Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 160: Chapter 160

Almost
My steps faltered.
The alpha king bombarded me with questions but set them aside.
There were far more important things to know at the moment.
"Did someone tell you?"
"The Luna." Dawn. "They were the ones who kept on telling me that you might be pregnant." Maxxwell smiled sadly. "If they give up, I would never have a sudden change of heart, River."
"Where is Dawn?" Goddess. I missed that woman so much. I hoped she was okay now. "How about Delta Isagani?"
He was silent for a moment.
"Don't tell me Dawn is dead."
"No, no. She..she left the palace."
My eyes went wide. "What? Did she say something before she left?"
"She did not."
I cursed loudly when the pain attacked again.
Breathing heavily, I asked, "How about you, Your Highness? Do you believe this is your child? Let's say I am pregnant. But you cannot guarantee this is yours," I questioned even if he was the only man I had all throughout my life. Without a doubt.
Without realizing it, his grip on my arms tightened.
"You are hurting me!"
He jumped and loosened his hold, not letting me go.
"We will talk after you get treated."
"You doubted me, right? That is right. This baby is not yours. So stop pushing yourself to me. I am no longer pure like you believed me. The baby I am carrying is from another man's seed. You hear me?" "We will talk later," the alpha king promised.
The wound was not that deep, and I was right when I said that the dagger had no poison. The pack doctor had given medicines to temporarily numb the pain.
Throughout the duration, Maxxwell never left my side.
After packing his tools, the pack doctor announced, "Your Highness, you can rest assured that the wound will heal tomorrow. Miss River has an amazing healing rate surpassing the other werewolves." "Why did she almost faint?" Maxxwell inquired.
"It's because of the blood, Your Highness. I was never fond of seeing blood. It's not because of being poisoned or the wound." I could easily push the poison out of my system if ever I was poisoned. "Take care of yourself, Miss River, and the child."
I sucked in a breath.
Why did he have to bring it when it seemed like the alpha king had nearly forgotten about it?
"I will take care of them." The alpha king gave the pack doctor a curt nod.
"Congratulations in advance, Your Highness. The people will celebrate if they find out the two of you are already expecting."
I grimaced.
It would be a disaster if the people knew. Not everyone will rejoice about the baby. They will treat my unborn child as a threat and I did not want that to happen.
Instead of taunting him more that the child was not his, I remained silent at my bed while I waited for their conversations to end.
Finally, the pack doctor bowed and left us in the infirmary.
"You can go now, Maxxwell. Let me rest."
"No!" he replied with a stubborn look. "Do you know what might happen to you when I did not come after you, River? You could have died!" Using his bloody arms, he pulled his hair in frustration. "In a snap, I could have lost you and our child."
Our child.
I gripped the blanket I was clutching. The alpha king acknowledging our child-no. Our child brought an unknown emotion to my chest.
I looked away, feeling my genes doing their natural healing.
"I am fine. Did you not hear what I said? This is not your-"
"That is my child. End of discussion." He stood next to my bed. "You are fine for now. I am still not forgetting how you keep defending your useless alpha. Look where he is now. He is not even here to ask what happened to you. Useless."
My eyes shifted to his bloody hands.
"Let's forget about him. Why don't you go back to your room and change your clothes? You reek of the smell of blood, Your Highness."
The alpha king paced back and forth. "No. I won't be leaving you here alone."
"At least do something with your clothes. You looked like a murderer."
His expression hardened. "I murdered people, River. I killed a lot. Killing is easy for me. I am bloodthirsty. The blood in my hands is a mixture of innocent and criminal blood. I am not saying I am proud of my sins. I am not what you believe I am."
A shiver ran down my spine at the weight of his words. I felt his pain as he forced those words out of his mouth and it was a...humbling experience.
"I am only saying you should take a bath. Nothing else. You don't have to bring up your past. I am not asking you about it." I would never force him about it.
He heaved a sigh and went to the window, looking at the scenery outside. From where we were, we were facing the flower garden.
"I will never leave you. I don't want to bury anyone again."
Did he bury Zenith? Or did he burn her body just as he instructed before?
"I am fine, Your Highness. No one will harm me. If you want, you can ask some guard to post in front of the door to put your mind at ease."
Just as the alpha king opened his mouth to say something, a knock resounded. Then, the door burst open, and Alpha Raphael rushed in.
"Woman," he called upon seeing me. He was sweating a lot but paid them no mind. He sighed in relief when he saw I was fine.
"I am fine, Master Raphael." I glanced at the alpha king. "Now that Master Raphael is here, you can go take a shower, Your Highness. You reek of blood. You're making me dizzy. You make me sick." The alpha king looked at himself. "Was I that bad?"
I nodded.
"D-does the baby not like it?"
Alpha Raphael and I shared a look. "The baby?"
Red tainted his cheeks. He...looked cute looking like that.
"I-It's early to tell. But maybe. Maybe not."
Clearing his throat, he went to the doorway. "I will take a shower then. Guard River with all your life," he ordered.
Alpha Raphael bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."
"When I get back, we will talk."
Alpha Raphael hesitated but agreed.
"And to you, do not ever dare move. You rest. Your wound is still fresh."
Rolling my eyes, I said, "I know what I need to do, okay? Go."
The alpha king gave us one last look and stepped out of the infirmary.
That was the only time we relaxed. Well, except Alpha Raphael. He was doomed. He will receive an earful if William found out about the additional death.
"What happened? A guard came rushing telling me that the chef was murdered and you were nearly killed as well."
I shivered as the memories played in my mind. The reality that I nearly got killed hit me. Hard.
I attempted to sit but stopped mid-air when the pain exploded in my back. If I will be alone, I will do some self-healing.
Seeing my agony, Alpha Raphael helped me sit comfortably.
"I saw how the man killed the chef. He stabbed him multiple times. Saw me looking at him and tried to eradicate me as well. We fought and here I was. If the alpha king was not around, I would also be lying on the ground bathing in my own blood. It was..."
"Woman. You don't have to tell me everything if you are not ready for it."
Alpha Raphael touched his chin. "I tightened the security."
"It was not enough. Do you have at least anyone whom you had fought with, Master Raphael? Because that would be the most plausible explanation why someone is set to finish all your pack."
He fell into deep thought.
"None, so far."
I scratched my brow. "Are you sure? You have to think thoroughly, okay? Did you perhaps take a woman who was already mated to another male while you were traveling before? Tracing you will never be a big problem for your enemies, Master Raphael. Your pack is the only white-haired person among all the packs."
Without even thinking, Alpha Raphael answered. "None."
"None? You must think," I urged him.
Given how he became a ladies' man, that was one of the nearest reasons I could think of at the moment.
"I said none."
I bit my lower lip. "How about the pack's affairs? Your business relationship with your trade partners? Or maybe someone envied all your gold deposits. Or someone-"
"Woman," he called, cutting off my words. "I said no, okay. Dropped it. You don't have to think about it. This is my problem. Mine alone. I can fix this."
"Bullshit," I cursed, attempting to get out of bed, but was stopped by the tremendous pain. I inhaled and exhaled and waited for the pain to ease. When it subsided, I added, "You cannot fix this alone. You need some help. Don't you get it, Master Raphael? The alpha king is always watching your move. Now that another was killed and hurt me in the process, he will never let this slide lightly. He will punish you. Your family and who knows? Maybe he will include your pack."
Alpha Raphael put both of his hands on his head and looked at the ceiling.
"I can feel his hate. Plus, his jealousy. He does not like it when he sees we are close."
"We don't have any relationships except being a master and a slave. Nothing else."
"Even if you keep on telling him about that, he will never listen. He will listen more to his emotions. If worse comes worse, he will dethrone you and strip you of your alpha position."
The corner of the alpha's mouth lifted.
"Dethrone me?"
"Don't you dare be happy about that? Can you not be selfish for now and think about your Father? He wanted you to lead the pack and not somebody else."
"The beta is not somebody else."
"He wants it to be you so don't you dare smile victoriously since I haven't told you what's the worst thing an alpha king is able to do." "What?"