Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Chapter 120: 0120

Lorelei POV

"Open up!" Kaelen roared from the other side.

"The door was never locked," Nala muttered as she pushed herself to her feet with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Why does that beast make such noise?"

It took me a few seconds to fully come back to my senses, the lingering haze from the strange illusion finally lifting as I realized Kaelen was standing right outside the room.

I quickly followed behind Nala as she glided toward the entrance and pulled the heavy door open.

The moment it swung open, she greeted the Alpha King with a raised brow and an unmistakably irritated expression.

"What is it?" she demanded. "Why do you disturb me?"

"Where is she?" Kaelen barked, his amber eyes blazing as they swept across the room before locking onto Nala. "What did you do to her?"

"Do not throw false accusations at my feet, Alpha," Nala replied smoothly, folding her arms across her chest. "We were merely speaking as women. I did not expect a territorial male to understand such things." She tilted her head slightly and looked back at me. "Is that not so... Ella?"

At her cue, I slowly stepped out from behind her.

My eyes immediately swept across the corridor.

Kaelen stood directly at the doorway, his broad chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, but he wasn’t alone.

Darius stood a few paces behind him, his expression tense, while Isaac remained at the far end of the hallway, standing stiffly with his hands clasped behind his back.

The moment my eyes landed on Isaac, I understood that he must have been the one who informed them that Nala had taken me away. It was yet another reason I believed there was no way I could go to the club with her.

"I’m fine," I said softly, hoping to ease the explosive tension radiating from both Kaelen and Darius.

"You should return now," Nala said, not even glancing back at me as she continued staring at Kaelen. "The night has grown old, and I have no strength left to speak of dresses."

But there was so much I wanted to ask her.

Too many questions still burned inside my mind about the vision, about Kaelen, and about what had felt like a terrifying warning.

But seeing how unusually pale she had become and how genuinely exhausted she looked, I decided to let it go.

For now.

"Good night," I whispered before hesitantly stepping out of her guest room.

The exact moment the heavy door shut behind me, cutting me off from the safety of her room, Kaelen’s suffocating glare crashed into me.

"What were you thinking?" he snapped, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous growl as he closed the distance between us. "Do you seriously think it’s a good idea to follow someone you met a few hours ago into a secluded room by yourself?"

"She’s the princess, and this is your estate," I whispered, lowering my gaze to avoid the intensity of his burning eyes. "I didn’t think anything could happen."

"But if I was wrong..." I swallowed hard, keeping my head lowered. "I’m sorry. It won’t happen again."

The moment those words left my lips, the rigid tension in Kaelen’s body seemed to break.

The fists tightly clenched at his sides slowly relaxed, and he let out a long, heavy sigh that sounded far more exhausted than angry.

"Isaac will take you back to your room," he said, his voice quieter now, though it still carried the unmistakable weight of an order.

I nodded quickly, not wanting to remain beneath his suffocating gaze for another second, then turned and followed Isaac down the silent hallway.

Back in the safety of my room, the silence somehow felt even heavier.

I stood in front of the mirror, staring quietly at my own reflection for several long minutes.

My mind was a complete mess, consumed by the terrifying visions Nala had shown me.

But more than anything else...

It was the word she had desperately repeated during her trance that refused to leave my thoughts.

"Vekhara..." I whispered, watching my lips form the unfamiliar word in the mirror.

What did it mean?

Was it a name?

A place?

Or something far more terrifying?

****

The next morning, I woke up feeling sore and completely drained.

When Isaac knocked on my door to tell me Kaelen wanted me to join everyone for breakfast, I actually turned him down.

That was how exhausted I felt.

Instead, as usual, Skye had my breakfast brought to my room.

As much as I wanted to avoid everyone for a little while longer, I knew I couldn’t hide forever.

Today was the day I was supposed to meet Prince Kalu for the ritual that would free my wolf.

But before that could happen, there was something else I wanted to do.

After finishing breakfast, I finally stepped out of my room, and the first person I saw was Paul.

A warm, familiar smile spread across his face the moment our eyes met.

I hadn’t seen him in days, and he looked so much better. The color had returned to his face, and he looked healthier and stronger than the last time I’d seen him.

"Morning, Miss," he greeted, dipping his head respectfully.

"Morning, Paul." I couldn’t help smiling back. "How are you feeling?"

I asked softly as we began walking side by side down the corridor. Skye walked on my other side while Isaac quietly followed a few paces behind us.

"As you can see, I’m well enough to be back on my feet," Paul replied, quiet pride evident in his voice. "I was actually planning to return to my full duties tomorrow, even if you hadn’t asked to see me today."

Hearing that, I let out a soft, horrified gasp.

"I hope I’m not inconveniencing you by asking for your time?" I asked.

"Of course not," Paul replied quickly. "I’ve had so much free time that it’s actually been killing me. You should have seen how fast I ran the moment I heard you wanted to see me."

I couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his words.

But the moment I remembered why I had really asked for him, my steps slowed.

Paul stopped with me, and I stole an anxious glance toward Isaac. Although Isaac had proven himself to be reliable so far, I wasn’t sure if I could risk letting him hear what I was about to ask.

"You can trust him," Paul said softly, as if he had read the frantic thoughts racing through my mind, his gaze shifting to Isaac, who stood there with his usual unreadable expression.

Was I really that obvious?

My chest tightened with nervous energy, but I couldn’t back down now. Not after spending the entire night tossing and turning, letting doubt tear me apart.

"When you said you couldn’t go against the empire..." I began carefully as Isaac stepped closer, stopping beside us in the quiet, nearly empty corner. "What exactly did you mean?"

The second those words left my lips, the warmth in Paul’s eyes disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a guarded seriousness, as though he had already pieced together what I was trying to ask.

He remained silent for a long moment while I watched his jaw tighten.

"I meant exactly what I said, Miss Ella," Paul finally said, lowering his voice to a whisper as though he didn’t want anyone passing by to overhear us. "My loyalty is to the empire. But..." He paused, his dark eyes locking onto mine with unwavering intensity. "My loyalty is also to you."

Hearing that, I turned to the other guard, locking eyes with him.

"What about you, Isaac?"

For a brief moment, something flickered across Isaac’s brown eyes.

It was gone almost as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the same calm, unreadable expression.

"Miss Ella," he said slowly, his voice steady. "What exactly do you want from us?"

Right.

They were still the guards of the Alpha King. Of course they weren’t going to blindly follow me without knowing exactly what I was asking of them.

Beside me, Skye let out a weary sigh.

I had filled her in over breakfast about what I wanted to do, and she had been completely against it. She had reminded me over and over that, even if the guards treated me with respect, their loyalty would always belong to the Alpha King first.

She was right.

I had thought about that too.

But right now, I was desperate.

I desperately needed to know whether Kaelen was truly involved with Hawke.

My heart had felt unbearably heavy ever since Maya’s confession.

A part of me wanted to run straight to Kaelen, throw myself into his arms, and tell him the entire truth about who I really was.

But I had been betrayed too many times.

The dark, whispering voice in the back of my mind kept asking the same question.

What if you’re wrong about him too?

*****

Author’s Note :

Hey, girlies....

I’m really sorry for the inconsistent updates lately. I’ve been sick these past few days, and while I’m feeling better now, I’m still mentally exhausted, so writing has been a bit difficult.

Please bear with me for a little while. I’m hoping to do a small mass release before the end of the month to make up for it.

Thank you all so much for your patience and support. I appreciate every one of you.