Contract With The Alpha King by Brey Mitchylle

Chapter 109

"Don't you dare scarelike that again!" Elijah said, his hug tight.

In response, Fiona grunted, unable to speak as Elijah's embrace tightened around her. She knew she had made

him worry, knew it wasn't fair-but she hadn't had a choice. She had acted on instinct, choosing the one path that

seemed to make things easier. All she could do was hope. Hope that he would find her first. Hope that when she

opened her eyes, he would be there beside her.

And now, as her heavy lids fluttered open, her hopes were realized. Elijah was there, watching her with an

expression she couldn't quite decipher.

After what felt like forever, Elijah pulled back slightly, his hands still resting on Fiona's shoulders, his intense gaze

locking onto hers. "Why?" he asked, his expression a mixture of relief and exasperation. "Why were you so

certain | would find you? What if | hadn't been fast enough?"

"I wasn't worried," she said. Fiona smiled faintly, her eyes softening. "I knew you would come." She knew her

decision had been risky. There was always the possibility her body would heal before he found her, leaving her

unable to explain the situation.

His brow furrowed as he studied her, searching for any hint of doubt on her face. "How could you be so sure?

Your wounds... they were healing fast You would've been healed by the tanyone else found you."

And that would have completely ruined her plans. Moreover, it could have raised suspicion among the others.

After all, the Rogue King had just taken her. How could he let her go unscathed? By now, everyone knew about

Fiona's ability. They knew how valuable she was, and the Rogue King would have to be foolish to simply let her

leave.

"Because | trust you," she said simply. Her gaze didn't waver. "You've never givena reason to doubt that

you'd cfor me."

Elijah's grip on her shoulders tightened slightly, and he drew her into another hug, his arms enveloping her. He

held her close, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head. "Thank you," he said after a moment. "Thank you

for trusting me. For staying with me." Fiona froze, her heart skipping a beat at his words. Slowly, she raised her

arms, wrapping them around him in return. The warmth of his embrace was comforting, steadying. It wasn't

something she had expected to feel, especially after everything that had happened. She melted into his warmth,

her arms tightening around him instinctively. Funny, isn't it? How all of this had started as nothing more than a

deal. And now? Now her heart betrayed her, pounding his nwith every beat. Pathetic, isn't it? She pressed

her lips together, forcing herself to shove the thought aside. Thinking about it wouldn't change a thing.

She focused on more pressing matters. "The Rogue King..." she mumbled.

"Hm?"

"He had been poisoned."

As expected, he raised an eyebrow. "Poisoned?"

"By a Rosenthal," Fiona said. Without delay, she told Elijah what had happened while she was there.

WEREWOLF PALACE

Queen Lyanna's garden was a masterpiece of controlled chaos. The glass walls of the greenhouse shimmered

faintly in the morning sun, casting fragmented rainbows across the myriad of plants she had painstakingly

curated over the years. Exotic flowers with vibrant hues climbed trellises, their petals trembling with the faint

breeze stirred by the magic-infused air vents. Rows of herbs, both medicinal and decorative, grew in perfect

harmony alongside fruit-bearing trees that seemed to thrive under her watchful care. The Queen stood in the

center of the garden, her hands deftly working with a small pair of gold-handled scissors. She tilted her head

slightly, scrutinizing a withering leaf on one of her prized red orchids. With a sharp snip, she removed the leaf,

letting it drop into the basket beside her. "Unconscious?" she repeated, her words clipped as she moved to the

next plant. Her fingers trailed briefly over the stem before she found another imperfection. The scissors gleamed

as they sliced cleanly through. She placed the severed stem into the basket without sparing it a second glance.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the head maid confirmed. She stood a few paces away, her posture rigid, her hands clasped

tightly in front of her apron. "It's believed she managed to escape-or perhaps fought back against the Rogue

King or whoever took her-and fled. However, the poison was too much

Queen Lyanna paused, the scissors hovering over a particularly stubborn vine. Her sharp eyes narrowed as she

tugged the vine free, tossing it aside. "And bow. exactly, did Prince Elijah cinto this?" she asked, her tone

more curious than accusatory. The maid shified slightly, her gaze darting to the immaculate flowerbeds before

returning to the Queen. "It seems Prince Elijah found her before anyone else could They say he tracked her

through the forest and carried her back himself. He was with many soldiers, warriors."

Lyanna let out a low hut as she moved to another section of the garden. Her Angers grazed the petals of a

brilliant white lily, the only one of its

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11:11 AM].

Chapter 109

kind in the greenhouse. "So, my son arrives just in tto save her. How convenient." She snipped another dead

leaf, her movements calm, precise. "The poison?"

The maid hesitated. "Severe. Enough to nearly claim her life. The healers say it's a miracle she's still breathing.

There's... a possibility she may not wake up."

Queen Lyanna let out a faint laugh, more a breath than a sound, as she crouched to inspect the roots of a rare

blue vine creeping along the base of a marble fountain. She plucked a tiny sprout from the soil, her nails expertly

avoiding the thorns. "A possibility, you say? And yet, she clings to life. How... persistent."

The maid's hands tightened on her apron. "They believe her survival is due to Prince Elijah. He hasn't left her

side since bringing her back. None of the assassins sent after her could get within striking distance, and yet-"

"Ah, yes. The assassins." Lyanna's lips curved faintly as she rose to her full height, brushing soil from her gloves.

She picked up the basket and carried it toward a wooden bench nestled under a flowering tree. Setting the

basket down, she selected a clean cloth from her worktable and began wiping the blades of her scissors. "All

dead before they could even draw their weapons. My son has proven... formidable in his devotion."

The maid shifted uncomfortably, unsure whether the Queen's words were praise or condemnation. "It appears,

Your Majesty, that the Rogue King may have succeeded where others failed."

"Not entirely," Lyanna replied, her hands stilling for a moment. She glanced at the sunlight streaming through

the glass, her expression unreadable. "He didn't kill her. He left her alive. Poisoned, yes, but alive." Her gaze

drifted back to her work, resuming the meticulous cleaning of her tools. "And now, Elijah has her back."

The maid stepped closer, emboldened by the Queen's measured demeanor. "Your Majesty, if Lady Fiona

recovers... What would you have us do?"

Queen Lyanna said nothing. All her attempts to hurt Fiona or ruin her nhad ended in failure. She narrowed

her eyes at a particular flower. "That is only if she recovers," she said, looking at her maid and smiling faintly.

"What if she doesn't?"