Playing The Alphas

SAMANTHA

"Yes!" King Lionel agreed. "I am ready for proof two."

Vera reached into Samantha’s closet and produced a small vial filled with dark, viscous liquid. The glass was cold, and the substance inside seemed to swirl of its own accord, casting strange shadows across her palm. She held it up for all to see, her expression triumphant.

"Proof two, Your Majesty," Vera announced, her voice echoing through the tense room. "A potion designed to weaken Lycan powers over time. One drop in a prince’s wine, and he would be rendered powerless within days. A second drop, and he would be completely incapacitated. A third drop, and death would follow shortly after."

King Lionel’s face darkened as he examined the vial. His fingers tightened around it, his knuckles turning white. The veins in his temples pulsed with barely contained fury. "This is a forbidden concoction," he said, his voice dangerously low. "Even possessing it is a crime punishable by death. It was banned centuries ago after it was used to assassinate the previous king."

"It belongs to Samantha," Vera declared, pointing at me with a trembling finger. "I found it buried beneath her mattress. She has been planning to use it on the princes, Your Majesty. She wanted to strip them of their power before she struck the final blow. She intended to make them suffer before she ended their lives."

"No!" I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. The sound tore from my throat, raw and ragged. "That’s not mine! I’ve never seen it before! Please, Your Majesty, you have to believe me! I don’t even know what that liquid is!"

But my protests fell on deaf ears. King Lionel’s gaze was fixed on the vial, his expression unreadable. The murmurs among the guards grew louder, their eyes filled with suspicion and fear. I could feel their judgment weighing down on me, suffocating me.

Vera wasn’t finished. She reached into her robe once more and pulled out a second knife. This one was different—its blade was made of obsidian, dark and gleaming, etched with runes that seemed to glow with an eerie light. The handle was wrapped in black leather, worn smooth by age. She held it up, and a collective gasp rippled through the room.

"Proof three," Vera announced, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "A knife used to kill angel shifters. A weapon forged in darkness to destroy beings of light."

Darlington stepped forward, his face pale. His hands trembled slightly as he reached out to examine the blade. "I recognize that knife," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Obsidian forged in the Dark Mountains. The runes are carved to sever an angel shifter’s connection to their wings. One cut, and they become mortal. Two cuts, and they die. It’s one of the most dangerous weapons in existence." He turned to me, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and anguish. "Where did you get this, Samantha?"

"I didn’t!" I sobbed, shaking my head frantically. Tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring my vision. "I’ve never seen it before in my life! I don’t even know what it is! I don’t know anything about angel shifters or obsidian blades or any of this!"

But Darlington stepped back, his expression hardening. His eyes, once so gentle, now held a coldness that cut deeper than any blade. "Shift back," he said coldly, his voice devoid of warmth. "I cannot believe this betrayal. I trusted you. I defended you. And this is how you repay me?"

I tried to run toward him, desperate to make him see reason, but the guards grabbed my arms and held me back. Their grip was like iron, unyielding and painful. "Darlington, please!" I cried out, my voice breaking. "You have to believe me! I would never do any of this! I would never hurt you or your family! I have no reason to!"

His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of doubt. A crack in the armor of his disbelief. But then Vera pulled out another item—a stack of ancient, leather-bound books covered in dust and symbols that seemed to writhe and shift under the light. The covers were worn, the pages yellowed with age.

"Proof four," she said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Forbidden books from the library. Books on how to wipe out the royal bloodline. Books on poisons, curses, and dark magic. Samantha has been studying these for weeks, plotting her revenge."

King Lionel snatched one of the books from her hands, his fingers trembling with rage. He flipped through the pages, his expression growing darker with each passing moment. The symbols on the pages seemed to pulse with malevolent energy. "These are from the restricted section of the library," he said, his voice thick with fury. "They haven’t been touched in decades. How did you get your hands on them, Samantha?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Vera cut me off. "I warned Samantha not to take them, Your Majesty," she said, her voice trembling with feigned fear. She clasped her hands before her, playing the part of the innocent victim perfectly. "I told her they were forbidden, that she would be punished if she were caught. But she threatened me. She said if I didn’t help her, she would have me killed. I was terrified, Your Majesty. I had no choice."

"That’s a lie!" I shouted, struggling against the guards. "I never threatened anyone! I never even spoke to Vera before last night! I don’t know why she’s doing this, but she’s lying!"

King Lionel’s eyes bore into me, cold and unyielding. "You expect me to believe that, Samantha? When all of this has been found in your room? When every piece of evidence points to your guilt?"

"She’s lying, Your Majesty!" I sobbed. "She’s framing me! I don’t know why, but she is! Someone put those things in my room. I swear on my life, I have never seen any of them before!"

Vera pressed on, her voice calm and steady. "Your Majesty, there is more. I have reason to believe that Samantha is acting out of bitterness. She was betrayed by her ex-fiancé, John, and her cousin, Amanda. They sold her into slavery. She is angry, vengeful, and she has been plotting to destroy the royal family as payback. She has been secretly meeting with outside allies—enemies of the throne—to plan her attack."

The room erupted into chaos. Guards whispered among themselves, their hands resting on their swords. Nobles stared at me with disgust and contempt. Darlington looked as though he had been struck, his face pale and his eyes filled with betrayal.

King Lionel raised a hand, silencing the room. His voice was thunderous as he declared, "Call everyone in the palace out. Assemble the elders. I need to get to the bottom of this treachery."