NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: CHAINED BY YOUR OWN MATE!
"Wait… what do you mean by find the poison? What poison are you talking about? I don't even—"
My ranting stopped, and immediately, I felt myself transported out of my mind and back to the present. The seething pain tore through my body again, as my back arched in pain. I shrugged against the chains unconsciously, which sent a sharp pain ripping through my body, as a shout of pain burst from my mouth.
The pain was blinding, messing with my senses. It burned from the inside—unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
"Mystical being detected.
Distance – 1 km."
The words appeared, and immediately I felt the ominous presence of the aura surrounding them. Then came the smell—it was sharp, unlike anything I had ever sensed before. My senses were instantly on high alert, so heightened that I could hear the footsteps of the person, light and majestic, almost like they were in no rush. And I knew instantly that it was not the beast man from earlier; his steps had been loud and hurried.
My senses became so heightened that I could even hear the small insects creeping in the cell. Even my sight—although the pain was messing with my head, making everything blurry—but my sight still stretched further than before.
Everywhere was dark except for the small blinding lights from the lantern that lit up the passage to my cell. Rather, it was sharp. Even through the darkness, I could still see clearly, almost like a fog had cleared from my eyes.
The creaking of my cell door, along with the rustling of keys, put me on high alert instantly, and I felt the person's presence even before they entered the cell. The ominous feeling of the aura disturbed me greatly and made me nauseous. Her smell was faint but still somehow undetectable. I could smell the person—whoever they were—yet there was something strange about the scent that I couldn't quite put a finger on. It smelled strange, almost fake, which disturbed me greatly.
I watched as the person opened the cell door and stepped inside, their face covered with a black cloth. Whoever they were, they walked in majestically and stopped in front of me, removing the hood from her head.
"Mystical Creature Profile
DATA: INVALID,"
My system immediately beeped, the screen in my mind lighting up, and I read the words, frowning in confusion.
The smell of the burning stick she carried alongside her wafted into my nose, making me jerk back as I sneezed—then let out a scream, because the subtle shift had made my hands twist in the chains, making the pain worse.
"How does it feel, Lana? Being strung up and chained like an animal by your own mate and husband?" the person sneered. Now that the cloth had been removed, her long black, straight hair flowed freely down her back, and her beautiful face—twisted in a piercing stare as she watched me with a blank expression.
"What do you mean? My husband?" I asked, shocked, as I stared at the woman before me. I recognized her as the woman from earlier, who had stood beside the short, bulky woman the maids called Madam.
"You don't believe me, do you?" the woman said, her lips curling slowly into a crooked smirk. Her facial features, illuminated by the light she held, made her look evil—or rather, terrifying.
"It's hard to believe, right? That your own husband was the one who gave the orders to lock you up in the dungeon and treat you with such disrespect?" she said darkly, moving closer toward me as I hung in the chains, as if trying to intimidate me. But I knew it was more than that, because the woman already intimidated me—with her weird scent, dark aura, and the fact that my system claimed her data to be invalid. What does that even mean?
My system, Anel, had already told me not to reveal the truth about who I was, and I definitely could not do anything to compromise my life now. The last words Anel said still rang in my mind—if I died here, I died forever, and I could not afford for that to happen. I needed to get back and destroy the people who killed me.
"Why? Why would he do that?" I asked, trying to steady my voice so it wouldn't sound shaky or show that I was intimidated by her. But I knew that was pointless, because my frightened voice already gave me away.
"Why?" the woman asked back, her face turning into a frown. Her expression became somewhat readable to me now, akin to confusion—but she immediately blinked it away, regaining her unreadable look as her lips curled into a smile.
"You tried to poison and kill your own husband—and that too in front of other Alphas—and you ask why he sent you to the dungeon?" she said sharply.
"I told you, Lana. I warned you to remain under my wings and not be in a hurry. I told you we needed to act undetected. But you didn't listen. What you've committed is treason, and the punishment is death. Why did you act so irrationally? You were a great help to me, and we were almost complete with our plans to get rid of him, but you had to destroy it with your stupid actions. Nobody can save you now," she sneered darkly.
I stayed too still to move or shift, trying to comprehend what I had just heard. Did she just say I committed treason—and my punishment is death? Did they fucking bring me here to die?
"I don't know how you survived the poison, but you should have just stayed dead. And let me warn you—do not utter a single word about ever having any dealings with me. I believe I don't have to tell you the consequences of crossing me. You are very well aware that I don't need to lift a finger to deal with you—or your brother," she said, as she stepped back, regarding me strapped up like that one last time. Then she turned her back and left without a word, locking the door behind her.