The Royal Triumvirate

Chapter Thirty-Six: Reina

Upon arriving back at the mansion, the three mates were immediately directed to Queen Maria's office. In the office the three queens were waiting while talking to a large bearded man.

"Ah, hello girls," Maria greeted as they entered. "Reina, do you remember, Mr. Ghalib Saab?"

"Yes. It's nice to meet you again Mr. Saab," Reina said smiling then turned to her mates. "Mr. Saab is the head of Hunter's Guild...the legitimate Hunter's Guild that is." Turning back to the man she introduced her mates. Dana greeted him with a warm smile. Meanwhile, Alex nodded in acknowledgment then sat on the arm rest of a small black loveseat nestled between two bookshelves.

"It nice you to meet you. I'm here because of the Templar Hunters that attacked you. I'd like to interrogate them."

Queen Maria's eyes widen slightly but Reina spoke first. "I'm sorry, Mr. Saab there must have been a misunderstanding. I'm afraid the Templar Hunter and his apprentice are both dead."

Saab raised an eyebrow, "Oh! I'm sorry. I must have been misinformed. I know they have been recruiting rogue wolves. Was there one with them?"

"Yes," Alex spoke up. "He's still alive. The Templar Hunters coerced him to work with them."

"May I please speak with him? I just wish to get his statement."

"Of course," Tomi who had been standing next her mate silently so far spoke up. "He is currently finishing his statement to my second, Curtis Storm. They'll be in here in a minute."

Mr. Saab nodded politely then turned to Alex. "Forgive me for being forward Princess Alex. But from what I've heard you were also a rogue wolf. Out of curiosity has anyone tried to recruit you for the Templar Hunters?"

Alex shrugged, "once or twice. I always said no."

"Why?" Saab said interested. Alex sighed and tapped her scar.

"Let's just say I wasn't interested, and they had nothing that could persuade me otherwise."

Saab frowned, "come to think about it. Have we met before?"

Alex chuckled softly before speaking, "Akira Sensei."

Saab eyes widened slightly. "Oh! You're his student! When his daughter when missing you rescued her. Rumor has it he gave you a dragon blade. Is that true?"

Alex just shrugged nonchalantly. Reina couldn't help but feel a strong surge of pride in her mate. Saab looked as if he were going to continue his questioning but before he could speak again, there was soft knock on the door. Maria called for them to enter. To Reina's shock, Alex jumped to her feet when her mama's second Curtis entered the room.

"You!" Alex snarled. Reina could see that she was holding the small black rectangle that held her weapon. Then Alex blinked in confusion, her expression softening. She slowly sat back down. "Sorry," she said softly. "You looked like someone I...you just look like someone." Curtis frowned at Alex; he's been Tomi's second for as long as Reina could remember. He was like an uncle to Reina.

"Well I guess I just have one of those faces," he turned to the queens and Saab. "I finished taking the statement of the rogue wolf and have begun making the necessary arrangements for him and his mate to move to a safe location."

"Excellent," Tomi nodded. Glancing concernedly at Alex out of the corner of her eye but Alex's face was blank and stoic. With a gentle sigh Tomi continued, "Mr. Saab would like to speak to Gabriel as well."

"Girls, you can go now. Go ahead and continue enjoying your first day as fully fledged mates," Maria said smiling. Reina and Dana both bowed to the queens while Alex just nodded. Allowing her mates to exit before her, Reina paused to shut the door to her mother's office. As she did, she heard this small exchange.

"Curtis, why do you think Alex thought you looked familiar? Could it be that..." Tomi started but Curtis spoke up quickly.

"No. My brother is dead. I saw him die before my eyes. Like I said I just have one of those faces."

The door clicked shut and Reina frowned in concern. She glanced at her mates who were already halfway down the hall.

"Why were you so scared and angry when you saw Curtis?" Reina murmured softly to herself as she moved to catch up with her mates.

Halfway to their room, Dana suddenly declared that she was going to get snacks for them to eat and bolted toward the kitchens. Alex watched her go before glancing at Reina out of the corner of her eye.

"Should we go help her?"

Before Reina could answer, Dana spoke through the mate link, "you guys go ahead and head to the room. I'll be there in a minute."

Looking at each other Alex and Reina just shrugged and headed to the bedroom. Upon entering, Reina decided that she wanted to change into more comfortable lounging type clothes, so she disappeared into the closet. When she exited in an oversized t-shirt and yoga pants, she was surprised to find that Alex wasn't in the room. A cool breeze wafted through the slightly open doors leading to the balcony. Reina moved to them and saw Alex leaning against the railing on the balcony and was staring out across the forest. She was idly fidgeting with the black rectangle that concealed her weapon.

"You okay?" Reina asked softly, moving to stand next to her mate and placed a gentle hand on her mate's back. Alex sighed softly and put the rectangular block away.

"Yeah," she breathed while rubbing the inside of her right palm with her left thumb. Despite being desperately curious about Alex's freak out at the sight of Curtis, Reina decided not to push her mate about that.

"What was Saab talking about when he said that you rescued a dragon's daughter?"

Alex chuckled softly, still rubbing her thumb along the inside of her palm. "A dragon by the name of Shōto Akira agreed to train me when I was 13ish years old. One day after I've been training with him for a year or so, some vampires kidnapped his young daughter. They apparently thought if they drank the blood of virgin dragon shifter, they would get some kind of special power or something," Alex said waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I managed to find Masako, Akira's daughter, and rescued her." Alex sighed sadly staring down at her hands. "That was the first time I ever killed someone."

Reina leaned her forearms on the balcony railing before speaking, "I've never killed anyone. Hell, I've never been in a legitimate fight. Just practice duels. I don't know if I could ever take a life."

"Today makes five for me," Alex said softly. "It's not an easy feat. You'll never know if you're capable of it until you're placed into that situation. Just never take it lightly. You're ending the existence of another living being. That takes...a lot. I've never killed anyone out of pure rage or malice. And I hope I never do."

Reina gave her mate a sad smile and rubbed her back reassuringly. Together they watched the wind dance through the green foliage of the trees. Hesitating slightly, Reina broke the silence.

"Alex, about Curtis?" However, before Reina could finish her thought, Dana called from inside the room.

"Come on you two! I brought snacks! Let's watch some Avatar!"

"Later," Alex murmured softly before going to her other mate. Reina paused for another moment to stare across the treetops as if hoping for some kind of an answer in the breeze.

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