Malika (#Short, Incomplete)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The morning was quiet, not much laughter ringing through the air, the events of the night prior still dwelling on them all. It was a bright day, casted in white light. Soft, small snowflakes fell from the sky, building on the snow that had already fallen. The air was brittle to the touch, but the winds were quiet today, enough chaos having been caused. It was the silence before the storm.

The small blonde haired girl giggles to herself as she runs ahead, catching snowflakes in her hands, singing words to herself. She bore a thick, beige coat made from the finest furs, tightly wound against her, with a woollen pink hat and matching gloves.

"Be careful Rhea," her mothers voice is low, but the tone holds a clear warning.

The pup had begun to run over the icy surface of the shovelled path, in turn increasing the risk of her falling and breaking a bone. Granted she'd heal relatively quickly, but it would be a painful experience. The pup stops running when heeding her mother's words, instead impatiently waiting.

Akila is accompanied by Ezekiel, the pair of them trudging through the lands, past the palace grounds, on a trail leading them south.

They had eaten breakfast not long ago, the three of them alone, indulging in some pancakes and fruit. Neither Roman or Adir had shown to breakfast, suggesting both the King and the General had already started their day engulfed in work, no doubt prioritising the attack on the wolves. Even as Akila and Ezekiel walked, they'd already begun in bringing the first set of wolves in to question.

The beta and gamma were on their way to meet the family in mourning, in order to pay their respects and compensate for their loss. Ezekiel felt some responsibility due to the wolf"s death, so felt an obligation to go there specially.

They misjudged how long the walk was there, and though she doesn't complain, Ezekiel can tell Akila is struggling, which is fair, considering she's not only dealing with a very hyperactive four year old, but also the fact that she's heavily pregnant. The beta can't help but grin slyly at her waddle.

"You don"t have to come with me," it"s a low mutter, pausing in their walk. Gentle snow falls upon them. Akila frowns, mouth ready to protest. The beta rolls his eyes.

"This one is practically falling out of you and I have no intention in bearing witness to your delivery of your second pup on this very path," his hand curving her pregnant stomach, brow arched.

Akila scowls, and the male cant help but grin, eyes becoming teasing.

"Take it easy ma, I'll take the little one and we'll head out. Get back safe," pressing a kiss to her cheek, disregarding her objections and picking Rhea up in one swoop, placing her on his shoulders.

The visit doesn't take long, just under an hour. Rhea stays outside in the front garden the entire time, attempting and failing to build a snowman, with Ezekiel keeping a close eye on her. As he suspected, the family wasn't doing so great. A lot of tears are still shed, with tissues everywhere.

He was surprised with how they treated him, harbouring no hostility or anger, which eases his conscious. The mother of the juvenile shared a hug with him, long and hard, desperate for the guidance and support of the beta in this pack.

It touched the family that the beta took the effort and the time out of his day to come visit and pay his regards. They were in mourning, a pain that would never entirely cease. Heartbreak and loss was never easy to deal with, and time doesn't necessarily heal this wound, instead just muting it. Ezekiel promises them that he would get justice for this, making a silent note to himself to ensure that this family were taken care of in the mean time.

He'd already arranged for someone to bring them produce, food and other necessities for the next few weeks, hoping to ease their discomfort during this hard time.

The beta had gone about the rest of his morning then, dropping little Rhea home to her mother, and heading to a Packhouse east of the palace, where he was due to meet with a local healthcare representative, to check on a new outpatient facility they had built, ensuring it meets their standards as a pack.

He then had left to go oversee a training session for the juvenile females, giving the female in charge constructive criticism in how she could improve their sessions, but overall was pleased with their progress.

His return to the palace leads him to the King's office, who had summoned him not too long ago.

The King, Adir, had purposely left Ezekiel out of the wolf interrogations they'd commenced for this part of the morning, especially after the words he shared with the gamma regarding the male. But the beta had time to himself, and now was needed for counsel.

The male shoves his hands into the pockets of his oversized black hoodie, planting himself into one of the cushioned seats at the other end of the desk, eyes narrowed into the King who was currently busy filing a few documents away. Nothing is said, no greetings are shared.

The only noise in this moment is when the door of the office opens, a handmaiden scuttling in with a tray holding some coffee and scones. Ezekiel grins, thanking her in the process and pouring some sugar and milk into his cup. He grimaces, watching Adir take it as it is, with no sugar or milk.

"I take it the interrogations aren't going well?" the beta is first to speak, eyes analysing the King's frustration across his features. That tied in with the lack of words, it was easy to place the issue.

Adir sighs, sitting back in his chair, another sip of his bitter coffee taken.

Ezekiel purses his lips, picking up a scone between his fingers.

"How many people are you looking into? And between what age ranges?" the wolf feels strange that they've begun turning on their own, looking at their pack as the enemy. But he doesn't want to rule out the possibly, and neither does Adir.

"We're looking at anyone above the age of thirteen, male and female. So far, we've only looked into all individuals affiliated with the victims. Autopsies are impossible considering it's the Moon's orders for cremation to be done as quickly as possible. I was thinking about perhaps garnering some of our witches and having them see if they can find anything around the locations where the death's occurred. Perhaps they can find an energy trail or something of the sorts" sliding out a map from a file onto the table. All the deaths happened in one particular northern woods, and judging by the crosses on the paper, all within a close radius to one another.

Ezekiel's lips curl, shoving a scone into his mouth. Adir sighs, raking a hand through tousled brown hair.

"As you've guessed, we've got nothing. No leads, no suspicions, no potential motives," the beta's brows raise.

"What motives would there be? Are you listening to yourself? We're interrogating our own people. The people who we've pledged to protect," he murmurs.

Both him and the King had only recently taken on their roles, when Adir's parents had passed on their immortality. All those born in royal lineages would be immortal until they passed the position on. It was a strange concept to think that if Adir didn't bear a heir, that he could live centuries after Ezekiel's death. Some Kings were eons old for that very reason, never having found a half or choosing not to give up immortality by not having offspring.

The concept of looking into their pack first, whilst might seem logical, didn't sit well with either wolf. Wolves were fiercely loyal to one another, the only species present on earth that mated for life, that had strong family bonds that persevered. The mere thought of a wolf killing another is unfathomable. But not impossible, so they shift their uneasiness to the side and launch into it.

Their conversation begins with the sorts of questions asked during the interrogation, using names, dates and then even furthering it by asking for individuals to submit more than one witness, or perhaps anything that would demonstrate they were elsewhere at the time. This was easier to find with some of more recent deaths. They were then questioned on the nature of the relationship they had with the victim, to look for potential motives, whether they were blood or merely acquainted. Once retrieving with the answers, they'd be let go.

Everyone provided safe alibis so far, and no one had even made it to the "somewhat suspicious" list.

They hadn't gone through all the relevant members of the Kingdom, only the close individuals of all seven victims being looked into so far. But even so, the King has a gut feeling this investigation wasn't go to go far. His wolf was antsy with frustration.

"What if it isn't to do with anyone in the Kingdom? What if this extends far beyond our own?" Ezekiel murmurs, hands wrapped around the hot cup of coffee. Adir sighs, leaning far back in his seat.

"You're suggesting it's another Kingdom," he states, exhaling a breath of air. The thought had also crossed Adir's mind, but like suggesting it was his own people, it also seemed absurd.

"It wouldn't make sense Zeke. I mean, all Kingdoms of the Upper Realm have lived under a peace treaty for the last centuries, ever since the Twelve were hunted. Who would dare break that knowing what could happen?" Adir paints his thoughts out. Ezekiel's brows furrow in thought.

"Who would kill one of their own? Suggesting it's within the Kingdom is if not more absurd than suggesting it's someone outside of the Kingdom," the beta points out, truthfully. Adir sips more of his coffee, massaging the nape of his neck.

"Going against the code of peace insinuates a war Zeke, there's good reason to why I don't want that to be the case," the room feels heavy with the both of them present, deep in thought, frustrated.

Ezekiel scoffs when a thought comes to him.

"And of the Lower Realm Kingdoms? We don't harbour peace with them," he points out, green eyes gleaming. Adir shakes his head immediately, rebutting the idea altogether.

When the word was created by the Moon, she had split it into two realms that paralleled each other, each with 6 Kingdoms of their own. They were parallel in terms of environment and even in the species present. Instead of werewolves, the lower realm had hellhounds, instead of witches they had the fallen, instead of humans they had ghouls etc.

Species could cross between realms – Ezekiel had only ever done it once, when accompanying the former King to a dinner with the hellhounds - but when you crossed realms you gave up all supernatural abillity. When you crossed realms you no longer harnessed any mystical powers in that realm. You were essentially only a mere human, which put you at a serious disadvantage to those that were native there.

It's why species rarely crossed realms, and is why there was such a distinction between the Upper and Lower Realm. They were like two separate worlds altogether, only ever coming together for trade deals - mainly for exotic plant species that witches would need for spells.

So, it wouldn't make any sense for these attacks to be from the Lower Realm Kingdom, because they couldn't do anything with their abilities here, and the wolves would be immensely stronger, strong enough to at least overpower them. Even a lower realm King could not rally enough power to conduct such a thing.

Silence sits between them for a few moments.

Ezekiel sighs, rubbing his temple.

"We can't rule out everyone Adir. I don't like it, but we can't rule out the wolves because their our own people. We can't rule out the other Upper Realm Kingdoms either, regardless of the peace treaty. I guess we can rule out the Lower Realm Kingdom for now – for it to be one of them is highly unlikely, for reasons we already know," he surmises. Adir's eyes narrow.

"This is true, but I just don't see the motive or the reasoning behind it. We've been nothing but good to these people, and have been allies to the Kingdoms. If it isn't a member in our Kingdom-," he trails , not wanting to even contemplate how ugly it could be.

They had maintained peace for eons with the other Kingdoms, just as the ancestors had wanted after the Hunt of the Twelve.

Now something was potentially usurping that.

"I think we should ask one of the witches residing here to try and locate an energy source, at least before we conduct anymore interrogations on our wolves – which have already proven to be a waste of time. Let's hopefully get a lead rather than randomly pointing fingers. We'll proceed with matters from then on with whoever it regards, whether it be one of ours or another Kingdom," Ezekiel utters, and the King agrees.

"We can use Faiza," he suggests the name of a witch living in their vicinity.

The betas lips curl, because if his memory played correct, that was the name of the witch Adir beds from time to time. The male doesn't meet Ezekiel in the eye.

Ezekiel says nothing, stifling his smirk.

"Alright, you talk to Faiza. I can assist her later on tonight, during my patrol before dinner. I have a meeting with Roman after lunch," and both males agree on the plan, before the beta takes his leave.