Protect Me, Alpha King
91. Conflicted

The alpha king was speechless.

I empathize with him even if I should be angry at him at this point. He was in the middle of two rocks, nearly colliding with each other, and he did not know what to do. Who to choose.

The pain was evident on Zenith's face as she continued looking at my marks. She covered her mouth, stifling a sob from her mouth.

Why did I have to be in between their drama? I did not know despite being her first mate. The alpha king did not mark her. But for what reason?

“Your Majesty?” Zenith asked when the alpha king did not even reply. “Answer me, Your Majesty!” she shrieked.

Delta Isagani winced at the shrill of her voice. Even my ears felt like it was buzzing.

“Your Grace. You don't have to—"

"Shut up, maggot! I'm not talking to you!” she spat.

Maggot?

“You don’t have to say those words to Delta Isagani, Your Grace,” I defended. “He is only—"

Slap!

My cheeks went in the other direction. Damn. It stung.

I exhaled while touching my battered cheeks.

“Bitch! Don't talk. Don't make me get angry with you more,” she added while pushing me.

“Zenith! That's enough!” The alpha king pulled her away. And you know what? Why did it feel like seeing him siding with Zenith hurt more than the woman's slap?

Instead of listening to the alpha king, the woman trashed, trying to let go, while Delta Isagani positioned in front of me, blocking Zenith's attempts to hurt me even further.

“Your Majesty! You did not answer my question. Why did you mark him? You promise me that I am the only woman for you. I am your mate, Your Majesty. So why?"

“It's because of—"

“Because I thought you were dead, Zenith,” Maxxwell said instead, cutting off my words. His eyes were somewhat pleading with me, silently telling me he would handle the situation. But I doubted if he could do that.

Zenith was unimaginable. Her attitude was way worse than Lady Juliana's.

Fine.

He did not want me to tell the truth? Then, he should face the woman's wrath.

“It is true, Your Grace,” Delta Isagani supported. “The alpha king was constantly looking for you every night after your disappearance, but he could not trace any of your presence. It was not his fault that he met his fated mate, his second chance mate through River.”

That calmed Zenith. She faced Maxxwell. “Is that true, Your Majesty? You continued looking for me?” she whispered.

I looked at the ground to stop myself from looking at them further and hurting myself and Sunflower.

Maxxwell gave a curt nod.

“River. We will talk after this. I promise,’ Maxxwell said, using our mind link.

Hiding my shock, I tried to pretend I was looking at Zenith. “Save your promises later, Maxxwell.’ The alpha king peered in my direction. “Why don't we talk in my chamber, Zenith?”

Planting a kiss on his lips, Zenith answered, “I'm also tired from my journey, Your Majesty.”

The alpha king put one of his hands on her back and guided her toward “our” chamber. Or was it originally their room?

Out of habit, I followed Maxxwell, but Delta Isagani stopped me.

He shook his head. “That's not a wise decision, River.”

I sighed. “Then, what am I supposed to do, Delta Isagani?” I asked. “Zenith is back. What place do I belong in Maxxwell's heart? I bear his mark. I should be the one who should be the queen.”

The alpha king promised me. However, those promises will be nothing but promises in the sand. “Technically, the throne still belongs to Zenith. Queen Zenith,” he whispered. “The alpha king proclaimed her.”

“But he did not mark her. Why?"

“I don't have any idea. Only the alpha king knows his reason. Come on. Let's go outside and look for someplace to go.”

I stepped back. “Did Maxxwell ask you to comfort me while he is busy tending his woman?"

Delta Isagani yanked his hair in frustration. “River. I did not know about this.”

I sighed in the end.

“Forgive me for acting like this, Delta Isagani.”

“That's okay. We are allowed to feel hurt, River.”

"Why are you good to me?”

"We share the same pain.”

After my conversation with Delta Isagani, I chose to remain outside. I did not know if I was doing the right thing by giving the two some time or not. But my mind was still chaotic.

My feet aimlessly wandered without any place at hand.

As much as possible, I tried to stay away from anyone and saw the people's judgment in their eyes. The queen's arrival had spread like wildfire among the people inside the palace. In a span of a few minutes, Zenith and I were the talks of the town.

They said I was a temptress. A seducer. A bitch. While Zenith? The sympathy was overflowing for her.

My feet went to the dungeon's entrance, even if I did not understand why.

The guard automatically blocked my way of seeing me.

"Why are you here?”

Why was I here, anyway? The alpha king did not punish me or ask me to come here.

It was because I had nowhere to go and felt alone. Plus, the fact that the world was against me. “N-nothing.”

Pathetic. I should pull myself together and stop thinking of my heartaches.

I turned my back and went back to the palace entrance when I saw the alpha king standing in the garden, deep in thought. Not wanting to talk to him, I turned my back, but it was already too late, and he spotted me.

“River. Can we talk?"

Fudge. I was not prepared.

I looked at his side. Zenith was not around.

On second thought, it would be better if we were done with this.

“What's there to talk about, Maxxwell?" I asked bitterly. “Does Zenith know you are here?”

"She's sleeping.”

"Guard her. She may wake up and look for you. I don't want to be slapped again. I might not stop myself from hurting her back.”

His shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry for what she did. I really do.”

"You must love her so much that you're willing to ask forgiveness on her behalf.”

He chose to ignore my statement.

"Let's talk somewhere private.”

By somewhere private, he was talking somewhere near the dungeon where Zenith would least likely go.

I smiled bitterly. “Scared that your queen will be mad seeing the two of us?”

Maxxwell hesitated. “I know you are shocked at the turn of events.”

“Are you not?" I asked back. "Did you expect your lover would come back from the dead?"

His frown deepened. “Now is not the time to have a smart comeback,” he scolded.

"What will we talk about? It's about Zenith. It's okay. You can choose her all you want. You already decided anyway,” I said nonchalantly, even if Sunflower was dying inside. As well as me.

I never thought I'd be dealing with another rejection again—another heartbreak from my supposed to be mate.

Did I really do something evil in my previous life that I was experiencing this kind of heartbreak? It was too much. Here I thought everything was alright, but fate had another way of playing a joke on me.

“You're confused. You're conflicted on which between us you will choose. Now is the right time for you to reject me, Maxxwell. So that you will no longer have any problems.”

He stared at me in disbelief. “Do I don’t matter to you?” he asked.

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