Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

"Presenting His Imperial Majesty... the Alpha King!"

The moment those words rang through the ballroom, the entire atmosphere changed. The tension that had been hanging over everyone seconds ago disappeared almost instantly.

The guards immediately lowered their weapons and shoved them back beneath their jackets, while the higher ranks who had been watching the standoff with wide eyes suddenly remembered where they were and hurriedly bowed their heads.

My mother wasn’t quite as quick to recover. She stumbled backward, desperately trying to disappear among the other guests as though she hadn’t just been screaming about curses and trying to slap me across the face.

Callista wasn’t doing much better either, because she was still pale and clutching her stomach while leaning against Jaxen, although judging by the way she kept peeking around the room, I had a feeling she was perfectly capable of standing on her own.

I didn’t pay them any mind, though, as my attention was now fixed ahead as Kaelen stepped through the grand entrance, and the sight of him immediately made something inside my chest unclench.

He was okay. Thank the moon goddess.

The worry I’d been carrying ever since he’d sent me away suddenly felt ridiculous, especially now that he was standing there looking completely unharmed.

Even in a room filled with powerful Alphas and influential nobles, there was something about his presence that made everyone else seem insignificant.

He walked into the ballroom with that familiar confidence that always made it seem as though the entire world naturally moved around him, while Darius followed close behind, his eyes already sweeping across the room and checking every corner like he expected trouble to jump out at any second.

And just like that, everyone bowed.

Every noble, guard, and maid lowered their head in submission, leaving me as the only person still standing there with my head held high.

I probably should have bowed too, but honestly, I was far too relieved to care.

Kaelen’s amber eyes moved through the room, searching, and the second they found me, his expression changed. The cold authority he’d walked in with softened almost immediately, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

That alone made my heart give a stupid little flutter.

Even after scaring the life out of me by sending me here alone, one look from him was enough to make me forget half of what I’d been worrying about.

Nobody else moved because Kaelen still hadn’t given them permission to rise, so I leaned slightly toward Paul.

"Let’s go ahead," I whispered.

Paul gave me a small nod, keeping his expression calm and alert as I started walking toward Kaelen, feeling his eyes follow me the entire way.

For a second, he looked like he was about to come toward me himself, but then his gaze flickered across the room as if he remembered that an entire ballroom full of people was still waiting for him to acknowledge them.

Even when he was supposed to be playing the intimidating Alpha King, the moment he saw me approaching, everything else seemed to become an afterthought as his expression settled completely on me.

But I had barely taken a few more steps when I noticed Jaxen’s face had gone completely white as paper.

Before I could even wonder what was happening, his hand shot out from his bowed position and grabbed my wrist, stopping me so abruptly that my whole body jerked backward.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Jaxen hissed under his breath, panic sharp in his voice. "Why aren’t you bowing to the Alpha King?! If you’re trying to get yourself killed, fine, but don’t drag the whole family down with you!"

I slowly looked down at his hand wrapped around my wrist before lifting my eyes again, only to catch sight of Kaelen.

His expression had hardened completely.

He was already striding across the marble floor toward us, and from the look in his eyes, I was pretty sure Jaxen had about three seconds left to live.

If looks could kill, Jaxen would already be six feet under.

The sight of Kaelen coming straight toward us made the corner of my lips lift into a small, satisfied smirk. Jaxen looked at me like he couldn’t understand why I was smiling, but before he could say anything, Kaelen was already standing right in front of us.

His hand shot out, clamping around Jaxen’s arm before he shoved him backward with such brutal Alpha strength that Jaxen lost his balance and crashed hard onto the marble floor.

Callista gasped, both hands flying to her mouth.

"Do you have a death wish?" Kaelen growled, his voice low and filled with barely contained fury. "How dare you touch her?"

Jaxen looked completely stunned, but apparently, he still hadn’t realized just how badly he had screwed up. He pushed himself up, one hand clutching his bruised shoulder as he hurriedly tried to explain himself, then pointed a trembling finger at me.

"Alpha King! That woman shouldn’t even be here! She’s a runaway, a fraud..."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" my mother suddenly chimed in, rushing out from the crowd and bowing nervously before pointing at me as well. "She’s nothing but trouble! She’s a cursed witch who was banished from our pack!"

"She pushed me!" Callista sobbed, cradling her swollen belly as tears streamed down her face. "Your Majesty, she tried to hurt my unborn baby! She’s a monster!"

For a brief second, Callista’s pathetic little performance actually made Kaelen hesitate. His brow furrowed as his eyes moved between her and me, taking in the fact that the woman standing in front of him looked almost exactly like me, only heavily pregnant and desperately playing the helpless victim.

For that tiny moment, I wondered what was going through his head.

My heart picked up speed, a sudden flicker of anxiety settling in my chest as I watched him stare at my twin sister like he was trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

But whatever confusion had crossed his face disappeared just as quickly as it came, replaced by pure, unrestrained fury that burned in his golden eyes.

"This woman?!" Kaelen’s voice boomed across the ballroom, making the entire room fall silent. "You mean my wife?! Your Queen Luna!"

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