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The Alpha Queen Returns – Episode 04
The decorative vase never struck Caroline. A servant caught Reva’s arm before she could swing, but the commotion drew footsteps from every corridor of the Russo mansion. Within minutes, family members and pack servants crowded the hall while Caroline stood alone beside the overturned bucket.
Melissa Russo swept into the room, silk skirts whispering over stone. Her gaze went straight to the blood on her daughter’s forehead. “What happened?” she demanded, already searching for someone to blame.
Reva flung herself into her mother’s arms. “Caroline attacked me.” She pointed across the hall with a trembling hand, transforming fury into tears so quickly that Caroline could only stare. “She pushed me down and tried to hurt me again.”
“No, I didn’t.” Caroline’s denial sounded painfully small against the family’s outrage. “She tripped on the rug. I tried to help her.”
Before she could say more, fingers clamped around her shoulder. Rex Russo towered over her, broad and furious, his wolf pressing against the edges of his skin. The force of his aura crushed the air from Caroline’s lungs and made her knees buckle.
“How dare you hurt my sister?” His grip tightened until pain shot down her arm. “We feed you, shelter you, and allow you to live among our pack. This is how you repay us, you ungrateful bitch?”
Rex shoved her backward. Caroline caught herself against the wall and searched the room for a witness willing to speak. The servants had seen Reva fall, yet every face remained carefully blank. No one cared about the truth. In the Russo house, truth belonged to whoever held the most power.
Miles away, Jessica stood at her clinic counter sorting fresh herbs into labeled jars. The work usually calmed her, but Sarabeth’s map kept invading her thoughts. She had just crushed a sprig of sage between her fingers when the communication crystal chimed sharply.
Melissa’s face appeared above it in pale blue light. “Jessica, your daughter attacked Reva.” Her voice carried the breathless urgency of a disaster. “Reva is injured. You need to come to the estate immediately.”
The projection vanished before Jessica could ask a question. She stared at the empty air, her heart beating too hard. Caroline disliked arguments and apologized when other children bumped into her. Nothing about the accusation made sense.
Jessica abandoned the herbs where they lay. She snatched her cloak from its peg and hurried into the rain, telling herself not to imagine the worst. Caroline might be frightened or hurt; every moment spent wondering was a moment her child faced alone.
At the military residence, Sarabeth regarded a gold-edged invitation as if it were a declaration of war. “Please tell me there’s a border emergency important enough to excuse this.”
The soldier who had delivered it hid a smile. “None that will satisfy Ambassador Ansel. He is hosting a welcome banquet in your honor this afternoon, General. The entire regional council has accepted.”
Sarabeth groaned and let the card fall onto her desk. She preferred battlefields to banquet halls; an enemy with a blade was at least honest about wanting something. Then Ansel’s name stirred a memory, and her irritation sharpened into interest.
“He recommended the Russo family as guardians for Princess Caroline, didn’t he?” she asked. The soldier confirmed it with a nod. “And Rex Russo serves under Ansel’s authority?”
“Yes, General. Rex is one of his senior security officers.”
Sarabeth leaned back, connecting the threads. If the Russos had harmed Caroline, Ansel could not dismiss their behavior as a private family matter. A dangerous smile touched her mouth. “In that case, perhaps his party won’t be entirely useless.”
The door opened before she could issue another order. Mina entered at a brisk pace, rain darkening her uniform and anger burning beneath her controlled expression. “General, I found the princess.” She placed a recording crystal on the desk. “You need to see how the Russos are treating her.”
Light unfolded across the room. Sarabeth watched Caroline kneel beside filthy water while Reva called her a bastard and a slave. She watched the child scrub with raw hands, endure threats against Jessica, and finally rise to defend her mother’s honor.
No one spoke as Reva tripped and blamed Caroline. The recording preserved what the servants would not admit: Caroline never touched her. When Reva lifted the vase and threatened to kill her, Mina’s fingers curled into fists all over again.
