Chapter Four

EYES OF THE KING

I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine, and for a few seconds I just stared at the ceiling, trying to remember where I was. Then the memories came back all at once. The forest. The creatures. The fire that had torn out of my own hands. The men on horseback. And him, the man who had grabbed me before I blacked out.

I remembered the moment his hand touched mine, the way something had gone through my entire body the second our skin met. I remembered looking into his eyes, and I remembered the strange feeling that had come over me right after.

Mate.

I closed my eyes. "No." I didn't want to think about that. I'd already spent three years believing I found my mate, only for him to reject me in front of everyone. I wasn't going through that again, and besides, the man from the forest couldn't possibly be my mate. There was no way.

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. It was large and well furnished, though I didn't recognize anything in it. Someone had changed my clothes, and my wounds had been cleaned and wrapped. I sat up slowly, and my thigh ached, though not nearly as badly as I expected. I moved my leg carefully.

"At least I can still walk."

A knock came from the door, and I went alert immediately. "Who is there?"

"Your Majesty's guard."

I frowned. Your Majesty. "Come in," I said, and the door opened to reveal a man in a royal guard uniform, who bowed slightly before speaking.

"The Alpha King has requested your presence in the war chamber."

My heart stopped for a second. "The Alpha King?"

"Yes."

"Is this his castle?"

"Yes."

I looked around the room again, my mind catching up slowly. The man I met in the forest was the Alpha King. I had no idea. I'd never seen his face clearly before. I looked down at my hands, realizing what that meant. The man I'd called my mate was the Alpha King.

"No," I whispered.

The guard watched me. "Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath. I was scared, of course I was. I'd woken up in a strange place after being attacked by creatures I thought were only found in stories, and now I was learning that the man who'd stopped his guards from hurting me was the most powerful Alpha in the realm. But I'd promised myself I would stop living in fear. I'd spent years making myself small because I was afraid of what people would think, and I wasn't doing that anymore.

I got out of bed slowly. "Yes. I'm ready."

The guard stepped aside and let me follow him out of the room. As we walked through the castle, I took in the huge stone halls and the tall windows, the guards stationed at every turn. I kept my head up and kept walking, still nervous but refusing to let it show. We eventually stopped in front of a large black door, and the guard pushed it open.

"The Alpha King is inside."

I took a deep breath and walked in.

The room was enormous, built around a large round table covered in maps and papers, weapons displayed along the walls, several guards positioned around the room. Then I saw him. The man from the forest. The Alpha King, standing beside the table. The moment our eyes met, that strange feeling returned, tightening in my chest, and I could see his expression change too. He felt it. The mate pull. Neither of us said anything for a few seconds, and then I remembered exactly who I was standing in front of, and lowered my head.

"Your Majesty."

"You're awake," he said, his eyes still on me.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

His gaze moved to my bandaged leg. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine."

"You were badly injured."

"I've survived worse." His eyes returned to mine, and there was something different in the way he was looking at me now, like he was trying to work something out. I already knew what it was. He'd felt it too, and I refused to think about it any further. There was no way the Alpha King could be my second chance mate. It didn't make sense. I'd already had a mate once. I'd already loved someone, and I knew exactly where that had gotten me.

He took a few steps closer, and I stayed where I was as he studied me. "Do you know where you are?"

"Your castle."

"Do you know who I am?"

I hesitated. "The Alpha King."

He nodded. "You didn't know that last night."

"No, Your Majesty."

"I see." There was a short silence before he asked, "What's your name?"

"Avelyn."

He watched me for a moment. "Where are you from?"

"Lorn Hills." His expression didn't change at all, as though the name meant nothing to him. "Why were you in the forest?"

"I was traveling."

"Traveling to where?"

"I don't know yet." His eyebrows moved slightly, and I knew how strange that answer must have sounded. "I left my village."

"Why?"

I looked away. "I had my reasons," I said, and he didn't push further, though his eyes drifted to my hands instead.

"What happened to the creatures?"

I knew exactly what he meant. "I don't know."

"You killed them."

I looked down at my own hands. "I did."

"How?"

"I don't know." He studied me carefully.

"I saw what happened."

"Then you know I'm telling the truth."

"I know you didn't understand what you were doing." I stayed quiet as he took another step toward me. "Do you have a wolf?"

I swallowed. "No."

There was no pity in his expression, only a simple nod. "I didn't feel one."

I stared at him. "What?"

"When you fainted, I couldn't sense a wolf inside you." I didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever said it so calmly before. Usually people heard I was wolfless and immediately looked at me differently, but the Alpha King didn't. Instead he asked, "Then what is that power?"

"I don't know."

"Where did it come from?"

"I don't know."

"Have you ever used it before?"

"No." He studied my face for a long moment.

"I believe you."

I blinked. "You do?"

"Yes," he said, and turned toward the table. "I've never seen anything like what happened in that forest."

Neither had I, and I watched him as he continued. "I didn't even know I could do that."

"I know." His voice stayed calm. "But there's a large amount of power inside you."

I tensed. "How much?"

"I don't know." He turned back to face me. "But I could feel it."

I studied him carefully. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No," he said immediately, and I didn't know why, but that answer made me feel slightly better. He looked at me a moment longer. "I wasn't trying to have you brought here because of your power."

"Then why did your men take me?"

"They saw what happened and believed you needed to be brought before me."

I remembered the way they'd grabbed my arms. "I thought they were taking me somewhere to imprison me."

"They weren't."

"I didn't know that."

"I understand," he said, and there was no anger in it at all, which surprised me. I looked down at my hands, another question sitting heavy in my chest, one I was almost afraid to ask.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes?"

"The thing that happened in the forest." I stopped, and he waited. I took a breath. "Did you feel it too?"

His eyes stayed on mine. "Yes."

My heart started beating faster, and I looked away immediately. I'd known it. I'd known I wasn't imagining it.

"The mate pull," he said.

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

His expression shifted slightly. "You don't?"

"No."

"Why?"

I took a breath. "Because it can't be true. I already had a mate." He said nothing. "He rejected me. Only days ago." Something changed in his expression, not pity, something else entirely. "I see," was all he said.

"I don't want another mate," I told him, and when he stayed silent, I kept going. "And even if there's such a thing as a second chance mate, it can't be you." The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and the room went completely quiet. I realized what I'd said and lowered my eyes. "Forgive me, Your Majesty."

He looked at me for a long moment. "You don't have to apologize for what you believe." I looked up slowly, unable to read his expression. "But whether you accept it or not doesn't change what I felt."

My heart dropped, and I had no idea what to say to that. Before I could try, the door opened, and a woman walked in with long red hair braided neatly behind her head, wearing a dress that made her place in the royal family obvious. She looked at me first, then at the Alpha King.

"Your Majesty."

"Elowen."

He turned to me. "My sister, Princess Elowen."

I gave her a small bow. "Your Highness."

She smiled politely. "So this is the girl from the forest."

I stayed quiet, and before she could say anything more, the door opened again and a tall man walked in, dark haired, sharp featured, and the atmosphere in the room shifted the instant he entered. The Alpha King's expression turned colder. The man looked straight at me.

"So this is her."

"Who are you?"

The Alpha King answered before he could. "Darius Thorne."

My stomach tightened at the surname. Thorne. The same name as my old pack. Darius noticed the reaction cross my face.

"Something wrong?"

"No," I said, keeping my face as calm as I could while the Alpha King watched me. Darius walked closer.

"I heard about what happened in Deadroot Forest. You killed three deadroots."

"I didn't know what I was doing."

"That makes it more interesting," he said, and I didn't like the way he said it at all. The Alpha King stepped forward.

"That's enough."

"I'm only curious."

"You can be curious somewhere else."

Darius gave a small smile. "As you wish, Your Majesty," he said, turning toward the door, though he paused to look back at me once more before leaving. "Power like yours will attract attention."

"What does that mean?"

He didn't answer. He only walked out, and I turned to the Alpha King.

"Who exactly is he?"

He was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Darius Thorne is someone you should be careful around."

"Why?"

"Because not everyone who smiles at you is your friend."

I thought about his words, and then I thought about the strange way Darius had looked at me. I didn't know what he wanted, but I had a feeling this was only the beginning.