The Alpha's Blind Fate
Chapter 202: Condolences

Chapter 202: Condolences

ZINA

The Pack coroners came in to take away Freya’s body that seemed to be setting with Rigor Mortis quicker than possible. They managed to pull out Zina’s staff from where it was embedded in Freya’s chest, and Marcus took it from them, examining the staff with narrowed eyes.

Before the thing could be any more out in the open, Zina grabbed it from his grasp although her success might be attributed to the fact that Marcus held it loosely.

He raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask her to explain why the staff she had deemed missing was now an instrument of murder... murder because even a blind man could tell from the manner in which the staff had been embedded in Freya’s chest that it was far from suicide.

Her mother’s warning simply repeated in her head, and it only filled her with dread.

’The staff is indestructible, but you must stow it away somewhere where no one will be able to find it! You must not allow anyone to get to it!’

In a shaky voice, Zina spoke. "Now that we have found my staff, I shall now take it back."

She made to leave, but Marcus’s objections tied her legs in place. "Your staff is an instrument of murder, taking it away is not an option." He growled, his words holding all the logic in the world that Zina would rather did not exist.

Zina gripped the bloodied staff in an even tighter grip; the blood caked on it was now sticky and some parts of it almost dry. It only meant it hadn’t been long since the event happened.

Slowly, she turned to Marcus, reluctantly handing him the staff. Before Marcus could grip it on his own end, the door burst open and Daemon entered inside the room.

They all froze including Fionna while they just watched him as his eyes took in Freya’s body that was laid on a stretcher by the coroners, and the bloodied staff that hung between her and Marcus.

His cool eyes came up to hers as if checking her out for any harm. He was obviously satisfied with whatever he saw before his eyes went back to Freya’s body that laid limp on the stretcher.

Something strange passed through his eyes, and Zina wondered whether he was sad and sought to grieve the loss of his first chance mate. Even though it was shameful of her, she found herself jealous of the dead woman and the fact that she could still manage to keep the eyes of Daemon on her even in death.

Zina knew she was being irrational, but she found that she couldn’t help it.

"What is happening?" Daemon said, the question directed at Marcus.

A minute later, Marcus had already given Daemon a mini summary of their discovery. This time around, it was Daemon that studied the staff that Zina still gripped in her hands.

"As far as I can see, the staff in question has no sharp points. How did something like this manage to go through her heart?" Daemon asked, looking between Marcus and Fionna who was still splayed on the stretcher.

Marcus shook his head. "That’s what we want to find out."

Fionna, who had been silent, chose that moment to speak. "Suicide or murder, it could only have taken the strength of a Supreme Shifter or a well experienced Lycan Shifter to be able to ram that staff all the way in through her chest." She said, drawing all the attention in the room towards her.

Daemon who seemed to not have noticed the woman’s presence looked her over like some annoying bug he missed sight of. "From prison to hanging out with the Theta." He commented, displeasing, coloring his voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Red Hand."

Zina looked between both of them, well aware of the unaddressed issue that hung between both of them. Fionna had carried out the Madlea Plan on his behalf, after which she had asked Daemon to take her in as part of his own.

But Daemon had not hesitated to dump her in prison the moment the Red Sisters requested for that in order to chase his own ends, or perhaps for some greater reasons than what Zina could possibly imagine.

Instinctively, Zina placed her body between Fionna and Daemon while she chuckled awkwardly. "Fionna served as my guard when I journeyed to the BloodMoon’s Pack. To repay the favour, I am hosting her as my guest while she prepares for the tournament."

Daemon frowned at that. "She is participating?" He asked, making it seem as though he was truly unaware of that fact.

Zina nodded while still gripping the staff tightly. His eyes trailed down, resting on the part where she gripped it painfully.

"Give it to me, Theta. I shall have it returned to you when the investigation is done."

Zina reluctantly released. "Can I have it once the investigation is over... not a moment’s delay?"

Daemon seemed to observe her distress strangely, before he nodded. "Not a moment later." He promised before Zina released the staff.

It seemed as though Daemon hadn’t yet found out that she was attacked that morning; she was quite relieved about that. She did not want to hide the details of her meeting with the woman that was her mother, but at the same time, she wasn’t particularly eager to share that information when her brain was a mess.

She would definitely tell Daemon, but not that night.

On a second note... something seemed off. The Marcus that Zina knew would have told Daemon about that morning’s event after the coronation, so why had he not?

Zina turned to look at the man in question, and she almost missed the slight shake of his head as if dissuading her from acting on what was on her mind.

Wasn’t Marcus being a bad bad Beta? And wasn’t Zima curious to find out why.

"I shall see you all at the Banquet then." Daemon said, turning to leave while the coroners carried the body away.

Zina chased after him, leaving Marcus and Fiona ebbing. For a brief moment, she decided to do away with her while she played the role of the magnanimous woman whom she certainly wasn’t. She gripped his strong biceps, staring him deep in his eyes.

"I am sorry for your loss," Zina said, at a loss for how to word her words of condolence. She still didn’t know the details of Daemon and Freya’s relationship besides the fact that Daemon all but stated his first chance mate meant nothing to him.

Daemon smirked. "Are you sure you’re sorry?"

Zina schooled her expression, refusing to give away the fact that she was in fact not sorry. "Despite everything, she was someone you knew and...."

"I’ve had my eyes on Freya ever since she approached me," Daemon said, covering her hand on his bicep with his free ones. "I know her intentions weren’t exactly pure so do not pretend to be sorry for me. I even heard she took your staff."

Zina chuckled awkwardly, trying to veer the conversation from her staff. "True, but she was your first chance...."

"And you’re my mate now," Daemon cut her off a bit harshly, "it’s you that I am mated to now so don’t bring her up anymore."

Zina stared at him wide eyed, noticing for the first time that his eyes looked strained. How could she explain that she had only wanted to act like a nice person and offer her condolences.

"Do you know why we mutually rejected each other? Aside from the fact that her family was banished from the North? And asides from the fact that my royal father was against the bond?"

Zina shook her head vigorously, unable to muster any word.

"It’s because aside from the mate bond, we didn’t have much else going for us. We didn’t even yearn to fight for each other. It was because we both realized that there’s more to companionship than the mate bond. But do you know how I feel about you?"

Zina wordless shook her head again. Any stranger passing by was sure to mistake her for a mute.

Daemon smiled, the strain in his eyes disappearing as though it was never there in the first place. "With you, I want to fight for every part of you; mate bond or not. With you, I always yearn for your companionship."