The Hunt for The Alpha King

CHAPTER 4

Different emotions crossed Raven’s face as she simply stared at the man, unable to move or speak.

Confusion. Anger. Despair. She felt them all at once as she stared into those mismatched eyes which she had been trying to forget for years.

She knew he was the boy from the m******e. The boy who had aided those men in killing her family. She could just tell.

Her eyes darted to the golden crown on his head and they instantly grew wide as saucers.

“Y–You are the Alpha King.” She stuttered, her voice coming out all shaky.

She was standing in front of Aaron Caine, brother of the princess she was supposed to kill.

Just as she tried to make sense of everything that was going on, her wolf began thrashing inside of her, calling out one word which turned her entire world upside down.

Mate.

The Alpha King and the killer of her people was her mate. Raven almost laughed because of how sick and cruel this joke was.

It seemed like Aaron felt the mate bond too because his eyes went wide as saucers with different emotions swirling in their depths.

Too many things were happening at once and Raven was on the brink of spiraling. She needed to get the hell out of there.

She turned around to leave, but Aaron grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait. Have we met before?” He asked, his baritone voice clear despite the loud noise in the ballroom.

Raven, still overwhelmed by everything, simply shook her head.

She couldn’t see his face, but for some reason, she could tell that he furrowed his eyebrows.

“You just seem really familiar to me. Are you sure we have not met before?” He insisted.

“No.” Raven managed to grit out, her hands clenching into fists by her sides. Of course she seemed familiar to him. He helped kill her family.

At that moment, the urge to grab one of her daggers and jab it into his neck was strong, but she knew she would not get away with it.

She was too emotional and she would just do a sloppy job. She managed some deep breaths as she turned around to leave once again, but Aaron still held onto her arm.

“Would you like to dance with me?” He asked, looking at her earnestly.

Raven wanted to slit his throat, but at the same time, she could not stop looking at those captivating eyes of his.

She was enchanted, and she could only blame it on one thing. The mate bond.

The mate bond was the only reason why she could not say no even if she wanted to so badly.

Instead, she nodded and let him lead her towards the dance floor, shuddering slightly as his hand found the small of her back, guiding her delicately.

Raven slowly looked up at the Alpha King, finally finding her voice. “I shouldn’t be doing this.” She whispered.

Aaron leaned in, his eyes intense on hers, and she shivered as his breath fanned her face. “It’s just one dance. I won’t keep you for too long.”

His hands found her waist and her hands slowly slid to his neck, his warmth worming its way into her body.

Once they began swaying to the music, Raven’s heart threatened to beat out of her chest, but she could hear Aaron’s heart racing too.

Aaron never once looked away from her and Raven’s legs grew weak at the fact that their faces were so close, their lips almost touched.

“What’s your name?” He asked, his voice deep with obvious desire as he glanced to her lips and back to her eyes.

Raven would be lying if she said she didn’t do the same.

Her name almost rolled off her tongue, but she quickly remembered who she was dancing with. It didn’t matter that they were mates. He was still her enemy.

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that.”

“Why not?” He whispered and Raven was weak in the knees because of how sexy he sounded.

His hand reached out and tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear. The gesture felt too intimate for Raven to handle.

She knew she was red as a tomato because she could see extreme amusement dancing in the pools of his eyes.

“I—I just can’t.” Raven stuttered, feeling extremely flustered.

This was ridiculous. No man ever made her feel like this. She was never flustered or intimidated by anyone. Not till now.

Aaron stepped closer to her and Raven felt all the air leave her lungs when his lips brushed against hers softly.

Her entire body trembled as she felt jolts of electricity sizzle through her insides.

“You are very beautiful,” He murmured against her ear and Raven almost fell to her knees. “Oh, so beautiful.”

“But you don’t know what I look like. I’m wearing a mask.” She managed to croak out.

“Doesn’t matter. I can just tell. You are my mate after all.”

Raven instantly froze in her tracks. Things were escalating too fast and she needed to put a stop to it. This was not how the evening was supposed to go at all.

She was supposed to be delivering the princess’ head to Solomon, but now, she was dancing with the princess’ brother.

She had completely lost her mind.

“I have to go.” She said sharply, trying to pull away, but Aaron still held onto her, all traces of amusement gone from his eyes.

“Wait. Don’t leave. We’ve barely even danced yet.”

Raven shook her head, unable to look him in the eyes. She knew that if she did, she probably wouldn’t be able to leave.

“This was a mistake. I should never have come here.”

Aaron’s hands slowly dropped from her waist. “At least tell me your name so I can find you again.”

“You don’t need to find me.” She said, before turning around, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

“Hey! Come back!” Raven heard Aaron call, but she simply ignored him as she managed to weave her way through the crowd.

Once she got outside, the cool breeze ruffled her hair and her clothes as she stared into space in disbelief.

What the hell did she just do? She should have gutted that damn king right there and then, but what did she do?

She danced with him instead, and the worse part of it all was that she enjoyed it.

She shook her head as if trying to regain her senses. The mission to kill the princess would be put on hold for now.

Raven would not rest until she beheaded the Alpha King.