The Rogue Alpha ✔️✅ [Under Edit 5/17/22]

XXII

::Royal Castle::

"I'm going to intervene," Dallas interrupted. "I'm an injured party in this scheme, so I'd like to ask some questions." The king gestured for his youngest son to say his piece.

"Yes, I'm interested in hearing how you support your claim of alleged 'injured party' and what scheme you all seem aware of," Davis sighed.

"Councilman, when I informed my father and the council that I would be visiting a friend, did I mention who it was? Or what Pack?" Dallas asked.

"No, nothing specific. I believe you said he was an old friend," was the answer.

"Did I say what my travel plans were? Where I was going, how I was traveling, when I expected to arrive?" the prince persisted.

"No," Davis said tersely. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Only the council and my father were aware that I was leaving, that I would be traveling," Dallas said simply. "No one knew who, where, or when. Yet, the night I arrived, the pack was attacked by rogues. The timing is too right to be coincidental.

"This means that either my father or someone from the council had me followed or tracked, and directed the rogues to attack where I was. And, you were the most vehement that rogues would attack GreyClaw Pack next with little more than conjecture."

"It fit the pattern!" Davis insisted.

"What pattern?" the prince asked smoothly. "Until the attack on GreyClaw, the rogues had only gone after minor packs, support packs. There was so proof or pattern to suggest an attack on a main pack. They hadn't even eliminated all of GreyClaw's support packs yet; it wasn't a logical, nor strategic, move."

"You know my son and Alpha Draven were friends as pups," the king added. "You also know that Dallas would go to his friend to offer help against the possibility of a rogue attack."

"You also knew my pack was nearby," Ric interrupted. "You knew that we weren't a Recognized pack so it would be easy to blame us. Too easy, honestly; we've been settled there for five years without issue. To suddenly attack Packs? I'm smarter than that."

"Somehow, you learned of the failed attack. I assume you don't know how it could have failed, but you had to execute Plan B," Dallas continued. "You had rogues camp out around Draven's pack to grab me when I left. You didn't count on him falling into the trap, too."

"You needed me to disappear - a rogue kidnapping would work - and you needed to control the prince," Draven picked up the narration. "So, you arranged a mating with your nephew's mate and kept the prince drugged so he couldn't deny your claim that she was his mate."

"You denied, probably hid, Ric's decree because you still needed her to take the blame." Phoenix's voice rumbled in the room. "Everything would have worked, but you didn't account for one thing - Ric."

"You didn't expect her to help Draven and defend his pack. You probably assumed she wasn't very smart - no doubt based on what your nephew had told you. And, you certainly never expected her wolf to claim mine, nor Draven's, and come find us," the prince finished. "We know all this, but I can't figure out why?"

"You think you have it all figured out?" the elder wolf mocked. "You know nothing! You have no proof of this ridiculous conspiracy. It sounds to me as if the she-wolf spun a tale to avoid discovery!"