Alpha King's Mate

26. Trio

3rd Person POV

The door to the bedroom slams behind Duchess Caroline and she throws herself on to her bed.

Mackenzie Bolton and Duchess Rowena enter soon after.

"They have no right- they can't-" Mackenzie begins but Rowena shakes her head.

"They're the King and Queen of course they can." Rowena sighs and sits beside her daughter, combing their fingers through Caroline's hair. "I know it's unfair darling, I'm so sorry. But, I think it would be best if he went to tea."

"I am not going to tea, mother." Caroline groans into her pillow.

     "Neither am I, not with that bitch." Mackenzie huffs, sitting on the other side of her cousin.

"Listen to me, now." Rowena commands. "It will all be fine, better even. Now, you can find your mate, the man you are meant to be with-"

     "I don't want a mate!" Caroline sobs. "I want to be Queen."

     "Then we should go to tea. Maybe we can negotiate your betrothal to a noble Lord or perhaps another Duke. Then one day, one of your children can marry the King and Queen's child." Rowena suggests. "Of course we won't talk about that part at tea."

     Caroline sniffles and lifts her head from the pillow. "That's a good idea."

     Mackenzie nods.

     Rowena smiles and wipes her daughter's tears with her thumb. "You see? Things will turn out fine, darling."

     "Yes, mother." Caroline smiles and leans into her mother's warm hand.

     "Lovely. I'm going to go give our best wishes to the new Queen, I do hope you both will join us for tea and at least pretend to have gotten over this ordeal." Rowena chirps and stands, exchanging warm smiles with her daughter and  exits the large guest bedroom.

     Caroline's smile immediately fades and her head snaps toward Mackenzie. "We are going to destroy her."

***

     There is a knock on the door.

"You may enter." Caroline says, sitting on a sofa with her legs crossed and a devilish grin on her face.

Mackenzie does the same and they both watch the door open as a woman in a palace-issued pencil skirt and blazer enters.

"You sent for me, Duchess Caroline." The woman bows her head.

"Sit, Madeline." Caroline gestures to the sofa across from her, and Madeline Avery, the King's former head of staff, sits before her. "I heard about your demotion. Would you like to tell us anything about that?"

"Excuse me?" Madeline coughs with a raised thin eyebrow.

"You were demoted three months ago, when the Queen arrived at the palace. Tell me, what happened in her first few days in the palace which resulted in the loss of your job?" Caroline asks.

"There was a slight altercation between the Queen and I the day she arrived, nothing more. May I go?"

"No, because you aren't telling the truth. We heard you attempted to have her hanged. Why?" Mackenzie jumps into the interrogation.

"No, she was committing treason, the policy-"

"That's pretty embarrassing." Caroline chuckles. "Attempting an illegal public execution, and the girl you're attempting to execute turns out to be the King's mate. I'm surprised you weren't fired."

"It was a bad call."

"You know that's not true." Caroline insists and Madeline's drawn on eyebrows furrow. "You wanted to have that power, it wasn't her crime that made you do it, you wanted to be the judge and juror, you wanted the absolute power of an absolute monarch."

"Why am I here?" Madeline spits. "I won't sit here and take this-"

"I can offer you that power, if you help me out." Caroline offers with an even more concerning smirk in her face now.

"How?"

"Simple, you gather harmful information on the Queen for me, and I use it to get rid of her. Then when I am Queen, I will give you even more than you ever had before." Caroline says and in crosses her legs, outstretching her hand to Madeline. "Do we have a deal?"

Madeline smirks and shakes the Duchess' hand. "Yes we do."