111

Chapter 111
*Freya*
My hands throbbed, tied painfully behind me with rough rope that bit into my skin. The gag in my mouth tasted of sweat and fear, muffling my cries as I struggled against the binds. Clara-sweet, gentle Clara-stood over me, her eyes wild and desperate. How had it come to this?? One of my most trusted maids, plotting against me, wanting to kill me?
“Freya!” Rafe’s voice boomed through the room as he barged in, his eyes widening in horror at the scene before him. I felt a little bit relieved that he was here.
“Rafe!” My muffled scream was barely audible through the gag, but I could see the shock and confusion flash across his face as he took in the sight of Clara holding a knife, trembling yet resolute.
“What the hell are you doing!?” His tone was a mix of disbelief and fury. He started towards me, but Clara stepped back, tightening her grip on the knife.
I twisted my wrists, trying desperately to free myself, but the knots were too tight, biting deeper into my flesh with each movement. The pain was sharp, almost blinding, but nothing compared to the betrayal searing through my heart. How could Clara, someone I had trusted blindly, turn against me so viciously?
Just a short while ago, I’d stormed out of the courtroom, my heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Jessica’s smug announcement of her pregnancy had been like a dagger through my chest. Even though Rafe had insisted she was lying, that he hadn’t slept with her, that seed of doubt had already taken root. Blinded by tears and rage, I’d rushed back to my chambers, seeking solace in the familiar confines of my room.
But instead of finding peace, I had found Clara, poised over my cup, pouring a suspicious liquid. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. Poison. My loyal maid, my friend, trying to end my life. I had sent Clara, Grace and Flo to spend the day with their families but Clara obviously hadn’t gone because I had found her in my chambers alone, trying to poison my drink. Before I could confront her, before I could even understand the depth of her betrayal, Clara had struck me, and everything had gone dark. My mind came back to the present.
“Freya, please hold on,” Rafe pleaded, his eyes darting between me and Clara, his muscles tensed for action. “We’ll get through this.”
I wanted to believe him, but the fear and uncertainty gnawed at me. Clara’s eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something-regret, sorrow, anger. But it was fleeting, replaced by the cold determination that had led her to this moment.
Why, Clara? Why would you do this? The question burned in my mind, but the gag prevented any words from escaping.
As I watched Rafe inch closer, ready to pounce at any sign of weakness, I knew that whatever happened next would change everything.
“Don’t move, Alpha king, or she dies,” Clara’s voice trembled only slightly as she pressed the cold blade harder against my neck. The sting of the steel was a cruel reminder of how precarious my situation had become.
I tried to shift, to ease the pain in my wrists bound tightly behind me, but fear held me in place. The gag was suffocating, each breath a struggle. Clara’s eyes were wild, a tempest of emotions swirling in them, and I could see Rafe frozen in his tracks, his gaze locked on the knife at my throat.
“Please, Clara. Don’t do this,” Rafe’s voice was steady, but I could hear the undercurrent of panic. His eyes flickered to mine, full of unspoken promises. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But could he really stop her?
“Shut up!” Clara’s grip tightened, and with a rough yank, she pulled the rag from my mouth. Air rushed into my lungs, but so did the bitter taste of desperation.
“Why, Clara?” My voice cracked, a mixture of betrayal and heartbreak. “Why do you hate us?”
Her bitter laughter echoed around the room, harsh and empty. “Hate you? No, Freya, I don’t hate you. I pity you. You, who live in this cage all in the name of a competition, oblivious to the suffering your precious Alpha king causes.”
“Clara, what are you talking about?” I asked, tears stinging my eyes.
“One year ago,” she began, her voice trembling with barely restrained rage, “your beloved Rafe imprisoned my parents for no reason. They were old, frail, and they needed their medicines. I begged, I pleaded to see them, but I was denied. They died in that prison, alone and in agony.”
Silent tears streamed down her face, each one a testament to the pain she bore. Her anger was palpable, a living thing that seemed to fill the room, leaving no space for hope or forgiveness.
“Clara, I-” Words failed me. What could I say to that level of grief and fury?
Rafe took a cautious step forward. “Clara, there must be some mistake. Let Freya go, and we can talk. We can make this right.”
“Make it right?” Clara spat, her voice venomous. “You can’t bring back the dead, Alpha. You can’t erase the suffering you’ve caused.”
The room felt like it was closing in, the weight of Clara’s sorrow almost too much to bear. I wanted to reach out to her, to somehow bridge the wall of pain between us, but the knife at my throat kept me still. And in that terrible moment, all I could feel was fear. Fear for my life, fear for Rafe’s, and a sickening guilt for having doubted him even as he risked everything to save me.
“Clara, please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “There has to be another way. Hurting us won’t bring them back.”
For a heartbeat, Clara’s resolve wavered, but the darkness in her eyes quickly returned. “No, Freya. This is the only way I know.”
As I stared into her tear-streaked face, I realized that this wasn’t just about revenge. It was about a broken heart seeking justice in the only way it knew how. In that moment, I feared not only for my life but for Clara’s lost soul.
“Clara, please,” I whispered, my voice barely a breath. My throat was choked with terror and pity. “There has to be another way. Hurting us won’t bring them back.”
For a heartbeat, Clara’s resolve wavered, but the darkness in her eyes quickly returned. “No, Freya. This is the only way I know.”
“Clara, I can promise you that I had no idea of who your parents were. I have never imprisoned anyone unjustly. This must be a misunderstanding.” Rafe’s voice trembled, the words coming out desperate yet steady. “Let Freya go, and we can talk. We can make this right and no one has to be hurt.”
“I said you can’t make it right!” Clara spat, her voice venomous. “You can’t bring back my dead parents, Alpha. You can’t erase the suffering you’ve caused so you will have suffer the way you made me suffer so cruelly. You had no mercy on the people I loved so I will have none on the one you love.”
“Clara, who told you this? What happened exactly?” Rafe asked, his tone softer now, almost pleading.
“Your right hand man, Rafael,” Clara snarled, her grip on the knife tightening. “He came to our home one evening and told us that we were under arrest in the name of the Alpha king for living on free land that the alpha had not approved of.”
What? How was this possible? Rafe? I stared at the both of them in shock.
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