5

" What do you mean by the same reason I'm here?" Lucas asked, trying to pretend that he didn't just try to kill her.

" I am alive and well. Aren't you supposed to be happy?" She asked.

" I am, I am very happy. You just look different." He lied smoothly. He was not happy within.

" Great, then it's nice to see you again Lucas." Arianna replied without missing a bit. Her face was impassive betraying what she actually felt.

Lucas walked back slowly, he didn't understand the person before him. She was cold.

" Okay, I'll be in my room. You seem to be in a foul mood." He replied.

She felt his eyes on her as he walked away. Good, Arianna was glad at the shock on his face. Who did he think he was fooling? She must have been too naive to not see the signs that he was just a user, he never loved her in the first place. Well, enough of Lucas and Alice, she had other important things to do. Like take care of her mother.

She and Lucas were even now. She also had to start preparing for the announcement of her father's death. Pushing the door open, she met hee mother still lying weakly on the bed. The only difference was that she was no longer bleeding.

Arianna looked up and whispered thank you to the goddess who didn't allow her mother to die.

" Mom?" She called and her mother twitched her hand slowly to show that she heard since she couldn't speak.

" What do I do?" She muttered asking no one in particular. She was scared to ask for help. Who knew how many more people were involved in this coup. She wasn't even safe at the moment.Lucas could call for reinforcement to help out with his plan.

Then she remembered a bottle of medicine that her mother used to give whenever she was sick. It used to work for her.

Searching through the cabinets, she saw the familiar dark bottle, it looked ominous. Her instincts told her to go ahead, so she uncapped the bottle and tried to open her mother's mouth.

She emptied half of the contents into her mother's mouth.

She waited for ten minutes and nothing happened. Panic began to set in as her mother coughed, then proceeded to shake violently.

She was completely helpless, as she tried to manage both the coughing and the shaking. She didn't know the cause.

" Goddess please help me." She muttered and her mother's convulsion began to decline.

The Luna finally let out a deep breath and there was silence. Arianna felt her heart leave her chest. Oh my Lord, what kind of problems was this? She wondered.

" Please I need something to happen. Arianna felt her powers pulsing through her fingers and she touched her mother immediately, and felt her cold mother begin to get warm.

It took good two minutes before the Luna sneezed. The wait took two good years of Arianna's life.

" Mom?"

There was a knock on the door, and she whipped around defensively waiting for the person on the other side.

" Who is that?"

" Jenna"

She sighed in relief, it was the maid. There was no need to confront anyone yet. Weren't they supposed to be off duty today? She wondered." Come back later. I am a little busy." She replied.

There was a pause before she heard Jenna's retreating footsteps.

" Mom?" She called again, and the Luna's eyes fluttered open slowly.

" I'm so happy that you are back." She embraced her mom careful not to crush her.

" Me too." Brianna croaked.

" How is your father?" She asked.

" Uh... Mom, why don't we just make sue that you are better before we start worrying about dad. This is in no way an offence to dad. You are just recovering ..."

" He is dead." Brianna replied in a despondent manner. There was no need for Arianna to deceive her.

Arianna shrugged, and held her mother's hand, stroking it reassuringly, " Yes, mom. I'll get justice for him." She promised.

Brianna saw the determination in her daughter's eyes, and nodded weakly. Tears streamed down her eyes and she shook her head calmly.

" Will you get me a tissue and some water to drink please?" She whispered. Her throat was parched.

" Okay, I will be right back." Arianna replied and rushed downstairs to get a bottle of water for her mother to drink. It was a surprise that no maid was in the house and Jenna came to knock few minutes ago. She waved the thought away.

The kitchen door opened, and a shocked Alice stood on the threshold with her mouth open.

" Hello, Alice."

" H-hello Arianna." Alice stuttered.

Stutter you witch, I am alive and there is nothing you can do about it.

" Are you alright?" Arianna pretended not to understand the reason for the shock.

" What?" Alice replied. No wonder Lucas was sounding like saw a ghost. When he told her that he saw Arianna earlier, she laughed at him. Seeing Arianna in flesh and blood destabilized her.

" You are staring. It's rude." Arianna replied smiling gently.

" Am I really staring?" Alice blurted. She could never have imagined that Arianna would be alive. She looked different . The innocence in her eyes had been replaced with a kind of hardness. Although Arianna was smiling, her eyes weren't. Like the adage said. The eyes are the windows to the soul.

" Yes, you are. Now excuse me I have somewhere important to be." She replied and marched away with the bottle of water in hand.

Alice didn't stop staring until Arianna crossed the bend of the staircase where she couldn't see her anymore. The question rang in her head. Did she know?

With her eyes, she couldn't decipher. The only thing she felt was trouble. Trouble was brimming and she had to curb it. Arianna had to be taken out either by hook or by crook.

She pulled out her phone, and texted Lucas, " She truly is alive."

Lucas felt chills to his bone. How she managed to resurrect from the dead baffled him. He saw her lying lifelessly on the ground. Oh make it make sense! He hit his head. Could it be that someone saved her? No, there was something wrong somewhere and he intended to find out.

" Oh my god! This cannot be happening." He muttered to himself.

" What do we do?" He asked immediately he entered into Alice's room. They were yet to raise the alarm of the king's death.

Alice was lost for words too. She was out of her wits trying to put the pieces together, yet no explanation was making sense. " I saw her lying dead. I sucked her powers." She muttered.

"What do we do?" Lucas repeated. They had to find a solution to end this all for good.

" I don't know. I will contact someone who I think could have an idea of what's going on. I'll get back to you. At the mean time, pretend as if everything is fine between the both of you." She said.

" Okay, I'll do that. So how do we break the news of his death?" He asked.

"Let her make the announcement. How would you say you found out?"

" I don't know. I'll just... I need some time to process this." Lucas replied.

" We shouldn't behave suspiciously. Have you see your mom?" She asked.

" No, I was unable to think of anything when I ran into Ari."

" Good, find your mother and inform her of the latest development."

" Okay." Lucas replied shakily and went on his way.

He knocked on his mother's door. There was no response.He turned the doorknob there was no one in the room.

He thought that she might have gone out to celebrate or find a place to visit as usual.

Well, he would come back later. He tried her cellphone which rang for minutes without anyone picking up. He scrunched his forehead. It was weird for her not to pick up the phone and he began to panic. His mom was keen on having a cell phone. She scolded him whenever he wasn't with his. Her words were. " There is a reason It's called mobile phone, always be with it."

He called her line again, there was still no answer. He told himself to calm down. Since he saw Ari, his brain was in a frenzy.

" Okay, calm down, she will be back soon."

*******

The next day, all the maids and servants returned with enthusiasm in their hearts. When they received the message that there was a special announcement. They thought that it was for promotion or something great. Why then was a sad look on both the Luna and Ari's face?

" I called for this meeting to inform you all that the king passed." Brianna announced with a trembling voice. She sat on a reclining chair to hide the fact that she couldn't sit properly at the moment. It took a lot of strength to say those words but she said them anyway. Her heart felt like a shattered mirror. It couldn't be fixed.

Collective gasps filled the foyer, and they opened their mouths not knowing what to say. Grief was poignant in the air and everyone was sad. The Alpha was a good man. It was such a shame that he died without cause.

" What was the cause of his death?" Marcus; a servant asked..

" He was murdered and we are searching for the culprits. However you all are to resume work tonight, because we will have to prepare for the funeral."

A sob broke out from Jenna's mouth and soon it was a crying fest. Brianna and Arianna held back from crying when they saw Alice and Lucas watching.

Arianna balled her fists, she felt like punching her hands through their faces.

Brianna noticed the tension and stroke her daughter's hand, telling her to leave them alone.

" Those murderers deserve to be burnt!" A servant shouted.

" They should rot in hell!" Another person said.

Arianna made eye contact with Lucas and Alice. " Yes. They will surely pay."Her lips lifted into a smirk.

Lucas and Alice stared at each other in fear. She knows! They concluded. It couldn't be a coincidence that she stared at the both of them while making her announcement. Her gaze was fastened on them, and promised retribution.

" That would be all for today, please go back to your duty posts, we will communicate this with the whole pack." Brianna said, and the servants retreated one after the other.

" Lucas." Ari called from the top of the foyer when she saw him also about to disappear. At least Alice had the decency to stay. Although, it was all a sham.

" Yes, dear." He swiveled and walked upstairs.

" Please help out with my mom. She needs help to stand." She said and he obliged.

The both of them held Brianna by her shoulder, and assisted her to the room. The subtle glance between Alice and Lucas didn't go unnoticed.

He stared at Brianna's neck, which was fading.

" Please concentrate." Arianna muttered.

" Oh, okay. I'm sorry." Lucas replied and focused on the task ahead.

" Do you want me to do anything?" Lucas offered when they got to Brianna's room. He was looking for all means to get into Ari's good books.

"None for now. I'll call you if I need your help. Thanks for today. It's not everytime we get such." Arianna replied pointedly.

" Alright, I'll be on my way." He said and put his hands in his pockets, and rocked on his feet.

" Yeah." Arianna replied and entered into the room. Good riddance to bad rubbish. What did she even see in him anyway? All she saw was a monster parading about like a good person.

" They are still surprised." Brianna said.

" Yes, it'll faze out. I'll get into character soon. I'll deal with them very soon. I want to be crowned Luna first. I also need substantial evidence."