Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 146

Chapter 146: 0146

Lorelei POV

"No."

The single word was calm, flat, and final, cutting me off before I could even finish my sentence.

My eyes widened, and a stunned breath escaped my lips.

I couldn’t believe he’d shut me down that easily without giving me so much as a chance to speak.

"You don’t even know what I was about to say!" I shot back, a sudden burst of frustration overpowering my fear.

"Of course I do," he replied coolly, towering over me. "You came here to ask me not to punish them after they told you about their sentence."

"They didn’t tell me so I’d come plead with you!" I argued, immediately jumping to their defense as I took an instinctive step closer to him. "I asked them if they’d gotten into trouble because they looked guilty the moment I apologized. They were just answering my question."

But Kaelen simply shook his head, his amber eyes unwavering.

"That doesn’t change a damn thing. My mind is already made up. You cannot keep begging for mercy every time they’re negligent, Ella. If I keep letting their mistakes slide, they’ll grow complacent until someone actually succeeds in hurting you."

"Well... look on the bright side," I tried to reason, cautiously stepping into his personal space until only a few inches separated us. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest, but I forced myself to hold his gaze. "We... we had sex again. And this time, I didn’t pass out after five minutes."

The moment those words left my mouth, I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

My entire face burned with embarrassment, but if humiliating myself was what it took to save Isaac and Paul, then so be it.

For the briefest moment, it actually seemed to work.

His amber eyes widened ever so slightly, a flash of heat flickering across his face as his chest rose with a deeper breath. But just as quickly, he regained control, every trace of emotion disappearing behind his usual composed expression.

"No," he said, his voice firmer this time. "That won’t work on me. They will be punished. Thirty lashes are nothing to men of their rank."

When it became obvious that hadn’t worked either, I let out a quiet, frustrated sigh. My mind raced as I desperately searched for something, anything, that could crack his stubborn resolve.

Then I remembered the way he’d reacted every time I’d said his name last night.

It was a gamble.

Slowly, I stepped even closer. My trembling fingers reached up to lightly grasp the front of his shirt as I tilted my head back, locking my glassy green eyes with his.

"Please..." I whispered softly. "Kaelen... do it for me?"

The instant his name rolled off my lips, his entire body went rigid.

He looked away almost immediately, muttering under his breath, "What makes you think saying my name like that would work on me?"

Even so, I didn’t miss the faint blush creeping onto the tips of his ears.

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

So he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted me to believe.

Before he could avoid me again, I shifted to stand in front of him, forcing him to meet my eyes as I gave him my best, most shamelessly pleading look.

"Please... just this once? I’ll scold them myself, I promise." I looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Kaelen... please... Kaelen..."

The more I said his name, the harder it seemed for him to keep the corners of his lips from curling upward. Eventually, the faintest smirk slipped through.

"Fine," he muttered, letting out a long, defeated sigh.

Lowering his gaze to meet mine, he seemed to realize just how close we’d gotten. His smirk softened as he quietly added, "Now stop looking at me like that."

He lifted a hand, intending to press his palm against my forehead to gently create some distance between us. But the instant his skin touched mine, the smirk disappeared.

His expression immediately hardened into a deep frown.

Instead of pushing me away, his arm slid around my waist, pulling me even closer as he pressed his palm more firmly against my forehead.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify