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

A groan slipped through my lips as I tried to grab my aching head. Damn, it felt like a loaded bookshelf had fallen on it.

After what felt like unending minutes wasted on many unsuccessful attempts to ease the pain, I decided to just get up and out of bed. Twisting against the softness of the mattress, I slowly opened my eyes and waited for the dark blurs to disappear.

“Why does this always happen to me!” I whimpered, attempting to turn my head and look around.

Bryce—where’s Bryce?

“Bryce!”

Panic sank in like quicksand, and I quickly turned and shot up in bed, looking around to find a worried audience in the room. I couldn’t see Bryce.

“Well, get to her then, you big oaf, you!” Aunt Meryl suddenly scolded someone on my left.

He is in the room!

I melted into a relieved smile, then turned to Aunt Meryl, who smiled back at me comfortingly.

It felt like a knot in my chest unraveled when Bryce appeared from behind her, his golden eyes wide and a little panicked, as well as a little mad.

I frowned. He was in his beast form. Confused, I looked back at Aunt Meryl, who rolled her eyes and waved her hand up in the air.

“The boy panicked, dear, when you slipped on the soap that he’d thrown because his beast form hates the smell of strawberries.”

My eyes widened as Aunt Meryl explained in a bit of a tired voice, rolling her eyes quite a lot: “He, of course, took it upon himself to act as if everything was somehow his fault, and has been playing a pity party ever since.”

Oh good God.

I turned to Bryce, and he gave me a look that said, “Don’t judge me.” Instantly, I put both of my arms in front of me and shrugged. I wasn’t judging.

The frustrated lines on Aunt Meryl’s forehead broke apart a little as she watched our interaction. But she quickly narrowed her eyes at her nephew again.

“We will now leave him to you, Theia. Lord knows he is absolutely unmanageable by anyone else at this point. Now, has the doctor arrived yet? I thought we had called for him sometime ago, no? Oh well, we will be sending him over once he is here.”

After giving me a warm smile, she turned to Rome and the rest—a couple of unfamiliar guys who I suppose were here as “Bryce guards.”

“Come along, dears.”

I observed as all of these men quickly filtered out of the room, looking really relieved—awkward.

I turned to Bryce. “What happened?”

“I hurt you.”

I sighed. “Come here.”

Immediately, the furry large beast that I had come to know and love began walking towards me, his shiny dark fur receding into his skin, his head changing right before my eyes into my familiar Bryce’s.

By the time he reached my bed, Bryce was back to being his human self. He reached for his maroon sweater and shrugged it on while I kept my eyes firmly on his chest.

Even though we’d had sex, I still could not come to terms with just eyeing him as I pleased. I suppose the shyness would stay for a while longer.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mm-hmm. It’s alright,” I murmured happily against his chest as soon as he’d slipped under the sheets and snaked his arm around my waist.

Fifteen minutes later, I was just as comfortable and tingly as I had been. I let out a happy sigh as I felt him edge closer and tighten his hold on my waist. I wiggled into a more comfortable position but suddenly stilled when he let out a loud groan.

“You might want to stop that, love.”

My face now alight with embarrassment, I stayed as still as I could while I felt a large bump beginning to poke me in my thigh.

Big, bad beast . . .

Despite myself, a knowing grin found its way to my lips.

Trying my best not to hurt my still slightly sore head, I wiggled my back against his front again. Another loud groan tumbled out of Bryce’s throat, strangely mixed with a husky growl.

I nearly moaned upon hearing that.

“Naughty, naughty little mate. You need to be punished,” he growled huskily in my ear.

I whimpered as I felt him prop himself up on his hand behind me, now clearly towering over me in bed.

Fuck, ahhh!

A loud gasp ripped through my lips. My eyes wide and mouth now open in an o, I darted my hand towards Bryce’s and gripped it. He, however, continued to slip it under my panties before finding the already-wet spot he had clearly been looking for.

“So wet, love. Just perfect for my di—”

I slammed my palm against his lips. He put the skin of my palm between his teeth, then flicked his tongue against it.

I shivered in his arms. Change the topic! Change the topic!

“S-so you changed m-me out of my wet c-clothes?” I stuttered as he caressed my nether lips.

Bryce chuckled, and I gasped as his fingers found me.

“Correct, for two”—he plunged a finger in, and I moaned, then he chuckled—”points.”

Another finger joined the first.

Or just give in . . .

“Mmm,” Bryce echoed as another moan slipped off my lips.

My hips moved in the same rhythm as his, but then I jerked forward when he hit a sensitive spot.

“Your moans”—he went in, out, in, out and then something bent, and I moaned loudly—“are the sexiest thing in the world, baby.”

“Don’t . . . stop.” I whimpered as his movements increased in speed

Bryce chuckled. Then, he stopped everything.

I whimpered again, this time feeling annoyed.

“Now that I think about it, I reckon I just might . . . stop, that is,” he whispered into my ear before putting my earlobe between his lips and nibbling on it. “Never tease the alpha king, love. Big mistake.”

I couldn’t help but growl.

Why, that— That tease!

Everything was aching. I needed something, and Bryce had just let me down.

As if a light bulb had suddenly lit up and exploded above my head, I knew what I wanted, and I’d take it.

Bryce chuckled as he made a move to get away.

“You’re such a tease,” I breathed just as a loud groan left his lips. My hand moved back from cupping his bulge and, after neatly slipping under his pants and boxers, found his hardness. A smirk pulled up onto my lips as I drew circles with my thumb on its large tip and then pumped it, once.

Bryce bucked forward. Quickly, I removed myself from there before he could pull me back, and I straddled him.

“What are you doing?” He cocked an eyebrow up as he asked, honestly curious, the veins in his neck thick and ready to burst out because of all the teasing.

We both needed this, or maybe falling earlier had me wired completely wrong. Either way, damn it, I was going to do it!

I smiled at Bryce cheekily as I leaned forward and placed my lips on his. After nibbling on his lower lip, I quickly moved back, and as I did, I grabbed the waistbands of his pants and boxers, then pulled them down. Instantly, his length sprung up—tall, thick, proud, and angry. Bryce’s eyes darkened, and he growled, now knowing exactly what I was doing.

Launching forward, he made a move to grab me. I moved away before he could, a triumphant, teasing smile firmly placed on my lips. He wasn’t going to dominate this—well—yet.

I slipped out of my tank top and panties quicker than I could say, “One potato, two potatoes,” and moved back to straddling him. Bryce tried to grab me again, and this time I simply leaned back against him.

He smirked. “Minx.”

“Mm-hmm.” I smirked back, my hand already holding his length against my core. Holding in a breath, I moved up and in one swift, slightly painful go, slid down on him.

***

“Looks like Dr. Lucian’s here.”

I grinned as Bryce slipped my sweater on for me. Quickly leaning down, he then slipped his arms under me and scooped me up.

“We don’t really need him, you know,” I mumbled, snuggling closer to his chest.

Bryce growled as he continued walking towards our bed. “We do. I don’t want you hurt. Your head might still be sore.”

Rolling my eyes, I hid my face against his shoulder. “The only place I’m sore right now is—”

“Okay, and they are just here,” Bryce cut me off tactfully, albeit loudly.

I looked at him, a grin loud and clear on my face. Bryce, on the other hand, looked away—the sure but rare sign of him actually blushing.

“You’re so cute,” I cooed, knowing how much that would irritate him.

“No, I’m not!” he immediately blurted out, looking at me with an intense frown, his cheeks and neck still red.

“You are,” I cooed again, ignoring his pissed-off self.

He dropped me on the bed, and I giggled as I bounced off the mattress before settling back into place.

“Think I’m cute, huh?”

My breath hitched as soon as he climbed over me. His lips found my neck, and I nearly jumped out of bed when his fingers touched my sides.

“Bryce! Oh my God, stop!” I twisted under him. Bursts of laughter poured out into the room.

“B-Bryce!” Warm tears slipped down my cheeks as I continued to laugh, twisting and turning, trying to get away from his tormenting hands.

“Say ‘Bryce is the hottest man alive’.”

It was only then that I noticed that his loud laughter was actually rivaling mine. “No.”

“No?” He tickled me harder.

“Never!” I gasped, screaming in between loud laughs.

“Say it, Theia. Say it. Come on!”

I gasped for air as I clawed at his arms.

Getting out of breath because of all the laughing, I finally gave in. “Okay, okay!” I took in a large puff of breath. “Alexander . . .”

Bryce growled at my using of his first name, his eyes getting darker.

“Yeah? Come on.”

I gulped. “Bryce Wilhem is the h-hottest man alive.”

“There! That wasn’t too bad, was it?” Bryce instantly stopped. Grinning, he then leaned down and brought my lips against his.

“Holy Lord, Doctor, please turn around!”

Bryce groaned against my lips but then continued to nibble my bottom lip for a second or two before he firmly planted a soft peck on both and moved to his side.

After looking towards the door expectantly, my eyes widened when I saw a scared-looking Aunt Meryl and a blank-faced Dr. Lucian.

Aunt Meryl spoke, “Well, you did say, ‘Come in.’ And well, I thought— And this room is soundproof. I— Oh God, I apologize!”

“I did say, ‘Come in,’ Aunt Meryl, and—”

“I think they get it,” I whispered urgently beside him.

Immediately, the doctor made a move towards me, and Bryce growled.

“Touch only what you have to, Dr. Lucian. Thank you for visiting us on such short notice, by the way.”

Dr. Lucian looked at me for a second, then he turned to Bryce and slowly smiled. “Of course, Mr. Wilhem, I completely understand. Though, as Ms. Anderson is my patient, it’s important for me to check up on her.”

Bryce nodded.

Dr. Lucian took another step towards me, then stopped and looked at Bryce. “May I?”

I cocked an eyebrow up when I noticed the bite underlying his tone. Apparently Bryce noticed this too, but he handled it better than I did.

Nodding curtly, he motioned towards me. “Sure.”

I, on the other hand, continued to stare at Dr. Lucian with an eyebrow tipped up. His gaze met mine, and warmed.

Instantly, he smiled. “Hello, Theia. Got a bit of a bump, I heard. Do you mind scooting forward a bit, please?”

I blinked. “No, no.”

Blinking again, I scooted forward.

A minute or two of probing and examination later, Dr. Lucian turned to Aunt Meryl. Again, my eyebrow tipped up.

Why was he being so stiff with Bryce?

“If you and Mr. Wilhem wouldn’t mind, could I please have a minute alone with Ms. Anderson?”

Naturally, Bryce growled, and I almost rolled my eyes at that.

That had been so expected.

“No.”

Dr. Lucian continued to look at the blank-faced Aunt Meryl when he replied, “Ms. Anderson is still her parents’ responsibility, Mr. Wilhem. I suggest you let me and yourself respect patient-doctor confidentiality and let me have a little chat with my patient alone.”

Bryce turned to me as if asking me whether or not to destroy Dr. Lucian. I reached over to place my hand on his, then pulled him closer.

“You can barge into the room as soon as the one minute is over,” I whispered discreetly, and I could feel Bryce let out a chuckle.

The light mood, however, lasted only for a second as Bryce, after getting out of the bed, turned to the doctor. “One minute. A second longer and you can kiss your license and your life goodbye.”

Dr. Lucian stared at Bryce for a moment, then he nodded briskly and looked away.

I waited till the unwilling Bryce and the curious Aunt Meryl filtered out of the room before turning to the doctor.

Dr. Lucian motioned towards the bed. “May I?”

After looking dumbly at the spot where his hands were pointing, I quietly nodded.

“Thank you,” Dr. Lucian replied nicely as he sat on the edge of the bed. He turned to me, and our eyes met. “I know this might be very weird for you, and you might be worried why I’d asked to talk to you in private.”

I nodded. “Yes, actually, that’s what I’m thinking about right now.”

Dr. Lucian smiled warmly. “Now, I want you to know that you can trust me, and please do not feel offended if the matter is not as I am perceiving. But”—he paused and looked me straight in the eye, his gaze serious—“does Mr. Wilhem, your . . . boyfriend, physically abuse you, Ms. Anderson?”

I blinked.

And I did again.

Then, I burst into laughter. “I-I’m sorry—what?”

Dr. Lucian, however, didn’t look amused, so I calmed down.

“Does your boyfriend hit you, Ms. Anderson? You’ve been getting quite a lot of hits in your head, and you cringe when you move. I want you to know that I will help you if you need me to. Is there something that’s troubling you?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Shaking my head, I looked up at the concerned doctor. “I want you to trust me when I say, Dr. Lucian, that my boyfriend does not hit me or abuse me in any form. It was just an accident, and I cringe because . . . Well, just because.”

Dr. Lucian stiffened, then nodded. “So you cringe because of other reasons?”

“Dr. Lucian, seriously, I suggest you—”

“One minute is up!” Bryce growled as he burst through the door and moved towards me. “The door is right over there, Dr. Lucian. Thank you for stopping by,” he then muttered, not even sparing the doctor a glance, as he sat down on the bed beside me.

Dr. Lucian turned back to me before smiling politely. “I’ll see you around, Mr. Wilhem. It appears Ms. Anderson is fine. No concussion. The shock just made her black out for a bit. If pain persists, then please give her paracetamol. Good bye, Theia. I’ll see you soon.”

Biting my tongue, I nodded. “Thank you for coming, Doc.”

Dr. Lucian left the door open as he walked out of the room.

“What did he want?”

Tell him the whole truth and watch him bash a doctor, or . . . just not tell him everything?

I groaned. “He wanted to know if I was under some sort of stress.”

Bryce narrowed his eyes at me.

On second thought . . . tell him everything.

“And if you were physically abusing me . . .”

The chaos that ensued afterwards was seriously something I would not want to relive. Thankfully, though, Dr. Lucian had managed to get himself out of the castle and its gates well before Bryce ran down at a speed that almost surpassed the Flash’s.

I, however, wasn’t that lucky. Let’s just say that Dr. Lucian was definitely never going to see me again—or Bryce hoped.

***

Two days later

All course finals were done. We were free, and prom was on the coming night. Naturally, I was pretty nervous. Somehow I felt like something big was about to happen, but then again, the stalker hadn’t messaged me in days, so maybe it was just prom nerves.

I sighed.

Apparently Bryce couldn’t come to prom with me. Therefore, Roman, Matthew, and I had planned school domination instead.

Marley had seemed over the moon when I’d asked her if we could dress up together.

And well, here we were, an hour before prom, our hairs being worked on courtesy of Marley’s overexcitement.

I smoothened the fabric of my light-blue dress for the millionth time as I watched the lady who was working on my hair carefully twirl a loose strand back and secure it.

“You look amazing, Thi,” Marley echoed from behind me, and I smiled at her, then eyeing her dress, grinned.

“Ah, you look incredibly sexy. What’s for dinner, Marlene?” I winked.

Marley, clearly getting my implication, blushed beet red.

“I stand guilty,” she grumbled as I got up, and she took my place on the seat. The lady, amused, began working on her hair next.

“I think Alpha Alex will explode when he sees you,” the lady cooed, and I smiled at her, blushing.

“I hope not. I need him alive.”

Marley giggled and winked. “Oh? Why?”

I grinned at her cheeky sarcasm and then thinking of Bryce, I smiled softly. “Because I love him.”

***

The sun seemed to be fading earlier than usual. I watched as the oranges swirled with the blues, creating an image worth stealing on a canvas. A warm smile rose onto my face as I thought about the room Bryce had set up with each and every portrait I had made of him hanging on the walls.

Bryce and I—we had come so far.

“You ready?”

I turned around and grinned at Marley, who was nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Let’s do this,” I declared as I met her halfway before positioning my arm like a gentleman and waiting for her to hook hers through it, and once she did, we then both walked out of the room, through the long corridor, and down the stairs.

After holding my dress just right and praying that I wouldn’t catch my feet in it and fall on my ass, I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally stepped on the lower floor. Everyone else stood watching us quietly.

My eyes immediately sought Bryces’. Looking at him with a grin, I wiggled my eyebrows, then on a whim, bowed down in a curtsy.

“How do you do, sirs?” Marley giggled as she followed my lead.

The spell broke, and the boys blinked.

Marley and I let out discreet sighs of relief.

I could only twirl around before Bryce’s arms finally found my waist, and he held me close.

“It’s only because today is your prom that I’m letting you go. I feel like hiding you in our room and never letting you out, love. You look breathtaking.”

I giggled. “How very caveman of you, babe. Thank you, by the way. Maggie, the hairdresser, helped a lot.”

Bryce growled as he hid his nose against my neck. I held on to his biceps—well, tried.

“The lads and I have everything set up in case something happens. So you don’t have to worry, okay?”

I stilled. “You— You think something will happen tonight?”

He stiffened, then moving back, looked me in the eye. He gripped me by my shoulders. “We can’t afford to be complacent, love.”

“So you’ll be around, right—if something goes wrong?”

Bryce smiled and nodded.

An identical smile lit up my face, and I mirrored his nod as well.

Immediately, he burst into laughter. “Oh, Theia, what am I going to do with you?”

I grinned, snuggling back into his chest.

“Love me, Alexander. Love me.

***

“Dance with me, my lady!” Matthew laughed loudly as he pulled me over for a spin.

I grabbed onto Roman’s suit just in time to twirl him around with me.

After a minute of glaring from Roman, all three of us burst out laughing. The DJ was playing some EDM track, which I had no idea of personally, but it sounded too fun for me to just sit around.

We were almost an hour into our winter wonderland–themed prom, and after photo booths, avoiding the clearly laced fruit punch, and munching on delicious muffins, we were finally taking the dance floor by storm.

Even though I didn’t have my boyfriend here, I considered myself extremely lucky to have two prom dates—two!

A smile popped on my face when I remembered the fear I’d had while moving over to Piedmont: spending prom alone at home.

And now here I was with not one but two best-friend dates in tow, an amazingly great boyfriend, a blessed family, and great friends both here and back in California.

“Now, if only this stalker would vanish into thin air.”

“I think he has.”

Startled, I looked up to find Rome looking at me calmly.

“What do you mean?” I shouted over the music, despite knowing I didn’t need to shout.

He would hear me all the same, but I still did it out of habit.

A few steps away, Matthew was cooking up a storm, dancing to the song that was playing.

“Well, maybe you’re okay; maybe the stalker is gone. He hasn’t bugged you in days.’’

I frowned. “Maybe. Maybe you’re right!”

“Of course, I am! Now, let’s get back to enjoying prom, okay?”

Chuckling, I nodded, then stopped and, smiling sheepishly, put up my pinky finger. Roman chuckled, understanding my unspoken message.

“Be back in a jiffy!” I giggled as I turned around and quickly made my way out of the gym and towards the bathroom.

Upon entering the bathroom, I made a beeline for an empty cubicle and, upon finding it, instantly got in.

It had seemed like a minute before I walked back out, happy and light in the bladder.

Walking towards the bathroom mirror, I chuckled as Matthew’s weird dance moves flashed in my mind. I pressed some hand soap onto my palm before washing my hands.

“Guess who?”

I froze. My ear buzzed with the cold echoes of the whisper.

“Running is futile.”

My breath hitched in my throat, my heart pounding in my chest.

“It’s time to say good night.”

Immediately, my eyes darted up and widened when they met bright green eyes.

Bright green eyes, bright . . . green . . . eyes . . .

My whole world then came crashing down.