Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

The steady hum of the car filled the silence as we passed through the estate gates, and I couldn’t help but turn around for one last look.

The moment the gates disappeared behind us, I watched the estate through the side mirror as its towering walls slowly grew smaller and smaller until they eventually became nothing more than a blur in the distance.

That was when I finally let go.

Not completely, because my heart for some reason wasn’t listening, but enough to stop looking back.

Kaelen wasn’t coming.

He hadn’t come to stop me, hadn’t come to say goodbye, and now there was nothing left for me to wait for.

So I turned my attention back to the others.

Skye was sitting beside me in the back seat, her hand resting gently against my arm as though she could somehow sense exactly what was going through my head. I gave her a small smile before looking toward the front.

Cole kept his eyes on the road, his hands steady on the steering wheel while Raven sat beside him, scrolling through something on her phone.

"This is going to take more than a day," Raven finally said, breaking the silence as she checked the weather forecast on her screen.

Cole glanced toward the sky through the windshield. "There’s some rain ahead. If it doesn’t get too bad, we should still make it there in two days."

"Then we’ll find a hotel somewhere near the edge of the territory once it starts getting dark and continue first thing tomorrow morning," Raven replied, and her eyes met mine briefly through the rearview mirror before she added, "Unless anyone has a better idea?"

"That works for me," Skye said, leaning forward slightly before looking between them. "But where exactly are we going?"

"I have a private property in Solaria," Raven explained. "It’s a coastal haven far outside the Lunar Empire’s borders, so we can stay there for a few days without anyone bothering us."

She shifted comfortably in her seat before continuing. "The main estate the Alpha King prepared is in a completely different pack territory, and it’s still being renovated. Once everything is finished, we’ll need to sort out your passports and book a flight there, which is going to be a whole tedious process by itself."

A tired sigh escaped her as she rested her head against the headrest, and then she turned slightly, looking back at me.

"Do you still want to go through with changing your identity?"

I blinked, the question dragging me out of the thoughts of Kaelen that had been circling my mind ever since we left.

"What?" I muttered, staring at her through the rearview mirror.

"I asked if you still want to change your identity," Raven repeated, watching me carefully. "Since there’s barely any chance of you running into Jaxen or the others, wouldn’t it make more sense to stick to the original plan? We could even go with the name Ella."

There was something almost too eager about the way she said it.

Her logic wasn’t completely wrong. If I stayed under the radar, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone from my past finding me, and maybe that was exactly what I needed.

But there was one problem she seemed to be forgetting.

"My mother has already seen me," I whispered, the memory settling heavily in my chest. "I’m sure she’s already told the others that I’m alive by now."

Raven hummed thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her chin. "That’s actually what I find so strange."

My brows pulled together. "What do you mean?"

"If they know you’re alive, why haven’t they made a move yet?" she asked, her expression becoming more thoughtful as she stared down at her phone. "Knowing Jaxen, I’d expect him to be blowing up my phone by now, demanding every resource and connection I have just to find you."

Hearing that, a bitter laugh slipped from my lips. "For someone who supposedly wants me dead, I have to commend his dedication," I said, but Raven’s expression didn’t change.

"Which is exactly why this silence is bothering me," she said, her voice losing its playful edge. "What if they’re planning something behind the scenes? If that’s the case, then you have even more reason to stick to the original plan and stay Ella."

Now I could only stare at her as a strange knot slowly tightened in my stomach.

Something about this felt a little off.

I mean, she had already assured me that the Alpha King’s protection was enough to keep anyone from touching me, so why was she suddenly so determined to make sure I erased Lorelei all over again?

Was she just being cautious?

Or maybe she was worried that with the way things had ended between Kaelen and me, it was only a matter of time before he stopped caring altogether.

Before he stopped protecting me.

The thought squeezed my heart so painfully that I had to swallow past the lump in my throat.

I didn’t want to think about that.

Not now.

"Just... do whatever you think is best," I finally forced out, my voice tighter than I intended.

Before she could push the topic any further, I turned away and rested my head against the cool glass of the window.

We had been driving for almost an hour, and the exhaustion from that morning was finally catching up with me.

A nap seemed like the only way to escape the constant noise in my head, but just as my eyelids were beginning to grow heavy, the car suddenly swerved hard, sending my body lurching to the side.

BANG!

My head slammed against the window, sending a sharp burst of pain through my temple. "Ngggh..." I groaned, clutching my throbbing head with both hands.

Before I could even ask what was happening, Cole’s tense voice cut through the cabin.

"We’ve got a car coming up on us. Fast."

"What?" Raven snapped, immediately turning to look through the back window.

I twisted around in my seat, wincing as I looked through the rear windshield. Sure enough, a sleek, dark vehicle was speeding toward us down the empty highway.

The tinted windows made it impossible to see who was behind the wheel, but there was no mistaking their intentions.

They were hunting us.

"Drive faster!" Raven ordered, already reaching for the holster strapped to her thigh as she pulled out her gun and racked the slide.

"I’m trying!" Cole shouted as he slammed his foot down on the gas.

The engine roared as our car surged forward, but the vehicle behind us didn’t lose any ground. If anything, it only accelerated, closing the distance with terrifying ease.

My heart hammered against my ribs as panic began to settle in. Beside me, Skye was visibly panicking, her breathing coming in short, ragged hitches as she clutched her chest.

"Who do you think it is? What do they want?"

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