Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 214

Chapter 214: 0214

Kaelen POV

Saying those last words felt like a serrated blade being driven straight into my chest and twisted. God, why the hell did it hurt this badly? I knew, logically, that Lorelei had lived an entire life before me.

I knew there had been people, memories, and experiences I could never erase just because she was with me now. But hearing her admit that she had loved him, that she had once belonged to him, made my wolf claw violently at my ribs in a feral, jealous frenzy.

It was supposed to be me.

Me and me alone.

Darius blinked a few times, clearly processing what I’d just told him, before slowly crossing his arms over his chest. "Wait... he’s the mate?"

His words snapped me out of my spiraling rage, but only for a second.

The way he emphasized the word made something in my head click.

The?

What the hell did he mean by that?

My eyes narrowed as I lifted my gaze to him, studying his expression more carefully.

"Hold on..." I said slowly, my voice dropping into a dangerous rumble. "You knew she had someone?"

Darius’s jaw tightened. "We were extremely close before you came between us," he admitted, a trace of old bitterness slipping into his voice before he caught himself. He took a sharp breath, clearly swallowing whatever else he wanted to say, then settled for a cool, steady stare. "Of course I knew."

I didn’t give a damn about whatever lingering attachment he still had toward her or how bitter he might have been about losing her to me. I was the Alpha King.

I was better for Lorelei in every way that mattered, and I wasn’t about to waste my time worrying about how Darius felt about the woman he had once wanted.

But the fact that my own Beta had known all of this and deliberately kept it from me made my inner wolf roar with authority.

"Why didn’t you say anything?"

The question came out as a low, terrifying growl, my uninjured hand curling into a tight fist against the desk.

But Darius didn’t even flinch.

He simply met my deadly glare with a calmness that somehow made my irritation burn hotter. "I don’t recall that being part of my job description as your Beta, Alpha King."

The sheer sarcasm dripping from his voice was impossible to miss.

I scoffed, dragging my bloodied hand over my face as I leaned back in my chair. I honestly didn’t have the energy or the patience to sit here trading petty remarks with him when my head was already a complete fucking mess.

"So what else did she tell you?" I gritted out. "What did she say about him?"

"That she had a mate," Darius answered quietly. He took a few slow, deliberate steps toward the desk, his expression softening slightly as his usual sarcasm gave way to something more serious. "A mate she rejected."

But that was exactly what Lorelei had confessed to me last night too. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough.

The only reason I hadn’t pushed her for more was because of the state she’d been in.

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