Trapped with the Alpha King (Althea) novel Chapter 62

Shaped Like A Key

With Lakan’s help, Althea’s strength had returned, yet the uneasiness from her dream still lingered.

She waited almost the whole night for Gavriel while lying in his bed but he never came. She got up and walked to the balcony. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, and her eyes filled with tears as her mother’s last words came back to her.

“We came from a powerful house, Althea. You possess great power within you, but others may perceive it as dangerous. Some, driven by greed, will try to use it for their own benefit. Be careful. Don’t show your gift unless you must. Live a simple life if you can. That’s all I want for you… I’m sorry I failed to protect you. I love you so much.”

Tears slid down her cheeks as she remembered the necklace her mother had given her before she died. There was a big pendant shaped like a key. She had lost it long ago. Luna Meena had taken it from her, only to lose it as well, and since then, it had never been found.

“Keep this key with you. One day, it will be useful to you, and—” Her mother’s words had cut off mid-sentence. She had died before finishing.

“I must find that key,” she whispered. She remembered so much now, yet some pieces were still missing. Most of all, she wanted to know the truth about where her mother had really come from.

Where had her mother truly come from? All Althea wanted was a home, a place where she could be accepted and live a simple life, the way she had always wished.

Althea closed her eyes as the night air brushed cool against her skin. She opened her eyes and leaned lightly on the railing, her gaze drawn to the oak tree not far from her sight. For a fleeting moment, she caught it… something shifting among the branches, too solid to be the wind.

Her heart gave a small jolt. Someone was there, looking at her and she was certain of it.

She turned quickly, grabbing her coat to cover her nightgown.

Just as she reached for the door, it opened a fraction and was blocked.

Trudis stood firmly on one side, and Ben on the other. Both guards bowed their heads slightly but made no move to step aside.

“My Lady,” Trudis said, his tone flat. “You shouldn’t be leaving your room this late.”

Ben gave her a gentler look, though his stance was no less steady. There was hesitation in his expression as he stutteringly asked, “How are you feeling now?”

Althea hesitated, then offered him a small smile. “I’m better. Thank you for asking.”

But even as she spoke, she let her gift slip in, quietly reading the surface of their thoughts.

Ben’s heart was conflicted. ‘I should thank her. She saved us all. But… how do I say it? Would it even matter?’

Trudis’s thoughts were heavier, weighed down by doubt. ‘She saved us… but why? Was it out of kindness? Or does she want something from us? Maybe it’s all a trick, a way to win us over. I can’t afford to trust her so easily.’

Althea’s smile stayed in place, though inside she felt a dull ache. She understood their silence, their suspicion. After all, she was still the traitor’s daughter in their eyes. No matter what she did, her every move would be questioned.

Her fingers brushed the railing as the idea settled in.

‘It would be good practice anyway,’ she told herself. It had been so long since she last trained with the four elements her mother had taught her.

Years of silence, years of lost memory about it. Now, with everything stirring inside her again, maybe it was time to remember what she was fully capable of.

The thought made her heart race, not just with nerves, but with a strange spark of excitement.

Althea leaned over the balcony railing, her eyes fixed on the ground below. For anyone else, the jump would have been reckless, but not for her. She knew the air would obey.

She stepped onto the edge without hesitation, her long hair fluttering around her face. With a calm breath, she raised her hand, and the wind stirred at once, swirling around her body like an old friend answering her call.

“I’ve done this before,” she murmured to herself, a quiet spark of pride in her voice.

Then she pushed off.