Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 158: Chapter 158

Sweating
For the rest of the day, I thought the alpha king would leave me alone, but he did not. He was always by my side whenever I stepped out of my room and silently walked with me, maintaining his distance, careful not to anger me anymore.
I was going to the kitchen, and in an instant, he was again following me.
Fed up and the thought of him tailing me wherever I go was no longer appealing to me.
Plainly showing my disinterest, I said, "Ugh. Will you please stop? You look like a lost puppy, Maxxwell. The servants are watching me as if I did the most horrible crime of all. You make me look as if I am a criminal who is always under your surveillance." I tried to disregard it, but the majority of the servants were glaring at me now, but whenever Maxxwell met their eyes, hatred was replaced with fear for their life. "Just stop, will you?"
"My priority is your safety, River," he answered while looking at the surroundings.
"Oh, please. I can handle myself."
Could I? Sunflower was still giving me cold shoulders even if the alpha king was already by my side. She refused to talk to me. And if someone threatened my life, I did not think I could handle myself well. However, the alpha king should never know my beast temporarily left me.
"Pretend I am not here while I do the task of protecting you."
I rolled my eyes and opened the door towards the kitchen. "Oh, please. As if that will be easy. A person as huge as you will always catch our eyes." The alpha king stepped inside and observed the interior of the kitchen. The kitchen staff was busy cooking for tonight's dinner. Upon sensing the presence of the alpha king, they stopped and bowed. Which the alpha king dismissed. They went back to their work. Still, I could feel their nervousness especially if the alpha king was glaring at them.
Oh, boy. I understand what they were feeling.
"If I caught you putting poison in the food, I will behead you and kill all your family," the alpha king announced. "Two servants were already dead. If another person dies for the same reason, all of you will be the primary suspects."
My eyes bulged. "That is unfair," I commented, making my voice low. "Are they the only one who is capable of bringing poison?"
"Do you understand me?" Maxxwell's voice boomed.
The kitchen staff stiffened and nodded curtly. "We will never do that to you, Your Highness. We fear what you will do to us and the consequences of our actions to our family."
The alpha king inspected the ingredients. "Good. At least we are on the same page."
"Your Highness. There is a servant who is tasked to check for any poisons in every food," I informed, standing close to him. He closed the lid of the pan and moved to another. "You are embarrassing us. We will never poison anyone. We are not killers."
"Good. I am impressed with your actions, so far."
"Every servant is doing their best so that we will never fail the people who trusted us."
"They should be."
Maxxwell sniffed the lettuce. "Someone died because of poisoning. There were no wounds on their body so I am thinking someone poisoned their food." He let go of the vegetable and went to another. "Someone died, yes. I am certain the staff was not the culprit." I rushed to his side.
"River. You're always seeing the goodness of the people. Careful. Not everyone is good, just like what they are showing you. Believing in everything you see by your naked eyes will lead to your demise. Some will stab you in the back without even knowing it. Then, it would be too late to act fast," the alpha king declared, his voice coated with bitterness.
Zenith.
He was pertaining to my sister and the traitors who betrayed him.
"Being untrustful has also its downfall. A person keeps on telling you that you are being betrayed but your distrust will stop you from believing in them."
The alpha king went silent, then moved to the cook and checked the food that was cooked. The poor man's sweat looked like waterfalls and I hoped his sweat would never mix with the soup he was cooking.
"Leave him alone."
The alpha king shrugged his broad shoulders. "I'm only checking-"
"For poisons, I know," I muttered, cutting off his words. The alpha king moved to the doorway. "Are you happy now? No poison, right? If you will excuse us, Your Highness?"
"I hope the food will taste great this evening," he muttered instead, not minding what I just said.
"It won't be if you keep glaring at that, Your Highness. If you would excuse us?"
"M-Miss River...w-we a-appreciate the alpha king's efforts for coming here. It is an honor," the chef declared. "You can stay here a-as long as you like, Y-Your Highness."
Honor, my foot.
It was clear as the sky that he was trembling under the alpha king's penetrating gaze and did not want to show it.
"Do you know someone who could sniff poison in one scent?"
Was there someone who had that ability?
The knife fell from the chef's hand and fell on the floor, nearly cutting his toes.
The alpha king was not even happy at his clumsiness and narrowed his eyes at the poor man.
"Are you hiding something from me? Are you the culprit? Did you kill them?"
"Your Highness," I called his attention. "The chef is the kindest person I have ever known. He would never hurt a fly for crying out loud." Throwing accusations here and there was not helping at all.
"Everyone is carrying their secrets, River. You," the alpha king called the chef. The man jumped in surprise. "You did not answer my question."
Using his apron, the chef wiped the sweat from his forehead. "A-as far as I remember, only the beta has the ability to sniff the poison, Your Highness."
The beta could do that?
The alpha never told me about it.
"Bring the beta here!"
One servant, who wanted to get out of the alpha king's radar, went outside in a hurry as if he was being chased by the devil.
Shaking my head, I watched him with an intense gaze. What was he supposed to do next? Kill them with his glare?
"Continue cooking. I don't want to taste food that is bland," he ordered.
"Your Highness. Do you know how to cook? Mind as well replace them. It seems like you know better than them."
"I don't want to eat something that tastes like shit."
Another spoon and cutting tools fell on the floor. Not only that, but another plate also broke.
Sighing, I dragged him outside the kitchen for fear that no one would be breathing if he continued staying in the kitchen.
"What the fuck are you doing there, Maxxwell? Is casting fear your talent?" I harshly whispered.
A line appeared between his brows. "Don't you get it? I am protecting you while investigating the case because your cowardly alpha is hiding in his room, self-pitying."
I gritted my teeth. "That is not true. Master Raphael is busy looking for the culprit."
Was he? I was not sure, but I could not show him I was lying.
"How sure are you?"
"I am putting my entire salary on it."
We may be slaves in this pack, but contrary to the other ruthless alphas, Alpha Raphael made sure his servants were well-compensated for all the hard work they did. Another reason why I wanted to stay here. However, given the continuous killings, the alpha king will drag me back to the palace if this persisted despite the generous salaries.
If I did not have any money, how could I buy anything for my child? My savings were not enough yet.
"I can quadruple it. You own everything I own, River. You do not have to make yourself a slave."
My mouth is set in a hard line. "Wrong choice of words, Your Highness. I will do what I want with my life. And no. I don't own what you have as of the moment."
"I will make sure to change your mind. I will never give up, River. Even if you pushed me a couple of times. I will stay by your side. Forever and ever."
A muscle in my jaw twitched. "I don't believe in forever. I no longer believed in love."
Just as I moved away from the alpha king, the beta came, sweating. Why did almost everyone around the alpha king sweat?
"Your Highness. A servant told me you are asking for my presence. May I know what the reason is, Your Highness?"
"Good. Now that you are here, how true is it that you can detect poisons?"
The beta suddenly could not look us in the eye. "If I can do that, Your Highness, Alpha Raphael should also know that. But he did not. No secrets are not shared between us, Your Highness. I am telling the truth. I cannot detect any poisons."
The alpha king towered over the beta. He leaned on him and whispered, "I wondered who between the two of you is telling the truth. River. Call the chef. I want the truth to spill out of their mouths! Hurry up!" The beta squeezed his eyes shut.