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?JOHANNA.The hall was filled with the masses. They were all celebrating the return of their Princess. Was I truly the Princess? How long did the slave master know of me being the Princess and kept it to himself? Why and how did I get lost after my birth?There are tons of questions that I need an answer to, and so I hope the ceremony ends anytime soon so I can meet my father. I was motherless since no one was talking about their Luna here.“Your Highness!!!!” I was startled by a feminine voice from behind. When I turned, I met a maid who bowed to me. “Do I owe you anything?”“You have to get dressed and join the ceremony. They are all waiting for the Heiress to show up,” she explained.I looked at myself. The Heiress? This still seems like a movie. What about the family that trained me up, how did they manage to get me? Now I see the reason they hated and despised me. They mistreated me because I wasn't their biological daughter. But why would they take me in if they knew they wouldn
JOHANNA.I was battling with my eyes that almost shut. Tiredness swam all over my body. I had trekked to this clan, and it wasn't fun any longer like it was when I was still in the woods. The moment I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, my father cleared his throat—my eyes snapped open.He was standing before the crowd, gripping his royal staff. “I think it's time to declare the most important part of this ceremony….”I adjusted on my seat, eyes glued to my father to hear what he had to say, which was the most important part of the ceremony.“Years back, a week after the Supreme Heiress disappeared and none of the guards could find her, I made a declaration—a vow to anyone that would bring her back to me.”The weakness in my body subsided. My eyes narrowed while I was all ears to hear what he had in store for us.“I declared that whoever found the Supreme Heiress amongst the men of this Pack would be married to the Heiress and would be the next Supreme King….”My heart stopped pump
KING RAMSEY.Facing the moon, I crossed my hands backwards. Last night, I spent my night in a tavern, drunk, and I couldn't continue that way. Tonight seemed to be the worst and longest night for me. It was 1 a.m., yet I was unable to shut my eyes.The thought of Anna flooded my mind. Where is she exactly? Hope she's safe even after escaping. Even if she has been cheating on me and has run to her lover, she needs to be well, at least, until I find her.One thing I'm certain of is that no matter how long it takes, I will surely get her back to this palace. Seeing her daily, even if she was a slave, will ease my mind and make me concentrate.I've gotten no good news from the guards and my Beta. I have no clue about Anna and the slave master—but all I focused on was Anna. If she had done all that in five years of living with me, then she must pay for making my heart bleed and wasting my time. But if she is innocent, then she must take back her position while her sister would be my consor
JOHANNA.I sneaked into the restroom and leaned on the wall. Two weeks had passed since I agreed with my father to return to the Divergent Shadows Pack. He was enraged when he learned that I was the deposed Luna and was framed, but I had already decided to prove my innocence to the other Clan.My temperature was still rising despite the medication I had taken. “This f*ck can't stop me from leaving. I have to go back there and look into that matter,” I murmured, my lips twitching. “If my father finds out that I'm sick, he will cancel everything that I planned. I can't let this sickness stop me from leaving today.”I spitted out saliva into the WC and gasped. “Wasn't I supposed to be getting better by now? That medicine isn't working….” I grimaced and stormed out of the restroom.Evelyn was still arranging my belongings that I was going to leave with. “Are the envoys ready?” I inquired and she nodded. “We have to hurry so my father won't change his mind.” I glanced at her. “What of yo
JOHANNA.The chief envoy dashed towards me the moment I made the announcement, no one—not even my chief maid knew about it. I hid it from everyone—from my maids that my sickness was the symptom of my pregnancy.King Ramsey looked stunned. It's okay if he looks that way because he didn't get to see me after that night. I was sure to leave before he was awake and without a trace.“Your Highness!! It would be better to get this known to the Supreme King.” the chief envoy said to me, staring at my face. “That's not why we are here. It was agreed on the reason for your return, so you ought to step back from whatever motive you have.”I grimaced. “Are you saying that I made it all up?”He gasped, unable to answer me.“I'm telling the truth here and it isn't a joke. My child belongs to King Ramsey, and only after he or she is crowned will he be dethroned. I would like to see him pay for accusing me—but in a way that it won't affect my child." I uttered, sparing him a glance. He lifted his f
KING RAMSEY.My eyes narrowed when I turned to meet the slave master standing before the crowd. He bowed before me, with disdain written all over his face. “What did you just say now?” I let go of Anna's hand, my attention pulled towards him.He smirked. “The child is mine—”“Stop joking around.” Anna shunned him and frowned. “Why would you say that?”He gazed at me. “You must be shocked to see me here today after being missing from your palace for two weeks now. Well, I am Alpha Roger…..one of the Supreme King’s subordinates, and I was the one who found the Supreme Heiress, which the reward is to get married to her.”“Shut it!!!” Anna screamed at Roger. “I never agreed to that marriage even when I was unaware of the pregnancy. How will I be when I'm not sure what you are to me?” she exhaled deeply, lips pouted angrily. “I never had a one-night stand with you, so stop raising more conflicts when all these have been resolved already.”Roger sneered. He found it funny that he was making
JOHANNA.Evelyn loosened the ribbon and hairpin that was used to style my hair. Beta Sam had unlocked my room, and I resided in it. I wouldn't want to switch rooms, not when I'm up to finding the rat that came in and dropped a contraceptive.She brushed my hair and styled it again, after which she applied some hair cream. “Why didn't I get to know that you were pregnant?” She broke the silence between us.We chit-chat a lot, so being mute was somehow uncomfortable. “You would betray me if you knew because it would cost your life if you hid it.”She scoffed, and I glanced at her. “What's funny? Didn't I get it right?" I grinned. “I was once Luna, so I know how cautious the servants were.”“I wouldn't do that when I solely want you to leave and succeed with your aim. I sensed that you didn't like Alpha Roger, so I guessed returning here would help you reunite with King Ramsey,” she muttered before dropping the hairbrush. “I, within myself, didn't feel comfortable when the declaration o
NINA.Standing before Roger, my heart was beating faster. I wouldn't want to be seen with him or it would look suspicious. The best way to keep my identity hidden was to back the palace building while our conversation was ongoing.Roger slammed his right fist on his other palm. He seemed out of ideas.“How do we do it now? I didn't expect her to return after seeing where she came from.” my voice was so slow that a spy would hardly hear me. “I knew about the one-night stand and I crafted all that—yet it didn't work. You haven't even said anything that would give me some assurance.”He coughed slightly. “So how did you get pregnant? They all believe right now that you're not the lady at the tavern. How will you still prove that it was you?” I stared at his moving lips. He looked mean and disappointed for how our plan turned into just like me.I gripped my gown. “I am not pregnant. I only said that to keep the King at my side—but still, it isn't working.” I made a long face. “You know, t