Page 130 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

But they didn’t tell her to return to the bedroom. They didn’t question why she was walking around without an escort.

She nodded in their direction before walking towards the hallway to the kitchen. As before, the smell of food had her mouth watering and reminded her that she had been asleep for a long time. At least five days if what she had overheard was accurate.

The chatter in the kitchen died down before she opened the door, and once again, they all turned to look at her. Faith, the only truly friendly face she had seen since her arrival, was not among them.

“I... I’m hungry. Can I make something to eat?” she asked no one in particular.

The woman she assumed was Faith’s mother came forward with a smile as warm as her daughter’s on her face.

“We were just preparing something for you and Jackson,” she said, gesturing for her to sit at the kitchen island in the middle of the activity. “I’ll give you something now, and we can take a tray to Jackson when he wakes.”

She smiled gratefully and waited until a steaming bowl of soup was placed before her. It was the source of the amazing scent that had led her there.

“It will be easier for your stomach to digest.”

“Thank you, um...?”

“Grace,” the woman answered with a smile.

And then they all went back to their jobs. While she spooned the soup into her mouth, she studied them from under her lashes. Their attitudes were a world away from the day Jackson had walked in. They looked content. Perhaps Faith had been telling the truth after all, and none of them were there under duress. Although there was no more talking, they were communicating. She could see it on their faces and their body language. They would pause briefly, and their eyes would lose focus on whatever they were doing. Some smiled to themselves, and others looked like they were holding back laughter.

But she knew that was the extent of anything she would get out of them. She needed to go somewhere where she could observe them freely.

“This was delicious. Thank you,” she said as she stood to walk over to one of the sinks.

“You don’t need to wash up,” Grace said as she returned to her side and took the bowl from her. “You need to go back and rest so you don’t get ill again.”

She smiled again and walked out of the kitchen. She had only gone a few steps when they started to talk again, and like before, she heard everything.

“I don’t understand why she’s still being treated like a guest when she’s a rogue.”

“I think it’s insulting that she thinks she can share our Alpha’s bed, and we have to clean up after her.”

“They should have killed her.”

“Alpha practically declared war when he killed Alpha Kendrick because of her. I’ve been unable to rest because I feel like they will retaliate anytime. She shouldn’t be here.”

What? Did they all want her dead? And who was Alpha Kendrick?

“Shut your nonsense talk and get back to work. I’m sure the Alpha has a good reason for having her here.”

That was Grace’s voice, and they all shut up after she said that.

Was it true? Jackson had killed someone because of her? Or were they referring to the monster in the woods that had almost killed her?

Instead of going back upstairs, she walked down another hallway. She immediately heard Dylan’s voice and stopped. Seeing the people in the kitchen was one thing; running into Dylan was another.

She was about to turn back when she heard something that made her freeze.

“Yes, Rebecca Carlisle. Her last known location and any associates...”

Why were they still interested in her mother?

“Could be dangerous, so don’t engage.”

Dangerous? The woman who’d spent her time taking her to the park and baking for school functions? Rebecca had been a lot of things, but dangerous was not one of them.

“I’ll kill her myself.”

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