Staring with her eyes wide open, Gabriel saw the royal guests who had barged inside were no one other than their mighty Alpha and Luna of the kingdom, King Aldrick, and his Queen Lorelia.
The mighty golden crown on top of King Aldrick’s head shimmered a dazzling radiance under the sunlight that drifted inside the hall through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, along with his sturdy, giant build that gave him a compact appearance. Whereas, compared to her age, Queen Lorelia looked glorious and beautiful in a blue lavish silk gown, with her wavy brown hairs curling down her waist and pearl white skin glowing under the sun.
Both of them imprinted serious expressions on their faces as they marched steadily inside towards the center of the room where Master Luther’s coffin was placed. Even though they didn’t have any trace of a smile, Gabriel didn’t fail to observe the vague dark gaze in Queen Lorelia’s rolled eyes, which was solely focused on her.
Just behind them, Prime Minister Aiden and his daughter Lilith also gallantly walked inside. Next to them, the Commander of Knights, Chief Orlando also strode inside flaunting his royal knight cape as every one of them maintained their steady posture. Just by having a glance at Lilith, Gabriel’s face turned sour again but she stayed still, suppressing her bitter emotions deep inside.
Just when King Aldrick reached close to Zordan, he cordially bowed his head before him and mumbled in a solemn tone, “Accept my greetings, Father. I was waiting for your arrival.”
“I apologize for coming in a bit late but there’s no way I would miss Luther’s funeral.” Aldrick’s deep voice grew a bit heavy as he glanced at Luther’s lifeless body with his sad gaze. A heavy sigh escaped from him as he walked a step closer to the bier, “I can’t believe this, how could such a grave tragedy happen to us? Luther was like my own family since I had ascended the throne… I can’t believe that I have lost him forever…”
Hearing his heartfelt remark, Gabriel couldn’t contain her agony anymore as tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. As Aldrick noticed her sobbing beside the coffin, he walked a step close to her and patted her head with his broad palm, “I am sorry, dear Gabriel. I had regarded you as my own daughter since the beginning and I am terribly sorry for your loss.
But as the Alpha of Shadow Pack, I promise you that I will find out the whereabouts of that bloody assassin!”
His sincere consolation made her sob harder with utmost despair. Unknowingly her heart reminded once again of the painful face Luther made after being stabbed in his chest.
Filled with helplessness and remorse, she clenched her fist as she mumbled in her mind, ‘I wish…I really wish I could tell you the entire truth that the bloody assassin was no one other than Crown Prince Zordan himself! I really wish to disclose everything that…but…I am so darn helpless! And without a proof, it’s certain that no one would ever believe me…’
Lorelia quietly observed the scene for a brief moment and shot a cold glance at her sobbing face. Slowly, she walked closer up to her but as soon as she laid her gaze over Zordan, he put a stiff look on his face and a small bow, “Accept my greetings you too, Your Highness. Thank you for making your time here.”
“Prince Zordan, I know you are always a bit cold towards me, but it makes me a little sad when you never call me ‘Mother’. Didn’t I have always equally treated you as my own child?” She tossed a small vague smile towards him, as her eyes glowed with a mystic vibe in them.
Keeping that aloof reaction prominent on his stern face, Zordan exhaled a small sigh and mumbled in a low pitch, “I do not think this is the suitable time to talk about such things, Your Highness. Right now, we should all give Master Luther a proper farewell.”
His resolute answer flinched Gabriel a little as with every passing moment, she was getting disgusted with his fake devotion towards her father. The anger was growing inside her terribly even though she was threatened to the extreme limit of keeping silent.
But Lorelia was smart enough to notice her fierce glares towards Zordan. She quietly marched forward towards Gabriel and tapped her shoulder, putting up a sorrowful expression. “Oh dear, I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you to bear the tragedy of your father’s death. Even though he was suffering from a terminal illness, I had hoped he had a fair amount of time left.”
Gabriel lowered her eyes down from her vague gaze and silently nodded her head as tears rolled down. But before she could give an answer, Lorelia continued further, “Only if you had been a good obedient daughter all this time and didn’t call off your engagement with my Marcus, perhaps you could have made your father happier.
Not only you acted stubborn and ran away from the castle, but…you were always stubborn since the beginning. I guess, now, you must be filled with a lot of regrets.”
Her unexpected response hinted a taunt that she was willingly giving to Gabriel that flinched every royal member present there. Zordan frowned his brows with a disappointed look at Lorelia, whereas Gabriel stayed silent, keeping her head down.
It’s been 6 months since she returned back to the castle and somehow, she had made herself accustomed to bearing such crude taunts from the Queen for defying her command earlier but she had hoped that this time, she will have a little courtesy to not drag that topic at this sad moment. But once again, she was proved wrong.
Even though everyone looked a little startled, Lilith kept her eyes only focused on Zordan as she could observe his tormented reaction from watching Gabriel being put in a difficult state.
“Lorelia, I don’t think this isn’t a suitable time to talk about the past. Give her some time at this moment.” Aldrick tried to defend Gabriel but he could also notice the grave sadness on her face, facing her bitter taunt at this hard moment.
“But’s all true.” Without any care, Lorelia shrugged her shoulder, holding a proud smirk on her face. “If Marcus hadn’t been training outside with the knight squad, he would have been heartbroken with this news too. We had all regarded Gabriel as a member of our family, even her father wished for that too. But, if she hadn’t been so stubborn, it wouldn’t be so late today—”
“It is still not too late, because her father’s last wish can be still fulfilled!”
All of a sudden, Zordan’s loud domineering retort paused her sentence, flinching everyone gathered in the hall. Gabriel also winced a bit hard as she lifted up her face and gazed at him skeptically in awe.
But before anyone could utter a word, Zordan peeked a glance at everyone in the room and cleared his throat before he met Lorelia’s awestruck eyes, “Pardon my intrusion, Your Highness. But I have an important announcement to make.”
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