Chapter 71 

Bethany has permission to walk these halls, even this late at night, yet she still moves quickly and cautiously. 

She’s on a secret mission to scope out the secret location to see if Samuel arrives and what his reaction is meeting him. 

Harper not 

Harper hasn’t been herself since arriving back from the gala. Usually the king’s rage triggers her own, and she’ll be fired up and raving about him. This time, she was much like a broken woman, sad and quiet. 

It was so unlike the woman Bethany knew that it frightened her Harper had done a lot to get her to become her friend, to trust her, and pur her faith in her for a brighter future for them both. For Harper to now retreat inside of herself makes everything that came before feel like a deception. 

Maybe Harper never intended to be kind. Or maybe her kindness had been the weak point that finally broke her. 

She could face the king, and the coliseum, and the ire of the harem, but it’s the rejection of this lesser Alpha that makes her finally cracks? It seems like an insult. 

How great must this man be to affect her like this? Or perhaps it the death of Harper’s childhood dreams that are finally affecting her! 

Bethany can understand that. If she’d had the luxury, she too would have broken when her future was stripped from her. But for her, to take a moment to break would only end in her being punished, tortured, or simply killed. 

Bethany’s life now has been a constant state of trying to prove her own worth so as not to be cast aside, to death or whatever else. Being Harper’s handmaiden has helped take away some of that pressure, but now it all seems to be crashing back onto Bethany, 

Maybe that’s why she agreed to scope out Samuel and this secret meeting for Harper. 

Partially, she’s curious to see this man in the flesh. Partially, she hopes to bring back enough news to help restore Harper to the person that she was. 

Above all, even the worry of saving her own life, Bethany misses her friend. 

Bethany tries not to look suspicious as she steps out of the door to the outside. The guards posted at the door glance at her with bored curiosity, but it’s not unusual for the servants to enjoy the courtyard when their masters and mistresses are sleeping. It’s not even that strange for a handmaiden like Bethany to have her own secret rendezvous 

With lives as bleak as ours, it’s important to take our pleasures where they come. Well, as long as she doesn’t get pregnant. A pregnant handmaiden is a useless handmaiden. They are cast aside into more stationary jobs until the baby is born. Then. they are removed entirely. 

And the babies? Forced into servitude just as the mother was, 

Bethany hasn’t found any man she’s willing to take that risk for yet. With possible consequences like those, she isn’t sure she 

Ever will. 

She goes around the bend, following the flowers to where the peonies are. 

By now, the time is 11:15pm. 

Bethany doesn’t expect Samuel to have waited, yet when she peeks around the corner, a man is standing there. 

This must be Samuel. 

He’s handsome enough, she supposes. The moon is bright tonight so she can see most of his features. Yet even being 

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passable as he is, he doesn’t hold a candle to the overwhelming attractiveness of the King. 

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Samuel paces back and forth. He checks his watch and glances around. When he looks Bethany’s way, she ducks behind the flower bushes, hiding 

He does seem disappointed, frowning with a tiny line between his brow. 

“Come on, Harper,” he grumbles to himself. “How can you forgive me, if you won’t let me explain myself?” 

He really needs to stop talking to himself. That kind of thing is dangerous around here, where even the walls have ears. 

That’s for him to figure out on his own, though. After seeing Harper so down, Bethany has no plans on rescuing this man from his own tragedy. 

He looks around again, and Bethany backs up a step. 

Crack! 

Looking down, she realizes with horror that she stepped on a twig. 

“Is someone there?” Samuel calls. “Harper is that you?” 

Okay, now his ignorance just annoys Bethany. It’s one thing to endanger his own life and entirely another to say the name of her mistress out loud, implicating her in this idiocy as well. 

“Will you shut up?!” Bethany hisses as she comes out of hiding. 

Samuel startles. Bethany clearly isn’t who he’s been expecting. “Who are you?” 

“Someone who will personally kick your grave if you take my nilstress down with you,” Bethany snaps. She’s not usually this bold. Her entire reputation is for timidity. Maybe it’s because he’s endangering Harper, or perhaps it’s Harper herself who brought out this side of her. 

But Bethany will defend her only friend left in the whole world 

“Your.. mistress…” Samuel puzzles it all together. “Then you know her? Harp-” 

“If you don’t stop saying her name, I’m going to start kicking, Bethany says. 

Samuel immediately shuts his mouth. “Right. Sorry.” He looks around again. “I guess she’s not coming tonight.” 

“No.” Bethany says. “Rightly, she decided to sit this one out. Maybe she didn’t want to listen to your lies.” 

“I wasn’t going to lie to her. I love her.” 

Bethany nearly rolls her eyes. What kind of person in love would so thoroughly betray the person they had sworn to love? “She’s mad about the necklace. I hurt her, I know,” Samuel says. But it was all to keep up the ruse Leah and I don’t have a conventional marriage. To keep the peace, she demanded the necklace. So I gave her a replica. The original 

From his pocket, he pulls a silver moon pendant on a long silver chain. 

“I wanted to give this to her tonight. To prove my devotion to her” He walks closer to Bethany. “Can I trust you to give it to her? She’ll know it’s the original… Maybe then she’ll understand 

Bethany has half a mind to throw this necklace and the man giving it off the tallest tower in the capital. Thinking of Harper and what she might want gives her pause, 

Harper would want the necklace. Dan it 

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Stepping closer, Bethany snatches the necklace out of Samuel’s hand. She doesn’t wait for further discussion, or further lies. Instead, she just swivels on her heel and runs away. 

“Hey!” Samuel calls after her. 

“Hey!” says the imbecile thinking he can go anywhere in this kingdom, especially the capital without Caleb’s knowing about 

Caleb stuck to the shadows during the handmaiden’s visit, slightly pleased not to see Harper herself coming to meet this fool. The handmaiden, at least, seemed skeptical 

Hopefully Harper would be too. 

But her punishment would come later. 

Right now, Caleb had to deal with Samuel 

He waits for the handmaiden to be safely away, not wanting her to know of his presence, hoping to keep Harper in the dark of his knowledge for a while longer. 

Yet the moment the handmaiden is out of earshot, Caleb silently steps forward, moving soundlessly into the space behind Samuel. 

The 1 

man starts to turn–then jumps so high, he nearly falls over Clutching his chest, he backs up a 

few 

steps. 

Pity. Caleb wouldn’t have minded giving him a heart attack. 

“K–King Caleb. 

“Alpha Samuel,” Caleb says, keeping his voice deep and intimidating. 

For a moment, the two men are at a standoff, with Caleb tall and proud and powerful, and Samuel shrinking slightly. 

Good. The rat at least knows his place. 

“So,” Caleb says. “You love my consort. Is that right?” 

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