Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 239 True Power
As soon as Linus was led away, the upper circle began to clear and Ann made her way to the exit. As she reached for the handle of the door, she was unable to get a grip on it as it was pushed forward with a furious force and she stepped back just in time to avoid the doors smashing into her face.
The furious figure of Cornelius stood before her, his face red with outrage as he opened and closed his mouth soundlessly. He held a shaking finger before him as he pointed at Ann. trembling with rage. “You… you…” He spluttered as Ann quickly overcame her shock and smiled innocently up at him.
“Careful now Cornelius, you should really be a little more careful with your blood pressure at your age,” She said with fake concern, pushing his outstretched arm down and looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
“This won’t stand you know…” He hissed, “You’ll get your comeuppance…”
“Yes, I’m well aware that many people seek to dethrone me or end my rule already purely because I’m looking out for the interests of my people. You should take this as an opportunity to learn an important lesson, Cornelius,” She smirked as she leaned in closely to whisper in his ear, “True power doesn’t lay with the already powerful, it lays with the people that they see as weak and oppress at every opportunity. All it takes is one person to stand up for what is right, and the world of the corrupt comes crashing down around them.” As she stood upright again and took in his expression, he seemed to have turned almost green as he clenched and unclenched his jaw repeatedly, the vein in his papery thin temple throbbing angrily. “You won’t last long.” Cornelius hissed vehemently.
“Ha! She’ll last longer than you will.” Lexi’s voice mocked from behind him, as a low growl emanated from Alien’s chest.
Cornelius turned to face them, and dragged his eyes over them disdainfully, finally settling on Bartholomew.
“You should know better Bartholomew Meddling has never won you any friends amongst us.” He spat viciously as he began to saunter past them.
“Maybe not, but I would rather have you as my adversaries than I would have you as friends If we do
not change as the world changes around us, then the kingdom will fall, and take all of us down with it. This is the logical choice, Cornelius At least rethink the course that you have chosen.” Bartholomew said quietly as Cornelius passed him with his head held high.
“I’ve made my choice Bartholomew” He said simply as he continued on and joined a group of Elders whose faces Ann could not make out from this distance.
“Are you okay?” Lexi asked, as she reached for Ann’s arm and squeezed it tightly, concern etched on her face.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ann answered as she watched the countless Elders file past, trying to study them for any reactions that might indicate who she should be wary of.
As expected, there were countless hostile faces among them as they turned to acknowledge her with an inclination of their head, their eyes burning with barely suppressed disdain, but amongst them, there were also many friendly faces, whose smiles were genuine and their eyes shone with warmth and what Ann was sure was hope.
It appeared that she wasn’t the only one hungry for change, and the knowledge comforted her. “I do have a question though,” Lexi asked with a frown as they began to make their way out of the court and through the corridors, “This whole secret law, how on earth did you manage to slip it through?”
Ann laughed and turned to Bartholomew briefly, flashing him a sly smile.
“It’s actually Bartholomew that takes all the credit for that one. If I hadn’t have gone through all that damn paperwork in the early hours of the morning, it might never have actually come through in time My heat really screwed up my workload and put me behind.” She grimaced.
“Okaaaaay.” Lexi said with a raised eyebrow, “How does Bartholomew come into the equation then?”
“Well, we had already discussed wanting to see who was actually paying attention to their duties and who was illegally assigning some underlings to the task. Now, bear in mind that the underlings are also omega’s or those of lower birth that are treated terribly by the elders in question, so in theory, they would have no qualms about signing off on something like this, as they would then be immune from reprisals if the law was successfully passed “ Ann explained seriously, “We already had a good idea of who the offenders were likely to be, so Bartholomew made sure to send the required forms through the standard route, as opposed to discussing it openly.”
Allen whistled lowly.
“No wonder there were so many furious faces. Not only did you manage to get one over them, but they were also betrayed by the people they thought that they had firmly under their control”
Bartholomew smiled cryptically.
“It’s amazing what a person will do when their freedom is offered on a silver platter.” He observed dryly.
“But what about the staff that betrayed them? What if there are reprisals?” Lexi asked, her brows furrowing in concern.
“Considering the elders that had actually read the law, contacted me directly to discuss and offer their support for the cause, as is customary for something of this magnitude,” Bartholomew explained, “I have a fairly good idea which ones of them did not even lay eyes on the final draft which gives us a headstart on knowing who we need to keep tabs on.”
“Sneaky…” Lexi smirked as she giggled excitedly, “I like it!”
“I thought you might.” Ann grinned as they giggled together.
“1 must say, Linus being so willing to throw his colleagues to the proverbial wolves was an unexpected surprise indeed,” Bartholomew continued thoughtfully as he turned to Allen, “I believe it would be prudent if you and I paid him a visit later on to collect his statement before anyone else manages to get to him.”
“You don’t think they would actually move against him within the Enclave do you?” Ann asked curiously.
“I wouldn’t put it past them There are careers at stake here, and they hang solely on the secrets that Linus holds.”
Allen frowned.
“Then perhaps we shouldn’t leave it until later on. We should go as soon as possible.”
“1 quite agree.” Bartholomew nodded somberly.
“It’s okay, you boys can go and do your thing,” Lexi grinned with a wave of her hand, “I think Ann and I can make it to our rooms from here. Besides, we have a girl’s night to plan.” She finished excitedly as Allen groaned loudly.
“I can’t think of anything worse.” He muttered under his breath but not quietly enough for Lexi not to hear it.
“It’s a good job you’re not invited then, isn’t it?” She smirked as she gave him the middle finger and waltzed away with Ann in the direction of their rooms, chattering excitedly about their plans for the rest of the day.
“It’s hard to picture them as the Alpha Queen and her Beta sometimes, you know?” Allen commented unironically as Bartholomew chuckled deeply.
“And that is precisely why people continually underestimate them, Allen. Now, come on. We have an exile to collect a statement from.”