I felt the world stop as I waited for the alpha king’s reaction. Alpha Erik was definitely right for saying I was filthy, to begin with.
I smiled bitterly as I listened to Alpha Erik’s voice. The word slave was forever imprinted in me regardless if I rose to rank by having a mate who had some positions in the pack.
“Filthy, you say?”
Alpha Erik lifted his chin and stood proudly. My other pack members agreed with him and gave me a mocking gaze.
“Yes, Your Highness. She is filthy. A slave. An omega. She does not even have a wolf. She was almost a human. If I were you, it is better to stay away from her.”
I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I felt so little as my breathing became faster than normal. The will to flee away from them was getting stronger.
The alpha king glanced at me. “Are you referring to this woman beside me, Alpha Erik?”
“No other than, Your Highness. She is the only servant who had the guts to attend the Mating Ceremony while the others were in their room, refusing to come out.”
“And I was glad she chose to come out, Alpha Erik. If she does not, we will not see each other in this ceremony.”
Alpha Erik took a step forward. “But Your Highness…you do not understand.”
King Maxxwell’s eyes glinted. “Is she a murderer, Alpha Erik?”
Alpha Erik stopped and shook his head. “No, Your Majesty. She is not.”
“Is she a thief?”“No, Your Majesty.”
“Is she a traitor?”
“No, King Maxxwell.”
“Then, there is nothing to be afraid of. I want this woman to stay beside me and enjoy the rest of the evening.”
Alpha Erik clenched his fist. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but—”
A gasp escaped my lips when King Maxxwell suddenly drew me to his side, earning a state of envy from the females and anger from Alpha Erik.
“Enough! Do not ruin my mood tonight, Alpha Erik. This woman is my mate and whoever hurt her will face me.” King Maxxwell stared at each of the werewolves, making his claim seriously.
I looked at him dumbfounded. Announcing it to everyone was not part of the deal. What would the other alpha say about him taking a slave as a mate?
“Your Highness, that person is a slave!” Alpha Erik insisted.
Without saying anything, His Highness punched Alpha Erik in the face. The latter stumbled and nearly lost his footing if not for some of my packmates.
“Do you think I care about that?! Alpha Erik, you forced me to hurt you and if you do not shut your mouth despite my warning, I will kill you. Not only him but to the others who never listen to their king.”
All of us bowed, telling us we will listen and obey him. Alpha Erik, on the other hand, was also forced to do that, still clenching his fist.
“Forgive us, Your Highness,” we said in unison.
King Maxxwell, yanked me up and forced me to look up. And suddenly, he dipped his mouth into mine, kissing me.
And we faced the crowd.
“This is River Williams of the Haverstone Pack. But she will go with me to my kingdom and who knows? She will become your next queen. So I am ordering every one of you not to hurt her or you will face my wrath. Do you understand?”
“We understand, Your Highness.”
I remember that my goal this evening was to find my mate, but never the alpha king. And to what purpose did he go far? What if the others will find out that we are not true mates?
The rest of the evening I was on edge. My packmates, who were bullying me back then suddenly warmed up to me and offered me a lot of drinks in order to take care of me.
However, Iris was still not believing the alpha king's announcements. But she did not come to me and taunt me. Instead, she just waited and I knew for a fact that she was only waiting for a perfect opportunity.
“Your Highness, we prepared a room for you if you do not want to return to the kingdom.”
It was Alpha Erik again. There was a visible bruise on his right cheek, but it will heal in time. Werewolves had amazing healing abilities.
“I want to retire. River,” His Highness called me.
I stood and walked behind King Maxxwell as Alpha Erik led us to the room. Spell awkward. That was what I was feeling right now. I could not help but feel as if he would punish me in a minute if His Highness was not looking.
We stayed silent until we reached the guest room.
“Here is your room, Your Highness.”
The alpha king looked inside. “Quite spacious.”
“I will call the servants to tend to your needs.”
“Why will we call them if you are here, Alpha Erik?” Alpha Erik did not instantly reply. King Maxxwell cocked his brows. “Well? Will you continue to become a mute, then?” he asked. “So you will not serve your king?”
Alpha Erik gritted his teeth together. “
“I-I can serve you, Your Highness. That is my job as the slave of this pack. Tell me what you want and I will do it to the best of my ability.”
“You are my mate, River. I want to treat you like a queen and never allow you to do any menial jobs. In the future, you will be the face of the kingdom.”
I nearly teared up at the extra work King Maxxwell had given to this facade. He did not consider if he would be the talk of the town or become a laughing stock just like what Alpha Erik had said when he rejected me.
“What do you want, Your Highness?”
“That’s what I consider talking about, Alpha Erik. I want some clothes for River. She will sleep with me. Inside this room.” I paled at King Maxxwell’s announcement.
I gasped as I watched King Maxxwell. Yes. I said that I will do anything for him, for him to mark me, but not this fast. I was not yet prepared for this. Alpha Erik looked at me with disgust. "Your Highness, are you sure taking Dog Slave with you?" Alpha Erik asked. As much as I hated him, he had a point there. The alpha king’s brows furrowed. "Dog Slave? Is that how you will address my mate behind her back?" King Maxxwell scolded. Alpha Erik was embarrassed. "A slip of the tongue—""Why? Is there something wrong with our sleeping arrangements?" His Highness asked, cutting off Alpha Erik’s words. Alpha Erik shook his head a couple of times. "N-none, Your Highness. If you insist upon it. Who am I to question you?"King Maxxwell grabbed me and we stepped into the room before saying, "River needed her clothes. Be sure to give it to her."And the door shut behind Alpha Erik's face.And just like that, we were alone. I stared at King Maxxwell nervously as he took off his clothes. On
I backed to the corner as King Max advanced towards me. My heart hammered against my chest as I gazed at him.What will he do now? What did I get into again? I asked myself. It felt like I was suddenly in a lion's den. I felt like I was the prey and he was the hunter.I hesitated. "You're scaring me, Your Highness," I could not help but say. I stopped when my back hit the wall. Dead end. Breathing was getting difficult. "That's what I am doing, River," he whispered against my ears. "You're a lamb who did not know what she was doing when she entered the wolf's den. It was your desire to have revenge on Alpha Erik. Without even knowing what kind of person I am. Your thirst for your revenge drives you to me."It was true. I had a little knowledge about the alpha king and all of them were rumors from the servants themselves. Baseless rumors without proof of their authenticity. I had zero interaction with him."I know the rumors are true, Your Highness."I squinted when he suddenly imp
I was stuck. With no way to get away from King Maxxwell's hold. It seemed like he was aware of what I was doing and his grip tightened. Damn it. I cannot break away? How can I break away?It was then that I realized I could not. Was he afraid that I would run away and stop going with him to the palace? Or was he only making sure that I will do the end of my deal since he did the same?I sighed. Regardless of the reason, I was not comfortable being with him. He was scary. "Your Highness," I whispered under my breath."Zenith... "I froze. A woman's name? Who could that be? Or was he only dreaming and calling a random name? No. He called the name with so much passion as if he knew her deeply. Curiosity got ahead of me and waited for him to say something more. Something that would give me more information about the woman. "F-forgive me...It was my fault."King Maxxwell trashed and released me from his hold. Sweat soaked his forehead and clutched his chest as if he was in pain. H
I could feel the stares of my packmates as they bade goodbye to King Maxxwell. They did not understand why the alpha king accepted me as his mate when in fact there were others out there who were more gorgeous and sexier than me as Alpha Erik said. Unknown to them, I already sold myself to this person in exchange for showing Alpha Erik that someone still wanted and desired me. "I wish for your safe journey, Your Highness. The coach was already prepared. But if you want a horse, I could offer you to find horses that you can use on your journey.""Coach is fine since I have River with me. I don't want him to be uncomfortable on our journey."He drew me closer to his body and the women sighed in envy. "Are you really sure about this, Your Highness? Perhaps there was something wrong with the Mating Ceremony last night. There was no way that woman could be your mate."I stilled. "Your words carry some weight, Alpha Erik. Explain. Are you River's mate?"Everyone held their breath. Inclu
The rogues continued firing at us while I rooted on the ground, shivering in fear. My blood went cold as one of the bullets passed through and hit the seat of the coach. I shrieked. Breathing was labored. "River! Do not panic or it will kill you!"King Maxxwell continued protecting me even if it should never be the case. I should be the one protecting him! Not the other way around!I glanced at him. His eyebrows met. His fist clenched.My lips quivered, tears brimming in my eyes. "Your Highness, will we die now?" I whispered under my breath.He looked at me and scoffed. I shrieked again when another bullet grazed my skin and fell to the ground. "No one is dying, River. You have to serve me, first in return for helping you. Stay here," he commanded.Before he could go away, I grabbed his hand. I gasped when sparks flew between our connected hands. He gritted his teeth as he stared at it for a long time. What. Just. Happened?Confused, I pulled my hands and touched them. The alpha
Where am I?That was the first thing that ran through my mind the moment I unfolded my eyes. My head felt like it was spinning. It hurts so much that all I wanted right now was lying on the bed until it would disappear. However, I remembered that I was now a servant of the palace and I had to do my best before anyone would decide to bully me again. What happened?Images of what happened flashed like lightning in my mind. The rogues. The dead bodies. The limbs. The blood. The driver. The alpha king. Everything. My stomach somersaulted and wanted to release everything I had eaten this morning. Or did I even eat or not? I did not remember anymore."Oh, Moon Goddess. How long will I be able to overcome my indifference to the sight of blood?" I whispered in my mind.It was always my usual reaction at the sight of blood. Aside from not having a wolf, I had the peculiar ability to faint at the mere sight of blood. "Do you believe the woman to be High Highness harem?" one woman said. I
I inhaled sharply and turned around. King Maxxwell was up, his eyes darting all around."River," he uttered again. This time with urgency. "Your Highness!" I exclaimed as my heart hammered against my chest. Did he find what I just did? Did he realize it was I who healed him? Relax, River. It is too soon to panic.He heaved himself out of the body. He moaned. Because of the pain from his side? But I healed him. I rushed to his side, and snaked my arms around his waist, helping him stand on his feet.Ugh. Too heavy. He looked like a giant compared to me. "Why did I suddenly feel light?" he asked with a confused look on his face.I chuckled nervously. "Perhaps...the pack doctor did an amazing job of healing you, Your Highness. That's why you feel that way."He observed himself and without further ado, yanked the medical gauze out from his body.Looking downward, I stared at his left side...Both of us looked at his wound. Just as I expected. The only thing that was left was the lon
Excitement was killing me as I prepared myself for the alpha king's bite. I clenched my fist. Finally. After this, I would carry the mark of the alpha king and would proudly wear it like a trophy. The people would look at me with envy and some with hate. I did not care about the latter. They could hate me as much as they want. What mattered most would be the alpha king's mark. The mark will also save me from anyone's bullying. They will no longer hurt me.Staying quiet and kind will not save me from anyone's wickedness. Being cunning and using my brain would help me.King Maxxwell stopped mid-air. I felt his fangs retract, licked my neck, and rested his forehead against mine."Your Highness, is there something wrong?" I queried. "Do you really think I will mark you, River? Do you take me as a fool? I've been serving the throne for a long time, not needing a Luna with me. What made you think I would change my mind just because you came along? Huh?" he spat. My blood went cold. D