Protect Me, Alpha King
47. What If?

I stared at the alpha king in disbelief as my mind tried to digest the words he uttered. “It is sudden, I know. But a must. You have a week to prepare yourself, River.”

I stumbled back into bed. A week. It was not even enough for me to prepare myself. Too soon. “Alpha Wade wanted your presence. He wanted to see if you are doing good in the palace or not.” The air around us seemed scant and I gasped for more. My eyes watered as I pounded my chest, for easier breathing.

The alpha king's eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?"

Who would be okay after hearing his announcement? My mind refused to believe it. I wanted to run and hide until the day the alpha king went back to Haverstone Pack.

Oh, gawd. I think I'm gonna throw up. “But why do we have to go back there? I don’t want to!” I cried. “1 will go anywhere, Your Majesty, but not to my pack. You are punishing me, right? This is the punishment for lying to you about Sir Elijah.”

I jumped out of bed and paced back and forth. Impossible. I was okay at the palace. So why was there a need to go there?

“Punishment? That already slipped into my mind, River. The truth is, Alpha Wade, invited me to his birthday party.”

It was customary for the alpha to invite the alpha king to every celebration—especially the Mating Ceremony. And it would be up to the alpha king if he would accept the invitation or not.

“Can I stay here, Your Majesty?” Going back brought back painful memories, and I did not want to remember them anymore. Plus, the journey was a bit tiring.

"Why would you? You are my personal servant. You go wherever you go as long as I want it. Maybe you still like that bastard?”

Bastard? “Alpha Erik?”

"Yes. Does that bastard still have an effect on you, River?”

I looked away. “He does.” Hatred. That was the only emotion his name brought me. But as to his father...it was fear.

The alpha king inhaled sharply. “Do you love him, River? Do you like the man who rejected you because you are an omega?”

I clenched my fist and met his eyes. “I loathed him, Your Majesty. I wanted to hurt him so he would also feel what I felt when he rejected me. I had been waiting for my mate my whole time, but when I met him, he rejected me without giving me a chance! That's why I don't understand why you must bring me with you.”

“You. Are. My. Servant. You will come with me whether you want it or not. That's not for you to decide, River. You will go with me.”

Right. I forgot about it.

Alpha Wade and Alpha King Maxxwell had huge differences. The former was the most ruthless of all. Just imagining him brought nothing shivers to my spine. Alpha King Maxxwell was confusing most of the time.

Sensing I will never succeed in changing his decision, I said, “How long will we stay there, Your Majesty?”

“Roughly two to three days. It depends. We will also discuss something important.”

Two to three days of misery. “I-I understood.”

“Bring some clothes with you, River. Something presentable that would make them look at you twice to verify if it is you they are looking for or not.”

“But Your Majesty...”

“I will ask Alpha Wade about your parents.”

I froze and looked at him in disbelief. “My parents?”

“I am grabbing this opportunity to ask him about your parents. You always said that I was not doing the end of the bargain. My informant said that he was the one who saw you floating in the river and gave you the name himself.”

I did not know about that. No. I never knew anything about my past or the woman who nursed me. All I remembered were the hardships I encountered in my childhood and how his son bullied me after seeing what his father did to me.

That coward.

On the other hand, this would be an excellent opportunity to meet Alpha Erik again. Was he mated by now? Was he having the best time of his life now that he rejected me?

“Is that enough reason for you to join me?”

“Will that alpha answer your queries, Your Majesty? Alpha Wade is known to rarely acknowledge any authorities. He believed he was the king and that the werewolf community would bow down in front of him. That dream did not die even if he stepped down from his position and gave it to Alpha Erik. Now, his son will carry out his dream of leading all the werewolves. And who knows? They might carry out a rebellion against the kingdom and join the rogues. That's only my theory, Your Majesty.” I heard the rooster crowing in the distance. From the balcony, the light dispersed.

“I would like him to give it a try in seizing the throne.”

After our talk, that night, the alpha king and I rarely met. I volunteered to go with him, but he rejected my offer, telling me it was better for me to stay inside the palace. The more the days progressed, it felt like I was not a slave, but a guest. Rumors said I was the alpha king's favorite pet. His dog. Some servants were already envious of the king's favor, but I still did not achieve my goal. In addition, my secret meeting with Elijah continued, and after five times of discussions, I was able to recognize the alphabet. I also know how to write my name. Another more meet-up and I can now read a single word.

"Why are you sighing, River?” Elijah asked. “You're holding the pen, but you are not writing anything. What's the matter? Do you want to rest?”

My thoughts dispersed and focused on him. Both of his feet were on the table while his hands were at the back of his hands.

"Are you worried about the alpha king?”

“I'm not.”

“You are. I can see it in your eyes. You are thinking about him, right?”

“It does not matter, Sir Elijah.” I arranged the books and pencils and set them aside. “I think that is all for today. My mind can't focus, Sir Elijah. I am sorry.”

Lifting his feet and putting them on the ground, he faced me. “It's normal to worry for his safety. His late personal slave nearly died of worry when he went three days missing.”

“You are talking about Zenith. The love of his life. His mate.”

His brows furrowed. “You knew?”

"A guess. Most of the time, werewolves usually fell in love with their mates except for some circumstances. However, the alpha king was picky when choosing the woman he would love. So he would love his mate. However, she died.”

“Fell off the cliff. Her body was never recovered.”

“Perhaps she is still alive, hiding somewhere safe where nobody could harm her.

"Or maybe she is indeed dead. There are no traces of her, and His Majesty cannot reach her using their bond.”

I turned the chair in his direction while stopping my hair from blocking my sight. “Why did she fall off the cliff?"

"Someone wanted her dead, River.”

“Why?”

Elijah shrugged his shoulders and stood. “I talked too much. The alpha king will be disappointed in me when he finds out I've been spouting nonsense.”

“It's not nonsense. Tell me, Sir Elijah. Why did they want her dead if she is the alpha king's Luna?” His lips pressed into a thin line. “What do you think, River? A union between the alpha king and a servant is unacceptable. The alpha king may accept an enslaved person as his Luna, but never the nobles around the alpha king. They said they asked someone to kill Zenith. The alpha king had already saved her from death several times, but they failed. Until one night, it was raining hard, and a warrior came running telling the alpha king that the rogues had infiltrated the palace.”

“But it was a diversionary tactic that would make the alpha king leave Zenith's side.”

Elijah winked at me. “Bingo. You were right about that.”

"After finding out that the enemies were not there, he rushed to his chamber only to find out that Zenith was no longer there?”

“Yes. Alpha King Maxxwell searched for her and saw with his own eyes how she fell into the cliff. However, even if he saw her, until now, he refused to believe that she died.”

“What if she isn't dead?”

“What if she is dead?”

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