Chapter 14
ice was soft despite being deep and I blinked once before staring at his outstretched hand again. When I carefully accepted the hand, he grinned at me as he gelled me up.
“No, I’m not. Thank you, and sorry for running into you.” I muttered, genuinely meaning those words. He grinned again as he waved me off.
“It’s okay, I was at fault as well anyway.” He murmured and I was surprised that he was still holding my hand.
“So, what’s the name, gorgeous?” He drawled and I blinked at him in surprise. Everyone I’ve been encountering since Elijah betrayed me have instantly known who I am. It was surprising that this alpha was asking for my name and also being extremely nice to me.
Or perhaps he knows my name and has seen all the rumors online about me, but is choosing to act oblivious for my sake.
That thought was making my stomach start to feel weird and I suddenly wished he’d let go of my hand.
“It’s Elena.” I responded reluctantly and he hummed before letting go of my hand and pointing at himself.
“I’m Eric, it’s nice to meet you, Elena.” He introduced himself and I forced myself to smile at him. He was very good looking and he looked quite powerful in his suit, and the aura he exuded in his tall height.
“If you’d excuse me..,” I began when he gently cut me off.
“Wait.., you were just taking a walk, right?”
I nodded hesitantly.
“Let me join you on that walk then, but that’s if you don’t mind. But the person I’m here to see is quite busy at the moment so I have nothing to do for now.” He revealed and I hesitated again before nodding. When he fell into steps beside me, as we began to walk, I felt awkward as hell while wondering if he was walking with me right now because he wanted to be nice to me. But then he doesn’t have any reason to act nice to me.
“Are you here to see the king?” I asked and he snorted and shook his head.
“Definitely not. And you, are you visiting anyone here?” He asked and I struggled for a reason because 1 couldn’t possibly say that I was being kept here against my will, nor could I say that the king wanted to make me into his breeder. I didn’t know what else to say, so I shrugged.
Before I could respond, my stomach suddenly growled really loudly and I stiffened, my cheeks instantly flushing from shame. I couldn’t meet Eric’s eyes as he asked if I was okay, all I could manage was a nod. He didn’t reply, but I knew he was staring down at me. After a few moments, he asked if I was perhaps hungry.
I shook my head. “No, I’m not.”
Chapter 14
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However my stomach betrayed me by growling and I wanted to die from embarrassment. Eric didn’t seem fazed, just a little amused as he said I was acting cute, which made me feel more mortified.
I stood awkwardly as he made a phone call to who I assumed was his butler. In the call, he ordered the person to ask the kitchen to set a table for him and his guest. I was confused that he was strong enough to command the kitchen here, and. I wanted to ask who he actually was when he urged us to resume walking.
“So, are you here visiting anyone?” He asked before glancing down at me. “It doesn’t seem like you know around here that much.”
I laughed a little. “Am I that obvious?” I asked and he hummed.
“And the hunger thing. If you have been used to here, you’d have been able to go ask for a meal whenever. And this isn’t to make you feel embarrassed by the way. It’s your host or hostess fault for not arranging that for you.” He spoke and I nodded, feeling weird on the inside. He sounded genuinely nice and not at all mocking.
“I’m not here visiting.,, but, it’s kind of complicated.” I finally began and he held a hand, a warm smile tugging at the sides of his lips.
“Hey, no pressure, you don’t need to tell me anything you’re not comfortable sharing, okay? After all, we’re technically strangers.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. He was seeming more and more like a gentleman as the seconds went by.
“Thank you for understanding, and you’re surprisingly nice for a stranger.” I murmured and he hummed before arching a brow at me.
“Strangers presently, not not for long… hopefully.”
Our eyes remained locked for a few moments before I blushed and averted my gaze. He was definitely flirting with me right now. It’s been long since I’ve been flirted with like this and I had almost forgotten how it felt.
Eric’s phone rang and it turns out that the table he request for had been set. He then led me in a direction which was actually the kitchen wing here in the palace, and in no time, we were approaching a table set out with different meals. My stomach growled loudly as I sat down, and I was so hungry, it felt like I could eat a horse.
“Dig in.” Eric urged me after I thanked him, then we began to eat while talking every now and then. If I had doubts that he was flirting with me, it was confirmed at this point because of how heavily he was laying it down on me. The meal was so nice and I ate till I was filled up, and after standing, I thanked him for the meal and genuinely meant every word.
He took my hand and kissed it after assuring me that I was welcomed and if I had any plans for the evening.
I was about to decline when familiar footsteps instantly made me stiffen and in a few seconds, and when I glanced sideways, my heart lurched into my throat at the sight of the king approaching,
Holy shit.
And he looked furious.
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Chapter 14
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I want to pull my hand away at once, but Eric’s grip on my tightened as the king stopped a few feet away from his, making my heart instantly start to quicken even if I wasn’t even doing anything wrong.
“What’s going on here?” The king demanded, his displeased gaze moving between myself and Eric, making me swallow emptily as I averted my gaze from his. It caught me by surprise that Eric didn’t look worried as he stared at the king, instead he huffed and glared at the king.
“Stop being rude, dear cousin. And you’ve just rudely intruded on my lovely date with this gorgeous little thing.” Eric crooned and I stiffened, eyes widening in realization.
This man was the king’s cousin??! That made sense that he was able to demand a table to be set for him from the royal kitchen!
Holy shit!
And it doesn’t even look like he and the king were on good terms.
“Well, this gorgeous little thing here is mine.” The king suddenly said before I was tugged backward till I was plastered into the side of the king, while I choked on my own spit. My eyes were wide from shock, and my heart was racing from confusion.
Did he just say that I was his?!!
Eric was shocked as he looked between myself and the king and the fact that I wasn’t denying the king’s words, because what could I even say?
“She’s your- what Exactly?” Eric finally asked as he stood straighter. The king’s nose flared and he stepped closer to Eric, while I felt like I was currently in somewhere I shouldn’t be in right now.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Eric. Do I?”
Eric’s jaw clenched. “Of course not, cousin. I was merely curious.”
The king didn’t still relax but at least his voice wasn’t so hard this time. “She’s my mat- my woman… but it’s a little complicated. You don’t need to know the details, but this woman is mine so do well to keep your paws and eyes off her on moving forward.”
Eric’s eyes briefly met mine before he nodded and grinned at the king. “Ah, of course dear cousin. I wasn’t aware she was already yours before I had lunch with her.”
The king nodded tensely. “But it’s still not known to the public, so do well to keep it to yourself.” The king stated, and this time there was a little warning edge in his voice. Eric nodded once before the king turned away and tugged me along with him.
When the king tugged me into an empty sitting room, he had a furious expression on his face as he pointed
at the door.
“What was that out there? Why were you having lunch with him?”
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Chapter 14
I let out a sigh, my mood already ruined.
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“I was having lunch with him because I was hungry. I didn’t know if I was allowed to the kitchen since I’m technically a prisoner here. And I didn’t know that was such a crime,” I explained and the king’s jaw ticked as he stepped closer to grab my chin hard, his eyes blazing.
“What’s a crime is letting him touch you and kiss your hand. I can try to ignore your past, but on moving forward, I won’t allow that. As the mother of my future children, you’ll not let every man have access to you anymore. And that includes physical touches. Is that understood?”
I swallowed emptily, feeling anger within me at his accusations. “That man didn’t get access to me, it was just a harmless lunch and a harmless kiss to the hand,”
This time, he laughed, looking completely unamused.
“If you weren’t so dumb, you’d have seen that he was literally eye fucking you.”
I flushed, my cheeks feeling like they were on fire.
“He wasn’t.” I muttered but the king scoffed before letting go of my chin.
“You’ll stay away from that cousin of mine on moving forward. We don’t get along and I don’t trust him around you.”
I frowned in confusion. “Are you worried about me, your majesty?”
He looked almost offended by that question. “Of course I’m not. Why would I be??”
Ouch. That hurt.
“I heard that you declined Maya’s help to assist you with shopping for clothes for you, and you bad mouthed her before throwing her out. It’s why I initially warned you to not dare get jealous because I predicted this happening.”
“What? She was the one who pulled my hair from my scalp and came in uninvited and…”
“Save it cause I don’t believe you. It’s honestly disappointing because I expected you to be a little mature about this, especially since the clothes are for your own benefit.”
This time, I pursed my lips and remained silent because it was clear that he wouldn’t believe anything else I tried to say.
“I’ll send you off to the nearest store with some guards and two of the palace caretakers. Behave at the store and of course, don’t try anything stupid like trying to run away… because if caught, you’d undoubtedly be punished.”
After he was done speaking, our eyes remained locked and it felt like there was an invisible string between us. Mf heartbeat was fluttering really fast and my mouth suddenly felt dry. The king’s scent clouded my lungs and made it hard for me to not arch my throat right now.
When he finally left, I slumped against the wall and let out a loud breath.
Chapter 15
Chapter 15
