[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha":3,"chapter-marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-chapter-28":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Marked By The Mad King Alpha",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1732009,2214,"Chapter 28 The Price Of An Insult","marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-chapter-28",28,"\u003Cp>Perry’s POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I had no clue her spice tolerance was that weak!\" Timothy whined as I delivered a solid kick to his rear, sending him tumbling forward. Only his quick reflexes saved him from a face-plant, his palms hitting the floor to break his fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the study, Flynn remained absorbed in his paperwork, completely unbothered by the commotion. He flipped through documents despite the late hour, the moonlight streaming through the windows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How was I supposed to know? You never mentioned it—just told me to test her preferences.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I had no way of knowing either. Our encounters had been brief, and she’d barely spoken during most of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timothy continued his childish groaning, massaging his sore backside while shooting me a resentful glare from the floor. The urge to kick him again was strong, but I turned toward my royal beta instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Found anything yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timothy’s attention shifted to Flynn too, clearly curious about whatever task I’d assigned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You only asked this morning—what did you expect?\" Flynn didn’t bother looking up from his reading. \"Nothing yet. Have some patience.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Patience isn’t exactly my strong suit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you two discussing?\" Timothy finally hauled himself up, though he wisely maintained his distance from me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The late hour cast everything in soft shadows, starlight glittering through the window against the dark sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flynn lifted his head at Timothy’s question. \"Perfect. You can handle this since you’ve got so much spare time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t have spare time.\" Timothy’s brow furrowed as he glanced my way. \"I’m managing the Valerium conflict, remember?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flynn waved dismissively. \"Perry wants intel on that woman. I’ve got basics, but he needs more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timothy looked between us. \"What did you dig up?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Flynn shared his findings from the Obsidian Claw pack house, I grabbed a document from the desk and skimmed it. I didn’t interrupt their exchange—my silence gave Timothy permission to investigate further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many sources did you use for this information?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three, maybe four. All said the same thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flynn shrugged carelessly. He’d disliked what he heard about Phoebe from the start, so when multiple sources corroborated the story, he’d considered it settled. In his mind, I should have rejected her immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re telling me you didn’t even try getting different perspectives? Just took their word at face value?\" Timothy’s disbelief was obvious, and his expression irritated Flynn enough that he hurled a paper in the royal gamma’s direction. Timothy dodged effortlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They lived with her—what more could I do? Everyone said the same thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If everyone’s saying identical things, doesn’t that strike you as suspicious?\" Timothy looked smug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you think you can do better, be my guest. I’m not wasting more time on that whore—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But suddenly, Flynn collapsed, clutching his head in agony. Even Timothy, who wasn’t targeted by my fury, could feel the raw power radiating from me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was punishing Flynn through our pack bond, stretching it taut against his mind until the pain became unbearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timothy pressed himself against the sofa as I rose to my full height and crossed the room toward my writhing beta.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dropping to one knee, I seized Flynn’s throat. \"Don’t ever call her that again. Understood?\" I applied pressure to his windpipe, cutting off his ability to speak, so he could only nod frantically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m... sorry...\" Flynn wheezed, but I didn’t release him immediately. I stared into his eyes, searching his very soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, I eased the mental pressure and loosened my grip on his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\" I stood and walked out without another word, leaving the task squarely in Timothy’s hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timothy’s POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the king disappeared, I rushed to Flynn’s side. \"You okay? That was terrifying.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head, shuddering. It had been ages since I’d witnessed Perry unleash that kind of anger on Flynn. He could be overwhelming when pushed too far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine.\" Flynn rubbed his throat gingerly. \"I crossed the line.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He acknowledged his mistake, though I could tell he still believed the king was making an error with Phoebe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, you definitely did.\" I patted his shoulder sympathetically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viola’s POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What brings you here, Viola?\" Helen asked when she entered the room and found me waiting inside. \"Need something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, I’ve been feeling dizzy in the mornings. I was hoping you might have something to help.\" I smiled at the healer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helen returned my smile warmly. \"Come, sit down. I’ll prepare something for you.\" She set aside the concoction she’d been making for Phoebe and rummaged through her drawer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s...\" I didn’t finish my sentence, but my gaze lingered on Phoebe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, rumor has it she’s the king’s mate. I don’t think it’s just rumors anymore—I saw her mark.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",786,"2026-06-06T16:11:22.292Z",1,"novelbin.me","1808cea3631cea81244ed091223c3915eb7ae7e7c606c5c816aa8c5f537d67e7","marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-chapter-29","marked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-chapter-27",302,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmarked-by-the-mad-king-alpha-cover.jpg"]