The Alpha King's Princess
The Alpha King’s Princess – Chapter 38

Candido said nothing for a moment, seemingly thinking about what to say, but it only made me worry more. I could believe that Candido hadn’t even considered what it would do to him to shift and kill them all, but I was worried. Now was not the time to lose him. Now was not the time for him to be reckless either. Things were ramping up, getting worse, with each passing day. This was just part of it. Had any of them been in opposition to Candido? Were they just disgruntled and using me to hurt him, or were they just at Bella’s beck and call?

Did it really matter since they were all dead? Where was Bella? Did Steven know about any of this? Were there other people involved? Was it all connected somehow? I had many issues with Steven and the Wolf Fang Pack, but he had always seemed too proud to defect to the vampire side, but things were different now.

I knew nothing about Lilian so it wasn’t improbable that she had some connection.

The spray was nothing like anything I had ever heard of. Even werewolf mace was just an irritant. Vampires were the only people who would have a reason to develop such a thing.

Them and disgruntled werewolves in lower level and weaker packs. My stomach churned. Maybe I had been thinking about all of this wrong and the vampires’ infiltration of our society was just a symptom of the unrest we hadn’t treated.

“I killed them because I promised to protect you,” he squeezed me close. “That’s all that’s important.”

That wasn’t all that was important, but I couldn’t speak, so I pressed closer to him. My mind was spinning with everything that could be going wrong, what could happen and what had happened so far. Part of me didn’t really think that Bella had anything to do with vampires or the civil unrest that they were causing, but I could be wrong.

“Can I have a bath?” I asked softly.

“Can you manage on your own, or should I call someone to help?”

My lips twitched. I wanted to ask him to help, but I shuddered at the thought of being naked around him. Those men had seen more of me than I had ever wanted anyone to see. The thought of what they had planned to do to me and the way they had leered at me sent a shudder through me. I loved Candido, and I hoped that one day that he would see me in a similar state and do more.

The s*x dreams I had been having about it swam through my mind, and I tried to breathe through nausea that came as I heard the men cackling in my mind.

“I can manage if you run me a bath.”

He pressed a k**s to my temple. “I will sit tight.”

He released me slowly, pushing me back to lie on the bed. I curled up on my side, listening to him move around in the bathroom. The water ran, and slowly, I smelled my favorite bubble bath, a sweet and floral scent. He came back with his sleeves rolled up and scooped me up from bed. I curled into his chest as he carried me into the bathroom. He lowered me onto the stool beside the bathtub. My towel was in reach, as was the robe, and everything else I needed.

I wanted to ask him to stay. If I sunk underneath the bubbles, he wouldn’t be able to see anything, but I knew that would be pushing my luck.

“Call me if you need me. I’ll be right outside.”

I nodded and listened to him leave. I couldn’t hear his heartbeat. I couldn’t even feel his presence, but I knew he was on the other side of the door. I washed and tried my best not to fall asleep in the tub. I gripped the edge of the tub and tried to get up. My strength failed me, even as I tried to push my superpowers. I lay back in the tub and huffed. The towel was near enough that I could stretch and grab it, but I wasn’t getting any farther than that.

I pulled the towel around me and leaned against the edge of the tub, panting and slightly dizzy as I struggled to tuck it under my arms.

“Candido?” I called. “Could you help me?”

He opened the door, tentatively. He stood in the doorway for a moment. I flushed, feeling his eyes on me. It felt nothing like the leer of those men. Slowly, he crossed the room. His eyes were dark as he reached me and sat on the edge of the tub. I looked up at him.

“Still too fatigued?” He asked, his voice wavering at the end.

I nodded. “I can’t seem to get up.”

He nodded and reached towards me. His hand felt like it was burning as it drifted over my bare shoulder. He leaned down and lifted me out of the tub into his lap. I tried to keep hold of the towel, but it slipped. Before I could catch it, he grabbed it and held it closed.

A flush filled his face.

“You’ll have to fix it before I move you,” he said stiffly. “Can you do that?”

I nodded and reached for the towel. His eyes closed, and his hands moved to my h**s as I tucked it under my arm again.

“Okay.”

He opened his eyes and leaned over to get the robe. He pulled it onto my arms and picked me up, holding me against him as he got me into the robe completely. The robe shifted and slipped over my shoulders, putting more distance between his skin and mine, but it felt so thin with him pressed up against me. Slowly, he lifted me from my feet and cradled me close. He carried me out of the bathroom to her bedroom. There was food set out. All of it smelled good and looked relatively light, like soup and bread. It reminded me a bit of her first meal on the estate. I smiled.

He put me in bed and set a tray in front of me before loading it up with a bowl of soup and bread. He broke bread and offered it to me. I took it hesitantly and eyed him

I wanted to ask him to stay. If I sunk underneath the bubbles, he wouldn’t be able to see anything, but I knew that would be pushing my luck.

“You should eat too.”

He smirked and bit into his half of the loaf. “I had planned to, sweet. How are you feeling?”

“Less sticky,” I said. “Less jittery.”

I was still uneasy, but having Candido so close to me had shaken some of the fear out of me. There was nothing in Candido I could ever fear. He said I was safe, so I was.

Candido nodded. “That’s good.”

A knock sounded on the door. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Allen stepped in. He gave me a small smile. He looked tired, as if he had spent a lot of late nights up with Candido while I was out.

“I am glad to see you awake and eating, Miss Hedy. I trust His Majesty has been taking superb care of you.”

Candido made a face that made me giggle. It seems like he’d been very prickly while I was unconscious.

I smiled. “Yes. Thank you, Allen. Is Claire okay?”

He chuckled. “She has been home for the past several days helping with the investigation and checking in on you as often as she could manage. Perhaps when you are stronger, you will feel up to laying her fears to rest?”

I nodded. “Maybe.”

“Is something wrong?” Candido asked.

“We are still analyzing what Miss Hedy had been drugged with.” Allen shook his head. “The police have no idea.”

“What about the cameras?” Candido’s eyes narrowed. “I am only allowing the police to handle this because order is important.”

“We’ve pulled all the additional camera footage and kept copies as you requested as well as giving them to the police.”

Candido clenched his jaw as if he wanted to add something to that statement. Did he agree with that? Maybe he was thinking about the death of his family in that fire? Had the police investigation felt as thorough?

Was he still investigating it?

“They are lucky that Hedy is more important than murdering children outright.”

I smiled. “Does that mean you’ll wait until Bella is an adult?”

Candido turned to look at me, his expression was cold and furious. Not at me, but in general. It seemed that he’d uncovered something else about the situation that he wasn’t telling me about.

“What is it?”

“You don’t have to worry about Bella, Lilian, or Steven ever again.”

A chill went down my spine. I didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded like they were either banished or dead. Banished made the most sense if the police were handling it, but the fire in Candido’s eyes made me wonder if he planned to kill them all.