Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76: 0076

Lorelei POV

Why was he smiling at her? Why was he talking to her?

My grip tightened around the burlap sack I was collecting after the sack race while my gaze remained fixed on Kaelen from a distance, watching him smile as he spoke to Emily.

When Emily had joked earlier that she was going to try her luck by pretending to slip right in front of the Alpha King just to get his attention, I had held back a smile, knowing Kaelen would most likely ignore her given his terrifying reputation.

But to my absolute surprise, not only had he caught her when she "tripped," holding her against him for far longer than necessary, but they had actually started a conversation and had been talking and laughing for the past five minutes.

The sight made my chest clench painfully for reasons I didn’t understand.

Even when I screamed at myself to look away, my body stubbornly refused to comply. So I could only stand there and stare, a bitter taste rising in my throat as I watched the man who had just pinned me against a wall act so completely charming with someone else.

"Stressful day, isn’t it?" Darius spoke suddenly, appearing right beside me.

At last, the spell was broken. I was finally able to tear my torturous gaze away from Kaelen and look at a much warmer, more familiar figure.

"Here," Darius said, handing me a cold bottle of water.

"Thanks," I said as I took it, deeply grateful for the distraction. "How did you know I was dying for this?"

Darius chuckled softly. "I’ve been watching you. You’ve been overworking yourself more than all the other volunteers."

That made me let out a quiet sigh, knowing he was probably just trying to flatter me.

"I’ve gotten really fond of the kids, so I guess I’m just trying to do my best for them," I said as I twisted the cap open and took a long, desperate gulp of the cold liquid.

As I did, a stray drop of water escaped and dripped down the corner of my mouth. Before I could even raise the back of my hand to wipe it away, Darius pulled a crisp white handkerchief from his pocket.

"It’s clean," he said softly as he stepped closer.

He gently wiped the corner of my mouth, his touch lingering against my skin for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. Then he placed the soft fabric into my hand.

"The sun is too hot today. You should keep this. You’ll need it."

I wanted to refuse, to insist that I was perfectly fine and didn’t need to borrow his things.

But then I heard the teasing whispers from a few of the orphanage staff members watching us nearby, and an intrusive thought immediately slipped into my mind.

I knew Kaelen could see us.

My smile widened at once, becoming brighter and more animated as I tightened my grip on the cloth.

"Thank you, Darius."

His gray eyes softened at my expression, a look of genuine affection passing through them.

"Anytime."

With that, I carefully tucked the handkerchief into my pocket, feeling both the physical weight of it and the sudden, suffocating weight of a very specific burning stare from somewhere across the field.

It wasn’t the first time Darius had done something thoughtful for me, but it was the first time I had accepted it so openly and publicly, without a single shred of hesitation.

"Come on," he said, nodding toward the center of the field and breaking the moment. "There are still a few more games left before the day ends. And if I heard correctly, I think the kids are currently plotting to drag you into the tug-of-war match."

I couldn’t help laughing.

"They’re going to regret that."

"Are you sure?" Darius teased, looking me up and down.

"I’m a lot stronger than I look, Beta Darius."

Darius raised a brow in return, and a playful, devastating grin spread across his face.

"We’ll see about that, Miss Ella."

****

Hell was I so, so wrong.

I had completely underestimated the strength of these teenage wolves.

Even the younger ones possessed a natural physical power, and they certainly didn’t go easy on me just because I was a guest.

To make matters worse, my suppressed wolf didn’t help either, leaving me to rely entirely on my own unassisted strength.

More than five times, the rope jerked violently, and I was sent face-first into the unforgiving ground.

By the time the whistle finally blew, signaling the end of the match, I felt utterly humiliated.

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