Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

Those words hit me right in the chest, squeezing my heart until it actually hurt.

I might not have known every single detail about Kaelen’s past, but I knew enough.

The little things I had heard from Skye and the other maids over the years had slowly pieced together the ugly parts of his childhood.

He had been the illegitimate son of the former Alpha King, a boy born into this very estate through his father’s mistress, and honestly, I would never understand how any of that had somehow become his fault.

His father was the one who had cheated on his mate, yet Kaelen was the one who had been forced to carry the shame, being treated like some kind of living reminder of his betrayal.

He had been abused by almost everyone around him, from his father and stepmother to his stepbrother, the guards, the maids, and even the elders of the council.

They eventually exiled him and left him to survive on his own for years, only for him to come back as a grown man and rip the throne away from them in a bloody fight for power.

And after surviving all of that, even his true mate had left him.

I still didn’t know exactly why she had abandoned him, and apparently, neither did most people in the empire, but knowing how fiercely Kaelen loved once he finally allowed himself to love someone, I couldn’t imagine what losing her had done to him.

It was a feeling I understood far too well because I knew exactly what it was like to give someone your whole heart only for them to turn around and leave you with nothing.

My chest tightened with warmth, and before I even realized what I was doing, I snuggled closer to Kaelen, burying my face against the warmth of his broad chest.

"I don’t mind carrying your child," I whispered.

I wasn’t saying it just to make him feel better. I really meant it.

The truth was, I didn’t mind the thought of having his baby at all. In fact, as I looked at him, I found myself secretly hoping it would happen sooner rather than later.

The image suddenly popped into my head of this huge, terrifying Alpha King holding a tiny baby that looked just like him, and I couldn’t stop the smile that slowly spread across my lips.

Yeah...

I really wanted to see that.

"It’s just..." I hesitated, the harsh reality of our world slowly creeping back into the room as I looked up into his intense amber eyes. "To be your Queen, Kaelen... I feel like I still have so much to catch up on. There’s still so much I need to learn about court etiquette, politics... and even about you. I want to feel like I’m actually worthy of standing beside you."

But Kaelen’s brows immediately pulled together into a deep frown. "I don’t care about any of that."

His thumb moved gently along my jaw, his touch almost impossibly tender considering the raw strength I knew he was capable of.

"All I want is you beside me. That is more than enough."

Oh, Moon Goddess. Since when did this ruthless brute suddenly know exactly what to say?

I cleared my throat, trying to gather my thoughts despite the ridiculous flutter in my chest because, as sweet as that sounded, he was completely missing my point.

"You might not care, Kaelen, but the people do," I insisted softly, placing my hand against his cheek. "The elders on the council definitely will. You’re the Alpha King who has spent years being ruthless and completely untouchable, so of course everyone is going to want to know who the woman suddenly standing beside you is."

I paused, watching his expression carefully before continuing. "Some people will look at me with envy, while others will do everything they can to tear me down just to get to you. And I..." I swallowed, my fingers curling slightly against his cheek. "I can’t afford to be weak."

The second those words left my mouth, something in Kaelen’s expression changed.

The tenderness disappeared from his eyes, replaced by the cold, brooding seriousness I had become so familiar with. A low, frustrated growl rumbled deep in his chest as he ran a large hand over his face.

"I understand," he finally muttered darkly. "Fuck... as much as I want to stand in front of the entire empire and scream that you’re mine, you’re right."

He looked back at me, his amber eyes narrowing with sudden determination.

"When it comes to the court and those vultures on the council, they’ll look for any weakness they can find. And if you’re going to stand beside me, I need to make sure you’re ready for them."

A small, slightly sad smile touched my lips. As relieved as I was that Kaelen and I were finally on the same page, the reality of everything I had to do was starting to sink in.

I had so much to catch up on, especially with my background. I had barely received any proper education compared to the highborn women who had grown up learning everything about court life from childhood.

"There’s a grand banquet happening in two days."

Kaelen’s voice suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts, making me look back at him.

I raised an eyebrow, shifting slightly against his broad chest. "A banquet?"

"I want you to come with me as my date," he said, his tone making it sound less like an invitation and more like a decision he had already made.

"Really?" I asked, my heart giving a nervous little flutter. "What’s the occasion?"

He shrugged like it was nothing, a dark, unimpressed look flashing through his amber eyes. "Think of it as a glorified party. There’ll be Alphas from different territories across the empire, along with plenty of other important guests."

The moment he said that, my entire body went stiff.

Every muscle in my back tensed at once, and Kaelen immediately noticed.

His hand moved slowly down my spine, trying to ease the tension he clearly thought was just nerves about attending my first major event.

"You don’t have to worry about anything," he reassured me, his voice softening. "Honestly, no one even does anything useful at these things. It’s just a bunch of arrogant higher ranks getting together to show off their ridiculous wealth and remind everyone how powerful they are."

But that was the problem.

Kaelen thought I was nervous about meeting the higher ranks, learning the etiquette, or dealing with people who would probably look down on me.

That wasn’t why the blood had suddenly drained from my face.

Because the moment he mentioned the banquet, something finally clicked in my mind.

I suddenly understood why Jaxen and the others had appeared in this territory in the first place.

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