At first everyone just stared at her but Adolfo recovered his wits quickly. His face then twisted into an angry scowl.
He marched up to her and said, "what the hell do you think you're doing? You have no right to be here!"
"Not even if I have proof that these tournaments to chose the next alpha of the Silver Moon pack are unnecessary?" Aradia inquired.
Adolfo's anger now turned into shocked rage. "What? How dare you?! These tournaments are a time honored tradition amongst the werewolves. Passed down from generation to generation. Used as proof of leadership and strength as demonstrated by our ancestors. Tests of who is worthy and who is not capable of becoming a great Alpha."
"Well do those traditions apply if the previous Alpha was assassinated?" Aradia cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.
Everyone in the crowd gasped.
"What?" Adolfo cried out.
Aradia thrust the files in front of his face. "This is proof! Proof that Adrian was poisoned in a deliberate attempt to provoke these tournaments."
Adolfo sputtered, "how dare you..."
"Read these files!" Aradia cried out as she shoved them into his hands. "I have already sent them to the press, and the other High Hidden council members. These files and the arrest of Ricky Bauer proves that the drug Rage being distributed as a street drug was a cover for its real purpose: to kill certain hidden leaders!"
Adolfo looked through the files.
"Don't you see?" Aradia said as she looked at everyone staring at them in the circle. "This was all part of a plot! With the drug being sold on the streets, no one would suspect that it was being smuggled in as medical drugs as well. It was meant to kill your leader thus weakening you all. Of course, that was only half of it! The drug was being so widely distributed that half of you and the other packs got hooked! It was plan to make the packs of Salem vulnerable! Most especially, the Silver Moon pack by killing your Alpha and provoking these tournaments it was meant to fully break you!"
"How do we know this is all true?" Adolfo demanded, "how do we know you are not lying?"
Aradia stared at him incredulously. "A thirty nine year old man dying of what seems nothing doesn't seem odd to you at all? Looking at the state of this pack is proof that their tactics have worked so far."
"I mean look at them!" Aradia said and thrust an arm out towards the entire crowd. "Look at all these victims! Do you believe that if they were attacked right now they would have a shot in hell of protecting themselves?"
Aradia left the question to fester in the air. It didn't stop her from adding though, "and besides do you know what the drug Rage is made out of?"
Predictably no one answered her. Aradia looked around once before saying, "Us! The drug is made out of us! Vampire, werewolf, fae, and shape-shifter DNA! Blood from us and our kind is used to make this drug! No other chemicals are used at all! The drug is nothing more than a goddamn means of cannibalism! And we are all taking it!"
The looks of horror and gasps were enough to startle even Aradia.
"Furthermore," Aradia pointed to the top file, "I have actual proof that Adrian was targeted and there is another target intended. We the hidden people of Salem are being manipulated and used!"
Needless to say, the tournaments were postponed and put under further scrutiny once an emergency High Hidden Council meeting was called. The target that been marked for death next was Tristan's father King Rian. After he and the other council leaders, the remaining Alphas Adolfo and Castel as well, went through the mountain of evidence that Aradia had gathered things definitely changed. A rehabilitation center was established to help the recovering addicts, and dozens of fae soldiers were sent out to confiscate every single Rage pill they found. Aradia convinced the council to turn them over to the narcotics division in Boston. With so much hidden DNA in the drug it wouldnt affect the humans at all. Since the entire police departments in Boston were human the hiddens wouldn't dare try to steal any of it. Exposure nowadays meant instance death sentence and no hidden dare risk that.
After she successfully convinced them was when Aradia learned that her title and position on the council had been revoked.
"Why?" She asked as close to rudeness as she dared.
King Rian stared straight at her. "Over the last year you have neglected your duties on the council and acted in an a very unacceptable manner. Being a hidden council member is not something you can shirk off. It is a huge and great responsibility! Humans may be allowed to neglect their responsibilities but we hiddens are not! Therefore, if one does not meet the standards of council duty then they must be exiled."
Aradia struggled to speak.
"But...but," she sputtered, "Saul...he...I didn't mean to..."
King Rian waved away her protests. "Whether you meant to or not makes no difference. As in reference to this 'Saul' character your love life is none of our concern. However, it doesn't excuse neglecting your duties. Hell! Neglecting your duties in favor of partying with your boyfriend as the Witch Queen just proves what we suspected all along. You lack the emotional maturity to perform your council duties."
"But then why did you give me the title in the first place?" Aradia demanded.
Brannon sighed. "When you opened the club we were led to believe that you were on an emotional level that you could help positively influence the hidden community of Salem. However, the way you have been acting lately proves that you are not what we thought you are."
"The truth is Aradia," said King Rian, "we gave you the title as a chance to prove yourself."
He sighed heavily and averted his eyes. "And you disappointed us," he muttered, "miserably."