Louisa's POV
"This morning, when Josephine was shouting at you. I heard her voice and I came to your tent. I saw a maid crawling into your tent and I thought you were playing the game again. That's why I did the same by crawling inside your tent from the back. I wanted to play with you as well."
"Playing the game again?" I asked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the game you were playing with Josephine's maids. I saw her sneaking into your tent when I arrived and she said she was playing a game with you. And this morning, she was playing the game again," Akela said.
"What exactly did you see this morning, Akela?" I asked.
Akela said, "I saw her putting some honey in your tea. Isn't that sweet? Because when you drink the tea, you'll find it's sweetened! She pulled me out of the tent and told me that I shouldn't tell you about it, because she wanted to surprise you!"
"And... What did you see last time? What was she doing in my tent?" I asked.
"She was taking something from your potion box. She said she wanted to hide it and she could do a treasure hunt with you. I wish I could have a friend like her! I mean, I've got a lot of friends, but most of them are sales assistants in the shop. They never play games with me," Akela said.
Then, she yawned again.
"My head feels so heavy now and I have to go to sleep. If I don't sleep well at night, I get dark circles around my eyes and I'll be in a cranky mood all day," She said and left the room.
"It was Josephine! She had her maid put wolfsbane in my tea this morning! And she asked her maid to take something from my potion box earlier on! Akela saw her doing it, so she wanted to kill her the other night! That was why she was in Akela's tent! If it wasn't for Mana and Mata, Akela would have already been killed!" I whispered.
"She's a really bad wolf." Will squeezed these words from his teeth. "But what did she take from your potion box? All the pearls were still there. They're very precious."
"No... She didn't want the pearls..." I said.
"So what did she want from your potion box?" Will asked.
"I don't know... I have to go back to my tent and look for the potion box..." I said.
"But you can't go back! It's really dark outside and those wolves are out of their minds!" Will said.
"I need to talk to Lucas and Zackery," I said.
"What's going on, little girl?" Zackery walked into the room with a piece of marshmallow in his hand.
Lucas was following him, holding a bowl of marshmallows.
He looked funny, holding a bowl of colorful candies in his hands.
I said. "I need to go back to my tent and look for my potion box. She took something from the box and..."
"Wow, calm down, little girl. Easy. Take your breath. I'll take you back to the tent in the morning when you can walk on your own," Zackery said and looked at the melting marshmallow in his hand. "Ah, this stuff melts so easily and makes my finger sticky."
He wiped threw the marshmallow into the trash bin and wiped his hand on Lucas' shirt.
Lucas looked like he was about to explode.
Somehow, he wasn't used to being used as a hand towel. He threw the bowl on the table, took off his shirt, and tossed it into the trash bin.
Zackery sat next to me and tried to lean forward, but Will kept pushing him away.
Zackery picked him up like a little rat and huddled him.
"You're so cute, but it's past bedtime. You have to go to sleep now," Zackery said.
"No! I'll stay here with Louisa!" Will crawled on my lap and held my waist.
I pulled a blanket and covered him. He curled up in my arms like a little puppy.
I lowered my head and kissed his forehead. He smiled with triumph and gave Lucas a dark look.
"You know that small fucker is a thousand years old, right?" Lucas said to me.
"He's a kid, Lucas," I said.
He took me up and placed me on his lap, wrapping his arms around me, and said, "I don't care. I don't like other men snuggling with you like this."
Will kicked his legs and tried to break away from Lucas.
"Stay put, little rat. Or I'll throw you into the fireplace," Lucas said.
"Ahh!!!" Will took a bite of his arm.
"Will," I frowned and said.
Will stopped biting, but still kept Lucas' arm in his mouth.
"What a lovely picture. A happy family. I should draw a picture of you three and frame it on the wall," Zackery looked at me and smiled.
"Your Excellency..." Lucas said.
"Come on, Lucas," Zackery interrupted him. "You can call me Zack when there's no one around. It's OK. Try it. You've called me worse names."
The color of Lucas' face drained away.
"Your Excellency, I didn't mean any disrespect," Lucas said.
"You don't like me. I can tell," Zackery said. "But I would like you to know that our disagreement doesn't interfere with our love and devotion to Lycidas. With your dispute with Dire going on, Lycidas is very concerned. Dire has always been a loyal alley. He's Lycidas' uncle and he was the one who provided shelter for Lycidas while the Red Queen was trying to put him down. As a King, Lycidas can easily decide who's right and who's wrong. But as a family man and a friend, it's really hard for him to make up his mind."
Zackery drew himself closer to Lucas and said, "I don't trust anyone without a last name, Lucas. Especially the ones who don't shift into wolves during Full Moon's day. But again, it's just my humble opinion. Lycidas has his own opinion and I always respect his decision. But you're a bit out of control these days, mister. I mean, calling me a gigolo is one thing, trying to create chaos and kill me is another."
Lucas stared at Zackery and said, "Your Excellency, I would like to assure you that I have nothing to do with the chaos in the camp right now. I'll do a thorough investigation tomorrow and it will take some time. But I have a feeling that when the truth comes out, I will be the one who's surprised."
"Are you insinuating I am behind this chaos?" Zackery asked.
Lucas replied, "No, Your Excellency. I'm not insinuating anything. I'm telling the truth."
Smoky tension arose in this quiet, isolated lake house. I had a really bad feeling about this.
I had to do something to stop this tension from escalating into something violent.
But what am I going to do?