Chapter 101: Chapter 101
Ivy’s Point of View
The world went entirely silent for a fraction of a second as the boy’s hands flew straight toward my belly. I fell on the lap of Prince Riven and did not fall directly to the ground. My heart beat violently, fear washed over me as I clutched my stomach. I was deeply frightened.
Without wasting a single second, I reached into the hidden pocket of my dress, pulled out a medicine, and immediately swallowed a pregnancy protection pill as a precaution to protect myself, and my unborn babies.
"Subdue him! Do not kill him!" Prince Riven roared, as he held me tightly against his chest, making sure I was completely safe.
Wolf and Blade lunged forward. Wolf slammed his boot onto the boy’s back, pinning him to the dirt path while Blade wrenched his arms behind his back, securing him tightly.
We left the scene, back to the manor. The boy was interrogated right, his eyes twitching wildly as the effects of the drug began to rapidly fade away, leaving him shivering and weak.
Hearing the wild commotion, the manor steward came running inside the room alongside a group of guard scouts. The moment his eyes landed on the child, his jaw dropped in shock.
"Heavens above... I recognize him, Lady Ivy!" the manor steward gasped out, pointing a finger at the boy. "He is Toby, the son of the widow who manages our eastern wheat fields. He is a good, quiet boy. He would never do such a monstrous thing."
The boy suddenly burst into tears, as he collapsed onto the stones. The boy cried and complained hysterically.
"Please, noble lady. I had no choice!" Toby sobbed, showing his hands, where his left index finger was wrapped in bloody rags.
"My mother was captured by two rogue wolves five days ago right at the border line. They threatened me with a finger amputation to force me to harm your unborn child. They told me if I didn’t bump into her belly today, they would skin my mother alive. I had no choice but to comply."
The horror of his confession sent a freezing wave of fear through the entire group. Prince Riven looked down at the shivering child, then at Wolf.
"Take a scouting unit and search the mountain immediately," Dominic commanded, his voice cold as steel. "Find the widow’s holding location. Bring her back alive."
"Understood, Master Dominic." Wolf barked, signaling ten warriors to charge into the deep mountain.
While we waited, I remained seated close to Dominic. About three hours later, Wolf and rest of the guards returned. Wolf looked at us, and he shook his head.
"We found the cave, Master Dominic, Prince Riven," Wolf reported bowing his head. "The guards searched the mountain thoroughly and found the body of the boy’s mother." He reported.
"Body?" Prince Riven repeated.
"She had just been killed minutes before our arrival... her throat was cleanly slit with a blade, and the attackers had already fled without a single trace. They left nothing behind."
Toby let out a piercing, heartbreaking scream of grief, burying his face in his hands as Blade tried to comfort him. The shadow enemy had executed the entire operation with a terrifying precision, by using the child as a disposable weapon, and then silencing the witness the exact second the ambush failed.
Prince Riven didn’t let the fear consume the manor.
"Blade, secure the boy. He should be officially handed to the imperial Criminal Department for their own alignment protection, and make sure additional guards patrol every road and river border surrounding the manor."
IN THE EVENING:
"This wasn’t the work of rogue wolves, Riven," Dominic spoke out his mind. "Think about the timeline. I have analyzed the facts and I am suspected that it was actually done by the people in our own pack."
"Why do you say that, Dominic?" Prince Ricen asked.
"Because our journey to this place was kept under a strict veil. Only the people in the Silvermoon pack palace knew that Ivy and I had gone to the manor together under the guise of a fetal care retreat. The capital spies didn’t have the time to set up a local tenant ambush five days ago. The orders came directly from someone inside our own palace halls." Dominic said.
*
*
*
We weren’t just fighting the anybody, we were actively harboring a traitor inside our own Silvermoon family vaults. Dominic didn’t hesitate.
So he told Alpha Alaric and Luna Helena about this matter immediately, sending a swift hawk messenger across the borders with a scroll detailing the ambush.
The reaction from the main house was instantaneous. Luna Helena rushed to the manor the very next afternoon after receiving the urgent letter, her carriage kicking up dust as her guards swarmed the surrounding. She didn’t care about about anything else, but the moment she burst into our private parlor, her eyes filled with fresh tears as she ran over to pull me into a tight embrace.
"Ivy! Oh, my sweet girl." Luna Helena cried out, as she held me against her chest, feeling immense sorrow for the ordeal.
She pulled back, and she slammed her hand against the table. "Those disgusting, faceless cowards. To target a pregnant woman... to target my grandchildren? I will investigate this matter thoroughly, Ivy, I will drag every single servant and elder into the interrogation rooms until the traitor’s skin is flayed alive!"
I reached out, gently wrapping my fingers around her wrist to calm her.
"Mother, please, calm your anger," I tried to calm her. "We must not be reckless or act without undeniable evidence. If we start dragging the elders into the cells without proof, the traitor will use the chaos to turn the pack council against Alpha Alaric. We must play the long game."
Luna Helena let out a long sigh, her eyes softening as she looked at my face. She let out a small, self-deprecating laugh, squeezing my hand tightly.
"You are wish, my child." Luna said frankly. I gave her a small smile.
"I am not good at scheming or handling these dark politics, but I treated you... my daughter-in-law sincerely with every ounce of my soul. But you should know that I would gladly die to protect my grandchildren." Luna Helena said.
Luna Helena insisted on staying in the manor for one night. She refused to sleep in the guest wing... instead, she insisted on living directly with me inside the smaller estate house, pulling the mattress right beside my bed to act as a personal shield.
The midnight hours grew still. I lay under the blankets, my hands resting over my stomach, and I felt my twin were kicking softly. They were healthy, and completely stabilized by the medicine.
Luna Helena turned on my side, as she looked at me with a soft, motherly tenderness. She leaned her chin on her hand, her voice dropping to a whisper that broke the silence of the room.
"Ivy, is there any fresh news of your father and your younger brother taking the high noble examination back in the Crescent Moon Pack?"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter