300 Days With The Alpha Beta Triplets
SCARLETT AND THE NAMELESS WITCH

THIRD PERSON POV:

Herald was in his study, looking over a lot of papers, ranging from the amenities the pack lacked to the bills and monthly pack budget. He had a lot of work to do, and he was lagging, but this wasn't because he couldn't do it; his spirit was down. Outside, he was the brave and ruthless Alpha king who ruled the Rune pack, but deep down, he was a man who had lost his family.

"This is all too much," he said, pushing away the papers in front of him.

He took a deep breath, then he pulled open his drawer to take out a stamp, but he found a picture, which opened the floodgate of the brokenness his heart was trying to conceal. It was a picture of Bella, Evelyn, and him when Bella had just turned one. They all had a smile.

Taking out the picture, he placed it on his desk, then he ran his hands across it, shutting his eyes to that time. The smile on Evelyn's face had been fake, and he hadn't known she was suffering so much. He wished he could go back and undo whatever his mother had done to her, but he couldn't. He was part of it, and even if Evelyn had forgiven him, he couldn't forgive himself for raping her.

"In another life, Evelyn," he muttered, then he stared a little longer at the picture before attempting to place it back in the drawer. But it slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, shattering what was left of his heart.

With a sigh, he covered his face with both hands, taking a deep breath as he stared down at the broken pieces of the frame. He tried to steady his breath, but soon, he felt the room becoming suffocating.

"I need a glass of water," he said out loud, pushing the seat back with a scrape. Then he got to his feet and walked out of the room.

Herald tried to steady his steps as he made his way down the large, empty hallway, but as he walked, he could hear Bella's faint laughter as a child. She would disturb him in the study; she would run off, hiding behind the statues in the hallway so he could seek her. He would pretend to seek her, then continue with his work, and when a few minutes had passed, he would make it look like she was good at hiding and he couldn't replace her.

It was okay to miss his daughter, but hearing her voice every day made Herald believe he was going insane.

When he got downstairs, he walked to the kitchen and took out a bottle of water from the fridge, downing the entire contents. He took deep, controlled breaths, then he crushed the plastic bottle under his grip.

He wanted his wife and daughter back. He tossed the bottle into the trash, then he walked out of the kitchen. Down the hall, he caught sight of his father's portrait, which hung on the wall. There, Leonardo sat on his throne in his youth, draped in a royal yellow suit, with his smile as concrete as ever.

Stopping in front of it, he admired the dead king who had ruled the Rune pack nobly and found a way to keep his family happy. Running the Rune pack was like ruling the entire Moonfire, because they made most of the rules as the first and original werewolf territory.

"How did you do it, Father? How did you keep a family and run an entire empire?"

As he glanced at the portrait of his father, a guard walked in on him.

"Good day, sir," the man said with a bow, cutting through Herald's moment.

Herald looked at him with his brows furrowed, then the man cleared his throat.

"I am very sorry to interrupt, sir, but you have visitors." Herald's brows straightened at once, and fear crossed his heart.

He knew he was behind schedule in pack matters, but the council of kingmakers had agreed to give him some time to go over his work.

"The kingmakers?" he asked, and the guard shook his head.

"The Pack witch, and apparently she has news for you." When he heard this, he sighed.

"Tell Scarlet I am not interested in whatever she wants to say. I have work to do, and I do not have time to revamp her coven. The budget will be fair, and if work needs to be done in her area, then I will see to it."

With this, he turned to leave.

"She has news about your daughter, Princess Bella."

Herald stopped in his tracks at once when he heard this, then he turned to face the guard. "Where is she?"

"Waiting in the visiting chambers," he replied, and Herald ran a hand across his face, then he walked past the guard, hurrying to the visiting chamber.

The visiting chamber was a room for the king to receive his guests, especially sorcerers, healers, and witches. Soon, Herald came to a halt in front of the room, then he opened the door at once to see Scarlet with another lady. There she stood in a black cloak draped over her purple gown, with her curly red hair resting on her shoulder. Walking to the front of the room, he took his seat in a dark teak throne, which had its high back embossed with a silver wolf crest that marked him as the Alpha King. Herald tried to keep his tone hard as he stared at Scarlet and the other lady with her, whom he assumed was a witch as well.

"What news do you have about my daughter, Scarlet? And I am not here for games."

Scarlet chuckled darkly, glancing at the lady with her who kept a straight face.

"Well, as you must know, my lord, we have news about your daughter. You want a cure to get rid of her dark side entirely, and I think I have found the cure."

Herald's mouth fell open. For years, he had wanted to kill Bella's vampire side, but every sorcerer, witch, and seer had said Bella would die if he did. But somehow, Scarlet had answers. She always got answers, even though it took time, but he was skeptical.

"How did you come up with a way? Even Halle Baudelaire doesn't have a cure for my daughter, and you do?" Scarlet glanced at the lady with her, who bore her gaze into Herald for a moment, causing him to blink. After she had done this, Scarlet began to speak.

"Because Halle is a clean witch. You know me better, my lord, and you know I would go to any length to replace answers for anything that I want to know."

Her words began to make sense to Herald. Not only because he was desperate to have his daughter back, but because they had put him under a spell.

"Your daughter has been out of control for a while. Recently, a portal was opened up in the Frost Pack, which allowed people from the other side to cross over, and it was linked to her. She will keep disturbing the equilibrium of the packs if care is not taken, so we need to get her back to the pack as soon as possible," she said, and Herald nodded to her words.

"How do I get her back? School is in..."

"Schools are about to close with exams around the corner. Ask her to come back home, and besides, you are the Alpha King." She squinted her eyes. "Do not tell me that the Alpha King doesn't have control over his own daughter." When she said this, Herald sat there contemplating her words. He wanted to get his daughter back so he could save her from whatever danger she was bound to face. Vampires were evil, and knowing his daughter's DNA had been altered by them, he couldn't pass up a chance for her to have a normal life. She was supposed to rule the pack in the future, but he feared she wouldn't be able to with her present condition.

"I have heard you, Scarlet, and..." he turned to the other woman, who shook her head.

"She doesn't have a name. So just call her my friend."

"Scarlet's friend," Herald said, and Scarlet smiled at him. "I will get Bella back to the pack as soon as possible. Thank you for this, and I am forever grateful. I do not know how I can repay you," he said, and the smile on Scarlet's face never left.

"How about you increase your budget for the witches that help maintain order in your pack, my lord?"

"Consider it done!" Herald said without thinking twice, and Scarlet turned to leave with the 'nameless' witch.