The Alpha Female's Karma: From Tyrant to Omega

20

Rhea's POV

They took Evelyn’s body like she was nothing.

No prayer. No final rites. No goodbyes.

Two guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the square, her blood streaking behind like a trail of something sacred being defiled. I just stood there, empty, as Evelyn's lifeless eyes vanished around the corner.

That’s when my tears dried up.

I don’t know why. Maybe something in me just shut down. The part that cried. The part that felt. The part that cared.

Whatever it was, I let it die right there, with Evelyn.

I stood slowly, brushing my dress down like it mattered, and started walking. No one stopped me. Not the guards. Not the wolves who still lingered, whispering. They all just… watched. Like they weren’t sure if I was supposed to be dead too.

I wasn’t a prisoner anymore but I felt like a ghost.

My steps took me somewhere I hadn’t planned. I wasn’t thinking clearly, or maybe I was. I don’t know. All I knew was that I needed to see him.

Alpha Jared.

I didn’t know what I’d do. Scream? Spit in his face? Stab him? Maybe just look at him and let the disgust wash over me until I was clean again from my own sins.

By the time I reached the Alpha’s quarters, the sun was beginning to set, painting the stone walls red like they were bleeding too.

I stopped at the door.

I heard it first. The sound. Bodies.

Thuds against furniture. Sheets rustling. Moans that delivered a message.

He didn't care about the life he had just taken, it didn't mean anything to him.

It didn't take long before they stopped, then came the voices.

“…you think I did it for you?”

“I always knew there was something off about you and that maid…”

Phoebe.

I moved closer, pressing my ear to the door, nausea rolling up in my throat.

“You should’ve told me. I’m your wife.”

“So that you could behead her?”

Their voices grew sharper. They spoke of me. Of Evelyn. Like we were problems. Or Obstacles.

“I warned her. I told her to keep her head down. But she wanted to fight me.”

“You killed her best friend.”

“Good. Maybe now she’ll hate me enough to know her place.”

I didn’t hear anything after that. Not really.

Just sounds.

I stepped back.

I turned.

And I walked.

Every step away from that door felt like i was running away from me. Those were my lines, lines I once used so casually that I could barely remember them.

It didn't reduce my hate. I hated him. I hated her.

But most of all, I hated how unsurprised I was. How easily it all made sense.

My feet moved on their own, leading me back through the halls, down the servant corridors that still had whispers lingering in each room. They would talk for a long time, I knew that one and somehow I was ready for it.

I didn’t even realize where I was heading until the familiar cracked door of the room I shared with Evelyn came into view.

My fingers curled around the doorknob, just before someone spoke behind me.

"You shouldn't be alone tonight."

Princess Cersei stood at the far end of the hall, the glow of a torch reflecting on her silhouette. Her hair was down, her face unreadable.

I didn’t answer.

She walked toward me slowly, her heels echoing off the stone floor.

"You never told me he was your mate. I thought you were loyal enough to tell me everything. ," she said when she reached me.

Like she was one to talk about loyalty.

I swallowed. My mouth was dry as I stared at her.

"You watched it happen," I whispered. "You watched her die, and even though she was innocent, you didn't stop it."

Cersei tilted her head. "And you think I had the power to stop it?"

I stared at her. "You’re a princess. He’s your lover. You have more power than me. Than her."

Her eyes flashed. "Exactly. And if I had stopped it, I wouldn’t have been able to stop what’s coming next."

I blinked. "What’s coming?"

Cersei stepped closer. Too close.

"You don’t need to grieve alone tonight, Rhea. Come with me."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why? So you can play your games with me again? Leave me when I need you most?"

She smiled. Not kindly. Not cruelly. Just… knowingly.

"I want to help you stay alive long enough to get your revenge."

She turned, walking back the way she came. No more explanations. Just an open door that might lead to something more than pain.

I looked back at the maid’s quarters.

Cold. Empty. Full of memories I would never be rid of.

Then I looked at Cersei disappearing into the shadows.

And I followed her.

Not because I trusted her again, not after what she did, but because I knew who my enemies were now.

And what did they say about knowing your enemies moves?

I needed to be closer to them, to know what they were thinking, to act ahead of them and this was only the beginning.

The royals had become my enemy, my own kind had switched on me unknowingly and I knew what I had to do.

I was done being a pawn in this game of chess, and I knew I didn't need my Alpha title to change the course.

It was time to become a player. I would climb even higher than that without my Alpha title.