Love and Chaos Series
The Alpha King’s Ugly Bride Chapter 77

The door to Xavier's chambers cracked open and a little light shone through, illuminating the darkness. Xavier's angry eyes snapped open, and he ran off the bed to see who was intruding on him this time, and his eyes caught Mia. The anger he felt died as he saw the angelic creature he called his wife at his door. His hands ran over his face to wipe at it. An attempt to make himself look presentable to her. He hadn't seen her in days and he had counted down till this moment and now he didn't want her disappointed at what she saw.

He had done a sloppy job of cleaning himself up. His robe clung to his body, shrunk terribly, and this was his worst look ever. He was still a mess, but she was here to see him, and that was all that mattered.

The excitement he felt, however, was short-lived when he saw Edward step up beside her. Why were these two always together? Was he the reason she reacted so coldly to his profession? Was he the man she loved? Was that it? "Why are you here?" he demanded, his tone going harsh.

"We came to see you, my king," Edward replied, and Xavier growled.

He would not be made to look like a fool for the second time.

He turned to Mia, who stood as quiet as the graveyard. "Are you two together? Is he the one you want, Mia? Is that why you can't love me back?" his voice broke towards the end of his sentence and he hated it.

She remained silent and just stared at him like he was a clown. It made him lose it.

"Tell me!" He snapped at her and she jumped on her stand. She turned around to the door and was about to head out when Edward took hold of her shoulder, stilling her.

Xavier's fist clenched at the sight. He didn't want Edward touching his wife, not now, not ever. But she listened to him. She was calmer and tamed around his brother more than she was with him.

"I can't do this!" Mia told Edward, her eyes growing teary and her voice trembling.

He didn't release his grip on her. If anything, he tightened it and Xavier's teeth gritted.

"I know this is hard, but we need you now more than ever, and I'll be here with you every step."

She blinked the tears back and nodded her head before turning around. "My king."

"I'm not your king. I'm your husband. Call me Xavier. King Xavier if you must, but Xavier."

She dragged a deep breath, "Xavier, the council of alphas are here to see you. They've been coming for the past three days, but they won't leave today until they speak to you, their king." "For what purpose have they come?"

"To demand an explanation for the brutal killing of those men at your hands without cause."

"Murder without cause is a serious offence even for the king himself," Edward added from behind Mia, and Xavier glared murderously at him.

Edward took the cue of his unwanted presence and stepped back from Mia. He disappeared out of the door in the next seconds, leaving the two of them alone.

"I didn't murder anyone." he denied with a certain voice.

Mia scoffed, baffled by his audacity, "I was there, Xavier, I saw what you did, how you tore into those men like a wild animal and ripped and clawed at them until they were torn in pieces."

"Was that why you barely looked at me all the way home? Because I was a monster to you?" he asked with a wounded look.

She stepped forward, bolder than a few minutes ago. "You killed four men in cold blood. That's what monsters do!" she shot at him, her tone angry.

Xavier winced back at her words, unable to believe what he just heard.

He was a monster.

He had done everything to change how everyone saw him. To become a better person. The mate she deserved and the man his mother saw that he could be. If she still viewed him as a monster after everything, what would the rest of the world do?

His lips trembled as he held in his tears. He looked away from her. "Then go tell the elders that. Call me a monster and have them curse me. Tell that to Robb, he would love that. He's waited so long to have me dethroned. This way, he wouldn't even lift a finger." "Because you have given them the reason to. You've given everyone the reason to see you as a monster, a cold-hearted beast."

He turned to look at her, "Including you."

"My view isn't important"

"It has always been important to me." a painful tear ran down his face and he hissed.

Her eyes fluttered briefly. "You've shown me a caring and understanding side of you, but you have also shown me a fearful and cruel side of you. I cannot decide."

"If you saw Edward, go lose and kill four people. What would your first response be?"

"Edward wouldn't do that," she defended.

He smiled painfully. "I thought you were smart. I'm asking you to assume."

"Then I'd believe there was a reason for him doing that. Edward isn't bloodthirsty." "And I am."

She hesitated before speaking. "You've given me the reason to believe that many times."

"I could have had my way with you on the night of our wedding. I could have touched myself into arousal and had my way with you. It didn't matter that I didn't want you then. Customs were customs, and you were my wife. But I didn't and you want to know why? Because I heard you sobbing and I knew that wasn't what you wanted, either."

"Then the next day you choked the life out of me."

"And I regretted it. Mother would have been ashamed of me if she knew I did that to you and so I vowed never to again."

"Then you planned with your mistress to have me killed."

"I was never going to kill you. Regardless of what everyone says I'm not a cold-blooded killer." he moved to the side table and leaned his weight against it, "Wearing the restraint ring for those months hurt me more than anything, but I did it because I didn't want to be this monster around you. I accepted to speak to the listener, though I initially hated the suggestion at first. I have worked towards taming my anger with his help because I wanted to be a better person for you, someone you deserved. Because I wanted to be perfect.

She folded her arms across her chest, "And the men you killed for admiring Zara, the reason you were punished by the elders and forced to marry?"

"Contrary to the famous tales, I didn't kill them for fun. She told me they defiled her, and I believed her."

"Then what happened this time? I was there. I watch you and the attack was unprovoked."

"I saw them, Mia. They were going to harm you, and I was there just in time to save you."

She scoffed, "Yes, sure."

He stormed toward her and grabbed her by the wrist before she could stumble off. "Are you here to be on my side or are you here to mock me?" he demanded.

"You're making a mockery of yourself by lying." She snapped at him.

"I am not a liar."

She struggle to set herself free but he didn't let go, "And I am not blind. I was there, remember?"

She winced from pain when she tried to pull her hand from his hold. "Maybe you were blind!" He snarled at her.

"Screw you!"

"See for yourself," he let go of her wrist and grabbed her by the head, pressing both thumbs to her temple and their minds interlocked.

Together they travelled back to the scene that took place three days ago and despite being there, Mia didn't want to watch. She already had the memories, and it was already tormenting her and adding to it wasn't what she wanted. Yet, she couldn't escape. He had her locked and compelled to watch.

She saw Xavier race out of the carriage and off the road. His eyes were filled with pain, and a wounded look stayed on his face. He placed his hands to his waist and glanced heavenward, biting his lower, trembling lip. His eyes were glassy. Her rejection had affected him more than she thought.

"Xavier, can we do this after we get to the palace?"

"Four minutes. I need four fucking minutes." He said, not turning back to her, and his hand raced up to wipe at his teary eyes.

He wandered off the road.

After a while, he wiped his face and dragged a few deep breaths. He returned to the road, only to replace Mia surrounded by four men. He stood watching what they were doing with his queen, but the night wind blew and he saw a silver dagger locked into their belt. One man wrapped his hand around the silver dagger to pull it out, and Xavier saw the red mark imprinted on the back of his hand. He knew they were not commoners; they were killers.

He roared out loud and sprinted towards them, his eyes blazing with both fear and anger. He clawed and ripped into each one of them, starting with the man pulling out the dagger, then onto the rest of them.