Chapter Three:The Alpha King Returns

 

"Hello, little mate."

The words echoed through my mind long after they had left his lips.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

My father stood frozen in front of me, every muscle in his body rigid as he stared at the man standing impossibly outside my second-floor window.

Alexander Draven.

The name still felt foreign on my tongue.

It couldn't be him.

Not the man who had spent the last ten years driving my father to board meetings and standing silently beside black sedans.

Not the man who apologized every time our paths crossed.

And yet, the evidence was standing right in front of me.

Golden eyes.

The impossible stillness.

The terrifying power that seemed to cling to him like a second skin.

He had never been pretending to be ordinary.

He had merely been pretending to be less.

"How did you get up here?" I whispered.

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"I climbed."

My father looked as though he was seconds away from having a heart attack.

"Don't mock me, boy."

Boy.

The word sounded ridiculous coming from my father.

Alexander had always appeared older than his years. There was something ancient in his eyes, something that suggested he had seen too much and carried even more.

"I'm not mocking you, Richard."

"Then explain this!"

Alexander's gaze shifted to me.

"I would, but I don't think she'd appreciate me breaking her window."

Despite everything, I nearly laughed.

My father did not.

"You need to leave."

"No."

The single word settled heavily in the room.

"I wasn't asking."

"I know."

For a moment, neither man spoke.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had never seen my father lose an argument.

Until now.

"You disappeared."

Alexander's expression remained unreadable.

"I had to."

"Why?"

His eyes found mine once more.

"Because the moment she recognized me, every enemy I've spent ten years hiding from became a threat to her."

Silence.

The reality of his words slowly sank in.

"People are trying to kill you?"

He was quiet for a moment.

"People have been trying to kill me since I was born."

Something inside my chest tightened painfully.

"Why?"

My father laughed bitterly.

"Because power attracts monsters."

Alexander's gaze darkened.

"Sometimes, Richard, power creates them."

The room fell silent again.

I suddenly felt like I was watching two men continue a conversation that had begun years before I was born.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Neither answered.

"Stop doing that!" I snapped. "Everyone keeps talking around me as if I'm not standing here!"

Alexander's expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"You deserve the truth."

"Then tell me."

He hesitated.

And for the first time since I'd known him, he looked uncertain.

"My father was the last Alpha King."

"I know that part."

"He was murdered."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Murdered."

The word seemed to suck all the air from the room.

"The official story was that he died during the Blood Moon War."

My father looked away.

"Official stories are often lies."

I stared at Alexander.

"Who killed him?"

His jaw tightened.

"We never found out."

Something about the answer didn't sit right with me.

"You don't believe that."

"No."

"Then what do you believe?"

For a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer.

Then—

"I believe the person responsible is still alive."

A chill ran down my spine.

"And you've spent your entire life looking for them?"

"Yes."

"Did you find anything?"

His silence was answer enough.

My father suddenly moved toward the door.

"We're done here."

"No," I said immediately.

His expression hardened.

"Amelia—"

"I've spent eighteen years being told what I can and cannot know. I'm done."

Neither man spoke.

I took a deep breath before turning back to Alexander.

"If you're really my mate, prove it."

The room went deathly still.

My father's eyes widened.

"Amelia!"

"What? Isn't that a reasonable question?"

Alexander, meanwhile, looked as though I'd just asked him to jump off a cliff.

"You don't know what you're asking."

"Then explain it to me."

"The mate bond isn't something to be taken lightly."

"Good. Neither am I."

For the first time that evening, genuine amusement flashed across his face.

"I've missed that."

"What?"

"The part where you argue with everyone."

I blinked.

"You remember that?"

"I remember everything about you."

The words struck me harder than they should have.

Before I could respond, my father stepped between us.

"That's enough."

"No, Richard," Alexander said quietly. "It's not."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped.

I felt it immediately.

So did my father.

"What is that?" I whispered.

Alexander's expression changed instantly.

Every trace of warmth vanished from his face.

"Get away from the window."

"What?"

"Now."

Something in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

I obeyed without thinking.

A second later, the glass exploded inward.

I screamed as shards scattered across the room.

Standing in the shattered frame was a man I had never seen before.

Tall.

Silver-haired.

Eyes glowing an unnatural shade of blue.

His smile was devoid of warmth.

"Well," he said casually, brushing glass from his sleeve. "This is awkward."

My father went pale.

"No..."

The stranger's eyes settled on Alexander.

"It's been a long time, Your Highness."

Every instinct in my body screamed danger.

Alexander had gone completely still.

"What are you doing here, Lucien?"

The man's smile widened.

"I heard a rumor."

"What rumor?"

"That the lost prince found his mate."

My blood turned to ice.

Lucien's gaze slowly moved to me.

"Oh."

His smile grew.

"She's prettier than I expected."

Before I could react, Alexander was suddenly standing in front of me.

I hadn't even seen him move.

"Leave."

"Or what?" Lucien asked lazily.

For the first time, I felt it.

The full weight of Alexander's power.

The lights flickered.

The walls trembled.

And his eyes—

His eyes burned like liquid gold.

"Or I'll remind you," he said softly, "why your father taught you to fear my name."

Lucien's smile faltered.

Interesting.

"So the rumors are true," he murmured. "You've finally stopped pretending to be human."

"I'll ask you one last time."

The entire room shook.

"Leave."

Lucien studied him for a long moment before sighing dramatically.

"Fine. But we both know this changes everything."

He looked at me one final time.

"The moment she found you, Your Highness, the countdown began."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What countdown?"

Neither man answered.

Of course.

Lucien stepped backward into the darkness.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Alexander's expression darkened.

"The Council knows."

Silence.

And for the first time since I'd met him—

Alexander looked afraid.

Then Lucien disappeared.

The room remained eerily quiet.

I stared at Alexander.

"What council?"

He closed his eyes.

"The kind that will kill you to get to me."

And suddenly, being mated to my father's driver didn't seem nearly as romantic as it had three days ago.