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"No one can leave the palace! This is for your safety!" Beta Adar announced to the guests what King Bowen has commanded.

"What if the palace is the next target of bombing?" An angry and frightened luna asked.

"The luna queen herself is in the palace. Do you think the king will just leave his mate if the security here is compromised? He made sure of your safety as well. We are holding you only for a few minutes. You can leave once it is established safe." Beta Adar assured.

Twenty minutes had passed and the anxious guests finally saw Beta Adar coming back to address them.

"Dear guests! King Bowen extends his gratitude for attending the ceremony tonight as well as his apologies for the delay and scare.

The matter has been handled. You may now leave the hall in an orderly fashion.

All guests will exit the main door only.

Side doors have been sealed and guards were positioned to man these restricted exits.

Thank you and good night." He bade. Again, security team wants the CCTV to record the faces of all the attendees.

Sara entered the throne room. "Beta Adar, the guards gave us the go signal that it is safe now. But, where is the king?"

"He and Alpha Davos are interrogating the werewolves caught in the bomb site." He informed.

"What did they blow up? Were there casualties?" Sara threw in more questions.

"The culprits blew up the lenkacea flowers storage facility. No casualties, my queen." Beta Adar replied.

Sara sighed in relief but worried about the destroyed flowers. "Oh, but the precious flowers!"

"My queen, the king wishes you to rest now. It's an order, he said. Isolde and Luna Trin's entourage are staying for the night. Your grandfather is safely back in his room as well." Beta Adar said.

Sara complied but sleep eluded her. She wanted to see how Bowen is. However, fatigue settled and she stopped fighting her sleepiness. She slept with her arms embracing her belly.

Sara slept lightly that when the bed dipped at the other side she knew Bowen has returned.

"Are you alright?" She queried.

"Yes. But, I am beat. Come closer and hold me as I sleep, my love." Bowen coaxed.

Sara moved to embrace Bowen. "I need to tell you something. It can wait, though, so sleep well. I love you."

Bowen smiled and kissed her passionately.

Despite the eventful night, everyone in the palace coincidentally woke up early in the morning. It was like no one wants to let their guards down, not after the bombing incident.

Bowen and Sara shared a quiet breakfast with family and friends. Bowen then called for a meeting for some new information.

At the conference room, Sara let Trin tell the king what she said to her and Isolde last night. The king found the information useful and ordered the security team to ready the footages.

"Alpha Davos will brief you about the bombing last night." The king let Davos take the floor.

"The coronation night held double purpose.

It was also used as a bait. True enough, the culprits attempted something.

However, the king is two steps ahead of them.

The storage house they blew up was a decoy.

The lenkacea flowers are safe in hidden places.

We caught two male werewolves and after the interrogation, it was found out that the elder witch made them do it.

Their family members were held hostages by the witch and so they were forced to do his dirty job.

The culprits did give some valuable information which we are already looking into.

They will still serve jail time and community services.

Efforts to save the hostages are in effect. " Alpha Davos narrated.

After that, they moved to the CCTV room. Everyone was employed to watch out for odd movements, questionable personalities, and familiar faces. Trin and Isolde were asked if they recognized some faces.

"There!" Trin shouted! "That's her! I can't believe she travelled all this way to get here. Queen Sara, that's the witch who came with my godmother." Trin burst.

King Bowen stood to get a closer look. "Print the picture of her face. Isolde, is she familiar to you?"

"No, my king. I do not know her." Isolde responded.

"I know her. I think." It was Alpha Edu who asserted himself. "She frequents my pack to chance upon buying the herb called belladonna. I remember because she got into a heated argument with my pack member when my member said the belladonna herbs were already sold out."

Trin pat the back of her mate and smiled at him lovingly as if saying well done.

Beta Adar joined in. "If she got irate for not having the herbs, that means the herbs are important to her. Belladonna is rare and only few packs sell them. Find the sellers of the herb and wait till the witch comes for her precious herbs!" He excitedly suggested.

"Right! That was brilliant!" Sara praised.

"If I may be bold. I wish to help in the search for this witch, my alpha king." Alpha Edu offered.

Bowen nodded. "We need all the help we could get. I will form a team for you. Do not engage alone. Thank you, Alpha Edu and Luna Trin."

Things are starting to get somewhere. Sara was relieved.

A month has passed and the hostages were located and rescued successfully.

The family members of the bombers were able to describe the elder witch's features which was a great help.

A composite sketch was done. Isolde affirmed that one of the attackers at the road to Stone Pack do look like the one in the sketch.

They now have a positive face of the elder witch.

Another month has passed when Sara's tech team finally found a lead.

They found a news article about a woman in her early twenties who was raped and beaten to death.

The news wrote that they found claw scratches and wolf hair on her carcass.

A witness, who was laughed at, testified that she saw wolves with bloodied snouts in the vicinity.

Another picture on the article showed the father of the victim identifying the body. The father looked furious and he resembles the elder witch but only younger. Sara and Bowen may now have found their enemy's motive. He was out for revenge.

Days trickled by as new development presented itself.

Alpha Edu informed the king that the witch that Trin has identified was spotted in the south.

King Bowen called upon allied alphas in the area to aid Alpha Edu in his task.

They set a trap for the witch, were the seller of the belladonna herbs was part of the team.

The witch was caught off guard but she held off capture as long as she could.

She was casting spells and potions here and there as she fiercely fend off wolves with her knife.

The team, with the support of allied alphas, successfully captured the witch—though not without paying a heavy price.

Alpha Edu was struck with a potion that made him disoriented which enabled the witch to slice through his back with the knife. The wound was a foot long and the lost of blood was unstoppable.

Alpha Edu bathe in his own blood as he closed his eyes for eternity.