Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 124: Chapter 124
You are reading Protect Me, Alpha King, Chapter 124: Chapter 124. Read more chapters of Protect Me, Alpha King.
Proclamation Ceremony
"I don't know what you are talking about, Alpha Erik," I muttered, gritting my teeth while denying his allegations.
That was only what I could do right now and what I was good at doing- to lie and lie.
Alpha Erik folded his arms in front of his chest. "I was expecting that. Still, you can deny all you want, but I know what I heard. We have to choose one side. Our family or their enemies?"
Well, in my situation, it was my sister or my mate.
I massaged my neck.
"Whom will you choose?" I asked back.
"My...." He let out a lengthy curse which made my ears feel like they would bleed. "Father would kill me if he found out I won't side with him. The alpha king will kill me if he finds out I participated in the uprising."
Perhaps pity towards him made my feet act on their own and drew him closer to my body. Alpha Erik trembled against my touch, and the next thing I knew, his shoulders shook.
Was he crying?
He sniffed.
He did.
"What a complex family we have," I commented while slowly patting his back. "I hope you will choose what is right, Alpha Erik."
He shuddered one last time and broke the embrace.
His eyes were red.
He cried.
"Why don't we run away?"
I was stunned for a moment.
"And leave your pack, who depended so much on you? Alpha Erik. I may hate them, but I am not that evil to let them die on their own." I rested both of my arms on his shoulders. "We should protect the kingdom and the innocent lives in this place. It is time to stop the long battle between the rogues and the kingdom. This has been dragging on, and so many lives have been killed. I want to stop everything. I hope you can help me this time."
He searched for something in my eyes, which I did not know what.
"You became strong. Like a Luna. A true one. The blood of the queen ran deep in your veins. Protect these people, River. They need you."
If only that were possible and easy to do.
To console him, I said, "I will. But I cannot do it on my own. I needed others to help me. Alpha Erik, please help me."
He stepped backward.
My mouth fell.
"I-I can't do that. Father needs me."
My eyes went round. "But you said-"
"Father will find out I conspired against him. All my life, he treated me as a huge disappointment. This time, I will make him proud. I will stand beside him."
"What the..." I shook his shoulders. "Are you mad? Do you want to be punished for treason? You are betraying the alpha king. This kingdom whom you swore to protect with your life."
"Father is more important to me, River." He turned his back to me. "After this, consider me your enemy. I hope you will forgive me if you side with the alpha king."
I shook my head. "You are siding with the wrong side. Alpha Erik. Please..." I begged. "I don't want to lose you also. I already lost my sister."
I held my hand and tried to grab him, but stopped mid-air when he went towards the door.
"I can't. This is a warning, River. Do not tell anyone about their plan. Alpha Wade and the queen will kill you. They will know. Goodbye," he said and slammed the door shut.
I never wanted to attend the Proclamation Ceremony. I wanted to lock myself in my room until everything ended.
This was the day Alpha Erik had mentioned. Alpha Wade and Zenith will strike.
From where I was standing, I could hear the sweet music coming from the hall.
"You're not attending?" Dawn asked. She was already done preparing herself and wore a high-slit skirt, and the bulge in it told me she was hiding something under her skirt and a white sleeve blouse. On top of that was a half-cloak over her shoulder.
She looked...badass, while I looked like a fool lying lazily on the bed.
"I don't have any dress. You can go on your own."
"You can wear something simple. Or your casual dress. Or anything that you want, River. The queen wanted our full attendance saying she would punish whoever did not attend."
"I don't have anything."
Just as Dawn opened her mouth, a resounding knock echoed across the four walls of the chamber.
She threw me a glance. "Allow me to open the door."
I sighed.
Today was the Proclamation Ceremony, yet I did not have the guts to tell the alpha king about the revolt.
What should I do now? Would it be better if I told the alpha king? But what if he said that I conspired with my sister? That I fooled him?
What do you expect? Will he hug you for hiding it from him? Delusional, the evil side of my mind said.
After a few minutes, Dawn returned to my side, bringing a box with her.
I sat upright, scowling.
"Where does that come from?"
"A servant gave me this. Telling me, it's a gift from the alpha king. Then she left frantically. The alpha king wants you to join. And there is a letter. Do you want to read it?"
I can read a little now. "Please read it for me."
"Are you sure? This is private."
"You're my friend."
"If you say so." She flipped the paper and read the contents. "River. I will be waiting for you. Maxxwell." Dawn glanced at me. "That's it." She gave the box and paper to me, which I accepted. Holding the paper and box, I laid it on the bed and opened it. It was a dress meant for me.
Brushing the intricate designs with my fingers, I asked, "Is it better to attend or not?"
"Attend," Dawn suggested. "If you don't, the queen might think you are sulking here and use that to punish you."
"Do I look like I am sulking?"
Dawn nodded. "Sulking and jealous. It's time to show her that you are not."
"D-Dawn...something is bugging my mind right now," I started, my hands on the box. I gulped.
"What is it?"
"What if you find out that someone...a close family wanted to destroy the kingdom? If you were that someone, what would you do?" "River. That's punishable by death, as well as withholding that kind of information. If you don't tell the alpha king about that, he will be-"
"I'm only asking. If you don't want to answer, you can leave me alone."
She scratched her forehead. "First, I have to verify the authenticity of the reports. Second. After verifying that someone wanted to revolt against the alpha king, I will make sure to stop them. River. I knew firsthand how painful it is to watch when your pack died one by one. You want to help them, but you can't because you are dealing and fighting with the enemies. Regardless if they are your family or not, choose what is right. Why are you asking, by the way?"
"N-nothing. J-just asking."
"River. Are you still guilty of what happened?"
I sucked in a breath. "I am. Facing the queen will only remind me of how I seduced the alpha king, even if I could not remember fully what happened. However, life goes on. I have to pretend that everything will be fine." I forced a smile. "The show must go on. Wait. I'll slip this on first. Let's go to the ceremony together."
Dawn beamed. "That's one of the best decisions you can ever make, River." She sat on the edge of the bed.
I hoped so, I muttered under my breath and stepped into the dressing room.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Alpha Erik," I muttered, gritting my teeth while denying his allegations.
That was only what I could do right now and what I was good at doing- to lie and lie.
Alpha Erik folded his arms in front of his chest. "I was expecting that. Still, you can deny all you want, but I know what I heard. We have to choose one side. Our family or their enemies?"
Well, in my situation, it was my sister or my mate.
I massaged my neck.
"Whom will you choose?" I asked back.
"My...." He let out a lengthy curse which made my ears feel like they would bleed. "Father would kill me if he found out I won't side with him. The alpha king will kill me if he finds out I participated in the uprising."
Perhaps pity towards him made my feet act on their own and drew him closer to my body. Alpha Erik trembled against my touch, and the next thing I knew, his shoulders shook.
Was he crying?
He sniffed.
He did.
"What a complex family we have," I commented while slowly patting his back. "I hope you will choose what is right, Alpha Erik."
He shuddered one last time and broke the embrace.
His eyes were red.
He cried.
"Why don't we run away?"
I was stunned for a moment.
"And leave your pack, who depended so much on you? Alpha Erik. I may hate them, but I am not that evil to let them die on their own." I rested both of my arms on his shoulders. "We should protect the kingdom and the innocent lives in this place. It is time to stop the long battle between the rogues and the kingdom. This has been dragging on, and so many lives have been killed. I want to stop everything. I hope you can help me this time."
He searched for something in my eyes, which I did not know what.
"You became strong. Like a Luna. A true one. The blood of the queen ran deep in your veins. Protect these people, River. They need you."
If only that were possible and easy to do.
To console him, I said, "I will. But I cannot do it on my own. I needed others to help me. Alpha Erik, please help me."
He stepped backward.
My mouth fell.
"I-I can't do that. Father needs me."
My eyes went round. "But you said-"
"Father will find out I conspired against him. All my life, he treated me as a huge disappointment. This time, I will make him proud. I will stand beside him."
"What the..." I shook his shoulders. "Are you mad? Do you want to be punished for treason? You are betraying the alpha king. This kingdom whom you swore to protect with your life."
"Father is more important to me, River." He turned his back to me. "After this, consider me your enemy. I hope you will forgive me if you side with the alpha king."
I shook my head. "You are siding with the wrong side. Alpha Erik. Please..." I begged. "I don't want to lose you also. I already lost my sister."
I held my hand and tried to grab him, but stopped mid-air when he went towards the door.
"I can't. This is a warning, River. Do not tell anyone about their plan. Alpha Wade and the queen will kill you. They will know. Goodbye," he said and slammed the door shut.
I never wanted to attend the Proclamation Ceremony. I wanted to lock myself in my room until everything ended.
This was the day Alpha Erik had mentioned. Alpha Wade and Zenith will strike.
From where I was standing, I could hear the sweet music coming from the hall.
"You're not attending?" Dawn asked. She was already done preparing herself and wore a high-slit skirt, and the bulge in it told me she was hiding something under her skirt and a white sleeve blouse. On top of that was a half-cloak over her shoulder.
She looked...badass, while I looked like a fool lying lazily on the bed.
"I don't have any dress. You can go on your own."
"You can wear something simple. Or your casual dress. Or anything that you want, River. The queen wanted our full attendance saying she would punish whoever did not attend."
"I don't have anything."
Just as Dawn opened her mouth, a resounding knock echoed across the four walls of the chamber.
She threw me a glance. "Allow me to open the door."
I sighed.
Today was the Proclamation Ceremony, yet I did not have the guts to tell the alpha king about the revolt.
What should I do now? Would it be better if I told the alpha king? But what if he said that I conspired with my sister? That I fooled him?
What do you expect? Will he hug you for hiding it from him? Delusional, the evil side of my mind said.
After a few minutes, Dawn returned to my side, bringing a box with her.
I sat upright, scowling.
"Where does that come from?"
"A servant gave me this. Telling me, it's a gift from the alpha king. Then she left frantically. The alpha king wants you to join. And there is a letter. Do you want to read it?"
I can read a little now. "Please read it for me."
"Are you sure? This is private."
"You're my friend."
"If you say so." She flipped the paper and read the contents. "River. I will be waiting for you. Maxxwell." Dawn glanced at me. "That's it." She gave the box and paper to me, which I accepted. Holding the paper and box, I laid it on the bed and opened it. It was a dress meant for me.
Brushing the intricate designs with my fingers, I asked, "Is it better to attend or not?"
"Attend," Dawn suggested. "If you don't, the queen might think you are sulking here and use that to punish you."
"Do I look like I am sulking?"
Dawn nodded. "Sulking and jealous. It's time to show her that you are not."
"D-Dawn...something is bugging my mind right now," I started, my hands on the box. I gulped.
"What is it?"
"What if you find out that someone...a close family wanted to destroy the kingdom? If you were that someone, what would you do?" "River. That's punishable by death, as well as withholding that kind of information. If you don't tell the alpha king about that, he will be-"
"I'm only asking. If you don't want to answer, you can leave me alone."
She scratched her forehead. "First, I have to verify the authenticity of the reports. Second. After verifying that someone wanted to revolt against the alpha king, I will make sure to stop them. River. I knew firsthand how painful it is to watch when your pack died one by one. You want to help them, but you can't because you are dealing and fighting with the enemies. Regardless if they are your family or not, choose what is right. Why are you asking, by the way?"
"N-nothing. J-just asking."
"River. Are you still guilty of what happened?"
I sucked in a breath. "I am. Facing the queen will only remind me of how I seduced the alpha king, even if I could not remember fully what happened. However, life goes on. I have to pretend that everything will be fine." I forced a smile. "The show must go on. Wait. I'll slip this on first. Let's go to the ceremony together."
Dawn beamed. "That's one of the best decisions you can ever make, River." She sat on the edge of the bed.
I hoped so, I muttered under my breath and stepped into the dressing room.
End of Protect Me, Alpha King Chapter 124. Continue reading Chapter 125 or return to Protect Me, Alpha King book page.