ALPHA KAEL’S POV

The five cups were ready, lined straight in front of the slave. As I spoke, I kept my eyes on her for the slightest sign that could mean anything

"Before you are five cups of which only one is laced with a lethal poison."

"You must pick one from the five and drink up every single drop. If you survive, we'll continue. If not, it was never meant to be," I finished, expecting an instant reaction from her.

She just stood there. Still. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes gave away how scared she had become.

She didn't blink, but her pupils were unsteady, like they were vibrating. She was scared, but she made no attempt to object.

I know very well that the five karma self punishment was going too far, for someone who broke a few rare glass pieces.

But I was determined to see what fate had in store for her. She had seen my bare face, her chances of survival had become thinned.

If she hadn't dropped dead then instantly, there was no way she would survive the five karma set.

"Now. Choose and drink!"

I watched her stare at the cups, her lips tightening and her fingers digging into each other by her sides.

My heart thumped rapidly in my chest as she reached for the cup at the far left, but her fingers had firmly grazed its tip when she halted, grabbed the cup directly sitting opposite her and in one gulp, emptied the content down her throat.

The few guards present grunted in shock before a wave of silence calmed every corner.

I watched her drop the cup, and then turn to face me, her eyes bold with an unexpected kind of confidence.

My chest rose and fell steadily in pent up frustration.

"How did she know?"

The first cup she went for contained the poisoned liquid. How did she know to drop it before she even touched it?

My suspicion grew. The Silverfang omega slave was hiding something. There was no way she survived these by chance.

Impatient, eager to confirm my suspicion, I commanded the guards to proceed to the second set-up, the calabash of fire and ice.

I wanted her to show her vulnerability. With how well she was hiding whatever feelings she was feeling now, I would never truly know her real thoughts.

After she pleaded her innocence to having an ulterior motive for entering my chambers, confirmed by Lady Borah, the head servant, the Silverfang omega wolf had responded calmly to every other thing that followed.

Two large iron containers were brought before her: one containing blazing red hot coals, and the other stone cold ice squares.

My eyes never left where she stood. My gaze lingered on her face as I spoke, "Before you is fire and ice. Choose one and you'd have to bury your fingers in them until commanded otherwise."

I noticed her take a deep breath in, then slowly breathed out, before shifting her focus to the containers holding her options to choose from.

I expected a moment of confusion, or even a split second of fear, but the slave proceeded towards the containers like she was reliving the moment for the tenth time, like it was all familiar to her.

Masked emotions. Solid steps.

She stalled for some minutes before pointing at the container for ice as her final choice, but that was pretty much it.

"Stop it!" I beckoned.

"Next set."

I truly expected her to choose the ice bath, but what baffled me was how she managed to bottle up her emotions so well, none even slipped.

Where is the fear?

Where is the hate?

Anger?

I needed answers, and I needed them fast. It was time to make her face the Blood Oath Mirror.

This was a mirror I dedicated my time and wolf energy to crafting with the help of a very powerful magician. It contained a dark spirit that instantly attacks whoever faces the mirror and speaks any lie.

The Silverfang omega slave would not be able to escape this one as this was surely the end of the road.

I wasn't sure what to ask her, but I knew I would definitely be cleared on everything I was curious about.

I watched a string of sweat run from her hair down the side of her left ear.

Her eyes were still cold and heavy with emotions she had refused to let out, and that was what pissed me off the most.

"Stand before it, and speak your truth," I beckoned, my voice giving away how impatient I was now.

She shuddered, this action counting as the only time she had shown an emotion since the event of that night unfolded.

The weather was very chill, cold waves filtered through the windows and into the hall. Even the guards could not help but rub their hands together from time to time to induce warmth.

But she was sweating profusely now. Her face looked pale and her limbs weak as she dragged lazy steps towards the mirror already mounted some distance before her, its fine frame glistening under light.

As she positioned herself properly before the mirror, her image replacing the dark flame formed by one initially reflected by the mirror, I couldn't hold myself back from asking the first question that came to mind.

"What did you see in my chambers earlier?"

She paused. Slowly tilting her face up to look at her own reflection in the mirror. Her lips trembled as she spoke, and she sounded weak, very different from what she sounded like earlier.

"I was only on duty to deliver your liquor. I saw nothing," she finished.

I bit down on the tip of my tongue in frustration.

"You saw my face, yet you're still alive. Nobody who has ever seen my bare face made it alive to the next minute."

I wanted to tell her this, but the guards were present and active. Nobody knew the mask was a curse and I intend to carry that secret to the grave.

I was still deep in my own thoughts of what to do next, I didn't know when the dark spirit of the blood oath mirror formed and seized her hand without warning.

"Help me!"