Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 240

Chapter 240: 0240

Lorelei POV

A soft, startled gasp escaped my lips as Kaelen’s mouth crashed against mine.

"I love you," he whispered against my lips.

Those were words I had grown used to hearing from him, but tonight, they hit differently. Maybe it was because I could taste the sharp burn of alcohol on his lips, or because my newly heightened senses could pick up the heavy, suffocating scent of liquor clinging to him.

He had been drinking.

And not just a little.

I stiffened slightly when he deepened the kiss, but before I could say anything, he pulled back and buried his face into the crook of my neck.

"Promise me," he whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, desperate edge I hadn’t heard from him in a long time. "Promise me you’ll never leave me."

That made my brows immediately pull together in concern.

Where was this coming from?

He had seemed completely fine when he left the estate that morning. So why was he suddenly acting like this?

A small knot of disappointment formed in my stomach as I thought about the dinner waiting behind us. I had gone out of my way to prepare everything for him, asking the kitchen staff about all his favorite dishes while adding a few personal touches of my own.

I had spent hours in the kitchen from afternoon until evening, determined to make everything perfect for when he came home.

And now he was standing in front of me drunk.

It hurt more than I wanted to admit, even though I tried my best not to let it show.

"Lorelei..."

His soft, almost shaky voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He drew back slightly, his eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my chest tighten.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" he asked, gently cupping my cheek. "You won’t leave me, will you?"

I quickly shook my head, pushing my own disappointment aside as I reached up and placed my hand over his. I gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze.

"Of course not. I’ll never leave you," I promised softly, watching as the tension in his expression slowly eased with relief before adding, "But... why did you drink so much?"

Only then did he seem to fully catch himself. His eyes widened for a brief second as realization crossed his face, but he quickly pulled himself together, smoothing his expression back into that familiar, composed mask.

"Things got a bit out of hand with the Council at work," he said quietly. "I just needed to clear my head."

To the point of drinking this heavily?

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify