Protect Me, Alpha King
34. Second-Chance Mate

I looked up and saw it wasn't Alpha Wade from Haverstone Pack, but the alpha king himself. To make my vision clearer, I wiped the tears from my eyes and realized it was Alpha King Maxxwell of this kingdom!

Horror swallowed me whole as my gaze darted to his hand. Bite marks. It was none other than mine! Those tiny holes and droplets of blood glared back at me.

How did I manage to bite him? I thought he was Alpha Wade.

I scurried away from him, scared of what he might do to me after biting him.

And he just let me step back, allowing me to gather my thoughts and emotions.

He laid still as if he was testing me if I would run away from him or not.

After a couple of minutes, I finally dared to speak and said, “Y-Your Majesty? D-did I bite you as if you are some kind of meat barbecue stick?”

“In flesh and blood,” he said, weariness started to settle down and rested on his shoulders. "And you licked my blood as if you were a vampire."

I covered my mouth as my mind tried to digest what he just said.

I stared at the ceiling. “Oh, Moon Goddess.” My eyes went back to him. “What have I done, Your Majesty?”

"We had a heated exchange of words. And you suddenly got scared as if I was the devil incarnate and clawed and bit me.”

Gulping, I looked nervously at his hands and kept looking at them to verify if I was dreaming or not. I bowed my head until my forehead reached the floor. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I did not know it was you.”

“Rise. I want to see your eyes when I talk to you. Not your wild hair that looked like a burning flame.”

Not wanting to anger him, I rose and looked at him in his eyes

He folded his arms in front of his chest. “You mentioned Wade.”

My heart jumped and my hands went cold. The alpha king's eyes caught my reaction before I had the chance to hide it away using my smile. Which turned into a wince in the end.

Sensing it was futile to hide it away from him, I said, “He was my previous alpha before Alpha Erik inherited the position from his father.”

I caught him trying to control the sharpening of his claws I did not understand why he acted that way. I never thought he would associate himself with his servants.

"What did he do to you?”

“N-nothing, Your Majesty. It was all in the past.”

“Which you still carried the trauma. He is no longer your alpha, so why are you trying to defend him?”

“It's not that I am trying to defend him, Your Majesty,” I muttered trying to reason with him. Talking about Alpha Wade felt like he could still hear every word I breathe against him and he would come here and punish me even though I knew for myself the alpha king carried much more power compared to him.

However...the pain and terror from the past kept haunting me like a bitch, not allowing me to forget him. As if it had a mind of its own, my consciousness wanted to refresh them if someone triggered the memory just like what had happened earlier when the alpha king punched the wall.

My gaze shifted to the hole beside me and gulped.

Did he have plans of hitting me or not? It was only a few inches from me and if he happened to hit me, I would long be unconscious now. The hit from an alpha king, according to the servants, will make you unconscious for a couple of hours.

I wondered if he was the type to hit a woman. And if he did, he would be the most asshole werewolf in this kingdom regardless if he was the alpha king. I was never fond of males who hit women.

He saw me looking at the wall, guilt flashed in his eyes before it disappeared. Or was I only imagining things?

“The servants will fix that.”

“Do you plan on hitting me, Your Majesty?” I mumbled, not wanting to hear his answers. Disappointment would be an understatement if he would answer yes.

Gritting his teeth, he answered me. “What do you take me for? An asshole who hit the powerless, especially women and children? You think lowly of your alpha king, River.”

At some point, yes, I wanted to say but stopped myself from doing it. It was already imprinted in my mind that the powerful werewolf would use their power to their advantage and bully the weaker. Like what Alpha Wade did to me. And Alpha Erik? He never said a thing and indirectly tolerated his father's doing.

I fisted my hands as my hatred of the father and son buried deeper than the deepest trench. I loathed them and may they suffer in eternity for their wrongdoings. Above all, I felt sorry for those slaves who weren't given the chance to fight back.

“You're not answering.”

I blinked a couple of times as I glanced at him. “What is it, Your Majesty?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “You believed I would hit you earlier, that's why you saw me as someone. Alpha Wade. Tell me the truth, River. Did he defile you?”

Defiled? Sexually abuse?

I was thankful he did not. If he did, I did not know if I would still be breathing the same air as the alpha king right now.

“No, Your Majesty.”

His shoulders relaxed for a moment and continued pressing his interrogations.

“But he hit you. Abused you. Physically. Verbally. Emotionally.”

I looked away, not wanting to let him see the tears forming around my eyes. When I reached this kingdom, I vowed to never be the same weak she-wolf again. That I will fight against anyone who would do wrong to me.

However, the past version of me still lingered and would resurface every now and then. Like now.

I drew a deep breath, trying to control my tears. I hated crying in front of someone and never did it in the presence of anyone. Only with the alpha king and as I recalled how I bawled my eyes out, I hated it.

Sighing, I retorted. “That's not important, Your Majesty. Alpha Wade and I will never meet again. I am protected in your kingdom. I don't think you are a ruler who would just leave his people.”

“Men who hit women are the worst,” he spat.

I smiled bitterly. I wished Alpha Wade and Alpha King Maxxwell shared the same outlooks in life. When I did not speak, he added, “Prepare yourself. I will ask someone to call Elijah and ask him myself if you two were mates. Which I know are not,” he said

“Your Majesty. Elijah is already busy protecting his territory. Is it really necessary for you to call him?” I asked, licking my lips.

The alpha king followed my movements and I straightened myself when his gaze lingered on my lips. 1 did not know but I felt hot all over the way he looked at me which was funny.

"Elijah? Are the two of you on a first-name basis now? Not surprising. Elijah always asked his women to call him using his name despite my warnings not to.”

"He insisted, Your Majesty.”

He scoffed. “Because you are mates? Still saying that bullshit, huh?”

“It's not bullshit, Your Majesty. But the truth. Why do you always question it? Both of us know it ourselves.”

How long will I lie to him before he finally believes me?

“What's your reason behind this, River?”

Perhaps I had to act more dramatically? “If he is not my mate, who else then, Your Majesty? We both know that the moment our mates rejected us, there would be a higher chance that the second one would come out. But I don't think it was the case during the Mating Ceremony. I don't even have the wolf with me to tell me whether that person is my mate or not.” The alpha king stilled. “Anyone who would know I am nothing but an omega of the pack, and a servant as well will easily reject me. They wanted nothing from me.”

“You said to yourself that you don't have any wolves. How certain are you that Elijah is your mate, River? What's your proof?”

I laughed. “Because he said it himself, Your Majesty. Why do you keep on doubting my statement? It felt like you are indirectly stating that you are my second-chance mate with that jealousy, Your Majesty,” I joked but when I shifted my gaze at the alpha king, he was not sharing the joke. Instead, he looked at me with so much intensity that he felt he wanted to say something, but he could not. Or do not want to.

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