Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33: 0033

Kaelen POV

Fuck.

Why does everyone keep trying to get on my nerves?

Every second I spend in the same room as those women, I’m fighting a battle with myself not to lose control and let my wolf take over.

And if that happens, the council, who have been secretly scheming for years to bring me down, will use it against me.

They already hated me for bringing my father down.

They hated me even more because I was his illegitimate son.

So if word gets out that the Alpha King cannot control his own wolf, they will conveniently forget every sacrifice I made to keep this empire standing and use it as an excuse to strip me of my crown.

They’ve tried countless methods over the years, most of which ended with their execution, only making their hatred of me grow stronger.

Then they found a loophole.

Their daughters.

From their perspective, if even one of their daughters managed to carry my child, it would give them the ultimate leverage. My bloodline would become tied to theirs, giving them a permanent foothold in the empire and eventually a puppet they could use to replace me when the time was right.

The only flaw in their plan was that I couldn’t stand the scent of any female.

It was one of the reasons my wolf had gone mad in the first place.

Just a single touch from them was enough to agitate him so badly that I risked losing control.

Which was why I took measures like this.

I only employed female wolves who were convicted criminals.

That way, when I had to get rid of them, it was no different than taking out the trash.

Society wouldn’t mourn them.

The council couldn’t legally question their disappearance.

And my conscience wouldn’t lose a second of sleep over it.

But last night...

That maid.

That scent...

It was still stuck in my head.

"You don’t look too good," Darius, my Beta, said the second I stepped into my office.

He was sprawled across the sofa with a book propped lazily against his thigh.

He didn’t even bother looking up when the heavy door clicked shut behind me, but his nose twitched.

No doubt he had already caught the bitter scent of death still clinging to my clothes.

"Where were you?" I asked as I settled behind my desk. "You were supposed to be present when the execution was carried out."

"I’ve witnessed it too many times already. It ruins my appetite," he replied, his gaze still fixed on the book in his hand.

"What are your thoughts on emerald gems?" he suddenly asked, making my brow furrow.

"Why?" I said as I pulled out the file Hawke had retrieved for me and began flipping through it.

"I’m suddenly obsessed with the color green," Darius replied, finally looking up. His gray eyes flickered to the file in my hands before returning to my face. "What’s that?"

"A background check on a new maid," I said, but the moment I started reading, my expression darkened.

Her name was Ella. Born in a small village before eventually joining forces with rogues and becoming a thief.

That made my grip tighten around the parchment until my knuckles turned white.

A rogue thief.

The lowest, most lawless scum crawling along our borders.

And I had been in bed with that.

Just the thought of it made me want to march back out there and rip her throat out.

I despised rogues. I hated their very existence because of my history with them. In my book, they always deserved the harshest punishments.

"She’s a rogue," I muttered, my jaw clenching.

"Who is?" Darius asked, confused.

"The woman I slept with," I replied flatly, and his eyes widened.

"What? You slept with a woman?" he said, already rising to his feet and walking toward me.

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