Trapped with the Alpha King (Althea) novel Chapter 16

Althea’s face flushed as she muttered under her breath, “I… was ordered to strip. I didn’t think, I just drank from the bottle without checking to get some courage. I didn’t even sniff it. And that poison had no taste, so…”

Melva gasped. “Ohhh. So you got distracted… because the Alpha King was about to devour you,” she teased with a wicked grin.

“Stop,” Althea grumbled, pressing her lips together in embarrassment.

Melva chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction. “Alright, alright,” she said, still smiling. “How about I go scout around? Maybe I can find a river or a little waterfall nearby. You always say nature helps calm your body after one of those… episodes.”

Althea looked at her gratefully and nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Melva.”

“Then rest for a bit, I’ll be back before the stars come out,” Melva said cheerfully as she stepped outside the carriage.

As the door closed behind her, Althea leaned back and let out a soft sigh, the embarrassment lingering in her chest but so did a quiet warmth.

“I wonder what this was,” Althea hummed as she straightened her body and let these weird sensations just crawl inside her body.

She took a deep breath. Her body was slowly getting used now to these sudden waves of cold, or moments when her lungs felt full of too much air, or a burning sensation that pulsed beneath her skin.

It had started when she turned eighteen. No healer could explain it. But Althea knew… There was something inside her, something powerful, being held back by a force she didn’t understand.

She had begun to question if her mother was truly just human. All she ever heard from those who ridiculed her was that her mother was nothing more than a human slave, someone her father had bought from a distant continent. A mere slave… yet the woman he had fallen for completely.

Her father never spoke much about her, only that he had loved her more than life itself. That her death had nearly destroyed him. She had been ten years old when her mother died. She was found unconscious beside her mother’s body in the woods. She’d had a head injury, and when she woke, her memories were gone.

Everything about her mother… lost.

She closed her eyes and leaned against the wooden carriage wall, the ache in her chest deeper now, not just from the cold that haunted her body, but from the growing fear that her blood carried a truth even she wasn’t ready to face.

***

Meanwhile, outside, Melva wondered who she should approach, since none among the convoy were actually approachable. She saw a servant and walked toward her.

“Excuse me, is there a falls or river here somewhere?” she politely asked.

“Don’t talk to me! You’re from the traitor’s pack! You’re serving the traitor’s daughter who defiled our Princess!” the servant grunted.

“That’s enough!”

Melva was utterly confused. ‘Did our Alpha do more than wage war against the Alpha King? Defiling the Princess? The Alpha King’s older sister, Princess Ruela?’

It was Gamma Simon who approached, and the servant quickly walked away.

“What is it that you want?!” he hissed.

“Anyway, I believe our Alpha needs to know what his mate wants. She could really be sick, so I’ll report this matter,” Osman simply commented before waving and leaving.

Meanwhile, Melva was panting as she entered the carriage again, so Althea worriedly asked, “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing, just that these people are still wary of us. I’m sorry, my lady, I didn’t find anything…” she said as she caught her breath.

“Oh wait!” Melva hummed, making Althea frown. “Right, that servant mentioned something about Alpha Cain defiling the Alpha King’s sister.”

Althea bit her inner cheek and clutched the fabric of her dress. She once heard in her father’s thoughts how he was planning to use Princess Riela to covet the throne, saying she was easy to sway and believed they were fated mates.

“No wonder the Alpha King is truly mad. It’s not just about Father trying to usurp the Alpha King’s throne by waging war. It’s personal. We really don’t know the extent of what happened… but I will find out,” Althea firmly stated.

She was now feeling better, so she would read the minds of others whenever she could and see what truly happened.

“I’ll try getting more details too, My Lad-”

Melva’s voice was cut off when the door of the carriage swung open.

“My Lady, the Alpha King asks me to escort you to the nearest hot spring in the area,” Beta Osman said with a friendly smile.