Chapter Five: Too Close

 

"My people have come for their king."

If someone had told me a week ago that I'd be standing in my bedroom while armed men tried to kidnap me, my father's driver revealed himself to be royalty, and hundreds of wolves howled outside my window in his honor, I would have suggested therapy.

Instead, I stood frozen, staring at Alexander.

King.

The word didn't fit.

And yet, somehow, it fit perfectly.

Outside, the howls grew louder.

The men from the Council exchanged uneasy glances.

"This isn't possible," the tallest one said. "The packs abandoned the Moonfang bloodline years ago."

Alexander's expression remained unreadable.

"You'd be surprised what people remember."

"You're still outnumbered."

"Am I?"

The man opened his mouth to respond before a deafening crash echoed from somewhere below us.

Then another.

And another.

"They're inside the estate!" someone shouted from the hallway.

For the first time since entering my room, the Council members looked afraid.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Alexander, meanwhile, looked mildly inconvenienced.

"Amelia."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Stay behind me."

I folded my arms.

"That seems to be everyone's favorite sentence tonight."

"It's my favorite sentence every night."

The words left his mouth so naturally that it took both of us a moment to process them.

Silence.

My father slowly turned toward him.

Alexander cleared his throat.

"That came out incorrectly."

"No," I said, trying very hard not to smile. "I think it came out exactly as intended."

"It did not."

"Mm-hmm."

A faint flush appeared across the bridge of his nose.

Well.

That was new.

"You blush?"

"I do not."

"You absolutely do."

The Council members looked deeply uncomfortable.

"Should we come back later?" one of them asked.

"No," Alexander and my father said simultaneously.

I laughed.

This was ridiculous.

Completely and utterly ridiculous.

And somehow, I loved it.

The tallest Council member seemed to recover first.

"As entertaining as this is, we still need the girl."

"I'm standing right here," I said.

"You'll refer to her by name," Alexander said quietly.

The room immediately fell silent.

The man's expression hardened.

"And if I don't?"

Something dangerous flickered behind Alexander's eyes.

"Then we'll have a different conversation."

I swallowed.

There was something terrifying about the way he said it.

The Council member must have thought so too because he wisely decided not to continue the argument.

Smart man.

"Why do they want me?" I asked quietly.

Alexander didn't look away from the men standing before us.

"Because you're my weakness."

My heart did an embarrassing little flip.

"Oh."

That was...

Unexpected.

"I don't like that answer."

"It's the truth."

My father made a disgusted sound.

"I preferred it when you ignored each other."

"We ignored each other?" I asked.

Alexander's expression remained carefully neutral.

"You spoke to me an average of six times a year."

My eyes widened.

"You counted?"

Silence.

"Alexander."

"No."

"You counted."

"It was unintentional."

"You know exactly how many times I spoke to you in a year?"

"It varied."

"Oh, this is getting better."

One of the Council members sighed dramatically.

"Can we please continue with the kidnapping?"

"No!" my father and I shouted.

Alexander almost smiled.

Almost.

"Wait," I said slowly, turning back to him. "If you counted how many times I spoke to you..."

He immediately looked away.

"Oh my God."

"It isn't what you think."

"I don't know what to think!"

"It was merely an observation."

"For ten years?"

His silence was deafening.

My father pinched the bridge of his nose.

"This is my punishment for allowing you to stay in my house."

"You knew?" I asked.

"Knew what?"

"That he—"

"Absolutely not."

The faintest hint of amusement crossed Alexander's face.

Traitor.

A loud explosion shook the estate.

Right.

Danger.

I'd almost forgotten.

"Focus, everyone!" I snapped.

The tallest Council member pointed at Alexander.

"This changes nothing. The girl comes with us."

"No," Alexander said.

"You're willing to start a war over her?"

He didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

The room fell silent.

Even the Council members looked surprised.

"Oh," I whispered.

There was that annoying feeling in my chest again.

The one that made my stomach do strange things whenever he looked at me.

This was inconvenient.

Very inconvenient.

"You realize," I said quietly, "that you're making it incredibly difficult for me to remain rational."

His gaze finally met mine.

"I've had that problem for ten years."

My breath caught.

"What?"

Apparently, that wasn't something he'd intended to say aloud because he suddenly looked horrified.

"You liked me for ten years?" I asked.

"No."

"Alexander."

"It isn't relevant."

"It feels extremely relevant!"

The tallest Council member threw his hands into the air.

"This is unbelievable!"

"You're the one interrupting our conversation," I pointed out.

"We're trying to abduct you!"

"Well, you're doing a terrible job."

To my surprise, Alexander actually laughed.

Not a small smile.

Not a slight exhale.

An actual laugh.

The sound stole the breath from my lungs.

Oh.

That was unfair.

"That's not fair," I said before I could stop myself.

His brows furrowed.

"What isn't?"

"That."

"That what?"

"That you're apparently an Alpha King, secretly in love with me, and you laugh like that."

For the first time all night, he looked genuinely caught off guard.

"I am not secretly in love with you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

"No."

"Then why did you count how many times I spoke to you?"

Silence.

"Why did you spend ten years protecting me?"

Silence.

"Why do you look like you're considering murder every time another man speaks to me?"

My father blinked.

"Wait, that's true?"

"No, it isn't."

"It absolutely is."

He opened his mouth to argue before stopping abruptly.

"Oh."

"OH?" I repeated.

The Council members had gone strangely quiet.

One of them leaned toward another and whispered, "Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Alexander asked dangerously.

The man immediately regretted existing.

"Nothing."

"No, tell him."

The Council member swallowed.

"Your Majesty... your eyes turn gold whenever she smiles at you."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Slowly, Alexander turned to look at me.

And there it was.

Gold.

Brilliant, impossible gold.

I smiled.

They brightened.

"Oh," I said softly.

His expression suggested he'd rather fight an army than continue this conversation.

Unfortunately for him, I suddenly understood why fate had chosen him.

And for the first time since this madness began, I decided I might enjoy being the Alpha King's greatest weakness.

Very.

Very much.