a strong pack, because their leaders were incredibly strong. The Luna was also of Alpha bloodline, which is an extremely rare occurence, perhaps one in a hundred ye-

And I stop for a second before I realize that my tears start falling onto the pages of the book. It feels like I got the last piece of the puzzle when I figure out why the name sounded so familiar… The mad King and elders declared war on my mom and dad.

Those bastards are the reason why I lost my parents and my childhood.

I’m going to kill them!