Chapter 31

Lois sat in the darkened room, her body heavy with grief, her thoughts consumed by her sextuplets. She mourned them as though they had been ripped from her forever.

Alpha Karl was merciless. Not only had he barred her from seeing the light of day, but he also denied her the sight of her precious children. It had been three long weeks—three weeks without her little joys. This was the cruelest torment of all.

Her mind wandered to the six years she had spent raising them. Time has flown so quickly, she thought. Tears trickled down her worn, craggy cheeks as she succumbed to despair. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard footsteps approach the door.

She knew at once it was one of the maids. The door creaked open slightly, and a hand slid in holding a tray of food.

“Hold it right there!” Lois barked, her voice reverberating through the stone chamber.

The maid froze, trembling, then forced herself to step inside. Her face paled as Lois’s darkened brows arched, casting a menacing shadow over her eyes.

“The king… the king ordered we feed you,” the maid stammered, her voice shaking.

Lois let out a hollow, bitter smirk. So, he knows I’m still alive… and yet he chooses this torture. I wonder what lies he feeds my babies while he keeps me rotting here.

Summoning her dwindling strength, Lois rose from her corner. Her figure loomed unnervingly in the flickering shadows, far more terrifying than any ordinary human. The maid’s hands quivered.

Lois advanced, snatched the tray, and hurled it at the wall. It shattered, the clatter deafening, food splattering against the stone.

The maid gasped. She had never seen Lois so unhinged.

“You… you can’t throw the king’s dishes like that! He’ll—”

“Go out there,” Lois cut her off with a roar, “and tell the king I want to see him!”

The maid staggered back in terror.

“He can do whatever he pleases, but he dares not lie to my six angels!” Lois’s voice cracked into a shriek, raw and savage. “Tell him he must see me—or I’ll murder the next maid who steps through that door!”

Her eyes blazed red, her fury spilling unchecked. Another day without her children, and her mind would surely shatter.

The maid bolted, slammed the door shut, and fled to the maids’ chambers.

Miss Noelle, the head maid, was addressing the younger staff in the kitchen when the trembling girl burst in. Silence fell.

“Why do you look so pale?” Noelle demanded.

The maid bowed quickly. “I went to feed the prisoner… the lady. But she hurled the tray against the wall, demanded the king’s presence… she—she looked terrifying!”

“Oh, the wench is at it again?” Noelle muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, Head Maid,” the girl whispered. “And she… she threatened to kill the next maid if the king doesn’t see her.”

Gasps filled the room.

“She would never dare!” Noelle snapped. “If she tries anything stupid, she’ll lose her head.”

“But, ma’am… she meant it,” the maid insisted, her voice cracking. “She didn’t even care about being punished for destroying the tray.”

“She cannot do anything!” Noelle barked, though unease flickered in her tone.

The maids whispered in fear, their nerves raw.

Noelle narrowed her eyes. Nothing she said could quiet their trembling. She sighed and straightened. “Fine. I’ll handle this myself. Tomorrow, I’ll feed her with my own hands and prove that lowly wench has no say in this palace.”

A collective sigh of relief spread among the maids.

The next day in Lois’s enclosure

Lois lay on her back, weak and hollow. Hunger no longer mattered; the pain of separation had devoured her appetite.

Footsteps again. She tensed, eyes darting to the broken tray in the corner. Quietly, she snatched up a shard and slipped it under her garment.

The door creaked open. Miss Noelle entered with two junior maids carrying trays. Her sharp eyes swept the room, lingering on the shattered remnants of yesterday’s defiance.

“Clean this mess,” she ordered.

The younger maids obeyed swiftly, then placed new food down.

“Wait outside,” Noelle commanded.

They obeyed, leaving Lois and the head maid alone.

“I hear you’ve been refusing food,” Noelle began, her voice dripping with disdain. “You should be grateful the king has matters to attend to. If not, he would be standing here instead of me—and you know what that means.”

Lois remained silent, her eyes cold and watchful.

“And another thing,” Noelle pressed on. “Threatening my maids? That’s a capital offense in this palace. Do you even realize—”

Still nothing from Lois. Her silence was infuriating.

“How dare you ignore me!” Noelle shouted, marching forward. She seized Lois by the hair and yanked her head back. “Do you know who you are defying?”

“The biggest mistake you ever made,” Lois whispered, her voice like venom, “was walking in here.”

Noelle froze in confusion—then pain seared across her face. Lois had slashed her with the shard of tray.

The head maid screamed, clutching her cheek as blood gushed between her fingers.

“You—!” she gasped. “You scarred me! You little—”

The junior maids rushed back in.

“My lady!” they cried, horrified.

“She cut me! The wench cut me!” Noelle shrieked, struggling against their grip as they tried to restrain her.

“Please, we must treat your wound—you’re bleeding too much!”

“No! Let me finish her! I’ll kill her right now!” Noelle roared, thrashing as they dragged her out.

Lois sat back against the wall, her expression blank and unyielding.

The commotion had echoed through the palace. Alpha Karl, on his night walk, heard the uproar. His guards returned with vague explanations, but moments later Noelle herself stormed into his presence, her face bandaged.

“Why are you here like this?” Karl demanded.

“My lord, the woman you’ve locked away—she threatened your maids and then attacked me!” Noelle cried.

“Lois did this?” Karl asked flatly. His expression betrayed no surprise. Of course, he thought. The same wench who stabbed her own stepsister would do worse.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Karl exhaled heavily. “Then it’s time I visit her myself.”

He entered her confinement, shutting the door behind him.

Lois smirked as his scent filled the room—dominant, suffocating, yet laced with the cruel familiarity that haunted her.

Karl dropped his heavy leather jacket, his stare cutting through her.

“You don’t seem interested in dying peacefully,” he said coldly.

“Where are my children?” Lois demanded.

“They are not your children,” Karl snapped, fury darkening his eyes. “They never were, and they never will be.”

Lois’s heart lurched as he seized her throat, pinning her to the wall. She gasped, her nails clawing at his grip.

“The only reason you still breathe,” he growled, “is because my heirs came from your body. Otherwise, you would have been dust long ago.”

She choked, body trembling as she fought to draw breath.

“This is the last warning, Lois. Next time we meet, I’ll rip your lungs out with my bare hands.”

He released her. She collapsed, coughing violently as air rushed back into her lungs.

“Karl!” she rasped, clawing at his boot. “Let me see my children! Why would you hide them from me?”

He shook her off with disgust and strode out.

“You’ll pay for this, Karl!” she screamed after him, her voice hoarse, cracking into madness. “LET ME SEE MY CHILDREN!”

Her cries echoed until her strength abandoned her, and she collapsed unconscious.

Later, in his chambers, Karl found Lady Sandra gazing into a mirror.

“Did she trouble you again, my lord?” Sandra asked sweetly.

Karl’s silence was answer enough.

Sandra smirked. “Then why keep her alive? She’s worthless—get rid of her. That’s the rational thing to do.”

Karl clenched his jaw. “I want to. With every part of me, I want to. But something… holds me back.”

“Then allow me to do it,” Sandra purred.

“You don’t need to dirty your hands,” Karl replied coolly.

Sandra’s smile faltered, but she pressed on. “My mother went to the shaman. She says that woman is a curse in this palace. A bad omen. She is the reason I’ve been unable to give you an heir.”

Karl’s eyes narrowed. “Your mother said this?”

Sandra nodded.

He sighed. “Still… I don’t think I should kill her. Not yet.”

“Why, my lord?” Sandra pressed.

“I don’t have an answer,” he admitted. His voice hardened. “And Sandra—I already have heirs. Six healthy children. You remain my consort, but they are the ones destined for the throne.”

Sandra’s heart burned with silent fury. She leaned closer, her hand grazing his shoulder. “But—”

“You may leave now, Sandra.”

Her eyes widened. “So soon, my lord?”

He said nothing more. Silence meant finality.

“Well, I must see my mother, then. Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

She swept out, seething.

In the consort’s chambers, Lady Vetta welcomed her daughter warmly.

“You look radiant as always, my darling,” she said with a sly smile.

“Oh, Mother, spare me the flattery,” Sandra chuckled, though her eyes smoldered.

“I mean it. You’re beautiful,” Vetta insisted.

Sandra sat, exhaling sharply. “That filth caused trouble again. Mother, do you think he’s under a spell? Is that why he won’t kill her?”

“I suspect something hidden. Something we have yet to uncover,” Lady Vetta mused.

“And how do we uncover it?” Sandra asked eagerly.

“Leave it to me. I’ll sort it out,” Vetta said firmly.

Sandra smirked. “I trust you.”

They shared laughter over Lois’s assault on the head maid, mocking her as a “crazy wench.”

Meanwhile, in his private chamber, Karl sat in heavy silence. Each year as Alpha King brought more torment, more riddles that gnawed at him.

The door opened. Wolfe entered, bowed, and asked, “You called for me, my lord. Are we going to them again?”

Karl nodded.