The Alpha King’s Human Mate

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” @

Buddha

The rest of the dinner party didn’t last long.

Before I was even halfway through my duck, a burly man in a military uniform entered the room, looking frantic. He whispered something into Griffin’s ear and I noticed that he didn’t look at me once it was like I wasn’t even there.

I would’ve been offended but I had a feeling he wasn’t trying to be rude. After the

wine glass incident, I was pretty sure that people were just afraid to interact with me if they didn’t first have Griffin’s explicit permission.

“You’ll have to forgive me, little fox,” Griffin said, “But there’s a situation I need

to address immediately.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked. Griffin didn’t seem upset but the guy next to him.

looked freaked out.

“Yes,” Griffin said, “Word has begun spreading about my actions this afternoon. After all the witnesses this afternoon, most of the werewolf world has already learned that I’m King now…and the way that it happened has not sat well with

everyone.”

Translation: not everyone is super happy you killed your dad in a room full of people.

2

Griffin stood up from his seat and closed the distance between us in one stride. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you,” he said, and he rested his large hand on my cheek, “But the sooner I ease the worries of our people, the sooner I can return to you. If nothing else, we’ll spend the day together tomorrow.”

Your people, I wanted to correct him but there was no point. (

“It’s okay,” I said instead, “You should just deal with whatever you need to deal

with.”

Griffin gave me a soft smile and then leaned down to press a chaste k*ss on my forehead. I tried to pretend that his soft l*ps didn’t leave my entire face tingling. “I’ll see you soon, little fox. In the meantime, you should finish your meal here and then Esther will escort you back to our room at least, what is our room for the

time being.”

–

I nodded and watched Griffin leave the room, the other man whispering beside him the entire time.

Griffin hadn’t given me the details

maybe he didn’t even know himself – but I

wondered how upset the rest of the werewolf world was about the change in the power. Surely, committing regicide wasn’t encouraged

human mate.

especially not over a

The thought that my presence could put Griffin in danger left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn’t like it. I didn’t want Griffin in danger.

Before I let the thought unsettle me even more, I decided to finish off my duck. Just because the dinner got cut short didn’t mean the food had to go to waste.

As I finished up the last few bites, I heard a knock echo from the other side of the door.

“Your Majesty,” Esther called, “I’m here to escort you back to your rooms. May I come in?”

I swallowed the last piece of duck. “Yes, I’m ready.”

She entered the room moments later, looking as cheery and as nervous as she had when she dropped me off.

Does the lady ever do anything but not smile? (2

–

The walk back to my rooms. – Griffin’s rooms, I mean was short. Esther tried to make polite conversation about some of the artwork on the wall but I felt like I was zoning out. Was this my life now? Stuck waiting in a room for Griffin to return and being escorted everywhere?

Everything about the situation felt uncertain and the worst part? After spending most of the day in Griffin’s presence, I could no longer pretend to hate him. Whether it was the mate bond or not, I liked being around him. I never knew what

he was going to say next and every touch, every forehead k*ss, every stroke of my cheek felt like a swarm of butterflies flapping in my stomach. (2

Nob*dy had ever made me feel like that before.

The longer I was around him, the more I worried that I wouldn’t be able to dig. myself out of the hole I was sinking in. I had dreams things I wanted to do with

–

–

my life that I already knew Griffin wouldn’t let me pursue. He’d already told me that college was a no-go, and if he wasn’t going to let me walk back to my room by myself, I doubted he was going to be cool with a career.

What worried me the most is that sooner or later, I’d no longer care about those things. Every interaction with Griffin made it harder for me to dislike or detach. myself from him. Was I going to just wake up one day and not care about anything but him? Would the mate bond just take over one day? Would I end up like most female werewolves in a couple of years? Just a glorified housewife with a pregnant belly who took her mate’s word as law?

As Esther continued to ramble about some painting on the wall, all I could see was my dreams dissipating into smoke. (5

Just as I felt like I was on the verge of some nervous breakdown, I caught at glimpse of dark curly hair rounding the corner

Alessia!

“Now, this image is supposed to represent the moon goddess’ unconditional love for ”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Esther,” I cut her off, “As much as I love hearing about this, would it be okay if I walked the rest of the way alone? I can already see the door in the distance.”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that,” she said with furrowed eyebrows, “The Alpha King instructed me to -”

“Please,” I said. I could already see Alessia disappearing in the other direction and I didn’t want to lose her. “It’s just a few feet and I’m feeling kind of bloated from that dinner. Not sure the duck agreed with my stomach.”

I’m not sure why I was so hellbent on talking to Alessia, but there was a huge swell of relief upon seeing a familiar face.

She looked like she was still considering it but after a moment, she sighed and nodded. “Please be careful, Your Maj -”

“Thanks!” I was already speed-walking away from her, determined to catch up to Alessia before she vanished from my sight.

I rounded the same corner she had, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Where did she go?

I glanced around but this part of the hallway was empty. I was just about to wander off when I caught sight of a familiar door – it was the same door that led out to the balcony where Alessia and I first met.

How much do you want to bet she’s getting a little fresh air?

I didn’t think too much about striding over to the door and pulling it open. The bitter Canadian cold hit me like a punch to the stomach and I immediately began rubbing my bare arms.

1

Why did I think it was a good idea to go outside without at least a jacket?

“You look cold,” Alessia’s voice cut through the cold and I turned to face her. She was leaning against the other side of the balcony with a smirk plastered on her face. Her hair was blowing in the chilly breeze and the moonlight illuminated the long scar on her face.

Despite only wearing a leather jacket, she didn’t look the least bit cold.

“Here,” she said, and then she shrugged off that same jacket, “Here, take my jacket.”

“Oh, you don’t have to -”

“Please,” she said, smirking at me, “I could never allow my Queen to be cold, could I?”