Once everyone had been assembled, Dad passed out the report. I waited for everyone to read it over. I watched the facial expressions of the Council members to gauge their reactions. I knew some would not believe my findings while others could not dispute them.
Alpha Richard was the one who commanded everyone’s attention.
“Does anyone have any questions for Delta Melanie?” inquired Alpha Richard.
So far, no one said anything. They all just looked at each other as if they were waiting for someone else to speak first.
Elder Lee was the first one to speak up. “Your results are very thorough as I would expect from you Delta Melanie. You have laid everything out nice and neat for us. The only thing you did not do is tell us where Prince Michael is and who has him,” observed Elder Lee.
“Elder Lee, I did not mention where he was or who had him because I do not know this. To get that information, I will have a conversation with your assistant. Maybe he would know more about that since he was the one who made the arrangements,” I suggested to Elder Lee.
“I don’t think I like your implication, Delta Melanie. Are you implying that my assistant …” was all he could say before Alpha King Matthew cut him off.
“Silence Elder Lee! Delta Melanie did her job. She investigated what happened to Prince Michael. She followed the paper trail and who created it. Now, it is our turn to see where it leads. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem, not ours. May I remind you; that Prince Michael was safe here at the Brookwood Pack? He should not have been moved in the first place,” bellowed Alpha King Matthew.
“We felt it prudent to move him so as to not cause any problems with both Councils present. Additionally, we wanted to ensure his continued safety,” assured Elder Marshall.
“Elder Marshall, I had the guards under strict orders. They were doing their job. Prince Michael came to no harm while under the Brookwood Packs protection. There was no grounds for removal or threat of danger against him,” argued Alpha Richard.
“You know as well as I do that public opinion can sway people’s behavior at a moment’s notice. Anything could happen at any time. This was done as a precautionary measure,” defended Elder Marshall.
“And look where it got us. Prince Michael is free. He is out there roaming around somewhere,” roared Alpha King Friedrich.
“Calm down, my King. Getting angry will not serve you in this moment. Please, calm down,” soothed Queen Philipa. “Elder Marshall, you have to understand where we are coming from. Our daughter as well as our niece has been assaulted. Now the perpetrator is now on the loose thanks to someone’s incompetence at the Council level, not the pack level. When our Council arrives, they will demand justice of some kind. What will you offer?” demanded Queen Philipa.
“I don’t understand Queen Philipa. What can we offer? He is not in our custody at the moment,” stammered Elder Marshall.
“Yes, due to someone’s incompetence at your level, not at the Brookwood pack level. Since the Council decided to move Prince Michael, they need to shoulder this blame, not Alpha Richard and the Brookwood Pack. I want to hear you say it,” demanded Duke Vladimir.
“Duke Vladimir, I share in your frustration. I was outvoted on the Council. The vote was 4 to 5 in favor of moving him to the Royal pack dungeons. I was the only dissenting vote on the Council. I want it on the record that I voted against them. I wanted Prince Michael to remain here where we could keep an eye on him. Those were my exact words, were they not?” demanded Elder Hawkins to the other Elders of the Council.
“Even if they were, you were still outvoted. We made a mistake, and now we have to deal with its consequences. Now what are we going to do about it?” asked a frustrated Elder Brown.
‘Dad, I hate to even ask this question but did they even try tracking his scent to see where it led? Or anything else? Do you think we need to try and help them out with the Elite Force?’ I asked Dad in our link.
“Melanie, I don’t know the answer to that question. We’d have to ask them but they aren’t being to forth coming with information right now,” Dad answered me out loud for everyone to hear.
“What question did she ask Troy?” King Matthew asked him.
“She wanted to know what they did after they found the bodies of the guards. Did they try tracking scents? Or anything else? Also, she asked me if we wanted to offer our Elite Force to help out,” Dad replied to the Alpha King.
“To answer your questions, they somehow blocked their scents. So, no they couldn’t track them. We could use some help with finding Prince Michael. Any assistance you could provide would be helpful,” announced King Matthew.
“Melanie, Mellie? Are you okay? You’re looking a little pale,” declared Dad a little too loudly as everyone turned to look at me.
“Baby, are you okay? Talk to me, my love,” cooed Anthony as he caressed my cheek.
“I’m a little … out of sorts. …” was all I could say before a glass of orange juice was thrust my way by Mom and I was told to drink it.
“Drink this. This should help boost your energy level. There you go,” Mom commanded. “Now I think you need to go back to bed. … Melanie!” Mom shouted as I passed out.
I only got half the glass of orange juice down. I couldn’t drink any more of it. Then the room started spinning and I fell against Anthony. Anthony then picked me up.
“We need to get her back to the pack hospital, NOW!” commanded Uncle Vladimir. “Something is not right. Let’s go!”
Everyone headed to the door. Uncle Vladimir was like a man on a mission. He got everyone out of the way quickly in order to get me into the car to go to the pack hospital. Anderson didn’t hesitate to drive as soon as Anthony was in the car with me.
Anderson arrived at the hospital within five minutes. Anthony got out with me in his arms. Dr. Adams was waiting for us at the entrance with a gurney. Once again, they quickly wheeled me into a room and started to figure out what was wrong with me.
In the middle of their examination, I woke up and said, “Why am I in the hospital?”
“Delta Melanie, you collapsed in the middle of talking. We need to figure out why?” declared Dr. Adams.
“I got dizzy and the room started spinning. It happened before. I just have to remember not to move too fast. That’s all,” I explained to everyone in the room.
“This has happened before Delta Melanie? When?” demanded Dr. Adams.
“Well, it was right after I found out I was pregnant,” I replied sheepishly to everyone present.
“How many times has this happened, Delta Melanie?” inquired Dr. Adams.
“This is the third time it’s happened. Like I said, I just have to remember not to move or do anything too quickly,” I replied once again.
“Why didn’t you tell me this happened before? I’m supposed to be helping you and making sure you have an easy pregnancy my love,” admonished Anthony gently.
“I know but I didn’t want to burden you with more … forgive me. I will no longer keep things from you. I have no choice now because I don’t want to lose our baby,” I sniffled as I began to cry as Anthony held my hand.
“Don’t cry, my love. That was not my wish to make you upset. I want you to know that I am here for you no matter what. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you through the pregnancy,” soothed Anthony.
“Okay. Thank you,” I sniffled in his arms.
“Let me finish with our examination so I can update you and everyone else who is waiting outside. Also, I will need to check on the blood draw we did to see where your numbers are before I make my recommendations,” advised Dr. Adams.
We both nodded in agreement. We allowed Dr. Adams to finish his work and did what he asked me to do. Then, he left the room. He allowed everyone who was waiting in the hallway or waiting room to come in to see me.
Uncle Vladimir was the first one through the door closely followed by my Dad and Alpha Richard.
“How are you feeling? Does he know why you collapsed?” Dad asked us.
“I’m feeling okay. I just moved too quickly. That’s all. It’s happened before. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I’m sorry,” I apologized to everyone.
“This has happened before?” demanded Uncle Vladimir.
“Yes, it has but I promise to take things slower and easier. I promise,” I replied to everyone.
“You are growing a baby inside of you Melanie. That takes a lot of energy and strength from your body. You have to take care of yourself. If you need something, let us know and we will help you. That’s what we are here for, to help you,” Dad insisted as he gave my hand a squeeze.
“Yes sir. I didn’t think I was doing a bad job taking care of myself. I was just getting dizzy every now and then if I moved too quickly. That was all,” I whined. “Now I feel bad for keeping it from everyone.”
“Melanie, right now it seems to be magnified because of the miscarriage. Don’t stress out. We’ll get this straightened out. Calm down. Okay?” soothed Uncle Vladimir.
“Yes sir. Thank you for understanding,” I replied to him with a small smile.
We all just stayed silent for a while. We were all lost in our thoughts when Dr. Adams came in.
“I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is you can go home and resume your bed rest. The bad news is that you are slightly anemic which is why you are dizzy. I want you to take Iron supplements and Folic Acid in addition to your prenatal vitamins. You need additional supplements to help balance you out hormonally. I want to see you back here next week for a check-up,” Dr. Adams advised with a smile.
“Thank you, Dr. Adams,” Anthony replied as he picked me up to carry me out of the hospital.
We all left the hospital to go home. Dad got the vitamin supplements I needed to take on the way home so that I didn’t have to go anywhere to get them. Thank you, Dad. Mom gave me something to eat when I got home. I was immediately placed back into bed.
What would I do without my family? They are definitely my rock, my everything.