Chapter 7

"He must be stopped before he eliminates every single one of them," Goldie whispered harshly. Suddenly, her gaze met mine and she halted mid-sentence. Adjusting her posture, she moved towards the entrance, closed the door, and obstructed my view.

For a brief moment, I remained motionless, perplexed by what had just transpired. It was then that Dana’s gentle voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Your Highness?” Dana called out, noticing that I had stopped following her.

“What is happening in there?” I questioned, unable to take my eyes off the door Goldie had just closed.

“Another servant was discovered deceased this morning,” Dana revealed, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Who was that man we saw inside?” I queried, tearing my gaze away from the door to meet Dana’s eyes.

She cast a wary glance at the door before returning her attention to me.

“That would likely be Prince Bobo,” she responded. “The queen’s biological son.”

I hadn’t known that Queen Goldie had a son of her own.

“Who do they believe is responsible for the maid’s death?” I asked.

“Alpha King Theo, obviously,” Dana replied, narrowing her eyes at me. “This isn’t the first time he’s murdered a maid.” She shuddered as she spoke those words. Lowering her voice, she continued, “The full moon drives him wild and savage. I think the queen is tired of having to clean up after his messes.”

“But you mentioned that the Alpha King was chained in his dungeon last night,” I pointed out as we kept walking.

She nodded once, but her expression was uncertain.

“Yes, but he wasn’t there the entire night,” she clarified. “Beta Travis found him wandering the palace before he brought him to the dungeon. He was with me for most of the night; did Theo really have the time to kill a maid before Beta Travis found him?” I didn’t voice these doubts to Dana, though.

My mind was overwhelmed by the new information. I knew he was a ferocious beast capable of killing with a mere flick of his wrist. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the fiercest and strongest creature in our lands. I was aware he had killed his previous wife, and rumors suggested he killed for pleasure.

However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how he had hurt himself to prevent himself from killing me. That didn’t seem like the behavior of someone who killed for fun. It was hard for me to believe that he would endure such pain just to go off and kill someone else afterward.

“He didn’t do it,” Ollie echoed my thoughts.

“I’m not really hungry,” I told Dana softly as I paused in my steps.

She frowned and tilted her head slightly.

“Oh,” she sighed. “I hope I didn’t say anything to upset you.”

“No, not at all,” I responded quickly. “Thank you for the information, Dana.”

Despite my reassurance, she still looked uncertain, so I offered her a small smile.

“Honestly,” I insisted. “I’ll eat later.”

“Alright,” she said with a small curtsy. “I’ll save your food for later then.”

Once she was out of sight, I glanced around the empty foyer and made my way towards the door. I pressed my ear against it, trying to catch snippets of their conversation. Their voices were muffled and difficult to make out, but I managed to pick up parts of what they were saying.

“He doesn’t deserve to be the Alpha King. My son would be a far better ruler than that savage beast. Theo can’t control his temper, which results in innocent maids losing their lives.”

There was a brief silence before she continued.

“I just wish I could have seen the maid myself. I wasn’t anywhere near the room when it happened. Another maid found her body in the library. They’re still struggling to clean the bloodstains from the carpet.”

Dana reappeared in the foyer, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. I stepped away from the door and moved towards her.

“Where’s the library?” I asked. She frowned and raised her eyebrows.

“It’s on the other side of the palace,” she replied. “Why do you want to know?”

“Can you take me there?” I requested.

She hesitated for a moment but then slowly nodded her head.

I followed Dana through the palace, walking swiftly and silently until we reached a set of large doors at the end of a narrow hallway. She pushed the doors open, and I made my way toward the giant red stain in the center of the expansive library.

Fortunately, the library was completely empty. I quickly scanned the area, trying to gather as much information as possible. I wondered if Theo had come to this library last night after he had injured himself.

As I examined the floor around a nearby table, I noticed several broken chairs scattered across the ground. There had definitely been a struggle here; the maid had been attacked and likely fought for her life, though tragically failed to save herself.

I walked over to the table and stopped when a small silver earring caught my eye. It was trapped under the leg of one of the chairs. Frowning, I picked up the earring and held it in the palm of my hand, studying it closely.

“Did this belong to the maid?” I asked Dana, who was still staring at the bloodstain in shock. She tore her gaze away from the stain long enough to look at what I was holding.

She shook her head, and I noticed her body was trembling. She was clearly frightened.

“It couldn’t have been,” Dana said. “Servants aren’t allowed to wear jewelry. Queen Goldie has decreed that only the rich and powerful can possess such items.”

Then whose earring could this be? I recalled Queen Goldie saying she hadn’t been near the library and that another maid had discovered the body.

“She must have been lying,” Ollie whispered angrily. “She’s trying to frame Theo. Isn’t it obvious?”

Just as I was about to voice my suspicions aloud, I heard the sound of the library doors opening and closing.

I turned around just in time to see Queen Goldie standing before me.