"Raphaella," I called softly as I approached, setting the tray down on the small table beside her. "I’ve brought you some food again. You need to eat. You know how Lycan King is. He doesn’t tolerate disobedience. If you keep refusing to eat, he might..." I paused, letting my words hang in the air. "He might take more drastic measures."
She didn’t respond, her body stiff, her gaze fixed out the window.
I leaned in closer, my voice dropping lower, almost conspiratorial. "He’s cruel, Raph. You’ve only been here a short time, but I’ve seen it. He will kill anyone who offends him."
"I heard about what he did to an entire village once," I continued, my tone darkening as I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. "They disrespected him, and he slaughtered them all. Men, women, children. He didn’t care. Pierre only cares about one thing—power. He’ll use anyone and destroy anyone who gets in his way."
“Even his own men... he’s had them killed for the slightest mistakes.” I lowered my voice even more, as though I were revealing something too terrible to say aloud. “I heard he kept a woman locked away for years because she rejected him.”