Chapter 2: The Accusation

Anastasia's POV

"Gah! There are so many things to handle!" I shouted my heart out with frustration in my current office as I signed stacks of documents on my table.

It had been two months since I became an Alpha. My pack had sent an invitation to the other two packs, the Varg Pack and the Lupin Pack. Both of them had responded that their Alphas would attend my ceremony. 

The Varg Pack, known for its powerful warriors, was led by the old Alpha Carl Isberg. Meanwhile, the Lupin Pack, known for its magic and healers, was led by Alpha Lili Aubert. 

As for the Lykos Pack, we were known for our political maneuver as well as our economic power. Another aspect we were known for was our strong horde of warriors although our warriors weren't as powerful as the warriors of the Varg Pack. Still, it was enough to show other creatures that we werewolves weren't someone to be messed with.

We also invited the Bloody Fangs. The Bloody Fangs was a group of strongest warriors without any ties to the 3 packs. Their most well-known warrior was their leader, The Crimson Warrior, who was also the most blood-lust warrior in the whole Lupo continent. His nickname came from the crimson helmet he kept wearing as he fought. 

I had heard that the Crimson Warrior himself would attend my ceremony. That made me wonder if he would wear his helmet or not. After all, no one had ever seen his face.  

Other than sending invitations, I had also done an investigation regarding my father's death with my council. Unfortunately, we hit a dead end. Personally, I didn't think that was the case. Rather, it felt that someone tried to hide it.

A voice then interrupted my train of thought and asked me, "Alpha, what's wrong?"

That voice belonged to Andreas. He used to work as my father's assistant. He had become my assistant after my father's passing. 

Andreas was an Omega. Damon, Sophia, and Constantine often looked down on Andreas just because he was an Omega. Yet, my father chose Andreas because of how capable he was. 

'I'm still thinking about my father's death, Andreas. Everything seems suspicious,' I told him what I had in mind via mind-link.

Other than my wolf and Oppie, Andreas became another person to confide my thoughts. The man also told me that he found my father's death very weird as well. Andreas, Oppie, and I were confident that Sophia, Damon, and Constantine were involved in my father's death. 

Another voice was then heard by both Andreas and me, "Alpha, I'm entering your office to bring you some cakes and tea."

It was Oppie's voice. As soon as the girl entered, she seemed to be shocked that Andreas was there. Immediately, she bowed to Andreas apologetically. 

"Forgive me, Andreas. I have no idea that you're here. I'll bring tea for you too," Oppie said before she quickly left my office.

Andreas instantly shouted, "Wait!"

"You should've confessed to her, Andreas," I told my assistant in a teasing tone.

The poor man just blushed like an idiot before he responded, "I wish I could do that too."

I knew that it was tough for Oppie. After all, she used to be a rogue. While Andreas might be an Omega, he had his position since birth. On the other hand, Oppie had to get where she currently was by becoming my maid. Not to mention, our pack members still looked down on her because of it. 

Although Oppie would always try to downplay it, I could tell that she felt that her status was too low for someone like Andreas. It was really sad to see both of them were hesitant. Sadly, I felt that it wasn't something that I could say.

Andreas then reported the enthronement ceremony's progress to me. Everything was going very well. Still, I felt very off. 

Damon, Sophia, and Constantine were way too quiet. That rang an alarm in my head. What if they were trying to do something? However, my investigation showed that they did nothing.

'It's too late,' Daphne said to me out of nowhere.

'What do you mean, Daphne?' I asked her again.

Unfortunately, Daphne didn't answer me. I was left alone with a heavy feeling. What did she mean by late?

I tried to brush it off, but the heavy feeling wouldn't go away. 

'I really hope everything will be fine,' I told myself.

I could only hope that something bad wouldn't happen on my enthronement day. 

***

Today was my enthronement day. The whole castle was decorated in gold accented decorations. Our surrounding area was also beautifully taken care of. When I took a peek from my room's windows, the settlements in my pack's area had golden flags on their front yards. It looked beautiful.

I was currently dressing up for my ceremony. For this ceremony, I chose to wear a dark blue satin mermaid gown that complimented my dark blue eyes. Like my father, I also wore a golden robe for the enthronement ceremony. 

After that, I finished the regal look by putting my long wavy black hair into a French bun and put on simple yet strong makeup with maroon lipstick that contrasted well with my fair skin. 

"What do you think, Oppie?" I asked Oppie.

Oppie answered as she smiled, "You look very stunning, my dear Alpha."

Her response made me smile. Yet, the heavy feeling that I had from two days ago still haunted me. That feeling made my stomach very ill. 

I told myself, 'Just focus on the ceremony.'

"What's wrong, Anna?" Oppie asked me concernedly, seemingly noticing that I looked a bit off.

"I was just a bit nervous," I quickly told her.

By now, it was already nighttime although the full moon hadn't shown itself yet. From upstairs, I could see that the hall was already packed by various guests. I could see the Alphas of the Varg and Lupin Packs. 

Both Alpha Carl and Alpha Lili looked very charismatic. That really got me excited yet nervous. After all, they were very experienced Alphas compared to me. 

Then, I saw the Bloody Fangs. Most notable was the Crimson Warrior. That infamous warrior was coming here. He still wore his crimson helmet. Nevertheless, I had to admit that there was a strong threatening air around him. In fact, it almost made him on par with Alpha Carl in terms of how dominant his aura was.   

Not only that, there were other creatures as well. Indeed, there were other creatures. Vampires, mermaids, giants, dwarves, and dragons. 

Since my pack was the strongest werewolf pack among the other packs, we became the representation of the werewolves if there happened to be any meetings involved with other supernatural creatures. Hence, I invited them to my ceremony.

In order to preserve the peace among us, we lived on separate continents. We werewolves lived in the Lupo Continent. The vampires lived in the Ustrel Continent, a continent meant for only vampires. As for the mermaids, they lived throughout the only ocean, the Syreni Ocean. 

The giants resided in the Koloss continent, a continent meant for giants like the Ustrel Continent. Meanwhile, the dwarves lived in the Piccolo continent. Last but not least, the dragons were in the Draco continent where only dragons live there. 

The ones that came here were the giants, the dwarves, and the vampires. Meanwhile, the leaders that wouldn't attend my ceremony were the Mermaid Queen, Marian Seaton, and the last dragon, Ignis.  

Otto Braun, the Giant King, looked very gentle despite his gigantic stature. The Giant King came alone like in the past when my father was enthroned because it would be hard for us to accommodate the other giants if King Otto came with his entourage. But he looked very somber. I heard the giants were generally somber, so it wasn't very strange.

Unlike the Giant King, the Dwarf King from the Piccolo Continent, Marco Bernardi, was very jolly. The dwarves were known to be jolly, loud, and just. But they were also easily angered. It seemed that King Marco was exactly like that as he kept talking with Elder George without any signs of stopping. 

The Vampire King, Stefan Dragomir, came with the Vampire Prime Minister, Viktor Mitova, from the Ustrel Continent. The vampires and the werewolves often had tense relationships, even during my father's time. When I saw both of them, I could tell that they were cunning and merciless. It made me feel uneasy. 

Suddenly, Daphne's voice rang in my head, 'They'll bring you to your downfall!'

It felt like my heart had almost stopped. What did my wolf mean? Soon, the full moon was coming. 

'Come to think of it. I haven't seen Andreas for the last two days,' I told myself.

"Have you seen Andreas, Oppie?" I tried to ask Oppie.

To my surprise, the young woman shook her head in a slightly sad tone, "I haven't seen him, Alpha."

Where was Andreas? That man was my personal assistant, so he was supposed to be here. Yet, he was nowhere to be found. Something told me that it had something to do with Damon, Constantine, and Sophia. But I didn't find anything. 

"Alpha, we need to enter the hall right now," Oppie calmly reminded me. 

Immediately, I stepped downstairs to go to the hall. Oppie entered the hall before me before she announced that I would be entering the hall. The moment I reached the hall, everyone's chatter quickly stopped. All eyes were set on me. 

Every pack member I had quickly bowed, including Damon, Sophia, and Constantine. Meanwhile, the other Alphas slightly bowed to show their respects. On the other hand, the leaders of other creatures didn't bow. Instead, they stood tall as they raised their heads up to show respect as I was now considered as their equals.

After that, both Elder Thalia and George greeted me alongside the High Priestess. The High Priestess came from the Lupin Pack. She was Alpha Lili's daughter, Claire Aubert. As soon as the High Priestess saw me, she looked at me from head to toe as if she was stunned. I couldn't help but feel more anxious.

"High Priestess," I greeted her respectfully.

The High Priestess smiled gently. After that, the elders led me before my father's throne as the High Priestess guided me to say my oath before everyone. When it was over, I was formally declared as the Lykos Pack's Alpha. Everyone clapped their hands. 

However, I still felt heavy in my heart. It made me wonder endlessly. Did it relate to Daphne? Unfortunately, I didn't find the answer until I got to the dinner party. 

As soon as the dinner party started, something terrible happened. There was a loud scream heard from the long table where the leaders of other creatures were put. Everyone quickly looked at the table. 

"Aaah!"  

I was so shocked to find out that it came from the Vampire King, Stefan Dragomir. The Vampire King quickly vomited blood that shocked everyone, including me. Without any further ado, I quickly called my pack’s doctor as well as asked for help from the Lupin Pack. 

Stefan looked at me with his red eyes as he angrily shouted with his bloodied fangs, "You poisoned me! The werewolves are trying to kill me! How dare you werewolves do this to us vampires!"

Immediately, everyone's eyes were directed at me. They were all shocked. How could this happen? 

'Was this the event that made my heart heavy? Oh my Goddess, what I had to do now?' I thought to myself.

I had to act fast. This was a terrible incident. But I had to take care of this gracefully.

As I tried to calm myself, I denied the Vampire King's accusation, "It must be a mistake, Vampire King. We'll do an-"

Before I finished my sentence, my half-brother, Constantine, cut me off as he shouted, "Liar! I saw with my own eyes that she put poison into the Vampire King's drink!"

Even worse, Sophia chimed in as she said, "What my son had said was true! The new Alpha was trying to kill the Vampire King."

My eyes widened. Why would Constantine spout lies like that? Then, it all came crashing down. Damon, Sophia, and Constantine were trying to conspire against me. This was their plan to remove me. Damn!

Stefan instantly hissed as he rushed to attack me by baring his fangs towards me. However, he was quickly stopped. The one who stopped him was the Crimson Warrior. 

Behind the scarlet helmet, I could see a pair of green eyes that looked menacing. The gaze pierced the Vampire King's gaze. In fact, it managed to make the King stumble as he fell backward. 

The Vampire Prime Minister, Viktor Mitova, supported his king as he pointed his long fingers, "We'll never forgive this! The vampires have been insulted! The werewolves will feel our wrath!"

'Sorry, Father. I can't keep my promise to you. I've failed you,' I sadly told myself as I was put in silver handcuffs by my very own warriors. 

It was over. My enthronement ceremony ended up in a huge chaotic mess. Everything fell apart. What could I do now?