Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

For the first few minutes, I stayed in the back of the car, sitting quietly as I tried to calm my nerves and prepare myself for whatever was waiting outside.

Paul eventually turned around from the front seat, giving me an encouraging smile.

"You don’t have to say anything or answer any questions," he reassured me. "Most people here don’t even know who you are yet, and since you’re not arriving with the Alpha King, they probably won’t have much to ask you anyway. I’ll be right beside you the entire time. All I need to do is show them the invitation at the entrance, and we’ll be inside."

I nodded several times, letting his words sink in as I glanced over his outfit. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, and when I looked around, I noticed Isaac and the other guards were wearing matching suits too. They looked almost like ordinary members of the elite crowd, except I knew exactly how heavily they were trained to protect me.

Taking one last deep breath, I straightened my shoulders.

"I’m ready."

A moment later, Isaac opened the car door from outside.

I took Paul’s offered hand and slowly stepped onto the pavement, immediately feeling the weight of everyone’s attention shift toward me. I quickly smoothed down the midnight-blue silk of my dress before we started walking toward the red carpet, my fingers tightening slightly around Paul’s arm as the flashes from the cameras continued going off around us.

"Who is she?" a woman whispered a few steps ahead, her arm linked through her date’s as they walked toward the entrance.

The man glanced back at me, and his eyes widened. "I have no idea, but... fuck, she looks..."

He suddenly stopped when he realized his date was staring at him. But it was already too late as her face twisted into an unmistakable scowl.

"Wait, you’re still the most beautiful!" he quickly added, clearly realizing he’d just walked straight into a trap, but she didn’t even look at him.

Instead, she gave him the coldest possible shoulder and simply picked up her pace, leaving him scrambling to catch up.

I couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at my lips.

Well...

At least I wasn’t the only one feeling nervous tonight.

I had to bite back another smile at the sight, but the little moment of amusement didn’t last long.

Without warning, a wall of camera flashes exploded directly in front of me.

I flinched, instinctively shrinking closer to Paul’s side as reporters surged against the velvet ropes, shouting questions over one another.

"Miss! Who are you attending with tonight?"

"Are you representing one of the foreign packs?"

"Who designed your dress?"

One question after another came flying at me so quickly that I barely had time to process any of them. The flashes were just as overwhelming, making it difficult to see where I was even walking.

Paul leaned slightly toward me, his voice calm despite all the chaos around us.

"Just smile and keep walking."

I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax before putting on my best composed smile. With my chin held high, I continued forward, doing my best to ignore the endless flashes and shouting until we finally reached the main entrance.

A formally dressed usher stood beside the velvet rope, checking each guest against the master list. Paul stepped forward and pulled the golden invitation card from his jacket, holding it out to him.

The moment the usher saw it, the color drained from his face.

His eyes jumped from the invitation to me, then back to Paul before dropping to the seal again as if he needed to make absolutely sure he hadn’t imagined it.

Then, without another word, he immediately bent into a deep bow.

"Please... step right in," he stammered, his voice trembling slightly.

Paul simply gave him a professional nod before slipping the invitation back into his jacket and guiding me through the grand arched entrance.

We had only walked a few steps into the marble foyer when I leaned closer to him.

"What was that about?" I whispered, and a faint smirk pulled at Paul’s lips as he kept his attention on the hallway ahead.

"Let’s just say..." He paused, clearly enjoying himself. "The Alpha King left his mark on that invitation."

My smile immediately grew.

Of course he did.

Kaelen would never send me into a room full of powerful people without making sure everyone knew exactly who I was.

Apparently, even when he wasn’t physically beside me, he still had to make his presence known.

We entered the main ballroom, and I couldn’t help but stop for a second just to take everything in.

The ceiling stretched high above us, covered in beautiful painted frescoes framed by massive crystal chandeliers that filled the entire room with a warm, golden glow. Tables covered in rich ivory and gold linens surrounded the huge marble dance floor, where elegantly dressed couples moved slowly to the soft music of a live orchestra playing at the far end of the room.

It was honestly breathtaking.

And somehow, it reminded me of the lavish events back home.

Except I had never attended those as a guest.

Back then, I had been one of the maids quietly moving through crowds like this, carrying trays of drinks for wealthy nobles who barely spared me a glance.

Now, I was walking through the same kind of room while people couldn’t seem to stop staring at me.

The farther we went, the more I could feel eyes following us, accompanied by whispers that seemed to come from every direction. I tried my best to ignore them, but it wasn’t exactly easy when it felt like half the room was watching my every step.

"Where are the others?" I whispered to Paul, mostly asking just to distract myself.

"They came in through the private rear entrance," he replied smoothly, his posture remaining alert as he walked beside me. "They’re already spread throughout the room and blending into the crowd."

I nodded, feeling a little more reassured as he led me toward a reserved table near the edge of the dance floor.

"Do you want a drink?" Paul asked once we reached the gilded chairs.

"Yeah," I murmured, smoothing down my skirt. "But definitely nothing alcoholic tonight."

He gave me a quick nod before catching the attention of a passing waiter carrying a tray of drinks.

Paul gestured for the waiter to hand him a glass first. He took it and drank a large gulp, waiting a few seconds afterward as if he were personally prepared to sacrifice himself to make sure I wasn’t about to drink poison.

I couldn’t help the quiet laugh that escaped me.

"You’re seriously taste-testing my drink?"

He gave me a look that said he didn’t see anything funny about it before signaling for the waiter to pour me the exact same drink.

I reached for the glass, still amused by his ridiculous level of caution, and lifted the chilled rim toward my lips.

But before I could take a sip, something across the ballroom caught my attention as my gaze locked on a pair of painfully familiar ice-blue eyes, causing my entire body to freeze.

He was staring directly at me, his brows drawn tightly together as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Color drained from my face while my hand remained suspended halfway to my lips.

"Lorelei?" Jaxen whispered.

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