She said, he said...

-So the news this time...- Phili's voice came out a little pasty.

The bottle on the table was half full. It would be the best hangover of her life. Getting in the way of other people's lives required concentration. She had such high hopes...

It was only to secure a public trial for the poor midwife. And its execution. Her best informants had said that Cassie was quite fond of her friend. The motto was to separate to conquer. She drained the rum from the glass in one gulp and burped, savouring the taste of failure. Things weren't going well.

-But they are still fighting, at least? Any woman would be angry and jealous. It is not possible...

The boy shook his head. He was new. A gipsy. Well, aside from the fact that both Richard and Cassie were furious with the pack's beta and wanted to drive the omega out, you could say everything was fine.

Richard slept in the men's cabins' quarters. The enviable bad mood... At least no one needed to listen to melodramas. he complained. And it was not little. Taking the blame for so many accusations made him furious.

Whether he intended to give his younger brother his turn in succession? To the goddamn hell no. He ground each of the accusations before the authorities investigated the case. He had been released by the guard after the sentries noticed that it was a fight between a husband and wife. And in a husband and wife fight... well, no one gives many guesses.

-She's furious. Did she know about it? We're broke. No castle. Without money. Jobless. Didn't it cross her head full of fetched ideas how are we going to survive in this chaos? She hasn't even noticed there's a damn pandemic on this island. Did she know she dared to step into the fray to defend her friend? She's furious about a name and not about the damn money.

Philip heard the news from the gipsy sighing. He refilled the glass. He was almost an alcoholic. There had to be a limit to his failures. Didn't the gods look at anyone else but him? He paraded an entire rosary of plagues.

-What about the girl?

The gipsy hid an amused smile. All the confusion had caused quite a stir in the gipsy village and the Armada. Well, the girl was in the women's cabin wing. More like an angry cat with claws ready. No. Did he think it was time at last for Philip to appear as the saviour? It was hilarious to think about.

The village was divided. Some sided with Richard's reasons. And another part understood the girl's grief well. And a minority tried to show some sympathy for Philip's pathetic, tearful melodrama.

-She already complained about her clothes. She complained that she was expelled. She managed to complain about Mayra. I don't think she liked her plan very much... Taking a random case with the captain as the great love of his life... I don't think it was a good choice if you ask me... I should have let the two of them be awkward on their own own. She hated the explanation that Richard was married and then the errands that he was single.

Philip drummed his fingers on the floor of the table, taking a deep breath. Perhaps his decision to remove the girl from the Armada had been rash after all. With every curse.

-But they keep fighting, right?

This time the gipsy smiled.

- They agreed on one point. They hate you and the competition is a tough match to know which one is the winner.- The explanation was quick.- Vladimir saw fit to leave each one of their dormitories. To calm tempers.

Philip shook his head in bewilderment, a perfect plan with every detail. The only detail was dealing with a sorceress.

- Well then. Let her stay away and sleep in the cabin, It will be easier for her to agree to talk to me and...

This time the gipsy burst into laughter. Does the girl talk to the beta? It was easier for wolves and sorcerers to ally in a war. And not like that. Philip's plans included drawing a lot of female attention to Richard in the village. The captain of the Gaia was having problems. There was no lack of the company of beautiful women. Not even the beautiful courtesan Philip had hired… She looked like a wolf's sixth sense.

-But she didn't sleep with him? Do you know how much the woman charged me for the damn services?" Philip grumbled.

-I think the woman got tired of hearing the list of qualities of the alpha's future wife. Richard added to the list nicely. we have now: opportunist. bitch. devil. Stubborn. troublemaker! wild wolf. Tigress. traitor. She expected a good night of sex. And no complaints.

Philip sighed. Why was nothing going right? Did it have to be the plague? Of those two? May God protect him! He made the sign of the cross in amazement;

-What about the girl's reaction?

-The killer looks? The woman seems to have eyes everywhere. Do you know how it is? New witches. do not control accidental spell casting. The horse lost the horseshoe. The gun belt broke. Some of his papers caught fire. Otherwise, I'm wrong documents. He's furious looking for some keys that are missing. Looks like they were from the couple's room. From the communication door between the rooms in the castle. She has an amazing list of the best qualities. Do you want to listen? profiteer. Male chauvinist! Bossy. Controller. He just didn't make the womanizer list because none of the girls is now crazy enough to approach the captain. You know how it is. Strange things happen around when these people get angry. I heard a discussion about the name or something.

At this point, Philip sighed with relief.

-So the wedding was cancelled! The gipsy smiled even more.

- You don't know the gipsy Vladimir well. The date is set. There are guardians around the village. I thought they were just in the forest around the castle.

-Normal. Two alphas. Of course, they would each have a guardian. It's never easy to argue with them. And they never obey unless...

Philip cursed the old traditions. He hated it all. But it all happened to him every time he thought or imagined going to Cassie and trying to convince her of her good intentions. He had already been sick. The horse had fallen along the way as he rode. It looked like a punishment from the gods. Nothing worked. She had simply hated him at the first glance. Joke. Didn't they talk about love at first sight? That had been a case of anger at first glance. Or disgust. She didn't even bother to look him in the face.

Appeal to Richard's good feelings? In all the miserable humour? Another joke! On top of that, the authorities watched him from afar. were beginning to distrust their scheming. Should he say what it was? I would be lucky. in jail. If hate killed he would be struck down by lightning right there in the middle of the tavern while he was drinking. And the two of them in isolation in their huts. Incredible! Not even death would he succeed in harming those two. God was so unfair to him!

-But back to the subject of marriage...

-Vladimir when he decides... and his wife... No one defies his orders. Both Richard and the girl belong to ancient practices. I find it very difficult to bring the girl into the midst of your god. Neither of them will abandon the old traditions.

Philip closed his eyes and asked for the second bottle.

Jackie… He was a man in serious trouble when Jackie arrived in Chabone and discovered his plots to harm Cassie. Even worse if the wolves teamed up and a catastrophe if Richard and Jackie teamed up against him. Maybe reporting Jackie on account of back taxes hadn't been a good option.