Protect Me, Alpha King
81. Not Zenith, But You

Alpha Wade inhaled deeply, his hands shaking under the table. He was trying his best not to attack me on my seat. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

However, I was not afraid of what he might do to me. In fact, I was enjoying every moment of his anger toward me. With the alpha king beside me, I was untouchable.

"That's not funny, Your Grace,” Alpha Wade said. "I valued my slaves.”

Smirking, I took a small bite of the watermelon in my hand.

Valued my ass. If Alpha Wade said he valued his position and power, I would believe him. But not the slaves. If he did, he would never punish us unjustly. He would never imprison us and let us starve for a maximum of three days so that we would learn our lessons.

Alpha Wade made me sick. I wanted to kill him at this instant. I was confident the slaves would dance a happy dance after that.

I put the leftover on my plate, wiped the corner of my mouth, and smiled at him.

"Kidding? I'm not kidding, Alpha Wade. I practically lived and grew up in this place. I know what I am saying, Alpha Wade."

No words could explain the horrors I encountered while living in this place, and only the slaves knew the actual scenario. Slaves like me. I was lucky (if I could say that) when I was only punished. But I could not say the same to the other slaves.

"Do you have evidence?" Alpha Wade asked, suddenly shifting his mood.

"I'll look for it." Or I could create one if everything was already wiped out.

I will lie and cheat if it means I can take my revenge.

"Which means you cannot say I sexually abused my slaves without proof, Your Grace. I wonder what the other alphas would think if they found out you gave proclamations without proof. That would jeopardize your authority.”

My eyes bored into him. "Is that a threat, Alpha Wade?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It depends on how you see it, Your Grace. As for me, I am only reminding you. Show proof about what you are saying, and I will face whatever punishment the alpha king will give."

What a bold bastard. He was confident in saying that because the slaves would always side with him for fear that he would do something in their family.

I finished my fruit. “Don’t bite what you can't chew, Alpha Wade.”

"I am not."

"Father. Let's eat our food," Alpha Erik interjected.

The rest of the dinner was uneventful. I tried to disregard Alpha Wade's presence while trying to eat all the food that was served.

The alpha king and the latter continued talking while I went silent, thinking of ways to uncover the mystery of my childhood.

I needed someone who would tell me nothing but the truth, and it was not Alpha Wade.

Which reminded me of something.

“Alpha Wade, may I know my wet nurse back when I was still a baby?”

I was never given a chance to learn about that. And it already left my mind because of my busy schedule.

The alphas and the alpha king's conversation stopped, and the attention shifted to me. “I thought that conversation about your childhood was already over, Your Grace.”

“It's not. So tell me, who my wet nurse was at that time.”

"Even if you ask her, you will not know more than what I could give.”

Your fake distortion of reality? No, thank you.

“I will give her my thanks, Alpha Wade. It's not easy to breastfeed someone who is not even your child.”

His eyes told me he was not buying it, but who cares? I had to ask someone to compare this bastard's statement and hers.

“It's Liza."

My eyes shifted to Alpha Erik.

"Liza?"

“I saw you the first time Father brought you while he gave you to Liza.”

Alpha Erik? How old was he at that time?

"Tell me more, Alpha Erik, about Liza."

Liza? I could not remember that woman's face. Nor her name.

“May I see her? Where can I find her?”

“My Queen, you can give her thanks tomorrow,” the alpha king suggested. "Who knows? Maybe Liza will attend the celebration.”

I shook my head. “I want to say it now, Your Majesty.”

“I am afraid you cannot give your thanks to that woman, Your Grace. She's dead,” Alpha Wade responded.

"Is that true? Or do you not want me to talk to her?" I looked at his son. "Alpha Erik. Is Liza truly dead?"

"Unfortunately. She died because of her sickness.”

I clenched my fist.

Damn it.

Which left with Alpha Erik. If he saw his father, perhaps I could extract some truth from him behind his Father's back.

The alpha king was getting more handsome in my eyes, as much as I hated to admit it. The more I stayed in his presence, the more I got to know more of him, and I did not like how my heart reacted. At the moment, I was fixing his clothes after I was done with mine. Since I was the only slave he was with, 1 had no option but to take care of him. Tonight was Alpha Wade's birthday party. I did not want him to have a long life. It was the opposite.

"You have to be on your best behavior, River.”

I inwardly rolled my eyes.

He had been saying that how many times already? My ears seemed to bleed from his constant repetition as if I was some kind of stupid. I may not be able to learn thoroughly how to read and write, but I was not that stupid.

"I know, Your Majesty."

I straightened his sleeves, looking for any uneven sides.

"I don't want them to belittle you. Or else, I may do something which I will regret, River."

I looked at him and smiled sweetly to console him. I knew why he was worried. Now that he said I would be his queen, all eyes would be on mine. They would look for any mistakes that I would commit.

In all honesty, I was uncertain if I could pull it off—pretending I knew how to act regal.

"No one will belittle me, Your Majesty. I won't allow them. All my life, all they did was crush me. I was tired of all of that. It's time to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

He gave me a small smile, worry still coated on his eyes.

"Come here, woman."

"Why would I—"

My eyes widened when he hugged me, nearly crushing me.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?" I asked. "You are acting weird, and you know that? Alpha Erik and Alpha Wade are not around, so you don't have to do this or pretend you like me."

"You're a strong woman."

I had to become one.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"I like you."

"What? Why would..." I trailed off my voice when he inhaled my scent. Good to know I was already ready for the party, or he would inhale the sourness in my body for not taking my bath. "You like me or my face who resembled Zenith?"

He did not answer for a moment, and disappointment crossed my face. I was on the verge of pushing him away from my body when he said, "Not Zenith. But you, River."

My heart stopped beating for a moment.

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