Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Chapter 93: 0093

Lorelei POV

For the next two days, I visited Paul every single morning with Skye by my side.

Even though there were already a few medical staff assigned to watch over him, I simply couldn’t bring myself to stand there doing nothing while he lay unconscious.

Instead, I kept myself busy with the little things. I fluffed his pillow whenever it flattened, gently wiped his face while he slept, made sure there was always fresh water by his bedside, and checked that he was as comfortable as possible.

Maybe it was because I had once been in a similarly brutal situation myself, with no one bothering to look after me until Raven came along and saved my life. Seeing Paul lying in that bed somehow reminded me of my own helpless past, and because of that, I was genuinely grateful that I could be there for him now.

Paul was exceptionally strong.

By the second day alone, he was already able to sit up and speak clearly. I supposed that wasn’t surprising for an elite wolf who had been trained since childhood to survive conditions far worse than this.

"Here," I said softly as I dipped a spoon into the warm bowl, scooping up some of the dark, aromatic herbal soup the healer had specially prepared to aid his recovery.

But the very second I brought the spoon toward his lips, every trace of color drained from his already pale face.

He immediately began shaking his head, his eyes widening with unmistakable panic.

"No, no," he said, his voice strained with fear as he quickly reached out. His large hands trembled as they wrapped around the spoon. "I can do it myself, Miss. You really don’t have to do this."

Before I could even protest, he had already taken the entire bowl from my hands.

I watched his jaw tighten as he fought back a groan of pain from his injured ribs, yet he still forced himself to sit upright and feed himself.

That immediately caught my attention.

My gaze drifted toward Skye, who was standing quietly in the corner of the medical room, but she only shrugged, looking just as confused as I was.

"I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable," I said quietly, lowering my gaze to my hands, convinced I had crossed a boundary.

He quickly shook his head, swallowing the mouthful of soup before speaking.

"No, of course not, Miss Ella," he said, his tone deeply respectful, yet oddly hurried. "It’s just... I am fully capable of taking care of myself. Besides, you’ve already helped me more than enough by convincing the Alpha King to spare my life."

"I just feel horrible," I admitted with a heavy sigh as I lowered myself into the chair beside his cot. "Why didn’t you tell me this would happen? If you had, I would’ve stood by your side from the beginning, and maybe you wouldn’t have ended up getting hurt this badly."

"You are far too kind, Miss Ella," Paul replied quietly, lowering his gaze to the half-empty bowl resting in his hands. "But please, don’t trouble yourself over this. This is simply the harsh reality of serving as a guard in the Lunar Empire. Failure is never permitted, and mistakes are never tolerated. We are taught that from the very beginning of our training. It was my duty to keep you safe, and I failed. So I was punished. That is simply how things are."

Without another word, Paul carefully set the bowl on the nightstand before swinging his legs over the side of the cot and forcing himself to stand.

A sharp gasp escaped my lips the moment his knees gave out beneath him, sending him crashing heavily onto the floor right in front of me.

"What are you doing?!" I cried, immediately grabbing his broad shoulders and trying to pull him back onto the bed.

But who was I kidding?

This man was an elite guard who was nearly twice my size. There was no way I was moving him.

"Please do not feel any guilt for my sake," he said, lowering his head in a respectful bow before me. "I do not blame the Alpha King for taking such drastic measures, nor do I blame you. If anything, I now owe you my life. If I am ever given the opportunity to serve as your guard again, I will protect you until my very last breath."

What the hell?

I was completely stunned by what I was hearing.

"Ah..." I exhaled, running a frustrated hand through my hair as I stared down at his massive frame kneeling before me. "Please, just get up. There is absolutely no need to make such grand promises."

"There is no lie in my words, Miss Ella," he replied, still refusing to move an inch even as I gave his shoulders another weak tug. "Most people would never have done what you did, especially knowing the Alpha King’s temper. This is a pact I have made with you. From this day forward, I will always be at your service, so long as it does not go against the safety of the Empire."

At that point, I completely gave up trying to pull him back onto his feet.

I let my hands fall to my sides and released another sigh.

"Well, if you really want to help me that much, there is something you can do," I said. "The Alpha said that if I want you back as my guard, I have to be assigned a second guard as well. But I don’t trust anyone else here. So, if you could recommend someone..."

"You don’t need to ask me twice," he cut in without a second of hesitation, his eyes lighting up with renewed purpose. "I know the perfect man for the job. He’s young, incredibly loyal, and I’ve trained with him countless times."

I stared at him, feeling a strange warmth spread through my chest.

"Thank you, Paul."

"I told you, Miss Ella. I will protect you until my last breath," he repeated.

Okay... now it was starting to sound a little cheesy.

I decided not to dwell on his dramatic vow anymore.

Paul finally pushed himself back onto the edge of the mattress, wincing faintly as he reached for the bowl and calmly resumed drinking his soup as though none of that had just happened.

*

"Don’t you think you owe Paul an apology?"

My question was now directed at Skye as she carefully guided me back toward my room. Even though I had insisted I could now walk without support, she still wouldn’t leave my side.

"What? Why on earth would I do that?" she asked, her jaw dropping as she turned to stare at me in disbelief.

"You completely misjudged him," I said, remembering how she’d dismissed him as trouble simply because he followed orders without question. But looking back now, it seemed he had never really had a choice.

"Maybe I was a tiny bit wrong about him," Skye grumbled, looking away while still refusing to fully back down. "But I still don’t completely trust him."

That was what she said, but I still remembered the look of horror and guilt on her face when she first saw the condition he was in.

I had a feeling her pride simply wouldn’t let her admit she had been wrong.

Smiling to myself, I decided not to push the issue any further and quietly let the matter drop.