The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

Chapter 100
I barely managed to get any sleep at night. As soon as I finished with Christine, I had to check on Camilla and I didn’t leave her
side until well into the early hours of the morning. I was barely able to sleep three hours before I had to get out of bed to deal
with the elders. The news about the vampires had spread and people were flooding the palace gates with their concerns and
fears. I couldn’t help but wish that Camilla was here. She always took the edge off and it was easier to get through a long day
with her.
The elders were already waiting in the council room when I arrived. I could tell they were looking for Camilla because they kept
glancing at the door. Her whereabouts was something I planned to keep under wraps for as long as possible. The people didn’t
need any more reason to go into panic mode.
“Will the Queen be joining us?” one of them finally asked as I took my seat.
“If she were then you would have seen her by now,” I drawled. “She has other duties to attend to. Is there a problem?”
“I just thought she would be more concerned with the well-being of her kingdom and people. It should be a topmost priority.”
“It is, that is why she is spending her time in a productive manner and not sitting here arguing with fools that lack brain cells,” I
shot back and his cheeks flushed pink. I was already in a shi tty mood and he was making it worse. “I’m not someone you can
push around, elder. I would tread carefully if I were you.”
He bowed and took his seat at the edge of the room, as far away from me as he could possibly go. There was silence for a full
minute before anyone dared to speak. I could tell that they were analyzing the room and the atmosphere. Contrary to what
anyone thought, they weren’t fools, they were just lazy and proud. I had no idea how Leanor put up with them for so long. I made
a men tal note to look up the history and find out if there was any way to disband or change them.
“The people are concerned about the vampire attacks. I was thinking it would help alleviate their worries if the Queen made an
announcement telling them that the problem is handled.”
“That will not be possible,” I said immediately and his brows furrowed.
“Your majesty, it will help ease the people’s minds.”
“I know but I said no. Now, are you going to keep kicking a dead horse or will you come up with something else? I don’t know
why I bother spending so much time here when it never breeds anything productive. I would have better results if I spoke to my

daughters.”
There were varying levels of anger on the faces of the elders. If they had their way, they would have left me a long time ago, I
could have bet that they weren’t used to people speaking back to them. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Leanor was the first
person to do so. One of them opened his mouth to speak and I waited to see if he would have the balls to say what they all
wanted to but at the last moment, he closed his mouth and breathed deeply.

“We cannot fix this without the Queen.”
“You are not looking to fix it. You are looking to slap a cotton cloth over an open wound. If you wanted to fix it, you would have
tried to find out something about the vampire attacking us. Have you tried that? Have you done anything to figure out how to stop
the attacks?” none of them could speak. “You are the most useless set of people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter.”
There was a loud gasp. “We are the elders of the monarchy. This position demands respect.”
“I will give you respect when you earn it. Right now, you are as useful to me as a dirty dish rag. Get out,” they sat there staring at
me in disbelief. Even on my worst day, I had never spoken to them like this before. “Did I stutter or would you like to be removed
from the room?”
They stood to their feet as one and the person closest to me turned to speak. “We are some of the most powerful people in this
kingdom, You do not want to make an enemy out of us.”
“Was that a threat?”
“It was an incentive,” he smiled looking somewhat pleased with himself.
I stood to my feet and at my full height, I towered over him. His smile faltered a little at that considering he had to crane his neck
to look at me.
“Allow me to give you some incentive of my own. If you ever threaten me again, I will make sure that you leave this palace with
nothing but the clothes on your back. You will be a pariah and you will be forced to live the rest of our life in those woods alone. If
you truly are one of the most powerful men in the kingdom then you surely have enemies. I wonder how long it will take for them
to get to you.”
He swallowed deeply.
“That goes for my mate as well. Am I clear?”

He gritted his teeth and bowed. “Yes, your majesty.”
They filed out after that and I watched them leave. I knew I might have taken it too far with the insults but I couldn’t bring myself
to care. My mate was in critical condition and I had no visible way to save her. The last thing I wanted to do was cater to the
whims of old men.
I took five minutes trying to calm myself down before I began in the direction of the great hall to listen to the complaints of the
people. I was almost at the door when I bumped into Christine. For the first time in a long time, I noticed that she was dressed up
in an elaborate dress with a small tiara on her head.
“Where are you going?” I asked almost immediately. The last time I saw her dressed up was at Aurora’s ceremony.”
“I am going to hear out the people,” I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. I used to do it for the Queen before she
passed. When she was too busy, she would send me. You have a lot on your plate right now, Ryker. I can handle this one.”
“Are you sure?” I asked and she nodded.
“A maid is with Aurora and if she cries, I will be notified. Audrey is doing her lessons right now as well. I am doing nothing, allow

me be useful.”
“Thank you,” I whispered and she simply squeezed my hand.
She walked away without another word and I felt immense gratitude to her. Talking to people
had never been my strong suit, that was Camilla’s thing. I preferred to go straight to action, I wasn’t the kind of person who could
alleviate people’s guilt or worry.
Instead of going to deal with people, I decided to go back to our room. I retrieved all of Camilla’s books and took them with me to
the physician’s room. He was in there with his son but I ignored them and looked straight at my mate. She was lying on the bed
but she looked even worse than before. Her skin had a sickly tint to it and she looked like she was barely breathing.
“How is she?” I asked and they hesitated before speaking. That hesitation told me all that I needed to know.
“There are no improvements, your majesty. I am trying everything that I possibly can. I am using old remedies but nothing seems
to be working.”

“Then you try again,” he began to protest but I cut him off. “Let me explain this to you in simple terms, physician, my mate is not
going to die. You are going to do everything you possibly can and more to make sure that she walks out of this room healthy.”
“There is nothing more that I can do.”
“Then you find somebody else to do it, I don’t care whose effort it is as long as she is alive,” I shrugged effectively shutting him
out.
Did I know that I was being unfair to him? Of course I did but I didn’t care. If getting Camilla back meant that I had to step in the
toes of everyone in this palace then so be it. I didn’t care who I [pis s ed off in the process as long as I got her safe and sound.
I opened up the first book and began to read as I sat next to her. I faintly acknowledged the physician and his son doing their
own thing in the background but I paid them no heed. Most of the books were long, boring and unhelpful but I kept flipping the
pages in the hopes that I would find something that would be useful.
By the time I got to the third book, I was almost at my wits end. There was nothing on vampires or their bites. I couldn’t help but
realize how incredibly st*pid it was for us to have enemies and not know a thing about them. It was a recipe for disaster and that
incompetence could possibly cost me my mate’s life. I risked a glance at Camilla on the bed and just the thought of life without
her had my heart clenching in a disturbing way.
I stood to my feet abruptly and walked out of the room without a second thought or word. I knew if I stayed, I was going to lose
my cool and that was the last thing anyone needed. I started in the direction of our room knowing it was the only place that I was
allowed to lose control. I hoped no one would bother me until I got there but unfortunately, I couldn’t even get that prayer
answered.
A guard rushed up to me. He took one look at me and his steps faltered. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly but no
words would come out.
“Are you going to stand there gaping like a fish?” I spat and that seemed to snap him out of his stupor.
“Another body was found, your majesty but this one is different?”
“How?”
“For starters, it is a guard and it was placed in the town square.”.

Chapter 101 CAMILLA’'S PO.V 78% | knew | wasn’t dead but | was close to it. After Alastair bit me, all | could feel was pain radiating throughout my entire body. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were going through me at the same time. | couldn’t move or speak at all and then everything went black. For a while, it was just black, like | was suspended in a limbo or something. | could hear everything that went on around me. | heard the physicians say that there was no cure. | heard Ryker when he whispered in my ears but | could not speak or even move until one moment.

| don’t know how it happened but one second, | was in a limbo and the next, my hand was grabbed and everything came crashing down. | wouldn’t be able to explain it even if | tried. | just blinked one moment and although | was in the darkness, | wasn’t suspended anymore. It was almost like | was now aware of myself. A part of me knew that it meant | was slipping further into death but | couldn't bring myself to care when | noticed who was holding my hand.

“Mother?” | blinked a few times to be sure it was her but the figure in front of me did not change. She smiled softly at me and | couldn't help but throw my hands over her shoulders.

She had not changed one bit. Her hair was tied in a perfect chignon and she had on a dress of rubies. She looked happier than she did while she was alive and | was grateful that death was treating her kindly. She deserved all the happiness in the world.

“| wasn’t expecting to see you around here soon,” she pulled back from me and then slapped the back of my head. “Maybe if you stop throwing yourself into bad situations then you wouldn’t need to be here.” “What are you talking about?” | mumbled as | rubbed the sore spot that she hit. “I didn’t even do anything.” “Camilla, darling, | have been watching every single one of your actions since | died; would it kill you to talk to Ryker every once in a while before you make a decision?” | opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. “Don’t answer that, we don’t have a lot of time. | need to make this as quick as possible.” “What do you mean?” Is something happening?” “I shouldn’t be here. | was sent here by the goddess to speak to you. She thought it would be better if | was the one who came.

There is only so much she can do

Chapter 101 before she upsets the balance of the world,” | was still so confused but | just nodded. “That vampire, Alastair, he has lived for longer than you can imagine. He was one of the first vampires ever created. To understand how to defeat them, you need to understand how they came to be.” She led me to sit cross legged on the ground. | didn’t even realize there was a bottom because of how dark everything was.

“The vampires were created as a mistake. There were two witches who were in love. They were from different covens who were banned from ever relating with each other. They were both extremely powerful and everyone knew that if they got together, they would be unstoppable. They ran away so that they could be happy but they didn’t count on being betrayed. They were hunted like animals for sport and one day, while in the woods, the woman was cut down in the trees. The male witch felt her pain and he rushed over to see his beloved bleeding out on the forest floor.” “He called out to the go ds to heal her but they wouldn't. The go ds knew that what the covens feared was true. If they did procreate, they would be unstoppable. When the man realized that no one was coming to his aid, he decided to do something that no one should- blood magic. It was an old and forbidden practice because with blood magic, there is always a price,” she exhaled deeply before continuing. He brought his beloved back to life but for a cost- his soul. The man was never the same after that. He found that his canines had grown longer and he had an unnatural craving for blood. He didn’t realize what he had done until the go ds visited him to tell him the punishment of his actions. He had accidentally made himself the first vampire.” 1 “What happened to his beloved?” | asked. “Did she leave him? Did they get their happy ending?” “She didn’t leave him. She tried to help him control his urges and to an extent, she did. They were happy together until she died. At that time, he hadn't learned the proper way to turn others. When she died, he went on a killing spree-before hiding in the mountains never to be seen again.” When she finished her story, | couldn’t help but feel bad for the couple. If the go ds had simply granted his request to heal his beloved then he would never have needed to use blood magic. We wouldn't have vampires today and they probably would have lived a fulfilled life without bothering anyone. That was what they wanted in the first place.

“Things are not always that simple,” mother said and for a second, | feared she could hear my thoughts but then she laughed.

“| cannot read your mind, Camilla, 2/4 you are just an open thoulk. | cannon well you what the goudle Reared but | can tell you that be upset the balance when the theme a vampire. They live forever, they have a bine with no cure and we woday, there had been no opening for them to fix what had been broken” “What are you talking abou? anked and the book both hands in mine.

“The wrong will be made right and the balance of the world will be offset. By blood it carne and through blood it will be made whole again” | didn’t understand what she was saying but it sounded very important. | wished f had a book to write it down in because there was a huge possibility that | was going to forget those words. | wasn’t sure how long | was going to remain in the limbo for or if | was ever going to live again.

“You will not forget, just stop fretting and trust me.” “| am trying, mother, | swear | am.” “You have done so well in these past few months. There is not a single day that | have not looked down on you with pride. You make some of the most stu pid decisions known to mankind but you make them in love. | could never have asked for a better daughter or a better queen to succeed me.” She pulled me into another hug and | just sat there basking in the feel of her embrace. She still smelled like herself and she was warm all over. | didn’t realize how much | had missed her until that moment.

“I will have to go soon,” she whispered and | wanted to protest but she cut me off. “There is one more thing that the goddess asked me to tell you. She said it would be immensely helpful on your journey. She said that you have to forgive your father” “My father?” my brows scrunched. | had no ill will towards him. | wasn’t angry with him in any sense so what did the goddess mean when by forgive him? “l don’t know the details, | just say what | am told. She said that your father would help you get to the bottom of everything. You just have to trust him and trust yourell” As she spoke, her voice became more distant, | realized that she was somewhat fading away. | tried to hold onto her, | didn’t want her to leave but it was almost like she was evaporating right out of my hands. She smiled softly at me when she realized how hard | was trying to keep a grip on her

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you are just an open book. | cannot tell you what the go ds feared but | can tell you that he upset the balance when he became a vampire. They live forever, they have a bite with no cure and until today, there had been no opening for them to fix what had been broken.” “What are you talking about?” | asked and she took both hands in mine.

“The wrong will be made right and the balance of the world will be offset. By blood it came and through blood it will be made whole again.” | didn’t understand what she was saying but it sounded very important. | wished | had a book to write it down in because there was a huge possibility that | was going to forget those words. | wasn’t sure how long | was going to remain in the limbo for or if | was ever going to live again.

“You will not forget, just stop fretting and trust me.” “| am trying, mother, | swear | am.” “You have done, so well in these past few months. There is not a single day that | have not looked down on you with pride. You make some of the most stu pid decisions known to mankind but you make them in love. | could never have asked for a better daughter or a better queen to succeed me.” She pulled me into another hug and | just sat there basking in the feel of her embrace. She still smelled like herself and she was warm all over. | didn’t realize how much | had missed her until that moment.

“I will have to go soon,” she whispered and | wanted to protest but she cut me off. “There is one more thing that the goddess asked me to tell you. She said it would be immensely helpful on your journey. She said that you have to forgive your father.” “My father?” my brows scrunched. | had no ill will towards him. | wasn’t angry with him in any sense so what did the goddess mean when by forgive him? “l don’t know the details, | just say what | am told. She said that your father would help you get to the bottom of everything. You just have to trust him and trust yourself.” As she spoke, her voice became more distant, | realized that she was somewhat fading away. | tried to hold onto her, | didn’t want her to leave but it was almost like she was evaporating right out of my hands. She smiled softly at me when she realized how hard | was trying to keep a grip on her.

Chapter 101 “Let go, darling, we will meet again. One day, after your journey is over, we will meet again. Hopefully, in a place much nicer than this one. It sure does look like a drab here,” | couldn’t help but laugh in the midst of the tears that had gathered in my eyes. “| love-” She disappeared before she could finish her statement but it didn’t matter, | knew what she wanted to say and that was why | found myself whispering into the darkness. “I love you too, mother.” | was alone in the darkness once ore but this time, | was filled with some form of reassurance that | wasn’t going to die. It didn’t make sense that the goddess would go through all of that and have my mother tell me all of those things just for me to end up dead. It was that knowledge that had me standing to my feet and deciding that | was going to look for a way out.

hat | was going | had no idea where | was going and | could barely see in front of me but | trusted that | was doing the right thing. | stumbled through the darkness blindly trying to find a way out but it was like an endless maze. | walked for what felt like hours. before | realized that | was not going anywhere. | let out a sigh of disappointment and sat back on the ground in disappointment.

“If you have plans to rescue me then this is a very good time,” | called out into the darkness but | was greeted with silence. “I'm ready to go back now. I'm ready to live.” It was almost like the darkness went still. | felt the exact moment that the air went cold and everything stopped moving. | held my breath wondering if | had unintentionally triggered something and then | heard a voice. It was as clear as day and it was soft- barely over a whisper.

“Then live you shall.”

Chapter 102 RYKER'’S PO.V | wasn’t able to get to the town square before people saw the body. By the time | arrived, people were gathered around. It was so bad that the guards had to force through them to create a passage for me.

When | got there, | realized why they were gathered. The body was barely recognizable. There was a head mounted on a sp ike and the body was covered with blood and slashes that looked like they were made by claws. One of the guards next to me had to rush into a bush to throw up.

“Clear everyone out,” | ordered. “I don’t want anyone here who isn’t a guard. The last thing we need is for the family to see him by accident and for f ucks sake can someone cover up the body.” Two guards rushed to cover the body with a cloth and one of them froze. He stood there immobile for a second before releasing a growl to feral that it shook the grounds. It took me a second to recognize him and | realized he was the one who spoke to me about his brother being missing. | didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that his brother was the one lying on the ground.

“Get him away from here before he shifts and kills someone. | don’t care if you have to knock him out to do so,” | whispered harshly to the guards who were next to me and they rushed over to grab him.

They held him by his arms and dragged him away while the masses watched. If we weren't in such a cluster f u ck before then we were now. | could hear the whispers and for the first time in a long time, | had no idea what | was supposed to do or how | was supposed to fix it.

We spent the next hour cleaning up the town square and getting the boy packed | didn’t leave until everyone else had gone. | couldn’t even if | tried. It was my duty to help them and | failed.

up.

“Your majesty,” a guard spoke snapping me out of my thoughts and | turned to him. “The carriage is ready for you.” | shook my head. “Go on without me.” “Your majesty, the palace is so far away. Are you sure about that?” “A run would do me some good. Fresh air has never hurt anyone.” 1/4 12:17 Wed, 10 Jan na Y) Chapter 102 He didn’t look convinced but he nodded and walked away. | waited until the carriage had disappeared from sight before | quietly walked towards the woods. | knew guards were following me at a respectable distance. | couldn’t see them but | knew there was no way they would leave me alone.

| stripped out of my clothes and shifted immediately. It felt good to be in my work form. It felt like stretching after a long day of work. | made sure my clothes were carefully situated in my mouth before | took off running. | had no idea where | was going, | just let the wind lead me.

I ran until my limbs hurt and | felt like | was one with the wind. | ran until | felt like | couldn’t move anymore and | stopped in front of a stream to drink some water. The air was crisp and quiet, the breeze rustled the leaves and the animals held their breaths.

| was used to the quiet where | was present. | was a predator, it was in their nature to be wary of me. | usually had my guard down while in the woods so it was a surprise when | heard the branch cra ck. My spine straightened and the fur on my back stood on end.

| looked up from my spot and scanned the trees for any sign of life but | couldn’t see anything. | let out a warning growl hoping that whatever or whoever was lurking would be smart enough to run but to my surprise, the trees parted and a vampire stepped out.

Thankfully, it wasn’t the same one who had bitten Camilla. This one looked younger and more inexperienced, it was obvious in the way he stood and walked.

“You shouldn’t be alone here,” it was obvious from the way he spoke that he didn’t know who | was. “Don’t you wolves know that the woods aren’t yours anymore?” He stalked closer to me but | kept my position. | wasn’t going to attack him in the woods, | was in wolf form, it narrowed my space and gave him an advantage. Instead, | waited for him to step out and get closer to the stream. Once he was within reach, | jumped on him and pinned him to the ground.

| snarled in his face and | saw fear cross his features. He tried to throw me off but | was much more experienced than he was.

He opened his mouth and | knew he was going to bite me so in one quick move, | bit his head clean off his shoulders.

A part of me wanted to get rid of the body but another wanted to leave the body for the others to find because | knew there would be others.

| also didn’t want to risk bumping into any more vampires. There was no guarantee that they would be as young or easy to defeat as this one. | ran in the 2/4 Chapter 102 direction of the palace without looking back and it wasn’t until | got there that | realized | had left my clothes by the stream.

| couldn’t go back there but | also couldn’t walk into the palace naked. | had to mind link Christine to get me clothes and it took her less than ten minutes to arrive. She gave me the privacy to change and we walked into the palace together.

“When | saw the carriages without you, | was worried,” she said under her breath as we walked towards the palace. “I thought that something had happened and my first thought was how | was going to explain to Audrey that she was going to lose both her parents.” “She isn’t going to lose either of us,” she hummed in disbelief and | couldn’t exactly fault her because it was becoming harder for me to believe as well. “| needed some air, | needed to think.” “How did that work out for you?” she asked and | shrugged. She stopped in her tracks and turned to me. “Audrey is asking questions. The guards are asking questions and so are the elders. What do | tell them?” “Nothing yet, | need more time.” “We don’t have time, Ryker,” she whirled on me. “We have maybe twenty four hours before we have to do something about this. We have to make a statement. Don’t you realize how weak the palace looks when Camilla is always attacked? The people have barely recovered from Frederick and now this.” | knew she was right. | didn’t want to hear it but | knew. | had to breathe deeply to calm myself. She had every right to be upset because she was suffering just as much as | was. | was saved from having to respond to her because heavy footsteps rushed towards us.

| saw the physician’s son and fear gripped my heart. In the five seconds it took for him to reach me, | had already imagined a hundred different ways that he could tell me Camilla was dead. | even searched for our mate bond and | only sighed in relief when | felt it still pulsing between us.

“Your majesty,” he panted as he reached us. “You need to come right away. | can’t explain it.” | nodded immediately and we rushed off in the direction of the room. | couldn’t help but conjure up all the possible worst case scenarios. | braced myself to see Camilla on the bed looking worse for wear but she looked... fine.

“What’s wrong with my mate?” | asked the physician who was leaning over her 3/4 Chapter 102 body.

He gestured for me to come closer and it wasn’t until | was beside her that he spoke. “What do you see, your majesty?” “| see my mate,” | deadpanned. “I don’t have time for all of thus. Tell me what you found out.” He sighed and tilted her head to the side. | looked around trying to find something but there was nothing there. | opened my mouth to yell when it hit me- there was nothing. Just yesterday, there were two fang marks that looked poisoned.

“Did you find a way to heal her?” | asked and he shook his head.

“I think she found a way to heal herself. It is completely unheard of and it is quite, miraculous if | do say so myself. Her color is returning. | reckon that she will be back to normal in twenty four hours at most.” “Are you sure?” | didn’t want to risk getting my hopes up only for them to be shattered on the ground like glass. “Will she truly be alright?”

He nodded and | felt a heavy weight lift off my shoulders. | sank into the chair next to her bed and held her hand. | was determined to be there when shr woke up. | didn’t care if | had to sit there for the next three days. | just wanted to make sure that my face was the first that she saw.

The others must have realized my intentions because they quickly went off to do their own thing. | heard Christine sobbing quietly as she left the room but | didn’t care about her. My entire focus was on the woman in front of me.

| couldn't tell you how long | stayed there. | wasn’t even sure myself but it happened sometime around midnight. The physician and his son had retired to their rooms but | stayed.

My eyes were on the window. | stared at the full moon in the sky and listened to the birds chirping when | heard that voice | hadn't listened to in days.

“It’s a beautiful night, don’t you agree?”

Chapter 103 CAMILLA'S PO.V | felt extremely weak and exhausted but | somehow managed to open my eyes.

It felt like | had the weight of a thousand carriages on me.i could barely lift my hands or even move my eyes but | managed to fixate them on the window outside. It truly was a beautiful night and | couldn’t stop myself from saying as such.

Ryker literally froze. His entire body tensed and he slowly turned to me as if scared that he would see something else. The moment his eyes settled on me, | managed a small smile and he practically threw himself into me. | couldn’t help but smile as he held me tight. It was something | had missed so dearly especially when he peppered kisses all over my face. He pulled back in disbelief and stared at me as if he had seen a ghost.

“Tell me this is real,” he whispered and tears gathered in my eyes. “Fuck, baby, | thought | had lost you. The vampire and the physician, they said that there was no cure.” “There isn’t,” | cut him off and his brows furrowed. “Can | have some water first?”

He instantly rushed to get me a glass and helped me into a sitting position.

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Once | was a little more refreshed, | told him everything. | told him about my limbo state and what my mother had told me. | knew | sounded absolutely crazy but if there was one thing | could count on from Ryker, it was that he would always listen no matter how absurd | sounded. By the time | was done speaking, he looked lost in thought.

“I don’t know how she fixed the balance or what she plans to do but I'm guessing she did,” | shrugged but Ryker didn’t look convinced.

“There has to be more to it. We will find that out soon,” as soon as he said that, the smile on his face disappeared and he turned to me with hard eyes. “What the hell were you thinking when you went out by yourself? Why didn’t you just wait an extra day for me so we could go together.” | had expected that he would be upset but | didn’t think he would start yelling this soon. For what it was worth, he looked more scared than upset. | knew he was talking from a place of worry. If anything had happened to me, Ryker would have lost his mind literally and figuratively and | didn’t think about that before | left.

“I’m sorry, | just wanted to help.”

“What do you mean by help? You have done so much already.” | sighed. “You have been on top of everything since day one. You live for this lifestyle, things are easy for you. | feel like | am in way over my head here and | just thought that if | could figure out something then maybe it would make everything better. It was stupid, | know.”

Ryker went completely silent and then he sighed. He sat at the edge of the bed and pulled me into his side. “There is nothing for you to prove. You are the Queen, Camilla. You have already done more than enough for the people in this palace and every day you risk your life for them. You are the only person who thinks you aren’t doing enough.” | looked down. | didn’t know if he was saying it just because | was his mate or if he actually meant it. | chose to believe that it was the latter.

“You should rest,” Ryker said finally. “We can talk more about this tomorrow. The vampires have been going crazy over the past few days and | know they are going to do a lot more.” “You mean, Alastair?” | asked and his brows furrowed. “That’s the vampire king.

He was the one who bit me. He's responsible for everything that has happened.” From the look on his face, | knew he didn’t know that bit of information. “Rest, Camilla, tomorrow can wait for us.” That was exactly what | did. | lay my head against his chest and slept. By the time | woke up, | felt great. When the physician came to see me, he was also shocked to see that | had made a full recovery and advised that | stay another day for

observation but | couldn’t. | had spent too much of my time in the past month unconscious. | needed everyone to know that | was fine and we were going to get to the end of things.

Christine came to the physician’s quarters to bring me some clothes and as soon as she saw me, she threw her hands around me. She sobbed into my shoulder and it hit me that this was the first time | had ever seen her cry. My eyes welled with unshed tears and | had to blink in order to stop myself from crying as well.

“| am so glad that you are okay,” she whispered to me. “The girls have missed you immensely. | am sure that they would love to see you.” “I missed them too,” my heart ached for my children. | felt like such a bad mother considering that | hadn’t seen them in so long and even when | saw them, | was too busy to even spend proper time with them. | just wanted things to settle down so that | could be with them like a proper mum.

| finished getting dressed and the idea was to go to the girls first but the moment | saw Ryker’s face, | knew there was work to be done. | let out a sigh because | couldn’t outrightly complain, this was the life | was born into and it didn’t matter what | wanted, | had a duty to the people first.

“I'll be sure to see them today, Christine, don’t say anything to Audrey. | want it to be a surprise,” she nodded and immediately rushed out while | turned to Ryker. “What do we have on the itinerary today?” 111 69% Chapter 103 “A guard’s body was laid out in the town square yesterday and he was completely torn apart by the vampires,” | could only imagine how horrific that was. “The people are terrified and asking a lot of questions. We need to meet with the town heads and the elders to figure out where to go from there.” My expression soured at the mention of the elders but | said nothing as Ryker led me by hand towards the council room. | was still unsteady on my feet so he kept a firm grip on me to ensure that no one noticed. When we walked in, all eyes turned on us- well, me to be specific.

Everyone bowed and it was the elders who spoke first. “Your majesty, | didn’t think you were joining us. The prince said that you were a bit preoccupied.”

| was grateful to Ryker for telling them that instead of unconscious. | squeezed his hand in a silent thanks and he just gave me a discreet nod back. | turned to the elder who had spoken.

“I had to go on a last minute trip, elder. | only returned late last night.” “I hope the findings would be useful to us in this meeting. There is already so much happening and a miracle would be preferred right now,” he sounded somewhat genuine and desperate. | turned to Ryker wondering if they had gotten a personality replacement in the past two days but he wouldn't meet my eye.

The corner of his lips twitched and | didn’t need a witch to tell me that he was somewhat involved in whatever had happened to them. Ryker and | claimed out seats at the head of the table and everyone bowed once more. The elders sat closest to us while the town head sat close to the other end of the table.

“Your majesty,” the first town head spoke, she was the youngest of them all- maybe in her mid thirties and she had bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days. “The people are terrified. They do not know who is next. They need some assurance that they are protected.”

“I understand how they must feel but assure them that we are working overtime to ensure that this horrible man is brought to justice. For now, make sure no one goes into the woods alone at night. They are lurking at every turn looking for a new victim. Their preferred victims are men, so the women are somewhat safe.” “How do you know that?” her interruption was not to be rude, she was genuinely curious.

“My impromptu trip was to find whoever was doing this and | did. He does not kill women but he will not spare any man. The men need to be careful until we can bring him to justice.” She pursed her lips but nodded. For the next few hours, we discussed how we were

going to align the guards to keep watch and reduce the risk of casualties. Even though we didn’t know much, | was able to use a little bit of the information | gathered from Alastair before he bit me.

We finished the meeting after almost three hours and | thanked them all for coming. As they were leaving however, Christine rushed into the council room.

Everyone looked at her with furrowed brows but it was the panic on her face that had me sitting upright.

“Everyone, out!” | ordered and | watched them all scurry out. They were curious, it was written on their faces but they could not refuse a direct order. | waited until | heard the door shut before | turned to her. “Talk to me, is there another body? What happened?” “It’s not a body,” she could barely speak. | could barely hear her voice. She mumbled a few words under her breath but they were unintelligible.

“Christine, what is going on?” “Audrey!” she finally managed out. “I don’t know what happened but we were playing in the garden and she wanted to climb. | was watching her, | swear | was but | looked away for one second and she fell. There’s so much blood.”