Protect Me, Alpha King - Chapter 167: Chapter 167

The Princess's Arrival
I was walking in the hallway when I heard someone running. When I tilted my head to the side, what I saw made me raise my eyebrows.
Nora was smiling in all ears as if she would say one of the happiest statements of all.
Now that she had become the head concubine, she was getting prouder.
"Why did you leave His Highness when he hasn't finished eating? Done serving His Majesty to the best of your ability?" I taunted. "It seems like the favor
She grinned from ear to ear. The words she was longing to hear.
"Yes. Of course. I made sure His Highness is already given what he wants before I left him there."
Was he not done eating? Did he have a stomach like that of a horse?
Whatever.
Not my business anymore.
"What do you want, Nora? Spill it before I get tired of you. I have no strength to fight."
Looking back and forth before saying anything, she says, "I know your relationship with the alpha king is shaky as of this moment, River."
I scowled. No longer Her Grace in front of the alpha king? She sure did not change-a lot in an instant. Everything was an act.
"So? What are you implying?"
"I also learned that you rejected the alpha king after the fight broke."
I scoffed. Even those details, she found out?
"Then what?"
"And you are pregnant."
Good.
snow on your side. Congratulations."
That will show her I was a threat to her.
"Tell me what you want to say and be done with it, Nora. I don't want to play games with you."
Nora lifted her chin.
"If that is what you want." I puffed an air of annoyance. "River. Please continue despising His Highness. That will make it easier for me to attain his heart. Because you see? I want to be sitting next to him with
our child soon. Not yours. Seeing you, wearing the traitor's face reminded me of how the alpha king was hurt."
A traitor. Was that the only memory Zenith left on the alpha king's people? I was certain she also had done great things for the kingdom. To the alpha king. 2
"That's no longer my problem."
She leaned to me, her eyes not hiding her disgust. "You know what? I don't want to see you anymore. Why did you have to come back?"
"Sorry. It is the alpha king who wanted me to return. Whether you like me or not is no longer my problem," I responded, then slightly shoved her.
She nearly stumbled.
"Fuck. Did you know what I realized after?"
My eyes narrowed, and I threw a dagger look in her direction. "I don't want to know about it. Do you want to pick a fight? Why not use our fists so that we will end this once and for all?"
She looked at her fingernails. "Do I look like someone who wants to have some bruises?"
I shake my head. "What do you want to say? Say it."
"I, the alpha king's head concubine, is the only faithful to him. The others? They will betray him, and I want to protect the alpha king from future heartaches, including you, River. I know you will only hurt him again. Having you here again is a mistake."
I laughed at her ignorance. "Speaking like a queen where you will never become one. Only mates are allowed to become one. And that is not you, Nora. You will forever be his concubine, and that is where you will always belong. In my shadow. Stop dreaming, will you? Maxxwell will never love you. Period."
Hurt crossed her eyes and they watered as my words hit her hard.
"That is not true. His Highness said he will love me at the right time."
"Right time? He is only fooling you because you are nothing but his bed warmer. His whore."
"I am not his whore!" she cried.
"You are whoring yourself in exchange for his love. Stop your madness. The alpha king is only using you. You will never be loved."
Nora's hands shook and one palm moved so fast that I failed to catch her flying palm into my cheeks.
My cheeks went in the other direction and stung.
"Bitch!" she exclaimed.
My palms went straight to her cheeks and another one to her other cheeks.
She threw curses at me and planned on attacking me when the twins were suddenly on her side, holding both of her hands to stay still.
"Miss Nora! If the alpha king knows you hurt Her Grace, you will be punished!" they said in unison.
"Remove your hands and let her do whatever she wants. Let us see who will side with Maxxwell when he will hear about this."
The twins shared a look but did not obey me. "O-our apologies, Your Grace, but we cannot do that. I-if something happened to you and your child, we will also be punished."
"Then, tell the mad woman to snap out of her madness."
The twins whispered something to Nora which made the woman lay still. Still, her anger toward me persisted.
"Princess Leonora wanted the alpha king's hand after knowing the former queen died."
The princess liked the alpha king? Why?
"Miss Nora." The twins gave me a worried look.
Nora laughed at my surprised look. "All women love the alpha king because of his power and handsomeness, River. No one is immune to it. That's why I don't understand why you rejected him."
If Nora continued spouting about my rejection and not of me being brought to the auction house, there was a high chance that the alpha king had filtered that information and only known it to some like the beta,
delta, and Dawn.
"Then, if she wanted him that badly, she could have him for all she wants," I responded.
Nora stomped her foot in frustration. "His Highness is only for me! Not even for that brat! She is only a child. I deserve the alpha king after all I did for him," she cried.
My lips pressed into a thin line. "Nora. You don't understand. If you truly loved the alpha king, you will love him without asking for anything in return.”
"I love him!"
"Continue fooling yourself with that," I responded and left her in the hallway with the twins.
The princess's arrival at the palace came, and I was again forced to meet her, especially when countless servants had knocked on my door and told me that the alpha king wanted my presence. If I did not go with them, Maxxwell threatened them that they would be punished because of that.
Forced, I was standing side by side with Maxxwell, refusing to talk to him. However, the effort was smooth when the alpha king was silent, only watching and waiting for the princess's arrival.
Despite begging him to maintain his distance, I could not help but feel...as if I wanted to be closer to him. Which did not make sense. I loathed him, right?
I cleared my throat and said, "Why am I doing this again? For all you know, it is you who she badly wanted, Maxxwell. Not me."
"You are not busy. Only staying in your chamber as if you are given some kind of punishment. River. You are free to go out but then you remained in your room. That is not healthy," he answered with a straight face. "By coming here, the baby will also breathe fresh air. I am also thinking that perhaps you also want to meet if. If you don't have any hard feelings for her," he added.
"Hard feelings? Why would I feel that, Your Highness?" I muttered under my breath. "You are making me feel as if I am jealous. Which I assure you is not, Your Highness. Why would I feel that? We are no longer
mates."
The alpha king heaved a sigh. "No one said you are jealous, River."
Folding my arms before my chest, I breathed, "Exactly."
Even his expression was irritating. No, everything was annoying when I looked at Maxxwell! Even if he was standing was already was infuriating as fuck!
"Where is your beloved princess? So we will be done with this." I wonder how long she will be staying. "How sure are you that she will be coming?"
"Letters. She sent a letter."
"To you?"
There was a pang in my chest. Again. Not my own feelings.
"Using her beloved dove."
"Beloved?" I asked as if my words were hiding something. "You have an amazing relationship with the princess. How could you flirt and fuck someone after what happened to my sister?"
"The only one I want to fuck, as you wanted to put it, is you, River. Not the princess."
I felt my cheeks flush at his statement. "Even in your dreams, there will be no fucking."
I heard someone clear their throat, and as I looked back, it was the servant behind us. Dammit.
Maxxwell smirked. "Oh, really? The last time I checked, you were eager to kiss me back. I am certain someone regretted that we did not continue."
The back of my hair stood. "Shut up, Maxxwell."
"Are you that someone that you want me to shut up?" My fist shook. "Here's my take, River. Why not kiss me to shut me up?" he challenged.
"You. Are. Mad."
"Still madly in love with you, River."
Love? He was not capable of loving someone.
In my annoyance, I nudged his stomach as hard as I could, but instead of hurting him, I was the one who was in pain.
Wincing, I looked at him.
Maxxwell chuckled.
"There is nothing funny, Maxxwell," I scolded.
"It is to me. Everything you do is...cute."
My eyes went wide. "Cute? There is nothing cute in me."
Maxxwell faced me. His expression softened. "This was my realization this past few days," he muttered and met the gate, waiting for the princess's arrival, then pretended as if he did not say anything that
would make my heart jump.
"I don't need it to change my mind."
"Let's focus on waiting for the princess, shall we? I don't want us to argue again."
"Why? Because you don't want your beloved princess see it?" I spat.
"Careful of your words. They sounded something like jealousy."
Just as I had to open my mouth, a carriage came into view, followed by another carriage.
"That's Princess Leonora's carriage."
"Already familiarized with them?"
"She has been visiting more frequently, River. If I can turn her down, I will. But that would mean endangering the relationship between the two kingdoms. Now that the threat to the rogues was already pacified
after killing the leader, it is time to focus on the relationship with the other neighboring kingdoms."
That was understandable, especially if the alpha king was already tired from waging war. The latter will never bring anything except endless death among his people and sufferings.
"I am asking for your understanding, River."
"Why would you ask me for understanding when we don't have any relationships?"
The alpha king fell silent.
I focused my gaze on the nearing carriage. Suddenly, it stopped in the middle, and a woman wearing a purple dress, looked like a teenager in her face, but her body told otherwise.
"Your Highness!" the woman shrieked, running wearing the happiest face. However, her happiness vanished upon spotting me. But she was still proceeding in the running. Breathing heavily, she stopped
before us while her servant gasped for breath. "Who is she, Your Highness?"