Alpha King Kane part 11

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Previously...

But then, he starts walking away from Lyssara and my family, cutting through the crowd. It is then that I realize his intentions: he’s taking me to his private quarters.

Lyssara’s shouts chase us out of the room. She abandons her dignity for her scorn.

Needless to say, there will be no coronation tonight.

And this is the most bizarre birthday I’ve ever had.

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PRESENTLY...

ROSALIE

“Please,” I whimper as I wiggle in this strange man’s arms, who carries me away from my family.

This is my king. The most influential wolf in the world; so powerful that I’ve had all but two thoughts about him, never pondering too long about a figure I will never meet.

He’s here in the flesh, claiming all one-hundred thirty pounds of mine in his embrace. He carries me through his giant log mansion, flashing his fangs at leering bystanders with a ferocity that has me bowing my head.

This is not me. I am brave; headstrong. I am my father’s troublesome daughter.

But I’ve got no fire for this Alpha who walks with a confidence as if he’s got it all figured out for me within minutes of meeting me.

Would my resistance matter? Who dares to deny an Alpha king?

“Please!” I whimper one more time before he stops and slowly lowers me to my feet. Our bodies brush, and electricity flickers everywhere our skin meets. It is a jarring sensation of the likes I’ve never felt before. I’ve felt pain and pleasure before. Discomfort and calm. This is…indescribable. 

This is all new to me. A few hours into my twenty-first birthday, and I am now a mate. I am now a home wrecker; public enemy number one for ruining the very coronation I helped prepare.

My family will feel the ripples of this affair as the Deltas, Betas, Alphas, and Lyssara decry my mateship with the king. The kingdom didn’t want Lyssara–a shifted omega–as Queen, so they will certainly be up in arms about me.

“Why do you tremble?” asks the man with eyes the color of the many forests he rules. Lush green. Full of life and vitality, and yet I cannot bear to look into them because I’ll get lost in their complexity.

Will he read all my secrets?

We’re standing in an empty hall, though whispers spill from every corner of this place.

I keep my head low. I’ve never exchanged a word with an Alpha. It’s not natural; we are so far apart in status that we typically have no business with each other.

I heard his question, and I want to ignore him. Hold my breath and my voice in hopes that he’ll forget about me and just let me be. I wish to be a small, invisible omega. Never have I wanted to be unseen so badly.

“Answer me,” he insists. A black hole that pulls and consumes. There is no out-running this man. There is no escaping him even if the ground opened and swallowed me whole.

“You’re an Alpha,” I whisper, as if it’s obvious. 

He reaches for my face and I stumble backward to avoid his touch. It feels wrong. It feels like I’m delving deeper into this mess by getting entangled with every touch and gaze.

“Titles mean nothing to the Moon Goddess,” he counters, voice echoing across the mansion. Rattling. Inconceivable. Even his voice has been engineered for dominance and intimidation, making me cling onto every word as I listen closely to the changes in his pitch. Danger lurks in the dark timbre of his voice and growls.

“But they mean plenty to…to the people,” I responded.

“Your twin sister…” he says, changing the topic and dismissing my concerns as if they’re small and needless. Arrogance clings to him even if unintentionally. I guess this is what it’s like to be king. Being able to dismiss criticisms at any whim, knowing you have won a war that hasn’t even started.

“Did you two intentionally fool me?” he asks.

“No!” I reply and make the mistake of looking at him.

He is unbearably handsome. His square jaw sharp, his chest wide and breathing heavily. I take a moment to realize he’s purposely pulling my scent into his lungs, as if addicted.

My face heats. He’s keeping his hands to himself as if not to intimidate me, but judging by the bulging veins in his arms, the eyes that stare at me and the deep inhales, he wants every cell of my body. On his hands, on his tongue…and goddess knows where else.

“We didn’t know then that you are my…”

My mate. My mate. Oh, Goddess. What have you done?

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asks forcefully, displeased by my meekness.

Hearing his knuckles crack, I swallow dryly.

“Because you’re an Alpha and I’m an unshifted omega. I’ve seen what wolves do to sheep. The carnage.”

He pauses, thinking carefully of my words. “And yet you speak so rashly to me. Claiming I’m a cruel beast as if I’ve got no balance between man and wolf. I’ve never heard someone express fear so uniquely.”

But it’s the truth. I am a sheep—not mindless, but powerless. Omegas have no social support system save for their immediate family. No pack. The only people loyal to me are as powerless as I am.

There is nothing else to be said. I shouldn’t be in this hall, breathing the same air as him.

If only he never entered the room… I would’ve hung the clock and been long gone by now. My family and I would’ve been riding south, and the king would’ve crowned Lyssara.

“Look at me and talk freely. There is nothing to fear. I will sort everything out with Lyssara and the Alphas.”

He grunts, as if displeased that we must discuss logistics before he can bite his teeth into me. I’m sure that his wolf is clawing at him, demanding that we end all civic conversation and let his instinct drive me. There wouldn’t be any words exchanged if he lowered his guard. I can see the inner turmoil in his eyes. The danger teetering at the edge.

It’s fucking terrifying.

If I were to reach out right now and willingly touch him…would that be it? Would it set him off?

I think about his words…about Lyssara. I close my eyes, hurting for the woman that I don’t even know. Her heart must be broken.

"You can’t do this to her,” I whisper. “Please just let my family ride out and return to the South. Forget about this encounter. I’ve got nothing to offer you.”

Unlike Lyssara, I wasn’t raised by betas. I know nothing about the aristocrats. I am ignorant and would make a lousy, useless queen.

“I don’t need you to give me anything. I just need you to sit and take everything I give you,” he murmurs. 

I shuddered, hearing a double meaning lost somewhere in his words. The unknown is menacing.

“I’m not right for you. I know there are ways to sever a mate bond,” I whisper, the words tasting sour. “I will not…I will not hold it against you if you–”

His hand grips my jaw and tips my head up, making me stare and take the unadulterated rage in his eyes as he lashes, “I cannot be held responsible for my actions if you finish that fucking sentence!”

“Why…” my lip trembles. “Why do you want a runt at your side?”

“Is that your only reason for rejecting the bond?” he asks. “Because you think you’re too lowly?”

I nod mutely. Of course, it is. If he were a beta, delta or omega, I would be rejoicing. I could be with him without worrying about the rest of the world.

But an Alpha King…this is a mistake.

“Rosie!” my father calls, coming to a screeching halt at the corner when he sees I’m still in the king’s clutches.

I stare at the king in fright.

“Speak with him,” he murmurs. “You are not my captive.”

I hesitate. Is this a trick? I don’t know this man. Though he isn’t rumored to be cruel, as a sovereign, he’s inclined to crush any rebellion. He won’t stand for my revolt.

“I won’t hurt you,” he says, brushing his thumb across my cheek.

I shudder. Though he promises not to hurt me, my peace remains fair play. He will continue to disturb it, because this man seems hellbent on proving me wrong.

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