Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 152

Chapter 152: 0152

Kaelen POV

"I’m... I’m sorry..." she whispered, her lower lip quivering as fresh tears welled in her eyes.

The sight of her breaking apart right in front of me made the guilt twist painfully inside my chest.

I already felt like absolute shit, but I was just so furious, so consumed by rage that I couldn’t care at that moment.

"Don’t apologize," I growled, finally forcing my legs to move as I stalked toward her. "Don’t fucking apologize, goddammit."

The second I took another step, Raven immediately pulled Lorelei behind her and planted herself directly in front of me.

She then pulled the earpiece from her ear while her blue eyes locked onto mine without the slightest hint of fear.

"You need to calm the fuck down, Alpha," Raven said firmly without any ounce of hesitation. "Lorelei’s been through hell, and the man she’s accusing seems to be one of your highest-ranking officials. So how exactly do you expect her to trust you?"

Lorelei.

That name echoed over and over inside my head, drowning out everything else.

Lorelei. Not Ella.

Lorelei.

If I didn’t even know her real name... then what the fuck did I actually know about her?

Who was the woman I had held in my arms?

Who was the woman I had shared a bed with, the woman I had been having sex with?

Had any of it even been real, or had everything between us simply been another way for her to survive?

As I thought of that, a sharp, unbearable pain tore through my chest, forcing a ragged breath from my lungs.

I dragged a hand through my hair before gripping it so tightly it hurt, desperately trying to keep my wolf under control.

"Can you excuse us?" I asked, forcing my voice into a dangerously quiet tone as I looked directly at Raven. "I want to speak with her alone."

"No."

She didn’t hesitate for even a second.

"Forgive me, Alpha, but you’re clearly not in the right state of mind. I’m not leaving her alone with you."

There wasn’t a shred of uncertainty in her voice.

She had already made up her mind, and judging by the look in her eyes, there wasn’t a force on earth that was going to make her move.

"Ella..."

The name slipped out before I caught myself.

I immediately stopped, as it suddenly felt wrong, tasting like poison in my mouth.

"Lorelei," I corrected quietly, the unfamiliar name still feeling strangely heavy on my tongue.

Keeping my eyes fixed on the girl hiding behind Raven, I forced myself to keep my voice calm.

"Lorelei..." I repeated, softer this time. "I need to talk to you... alone. Now."

Even as I said it, my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

Normally, I expected her to give in immediately. She always seemed to instinctively yield whenever I spoke with that tone, but this time, she kept her head lowered, refusing to look at me.

"I... I want Raven to stay," she whispered.

Those four words drove another sharp, sickening pain straight through my chest.

My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides, my knuckles aching from the tension, but I forced my expression to remain completely unreadable.

My voice came out flat and icy, completely controlled. It was the same voice the rest of the world knew, the voice of the ruthless tyrant who didn’t allow his emotions to interfere with his decisions.

Raven clearly knew what I wanted because she stepped forward and placed the small earpiece directly into my palm.

I lowered my gaze to it, examining the tiny device closely as a dozen questions began tearing through my mind.

How long had she been orchestrating all of this behind my back? Had she suspected from the very beginning that I was somehow involved in her kidnapping?

Had she been watching me all this time, waiting for the moment she could finally escape?

And yet...

Despite believing I might be connected to the people who had taken her, she’d still willingly climbed into my bed.

She had agreed to become my sex partner, letting me touch and hold her as I pleased. Was that all because she had no other choice? I mean, it’s not like I made it seem like she had one anyway.

I had taken an innocent, traumatized woman and turned her into my plaything.

The realization twisted something deep inside my chest.

What the hell did she actually think of me?

Because right now, as I stared down at the evidence of my own failure, I knew one damn thing for certain. If I were in her position, I knew exactly what I’d think.

I would fucking hate me.

"How did you get this?" I asked, my voice dropping dangerously low as I held the tiny earpiece between two fingers.

This wasn’t some cheap little recording device. It was a military-grade audio bug, which meant someone had deliberately planted it to listen in on conversations without being detected.

But the instant my question left my lips, Lorelei’s entire body stiffened.

Her breath caught sharply, and the sudden change in her demeanor made my eyebrow rise.