Mated to the Alpha King (A Royal’s Tale Book 1)

Sure. What’s up?

— T

My fingers started tapping on the screen nervously after pressing Send. I couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this. Something wasn’t right.

The ping from my phone grabbed my attention almost too suddenly, and the thud that then sounded around the room, paired with the intense pain in the side of my thigh, enveloped me.

I groaned as I lay on the floor for a bit.

It never really is peachy falling off the bed.

Waiting for the pain to subside, I stared at the wall, breathing and trying to calm myself, but fear still floated around.

What if he wanted to break up? What could be so serious?

Realizing that the pain was now less intense, I finally started to get back on my feet. The sharp pain flowing down my leg made me wince, but I managed to plop myself back on the bed.

My eyes fell on the cellphone that remained intact and had been saved from the fall, on the edge of the bed, just tipping towards the floor, and I quickly grabbed it.

I heaved a shaky breath. The pain in my leg really was getting bad. Would it bruise?

A sudden knock on the door sounded, and I turned my head towards it before calling out a very shaky “come in.”

“You should be more careful, Theia.”

Agnus’ worried, motherly tone floated around the room as she swept in with what looked like a bowl containing an ice pack. She placed it on the bed in front of me.

She sighed. “Well, take off those skinny jeans and let me assess your bruise. I’m sure there is one by the sound of the thud that I heard. It must be pretty bad.”

Grimacing, I nodded. Maybe she was right. It’s always better to ice than bruise.

Shifting awkwardly on the bed, I slipped my feet onto the floor and, with very wobbly legs, stood up.

It hurt like hell.

As quickly as I could, I slipped out of my skinnies and looked at the side of my thigh, only to wince at the purplish bruise already forming.

I always did bruise up pretty quickly. What was worse was how it looked; the bruise looked horrendous.

“Oh, that’s a bad one but not the worst I’ve seen. You will be all well in a few weeks. Just don’t put too much pressure on it. Here,” Agnus spoke warmly, extending the ice pack towards me.

I smiled and nodded a thank-you before slowly grabbing the pack and pressing it against the bruise. I winced. That hurt more.

“Call me if you need anything, deary,” Agnus added softly before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

I eyed my cellphone again. Sighing, I picked it up and quickly tapped on the unread message.

I’ll be there soon. Keep your window open.

— B

Shit. I glanced at the darkening bruise on my leg, then at the message again. I sighed, then looked back at my bruise, then at the window.

I shook my head and let out a shallow breath before slipping off the bed and walking towards the window slowly.

My plan was pretty simple: open the window, rush into bed as fast as I could, hide my state of undress and bruise from Bryce, act like I wasn’t scared he’d dump me, and ask him to pass me those potato chips before he left. But what if he was already here?

I held my breath as I padded towards the window and almost broke into a relieved laugh when I reached it.

He wasn’t there.

After sliding the window open, I quickly made my way to my bed, painfully resisting making any unnecessary movement, and slipped underneath my covers.

My eyes found the cellphone as another ping sounded from it, and I quickly grabbed and tapped on it.

On my way.

— B

No sooner than when I put my phone away did Bryce leap into my room.

I stared at him. He smiled as he walked towards me. Meanwhile, I practiced my reply to his breakup speech—if I did give a reply, if he did break up with me.

Wait for it, Anderson. It may well be coming soon.

Wait for it.

“Hey.”

“Hey”?

“Hey.” I smiled, slightly guarded, as I clutched the blanket around my lower body tightly, unconsciously.

Bryce stopped as he reached the edge of my bed and, after seating himself on it, leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my lips; then on my cheek.

I sighed, feeling the usual feelings that enveloped me whenever he held me surround me again—love, protection.

“You wanted to talk about something?” I said, and my heart instantly beat faster from nervousness when I saw his smile falter a bit.

Bryce looked away as he nodded, suddenly looking solemn. “I want to know if there is someone you think is behaving suspiciously around you? A girl perhaps? Or a boy? They have retrieved the recording of the call, the company records, all customer-care calls, and so forth, for legal purposes, just in case . . . Do you want to give it a hear?”

The breath I hadn’t known I was holding immediately rushed out of my lips as I slumped back against the headboard.

“Oh, thank God! I was scared!” I blurted out, sounding as relieved as I felt.

The warm expression on Bryce’s face almost instantly vanished before a smirk took its place, as if he knew exactly why I was scared.

I shivered. Please don’t know . . . Please don’t know . . .

“Scared, huh?” Bryce’s grin widened, and he leaned into me, pressing his lips on mine for a second. “I wonder what for?”

I frowned. The idiot was teasing me.

“Shut up.”

Bryce only chuckled as he leaned in again and placed another soft kiss on my lips, which was a minute longer than what would be called chaste.

“You’re so cute.”

At the sound of amusement in his voice, I rolled my eyes and smartly moved back to lean against the headboard.

“Okay! So, getting back on topic. Not really. I mean, the only girls that hate me are the ones that are jealous because they want you, as well as Diandra, but I’m not so sure about her. As for the boys, that Mr. Bishop is a menace.”

Bryce and I stared into each other’s eyes after my sudden exclamation about the loon Bishop, then he threw his head back and let out the sexiest laugh I’d ever heard.

“Shut up,” I muttered bitterly, trying to ignore the sudden twitching of my lips, which was purely a random occurrence, when Bryce’s eyes zeroed in on them as he stopped laughing.

His eyes were suddenly a strange midnight blue.

A ringtone filled the room all of a sudden, and I almost let out a raspy sigh of relief—almost.

Bryce’s attention was redirected towards the blaring iPhone in his hand, and he let out a low growl before answering it.

I tuned the conversation out, now concentrating on the well-concealed ice pack that was beginning to numb my thigh. I really needed to get it away from me; it was starting to hurt.

My hands itching to just grab and push away the pack, I almost jumped when Bryce cleared his throat, grabbing my attention once again.

“Listen, I need to go, love. I’ll be back tonight, okay?” he mumbled apologetically, and I nodded, smiling a little. He was adorable when he wasn’t being all dominating and possessive.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” He smiled back, and this time, I leaned in to place a small kiss on his lips, still ignoring my protesting leg.

Only when Bryce had jumped out of the window—God knows how he could always do that—did I finally grab hold of the ice pack and placed it on the stand beside my bed.

“You need a bath, Theia,” I mumbled to myself as I looked at the bathroom door.

After a minute of deciding, I finally got out of bed, putting aside the fact that I couldn’t help but groan in pain every once in a while.

I moved towards the door, opened it, entered the bathroom, then closed the door behind me.

***

I sighed in contentment as I opened the bathroom door and moved out into my bedroom. My leg was still numb, but it helped to move around a bit. Plus, warm water does wonders soothing tense muscles.

“What’s that on your thigh?”

I froze. Shit, shit, shit! Why is he even back?

In an instant, warm arms wrapped themselves around my back and underneath my legs before hoisting me up against a hard chest.

Bryce placed me on the bed slowly and pushed the edges of my towel up. Warily, I finally mustered enough courage to glance at him, only to flinch at the cold fury burning in his orbs that were now almost black.

It wasn’t hard to see that he was livid. It wasn’t hard to see that his anger was unmistakably destructive.

I flinched again as his fingers groped around the now-sickening purple bruise on the side of my thigh.

“S-stop it,” I managed to mutter, cursing myself for stuttering. But damn it, I was nervous.

“How did you get this?”

His tone wasn’t agitated or furious, but the storm underlying his dark, calm tone was all the more evident with his wild, livid eyes that were looking straight into my own eyes.

“I fell o-off the bed,” I mumbled, the knowledge that my cheeks were now stained crimson making me all the more embarrassed.

“Are you sure, Theia?”

Again, there was that same dark, calm tone.

And it was strange that I wanted him to yell at me, or at least be angry and not pretend to be calm. Somehow this scared me more than if he was just openly angry. I almost laughed at the irony of that.

“Yes.”

He growled, now eyeing my bruise. He glanced at the ice pack and leaned in to pick it up before gingerly placing it back on the spot. I immediately wanted to swat it away. But then his warning growl, just as I stretched to grab the ice pack, echoed around the room.

Sighing angrily, I moved back into bed, my towel still wrapped around me. No good. This needs to go.

“I’m in my towel, you know.”

Bryce directed his gaze at me and tilted an eyebrow up, regarding me with a blank expression. “Yes, so?”

Ouch.

“I’m naked underneath it; the towel’s wet. Hypothermia?”

His tilted brow rose higher. “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?”

“Well, if you were in my body, you would know!” I retorted stubbornly, then instantly blushed as the realization of what else it could mean hit me.

Crap, Theia, you’ve done it this time!

I gulped as Bryce placed the ice pack back in the bowl on the bedside table and turned to me, his eyes now a shade darker than midnight blue. What was even stranger was that specks of gold were now beginning to show, and I almost held my breath as I witnessed the wonder of it. How could he do it?

Pulling my blanket on top of me, he grasped my now-loose towel and pulled it away from my body and towards him.

“You have no idea how much I want to be in you.” He leaned closer and nipped on my bottom lip. “Wait— Sorry, love. I missed ‘body.’ ”

Shit.

“Bry—”

“I love it when you say my middle name,” he said softly before his lips landed on mine—they were warm and strong against my slightly chilly and supple ones.

I sighed, my hands now gripping his shirt, as I pulled him closer. Suddenly, the pain in my leg, the bruise, and the culprit behind Bryce and my miscommunication were all forgotten. The rush of having him above me with only a thin material to separate my skin from his made my mind all the more fuzzy.

I shivered as my hands found solace against his warm torso. My fingers slipped past his shirt, caressing each scar I could feel and not see as they made their way towards his chest.

“Theia.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?” Bryce’s voice sounded more and more strained as my fingers continued to caress him.

I couldn’t stop. What was wrong with me?

My fingers slipped past his belly button, and he let out a loud growl. His fingers dug into my waist as he landed open-mouthed kisses all over my neck.

“Feeling you . . . Can I?”

A low moan left my lips as Bryce dipped his tongue onto the soft part of my neck in response and licked the skin that had just been bitten a little harshly.

As if automatically responding to the liquid surging between my thighs and Bryce’s lips working their magic on me, my hands slipped into his jeans, and he stilled. His breathing grew heavy as he seemed to wait for my fingers to reach their destination. I held my breath, my eyes still closed, as I thought about it.

Did I want to?

I sighed, shivering slightly, at the urge to just reach in and grasp it. Yes. Yes, I wanted to.

Still holding my breath, I softly moved my fingers deeper into his jeans and almost fainted as they came in contact with the thick, long shaft.

On top of me, Bryce growled, his whole body tense. But he didn’t move. It looked like he couldn’t even breathe.

“Bryce,” I whispered, leaning towards him, my eyes still closed.

I then placed a kiss blindly on his lips before moving my hands all the way in and wrapping them around his shaft. I pumped once, then another time, and an unearthly growl rang around the room as Bryce jerked his hips against my hands, his thick shaft running against the o of my hand.

“Take it off,” Bryce growled against my breast.

I immediately unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans before pushing them low enough to bring his large shaft out.

It’s huge! It’s . . . Woah. This is happening. This is really happening!

I sighed as he nipped on my neck, his growls and groans becoming more and more animalistic as he continued to jerk off with my hand. I tried to test the waters. I moved my thumb over to the tip of his cock and rubbed the precum all over it before bringing the hand that was grasping his shoulder to grope his balls. I could feel him shuddering, shivering, his dick twitching against my palm with each longer, deeper stroke.

His peak was coming, and I felt it. A growl escaped Bryce’s lips as he continued placing open-mouthed kisses on my neck, my back arching into him, the dizzy ache in between my thighs slightly distracting.

My strokes increased in speed until, suddenly, his thrusting stopped. He stilled, then shuddered violently. I stilled. I could feel something warm land on the sheets above my tummy, and I smiled softly, finally opening my eyes.

I felt accomplished. Bryce’s reactions, his uncensored groans—they made me feel better. I smiled as I watched Bryce above me, his eyes still closed tight, as he continued to shudder in the aftermath of the orgasm. His eyes opened slowly as the high subdued, and I almost screamed. His eyes were golden; his eyes were shining gold!

Superm— Kryp— Kryp— Vampi— W-werewolf? N-no!

Finally not being able to hold it in, I let out the scream, shutting my eyes. Maybe I was being delusional.

He stiffened, and I slowly opened my eyes again.

I now saw blue. I sighed, relieved, as I cussed at myself for being an idiot. Of course his eyes weren’t golden, right?

I smiled at him slightly. A speck of gold flashed through his eyes, and I froze.

What if it had been real?

Suddenly, Bryce moved up and out of bed, removed all of his clothes, and without a backward glance, walked into the bathroom. The sound of the door clicking shut caught my attention.

Locked the door . . . He locked . . .

Pushing aside the thoughts about his golden . . . whatever, I balled the sheets up, then grasped the towel now lying on the floor. I wrapped it around me and moved towards the closet.

***

Be strong. Be strong.

Chanting my mantra over and over again, I finally walked out of my closet, dressed in simple thin black boy shorts and a plain white tank top, my hair up in a messy ponytail.

What did I feel about what had just transpired between Bryce and me? I mean, the intimate bits were okay. He was my boyfriend. But his eyes? Also, how did he feel about this?

I stopped when I saw Bryce on my bed, looking quite broody.

I sighed.

“Hey,” I then murmured as I stepped in between his legs, looking down at him with warm curiosity.

Mutant . . . ET . . . Werewolf . . . Werewolf?

Bryce looked up at me, and I smiled warmly at him, managing to push aside the crazy thoughts for a bit. I was starting to feel like I was finally going crazy, actually. I was even considering such ridiculous rationales for his golden eyes and incredible strength, and the inhuman growls.

Crap.

“Hi,” he murmured back, then dropped his head towards his feet.

I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Sure, and I’m Kim Kardashian.”

His lips curled upwards slightly, and I almost grinned in victory. Progress.

“I have to admit, I wouldn’t really mind having Kim Karda— Ow!”

“You’re mine.”

Getting possessive, Theia?

Bryce’s grimace turned into a grin, and he pulled me onto his lap. I shrieked as my chest connected with his face.

“Broke a nose?” I giggled, moving back a little to evaluate his pretty face.

I moved a little more, trying to get in a comfortable position, but then Bryce’s face darkened, and after getting up with me in his arms, he placed me on one side of the bed before getting on the other. I couldn’t help but notice the distance he was keeping from me now.

The silence carried on for a few minutes like a thick fog, then I decided to break it. He needed to tell me why he was acting so strangely.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

So, he wants to take the oblivious route.

“Since when did you just put me on my side of the bed and not even cuddle? Since when did you just march towards the bathroom after . . . after . . . and lock the door?”

He sighed. “You’re getting this all wrong. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. I-I just think you should know what you’re getting into before we . . . you know.”

I frowned. “And what am I getting into?”

“Soon, Thi. I’ll tell you soon. Please.”

I sighed. Maybe I needed to cut him some slack?

“Okay.” I nodded.

Bryce chucked slightly and moved closer to put his arms around me. “Any more questions, Your Majesty, or can we go to sleep?”

“One more,” I spoke.

“Sure, love.”

I took a deep breath, then counted till ten.

“Why do your eyes turn golden?”