The stranger's secret

Raven’s POV

"Raven! Raven, wake up!"

I heard a voice calling out to me, pulling me from the darkness. Someone shook me hard, and suddenly, my eyes flew open.

I gasped, taking in a sharp breath. My body jerked as if I had just returned from the dead. Everything was blurry at first, but then I saw a familiar face—Damien.

 He was leaning over me, his eyes filled with both relief and frustration.

"Thank the moon goddess," he muttered, pulling me into a tight hug. 

I groaned in pain, he pulled back immediately. “Sorry,” he muttered, getting off the bed. 

I cleaned my blurry eyes, my hands moving to my chest, my eyes widened in alarm, realizing the clothes around Mt chest were gone. 

I don't remember unwrapping the clothes. The last thing I could recall was the unbearable pain—the venom burning through my veins, spreading like fire.

 I remembered stabbing myself with my own dagger to stop it, but after that… nothing.

I looked down, my jaw dropped open. The wound was completely stitched up. I don't remember doing that—no, I knew I didn't do it. 

A healer was kneeling beside me, her hands pressing gently against my side. “Looks like you did the job yourself perfectly.”

Damien snapped his head toward her. "What do you mean?"

"The poison," she said again, looking confused. “Don't you see it's gone, the wound is all stitched up.”

My mother stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed under her breast, face was cold and unreadable. "That’s impossible," she said firmly.

The healer shook her head. "I don’t know how it happened," she admitted. "Someone… or something must have pulled the poison out."

A chill ran down my spine. “I didn't do it,” I muttered, swallowing hard. 

Damien’s jaw tightened. "You don’t remember anything?"

I closed my eyes, trying to think, but everything was a blur. "No," I admitted. "Only the pain, and then… nothing."

My mother's expression darkened. "That means someone was here last night."

Damien’s eyes widened in alarm as he slowly turned to my mother. “Someone have found the truth.”

"We need to find them," my mother ordered, immediately, dashing out the door. 

Damien followed immediately, his voice loud. "Guards!” He called. 

Soon two guards rushed in, bowing their heads in respect. 

Who entered this room last night?" He snapped. 

More  guards appeared, lining up, their faces serious. 

“Who entered this room?* He shouted. 

"No one," they said.

I heard a loud sudden sound. My mother must have slapped someone. I quickly picked up the clothes, wrapping it around my breast before rushing out. 

"Lies," she spat. "Someone was here last night, weren't you doing your jobs last night?”

The guards looked terrified, but they all repeated the same answer. "No one came in."

I took a slow breath, trying to focus, my eyes slowly flickered to a servant who was whimpering at the side. 

I walked towards her, slowly sniffing her. The scent was familiar with the one I smelt last night but only stronger. 

“The scent was like the damp earth, like a farmer,” I muttered. 

Damien’s head snapped toward me. "What? Do you remember the person?”

"The person who was here last night…" I took another breath. "They smelled like a farmer.”

My mother frowned. “We don't have farmers in the palace.”

“We don't,” Damien chipped in. “But we have slaves that work in the royal farm, it was probably a slave.”

My mother's face twisted with rage. "Round them all up."

Minutes later, every slave in the palace was dragged into the main courtyard.

They stood together, shaking in fear. Some looked confused, others terrified but none of them dared to speak.

My mother stepped forward, darting her eyes to each one of them.  "One of you was in the Alpha's room last night," she said. “Who dared enter the Alpha's chamber?”

No one spoke.

Damien’s eyes darkened. "If you confess now, you may live. If you stay silent, you all die."

The silence continued. 

My mother scoffed, a small smirk appearing at the corner of her lips. “Kill them all,” she ordered, turning to me. 

Gasps of horror filled the courtyard.

The sentinels quickly morphed into their werewolves form, stepping toward the slaves, ready to carry out the order.

“I want you to know that this is all your fault, this is what happens when you let someone find out the truth, hope their cries and blood would teach you to be more careful next time,” she whispered in my ears. 

I clenched my fists in anger, biting my lips, that I could taste my blood. 

"Wait!" Someone shouted, walking out of the group. 

"Please," he begged. "Spare them. I'm the one you are looking for.”

Damien grabbed him by his shirt. "So it was you?"

The man swallowed hard, then gave a small nod.

I turned to my mother, I knew she still wouldn't let the slaves go, she was always the one who always went extra miles to ensure my secret didn't get out. 

“Take him,” I ordered. 

The guards dragged him back to the dungeon and beat him up till he was almost dead. 

My mother stepped forward,  looking at him with disgust. "Who are you?"

"I’m no one," he muttered. "Just a slave."

"And what did you see?" she demanded.

The man hesitated, turning to me. "I—I won’t tell anyone," he promised. "I swear."

I stepped forward, looking him over. 

"You expect us to believe that?" Damien asked. 

“Trust me, you need me more than you think,” the slave said, struggling to his feet. 

Damien scoffed. “Are you seriously blackmailing us?”

The slave shook his head. “If I tell the world the truth, they wouldn't believe me, no man would believe a woman is leading the men's army, so right now, I'm begging for my life with my service.”

“How can a slave be of any use to us?” One of my mother's guards scoffed.

His hands clenched into fists. "I know things," he blurted out. "Things you don’t, I wasn’t always a slave. I used to serve the Lycans before I was brought here,” he paused, locking eyes with me. “How did you think I saved you?”

That made Damien pause.

The healer stepped forward. "If he lived with the Lycans, he might know things that could help us."

My mother scoffed. "He’s just trying to save himself."

I swallowed hard, holding my head in pride. 

"Please," the man begged again, his voice cracking. "Just let me live, I swear, I won’t tell anyone what I saw and I can help you win the war against the Lycans.”

I looked at my mother, then at Damien.

Then, I gave a small nod to the guards.

They stepped forward, forcing the man onto his knees. His head was pressed against the cold stone.

A sharp blade hovered above his neck.

I inhaled deeply, flickering my eyes away. I couldn't bear to see another person die because they found out my secret. 

“Do it,” my mother shouted. 

I was waiting for the splash of blood but nothing came, instead, it was the body of the executioner, falling to the ground. 

My jaw dropped open, my head slowly turning to the slave, who had tackled the other guards without breaking a sweat. 

He turns to me, our eyes locked like magnets. Rage burning through my veins. 

A small smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. 

“If the guards can't kill you, that means I would have to do that myself,” I growled, lunging towards him.