MATED TO THE ALPHA KING AND HIS SON

CHAPTER 5

ALESSIA♡

The walk back to my quarters felt unreal. I kept expecting someone to jump out and tell me it was all a cruel joke. That I'd imagined the whole thing.

But the bond in my chest was real, humming steady with two distinct pulls.

One still pulled toward wherever Lucian had gone, while the other thread was stronger, pulling toward the pack house where Alpha Jared had gone to.

My room looked exactly as I'd left it…bag packed, bed neatly made, the word "THIEF" still carved into my door.

But somehow it all looked different now. This wasn't the room of an omega about to be banished. This was the room of the Alpha King's mate.

If I chose to accept him, anyway.

I sank onto my bed and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to organize my chaotic thoughts.

What did I actually want? Not what was easiest, not what would cause the least drama, but what did I truly want?

I wanted to be believed. To have someone look at me and see truth instead of assumptions. Alpha Jared had done that, had believed me when I said I was innocent, had apologized for not looking deeper. That meant something.

I wanted to be protected. To not have to face the world alone, scared and vulnerable. Alpha Jared had promised that too.

He had distinctly said anyone who tried to harm me would answer to him.

But I also wanted... I closed my eyes, barely admitting it to myself. I wanted Lucian.

I wanted the man who'd talked with me in the courtyard, who'd smiled at my observations and made me feel like I was the most interesting person in the entire pack house. Not the man who'd looked at me with hatred and disgust, but the one who'd existed before Uma poisoned everything.

Could I have both? Was that even possible?

A knock on my door made me jump. For a wild moment, I thought it might be Lucian, here to talk and to work through this impossible situation.

But when I opened the door, I found a pack servant standing there, a young woman named Beth who'd always been kind to me.

"Miss Alessia." She spoke carefully.

"The Alpha King sent me with some things for you."

She held out a large box, and I took it automatically.

Inside were clothes…beautiful clothes, far finer than anything I'd ever owned.

And underneath, a note in bold handwriting:

Wear the blue dress. It will match your eyes. —J

"There's more, miss." Beth gestured behind her, where two more servants were carrying a box of different bath items ranging for scented soaps to the most luxurious bathrobes I'd ever seen.

"The Alpha King said you're to have a proper bath and time to prepare before midnight. He's... he's moved you to new quarters in the pack house. These will be for tonight only, but tomorrow..." She swallowed hard.

"Tomorrow you'll be moving to the Alpha King's wing."

The Alpha King's wing. Where he lived. Where his mate would live.

He wasn't giving me a choice. He was claiming me, mate bond or not. Making it clear to the entire pack that I was his now, under his protection.

The thought should have terrified me. Instead, It felt strangely thrilling.

"Thank you, Beth," I managed to say.

She and the other servants worked quickly, filling my bath tub with hot water, setting out soaps and oils that smelled like heaven.

When they finally left, I locked the door and stripped off my simple dress, sinking into the hot water with a groan of relief.

I'd been living on scraps and stress for days. Now I was being treated like a queen. Like someone important. All because of a bond I hadn't asked for and didn't fully understand.

I washed slowly, trying to wash away more than just the physical smell but also the humiliation, the fear, the extreme exhaustion.

When I finally finished, my skin was alive and soft, my hair clean and shining for the first time in days.

The blue dress Alpha Jared had singled out fit perfectly. It was simple but elegant, the fabric clinging in all the right places before flowing out from my hips.

I looked at myself in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. She looked pretty. Not like an omega thief, but like someone worthy of an Alpha King's attention.

I glanced at the clock and I couldn't believe my eyes.

Eleven forty-five. Fifteen minutes until midnight. Fifteen minutes until I had to face Alpha Jared and figure out what happened next.

I took a deep breath, relaxed my tense shoulders, and left my old quarters behind.

The pack house was quiet as I made my way through its halls.

A few servants walked past, their eyes widening when they saw me but none daring to speak. They all knew. Everyone knew.

Alpha Jared's study was on the third floor, in the administrative wing. I'd never been up here before as omegas didn't have business in the Alpha King's private domain. But the bond guided me.

I reached the heavy wooden door at exactly midnight. Before I could knock, it swung open.

Alpha Jared stood in the doorway, and my breath stopped.

He'd changed too, out of his formal wear and into casual dark pants and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his visibly strong forearms.

His hair was slightly rough, like he'd been running his hands through it. He looked younger, less intimidating. Almost approachable.

"Alessia." My name on his lips sounded like a purr. "You came."

"You commanded it," I pointed out.

"I did." He stepped aside, gesturing me in. "But you could have run. Should have, probably, given the situation."

I entered his study, and he closed the door behind us with a soft click. The room was warm, lit by a fire in the stone fireplace. Books lined the walls, papers scattered across a large desk. It was a working space, but also somehow intimate.

"I thought about running," I admitted.

"What stopped you?"

I turned to face him, meeting his intense gaze.

"I'm tired of running, tired of being treated like I'm nothing. You offered me protection, belief, a place to belong. Why would I run from that?"

"Even knowing it might destroy my relationship with my son?"

"Is that my fault? I didn't create this bond. The Moon Goddess did. And she must have had a reason, even if we don't understand it yet."

Alpha Jared moved closer, and I held my ground even though every instinct screamed at me to submit to his intimidating scent.

"You're right. This isn't your fault. But that doesn't make it less complicated." He reached out, his fingers gently tracing my jaw.

"I asked you here to discuss terms. To figure out how this will work."

"Terms?"

"I want to claim you. Fully. Mark you as mine, make you my Luna Queen. But I won't do it without your consent, bond or not." His thumb brushed across my lower lip, and I shivered slightly.

"So I need to know, Alessia. What do you want?"

What did I want?

Standing here, with the most powerful alpha in the entire region looking at me like I was a precious gem.

What did I really want?

"I want the truth to come out," I said finally.

"I want everyone to know I didn't steal from Lucian. I want Uma to face consequences for what she did."

"Done. She'll be punished accordingly"

"I want to not be afraid anymore. To not have to watch my back or wonder if someone's going to hurt me."

"You'll be the Alpha King's mate. No one will dare touch you."

He closed the gap between us, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, "What else?"

"I want..." I swallowed hard. "I want you to mean it when you say I'm yours. I want it to be real, not just about the bond. I want you to actually see me and know me, not just claim me because fate says you should."

Something softened in Alpha Jared's expression.

"I already see you, Alessia. I see my mate. The one I've been waiting for since my wife died. I won't lie and say I understand why the Moon Goddess bound you to both of us, but I know what I feel. This is real."

He kissed me then, and the world disappeared.

It wasn't gentle. It was claiming, possessive, hungry, everything I'd been denied for so long. His hand held my chin, not breaking off the kiss, while his other arm gripped my waist, pulling me tight towards him.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. Alpha Jared rested his forehead against mine, his eyes still closed.

"Say yes," he whispered. "Be mine. Let me protect you, claim you, make you my queen. Say…"

A crash from somewhere in the hallway made us both jump apart. Then voices rose with shouts that seemed to be getting closer.

Before either of us could react, the study door burst open.

Lucian stood in the doorway almost breathless. He looked like he'd been running. Or fighting. His shirt was torn, his knuckles bloody.

And behind him, I could see several pack guards looking uncertain about whether they should have tried to stop the Alpha King's son from barging in.

"Father." Lucian's voice was deep.

"We need to talk. About her..about this... this impossible situation."

He looked at me then, and the hatred was gone from his eyes. Maybe the bond had finally convinced him.

"I tried to fight it," he said, facing me now.

"I ran to the training grounds and shifted and ran for miles, trying to break this bond. Trying to make it go away. But it won't. Every moment I'm away from you feels like I'm being ripped apart. Even though I hate what you did. Even though I despise what you've done to our family. Even though…"

"She didn't do it." Alpha Jared's voice cut through Lucian's rambling.

"She was framed, son. She's innocent."

Lucian laughed, but it sounded more like a sob.

"Of course you'd believe her. She's your mate too. But that doesn't change the evidence or the fact that..."

"It was Uma."

My voice was quiet, but it silenced them both.

I stepped away from Alpha Jared, facing Lucian directly.

"My best friend Uma framed me because you talked to me. Because you showed me attention, and she wanted it for herself. I heard her bragging about it days ago, but I had no proof. No one to tell who would believe me."

Lucian shook his head. "Uma wouldn't…"

"She would. And she did." I moved closer to him.

"I know you don't want to believe it. I know it's easier to hate me than to accept that someone you trusted betrayed you. But search your feelings, Lucian. Use that bond between us. Can you really sense deception in me? Can you really feel the desire to take something precious away from you in me?"

He stared at me for a long moment.

Then he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I believe you, Alessia. It makes no sense that the moon goddess would bring us together if you took something precious from me. I was stupid"

I didn't know how to respond so I let him keep talking.

"And I..." He swallowed hard. "I treated you like nothing, said horrible things, made your life hell when you'd already lost everything."

I couldn't find my voice this time.

"I'm sorry." He said, with genuine regret in his eyes.

"Alessia, I'm so sorry. I should have listened"

"I forgive you, Lucian" I finally found my voice.

"How can we start all over my dearest Alessia? What do I do to make this up to you? To make you mine?" He continued, moving closer until he was only inches away from me.

I opened my mouth but no words came out.

Just a few minutes ago, his father had professed his feelings to me, begging to make me his and now so was Lucian.

"I promise to make you as desired as you could ever dream, my Alessia. I promise..."

A sharp sound from the doorway cut in and made us all freeze. I turned to see Uma standing there, her face bearing the most anger I'd seen in my entire life.

"You WITCH!"