Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

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Reece

~~

This night had not gone at all like we had expected it to. I mean, of course no one expected that there was going to be a brutal murder happen right at the end of the light show. That was not what I was talking about. No, I was referring to the fact that when we got the supposed witness back to the castle to talk, we found out that she was the one who killed the woman.

OK, so she was bespelled and killed the woman without knowing about it. She didn't remember doing it and had no control over herself. Still, back in the rest of the world, that is still a punishable offense. You will most likely not get off scot-free. Most of the time you will be charged with something. So, why was it that Gloriana was perfectly fine with letting this woman go? I just didn't understand how the Fae did things.

And do not even get me started on how Trinity was feeling about it all. I could tell that she was not at all happy about the current turn of events. She seemed to be thinking about something the entire way back to our residence. In fact, she was so lost in thought that I literally had to help guide her to the door as she thought about whatever it was that was on her mind.

As soon as we were through the door the sounds of Reagan and Rika calling out to me and my Little Bunny, pulled her out of her stupor.

"Mama!" Reagan called out first. "Daddy!"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Rika was running after her brother as the two of them raced toward us.

"We were just about to put them to bed." I saw Mom racing after them as they came toward us. "But they wanted to check and see if you were back yet." I could see worry in her eyes. She had come back to the residence with them when Trinity and I ran toward the screaming place. "I'm really glad that you made it back in time."

"So am I." My Little Bunny smiled as she lowered herself for a group hug. "I would have hated to miss my goodnight hugs." I watched as she squeezed them tight, taking in some of their warmth and love. "I love you both so much."

"Love you too, Mommy!" Rika grinned back.

"Me love Mama, too." Reagan boasted.

"Hey, what about Daddy?" I grinned at them and knelt next to my Little Bunny so that I could get my hugs as well. They both grinned, giggled, and switched over to me.

"Love Daddy too." Rika buried her face in my chest as she said the words.

"Yeah, love you Daddy." Reagan piped up next to my ear.

"I love you too." I felt the love that I had for them causing my heart to swell. Who knew that having a family would be this great? Even in the face of bad times, their love could melt you down to nothing but a puddle with just a hug.

"Come on now, you two." I heard Mom call out to them. "I am sure that Mommy and Daddy have work to do. Lola and I will put you to bed."

"K!"

"OK!" Reagan and Rika called out to her, and just like that, my hug was over. That was sad, I liked my hug. She was right though, we needed to talk and I knew it.

My Little Bunny and I went up to our room under the disguise of taking off the stuffy, formal looking clothes that we had been wearing. After the night that we'd had, I could have used a shower as well but I would settle with just changing.

As luck would have it though, my Little Bunny also wanted to shower.

"Come on, Fido, let's talk while we shower." She beckoned me to the other room as she walked. I knew that nothing was going to happen, not after tonight, but we could help each other to calm down with just our presence at least.

We stripped the clothes away and started the shower. As soon as the spray of the water was steaming, and I could tell that it was ready to relax our tense muscles, we stepped inside. Trinity started to talk immediately when we were in there.

"Reece, do you think Hibiscus is innocent?"

"Well, that is a little hard to answer. I mean, she did kill Frida, however, since she was being controlled and didn't consciously kill her, she doesn't remember killing her. So, she did kill her but  it's not quite that black and white. I know that some would say she is innocent, but others would say that it doesn't matter." I did my best to explain the situation the way that I saw it while I washed her back.

"Yeah, if her story is to be believed." I felt her shrug and curiosity instantly gripped me.

"You think she's lying?" I raised my eyebrow even though she couldn't see it.

"I don't know. I think that the story fit together a little too well." What she said both made sense but didn't. What was it she was getting at here?

"I don't know what you mean."

"I'm saying that I don't entirely trust Hibiscus." She turned her head to look over her shoulder at me. "I know that Aunt Glory trusts her and Athair mòr has known her just as long as she does, the trust runs deep between them. I won't let that cloud my vision though, I don't have the trust that they do."

What she was saying finally made sense. But even though I could understand the words that she was saying, that didn't mean that I could understand the feelings behind them.

"Are you sure that you're not just being overly cautious and just suspicious of every single person?"

"Isn't that what I need to do, though? I need to suspect everyone until they've been eliminated. That is the only way to be thorough and find out who is behind all of this."

"Yeah, I guess you are right about that." I agreed with her as I turned her around so that I could wash her hair, but that was just an excuse, in truth, I just wanted to see her face and look into her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked me. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back, and even with all that, she could tell that I was giving her a look that was full of curiosity.

"Are you psychic now or something?" I asked her with a laugh, more of a way to stall things than anything else.

"Only when it comes to you." She smirked, her eyes still closed and a look of happy contentment on her face. She always did like it when I washed her hair for her. I mean, who wouldn't like it? It's a free head massage. "So, what are you thinking about?" She asked me again.

"I am just trying to process everything that has happened tonight, everything you've said, and everything that I have thought and felt tonight. But I think you are right though, suspect everyone until they're proven innocent." I saw her smile like she was happy with what I had said. "Though, didn't we confirm that Hibiscus was innocent already?"

For whatever reason, my question made her sigh in exasperation. She didn't say anything though, she just tilted her head so that it was under the water so that she could rinse the soap out of it.

It seemed that that was the end of the discussion. We didn't say another word about what happened tonight. We just finished cleaning up and got ready for bed. I truly wanted to know what it was that she was thinking, but I wasn't going to ask just yet.