The Alpha King's Mistress Chapter 119: A Note??

My head throbbed against the cold bars, a dull ache mirroring the one that had settled permanently in my chest. It's been three days since I received that letter from my father and that hollowness in my heart still lingers.

Fatigue clung to me like a second skin, and peering at the face staring back from the bars, I barely recognized the woman with swollen eyes and lifeless hair.

A metallic clang echoed through the corridor, jolting me from my weary daze. The heavy metal door groaned open, revealing an unfamiliar woman with red hair. She was new. The woman was oddly familiar.

Ah right. She was the woman I saw in the hallway the night when the incident with Agares happened. The woman looked at me, meeting my eyes for a second before averting her gaze.

Without a word or even a flicker of acknowledgment, she put a metal tray through the small gate at the base of the door. At least these days, I am now eating 3 times a day. I didn't know what happened but I was thankful for it.

The woman softly shut the gate with a final clang, leaving me alone once more.

“Whatever” I whispered to myself.

Hunger usually ruled my nights, but tonight, exhaustion had won. I curled up on the thin cot, drifting off into a restless sleep, not bothering to take a peek at the meal.

Dawn arrived slowly, painting the narrow window with a weak light. Waking up, I instantly heard my stomach grumble in hunger.

“Shit”

I stumbled towards the tray, my body stiff from the damp floor. The delicious bread felt exquisite in my tongue, filling my stomach with emptiness. Picking up the chipped cup, I took a tentative sip of the now-cold broth.

Just as I reached down to place the empty cup back on the tray, my brow frowned when I felt an odd sensation under the bowl stopped me.

“What's that?”

I lifted it, revealing a small, crumpled piece of paper paste to the bottom. My heart leaped into my throat. A note.

My body instantly tense. Unfurling the paper with trembling fingers, I found a single word scrawled across it: "Festival." Below it, three more appeared each a spark of hope in the suffocating darkness: "Escape. Or. Attack"

There’s only one person that crosses my mind. Keith. It had to be. But confusion battled with relief. A festival? Escape? An attack? How could I possibly use this information from the confines of this cell?

“That bastard,” I said through gritted teeth.

How does he know I am here in the first place? Does it mean he has a rat inside the pack?

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to focus. Tucking the note into the pocket of my jeans, I knew it wouldn't stay hidden for long. Tomorrow, during my bathroom break, it would disappear down the drain, the only way to ensure its message wouldn't fall into the other hands.

“What does he want?”

The paper says a festival. It might pertain to an event or time to escape or attack. Is he making me choose?

As if realization dawned on me. Dread fluttered in my stomach.

He wanted me to escape or there would be an attack. If Keith wanted me to escape from this place, it meant he wanted me to go to him or an attack would be happening. A time was given to the note—Festival. Maybe the Moonstone pack will have an upcoming festival.

A few hours later in the morning light found me staring at the cracked plaster on the wall, thinking for hours about the note. As the familiar sound echoed through the corridor, my eyes darted to the door. Lena appeared, a hesitant emotion etched on her face, as usual, a tray of food clutched in her hand. She put it through the gate, the metallic clatter sounding deafening in the quiet cell.

Just as she reached for the previous day's empty bowl, I broke the silence. "Who delivered the food yesterday?"

Lena stammered, "Uh... it's Sonya. I wasn't feeling well, so I asked her to cover for me."

The woman with red hair. I needed to speak with her again. With a calculated shift in expression, I rendered my face cold, causing Lena to swallow audibly.

"Do you understand why I'm here?" I pressed.

Lena nodded hesitantly. "Y-yes. They told me... you're a criminal."

A smirk played on my lips. "I need a favor in return for the one I did you."

Her breath hitched. "B-but..."

"Don't worry," I interrupted, my voice smooth. "I simply need to speak with Sonya. I suspect last night's food might have been tampered with."

Lena's hushed whisper denied the accusation. "She wouldn't do that."

My eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps it was you?"

“I don't!” Lena looked around as if inspecting someone to appear. “I didn't put anything on it”

A small smile crept on my lips since my plan was working. The food was fine but I needed to weave a lie to force Lena to bring that red-haired woman here.

“I am not planning on telling you what happened if you just let me talk to Sonya. I think she is the one who put something on my food. I don't want any more complications I just want to know the truth from Sonya herself”

Lena thought for a moment. The permanent frown and worry in her eyes was evident.

“Are you sure you're not going to do anything?”

“What would I do to a maid? I just want to ease my curiosity about that woman. I just simply want to know her reason for doing it”

“You're not suspecting me?” she carefully asked.

I shake my head, “No. So, let me talk to Sonya and this will be just between the three of us unless you want me to involve your Alpha. He would not take it lightly if I accused the two of you of poisoning a very important criminal”

Lena looked at me shocked.

“You know, I have some good leads to serious issues so they need me alive” I added.

Lena swallowed, “I'll see what I can do” Then, with a curt nod, she turned and left the cell.

Silence descended once more. I sank into the cot, the untouched food sitting forgotten on the floor.

………..

Hours bled into one another until the sunlight could not be seen anymore. As the shadows began to lengthen, signaling the approach of dinner, I was pacing back and forth now, thinking. The day just stretched on in an agonizingly slow crawl and I have been expecting Sonya, the red-haired maid, to appear.

Disappointment gnawed at me. Had Lena changed their minds? The silence of the cell pressed in on me. Just as doubt threatened to consume me, the familiar thumps of footsteps echoed down the corridor.

I scrambled to my feet until someone appeared, not Lena, but Sonya. Her red hair and emotionless eyes, strangely remind me of… someone. But I dismissed the thought. This was no time for whimsical ideas.

With practiced efficiency, she deposited the tray of food on the floor and turned to leave. But before she could disappear into the shadows, I stopped her.

"Wait," I blurted out, "About the… message yesterday. What did you mean by it?"

She turned back, "I dont know. It's what you read"

Anger flared within me. "What? Are you kidding me?" I echoed, my voice rising a notch. “Tell me the truth because I could get you killed in a minute despite me being in this damned cell, I promise you”

She flinched under my threat, “Now I understand why Lena suddenly let me go here. You also threaten her the same. You indeed have a very… convincing way with lies,”

I raised a brow, “It's not lies and I do what I need to know the truth”

She pressed her lips in a thin line, “Like I said, I don't know. I was just ordered to put it in the bowl that will be delivered to you. But my aunt said something about choices. It's either you submit or fight with blood. If you don't cooperate, he'll just send his men to the Moonstone Pack and tear them apart."

The words made my stomach churn and dread filled my chest. Keith wanted me to choose. To escape and go to him or stay then he will attack the Moonstone Pack. he also gives a time—that unknown festival.

But there is that one question.

"Who is your aunt?"

Sonya hesitated. She glanced nervously at the door as if expecting someone to burst in at any moment.

"My… my aunt," she finally admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "The former maid named Olga."

The name that hit me made me scoff. Olga. That traitor. I can't believe she remained disloyal to the core. First, being a minion for Samantha now she was also affiliated to Keith. To think that the old woman had chosen to side with that normal shifter and betrayed her Alpha and pack made me want to kill her.

"Thanks," I said dismissively.

Sonya gave a curt nod, her expression unreadable. Then, with a final lingering glance, she turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me fuming in the dim light. Frustration boiled over, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I want to kill them, those fckers!” I grumbled frustratedly.

Until the end, Keith will not give up on getting me. My hardships would not end if that bastard was still alive.