Protect Me, Alpha King
88. Did I Like the Alpha King?

I knew it.

Why would I be expecting something else? Denaro and the alpha king were sewn in the same clothWhy would the beast swear his allegiance and choose me in the—

'I swear my loyalty to you, My Queen.

I stilled.

"You will? What if Maxxwell has a different opinion?

I threw my gaze at our surroundings. Despite grabbing the beasts attention, the darkness persisted.The alpha king was still in a trance. His thirst for blood was overpowering, making me dizzy thelonger I spent my presence in his mind.

Everything felt evil. As if I entered the devil's mind.

Entering Maxxwell's mind should be illegal. I was not allowed to do this since his mind was sacred,forbidding anyone to enter. If it was another person, Denaro had long killed me on sight.

I was lucky he knew me at first sight and recognized the mating bond.

'My Queen, I am his master, and he will follow me," he answered with a smug expression.

I smiled, satisfied at his answer.

'Do you vow that you will choose me if Zenith is alive?"

His brows furrowed. 'She is dead, My Queen. I cannot sense her wolf. So I cannot understand whyyou want my vow."

He was evading my question.

I turned sideways.

I had to get out of here, or Maxxwell's darkness would swallow me after I talked to Denaro. I can stillget something out of him.

'My Queen.’

I tried to act calmly.

'We never know. But I want your vow, Denaro. If you cannot give it to me, then I would think that allyou are good at is saying fancy words. That I cannot trust you. That you are lying.’

“I never twist my words, My Queen. I despised liars who kept on lying at any opportunity,’ Denarospat.

I cleared my throat. I had no idea if he knew I was a liar or if those words were especially thrown atme. "Yeah. I also hate liars.’ I couldn't look at Denaro's eyes. And to make up for my guilt, I changedthe topic. "So...will you vow it, Denaro?’

'l vow I will choose you always, My Queen,’ Denaro said without batting an eye.

I grinned from ear to ear.

I brushed my fingertips on his fur, and he pressed his body against mine, liking the gesture. Hewhimpered like that a dog. Wait. He was a dog, to begin with.

Stroking his fur, I muttered, 'Pacify, Maxxwell now. Tell him someone will never harm me. Especially ifyou are here to protect me."

“Kiss me first, My Queen.’

My mouth gaped open. What was wrong with these wolves asking for a kiss?

Well, there's no harm in kissing Denaro. I would kiss him automatically compared to Maxxwell.

I bent and planted a soft kiss on his fur. On his head.

His eyes flashed. “See you soon, My Queen.

I nodded at him, and then he was out of my sight.

Time to get out of here.

My mind returned to the present and saw the alpha king's confused look. His eyes were back fromtheir usual color.

"River?" His eyes darted back to my arm, stared at me in horror, and released me. His eyes glowedupon the sight of blood and the imprint of the claws. "Did I do this?" he asked, gritting his teeth.Did he not know he was out of himself for a few minutes? That was dangerous.

Acting as if it was not a big deal despite the bitchy stinging, I muttered, "That's okay, Your Majesty.It's only shallow." Besides, I can heal myself. Later. "Let's go back to our room, shall we? We will goback to the palace. We should prepare, Your Majesty. Or you can sleep for a moment.”

I turned around and strolled towards the entrance.

I felt him not moving.

I sensed his confusion, regret, and fear in our shared bond.

'Say something, River,’ Sunflower urged. “He looked sad standing there.’

“What do you want me to say?’

Sunflower rolled her eyes. 'That you like him. What else?"

'I don't like him!"

“Liar!’

My mind returned to the present, and I looked over my shoulder. Maxxwell's shoulders were tensedand rooted to the same spot.

"Don't bother thinking about it. This is a scratch, Your Majesty. And I was able to talk to your wolf.His name is Denaro.”

The alpha king inhaled sharply. "You met him. What did the two of you talk about?"

"You can ask him.”

Silence followed between us. He was probably asking his wolf if I was telling the truth or not."Denaro wouldn't tell me what you two talked about. Damn it. The mutt is stubborn, saying thesecret is only between the two of you.”

The alpha king wouldn't be happy if he knew Denaro had sworn his allegiance and loyalty to meover her beloved Zenith.

It was morning, and everything was already prepared. We were positioned in front of the courtyardwith the two alphas— Alpha Wade and Erik.

Like our arrival, the servants were around us, bidding us goodbye. Some of Alpha Wade's visitorsalready went home. And it was only the alpha king and I who were left.

After the discussion, the alpha king slept for a while, and I just let him sleep for two hours andwaited for him to wake.

Maxxwell was irritated when he found out it was nearly afternoon, and we were late for our tripback. Was it my fault I wanted him to make up for his lost sleep?

"I am hoping for your safe journey, Your Majesty and Your Grace,” Alpha Wade said. "If you wanthelp from Haverstone Pack, we will extend our help to the best of our ability.”

Too bad he did not know Alpha Erik had told me about my past.

Alpha Erik bowed down. The servants followed.

"Hail to His Majesty and Her Grace!" they chanted.

The alpha king gave them a curt nod and entered the carriage, and I followed. For one last time, Iglanced at the pack and wondered when would be the last time I would be coming here.

The rest of the journey went uneventful after that. Again.

No rogues dared to interfere with our journey. It was peaceful, and I did not like it. As if were, therewas a bad omen coming.

"Settle down, will you?" the alpha king chastised while opening one eye. "I cannot sleep if you keepon moving like that.”

That's what you get for having a rendezvous with Lady Juliana, I muttered under my breath.

I've been shifting my weight now and then while looking outside, but I saw nothing but the vast ofbarren lands.

Smiling, I positioned myself in front of him.

"If you're planning something, don't do it."

I pouted. "I'm not planning on anything. Besides, if someone plans something, it should be you afterkissing Lady Juliana.”

"I did not kiss her. The woman did," he insisted.

Looking at the roof, I muttered, "Fine. I will let it slide.” We never have any relationship except beingmates.

He narrowed his eyes and closed them again.

"Your Majesty. About the lies, I told at Haverstone Pack. What will you do about it?"

"What lies? You announced a lot."

"About our supposed to be married?"

He sighed. "Nothing, River. I'm planning to proclaim you as my queen when we arrive, and we willhave to wed after that."

My eyes widened at his declaration. Proclaiming me as his queen was okay. That's what I wantedanyway—to gain power—but marrying the alpha king? That did not feel right, especially if his heartwas still occupied with his love for Zenith.

"Are you okay with marrying me, Your Majesty?"

The alpha king opened his eyes, but before he could reply, I shrieked when the carriage hitsomething and bounced.

Maxxwell steadied me after, with his hands on both of my waists. Electricity flew between us, and Igasped and pulled away from him. It was the bond.

Pretending I felt nothing, I cleared my throat. "Thank you, Your Majesty.”

"You can call me by my name, River. You'll not be tried in court if you don't. I prefer my woman tocall me by my name, and since we are mates, you should start calling me Maxxwell. You never had adifficult time earlier.”

"Did Zenith also call you by your given name?"

He stared at me hard and threw his gaze outside. The hot air fanned his hair. He had a far-away lookin his eyes, and it was always because of that woman.

"Why are you jealous of her? She's dead, River. Can we let her be at peace now?"

I folded my hands in front of my chest. "Why? I will do that if you give up on her, Maxxwell. If youstop searching for her every single night.”

"I will do that after. As I said, I will proclaim you as my mate and explain to the people why it tookme so long to do that after you carry my mark.”

I scoffed. "And what alibi will you tell them?"

"That I was busy. The people will understand, River, because that was the truth. I was occupied.”"You're occupied because of your search for Zenith."

"Yes. I admit that. But not anymore. You are my mate now, and I will stop looking for someone elsethat will anger you and make you jealous.”

I gave a surprised look. "I'm not jealous!"

"Yes, you are. We've been arguing about Zenith countless times, and I thought we had alreadysettled about that, but you continued bringing up her name in our discussion. Partly my fault for notcoming over with her. But this I promise, River. I will no longer replace her. I already accepted that sheis dead.”

Why did his words bring happiness to my heart?

I paled when something clicked in my mind.

Wait. Did I also like the alpha king aside from his power?