Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King

Lorelei POV

"Good morning, Miss," Paul said smoothly the next morning as he pushed the food cart carrying my breakfast into the room.

"Good morning, Paul," I replied, offering him a warm smile.

The moment his eyes landed on Skye sitting up beside me, his face brightened even more. "And a very good morning to you as well, Skye. It’s good to see you awake."

Skye, who was still clearly embarrassed about having to spend the night in my bed, pulled the thick blanket all the way up to her chin as if she could somehow hide from the entire world beneath it. "Morning," she muttered before glancing at Paul curiously. "But why are you the one bringing breakfast? I don’t think a guard’s job includes that."

I opened my mouth to explain, but Paul beat me to it, straightening his back with an almost proud expression. "With you bedridden, someone has to serve Miss Lorelei her meals," he said confidently, adjusting his uniform. "And considering the number of people Miss Lorelei actually trusts around here, I’d say I rank pretty high on that list, wouldn’t you agree?"

But Skye didn’t even have time to answer because the savory aroma coming from the covered dishes immediately caught her attention. She slowly lowered the blanket from her face and sniffed the air before giving Paul a skeptical look. "I wouldn’t be so sure about that," she said, her voice still slightly weak from everything she’d been through. "I think you’re actually much further down the list."

Paul’s expression immediately fell into one of pure offense as he paused with both hands resting on the food cart. "And what makes you say that?"

Skye sat a little straighter against the headboard, looking entirely too pleased with herself despite how exhausted she still looked. "Not to brag, but I was the only person who knew about her true identity from the very beginning," she said, holding his gaze confidently. "I come before the Alpha and the Beta, so where exactly does that put you?"

She finished with a triumphant little look that made me bite back a smile.

However, the moment she mentioned Kaelen, the smile slowly faded from my lips. The reminder of where things stood between us settled heavily in my chest, and before I could stop it, a quiet, sad sigh escaped me.

"Okay, you two, enough bickering," I said gently, swinging my legs off the bed and walking over to where Paul stood beside the cart. I reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "My trust doesn’t have a ranking scale, Paul. I trust you, and that’s all that matters."

Hearing that, Paul’s smug smile returned tenfold. "Thank you, Miss Lorelei," he said proudly, though he still couldn’t resist shooting Skye a petty, victorious look that made her huff and turn her face away.

A few minutes later, Paul had finished tasting a bite from each dish to make sure everything was safe before stepping aside and allowing Skye and me to eat in peace. Once we were finally done, I looked toward him and remembered the healer’s promise to run some more tests on Skye as soon as she woke up.

"When is the healer coming?" I asked.

"He hasn’t confirmed an exact time yet, Miss," Paul replied smoothly as he began stacking the empty plates back onto the cart. "Though I can certainly go and find out."

I nodded, but before I could say anything else, he suddenly seemed to remember something. "Ah, before I forget, the Alpha requested your presence in his office."

The moment I heard that Kaelen wanted to see me, my breathing seemed to stop.

"Why?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The startled look that crossed Paul’s face immediately reminded me that he probably didn’t know the answer either. I quickly forced a small, polite smile onto my lips and shook my head. "Never mind. Thank you, Paul."

Perhaps sensing the sudden heaviness that had settled over the room, Paul simply gave me a respectful nod. "I will go find the healer now. Isaac will be waiting outside to escort you when you are ready."

I nodded again and watched as he pushed the cart out of the room. The moment the door clicked shut behind him, Skye turned her head toward me, her expression immediately becoming curious.

"What do you think the Alpha wants to see you about?"

I shook my head, my voice dropping into a tense whisper as I stared at the closed door. "I don’t know... but I’m sure it’s about everything that happened."

This would be our first real conversation since everything had blown up between us, and by real conversation, I meant one where we actually managed to speak to each other without things going south.

A sudden wave of nervous energy hit me, and I immediately rushed into the bathroom, taking extra time to shower and scrub myself. I probably spent far longer in there than necessary, but I couldn’t seem to calm my nerves. When I finally came out, I headed straight for the wardrobe, where Skye had already laid out a few outfits for me to choose from.

Seeing how visibly anxious I was, Skye raised a confused but slightly amused eyebrow as she watched me rummage through the clothes. Without much hesitation, I pulled out a fitted cream-colored top, a pair of high-waisted blue jeans, and my black Mary Jane flats, holding them against myself as I studied my reflection in the full-length mirror.

"This one," I said, glancing between the outfit and my reflection. "It’s nice, isn’t it? It’s not... too much?"

Skye rolled her eyes and leaned back against her pillows. "Lorelei, you’re just going to talk to the Alpha like you’ve done a thousand times before. Whatever you wear is completely fine."

"I know," I muttered, dragging a frustrated hand through my damp hair before letting out another shaky sigh. "I’m just..."

"Stop overthinking it." She reached across the edge of the mattress and gently squeezed my hand.

I looked at her, hesitating for a moment before finally admitting the thought that had been eating at me. "But what if he actually hates me now?" I whispered, my voice carrying the fear I had been trying so hard to ignore.

But Skye only scoffed softly and rolled her eyes. "Now you’re just letting your anxiety get the better of you. Have you seen the way the Alpha treats you? He hasn’t treated a single woman like that since his mate, whose name we’re still not allowed to mention, by the way," she said, giving me a look. "Do you really think all of that suddenly disappears because of one misunderstanding? His pride might be hurt, sure, but I’m almost certain he feels just as guilty about everything as you do."