The Alpha's Temptation

Chapter 43 The Culprit

Thorns of anxiety dug into his skin. Anger permeated in his chest. He had asked her not to leave and she still left. He was seriously contemplating on chaining her in his bedchamber. Breathing shakily, he rushed out of the library. As instructed by him, there wasn't a single guard around it. Where did she go? He sniffed the air. It led to the right and he knew that she had gone to the servant quarters. Had she eaten? Was she with anyone else? Did she meet a handsome man? Was he flirting with her? His fists curled tightly until his knuckles were pained. He would kill the bastard.

Desperate and feeling helpless, the king headed towards the servant quarters, when all at once he found himself surrounded by half a dozen guards. Eltanin gritted his teeth and turned back to go to the library. He had to wait for her there. What if she didn't come back? The thought made him so anxious that he thought he would end up running to retrieve her and drag her back. But that was going to attract too much attention. While he continued making plans on how best to retrieve her, he waited for her to come back, it was already evening time and the library was bathed in darkness, resembling his expression. A soft knock on the door pushed him out of his thoughts. Excited that she had come back, he ran to open the door, only to find a servant holding a candelabrum.

"May I light up the library, Your Highness?" she asked, bowing to him.

Eltanin raked his hair again when he realized that it was already dark outside. Tania hadn't returned. His emotions were all over the place. From being happy around her, to suddenly being anxious and afraid about her. It was as if she had disappeared. His heart stuttered. He was going to have her near him, once and for all. Ignoring the servant, he darted to his bedchamber. He had a lot of work to do.

—-

Tania had reached her room after she finished translating the grimoire. It wasn't a lot because the language was repetitive. She had gotten the gist of the language and converted it into the common language. She hadn't looked up until she finished all of it, for the fear that the king would come back and disrupt her work again. As soon as she finished her work, she came back to her room, extremely hungry. She hadn't spoken a word about it to Glenn, but as if he already knew, he had brought her a trencher full of boiled and peppered vegetables along with dried bread. She was happy to be able to eat this meal in peace.

Sleep came like a sweet note of the bits and pieces of a lullaby she remembered her mother used to sing for her.

'My sweet little Tania

Like a star hidden in the sky

Let her sleep

Don't pick her up

Else she would fly'

But nightmares surrounded her soon after. _{ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​}

"Mamaaa!" she sobbed.

"Stay here, Tania," her mother said, a woman with hazy features but clear gray eyes. "Whatever happens, don't come out, okay?" She hurried Tania into a closet.

"I want to go with you mama," little Tania cried, holding her hand and tugging her inside with her.

Her mama caressed the back of her head as she knelt in front of her. Wiping her tears, she cupped her small face and said, "My little Tania… my baby... I am so sorry for not being able to protect you, my child. Hide here until everything is over with." She leaned down to kiss her on her forehead and straightened her frock. An ear warmer with furry fleece was lying on the ground beside her. She picked it up. "Don't take it off and keep your eyes closed, okay?"

Tania shook her head. "Where is papi?"

A loud guttural scream pierced the air and her mother stuttered to breathe, her features going pale. "Hide! Quickly!" She placed the ear muff on her head and pushed her in the closet. And the next thing Tania knew was that a loud wail penetrated the protection over her ears.

She woke up with a start on the floor, searching for something, someone, a loud scream muffled at the back of her throat. As usual she was sweating and gasping for air trying to make sense out of her nightmare. Were they real or manifestations of her turbulent mind?

When she finally peeled open her eyes, she realized that her room was shrouded in a veil of darkness. Tania got up to light the solitary candle in her room that was placed on a long trestle table along with her pitcher. However, the moment she did that she heard loud screams of women.

"Please don't beat us," said one as if she was pleading. "We don't know which girl you are talking about. No one takes a bath in the creek outside!"

Tania heard cracking of a whip in the air and a loud thwack followed by another scream of a woman. She said something else, but Tania's heart pounded so loudly in her ears, she was unable to hear the rest. Were they looking for her? On a reflex she wanted to go and find Glenn, but the moment she took a step closer to the door, she heard heavy footsteps of the soldiers. Scared as hell that she was going to be punished, Tania whipped her head around to see if there was a possible place to hide. If only Glenn would come, she could be saved. There were loud knocks on the doors of all the servant rooms. The soldiers were looking for the culprit.

"If you do not give the girl to us, we are going to skin all you alive!" A loud, shrill voice came. Giada. "Hand us the girl, and we will leave you alone."

Tania pressed her hands to her mouth as blood drained from her face. If she didn't go out there and confess to the crime she never committed, everyone was going to suffer. Unease poured in her heart like a bucket of cold water. How could she let others suffer because of her? How could she be so selfish? But she was shocked at one thing—in king Eltanin's kingdom, anyone could beat or kill his servants and he wasn't even bothered. He was not only cruel and merciless, he was indifferent to the tortures his servants suffered from the hands of those who didn't even belong to his land. At least, the Cetus Monastery was better in a way that outsiders couldn't torture the servants.

"Which girl?" a servant wailed. "None of us know about her!" A loud slap on her face followed. The servant shrieked in pain. "Have mercy!"

Tania's fists curled into tight balls. She had to come out, else this was going to lead to carnage, which she would be responsible for. As a good spy she should run away until the matter died down, but that meant more lashes on the innocent. The thought made her doubt her ethics. She was in a dilemma. What to do?