06. Kindness and Compassion

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. One by one without minding that I was with him inside the chamber. My heart hammered against my chest as I listened to the rustling of his clothes as he groaned and slowly took everything except his pants.

My cheeks burned in discomfort. 

I stood there frozen, not sure what I would do. I realized asking him to mark me just to prove to Alpha Erik that someone will accept me for who I am was childish. And a bit immature? 

“No. That is not childishness. It is only good that you seek revenge against the jerk,” I told myself. 

"What are you thinking, River?"

I jumped when I noticed he was already standing beside me—topless. He wrapped a towel around the lower part of his body to cover his nakedness. Compared to my five feet and three inches frame, he towered over me with his six-flat height. 

"Your Highness, I did not see you there," I said.

If only he could just put on his clothes. It would be beneficial to me. 

He lifted my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. "Your pretty little lips are curled. Your mind is elsewhere. If someone is attempting to kill me, I would be long dead by now, River." His eyes were like a window to his soul forcing me to look at him.

"I will never stare into space again, Your Highness. My apologies for that."

He slightly pushed me. 

"You should always be alert. Now that you become my slave, you must look for any possible threats surrounding me, River. Lay down your life if you must. I don't care. My life is more important. A lot of people depend on me."

And there I also realized that King Maxxwell was also one of the biggest jerks I newly encountered in my life. 

The life of the slave was not important to the masters and others. That was how unfair the world I was currently. 

"I-I will." I balled my palm into a fist. 

A couple of minutes passed and a knock sounded on the door. 

The alpha king motioned me to open the door and hastily obliged. 

"Here are the clothes," Alpha Erik said. “As you mentioned, Your Highness.” Another servant stepped aside and offered a fresh set of clothes. 

The alpha stared at me coldly, checking for my neck, and scoffed when he did not see any mark. Perhaps he was thinking I was merely bluffing. That I was not the alpha king’s mate. It was rare for someone to have two mates at the same time. And on top of that with a wolfless slave.

“Is there anything you want, Your Highness?”

“Nothing so far.”

I gritted my teeth. One of these days, he will see the mark. Provided that King Maxxwell will do it here in the packhouse. If not… I will seduce the alpha king so that he would mark me. And then I will be back in this pack and will flaunter the mark to each of them. To all of them who bullied me. 

"What are you waiting for?" Alpha Erik asked when I did not bother to grab the clothes. "Do you want me to get it for you? May I remind you that you are still a servant of my pack?"

My heart skipped in fear. I hastily strolled towards them and snatched the clothes from the servant’s hands and clutched them to my chest. The imposing figure of the king was suddenly beside me, still topless.  

"Your Highness, do you want to add something?" Alpha Erik asked, smiling sweetly. 

"How about the food?"

"I'm not hungry, Your Highness," I said. 

"Don't expect that the food is for you, River. The question is addressed to the alpha king. Don't think that I will serve you."

"Oh," I said, cheeks flushed. 

To my defense, King Maxxwell said, "It's not mine but for her. However, since River said that she is full, your presence is no longer needed at the moment. I will call you when I will need you again."

Alpha Erik’s lips curled as he looked at me. Then he beamed when he looked at the alpha king.

"I will let one servant guard the entrance of the door, Your Highness so she would attend to whatever you needed."

"Alpha Erik, why do you always push others to do the task for you? I don't want them. I want you to do it for me. I am your alpha king."

Alpha Erik clenched and unclenched his fist. Served him right. This was just the beginning. Little by little, I will make sure he will run away from embarrassment.

"With all due respect, Your Highness, I have to attend to the other alphas who opted to spend the night in the pack. Perhaps I can—"

"I want you to do it for me. Delegate that task to your beta. You can go now. We need to retire for tomorrow's journey. I will be bringing River with me."

I gasped as I looked at him. Too soon. 

"Dog Slave? But, Your Highness..."

"Why? Do you have objections? Do you dare to object to your alpha king? Or perhaps you regret something you just did this evening, Alpha Erik?"

King Maxxwell pulled me to his body. I stiffened. 

"N-nothing, Your Highness. It is just that there are other servants more capable than River. More gorgeous and sexy. And hot."

King Maxxwell squinted. "I'm not looking for a whore. Why would I when I already found my mate?"

"F-forgive me, Your Highness. It was a slip of my tongue."

"Go now. Your presence annoys me."

Alpha Erik bowed his head, looked in my direction, and closed the door behind us with a soft click. 

"Are you satisfied with what I just did, River?" King Maxxwell asked. 

I nodded. "Fairly satisfied, Your Highness. Thank you for your kindness and compassion."

He scoffed.  His eyes suddenly glinted. "Kindness? Compassion? What the fuck are those?"