Alari's pov
I'd been expecting a note the next day but was quite disappointed?... Pleased! I was pleased that the biggest threat to my life and Kingdom hadn't accessed my bedroom.
But it did leave me anxious to know when we'd hear from her again, or was increasing security the right move to make?
As much as I wanted to believe that we had countered our enemy's attack pretty good, it felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And I wasn't disappointed… and maybe a little excited I was right.
It had been quiet for two days after the first note and just when I was expecting the day to go without a hitch, I found another one.
A sticky note on the sliding door leading out to the balcony, which was open by the way and I knew it couldn't have been Damien who opened it.
We'd left the room together like we'd been doing since the first note and only seperated when I came to shower if he had something important to attend to.
One thing I was happy about was that it didn't quite shake me up like the first one did.
“Don’t go thinking I've forgotten about you princess!” Was written on the note. I went out to the balcony and sniffed around for a scent but couldn't catch anything. I even looked around to make sure everything was in place and it was.
I informed Damien about it, who seemed to be taking all of this a little more serious than I was.
I don't know what it was, but I felt safe, secured. There was no way the enemy could get to me, and I wasn't weak either. Nor was my mate, parents or security detail.
Damien rushed over and I told him not to bother with trackers because the place was as clean as we left it.
We didn't want to raise a commotion like last time so we only told Pearl and my parents about the recent note.
I thought I'd have to wait a few days for the next one but no! The very next day, I found another note on my pillow.
“Tick tock princess” it said, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I wasn't scared, maybe a little unsettled. Just when I thought I'd figured out her pattern, she switched it up.
I don't know if I was being too naive or arrogant but I was starting to think maybe I should worry a little more than I was.
This person was still coming in and out of my room without any trouble or getting caught, they were good. Too good!
“Boo! Did I scare you princess?” The next one said and yes, I was scared now. Not by what the note said but the frequency I was getting them. It honestly felt like she could strike at any moment, even at night when we're asleep.
Would it be too far fetched to believe that this would be an everyday occurrence? Probably not, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Maybe we should let Damien set up those cameras” Sapphira said, making me lower my hands and look at the punching bag as I heaved.
Damien had proposed we set up cameras in our room, if not to catch Narcissa in the act then rule out the possibility of it being a pack member.
Because it was really starting to look like an inside job. But who would betray the crown for our enemies?
I turned the idea down immediately, hating that someone would watch me sleep and be about in my private space, even though it was a good idea.
“They'll make a mistake, they'll slip up and we'll be ready. We just have to be a bit more patient” I said, resuming my assault on the bag swinging violently from the force of my punching.
I felt a nauseating feeling form at the base of my stomach and steadily make its way up.
Coupled with a wave of dizziness, I held onto the punching bag to balance myself.
My feet carried me to the gym bathroom, throwing the door open as I dove head first into the toilet bowl.
All the contents of my stomach forced their way up my body and I stayed heaving until there was nothing left.
My head stopped spinning and I got up, flushed the toilet. I washed my hands and rinsed my mouth while I wondered what was wrong with me.
It had started two days ago, and at first I thought it was a bug but I ruled that out when it only happened in the mornings.
I've had my blood drawn to check for any poisons but the enemy doesn't want me dead, they need me alive.
“Whatever this is, I can't wait for it to be over” I groaned as I left the bathroom, deciding I'd had enough exercise for today.
It was an hour earlier than usual, I'd started staying longer in the gym, not because I wanted to train longer but because it was one of the few places in the castle I felt safe.
Heck, I was pretty sure I felt invincible in the gym but I couldn't keep going today. I felt a little weak after puking my guts out.
My security detail stayed on the heels of my feet, literally! I had no space to exist but I guess it was for my good.
The castle looked like the Hollywood version of the White House and it wasn't as nice as it looks.
I don't think sharing a living spaces with that many people is nice.
“Luna” the ones at my door bowed as I approached.
“Please stop, I see you everyday, why are you still bowing?” I asked with an eye roll, earning a couple of smiles.
“The Alpha will have our heads” Mason joked with a smile, making me shake my head.
“Whatever” I said and went to push my door open but Mason beat me to it.
“Oh and since you're little early, Rebecca is still inside cleaning, she should be done any minute now” Mason said as he pushed the door open and I nodded as I entered.
I froze a step into my room when I saw Rebecca take a note, similarly to the ones I'd been receiving, out of the pocket of her apron and leave it at the foot of my bed.
“What are you doing?” I asked, causing the middle aged woman to jump back and look in my direction.
“L.. Lu.. Luna” she stuttered out the whisper, and I hardened my face when realisation struck.
Had she been leaving the notes? Was she working with Narcissa?!
“Damien, get here now!” I growled into the link, my anger seeping into it.
Rebecca trembled and began to cry, the fear oozing off of her cementing my thoughts.
Mason and a few others pushed past me in a haste to get inside and most of them surrounded me by the door.
The note was brought to me and I growled so loud everyone in the room whimpered.
I hadn't noticed Damien arrive but the immediate sense of calm I felt when he put his hands around me made me draw breathe and pull my aura back in. But I was still fuming.
I handed the note to Damien and he crushed it, throwing it away, hugging me close and kissing my forehead.
“I'm always watching princess, you can't hide in the gym” the note read.
“I found her leaving it on the bed” I said, making my mate turn in the direction of the weeping woman.
“Rebecca?!” He growled, the shock in his voice quite evident.
“I didn't have a choice, please! Alpha! Luna! I had no choice!” The woman sobbed but her explaining only angered Damien.
“End her!” Roman growled and just as Damien was stepping towards her, I held his hand, stopping him from killing the only person who's been in contact with Narcissa.
“We need answers first, call my mom. She'll get the truth out of her” I said, watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed deeply, trying to calm himself.
Not five minutes later, my mom came barreling through the door, her anger written in the way her face was twisted.
“I hear you caught a traitor” mom said said, her voice sounding like that of a psycho.
“I'm not even going to tell you to go easy on her” dad said, making his presence known.
“No please, I'll tell you everything, don't hurt me!” Rebecca cried, her eyes pleading and I couldn't help the betrayal I felt towards her.
Why would she put everyone in danger like this? Does she not realise what will happen if the witches get their hands on my blood? On the citizens of this Kingdom? How could she be so reckless?!
“I could do that, but how will I know you're telling me the truth?” Mom asked, taking slow steps towards Rebecca, who cried more and tried to scoot away.
A swirl of red and blue light formed in the palm of my mother's hand and grew bigger with every step she took.
“Hold her” mom said, her voice cold as she stood in front of the sobbing woman.
My heart broke, I won't lie. It wasn't easy watching a pack member beg and cry like that but she was helping the enemy. She wasn't one of us.
“This will hurt, a lot” mom said bringing the now large crystal ball that contained the red and blue light swirling within it to her temple.
“Please, I'm begg… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Her own cream cut her off and I winced, feeling a portion of her pain through the pack link.
It was almost like a worm digging into her head in the most painful way possible and I felt my nausea hit when her screaming became deafening.
I stepped outside before I could vomit all over the floor and Damien was right beside me.
He closed the door to keep the screaming inside and rubbed my back as I buried my head in his chest, his scent the only thing that smelt like heaven to me.
Swallowing down my nausea, I calmed down enough to think about what mom could find from digging around her brain.
I really needed to know her reasons for committing treason, not only against the crown but the entire Kingdom.
She put everyone's lives in jeopardy. The witches are no one's friends, they don't care about anyone or anything unless it's about power and dominance.
“It's alright baby, just breathe” Damien said gently, his touch soothing.
The door opened and I was glad to hear that the screaming had stopped.
“Are you good to go inside?” Damien asked and I just smiled and nodded, I wanted to hear what mom had found in her head, I needed to know why.
Rebecca was unconscious on the floor when we entered and dad was tending to her while mom stared down at her.
“Is she hurt badly?” Was the first thing I asked upon seeing her, my worry for her as her Luna breaking past all the resentment I felt.
“She's fine, just needs a couple of days to recover from the mental assault” dad said, massaging his hands on her forehead.
He was careful not to touch the burnt area on her forehead though. Must be where mom had placed that torture crystal.
“Well? What did you find?” Damien asked, sounding as impatient as I felt.
Mom sighed, her eyes not leaving Rebecca once. “It's not what I was expected but yes, she's working with Narcissa” mom said, making Damien growl.
“I will kill her” This was Roman, having barreled through the mental block Damien had put up to keep from attacking the woman.
“Alpha, wait. We can't kill her” mom said, having jumped infront of Rebecca.
“Mom?” I asked, baffled. Was she protecting the woman that is working with our enemies.
“She didn't have a choice” dad sighed, getting up, confusing the shit out of me. Were my parents showing mercy for a traitor?
What the hell was going on?!