Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

It wasn’t because I cared about Jaxen’s life. If he dropped dead right in front of me, I wouldn’t shed a single tear.

But I wasn’t going to let him ruin my night.

More importantly, I refused to let him escape everything he’d done to me that easily. If he died here, in front of half the Empire’s nobility, all the years I’d spent suffering because of him would mean nothing. His betrayal, the humiliation, the pain he’d put me through...

He didn’t get to walk away from all of that with a quick bullet to the head.

Of course, Jaxen completely misunderstood why I had stopped Paul.

He wiped the blood beneath his nose with the back of his hand, and somehow, that smug expression slowly returned to his face.

"It’s good to see you still remember your place," he sneered, straightening his suit jacket as though he’d somehow managed to come out on top.

My stomach twisted with disgust.

I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it, so I forced every emotion off my face until nothing remained but cold indifference.

"Alpha Jaxen..." I said calmly, my voice dropping into an even, measured tone. "What exactly do you want from me?"

His smug smile immediately disappeared.

"What do you mean, what do I want?" he shot back, taking a half-step toward me before his eyes flicked toward Paul’s gun and he stopped himself. "Don’t you think I deserve an explanation, Lorelei?"

His expression twisted with confusion and anger.

"You’re alive." His voice cracked slightly as he stared at me. "Why the fuck are you standing here, looking like this... alive?"

A dry, bitter laugh rose in my throat at the sheer absurdity of his words.

Alive?

Of course I was alive.

I had fought like hell to survive, and I hadn’t done it because of him. I had done it despite him.

But before the laugh could escape, something across the ballroom caught my attention, making my breath catch in my throat.

Callista.

She was walking back into the ballroom, probably returning from the ladies’ room. She wore an ethereal light-pink gown that made her look almost delicate, one hand resting protectively over her heavily pregnant belly.

But it wasn’t Callista who made my blood run cold.

It was the woman walking beside her.

My mother.

Her arm was linked through Callista’s as they walked together, looking every bit like the proud mother she had always pretended to be.

For a second, I couldn’t move.

Everything seemed to slow down as I watched them make their way across the marble floor, their heads held high and their expressions carrying that same arrogant look I had known far too well growing up.

The same look that had made my childhood a fucking nightmare.

Then Callista’s eyes found mine, and she froze.

The color drained from her face so quickly that, under any other circumstances, I might have almost felt sorry for her. Her step faltered, and her fingers tightened around my mother’s arm.

My mother immediately noticed. She followed Callista’s gaze, and the moment her eyes landed on me, her entire face changed.

Shock.

Horror.

Fear.

It all flashed across her features before she stumbled backward slightly, staring at me as though I were some kind of monster that had just crawled out of the grave.

Her trembling hand slowly rose, her finger pointing directly at me as she screamed.

"I said it!" My mother’s shrill voice tore through the ballroom, cutting straight through the music and the conversations around us. "I told you all! I said that cursed witch was still alive!"

The entire ballroom went silent, watching her as she clutched desperately at Callista’s arm, her eyes wild as she stared at me.

"You all said I was crazy, but look at her! Look at her!" Her voice climbed higher, bordering on hysteria. "She’s alive! The curse is still with us! I told you! I told everyone, but none of you believed me!"

Gasps rippled through the ballroom, spreading from our little circle like wildfire. Guests immediately started whispering among themselves, their eyes bouncing between me and my hysterical mother.

Some looked genuinely confused, others scandalized, while the more politically savvy nobles watched with barely hidden interest, already trying to figure out what this little drama could mean for them.

But through all of it, I remained calm.

I slowly exhaled, keeping my chin lifted as I stared back at them without saying a word.

I wasn’t going to give them anything. Not fear, anger, and definitely not the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart.

Just silence.

Cold, steady silence.

And somehow, that seemed to make them even more uncomfortable.

Especially Callista.

She finally pulled herself free from my mother’s grip and took a shaky step forward, one hand immediately settling protectively over her swollen belly.

"Sister..." she breathed, her voice trembling with carefully manufactured emotion. "How are you still alive? And why do you look like..."

Her words trailed off as her eyes slowly traveled over me, from my hair to my dress and back again.

I didn’t have to ask what she was thinking.

Her gaze lingered on my carefully styled blonde hair, the elegant updo, the diamonds sparkling against my skin, and finally the midnight-blue gown hugging my curves.

Even dressed in expensive silk and covered in jewels, Callista couldn’t hide the fact that, tonight, I looked better than she did.

For the first time in our lives, she wasn’t the prettier twin.

She wasn’t the one everyone was staring at.

She wasn’t the center of attention.

And judging by the way her jaw tightened beneath that carefully practiced expression of vulnerability, she fucking hated it.

I caught the brief flash of irritation in her eyes before she quickly buried it.

Then, almost on cue, her eyes filled with tears.

Her lips began to tremble so convincingly that even Paul frowned slightly, clearly confused by the sudden change.

But I could see it happening behind his eyes, that even he was starting to put the pieces together.

"Sister..." Callista continued, her voice shaking just enough to draw everyone’s attention. Tears clung to her lashes as she lowered her head, suddenly looking like the most fragile person in the entire room. "I know you’re angry with Mom and Dad for what they did to you, and I know their methods were harsh, but they had no choice."

She paused, swallowing as another tear slipped down her cheek.

"You almost killed my child."

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