Protect Me, Alpha King

“It has been a long time since I stretched my palm. I did not know the receiver would be you, wench.”

It was Lady Juliana. None other than the villain of my life in the palace. I thought I would never reencounter her, confident that the rumors that I was the alpha king's fated mate had reached her. She inspected her palm as if it was some piece of art. "Here, I thought my visit to this place would never be fruitful. I was glad I came here.”

How the heck did she get here? Did Alpha Wade ask for her presence? Probably. She was the daughter coming from a prominent and influential family.

Lady Juliana poked me in the forehead.

"You are a disgusting wench. A sore in my eyes. I hated how the alpha king chose you as his personal attendant when I could do it."

Raw anger overpowered me. It did not come directly from me but from the wolf. She resurfaced, baring her fangs at Lady Juliana.

“Fight that wench, River,” my wolf roared in the background. “Now that I am at your side, no one can touch you and hurt you anymore. Avenge yourself. Kill her if it is necessary.’

I never thought my wolf could be this brutal.

'Are you a fool? Do you want me to die? That's not easy.’

She paced back and forth, still on edge.

'A queen never let anyone disrespect her!’

'l am not yet the queen! I do not have the power to punish this woman. We have to wait for the right opportunity. We need to get the alpha king's affection. He would never like it when he knew we were fighting Lady Juliana."

"Fuck, she cursed. "You always show your weakness. That's why it took me a long time to decide if I would show myself or not. You haven't shown and proven to yourself that you deserve me. I am one of the strongest beasts.’

My eyes widened at her declaration. Did she doubt me?

'We are comrades.’

'You have to earn it. I will be with you all your life, and I do not want to be with someone weak. Prove yourself, River. I want a strong and powerful queen. Not someone like you."

I scoffed inwardly.

'Am I hearing it right? That we are arguing right now?"

She glared at me. “Because you are not listening to me!" she growled. “You continued doing what you wanted."

I shook my head. 'Oh, no. You're not growling at me.’

I can.’

“What's your name?’ I asked my wolf. She never gave me her name, and I could not address her adequately.

“Is that even important right now? Someone just slapped you. I told you to kill her or avenge yourself, yet you do not want retribution? That is not how a queen should behave, River." Unfortunately, I was never like her. I never expected to be the alpha king's mate in the first place. “We will talk about that later on. We will continue talking about this. I have to.’

“I will give you my name later. You have to give her a lesson, or she will continue acting as if she is the queen. I hated her guts."

My mind returned to the present when Lady Juliana suddenly kicked me in my stomach. Pain exploded, and she attempted to hit me again, this time in my diaphragm, but I grabbed her leg and turned it in the opposite direction. She nearly fell but held her ground.

Glaring at me, she said, “You dare to harm me?”

I wiped the dust from my face.

Damn.

It hurt.

I was seriously considering the wolf's suggestion.

"You did it first, Your Grace. You slapped me. I am the face of the alpha king, and this face should never be harmed,” I said, pointing at my cheeks.

Her slap still stung. As well as my stomach.

Dammit

“I told you so, River! Kill that woman!"

That's not a wise thing to do right now,” I answered back. “Let me handle this.’

"You are always saying that!’ she snarled but retreated in the background

Lady Juliana’s hands trembled as she pointed it at me. "You! You seduce the alpha king. You forced him to bear his mark. That's the only logical explanation I could muster about why you carried it in your disgusting neck.”

Something snapped in my mind. That was why she was bitchy? If she wanted hell, I would give it to her.

"Ah. You're referring to this mark?" I asked, angling my head to give her more access while showing it to her. "Sorry to break it to you, Your Grace, but I did not force His Majesty to mark me. He did it on his own. Besides, we are mates. His Majesty promised I would be his queen. No one else.”

Her cheeks flushed red with jealousy. "Seductress! When I saw you, I knew you would not bring anything but trouble. While I was not beside the alpha king, you seduced him slowly until he fell on your seduction skills!"

I grinned like a Cheshire cat at her. "I never seduce the alpha king, Your Grace. The bond pulled him to me until he could no longer resist me."

I smiled even wider when steam came out from her nostrils.

"Damn you, slave!" she cursed.

“Ah, ah. Not any longer.”

"What's the meaning of this?"

Lady Juliana and I both pulled ourselves together. It was the alpha king and Alpha Wade, standing side by side. The latter looked at me with disgust which I shrugged off.

They stopped in front of us.

Bowing, I said, "Your Majesty."

"My queen.”

I looked up, not wanting him to show my surprise.

My heart warmed at his endearment. It felt natural in my ears, even if this was all part of my lies.

"I hear your voices even at a distance. What happened, My Queen?" the alpha king asked.

My heart flipped three hundred sixty degrees when he called me my queen again.

Damn it.

I did not want to get used to his endearment. These were nothing but lies to fool the father and son —nothing else. But still...it made my heart swell with pride and other emotions which I could not pinpoint.

Before I could answer, Lady Juliana pouted her lips and, out of habit, went to the alpha king's side, but he stopped her using his hand. The noble lady's world crumbled before her, realizing she could no longer approach the alpha king like she used to. Not in my presence.

She swung her head in my direction and watched me with anger.

“Lady Juliana slapped me, Your Majesty,” I answered without hesitation, lowering my voice and making it sadder. The alpha king's face darkened. That was the right reaction I was vying for. "And she kicked me in my stomach, Your Majesty." He trembled and watched Lady Juliana with an intense glare. The poor noble lady shifted her weight from side to side. "Please forgive her, Your Majesty. It's my fault anyway. Like she said earlier, I was not looking at where I was going. The servant told me you were looking for me, and I did my best to make it faster. But this happened.”

Alpha Wade lifted his eyebrows, not believing my words. However, that was no longer surprising. He was always distrustful, especially regarding his servants’ words

"Was it true, Lady Juliana?” the alpha king asked.

Lady Juliana’s mouth quivered.

Before she could answer, Alpha Wade stepped in. "Your Majesty. I am sure it was nothing but women's arguments. They were like that when they wanted to,” Alpha Wade meddled.

My hands quivered, and I put them at the back. That was also what he was good at.

"Oh. Before I forget, Lady Juliana will be my son's soon-to-be Luna. I hope the kingdom will approve of their union, Your Majesty."