Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

"Who do you think it is? What do they want?" I demanded, gripping the headrest in front of me so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

Raven didn’t turn around. Her eyes remained fixed on the side mirror as she watched the vehicle behind us.

"It’s not Jaxen, that’s for damn sure. Which means there’s a good chance it’s one of the Alpha King’s enemies. After all, they managed to drug you once before. Killing you now would be the perfect way to hurt him."

At that, the world seemed to stop. My brain completely short-circuited, and the pounding in my head was suddenly forgotten.

"What do you mean, drugged me?" I gasped, my voice trembling.

The only time I had ever been drugged was that horrific night at the club.

Don’t tell me that had been planned too.

Before Raven could answer, the dark car suddenly pulled into the left lane and accelerated at a terrifying speed. It roared past us before swerving sharply back into our lane, skidding sideways until it completely blocked the narrow road ahead.

"BRACE!" Cole screamed as he slammed his foot onto the brake.

The tires shrieked against the asphalt, filling the air with the smell of burning rubber as the sudden stop sent my body flying forward against the seatbelt.

A second later, the impact threw me backward into the leather seat, knocking the air from my lungs.

"What the fuck..." I groaned, my head spinning as I struggled to clear my vision from the sudden whiplash.

"Everyone stay in the car!" Raven ordered, her voice darker and more serious than I had ever heard it before.

Without wasting a second, she raised her loaded gun, her knuckles turning white around the grip as her other hand reached for the door handle.

Before she could open it, the driver’s side door of the dark car swung wide, but the figure who stepped out only made my breath catch in my throat.

"Kaelen..." I whispered, my voice trembling as I stared through the windshield with my heart pounding against my ribs.

This was the first time I had seen him since the execution, but he didn’t look like the cold, stoic Alpha King I had imagined he would be.

Even from a distance, he looked like an absolute mess. His usually pristine red hair was wildly disheveled, and with the rain suddenly pouring down, wet strands clung to the sides of his face. His clothes were rumpled, and his frantic steps were hurried, almost desperate, as he charged toward our vehicle.

"What the fuck is the Alpha—" Cole began, but I didn’t wait for him to finish.

The next second, I flung the car door open and practically threw myself out into the cold air. I didn’t care about the rain, Raven calling my name, or how completely insane the whole situation was. My feet were already moving on instinct as I sprinted across the asphalt toward him.

The moment his bloodshot eyes locked onto mine, he let out a heavy, shuddering breath. Then he broke into a run, closing the distance between us within seconds.

I barely had time to stop before I stumbled straight into his chest, and his arms wrapped around me like steel bands, pulling me tightly against him.

"Please don’t go..." he rasped, his voice raw and cracking with an agony he could no longer hide. His grip tightened, pulling me so close that I could feel the frantic beating of his heart against mine. "Please stay with me. Be my Luna. Be my Queen... I love you, Lorelei. I love you so fucking much."

The moment those words left his mouth, tears spilled over my lashes, hot and fast as they streamed down my cheeks.

The tall, impenetrable walls I had spent days building around my heart completely crumbled.

Hearing him finally say he loved me broke something wide open inside me, and I collapsed against him, wracked by heavy, breathless sobs.

Seeing my tears, Kaelen immediately panicked. His large, trembling hands cupped my face, his thumbs desperately brushing the tears from my cheeks.

"Don’t cry, baby. Please, don’t cry..."

But I couldn’t stop.

I sobbed even harder, curling my hands into tight fists before bringing them down against his chest again and again, although I barely had enough strength to hurt him.

"Why didn’t you say that sooner?!" I cried, my voice thick with emotion. "You should have told me! You let me suffer! You made me so damn sad for no reason!"

"I know... I know. I’m such a selfish jerk," he whispered brokenly, burying his face in my neck for a moment before looking back at me. "I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. You can hit me, lash out at me, curse me if you want, but please... please don’t leave me."

The rain started pouring even harder, but my sobs slowly began to fade as I looked into his eyes. His amber gaze was wild, desperate, and pleading, completely stripped of the usual confidence and authority he carried as the Alpha King.

I didn’t even have the strength to stay angry with him anymore. Standing there in the middle of the open road, wrapped in his warmth despite the cold rain pouring around us, was the last piece of my resistance.

"I love you too," I hiccupped softly. "And I want to stay with you."

The very second those words left my lips, his eyes widened in surprise, and a breathless sound escaped his chest before turning into a disbelieving, relieved laugh, clearly not expecting me to give in so easily.

Without giving me another second to think, his hands returned to my cheeks, gently tilting my face upward before his lips crashed against mine.

The pressure was sudden and hard, the kind that left no room for hesitation. Rain clung to our skin, cold against my face, but the warmth of his lips quickly drowned it out.

It was desperate and wild, filled with all the feelings we had spent days trying to bury. Every doubt I had been holding onto seemed to disappear at that moment.

I melted into him instantly, my hands fisted in the wet fabric of his shirt before I even decided to move, fingers curling tight as I kissed him back with the same force.

My lips parted under his, and his tongue slid against mine, tasting of rain and the sharp, desperate heat of his mouth.

At that, Kaelen let out a deep groan, his hands sliding from my face to settle around my waist. He pulled me closer, holding me so tightly against him that my chest pressed flush to his as if he were afraid I would disappear the moment he let go.

We stayed like that until we finally had to pull apart for air.

When we did, we were both breathing heavily, our foreheads almost touching as we tried to catch our breath.

Somehow, the world around me felt completely different.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and rested my forehead against his while he buried his face in the crook of my neck, taking a deep breath as though my scent alone was enough to calm him.

His arms remained locked securely around my waist while the rain continued pouring over us, but neither of us moved.

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