The Alpha King's Claim

Chapter 44

The Alpha King’s Claim chapter 44 by desirenovel

Serena

With unsteady breath, I looked up and saw the man I wasn’t expecting at all.

“Get the fucking up,” King Aero barked, but even with him ordering, he reached out to me and assisted

me to stand.

“King Aero,” I muttered in disbelief. ‘He is here! Why is he here!’ my head cried out.

His hold around my waist tightened and I was left struggling to breathe with this.

“Contain your fear, woman. I could feel it even when I was in Ehnrelil,” he ordered.

I stilled and willed myself to relax.

“You could? How?” I asked, the fear and panic I felt earlier were washed away with his presence,

and…oh, so was the throbbing headache and the pulsating white light in my eyes.

Now, in his arms…pressed up against his body…feeling his warmth, feeling his slow breathing, I felt

secure. Protected. Loved?

He paused for a moment, gazed down at me with unreadable eyes, and then, dropped my ass on the

ground.

“Ow!” I cried out whilst shooting him a glare. Fuck the L word. He is still an asshole!

Instead of answering my question, he walked past me in quick strides; his attention embedded on the

murder site.

For a moment, fear washed all over me again thinking he might run into the cloaked killer, but as I

watched, he charged straight ahead without worry, putting off an aura that of a fearless king.

In haste, I stood up, placing a hand over my mouth just to be sure, but I only saw the king near the

dead bodies. No sign of the killer at all.

“These are witches.” I picked up his words. He knelt next to one with wavy, blonde hair and surveyed

her godawful appearance.

“I saw a cloaked person earlier holding a bloody sword,” I stated, moving a little closer to him.

“Deep stab wounds, gaping laceration on their chest and neck…yes, they were killed with that

weapon,” he told me confidently.

I stayed silent, but vigilant with our surroundings.

It looked like he was the same judging from the hard expression on his face and the way he lifted his

chin up as if sniffing.

Afterward, he stood up and faced me.

“Let’s get you out of this place,” he said in a grave tone.

He neared me, grabbed my elbow, and pulled me with him before I could even respond.

As best as I could, I matched his quick pace of walking. The terrain we trekked was uneven and there

were certain parts where the ground was slippery. With his back to me, it may not look like he cared but

he was holding my elbow tight, making sure I wouldn’t fall on the ground.

Or at least that’s what I could read from his actions. There was no harm in hoping right?

“Hey, why are we walking when you could just poof us out of this forest?” I asked.

Silence.

That was his response. As always… No nod, or a grumble, or even a look on my way.

I decided to let the subject go. After all, I was having fun admiring the view of his broad shoulders and

his dark hair that had always enticed me to comb with my fingers.

Minutes later, I started to recognize the path we were in. This was the path to the golden lake. The king

continued straight, pulling me like a collared puppy, but then he suddenly stopped and for the first time

since we met in this realm, I saw the raw emotion in his eyes.

“Your Majesty?” I stated, moving in front of him. “What’s wrong?”

He was staring at the lake past the trees, looking so engrossed and so…lost. I made a mental note of it

and gave him time; time for whatever he was sinking in.

“A distasteful memory just crossed my mind. Come,” he stated abruptly right after a strong breeze

passed us. Before I could dig deeper into it, he pulled me by the elbow again and led me out of the

forest.

“Brother! You’re here?” Prince Elijah shouted the moment he saw us exit the rows of bushes. He

jogged towards us with his brows all crinkled, no doubt confused as I was as to the king’s presence in

the area. “You’re supposed to be in the meeting. Is it done already?”

“No,” King Aero simply said, staring at him with gravity.

“But why are yo—” Prince Elijah fell silent.

Rhea and I watched the brothers look at each other as if they were communicating telepathically—

which for me wouldn’t be a surprise. Hollywood werewolves do. Directors and producers must have

patterned it from the real deal, a.k.a. Phanteon’s werewolves.

“Alright, I understand,” Prince Elijah finally said with a nod. He looked at me and Rhea with so much

seriousness I had never seen in him and then gestured to the coach.

“Will you come with me, ladies? Our time here is over.”

I cast a look at the king’s way and found him already staring at me.

“Will you be going with us?” I broke out without a thought, keeping my face from showing anymore

worry than it already had.

“I need to return to the meeting,” he said, standing still.

“And the…bodies?” I asked, worrying about the witches despite already dead.

With this, Rhea furrowed her brows. She tipped her head to the side and gave me a silent question. I

wasn’t able to answer her because the king grabbed my wrist and redirected my attention to him.

“Your Majesty?”

He didn’t say a word.

Like before, he pulled me with him but this time, it was towards the coach.

His hand on my wrist was hot. His fingers on my mark were even hotter. Whether this was good or bad,

I couldn’t say. One thing was for sure though, he was acting like a protective wolf towards me and yes,

it melted my heart.

We crossed the meadow with double the pace, but we hadn’t walked that long when I realized I was

suddenly in a different place: inside the coach to be exact. My back was against the cushion; my ass

hitting against the seat; my legs were spread apart with him in between, kneeling on one knee; and his

hands…oh, it was on my waist, caging me in place.

“My queen…” he whispered; his face close to mine.

Without warning, our lips pressed. He was the first to initiate and because of this, I blinked in disbelief.

His hands traveled up to the underside of my breasts. I gasped. He took advantage of this and stuck

out his tongue, consequently discovering the inside of my mouth.

“Hmmm…” I couldn’t hold back a moan. Did I reciprocate it? Oh yes, I did. I reciprocated it like I aimed

to win, but God knew, how fast I was losing.

The way he kissed me now, it was a mixture of yearning and frustration. It was gentle and rough. It was

passionate and cold. It was so…him. I was ready to lose. For now at least.

My hands reached out and cupped his perfect jawline. I wanted more, more…but then he abruptly

stopped and pulled himself away from me.

“Do not concern yourself with it,” he said; his face unreadable but I could see lots of emotions clouding

his eyes. “You’ll only get in the way. Leave this problem to me.”

And just like the usual, he disappeared in front of me, leaving me unable to express my thoughts.

Seconds later, the door of the coach swung open. The face of Prince Elijah and Rhea greeted me.

“See? I told you Her Majesty is just here.” He winked at Rhea and then gestured for her to step inside.

The trip back to the castle was rather uneventful. Prince Elijah, the way I saw it, was trying his best to

occupy us with the history or the biology lesson of every location we pass by. However, my gut told me

he already knew what the king and I saw in the forest. Since he was trying to avoid the subject and for

Rhea’s sake, I didn’t press on for more information about it.

Afternoon turned to evening and evening turned to morning. The passing of time wasn’t easy for me. I

thought of the murderer. I thought of the dead witches. I thought of King Aero and how he was going to

solve this problem. I wasn’t well-versed with court machinations, but I sure as hell was smart enough to

know this wasn’t good news for Phanteon. It meant that their realm was breached. It meant that their

security was compromised.

After breakfast, I stood against the balustrade of my balcony and in there, I started thinking of the

events yesterday. My mind was slowly racing, but then Rhea came in.

“Hey,” she said with a hint of a sigh. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“What’s up? You look down,” I told her.

She joined me in my spot and leaned against the balustrade too.

“Since we arrived, Cedric hadn’t shown himself to me. I think he left the castle since yesterday.”

“He probably went back to the meadows to execute King Aero’s orders,” I mused, looking past the

nearby town and into plains and interconnected rivers ahead. Somewhere out there was the Baltic

Meadows. Somewhere out there was the crime scene. But more importantly, somewhere out there was

that golden lake. Since I left that place, it had been continuously popping inside my head. It was calling

out to me in more ways than I expected it would.

“You mentioned ‘bodies’ yesterday, what does that mean?” she stated, staring at me with curiosity.

I took a deep breath first before answering. Her, asking me about it, was bound to happen sooner or

later. As a well-educated woman, nothing would probably get past her.

“Dead bodies of witches, Rhea. I saw them and even saw the murderer.”

She straightened and fully turned to face me.

“Wait. Wait.” She angled her head like a confused puppy. “Let me process it properly.”

I grinned at her and waited.

“Witches? Dead witches? And a murderer?”

I just nodded in response. Her voice was raised, clearly in disbelief.

“Is it a he or a she?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I recalled the unsavory memory. “I couldn’t say. The cloak it wore hindered

me from getting information.”

“That’s unfortunate, but I’m sure they’ll be able to sort that out,” she expressed, probably giving me

assurance.

“Yeah, I’m confident they would,” I replied.

“How about the king, Serena? Had you seen him already?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle in response.

“I’m not expecting him to show himself to me actually. Who knows when royal meetings end.”

“Aren’t you worried though?” she asked.

I knew for certain what she meant. “I am worried, but I am also trying my best not to overthink much of

it. Whether a localized case or not, I’m sure he would solve it.”

“Hmm, good answer.”

Abruptly, she tapped my shoulder and flashed a smile.

“Why don’t we go to the nearest market of the castle? There might be something there to occupy our

minds.”

I need not consider her offer. On this occasion, it was the best course of action.

“Right. That would be a good idea.”