Chapter 6

KING RAMSEY.

“Don't tell me stories. Just bring Anna to me.” my voice thundered as I faced the guards. They were on their knees, quivering like it would solve the issue on the ground. “What is the essence of having you all here when you can't protect the Palace? What is the use to pay you monthly?” My face turned red, teeth gritting.

Behind me was my beta. I don't even know what to say to him for not being cautious as always. How would they—the whole of them be at work - and Johanna vanished in a twinkle of an eye? I've sent them to search the whole Pack, thereby ordering the Gammas to block the boundaries, yet that didn't work.

My fist tightened around my staff. Why? Why would she leave? Where is she now? Who did she go to? I couldn't answer any of these questions…..and I didn't care to know. All I wanted was to see Anna in the palace, even if she would patrol around as a slave.

Did she leave to be with his lover out there, or did she just run away? Johanna is my property, even if she won't be my Luna, and for that, I can't lose her. She would be a slave, while I go ahead to be a king without Luna. If she backstabbed me, then any other woman out there would also do the same.

My brows furrowed as I scowled at the guards still on their knees. “These won't help. The only thing you would do to ease my wrath is to find her. If I ever take that action myself—you all will end up being punished severely." I roared, voice deep and cold.

Per my order, they all rose and vanished from my sight, while my Beta stayed behind. He approached closer and bowed. “I should be blamed for not keeping an eye on her. She must have left at night when no one would stop her…..and I didn't bother checking on her in the morning because I had to fetch you from the tavern.”

I gulped, throwing heavy glares at him. “Here you are pleading for not protecting her, but you were mad at me for enslaving her.” I straightened his collar. “Make sure you find her and bring her back to me. I will possess her till eternity.”

He bowed and sniffled. “I learned something weird…..”

My face twisted. “What is more weird than my missing Luna?”

“Your slave—no longer your Luna.” he retorted.

I nibbled on my bottom lip. “Whatever! Do you not wish that she gets back to her position again? Do you think I believe that she's been taking that? I still find it odd…..I don't want to believe it no matter what.”

“Then we have to find out how she has been taking it without knowing. We both know how eager she is to give you an heir—so I find it odd, too. I bet she was so ashamed and had no other option than to escape from the palace, thinking that you didn't believe her.”

I licked my lips, listening to my Beta. I didn't believe that Anna did that, but I had to pretend that I did, so she wouldn't think that I was a fool. It hurt me so much that I even drank myself into a stupor for the first time as a king.

“About the news I got. The slave master isn't in the Palace any longer, and no one knows his whereabouts….” My Betas voice pulled me outta my thoughts.

I faced him. “What's that supposed to be? A slave master can't just vanish that way….”

“I investigated, and it was true—it's also weird. Why the same day that Anna vanish?” he averted his gaze not to meet my eyes. “Permit me to take over the case.”

I hissed. “Like you've been taking my permission before doing the ones you got me the report.”

He bowed to me and headed towards the door when I recalled something. “Sam!!” I called him back. “The lady I told you about.”

His eyes narrowed. “A lady? Who's that?”

“The lady I spent a night with at the tavern.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “What business do you have with it? It was an accident—you wouldn't do that if you were in your right senses.”

I nodded. “Yes, but she's my mate. I perceived her scent.”

He left the door. “Your mate?”

“I was shocked, but I have to find her.” I swallowed softly.

He moistened his lips. “Find her? What about Anna? You have no interest in her again?”

I shut my eyes for a bit and opened them again. I wouldn't have found that medicine, and we wouldn't have separated. “Even if she happens to be innocent, she would still be barren. Isn't it?”

“I'm not certain—” he nibbled on his bottom lip. “It's okay if I find the lady, but how will I do that so easily? What will you do with her?”

I knitted my brows, thinking of the response to that question. “Well, if you find her, she will be my consort for now. If Anna is innocent, she would still be Luna, but if she isn't innocent, the consort will take the position if she bears me an heir." That was all I could come up with, and I hoped that it would do well.

He nodded and bowed his head. “At your service! After you interrogate the maids, I will bring in the pack females and you find your mate easily.”

My lips pulled into a bitter smile. It's a pity I'm about to do something I didn't plan to do ever since I had Anna as my Luna. “We should head to the prison yard together…..”

***

The whole maids that served Anna were all tied up and lashed, but still, none of them could admit to the crime. They all insisted that they did not know about the drug. It seemed like a pain in my ass. If they don't know anything about it as the only ones who have access to Anna's room, then does it mean it was Anna who kept it but claimed to be innocent?

She was just a slave in less than two days, and she escaped from the Palace. What does that imply? Where would she go since I've gotten no news from her family about her return?

In addition, the disappearance of the slave master. Why would the two go missing on the same day? This is so mysterious that I didn't want to think about it so much.

The maids were all bleeding, yet none of them was ready to speak. Was it what they colluded to do? It can't be! They can't risk their lives this way!!

“Take them back to the cell and let them starve. Only if I find the culprit will they be freed." I instructed and exited the prison yard together with the Beta. “This is too deep. Maybe because it has to do with the woman I love.”

Sam tapped my shoulder. “How sure are you that the camera footage was wiped off? That footage is the only way to find the truth—even the forensic team won't be of help.”

I raised my brows, about to say a word when a scent hit my nose. “It can't be!!!” I halted, staring at Nina as she approached me. “She can't be my mate,” I added beneath my breath.

Nina came forward and bowed in respect. She had a slight smile on her face. “Your Majesty—”

I swirled my neck to the side, and my gaze met Sam. “Excuse us…” he did as I ordered, and I was the only one left with Nina. “What do I owe for this visit?”

She licked her lips. “I'm sorry I left so early in the morning. I was scared you would embarrass me if you found out we were mates and that we spent the night together.”

So I wasn't hallucinating? How on earth would Anna's sister be my mate? Why is she the lady I spent the night with?