Althea’s face flushed as she muttered under her breath, “I... was ordered to strip. I didn’t think, I just drank from the bottle without checking to get so courage. I didn’t even sniff it. And that poison had no taste, so...”
lva gasped. “Ohhh. So you got distracted... because the Alpha King was about to devour you,” she teased with a wicked grin.
“Stop,” Althea grumbled, pressing her lips together in embarrassnt.
lva chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction. “Alright, alright,” she said, still smiling. “How about I go scout around? Maybe I can find a river or a little waterfall nearby. You always say nature helps calm your body after one of those... episodes.”
Althea looked at her gratefully and nodded. “Yes. Thank you, lva.”
“Then rest for a bit, I’ll be back before the stars co out,” lva said cheerfully as she stepped outside the carriage.
As the door closed behind her, Althea leaned back and let out a soft sigh, the embarrassnt lingering in her chest but so did a quiet warmth.
“I wonder what this was,” Althea humd as she straightened her body and let these weird sensations just crawl inside her body.
She took a deep breath. Her body was slowly getting used now to these sudden waves of cold, or monts when her lungs felt full of too much air, or a burning sensation that pulsed beneath her skin.
It had started when she turned eighteen. No healer could explain it. But Althea knew... There was sothing inside her, sothing powerful, being held back by a force she didn’t understand.
She had begun to question if her mother was truly just human. All she ever heard from those who ridiculed her was that her mother was nothing more than a human slave, soone her father had bought from a distant continent. A re slave... yet the woman he had fallen for completely.
Her father never spoke much about her, only that he had loved her more than life itself. That her death had nearly destroyed him. She had been ten years old when her mother died. She was found unconscious beside her mother’s body in the woods. She’d had a head injury, and when she woke, her mories were gone.
Everything about her mother... lost.
She closed her eyes and leaned against the wooden carriage wall, the ache in her chest deeper now, not just from the cold that haunted her body, but from the growing fear that her blood carried a truth even she wasn’t ready to face.
***
anwhile, outside, lva wondered who she should approach, since none among the convoy were actually approachable. She saw a servant and walked toward her.
“Excuse , is there a falls or river here sowhere?” she politely asked.
“Don’t talk to ! You’re from the traitor’s pack! You’re serving the traitor’s daughter who defiled our Princess!” the servant grunted.
“That’s enough!”
lva was utterly confused. ‘Did our Alpha do more than wage war against the Alpha King? Defiling the Princess? The Alpha King’s older sister, Princess Ruela?’
It was Gamma Simon who approached, and the servant quickly walked away.
“What is it that you want?!” he hissed.
lva bit her lower lip as her heart thudded with fear. This man was actually her mate. But she never dared voice it, out of fear. Also, she wouldn’t dare confirm to the Gamma if he also felt the sa pull like she did. He was scary too, just like his Alpha King!
“Oh, that, I just wanted to ask if there’s a nearby waterfall, river, or natural pool where my lady can... dip herself in,” she said awkwardly, stamring. “You see, she has this strange... uh, condition. Only natural water seems to help.”
He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Then get a tub, fill it with water, and have her dip in that.”
“That won’t work,” lva replied, a bit more firmly this ti. “It has to be natural water surrounded by trees and earth. I don’t know why, but her body reacts differently otherwise.”
“You think you two have the luxury to feel like you’re entitled to do anything you want?” Simon growled.
lva flinched but quickly shrugged off her annoyance. With a crumpled face, she answered back, “It’s not like we did anything bad under Alpha Cain. Even my lady is innocent in all this. She’s not aware of her father’s doing, and even I am not.”
“Say more words and I’ll cut your tongue! Know your place, woman!” Simon growled.
lva gulped and, before turning around, scoffed, “My na is lva! lva Ward! Not woman!”
She almost tripped as she ran back to the carriage.
“Hahaha, that woman is so funny!” Beta Osman burst out as he approached.
“She’s a fool,” Simon muttered.
“But you still saved her without her knowing,” Osman pointed out. Indeed, Simon had saved that woman from one of his n, who was ready to slay her on instinct. Apparently, the woman was his mate, and he still couldn’t comprehend how it ended up like that at all.
“Anyway, I believe our Alpha needs to know what his mate wants. She could really be sick, so I’ll report this matter,” Osman simply comnted before waving and leaving.
anwhile, lva was panting as she entered the carriage again, so Althea worriedly asked, “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing, just that these people are still wary of us. I’m sorry, my lady, I didn’t find anything...” she said as she caught her breath.
“Oh wait!” lva humd, making Althea frown. “Right, that servant ntioned sothing about Alpha Cain defiling the Alpha King’s sister.”
Althea bit her inner cheek and clutched the fabric of her dress. She once heard in her father’s thoughts how he was planning to use Princess Riela to covet the throne, saying she was easy to sway and believed they were fated mates.
“No wonder the Alpha King is truly mad. It’s not just about Father trying to usurp the Alpha King’s throne by waging war. It’s personal. We really don’t know the extent of what happened... but I will find out,” Althea firmly stated.
She was now feeling better, so she would read the minds of others whenever she could and see what truly happened.
“I’ll try getting more details too, My Lad-”
lva’s voice was cut off when the door of the carriage swung open.
“My Lady, the Alpha King asks to escort you to the nearest hot spring in the area,” Beta Osman said with a friendly smile.
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