Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168: 0168

Lorelei POV

Hearing Skye’s reassuring words finally loosened the tight knot in my chest, and I found myself taking a much deeper breath. Goodness, what would I ever do without her?

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A few minutes later, I was walking down the long, quiet corridor with Isaac escorting me toward the Alpha’s private office. The closer we got to the heavy double doors at the end of the hallway, however, the faster my heart began pounding against my ribs, until I was almost certain Isaac could hear it too.

Standing outside Kaelen’s office, I hesitated for a long moment, taking a deep breath to steady myself before finally pushing the door open. My steps faltered the second I crossed the threshold because Raven was already inside, sitting casually in one of the leather armchairs directly in front of Kaelen’s massive mahogany desk.

The moment the door opened, both of their gazes snapped toward me. My eyes instinctively went straight to Kaelen, but as soon as our eyes met, he immediately looked away and turned his attention toward the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. The small gesture shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did, but my heart still clenched at the sharp rejection.

"Why are you just standing there by the door? Come on over," Raven said, breaking the heavy silence as she casually waved me inside.

Only then did I realize I’d been standing there, frozen like an idiot, staring at them instead of actually walking into the room. "Oh... right," I stammered before stepping inside and quietly shutting the door behind me.

My mind was already racing with questions. What was Raven doing here? Wasn’t this supposed to be just between Kaelen and me? I didn’t voice any of those thoughts, though, especially with Kaelen sitting there looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

"Good morning..." I began softly, but the words caught in my throat as I suddenly realized I had no idea what to call him. Calling him Kaelen felt far too intimate after the icy wall he’d built between us, so I swallowed and decided to play it safe. "Good morning... Alpha."

The moment the formal title left my lips, Kaelen’s head snapped up and his amber eyes locked onto mine. His brows pulled together, and something unreadable flickered through his gaze, an emotion so intense and turbulent that a shiver ran straight down my spine.

Maybe I shouldn’t have called him that.

I immediately regretted it, nervously biting down on my lower lip as I looked away from his intense stare. I crossed the room and quietly lowered myself into the empty leather armchair beside Raven, suddenly far too aware of the tension hanging between us.

"Did you sleep well?" Raven asked softly, leaning slightly toward me.

"A little," I whispered, my voice barely audible. I waited a second before leaning closer to her and quietly asking, "What is this meeting even about? Why are you here?"

But really, Raven, of all times, why now?

Raven’s casual demeanor vanished almost instantly, replaced by a sudden, razor-sharp seriousness. "There are a lot of pressing things we need to address, Lorelei. For starters, we just discovered that there are far more maids working on this estate who were also secretly sold here by Hawke."

My eyes widened in genuine shock. "What? Really?"

Raven nodded grimly. "A massive investigation is already underway, and the scale of it is way worse than you originally thought. Isn’t that right, Alpha?"

She turned to Kaelen, and my entire body stiffened as I slowly turned to look at him too. To my surprise, I caught his gaze already fixed on me. He seemed to realize it at almost the exact same moment, quickly clearing his throat before straightening in his seat and slipping back into that familiar cold, composed expression.

"Uhm... yes," Kaelen began, his voice deep and controlled. "We have confirmed that roughly fifteen of the women working across this estate were forced into labor through Hawke’s ring. We have also initiated tracking operations for the women who were sold off to neighboring packs, and we are working to trace the entire network directly back to the rogue factions behind it."

Wow... that was unbelievably fast.

I was still stunned by how quickly everything had been put into motion as I nervously fidgeted with my fingers in my lap.

But it really was a good thing. Those women must have suffered so much in here, and worse, some of them might have actually been killed. So, I guess the faster, the better.

After a moment, I looked back up at him and asked, "What do you plan on doing with the innocent women who were forced to work here?"

Except he really didn’t want me anymore.

Just like that, he was completely giving up on us.

The realization cut deeper than I ever thought possible, leaving a raw, throbbing ache in my chest. I kept my eyes fixed on his face, silently begging for even the smallest crack in his stoic expression. I wanted to see some regret, some hesitation, anything that would tell me this wasn’t what he truly wanted. But his features remained cold and unreadable, giving me nothing to hold on to.

"Compared to the others, I treated you the worst... by taking you to my bed," he said flatly, as though he were simply stating an uncomfortable fact instead of slowly tearing my heart apart.

It made everything ten times worse that he was saying all of this right in front of Raven, who thankfully maintained a strict, professional silence, although I could feel her sharp eyes moving between the two of us as she quietly took everything in.

"Therefore, you will receive the highest compensation," Kaelen continued, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "If there is anything else you require beyond the standard allocation, name it. It will be granted immediately."

My fists clenched tightly in my lap until my knuckles turned white as another wave of deep, sickening betrayal washed over me. He was making this sound like some kind of business transaction, as though everything between us could simply be reduced to money and compensation. Then, a sudden memory flashed through my mind, and my expression hardened.

"There is one thing I want," I said, my voice suddenly serious as I stared directly at him.

"What?" Kaelen asked, his amber eyes locking onto mine again.

For a brief second, my confidence wavered beneath the weight of his stare. I hesitated, wondering if he would actually honor this request, but I knew I had to try.

Swallowing past the tight lump in my throat, I forced the words out.

"I want you to give Skye her freedom too."