Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52: 0052

Lorelei POV

"So you give tips on how to seduce men," Darius said.

We were outside now, standing near the edge of an almost empty courtyard. After walking in silence for a while, we had stopped beside a low stone wall that overlooked what looked like a training ground.

The morning sun warmed my skin, but my cheeks burned for a completely different reason.

So he really did hear all of that.

"I was just trying to get on her nerves," I muttered, looking away from his gaze. "I didn’t mean any of it. How am I supposed to get any man when I couldn’t even keep my own mate..."

My voice trailed off, and my breath hitched the second the words left my mouth.

My eyes widened slightly as the realization hit me.

I said that out loud.

Shit.

Darius’s expression shifted immediately, his brows pulling together. "You have a mate?" he asked, his tone no longer amused but sharp with interest.

I let out a quiet sigh, my fingers fidgeting with the fabric of my dress.

"Had," I corrected softly. "He fell in love with someone else, so I rejected him."

"It’s that easy?" Darius asked, his voice unreadable.

"It should be," I replied, my voice dropping slightly. "But it hurts."

It hurt more than I would ever admit to anyone.

Even now, I still caught myself thinking about him, wondering what things could have been if he had just trusted me.

A quiet sigh slipped past my lips before I could stop it.

"But even if it hurts," I continued, staring out at the empty training grounds, "sometimes it’s better to just let go."

Darius let out a soft scoff.

"If only he could take that advice," he muttered, more to himself than to me as his gaze drifted away for a brief moment.

"Who?" I asked instinctively.

The question slipped out before I could stop myself, and a second later, I was mentally cursing myself.

Why was I questioning him like that? He was the Beta, for crying out loud.

"A certain someone," he replied anyway, with a faint smirk touching his lips.

Just like before, he avoided giving a real answer, but I didn’t press further.

After all, it wasn’t my place to pry.

"What about you?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from my pathetic past.

So far, I knew the Alpha had a mate who left him because of his nature, but what about Darius? Had his mate left too?

"Me?" he repeated, tilting his head.

I half expected him to dodge the question like he had done twice already, but instead, a dry, humorless smile touched his lips.

"I’m a mateless wolf. Never had one, never will."

He spoke with so much certainty that, for a brief moment, I found myself almost envious of him.

"But don’t you ever wonder?" I asked softly, unable to stop myself. "What it feels like to have someone who is entirely yours?"

Hearing that, something in his expression shifted.

His jaw tightened, and for the briefest second, I caught something that looked almost like regret before he buried it again.

"I do," he admitted, holding my gaze for a few long seconds before slowly exhaling and looking away. "But it is what it is."

Those words were followed by complete silence.

I just stood there awkwardly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, completely at a loss for words. I didn’t know what else to say or if I was even allowed to press any further into the Beta’s personal life after seeing that brief crack in his armor.

"That maid..."

Thankfully, Darius broke the heavy silence, his eyes still fixed on the empty training grounds stretched out before us.

"How often does she target you?"

"Who, Chelsea?" I asked, and just hearing her name made my jaw tighten all over again. "Pretty much since the day I got here. She’s always been on my neck, constantly looking for the smallest excuse to get me into trouble."

"Would you like me to take care of it?"

He said it so casually that a shiver ran straight down my spine, as if my body instinctively understood the dark meaning hidden beneath those simple words.

"What?" I stammered, my heart skipping a beat.

Darius still didn’t look at me. His profile remained perfectly still against the morning light.

"You are no longer a maid, Ella," he said, using my fake name with effortless precision. "You are now with the Alpha King. However complicated your relationship might be, I have a responsibility to ensure your safety and your standing within this compound. So, if you want, I can simply make her go away."