Chapter 6

Genevieve's POV

The air in the study suddenly felt thicker, making it hard for me to breathe. Is the Moon Goddess pranking me? The stranger in room 1688, who I never thought I'd ever cross paths with again in this lifetime, is actually standing in front of me, and he's the Alpha King. He's also my second-chance mate.

I staggered back slightly as I locked gazes with him. His bright green eyes had faded into a darker shade of yellow, and those pair of yellow eyes held so much fury—I felt the intensity of his anger pricking my skin.

While I was panicking, Linda was screaming in my head, "Mate! He's our mate! We have a second-chance mate! We have a second-chance mate!"

Exasperated by her overexcitement, I blocked her from my thoughts, and... in a blur, I was slammed against a wall, and a groan escaped my lips. I lifted my head and realized he was no longer standing by the table. His huge frame was towering over me, and his hand was wrapped tightly around my neck as he pressed me against the wall.

A thick vein throbbed violently at his temple as he bared his teeth. "What black magic did you use to trigger a nonexistent bond?"

My brows furrowed. What? Black magic?

"I—"

"You can't be my mate. This," he let go of my neck and pointed between us, referring to our bond, "is fake. Get out!"

I flinched when he said the last words. A familiar feeling started forming at the pit of my stomach—the rejection feeling. Is he rejecting me?

I couldn't explain why, but I clutched my chest as I felt my heart slowly and painfully detaching from me.

What is going on? Why am I feeling so much heartache just from the thought of him rejecting me?

"I said, GET OUT!"

I flinched, snapping my eyes shut and jerking my head away just as his fist crashed into the wall right beside my ear. I was too terrified to open my eyes or even breathe. His voice was pure venom—dark, lethal, and laced with a terrifying echo, as though the man and his Lycan had roared at the exact same time.

He is very different from the man I had an encounter with in room 1688. Why is he suddenly so dangerous? I don't think I can put up with him. Maybe I should just listen to him and leave now that I have the chance. I can just abandon this job and—

'No, we can't leave our mate!' Linda suddenly invaded my train of thoughts.

'We have to. He doesn't want us.'

'But we're already pregnant with his pup. He can't chase us out if you tell him we're carrying his heir. Genevieve, we can't afford to take care of this baby without him, he's—'

"Why are you still here?!" His gruff voice interrupted Linda.

I stared at him blankly, replaying Linda's words in my head. Can I truly cater for this child alone?

He turned away from me, putting his hands in his pockets. "Leave before I change my mind and throw you in the dungeon."

As much as I hate to admit it, I couldn't help but agree with Linda. It won't be fair to my unborn child if I don't tell its father about its existence.

Summoning enough courage, I raised my head and straightened my posture.

"Why don't you want me as your mate?" I asked the most important question at the moment.

He turned around and raised his brows at me. "I can't have a woman who throws herself at every man she crosses paths with as my mate."

"What do you mean?"

He took two steps closer to me, looked down at me, and said, "You. Are. A. Whore!"

Me? A whore? I did it just once, and that made me a whore?

'Tell him about our pregnancy,' Linda urged me, but I ignored her. I was just staring speechlessly at our second-chance mate.

How come he was a gentleman that night? I was engrossed in my thoughts, and that gave Linda the opportunity she'd been waiting for. She took over me immediately, and I couldn't control the words that came out of my mouth.

"I'm pregnant, and it's yours."

As if he was electrified, as soon as I said those words, he took three steps away from me and glared at my stomach. His sharp gaze remained there for a while, and I instinctively wrapped a protective arm around it, shielding it from him.

"What is your name?" he asked after a moment of silence.

What does he need my name for?

"What is your full name?" he rephrased his question. This time, the urgency in his voice couldn't be denied.

"Genevieve Rivers."

He nodded. He finally lifted his head and looked me directly in the eyes. His yellow eyes had faded back to green, which means his wolf had withdrawn. I let out a short sigh of relief—at least, his human side isn't as cruel as his Lycan side. After all, I had an encounter with his human side already.

"I, Valerius Malkor, reject you, Genevieve—"

"Your Majesty!" His Beta cut him off, rushing towards us. I had completely forgotten that he was still inside the study with us. I didn't even realize I was holding my breath until the Beta said the next words. "You can't reject her."

Beta Bailey looked at me for a moment before averting his gaze to the Alpha King, who I now know as Valerius. I think it's best I call him King Valerius for my mental health.

"Your Majesty, any other wolf can reject their mate except the king," Beta Bailey said.

"Why? I don't want her!"

"The king only gets one mate in their lifetime, and they can't reject her, or there will be serious repercussions."

King Valerius narrowed his eyes, urging Beta Bailey to finish his explanation in one breath. I also want to know what the repercussions would be. It can't be on me, right?

Beta Bailey suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed his head. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I can't say it."

"Say it!" King Valerius growled impatiently.

There was a moment of silence. It's almost as if Beta Bailey was weighing the pros and cons of his words.

"If the king rejects his mate, he'll rule and die without an heir."

A devastating roar ripped from King Valerius's chest as his hand located my neck and slammed me against the wall again.

"You're my bloody nemesis!"

His grip was tighter this time, blocking my airflow. I struggled against his hold, trying to get away from him, but the more I tried, the stronger his grip became. I looked towards Beta Bailey for help, but he didn't move an inch. He was only reminding him of his schedule.

"Your Majesty, you have a meeting with the vampire king, and he'll be here in a moment. We should go get ready for the meeting."

Seeing that I was almost suffocating to death, King Valerius finally let go of me. I dropped to the floor and started coughing, gasping for oxygen.

"Someone will arrange somewhere for you to stay in the abandoned east wing quarters. You'll be my mate only in name. I'm not accepting that thing in your womb, so you better get rid of it!"

I looked up at him. "Why?"

"If you insist on keeping it, it'll be sent to the orphanage after its birth."

My breath was a bit stable by now, so I rose to my feet. "It'll be sent to an orphanage after its birth?" I shook my head. "You can't be that cruel to your own child."

His brows narrowed.

"My child?" He let out an incredulous scoff. "I can't call it my child because you said so."

"What are you insinuating?"

He took a step closer to me, held my face in his hands, and looked into my eyes. Then, with a straight face, he spat, "You're very cheap and very ready to have sex with any available man. That thing in your womb could belong to any other random man or... anything!"

My back crashed against the wall as I felt a sharp stab in my heart. A tightening feeling suddenly sat on my chest as I felt every ounce of dignity leave my soul. Silent tears started flowing down my face.

I watched him turn away and leave without remorse for his words.