Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 94 The Evidence
“Once the incident was resolved, I never had cause to use it again, but it kept running and saving backups to the dedicated server and storage that we had set up. I knew what had happened in the office, but it was my word against Ada’s so, having found this only recently, I wanted to offer you the opportunity to see it for yourselves.”
“Preposterous! It will be nothing more than a fake designed to discredit Ada!” Leopold hissed from his seat.
“Why would she go to all that trouble when Ada is doing such a good job of discrediting herself, Leopold?” A smooth female voice commented dryly.
Ann took a deep breath and flicked her gaze to her father again.
“I don’t care that you’ve already disowned me, Leopold. You’ll never hear me call you father again because you never afforded me the basic decency of impartiality. No matter what I said in the conflicts, Ada was always right, so this time, I have proof that she lies.”
“Princess Ann, do not concern yourself with addressing the Alpha King. I’m going to come to the dais and collect the USB from you. We do not usually reveal ourselves to those in attendance, but as it is only the current heir to the throne, and the Alpha King himself in attendance then I will make an exception.” The smooth female voice answered cooly.
Her tone wasn’t unkind, just very matter-of-fact and emotionally balanced.
It didn’t bother Ann at all and she nodded gently to indicate her agreement as the noise of movement drifted down from above.
“You forget that Princess Ada is here also! Why do you discount her so readily?!” Leopold yelled furiously up towards the chamber and was met with a derisive chuckle.
“Lady Ada is not yet the current heir, as such, she has no right to the title of princess. With that aside, her ability to bear witness is somewhat compromised currently, as all but her basic bodily functions required to sustain her life have been frozen, as you can quite clearly see. She will not remember any portion of what has occurred while frozen.” A smooth male voice answered.
Leopold growled loudly, clearly frustrated that there was nothing that he could do or say that would divert the course of events. In his mind, there was just no way that Ada and Narcissa would ever lie about something as horrific as this, and the fact that Ada was continually disregarded within the political circles irked him.
Despite her lack of wolf, she was still his own flesh and blood and it was his duty to protect her. It wasn’t fair that Ann received all the benefits of her position and Ada received none. At one point Ann was happy to share, but now?
Sure, Ada had behaved poorly, but what was a lover between siblings? Brad was a better choice for Ada, he could protect her, his Pack was strong. Ann didn’t need protecting like Ada did. It was a small sacrifice to make for her sister.
As these ridiculous thoughts swirled around in his mind, he gradually lost track of the proceedings entirely and stared blankly ahead, almost unseeing as his rage grew inside him.
The door behind Ann and Adam opened with a soft click and they turned as one, Adam instantly moving Ann slightly behind him as if expecting an attack at any moment.
The ethereal-looking woman who approached them smiled ironically at his actions, the lines on her face creasing softly.
“No harm will come to you within these chambers.” She said with the barest trace of amusement as she leaned forward conspiratorially and continued in a whisper, “That’s reserved for those held in the dungeons below. It’s a blessing that their screams don’t carry this far.”
Ann blinked uncertainly at her, not fully sure how to respond to the twinkling eyes that were set in such a warm and welcoming-looking face… especially after a comment as dark as that.
The woman stood upright and shook her white hair from her shoulders as she held her palm stretched out in front of her.
“The device if you please. We will take a few moments to watch it privately and confer on whether or not it is relevant.” She advised abruptly.
Ann handed the USB over without hesitation placing it into her palm gently. As soon as she had handed it over, the elder’s fingers curled closed around it, and she turned and left through the same door that she had entered without another word.
Ann looked up at Adam with a tight smile.
“I suppose all we have to do now is wait.” She said far more confidently than she felt as the sound of movement above echoed all around them.
“Don’t worry, princess.” Adam said softly as he squeezed her hand. “There’s no way that they won’t admit that as evidence.”