Bought By The Ruthless Alpha King (Ruby) novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Deja Vu

Chapter 124: Deja Vu

Killian’s POV

I stood frozen in my place the moment I heard the woman speak that honorific title to me. Two simple words that shouldn’t have affected me in any way. And yet, they struck like a memory wrapped in steel, piercing right through my chest.

No one had called me by that title in centuries. Not formally. Not playfully. Not even with the slightest hint of affection. And yet, the woman standing in front of me had nearly said it perfectly.

“Killian. Do you feel it?”

Theard Elysian’s soft, longing voice. It hurt just as much as my own emotions.

“I’m afraid what I’m thinking right now is becoming real,” said the wolf.

I replied through the link, “Me too.”

I brushed the disgusting ashes of that vampire from my hand, my gaze fixed on the woman holding her daughter close as if she were protecting her from a monster. Her lips trembled. Her eyes widened, filled with recognition. Or maybe…. it was fear.

Whatever it was, it stung more than I wanted to admit.

Well, I couldn’t blame her. My reputation had always been the same.

Cruelty was my middle name.

Rosalyn Torrance. A name unfamiliar to me. I walked forward with good intentions only to suddenly lose my breath, my vision flickering with floating lights that made my head spin.

Not Rosalyn. I saw Ruby.

The memory of the way she stood half stubborn, half amused. The way she threw around Your Majesty like a joke shared between lovers. She only ever used that title when she wanted to challenge me or remind me that I wore a crown burdened with too many sins.

My pulse thundered in my ears, and the streets around me twisted into a mirage of hell. My stomach turned. I struggled to keep myself from collapsing in shame.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Are you alright?” Rosalyn asked with worry in her voice.

“Just a regular migraine.”

“W–what? Why didn’t you say anything?! Come on, we have a healer in the pack. You could-”

“Thank you, Lady Torrance. But a migraine won’t kill me,” I replied.

I pressed my fingers to the right side of my temple, blinking repeatedly. Slowly, the pain began to fade. I looked around and saw that ash was still drifting from the alley like black snow. The metallic scent of blood clung to the air. Remnants of the vampire were still there burnt fragments on the concrete, and the death it left behind in its scream.

I had killed it without mercy.

And yet, what shook me the most was that I couldn’t save a single human. I didn’t particularly care, really. It was simply because, once they were fed on by a vampire, their body would become poisoned, and there was a chance they might turn into a new vampire. That’s why it had to be destroyed too.

Rosalyn looked around, horror surfacing on her face as she took in the massacre. She knew very well that I was the one who had carried out the final cleanup.

“Your Majesty, may I ask–what happened here?” she asked, holding her daughter even tighter.

Her voice jolted me out of my thoughts. I cleared my throat, locking the memory back into its proper place.

“Vampire,” I said flatly. “Feeding on a human out in the open. I saw it while walking through this area, and that’s why everything you now see happened.”

Her face lost all color. “In broad daylight?”

I gave a stiff nod. “Brazen. Or stupid. Maybe both.”

The little girl beside her, still hugging her doll, tilted her head toward me. Her gaze once again showed no fear. Only curiosity. And I could see Anna nudging her mother to explain what the adults were talking about.

“I’m sorry she had to see that,” I added, nodding softly toward the child.