Isidoros roared, "Ed! Do not speak lies!" Then he brought his hand forward and said, "Ponos en Aera". The next second Ed found himself suspended in the air as his body experienced sharp pain as though there were thousands of knives slicing his flesh. He shouted painfully. He had to bear that pain, that misery for five minutes until he thought that he would die. Tears rolled out of his eyes. But Adrianna was far too valuable to him. He imagined his granddaughter's beautiful, smiling face and bore that torture.

​​

After five minutes, Isidoros put him down and he stumbled onto the floor, sweating profusely.

"Now, tell us about the magic," said Isidoros again.

Ed looked at Howard who was as expressionless as he could be. Ed understood that he was on his own. Even though Howard would never rat it out, Ed had to deal with this situation on his own.

"Before you torture me like this, you have to tell me how did you hear about the magic," asked Ed.

The wizard who was standing near Isidoros spoke, "I saw it occurring around your house while flying through the forest."

"What did you see?" Ed probed.

"A tree had fallen because of lighting," came the prompt reply.

"That is nothing! Many trees fall around my house due to lighting and thunder. Does it mean that there is magic in it? It is mostly during rains!" retorted Ed.

"Quiet!" roared Isidoros. "If you do not speak the truth, we will capture you and never leave you. We will torture you until you die the most excruciating way."

Ed lowered his head and said, "I don't know anything about it."

Isidoros narrowed his eyes. "We are looking for our queen who had disappeared many years back. She was last heard of being in the wolves' territory. We also know that she had given birth to a baby and we have been looking for that child ever since. So tell me Ed, do you know anything about it?"

Ed was beyond surprised and now he was all the more scared for Adrianna. He had an urge to tell them about Shira and Adrianna, but he kept quiet. There were so many wizards in the room that it was possible that before he knew they would kill her. Or was it Isidoros who had vested interests? Until he had his answers, he would never tell them anything. He controlled his emotions.

Ed shook his head and replied, "No, I don't."

Isidoros was a clever wizard. He smirked at Ed. He didn't speak another word and said, "You can all go."

Ed had to be monitored.

Once they were out of the royal palace, Howard breathed a sigh of relief. "Ed you are a lucky person. Usually no one ever comes out alive from Isidoros's interrogation. Either they die or become prisoners and then die after becoming lunatics."

Howard took Ed to his house in the second level. His family greeted him enthusiastically. Ed was so exhausted that even though Howard asked him to have dinner, he declined and went to the guest room to sleep.

One of the wizards who had surrounded Ed was the military general, Cy. Cy had been one of the main contenders of the throne. Isidoros had been withholding a lot of information from him and he was shocked when Ed was presented before him. Cy had to find the baby before anyone would. He called his trusted men and asked them to stay around Ed's house.

Isidoros had his suspicions. If even there was a speck of truth in what his informant had reported, then Adrianna could be that child. Isidoros was highly impressed by Ed for protecting that baby even at the cost of his life. It proved the Ed was fiercely loyal to Adrianna.

He also knew that Cy would now be on alert once the news reached him. He would try to get hold of the child and eliminate it.

The point was that he had to keep Cy off the trail and under his watch. So he ordered him to surround Ed as soon as he was there. As anticipated, Cy had asked his men to keep a watch on Ed while Isidoros asked his men to keep a watch on Adrianna as well as on Cy's men.

Isidoros had knowingly sent Cy on a wild goose chase since Adrianna wasn't there in Ed's cottage anymore. She was with Dmitri – safe and secure for the time.

If it was for him to decide, he would have executed Cy long back, but orders like that had to come from the king or the queen. 

---

As soon as Dmitri announced about his marriage with Adrianna, all the people started celebrating. Chiefs communicated it to their packs that the supreme alpha was getting married. Many wanted to come to attend the wedding, as it was the biggest event they would ever witness in their lives. The red moon pack was a hub of activity overnight. Almost each and every member became busy with the preparations of the wedding. Nate and Liam were at the helm of all the affairs while Dmitri acted like a prince. All he had to do was take care of Adrianna.

Adrianna was extremely tired by the end of the evening. Kuro and her siblings wanted to come near and talk to her but she didn't pay any heed. 

As soon as the celebrations of the night got over, Adrianna picked her and carried her all the way to the master suite. He bolted the door from inside put her on the bed. After covering her with the blanket, he drew the curtains so that she would sleep peacefully and not get disturbed by the morning sun a few hours later. He changed and lied down besides her, spooning her. She had already slept by the time he came.

He dipped his face in her neck and smelled it. Kissing on her neck lightly, he closed his eyes. However, it was impossible for him to sleep. His blood rushed between his thighs and he pressed himself against her body. Gently he turned Adrianna towards him waking her. He kissed her lips softly and then licked them forcing her to open them. Adrianna opened them and he delved his tongue deeper. He took her hand to his erection and together they stroked it making him tip over soon.

"Thank you Adri, for being with me…" he said and hugged her tightly.

Tomorrow was a big day.