Protect Me Alpha King novel Chapter 82

The alpha king was pulling a prank on me. That must be it.

That was what I realized after he said he liked me.

There was no way that he was over with Zenith. My mind wouldn't accept that impossible thing to happen. And why would he like me, to begin with? There was nothing extraordinary about me. I was a slave without a drop of noble blood. I would be a speck of dirt on his throne, and there were a lot of women with royal blood surrounding him.

But that is not the kind of man he is, River, my mind said.

Which was right. He had chosen Zenith, an enslaved person, as his fated mate, and there was also a chance he would choose another enslaved person.

I patted his coat while laughing when I recovered from my shock.

"You did not believe me."

"Because it's unbelievable, Your Majesty."

He was immobile for one second. "It's not."

My mind could not accept it.

I wanted to see his face and verify if he was telling the truth or not, but I was scared of what I might see.

"I did not smell any liquor from you, Your Majesty. But why did it seem like you were having a drunk talk?"

He stiffened against my embrace, and he released me from my hold.

"You think I am not serious?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," I replied without hesitation. "You're not."

His face fell. "Why?"

"You're saying something I didn't expect to hear from you."

He opened his mouth, but a knock on the door interrupted our conversation. It was a servant telling us that a celebrant was already waiting for the two of us. Time to pretend again in front of the people who did not even care about me except the alpha king.

"That's our cue to meet the alphas, Your Majesty."

"I really like you, River," he insisted.

His eyes softened as he stared down at me.

I sighed. "Your Majesty. You don't have to force yourself. Please don't use me to forget Zenith."

"I am not using her."

"If you like me, do you love me?"

He did not reply.

"See? Zenith is still in your heart. Maybe you only admire me because I have the guts to talk back to Alpha Wade. Don't be fooled, Your Majesty. I am only pretending to be courageous. But inside? I am a coward."

"That's made you admirable in my eyes, River."

Not wanting to lengthen our conversation, I told him, "Let's go, shall we? Let's stop this topic."

His shoulders slumped until he offered his arms to me. Giving a small smile, I anchored my arms to him, and together, we stepped outside.

At the venue, everyone was already having a good time. Their conversation stopped when they spotted us.

Alpha Wade was all smiles strolling towards us, and his smile vanished when he saw me.

It seemed like the celebrant was the alpha king. Not Alpha Wade. They hovered around us and tried to get His Majesty's attention.

I felt small and realized I was nothing compared to them.

When the alpha king already forgot that I was with him, I managed to slip away and went to the corner, observing them.

No matter where the alpha king goes, he always shines and grabs the spotlight.

I was no longer familiar with some of the people surrounding him.

A servant passed with a tray of drinks in one hand, and I grabbed one. Still looking at the crowd where the alpha king was situated, I sipped the wine.

The bitter taste of the drink made me gag. But still, I managed to sip another try.

"Having a good time?"

I jumped at the new voice and found Alpha Erik beside me, casually leaning on the doorframe.

He stared at my outfit and smiled. "Your dress suits you perfectly, Your Grace."

It was an off-shoulder red dress and a combination of gold colors hugging my body's curves. The length passed my knee but did not reach my ankle. The alpha king had given this to me without even telling me he had asked someone to make this, especially for me.

To say I fell in love at first sight with this dress was an understatement. I love everything about this one and have forgotten my slave roots and felt a noble once in my life.

"No need to compliment me, Alpha Erik, but I appreciate it."

I emptied the contents of the glass. This was also the first time I had experienced drinking, although the alcohol content of the wine was not enough to get me drunk. Werewolves were known to have strong alcohol tolerance and rarely got drunk. But there were drinks exclusively for us, like the Merry Go Round drink. It would make your world merry when you sipped a single gulp. An inexperienced werewolf would knock him off.