Chapter 149
"There is news?" Abby didn't realize she was holding her breath as she looked at the royal beta, who had this indescribable expression on his face. "This... Abby..." The man looked perplexed to continue his words.
But she didn't have the patience to notice it. "Give it to me."
Alan had indeed rushed here as soon as he received the missive, but he also skimmed through it while he was on his way to this strategy room, which made him hesitate now.
Before he could think as to how to convey the information to her, though, the queen chose to snatch the piece of paper from his hands and skimmed through it in quick succession. He immediately saw how her legs gave away, as she almost collapsed where she was, if it was not for his quick reflexes.
"It can't be!" Abby's voice was no more than a whisper, as Alan helped her to the couch behind him. "NO! This is not true."
Abby broke down, unable to process the words, while Alan didn't know how to console the woman who was now crying a river at the loss she suffered.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
And loss would be an understatement, because on the paper, it read her Micah was no more. Her baby's father had died during the battle with those pests.
"There must be a mistake, Alan!" Abby couldn't digest the news. "Yes, there must be a mistake!"
Her mate was the king of the werewolves, how could a bunch of rogues kill him? But why didn't Alan look like he thought so? Was he inclining toward the words written on this paper?
"Why are you looking like that? Didn't they write that they couldn't find his body?" Abby was almost hysterical now.
The tracker only mentioned Micah was likely to be dead because they couldn't find his body, while no one was able to mindlink him anymore. But them not being unable to trace a person didn't mean he no longer existed, right?
There could be many reasons for the mind link to fail, dying couldn't necessarily be the only reason. He could've gone missing like the last time. There was still hope for her to hang onto, so that was what she was going to do! How could she give up on Micah without even knowing what happened to him, just based on this single missive?
"Dax is on his way here with Mirella, they would know something about him. I won't believe it until I see his body." Abby was now mumbling to herself, crushing the paper unconsciously while tears kept flowing past her cheeks.
On the other hand, Alan could see this was utterly devastating for her, but the tracker clearly mentioned Dax and Mirella returning to the pack with the bodies of Alpha Samuel and Alpha James, who died on the battlefield.
There was no way the royal gamma leave his king behind if he thought there was any hope for Micah. Dax not writing anything to him only solidified the possibility of the tracker's words being true.
Even though he found it hard to accept and wanted for this to be all a false alarm, Alan couldn't really lose his grip over reality, now of all times. And as the queen carrying King Micah's only heir, Abby too had certain responsibilities to fulfill at a time like this.
Responsibilities like arranging a funeral for the people who lost lives in that forest fighting the rogues.
However, Abby didn't look like she could handle it all, if anything, she looked like she was going to spiral even more out of control and it would only make things worse if she really lost it.
Because Abby wasn't just responsible for herself and this kingdom anymore, but also the wolf prince growing in her stomach.
"Get a grip over yourself, Abby!" The royal beta pleaded with the girl, who was now shaking in disbelief as she read the letter again and again, as if by doing so, the matter there would somehow change from the cold truth inked onto it.
But the girl couldn't hear him at all, and soon, she fainted from the utter shock that hit her the moment she read this mind-numbing news and tapped into the anxiety that had been mangling her body for months.
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By the time Abby came to herself again, it was already well past midnight, but not a single person could sleep peacefully when the news of Micah's death spread far and wide in the entire kingdom.
People mourned the death of their king, as they cried for every brave warrior that couldn't make it back alive this time, while the funeral for the two Alphas became another heart wrenching blow for their respective packs.
However, Abby didn't shed another tear after waking up, as she continued to run the court as usual, refusing every request about holding Micah's funeral no matter who brought it up.
Meanwhile, having lost their lives along with the king, it was decided the funeral for Alpha Samuel and Alpha James would be held following the royal protocol, to which Abby didn't have an objection in any form.
Her only problem was when someone mentioned Micah's death, a thought she didn't entertain even for a second.
She didn't even come out of her bedroom, making Deion deal with everyone for her. This only made people feel even more sad for her, because they all felt she was in denial.
Even though there was nothing she or anyone could do about this, their queen held onto the tiny hope that they couldn't find Micah's body no matter how hard they searched.
Abby had only one sentence for even the royal councilors. "I won't believe anyone until I see Micah's body for myself."
And this incurred Arthur's wrath, who couldn't hold back his anger any more as he stormed to the king's quarters a couple of days after the news hit the palace.
Abby could only meet him, because no matter what, he was the former king and Micah's father.
"Even after what happened, you are still not satisfied?" Arthur criticized her the moment she greeted him.
When Abby remained silent, it only served to fuel his anger further. "Why are you not saying anything? Feeling wronged? But you don't have that right, do you?"
Arthur had a lot of pent up anger that had been boiling his veins for months, and once it found a perfect reason to be unleashed, he couldn't rein it back no matter what.
"You don't even deserve to sit on that throne, you bad luck bringer!" The man was shaking now, implying with every word of his that Micah died because of her.
However, before Abby could defend herself, they were both startled by a shrill scream, as Neesha rushed toward Abby and slapped her hard. If not for her personal maid servant, standing behind Abby and breaking her fall, Abby would have fallen on her stomach from the impact.
"Former Queen Neesha! How can..."
Alan, who had been silent when Arthur ran his mouth, couldn't stay calm seeing Neesha losing control and harming Abby and her baby.
However, Neesha wasn't paying attention to anyone but Abby right now, as she chose to shake her son's mate, demanding answers.
"How did my son end up with a monster like you as his mate? You ungrateful wretch!! You won't even mourn his death?! What right do you have to refuse to hold a funeral for him? You don't even respect death?"
The more she talked, the more agitated she became, as if she was going to strike Abby again, but before she could raise her hand a second time, Arthur quickly held her back because he could see the royal beta mind linking the guards.
Even though he was the former king and Neesha was his mate, Abby was now pregnant with Micah's child, so Alan and the others would be more inclined toward keeping their queen safe.
Which meant they wouldn't hesitate to fight Neesha and Arthur if it compromised Abby's safety, while he couldn't bear such humiliation.
"Calm down, Neesha!" Arthur whispered in her ear. He shouldn't have brought Neesha with him, knowing how unstable she could get at times.
But Micah was their son. He and Neesha had the right to question the disrespect he was subjected to by his own mate by not agreeing to arrange a funeral for him.
"How can I calm down?!" Neesha
was hysterical now. "She only
brought heartache for him when he
l.n
was alive, even after dying, he couldn't leave in peace. Isn't it all because of her? Why couldn't she just agree..."
Neesha almost felt out of breath, firing out accusations at Abby, when a cold voice prated her craze filled haze. "Why will I agree to something like that?"
"What did you say?" Arthur and Neesha couldn't believe their ears, as they noticed at the cold gaze Abby directed at them. "How dare you..."
"Why wouldn't dare?" Abby refuted,
hugging her protruding belly with one hand while letting Alyssa support her, holding her other hand.
"How can I let him go just like that? Without even seeing it with my own eyes, I have to give up on him?"
Her cheek slapped by Neesha turned bright red with an obvious hand print, but the redness in her eyes dominated the freshly forming bruise.
"I don't believe he will leave me and our unborn child just like that. Unless I see his cold dead body, I refuse to believe it." Abby repeated the same thing for the umpteenth time, leaving no room for negotiation.
*****Read my new story: Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Lycan King*****