Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: 0038

Lorelei POV

The hug caught me so off guard that I just stood there for a moment, completely frozen.

My heart started racing.

Was it because this was the first time I had ever seen someone cry for my sake? I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cared whether I lived or died.

Yet this girl barely knew me.

Why did she care this much?

Slowly, the tension drained from my body, and I found myself wrapping my arms around her in return.

"I’m okay," I said quietly, feeling my own eyes begin to sting. "I’m okay."

"What happened?" Skye asked as she finally pulled back enough to look at me. "I heard the guards took you away, and then Chelsea started telling everyone you were going to be executed, and I didn’t know what to think. I thought..."

"Skye," I interrupted gently, squeezing her shoulders to ground her as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "I’m really fine."

That seemed to calm her a little.

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her sleeve and took a shaky breath.

"But what happened?" she asked again. "Where did they take you?"

Hearing that, I glanced around at the other maids, who were all still staring. Some looked shocked, some looked curious, and a few looked disappointed.

I shook my head.

"Not here," I whispered. "I’ll tell you later."

Skye nodded and bent down to gather the linens she had dropped.

I crouched beside her to help.

But the moment I straightened back up, my eyes landed on Chelsea.

She was standing off to the side, watching us.

Her face was a mess.

One eye was swollen nearly shut. Her lip was split. Dark bruises covered her jaw, and her nose was still slightly crooked from where I had hit her.

Despite all of that, her glare hadn’t softened in the slightest.

Her eyes were locked on me, and her fists were clenched so tightly at her sides that her knuckles had turned white.

If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead on the spot.

The sight almost made me laugh, but instead, the corner of my lips slowly curled upward.

"Don’t," Skye said, immediately grabbing my arm. "Ella, don’t."

I looked down at her hand before gently pulling my arm free.

Then I started walking straight toward Chelsea.

The other maids immediately stepped aside as I approached. Their eyes followed me cautiously, and I could practically see them wondering what I was about to do.

After all, the last time Chelsea and I had been in the same room together, I had lost my temper and left her face looking like a battlefield.

And honestly?

Just remembering it made me feel a little more confident.

Chelsea, on the other hand, didn’t move. She didn’t flinch or step back.

Her eyes followed me as I closed the distance between us until I was standing only inches away from her, close enough to hear the slight unevenness in her breathing.

"You look a little pale," I said, tilting my head. "What is it? Did you see a ghost, or is it because of all the blood you lost?"

Chelsea’s face immediately flushed a deep shade of red beneath the bruises.

The contrast was almost impressive.

White bandages were still taped across her nose and cheek, making her anger even more obvious.

For a second, she looked like she wanted to scream.

Or punch me.

Or throw herself at me and finish what we’d started yesterday.

But whatever she was thinking, she kept it to herself.

Maybe she remembered what had happened the last time she underestimated me.

"You might think you’re clever because you got lucky," she hissed. "But I know what the Alpha King is like. I know your days here are numbered."

The words hit harder than I wanted to admit, causing a small knot to tighten in my stomach.

I mean, she could be right. What if the Alpha King really had figured out who I was?

But there was no way I was letting Chelsea see even a crack in my confidence. If I backed down now, all these women would see it.

If I stood my ground, none of them would dare mess with me again.

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