Page 20 of The Alpha King's Mate

She knew everything about me.

The lock clicked. I turned.

The Alpha King walked into the bedroom with Ember following behind him. Bastard. He wore a tailored black suit, a crisp white shirt that made every visible inch of tattoo scream for admiration. His scent was potent enough that I had to breathe through my mouth, because—fuck him.

Ember carried the tray to the table beside the loveseat and set it down. She turned to leave.

“Wait,” I said, and she glanced back.

“Yes, my Queen?”

I like her, Zira purred.

“How many pack members intimately service your Alpha King?”

From the corner of my eye, the Alpha King threw his hands in the air.

“Am I to be judged by those who came before you?” he said, his voice an octave higher than usual.

Ember’s fair complexion couldn’t hide the truth. Her cheeks tinged pink and she glanced at the man in question.

“I would need to check the list, my Queen,” she said, but didn’t meet my gaze.

“No,” the Alpha King snapped, stalking toward me.“Uh-uh. This isn’t happening. We will have our mating ceremony in three days. It will be held for all to witness.”

He stood before me, blocking my view of Ember.

“You can’t make me,” I whispered.“A life for a life, you said. And that life was as a servant.”

“Get out.”

He snarled the words, sending Ember rushing from the room.

“You would rather be a pack servant than my Luna Queen?” he asked, crowding me until my back hit the window.

“My father was mated to my mother, and it didn’t stop him from becoming a whore.”

His face darkened at being compared to my father.

“He even managed to sire a bastard,” I continued.

Maybe you should let him process that information. He doesn’t look well, Zira said as his hands landed on the glass above us.

His voice didn’t deter me. It made me want to push back harder.

“I’m simply protecting myself and my non-existent pups.”

His eyes flashed. Black, then burnt orange, then red. Blood-red. Claws scraped against the glass and his breath turned ragged.

“Pups, you say,” he growled, his wolf staring out at me from behind his eyes.“Malakh wants to fill your belly. Our union is blessed by the Moon Goddess. My father never strayed. Not once. He was devoted to my mother.”

I made the mistake of taking in his scent. I closed my eyes, but it did nothing. Not when he stood this close. The scent infiltrated into me.

“Your father was a weak-willed and unscrupulous man,” he said.“You will not place his sins at my door.”

The warmth of his flesh met mine as his lips trailed down my neck.

“You should eat,” he murmured.“Breakfast is vital for your health and fertility.”