Rebecca fastened her steps. Smirking, while holding the hood to keep her face covered. Right now, Rousel was still probably fighting Hugo. Flora was patrolling, while the servant she asked for a favor was already on Sophie’s lair.
Now, she just needed to leave and make sure no one would notice her. The plan was a success. Rebecca could smell it in her nostrils, fulfilling her desire to put Sophie in an awful and vile situation. After this day, Sophie will lose everything.
And Rebecca would once again have a chance to regain her place in Axel’s life.
Rebecca’s heart pummeled with extreme excitement as she dreamed of it inside her head. Next month, she will give birth to the baby inside her womb. And afterwards, she would steal the limelight, and make Axel hers again. She intended to make Sophie lose the place she stole from her.
In the first place, she was only there because Axel was bitter about her decision to be the Eastern Border’s Queen.
For one last time, Rebecca took a quick glance to the palace. Not fearing what might happen to her afterwards. She was confident. Because despite the audaciously bold plan, she had already chose someone who would take the fall.
The servant.
“Oh…” The excitement on Sophie’s face was quick to fade when she saw who was outside the door. “Good morning. Did… Axel order you to do something?”
“Yes…” The servant looked at her with fear. “He told us to give you another dose of your medicine.”
“Another dose?”
Sophie tilted her head. She had already recovered. In fact, she was feeling better than before these days. So, what was the medicine for? To her baby?
“Come in…” Though unsure, Sophie allowed the servant in. “Did Axel perhaps tell you what the medicine will be for?”
“I apologize. But I was only ordered to give you a dose this morning.” The servant walked straight to the table, as if she already knew it was where the syringe where.
The servant pulled out a small bottle inside her pocket. One that was highly similar to the first ones she took when she had a fever. Except it was color violet.
But she loved violet.
“That’s not going to hurt, right?” Sophie asked before she took a sit.
She positioned her arm in front of the servant, pulling the sleeve of her dress up to her shoulder to give the servant a better access. She looked away from it as soon as she saw the maid held the syringe.
The ones that Flora gave her didn’t hurt. However, she hated how sharp and long the needles was, so she always looked away. She was more at ease taking it that way.
“I…” The servant utter something. “T-this might hurt.”
“What? Why?” Sophie looked up to the servant. Her brows meeting. “Don’t inject it yet.”
Sophie raised her plan on the air to stop the servant. She had asked Flora about this before. Flora explained that according to her physician, syringe didn’t usually hurt healers. So, why was it going to hurt now?
What was this medicine for, anyway? She had one last talk with Axel before he left, but he didn’t even say anything.
“T-this is a different dose…” The servant’s hands trembled.
Sophie did not miss it. For a fraction of seconds, her eyes looked down on it before returning her eyes to her face. The servant looked a bit afraid. More than she was.
“Wait… Are you afraid of needles?” Sophie asked. “You’re shaking. Do you want to perhaps, make Flora do this? I won’t tell Axel.”
The servant was sweating. Her hand was shaking and it was visible. She looked in fret. It disrupted Sophie’s doubts and thoughts.
“N-no. The Alpha personally asked me this. B-besids, Flora has her own job…”
It didn’t sound very convincing. But Sophie wanted to be considerate. She thought she was probably afraid of the Alpha, and that she personally wanted to do this to impress him, so she let her be.
Slowly, Sophie turned to her head on the opposite side. She closed her eyes, and prepared herself for the needle. It took a while. But right after she felt the servant’s hand on her skin, holding it for support, she felt it pricked her.
Sophie winced. “That really hurts--”
The equipment fell from the floor. Sophie turned automatically, and saw the servant with a fearful look on her face. Sophie’s mouth hanged open. Her eyes went down to the floor, where the bottle, silver tray, syringe, and needle were scattered. It looked like an accident out of fear.
But at the same time, Sophie had a gut feeling like there was something more to it.
“A-are you okay?” Sophie tried to walked towards the servant, but she felt her arm sting.
Sophie’s steps halted. She held her right arm, carefully covering the part where it hurted. She wasn’t able to move for a second. But it didn’t stop there. She felt the pain elevating, from the higher part of her arm, to her chest. It was spreading and she knew it.
“W-what…” Sophie fell from her position. Flabbergasted with the sudden pain inside her body. It didn’t sink in to her right away.
“I… I’m sorry!”
The servant ran away, hurrying. Heartlessly leaving Sophie on the floor, weak and immobilized. Sophie later on lose control on her every veins. Until she can no longer move. She didn’t know what was happening. As she started to panic, Sophie felt a little dizzy.
Everything was too fast to even assessed it. But before she could even lose conscious, Sophie saw another built in front of the door.
Flora.
Sophie’s body dropped on the floor. Pale. Unconscious. It was only a matter of minutes, yet the poison had already showed its side effects. Pain. Numbness. Temporarily paralyzed. Flora watched it from the doorway, horrified, and ashamed.
There was no way to come clean now.
Rebecca saw through her. She knew she wanted to detached from her. Rebecca knew she was going to turn her back from her, so she made sure to involve her in this. Now, there would be someone who would take the fall for her.
She and the servant who just left hurrying.
Flora’s shoulders slumped down as she frighteningly stared at Sophie’s body. Her breathe started to ragged. It shattered her.
And if what Rebecca said was right…. Sophie will lose her child in the next five minutes.
- - - - -
“I knew it…”
By the time Rousel started attacking Hugo, Hugo had already found out what was happening. The Alpha’s decision to make him stay. The warning Teresa had told the Alpha. And Flora’s connection to Rebecca, as what Sophie told to Axel. It made sense.
And at some point, Hugo knew this would happen.
“You don’t think I’m actually going to let you go, don’t you?” Rousel gave him a mocking look. “Not when you now know what’s happening inside.”
Whatever Rebecca was aiming for, it will harm Sophie and the baby inside her womb.
Axel told him about it. What Rebecca had been doing, without Sophie and Edward’s awareness. Axel had already suspected Rebecca to be the enemy Teresa spoke about. He just didn’t have a proof. And when Sophie told Axel that Flora had been secretly meeting with Rebecca, his doubt became stronger.
Hence, Axel decided to leave Hugo behind.
But it wasn’t just him in the Palace.
There was no way the Alpha was going to leave the Kingdom unprotected, so he borrowed two hundred of Edward’s men to protect his Kingdom. He had foreseen this. Axel trusted him with this important job.
He was not about to fail his Alpha. He was not about to let anything happen to Sophie.
“What arrogance…” Hugo kept his face stoic, despite the insult he threw at Rousel. “So, this is how you’d retaliate after being… removed from your position. Quite lame for a revenge, eh?”
“You can say what you want, Hugo.” Rousel smirked, before drawing something from his back. “But there’s no stopping the plan.”
Hugo recognized it. Thus, he moved backward immediately to avoid the weapon Rousel was going to throw. He made sure to ran back as fast as he could, before transforming into his wolf form. But the same time he chose to transmute, the gas blocked his vision. He wasn’t able to see anything for a moment.
Though he had moved away, the weapon wasn’t what he expected it to be. It was too late for him to do anything, because just as he was trying to get his sight clear, he was attacked in front with speed and forced. His unready stance made it easy for Rousel to push him back.
It was an opening. Rousel transmuted right after, and get on top of Hugo. He showed his sharp canines, while his big claw were pressing hard into Hugo’s neck.
“You damn traitor…” Hugo resisted, but their position made it hard for him to push Rousel back. “If something is to happen to Sophie, you will goddamn pay.”
Rousel pressed his paw harder to his neck, leaning down. “I don’t care, Hugo. I have nothing to lose.”
“You don’t mind losing your family?”
“I trust Rebecca.”
“You’re not only a traitor, but also a fool. Did you really think Rebecca will help you? That cunning woman only care about herself. This insane plan of harming the Luna because of her insecurity is a proof of that.” Hugo continued to provoke Rousel. “She’s a narcissistic bitch who doesn’t care about anyone, Rousel. You’re nothing but a pawn to her.”
“Perhaps…” Rousel flashed his canines. “But you’d be dead to even know what will happen--”
Rousel did not finish his sentence. The moment he leaned down even more to show his sharp fang, Hugo bit of the skin of his neck, rendering him to move back in excruciating pain. Hugo quickly moved back, transforming back to human, to pick up the transmission that fell when he transformed. He hastily contacted Edward’s wolves. But before he could even utter a single sentence, he felt a sharp object on his back.