The Broken Crown

Silvercrest Ridge

I sit still, taking in the fresh morning breeze as a small weight has become lifted from my shoulders. Pulling my hair back, I stretch out my arms, gazing out upon the garden outside my window, the breeze blowing inside as the windows are peeled open. Telling myself I have no time to waste, I look back to the list of things to do today, the joy I had felt as I entered the room dropping. Emmitt will no doubt be the first alpha to come to me, to request a presence with me ever since the battle on Alpha Penelope's pack grounds. Yet I will have to tell him his matters will need to be settled with the council present.

Picking up my morning cup of coffee, the door to my office opens softly, Alpha Yusuf entering in hesitantly as I watch. Four days ago Alpha Penelope's pack was attacked and her men surrendered. I have watched Yusuf mourn the death of Penelope, as Penelope was a dear friend of Yusuf's. Yusuf was sent to Penelope's mansion to persuade her to surrender and emerge, yet Yusuf never returned from that mansion with Penelope... nor his true self. I know what Yusuf claimed to have seen in that house, that Penelope was already dead when he got there. I saw the scene he described as well, for Penelope lay beside her husband exactly as Yusuf had informed.

A piece of me believes Yusuf allowed Penelope to take the easy way out, to not face the consequences for her crimes, to not face justice, and to not face the faces of those she had betrayed. Something happened to Yusuf in that house and now he comes to me all these days later.

"To what do I owe this meeting, Alpha Yusuf?" I greet, instructing him to take a seat as I offer him a cup of coffee.

I watch the alpha glance around the room, as if he had not heard my words, lost in his own thoughts. Stuck in a trance like the days past, Yusuf simply walks to the bookshelf at the far end of the room, face pale as he cannot seem to craft his words.

"Alpha Yusuf, are you all right?"

"Queen Lucinda," Yusuf speaks, his voice soft as he glances to me. "Do you recall such a name."

"I am afraid not."

"Not many do. Not many history books mention such a queen. Nor did she have a long reign. She married into the nobility of the time and though she was a werewolf, she was taught the concepts of witchcraft." Where could he be going with this? "For seven years she sat beside her husband - though he would come to have countless public affairs as she could bare no children. It became rumored she could bare no children because she used witchcraft."

I sit attentive, curious as to where Yusuf could be taking this conversation. What could have happened to make Yusuf think of the topics of witchcraft? What could have happened with Penelope? Could Yusuf have spoken with Penelope in her final words to take Yusuf down a trail of witchcraft history within the werewolf world? It it not common for kings and queens of the past to call upon mages to help protect the kingdom in times of war. What did Penelope know that Yusuf did know?

What did Penelope know that she could have leveraged against him?

River.

"Witchcraft is not natural, Leala, and though we have grown accustomed to it over time, there are forms which still remain unnatural."

"What is bothering you, Yusuf?" I ask, keeping my voice level as I rise to my feet, trying to act like a shoulder for the alpha, trying to be someone he can trust here. "Please, let me help you."

"I am fighting for you, Leala. I am behind you, supporting you, and putting the life of my warriors and myself on the line to see you and your kin on the throne."

"I understand, Yusuf. I understand the sacrifices you and all the other alphas are making. I appreciate it...there is not a day that goes by in which I do not spare a moment to think of what your men are putting on the line. But please, Yusuf, please do not hesitate to be transparent with me."