Contract With The Alpha King by Brey Mitchylle

Chapter 111

"I think I know why he wanted me dead," Fiona said, biting her lower lip. She had just finished telling Elijah what happened with the Rogue King. It was time to share her thoughts after that encounter.

For the longest time, she wondered why her father would send assassins to kill his own daughter. Was it just because of a long-standing promise made during the war? How could a father just simply kill his own blood because of something like that? She was certain it wouldn't be that simple.

And she was right.

"You think it has something to do with your blood?" Elijah asked, frowning.

"It has to be. I mean... the poison inside the Rogue King? It's something I've never seen before," she said, pacing the room with a serious expression. "What if... what if the Rosenthal Family is secretly selling their blood, and somehow people are using it as an ingredient for potent poison? Poison that only a Rosenthal could heal? But since all members of the Rosenthal Family are inside the pack, no one else could heal them."

Fiona stopped pacing and looked at Elijah. "What if the reason my father wanted me dead is because he didn't want me healing all the people poisoned by our blood?"

She pieced together fragments of memories and observations that had long seemed insignificant. Turning to Elijah, her brows furrowed in thought, she said, "Think about it. Ever since we were young, my family-the Rosenthal Family-has been asked to give blood." Elijah leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "What do you mean?"

Fiona pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to steady her thoughts. "It was part of our 'awakening,' the ritual where we were tested to see if we'd receive the blessing of the goddess. They always made it seem sacred, important. But... I never questioned where the blood went afterward. None of us did. We just assumed the clan heads used it to determine if we were worthy."

"And you think that blood is being used for something else?" Elijah's expression darkened, his jaw tightening.

"I'm certain of it," Fiona said firmly. "Looking back, the amount of blood they took wasn't insignificant. And it wasn't just a one-time thing. Every few years, they called us back for more testing. They claimed it was to monitor our progression or to see if one of us would awaken or suddenly receive the goddess's blessing."

gaze fixed on her. "And you think this has something to do with the poison in the

It reacts to my blood. It's alive, almost as if it was designed to respond to a Rosenthal's healing ability. What if this poison was created using our blood? And what if the reason my father

father, or the Rosenthal Family, do something like that? What

something only a Rosenthal could heal, they'd become dependent on us. They'd have no choice but to come to us for

of their

resumed pacing. "If I'm out here proving the poison can be undone, it breaks whatever leverage they have. And it's not just the poison-it's the secrecy. If word got out that the Rosenthal Family is involved in something like this,

that still doesn't make

pacing and looked

leverage, they would have already spread the word about a poison only a Rosenthal could heal. Instead, they've stayed inside the Crimson Howler Pack, refusing to socialize with other packs. If they wanted influence

thought about this over and over, and it doesn't add up. If they had the power to leverage this poison, why stay hidden? Why isolate themselves like hermits?" Since childhood, she had been raised to be wary of strangers,

preparing for something, not exploiting the power they

as pieces of a larger puzzle began to shift into place, "What if that's exactly what they're doing?" she said, her voice low. "What if this has never been about power in the traditional sense? What if they're

1/2

11:12 AM S.

Chapter 111

allies, or... perfecting

tightened. "Perfecting

C