Love and Chaos Series
The Alpha King’s Ugly Bride Chapter 39

Xavier emptied the wine in his cup into his mouth. He turned away from them, his teeth gritted, showing his fury.

"We are leaving." He said, coming to take her hand possessively.

Mia's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Because I don't want to be here anymore and I can't stand spending another minute here."

"We will miss the lunar shift." Her panic got the best of her as they brushed past those on their path and made their way out of the citadel.

His low chuckle chilled her to the bones. "We will not. We just won't be at the Citadel when it happens."

She almost facepalmed at his answer, knowing how dumb her question was.

If Xavier was taking her out, their shift would not be amongst strangers. Though he would be with her, his eyes would not compare to the thousands back at the Citadel.

"You had this planned out all day, didn't you? That was what you meant when you said you know what you were doing, right? You never planned for us to have our shift here." Mia spoke, breaking the silence that dominated for a minute.

He did not get defensive or deny her claims. "That's what I get for having a very smart lady as my queen." he guided her through the hallway that led to the exit of the building. "Apart from the fact that I can't stand most people here, you also can't shift here." She frowned, taken aback by his statements. "Why?"

"We haven't consummated our union. That makes it incomplete and when the lunar eclipse sets, your true form will be revealed. Your eyes will glow yellow instead of the expected red and they'll know you're not Luna Queen." he explained.

"That will tell them I haven't taken you as my wife yet." His mischievous eyes raked over the swell of her breast hidden in the clothes she had on.

Chills went through her body, and her nipples hardened.

The highest they'd reached intimately was the wedding night and nothing else since then. The thought of him touching her then scared her, but now didn't seem so bad.

They stepped out of the Citadel and Mia got swept up by the coldness of the night. Peace resonated within her while she stood outside and she wanted to fall into it and never get found. It could be the three cups of wine she had earlier done this, or just the thrill of the moment.

Xavier fell in line with her as she lifted the flag of her gown and ran down the stairs. This was the first time she had genuinely let go and appeared happy around him, and it felt good. He wanted to seize the moment.

She stopped running once at the bottom and he did the same. She took a moment to drag a breath before speaking. "I always thought you were the worst of the royals."

"I am the worst," he corrected.

"Then I met Elliott," she continued, not letting his interruption stop her. "and I realised he's much more horrible. It's sad enough, your father and many other people don't see that." "Because they've got their head far up their fucking asses."

She crackled at Xavier's crude use of words and that was one quality that she first hated but now liked. He didn't pretend to be what he wasn't. He was as blunt as they came, and that was a good thing. "You didn't have to fight your cousin back. Perhaps this make-up was too much." She pointed.

"Why? I thought it'd be what you wanted."

Her brows furrowed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I heard you say that a few days ago!"

Her cheeks heat. If he had overheard her speaking with herself, then he also heard when she judged herself for not being pretty enough. But why would he go out of his way to try to fix it?

'Because you're his wife, and the better you look, the better he'd feel about himself! a voice in her head told her.

"Or perhaps because he cared?' another voice countered.

She had thought he got her the makeup artist because he was ashamed of her face, but that was never it. He was only doing what he thought she wanted.

Xavier was a lot of things, but she didn't know he'd be capable of going out of his way just to make someone else happy.

"I wish I was prettier, but that's about it. I still won't change a thing about my face, even if given a chance."

"Good, 'cause you're already pretty."

His words hit her hard, almost knocking her off her feet. They were the only ones out here in the open, heading towards the woods. The only ones she could see out so far. There was no reason for him to say or do anything he didn't want to. Yet here he was, saying things that weren't true to her when no one forced him to.

She tried to tell her heart the alphas king didn't mean it when he called her pretty. He probably only did it to make her feel better about herself, but her heart had already taken his words and it was running with it.

She wanted to be bold and have her curiosity cleared.

She turned to stand in front of him. "Why are you being unbelievably nice to me? Why are you out here letting me be happy? What do you want to get in return?"

The moon was almost at its peak and the glow of it radiated against her skin. The flickers of the light, coupled with everything that had happened so far, caused a switch in his senses.

His eyes drifted from hers down to her full lower lips, looking red, tempting and delicious.

Yes, he wanted something, but she couldn't give him what he wanted.

He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his trousers and took a bold step towards her. His long legs covered up the space faster than she'd imagined.

He didn't have to struggle to hear her heart skip. The outside was that quiet. Her reaction meant two things: she either wanted him or was incredibly affected by him.

'Or she's terrified of you.' the voice in his head said.

'Shut the fuck up!' he growled inwardly.

Her legs felt glued to the ground and she couldn't bring herself to move. He now stood very close to her, only a few inches apart. He could hear her heart beating louder, the breathing cutting in her throat on every inhale and the heat coming off her body. He didn't mean to smirk, but watching her try to look unaffected by the closeness didn't help.

"What I want is to help you explore your territories." his hot breath against the skin of her neck made her skin shiver. "I'll be with you to lead you through. You can be wild and out of control because I promise to be beside you every step of the way until you reach your fill." She gasped out as he finished speaking and stepped back from her.

She didn't hear a thing he just said. How could she?

She was busy fighting her desires and reaction to the man before her. His words, his closeness, his breath against her skin, his green eyes. She spent time mentally restraining her hands so they wouldn't go over his neck. That was how much he affected her and so she couldn't have done that and still paid attention. She couldn't do two things at once when she was around him.

"Anymore question?" his brow rose.

She wanted to ask if she would die tonight, but pressed her lips together and stopped herself.

"No, you won't die tonight. You have my word," he said with an assuring smile.

That was enough for her.