Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

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“But I don’t want to leave,” I whine like a child as I pout my lips. Alex clearly ignores me and carries on with his packing. I continue, hoping to get my point across, even though I knew it would be pointless. He seems to have already made up his mind. “Remember, I own one of the largest empires in the city; I can’t just abandon it.”

Alex stops, then sighs. “My God, you are frustrating,” he says, and I frown. He walks up to me and takes my face in his hands. The way he looks into my eyes makes me instantly melt, and for a second, I forget what it is we were actually talking about.

His voice is soft, and he speaks to me as though he is speaking to a child. “We are not abandoning anything, but we have to go back. You can’t forget that I am an alpha and I have a pack to run. We have stayed here a lot longer than intended. And besides, it’s just a two-hour drive; you can be coming like two or three times a week if your physical presence is needed at your company.”

I part my lips to say something, but he silences me by saying, “And no, I am not leaving you here. That is not an option. You are mine, and wherever I go, you go.”

My lips seal shut. “Fine,” I grumble. “Let me just give Aurora a few calls,” I say, and he shoots me a cocky smile. He knew that he would always get what he wanted.

I place a call to Aurora and give her an order on what she should and shouldn’t do until I get back. After that, I join Alex downstairs, and we hop into the car. The drive back to the palace started off quietly. For some reason, Alex wanted to be the one to drive, but we were still led by a convoy.

Occasionally, I would feel his eyes on me, and I just knew he wanted to say something but didn’t. The silence would have been comforting if he didn’t keep opening and shutting his mouth like a fish out of water.

A sigh leaves my lips, and I ask, “What do you want to say, Alex?”

He looks at me like he is unsure of whether he wants to say it or not. I have never seen Alex uncertain before; he is always assertive and has sound judgment. Now, he is just so different. I am not sure whether I like it or not.

“Are you okay?” is what he asks after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, I am fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask him, and he looks at me like I should know the answer to that question.

Nevertheless, he says, “Well, I just wanted to know how you are feeling about the whole thing. You haven’t cried since that aunt of yours came, and you have taken an unusual liking to painting. I just want to be sure if it’s a good thing or if I need to be worried.”

My eyes stay focused on the road ahead as I think of the best way to answer him. “Yeah, my sudden liking for painting is unusual. I can’t explain it, but it helps with the pain. I mean by a great deal. Don’t get me wrong, the ache is still there, but whenever I paint it, it just disappears for a while.”

“Do you think it’s subsiding or are you just shoving all of it into a bottle?” he asks, and I purse my lips.

“I don’t know,” I say honestly, and he hums.

“I envy you,” he says, and I look at him with confusion.

“Why?”

He shrugs. “After the incident with my mother and Jared, I had no one to talk to about it. I didn’t have anything to do that would help reduce the pain. I just stayed locked up in my room for days, crying and praying that I would somehow stop breathing and just die. I kept feeling that I should have been the one to take their place. None of them deserved it.”

My heart shatters at his words. He stares blankly at the road ahead, but I knew that there was so much hurt buried deep within him. Placing my hand on his own on the gear, I feel him grow tense. He doesn’t take his eyes off the road, but I knew he wanted to. But for now, I just need his ear.

“You did not deserve to die either, Alex. You were just a kid,” I whisper, and his jaw clenches.

“It didn’t matter. I could have stopped that accident from happening, but I didn’t, and it cost me my mother. Ever since that day, the pain just wouldn’t go away. But one day, I stopped crying. I resumed my training and tutorials a week after her death. I mean, there wasn’t any time to waste. I would be taking over the pack soon, and I needed to be as prepared as possible.” He finishes.

As I stared at him, I could have sworn I watched his eyes glaze over. That child is still in him. The child still wants to reach out to someone, he still wants a warm hug, and he still wants to cry.

“It doesn’t matter how many years it has been, Alex. If you still want to cry, then cry. The difference between now and then is that you have a shoulder to do it on,” I tell him, and he smiles tightly at the road.

“I am not really good at comforting people. But yeah, if you, um, want to cry too, I can give you a couple of taps on the back to help you calm down,” he says, and I throw my head back, a loud laugh bursting from my lips.

A ghost of a smile lifts his lips, and he shakes his head in disbelief. Placing a hand over my chest, I say, “Thanks.”

The rest of the drive back to the palace is spent in silence once again. But the difference between then and now is that the silence is peaceful.

When we finally arrived at the palace, I couldn’t help the smile that lifted my lips. Now this is where I call home. It’s funny how I have been nearly killed several times, cried the hardest, and been abused the hardest within these four walls. Yet I still call it home.

Alex helps me out of the car, and as soon as he shuts the door behind me, a loud squeal pierces through the air. The second the familiar voice fills my ears, my heart is elated, and a joy I didn’t know I was capable of feeling, especially during a time like this, fills me.

“Aira, you are home!”

Spinning on my heel, I find Carla sprinting down the front porch and towards me with a speed that was a bit concerning to me. If she falls, I am certain she will knock out a few teeth.

As she makes her way towards me, I cannot help but notice how different she looks. And I mean in a good way. Her hair has been cut up to shoulder length, her face is a lot chubbier now, and her skin is glowing. I suppose that would happen when the ruthless alpha king isn’t around, terrorizing everyone.

I am surprised I was knocked down on my back when she slammed into me. Carla wrapped her arms around me tightly; it was almost impossible to breathe. “Oh, I have missed you so much! You have no idea! Oh, look at how beautiful you look,” she says, holding my face in her hands like I am some child.

A chuckle leaves my lips. “It’s good to see you too, Carla. And you are one to talk; you are practically glowing!”

She shakes her head, refusing to believe my words. “Lies. Ugh! We have so much catching up to do!” Carla takes my hand and starts to lead me back into the palace.

I look over my shoulder at Alex to find him smiling at me. He nods at me in confirmation to go, and I smile back at him.

Carla takes me back to the maid’s chambers, and my countenance falls. I forgot this is where it all started. I am going to miss my bed back in the mansion.

“Okay, firstly, tell me what happened on your birthday. I hope the alpha did everything I suggested that he should do,” she says, and a nervous chuckle leaves my lips.

“Well, unless you suggested that I should walk in with his lips on my twin sister, then yeah, I suppose he did do everything,” I say, and Carla’s eyes grow as wide as saucers.

“Okay, you are going to have to start from the second you left this place, because what?!”

The next few hours are spent talking to Carla about all that happened in the city. There are times I would laugh at myself for some of the things that happened. Other times I would cry, and she would give me a tight hug, telling me that I didn’t have to continue, but I did.

When I finished, she shook her head with disbelief. “You are by far one of the strongest women I know. You went through all of that and still returned in one piece.”

“Barely,” I snort.

A knock comes from the door, and our heads snap to the door. “Come in,” I say, wondering who would be knocking on the door of a fucking maid’s chamber. I am surprised to find Alex walking through the door.

His eyes jump from me to Carla to the room in general. “You do know you are not going to be staying here anymore, right?”

My eyebrows shoot to the top of my head, and I say, “No, I didn’t know.”

He grunts. “Well, you know now. You will be staying in my room.” He pauses, then looks at Carla. “I need another favor from you.”

“And what would that be, your majesty?” Carla asks him.

“There is this arts gallery opening this evening. I want you to help Aira look her best,” Alex says, and I rear my head back.

“Um, hello? You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go,” I say, and he chuckles lightly.

“Bold of you to think that you have a choice,” he says, and I shoot him a disbelieving look.

Carla snickers at our bickering. “It would be my honor to help her get ready, your majesty.”

“Thank you. You have one hour,” he says, then shoots me a wink before leaving.

Shaking my head in disbelief. “He is so frustrating.”

Carla slaps my hand lightly and says, “No, he is so in love with you!”

My cheeks heat up, and I do not say anything after that. Carla helps me get ready, and we end up taking more than an hour. There is pounding on the door, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who is on the other side.

“We are almost done!” Carla yells, and the door comes flying open.

“It has been two hours! What do you mean you are almost-” His words die in his throat as soon as his eyes meet mine through the mirror. His eyes travel up and down my figure, and I am surprised when they darken. “Woah.”

A cocky smirk lifts Carla’s lips as she applies the finishing touches to my make-up. “Worth the wait, wasn’t it?” she asks him, and Alex clears his throat.

“Uh, yeah,” he says, and I spin around to meet his eyes, which travel across my body again. He starts from the tip of my dress, where its dark material pools around my feet; you couldn’t even see my feet. Then they go up to my curves, which are nicely wrapped around the dark lace material around my exposed shoulders. My neck is designed with a single silver necklace. My earring and bangles are silver as well; they complement my smokey makeup nicely.

“You look beautiful,” he says once he is done taking in my appearance.

“Thank you,” I say, taking in his dark suit. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

He smirks, then reaches his hand out to me and says, “Well then, shall we?”

“Yes, we shall,” I say, accepting his hand and letting him lead me out of the palace. I glance over my shoulder to see Carla giving me an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Have fun,” she mouths, but I don’t know why I get the feeling that I won’t be having any fun tonight.