[RANIA]
"I wish that were new, but it's not. Anyway, Paloma dear, could you be kind enough to tell us why you captured us?" Rania asked and Paloma looked at her, with curious eyes.
She knew Rania was baiting her to slip up and give the actual reason which was something that Paloma wasn't ready for. Then again, it wasn't like she had anything to lose if Rania got hurt, or did she?
"Nothing much, I just wanted to see him hurt you in all the ways possible, but it seems he thinks otherwise," Paloma said nonchalantly, like it was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.
"That's quite endearing really, but we kinda don't have the time. Maybe if you could do whatever you wanted with us, please do it fast and let us leave, or not," Rania said, her voice plain like she had nothing to lose here. Rania was worried, but it wasn't for herself.
Rania was worried about Dalrae. She had heard the people who seemed to know what happened to dalrae and she was curious about what else those people knew. She wanted to go back and give Dalrae the answers she needed, but Rania didn't even have the answers herself.
The other thing that made her worry for Dalrae, even more, was the fact that her best friend had agreed to go to the alpha camp and represent Obren. Rania was worried that the alphas would try to make a mockery of her, considering she was known to be the kinder one.
Dalrae never liked trouble, but that didn't mean she hated trouble.
If anyone tried shit with her, she would put them in their place, and break a few more bones before leaving them to die and dry out. She may have been heartless but not like Rania, which was why they always got along, because Dalrae was the voice of reason.
With Rania away from Obren, Rania was sure her father was going to try and defy Dalrae or even keep her in harm's way. That thought alone made Rania want to back out of the mission.
Then again, she had made Dalrae a promise, that she would complete the king's mission and come back home, before she decided to disappear for Obren and the supernatural world.
The only thing Rania could do right now, was hope to the goddess that the wind was keeping his promise, because if anyone hit Dalrae, Obren would pay the price for every pain her best friend felt, and Kim Rania wouldn't be merciful with them.
"Anyway," Plaoma said before turning to her rogues and saying, "Whoever makes Kim Rania cry, will get the special meal tonight!" Paloma announced and the rogues went silent before they began jumping with Joy.
At first, it seemed like an easy mission, because Rania looked tiny. Maybe they are thinking of breaking her bones to make her cry, but the woman had gone through all the phases of pain, not once, not twice, and definitely not thrice.
She had endured it since her sixteenth birthday, which was almost eight years ago. Nothing could make her shed her tears, because Rania had cried over the years to the point that she couldn't cry anymore. She had been certain that her tear glands were dry.
Expectedly, Rania scoffed at the announcement.
She had never heard people that excited for a special meal, like these ones. Unless the special meal was something else. However, she was also excited to know what all these people would try to do with her in the name of making her cry.
It has been four years since she had seen her tears, and if these ferals managed to get her to tear up, then that would be a real accomplishment. Rania was mentally ready for the challenge, because she knew they wouldn't win.
However, even though the Incayon alpha had never shed a tear in four years, there was only one person who could make her cry, and he wasn't even aware of it. And that was an advantage that Rania had, unless Paloma opened her large mouth.
"Damn, you starve your people too much to the point that you need to promise them good food? Now Paloma, I thought I was a cruel woman, don't tell me you hurt your people too?" Rania asked, the concern in her voice so genuine that for a moment, Paloma was in shock.
With every interaction she had with Rania, the woman was being surprised every second. It was really something else being Kim Rania, and that was also how Paloma knew she didn't want to be Rania's mortal enemy.
She was okay with being a nuisance to Rania's life, because he knew that would make them enemies. That was a fact since everyone knew it took a lot to get on Rania's bad side, and in her list of enemies, there were only two people.
Park Jihoon and the werewolf queen, Eunbi.
Hell, not even the irrational hateful Incayon alphas were fit to be her enemies and the stupid wolves had made her cry more than once.
None of the rogues and even Jihoon had focused on what Rania was saying but Paloma had and in all her years interacting with Rania, she knew that Rania was only ever sincere with Dalrae. So the sincerity may have been a mistake, but then again, what if it wasn't?
'Was hunger a triggering topic for Rania? Was she always starving when she was home? Surely alpha Kim couldn't have put his daughter through so much, now, had he?' Paloma couldn't help but think about such and instantly, she fisted her hands.
Rania looked at the rogue queen, realizing that even though Paloma was no longer an Incayon werewolf, even though she was banished from Obren by Rania herself, the woman never forgot what happened before her banishment.
And for a moment, it was comforting, because other than Dalrae, Rania knew Paloma understood her.
"Oh love, but we are just getting started. Everyone! Who's going to go first?" Paloma said, shaking her head so no one would raise she was morally compromised and conflicted by all this.
Then again, Paloma had promised her people fun, and that's what she would deliver, after all, Rania had taught her that it was important to never lie to her people if she wanted them to follow her to war and be loyal.
When the noise had quieted down, the ferals began forming a circle around Rania and Jihoon. It was a wide circle one that made it clear who was the target and who wasn't.
For a moment, Jihoon wanted to stay in the circle, but all that changed when Paloma told him that the fight was Rania's and not his.
So with a smug look, the Calindra alpha smirked at Rania and watched as she stayed alone in the circle, surrounded by people who had been made to believe that Kim Rania was not supposed to see even the sunset.
It was all so crazy because at some point, Rania had proven to Obren what humanity was. If only she hadn't been rejected so many times, she would have lived a fairly normal life, considering her alpha state and normalcy were polar opposites.
"So, special treatment, huh? What else do you want, oh royal Jihoon, a fucking crown on your stupid head? Or wait, an answer to all the questions?"