Chapter 131 Broken Crown
Chapter 124
"What!" I nearly shouted.
Frassie stood with her arms folded studying me the way a sorcerer reads the stars. Calm, detached. Unaffected.
There was no fear in her place. No hint of worry. She spoke as if she had not dropped the news that could rip my heart into pieces.
She was done talking to me. I could observe the way she pressed her lips into a thin line. No single word will come out of the mouth at that moment. She turned her gaze towards the door.
"I think you should figure out the rest yourself," she said.
Her voice, flat, cold and empty. She didn't even care who I was. The alpha king of stormfang.
At this time, most omega would be peeing in their trousers. Some would be trembling in their boots.
Frassie didn't have one more minute to waste with me. She turned her boots and walked towards the door.
"Wait!" I shouted. My heart, slamming round against my ribs. Do you for a moment realize who you are standing before? The alpha king of stormfang pack. King Jax Redmane II? I could get you locked and throughout your entire life you will not see the daylight again."
The threat sounded sharper than I intended. I was grasping for control. For anything that would make her stay and tell me everything she knows. Even as the word had left my mouth, I knew I had chosen the wrong words.
Frassie suddenly halted. She slowly turned back and then let out a laugh. Low, demonic and unsettling. The kind of laugh that crept under one skin and stayed there.
Was that meant to scare me?" She paused, her demonic laughter had disappeared and turned to a frown.
“Don't tell me that is a threat.”
My mouth widened before I could stop myself. I was caught off guard the way it suddenly fell open and I couldn't close it.
"This place is a lion's den," she said, taking a step closer to me. "If I should open that door and whisper a single word,”
She paused a bit, her eyes locked into mine laced with intent.
“…you would be executed and forgotten. No one would ever discover your whereabouts.”
My stomach plunged, my throat coiled up. I thought that would work on her. I thought it would loosen her tongue.
But I mis-judged her completely. I never knew that she could not be intimidated. It seems nothing hardly intimidates her.
"The little respect I still reserve for you," Frassie continued, her voice getting stronger, "comes from your down-to-earth approach the first time I met you. That's why I could talk with you like we have been friends and not a king."
She pointed her finger at me. "No pack member would tell you these secrets. You know why? Because they know you're a weak king. You hardly do anything about the problems in your pack."
Those words stung like a slap across the face. But she wasn't done.
"But leaving that aside," she said, shaking her head, "your cockiness has really turned me off. It makes me think it would be better if I just kept whatever information I have to myself. Even if it would help you."
"Like... What else do you want, Frassie?" I stuttered. My throat felt tight. "I promise you that I will protect…"
"Like protecting my sister?" she interrupted. Her eyes locked onto mine. "The one who is on the payroll with your Luna, Queen Rosa? She works in Alpha Ryder's house. Your beta's house. In Alpha Dominion's pack."
My legs gave out beneath me. I had to grab the edge of her small wooden bed before I found myself on the ground.
Sweat trickled down my face. The dampness making the fake mustache on my face itch and crawl over my skin like some creepy insects.
"That can't be true," I murmured. Yet the lie fell apart the moment it left my lip. Dip in my thoughts, a cold certainty set in. I knew she was telling the truth.
"Yes," Frassie said, nodding slowly. "That has always been your problem. All these years, even during your father's reign, which was more prosperous than yours. And you know why? Because of your weakness."
She paused, watching me struggle with what she had just told me.
"I expose a secret to you," she continued, "and instead of acting on it right here in my presence, you've been denying it. Saying it can't be true. What makes you think my life would be safe? Even if this place could guarantee my safety, what about when I step outside this ale house? The moment my mouth spits out what it's not supposed to, I'm as good as dead."
"I guarantee you your safety, Frassie," I said quickly. I was sweating so much now. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. My hands were shaking as I held it out to her.
"Have this," I said, trying to make my voice sound commanding. But it came out weak. "I appreciate everything you've done. I promise that this secret will not leak outside this room."
"Money is not the most important thing right now," Frassie said. But she still took the cash and tucked it between her breasts, hiding it in her dress.
"My sister's life is the most important thing," she explained. Her voice got softer, sadder. "She works in Alpha Ryder's house in Alpha Dominion's pack. We used to meet in my little place over there, in Alpha Dominion's territory."
Frassie took a deep breath. What she said next made my blood run cold.
"She's exposed a lot of evil that Queen Rosa has been doing," Frassie said. "She even told me that Rosa was the one who killed Queen Astra. The daughter of Lord Fredrick of Alpha Dominion's pack."
I threw my hand over my mouth. The room started spinning. For a moment, I couldn't hear anything. It was like my ears just stopped working. The shock was too much.
Rosa? My Rosa? A killer?
"Any she-wolf your Luna sees with Alpha Ryder, she kills them," Frassie continued. She was watching my reaction carefully. "She believes she sacrificed a lot for Alpha Ryder. So much that she can't give birth to any heir now. The gods have sealed her womb."
I felt like I couldn't breathe. Each word was another punch to my gut.
"It was because of the love she had for Alpha Ryder that she agreed to become queen of Stormfang pack instead," Frassie explained. "Now the gods have struck her womb and she can't bear any children. Alpha Ryder wants to abandon her and find someone else to give him an heir."
The words shocked me to my core. How did this omega know all these things? How could she possibly know such private, dangerous secrets?
Sweat poured down from my head. The old clothes I was using as a fake belly suddenly felt like hot coals against my skin. The mustache was itching like crazy. I couldn't take it anymore.
I ripped off the fake belly and pulled away the mustache, throwing them on the bed. They had turned from a disguise into torture devices.
I watched Frassie as she stood there, having just revealed the biggest secret of her life. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she was lying. But I couldn't. Because part of what she said was true.
The fertility issue was real. The healer had told both Rosa and me that we couldn't have our own heir. But I could never tell Frassie that secret. Never.
"What is your sister's name?" I managed to ask. My voice came out like a croak.
"Freya," Frassie answered. There was pain in her eyes now. "Even though she was the one who helped Queen Rosa dispose of the bloody cloth. The one Rosa used when she went to kill Queen Astra. All because Queen Astra was carrying King Ryder's heir."
I felt dizzy. The room was spinning faster now.
"She couldn't do anything about it," Frassie said, her voice breaking a little. "Because Queen Rosa bought her loyalty. She paid my sister ten times the wages Alpha Ryder pays his in-house maids. Ten times!"
Frassie wrapped her arms around herself. "I've warned her to look for a way to leave that job. To take the money and run to a far place where she can start a new life. She has enough money now."
She paused, biting her lip. "The only problem is that they would look for me. They'd find me if they don't see her. We're connected. If she runs, I'm in danger."
"I promise to protect you with everything I have," I said quickly. I stood up from the chair, even though my legs still felt weak. "I will get someone to protect you. You won't even notice them, but they'll be there. Watching. Keeping you safe."
Frassie shrugged. Her face showed that she didn't believe me. Not one bit. Why would she? I had just threatened to arrest her a few minutes ago. I had shown her exactly the kind of weak king she said I was.
"I think I would need you to give me evidence," I said, trying to think clearly. My mind was racing with everything she had told me. "Something I can use to nail… " I stopped myself. "Something to prove what you're saying is true."
Frassie eyes locked on mine.
Her eyes studied my face like it was an open book. Trying to know if I was serious or not.
"What do you think?" I asked folding my arms.