Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 153: Chapter 153

Taunt
The Mating Ceremony was a success. Everyone went back to their respective packs either mated or still unmated. Still, the goal of finding mates had been achieved. Some chose to rest in vacant rooms and will only travel when the sun rises.
Being in charge of aftercare, I was the one who supervised the other servants to return everything to their original positions. However, the thought of the person who was murdered persisted in my mind. The killer was still on the run. I hoped Alpha Raphael would do something about it.
"Everything had been taken care of, Miss River."
I was jolted back to reality.
I blinked a couple of times.
A servant was expecting my reply. On his side were the other servants who were waiting for me. They were all carrying tiredness on their shoulders and eyes, but they were still willing to give me their encouraging smile.
Grinning, I said, "Thank you so much for the help. I wouldn't be able to do it without all of you. You may go back to your quarters."
"It is also time for you to sleep, Miss River," he politely offered. "It's not good for the baby."
I beamed at him. "Thank you for the concern. I will do it later. You may go now."
It was already four o'clock in the morning.
The servants bowed at me and dispersed, leaving me alone.
I wiped my forehead.
My eyelids feel heavy. My head felt light.
Who would have thought that being the only woman in a pack of men was tiring? But satisfying. I wanted to stay here forever. Alpha Raphael was good to me as well as the others. I knew it was not good to use my past to have better treatment, but I was still thankful.
A pregnant
being abused was the cruelest of all. Perhaps the Moon Goddess had heard my prayers that she had given me a pack that valued women.
A gasp escaped my lips when something was wrapped around my shoulders. Looking up, I saw it was a jacket and it smelled like the alpha king-sandalwood.
"It's already cold. Wear that. I don't want you to get sick."
My heart jumped. Did he hear that the servant talked about the baby?
"You should retire. Sleep. Eat," he added when I did not talk.
I was right.
It was the alpha king.
His smell would always calm my racing heart and I hated it. I loathed how he still affected me this much.
Disgusted at my reaction, I uttered, "I don't need this piece of trash. Get this away from me."
"Throw it away," he replied. "If you do not want it."
I stopped myself from throwing it.
I turned around and came face to face with Maxxwell. He gave me a half-smile. Damn. My heart was going crazy because of it. Plus the mark on my neck pulsated and does not help me at all.
You were supposed to hate him. Do not feel as if you are a teenager having puppy love. Hate him, River. Detest him!
"Why are you doing this, Your Highness? I thought you went back to the palace."
"Valentine is there. The kingdom is in good hands. We eradicated all the threats surrounding us. And if I go home, you will miss me."
I attempted to throw up. "You wish. I loathed you. I want you to die. Never missing you." I yanked the jacket away from my shoulders, but the alpha king stopped me.
His expression softened. "Don't. It's already cold. It's not good for you."\
You will not fall for that, River.
"Killing my sister is good for me?" I shot back.
His expression turned cold. "I'm tired, River. All I want is to redeem myself. I regret my actions in the past. I want us to be okay. If I wronged you, tell me what I should do to pacify your anger."
"You regretted killing my sister as well?"
He heaved a sigh while pulling his hair in frustration. "Zenith killed herself. I was planning to punish her but not kill her. I planned to appeal her case to the Council. That perhaps they will understand and show her some mercy. However, the former queen had chosen her destiny."
I shoved him on his chest. He would not budge. Too strong for me. Still, the alpha king let me show my anger. "You drove her to her death. You pushed her to do it." 1
My fucking tears started showing when I did not even want them to be. My chest felt heavy and I wanted to cry at this very moment. I also blamed my sensitive emotions on my hormones.
"River. Am I the only villain here in your eyes? What will I do to make you forgive me?"
I glared at him. "Stay away from me, Maxxwell. Do not even show me your shadows. Now and forever."
The alpha king's smile did not reach his eyes. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. I will forever be with you until you have the heart to forgive me. I will never stop, River. You are the most important person in my life
right now. Please, forgive me."
I scoffed. "Forgive you? Are you out of your mind? Never!"
I stormed away, but he was already walking side by side, matching my steps.
"Go away, Maxxwell!" I shooed.
"I won't be going home, River. I will temporarily stay here. Until the threat of this pack is annihilated. Someone was killed last night."
"Oh, so what will you do? Order the killer to come forward and kill himself?" I made my pace faster than usual. But he would always catch me. Damn those long legs of his!
"We will catch the killer. Once and for all. You do not have to worry about that. All you have to do is keep yourself safe."
"Kill the murderer, then. Stop pestering me, Maxxwell."
I sighed in relief when I saw my quarters. Hiding from him was the best thing to do. I was already tired, to begin with, and dealing with him added some burden.
"I will be waiting for you, River."
"Wait until I die," I exclaimed and opened the door of my quarters, entered, and slammed the door shut in front of his face. The paintings on the wall danced at the strong impact.
My heart pounded as if my heart would come out.
Dammit! Because of what happened last night, I temporarily forgot about him.
I stilled when I realized I was clutching Maxxwell's jacket like crazy. Repulsed, I threw it on the floor. Not wanting to have any more traces of his scent on me, I took off my clothes, stepped inside the bathroom,
and took a bath.
The water was cold, yet my hatred for him was the reason why I could not really feel it.
I put on some shampoo and scrubbed my body using a bar of soap. Angrily.
The alpha king was still outside the door. I could still sense him. Waiting. For me?
Why the sudden change of heart?
I put back the bar of soap and positioned my head right into the flow of water.
Was it because of the baby? But why did he not ask me about it? Everyone around me sensed I was carrying a child. But the alpha king? He did not.
Suddenly, my stomach growled.
I only realized I hadn't eaten anything.
Grabbing the towel beside me, I wrapped it around my body and stepped out of the shower, went to my drawer, and selected a pair of clothes-a camisole and a midi skirt.
I thought I could eat a horse right now.
I scowled when I saw the alpha king still outside, standing and in deep thought.
Shaking my head, I inquired, "Why are you still here, Your Highness?"
"I'm waiting for you. You haven't eaten anything. A servant told me they are waiting for us to have breakfast."
Was he observing me last night? Silently? But I haven't sensed him or seen his presence.
"Whether I had eaten or not, Your Highness. I think it's no longer your problem. We are through, Your Highness. I rejected you. The bond between us was already severed."
"I will fix it again. I promise."
"You wish," I answered and left him standing. "We cannot bring back the flood to the river."
The alpha king looked like a lost puppy tailing me. He would never listen to me. Fine by me.
We entered the dining room. Upon seeing us, the alpha, his father, and beta stood, bowing at the alpha king. The latter held his hand and the rest sat down.
I sat on the alpha's right side, and the alpha king sat in the opposite direction, right in front of me.
Damn. He was irritating as hell.
"Any updates?" Maxxwell asked Alph Raphael.
"We are working on it, Your Highness," Alpha Raphael's father answered.
Seeing he was not furious towards his son; he must have not known about what the alpha had decided.
"I'm giving you one week to solve this case, Alpha Raphael. If by then you cannot solve that, you will be held responsible for all the deaths which happened in this pack. Including the unexplained death of your women. I will make sure you will have the heaviest punishment of all for letting this happen under your watch."
I sucked in a breath.
The old man released a nervous sigh.
"My son, the alpha of Riverside Pack will do everything he can to solve this, Your Highness. My apologies for what is happening. We assure you that we are doing everything we can to solve this case. In connection to the women, we temporarily moved them to another sanctuary, far away from this pack. Only a few of us know their location. Our third-in-command is helping to keep them safe. They will return when everything
safe here."
Alpha Raphael had not given me those details. Yet. If that were the case, my mind would be at ease knowing the women were safe. As of the moment.
I felt the tense atmosphere around me.
"Why haven't your son said anything, William? Will he keep on hiding under the beta and your shoes?"
"With all due respect, Your Highness, Master Raphael is doing his best to solve the issues in the pack," I defended.
The alpha king snapped at me.
"What is your relation to him?" he asked. "Why is it that you are always siding with him, River? He will forever be an irresponsible bastard who will not be accountable for his actions if you continue defending
him."
I grabbed the spoon and fork and took a bite of the cooked meat that was served. "Which are you angry with, Your Highness? Alpha Raphael or is it your jealousy talking? And to answer your question, Master Raphael is my new master now. It's no longer you. You cut your ties with me when you brought me to the auction house. Remember?" I taunted.
The alpha king punched the table.