Filed to story: The Alpha King’s Intoxicating Mate
“It was nothing” Ashton murmured.
Luna Bianca walked forward and grasped my arm “you put my daughter in danger” she hissed, bending low to talk in my ear “if that happens again, you won’t step foot out of that dungeon until you leave. Count yourself luck you didn’t die” she added coldly.
I eyed her. “To be honest, dying might have been preferable” I spat in her face, leaving her stunned. Even Ashton looked shocked by my admission, as I stormed my way back into the pack house, which felt more like a prison than the sanctuary that it’s intended to be. I was no member of this pack and part of me felt like maybe Ashton should have left me back in the woods for the rogues.
But another part of me was grateful. Because of him, I got to live another day, giving me another chance to plot a way to escape this life and determine a way to get myself to another pack. There had to be a way, I just had to find it. There had to be a loophole in the words that Alpha Johnathon had used, I thought, trying to remember the exact words he had used, what had he said to me again? “You are not to try and run away until Alpha Daxton gets here?” or something like that? My eyes widened and I began to smile. Suddenly, I saw a way out. If I was brave enough to act on it.
…
King Kace POV
“I can’t believe you treated me like that” she cried, throwing her hands up in the air “all I want is for you to finally make a decision Kace, is that really too much for you to ask?” she said, turning and glaring at me as I tried not to sigh.
“Cordelia” I murmured, placing a hand on her waist as she blinked her eyes up at me, my wolf growling lowly in my head as I kept him back, forcing a block up that would cost me later “it’s not too much to ask, all I want is for you to wait until after this party. That’s all.”
She pouted “what if you find your mate?” she demanded, looking at me and narrowing her eyes “then what am I meant to do?” she asked looking hysterical.
“Cordelia, if that happens, you know that Lucian won’t allow me to refuse the mate bond,” I told her softly, trying hard to be as compassionate as I could “if I find my mate, I will have to accept her, you know that.”
“Why can’t you just keep her on the side” she snapped, folding her arms and looking at me with her eyes flashing as I looked at her taken aback “and I still be your chosen mate? You owe me Kace, I’ve put my life on hold for the last year, waiting for you to make me yours and now you’re telling me that there’s a possibility it’s not going to happen. It’s not good enough” she insisted “and you let Lucian attack me the other day,” she said her voice going high and shrill.
I sighed. Lucian would have attacked her again if I hadn’t put the block up, but I wisely decided to leave that out. It was bad enough I’d had to grovel for her forgiveness and promise it wouldn’t happen again. It was taking all my energy to keep the damn block in place. Her eyes went shiny and I felt guilt overtake me.
“Kace, I love you. Shouldn’t that count for something” she breathed “I’ve been loyal to you, to the pack and its members. You talk as though a mate bond is everything, but what if your mate isn’t worthy?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning against the wall as she coolly observed me.
A mate that wasn’t worthy? That had never happened to an Alpha King before. The only way a mate would be deemed unworthy would be if they were wolfless and in all of it’s history, no Alpha King had received a mate like that ever. I was confident it wouldn’t happen to me. An Alpha King needed a strong, capable mate, who could help the pack and defend it. I had nothing against wolfless shifters but I didn’t want one for myself. Cordelia smirked. “See, you haven’t even thought about that, have you?” she drawled.
“Cordelia, you know it’s never happened,” I said firmly.
“But if it does” she pushed “then what? Are you going to accept a weak, pitiful shifter like that as your Luna?”
Of course, I wasn’t. I had an image and a reputation to uphold. I gave a low growl of frustration as she leaned closer and licked her lips.
“IF that happens,” I said with a level of annoyance as she looked at me with a grin “then I would, of course, consider rejection. But the likelihood of that is almost nonexistent Cordelia.”
“What if I were the better choice?” she purred, stroking my arm “what if I was the stronger one, the one better suited to lead this pack and become your luna? Would you make me your chosen mate and reject your fated mate then?”
My voice was sharp. “I’ve already said that I would.”
“I’m talking about if you are given an omega or a low-level warrior” she snapped.
“That would be different” I began and she snorted.
“Because of Lucian right?” she said sarcastically. “Because he lays down the law and you let him.”
Ouch. That stung my pride. She was deliberately provoking me. Against my better judgment, I lost my temper with her. “Fine, what is it you want Cordelia? Do you want to come to this f*****g party? Fine. You can come with us, providing you keep your damn mouth shut and behave. Am I clear?”
Her eyes lit up and she smiled, looking triumphant. “Of course Kace, I will be perfectly behaved, I assure you” she breathed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and beaming at me. Great. I had just given her what she wanted on a damn platter. James was going to murder me, I thought sardonically, if I didn’t do that to myself first.
I shot her a look. “If I find my mate, you are not to interfere. For all I know,” I said, looking thoughtfully at her “you might find your fated mate at Dark Rising Pack.”
“Even if I do, I plan on rejecting him for you,” she said automatically.
