The Alpha King's Claim novel Chapter 34

The Alpha King’s Claim chapter 34 by desirenovel

Aero

I tried to hide it, but my displeasure was evident on my face as soon as the vampire entourage entered the ballroom. I clenched my fists and growled out low. I wished for an interesting night tonight, but I didn’t mean this at all.

The announcement of their presence was too late, but it was enough to catch the attention of the guests. They parted in half to allow the odd group passage and all waited with curious eyes as they neared my throne.

From the periphery of my vision, I saw my queen gasp; her mouth slightly open and her hand splayed over her chest. Somehow she didn’t look at me. No. Nothing. Not a single glance and yes, somehow this made me feel a little—no, a lot—disappointed. I couldn’t read what was in her mind. I couldn’t read what she was feeling. Was she happy about this vampire’s presence? Was she afraid? Or irritated even. Was she…excited?

Urghh…

This was the first time I wished I could feel her emotions just like I do with Elijah.

She just stared at Hale and the vampire, with all his despicable bravado donned in fine clothes and his signature cape, met her gaze.

“Your Majesty, King Aero,” he stated with a short bow once he was near us. A flight of stairs separated us from him. It was enough a distance, but at the back of my head, I had the unsavory urge to push him further…further…further away from the queen.

“What’s this?” I raised a brow and gripped my armrest, “I didn’t get a notification as to your visit here tonight Lord Hale.”

He broke into his diplomatic smile that I had been accustomed to but never liked.

“I did inform your realm’s guardian about my entry, Your Majesty,” he stated with ease. “Didn’t she inform you?”

A tick on my jaw appeared. “Obviously, Farryl didn’t.”

He managed to shrug his shoulders and acted innocent. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Naturally curious, my guests continued to listen to our conversation. They didn’t return to eating or dancing nor did they return to their boisterous conversation like earlier. I couldn’t blame them. It was an unusual sight for a vampire lord to grace the Kingdom of Phanteon especially when it wasn’t for official reasons.

“State your business, Lord Hale,” I ordered, wanting to get it over and done with. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about his visit tonight.

“I heard about the queen’s return of health,” he answered swiftly, this time his red eyes resting on her. “I wanted to celebrate and the best way to do this is to celebrate with her.”

I knew it and with that, my temper rose. I didn’t like how audacious he was. He wasn’t welcomed in my castle, more so in this banquet. I was seconds away from stating that but then he turned to the queen’s way and expressed:

“Your Highness, Queen Serena, how wonderful it is to see your healthy glow again.”

‘Fucking vampire,’ my lycan side started growling.

I watched with pointed eyes as the queen sat perfectly still; her face unreadable.

“I appreciate your visit and concern, Lord Hale. My stay in your place unfortunately yielded unpleasant results. I could only hope those poor women I left behind didn’t receive the same fate as mine.”

Lord Hale shook his head and bowed low again.

“I assure you, that kind of incident wouldn’t happen again, Your Highness. It was just unfortunate King Aero’s past connections caught up with you.”

We exchanged glances, knowing what it was he was talking about. I gave him a sharp glare in return, daring him to spill that unnecessary information.

“Well, my husband’s reputation precedes him. How he lived his life before he met me shouldn’t concern me or my safety but I am his wife now. It’s expected I would be targeted too as I am a lesser threat. Cowards do that. They take on the weak one.”

The vampire chuckled. “Oh no, Your Highness, you most certainly are not weak. I see you as a strong individual. You are a luna after all.”

I routed my attention to the queen expecting her to be confused at Hale’s words, but to my surprise, I read no confusion on her face, just the same blank mask as earlier.

Did Elijah taught him about lunas or did she learned it from Earthly definitions? I was curious to know.

“I appreciate the kind words, Milord,” she stated.

Hale flashed his teeth at her. “Since I’m here, I’ll take this opportunity to request for a dance with you. I’m sure King Aero wouldn’t mind. Right?”

He looked at me and then grinned.

‘Fucking vampire,’ my lycan side expressed again and the urge to rip out his throat came to the fore.

‘No, brother. Be calm. It’s just a dance,’ my brother mind-linked me immediately.

‘Fuck off, Elijah,’ he growled at him.

“No, he wouldn’t mind at all,” was the queen’s statement as she stood up from her seat.

She took it and awarded me a smile. “You should act more loving than that, Your Majesty, else your subjects will sense it.”

“Then, be ready to be swayed, woman.” I tightened my grip on her hand as we stepped down the throne.

Shouts and hollers continued as we reached the center of the ballroom. Her smile was wide and warm as she waved at the crowd. I, on the other hand, poured my attention on her.

“Look at me now,” I ordered as the violin music began to play.

She glanced up at me, still smiling, but that smile turned into a gasp as I, without warning, pressed her body against mine. I cupped her face, thumbed her bottom lip, and gave her a chaste kiss.

“This is all for show,” I reminded her after withdrawing.

She cleared her throat and blinked fast. “Of course,” she managed to say.

The music crescendoed. We started dancing. Hand in hand and chest to chest, we moved as one. I half expected her to be stiff on the dance floor but in reality, she was as light as a feather and very easy to manage as a dance partner. We never practiced dancing like this, but it was as if we synced on the spot, dancing like we had been partners before.

My wrist mark ached, effectively letting itself known, but it was an ache unlike the painful ones I had received in the past. It was a good kind of ache. It was certainly like an adrenaline rush.

At one point, Hale’s face came to view. I grinned and lowered my mouth, kissing the queen’s forehead in effect, subtlety letting him know that this woman was my property.

His face was still a mask of any kind of emotion. He didn’t grin back or frown. I was content for a while, continued dancing and acting all loving towards my fake wife until minutes later, I felt someone tap my shoulder from behind.

“Mind if I cut in?”

I knew immediately whose voice it was.

In haste, my wolf barked a heavy ‘No’ and so did my lycan side. I didn’t want to hand her over to him too, but with all eyes looking at us as witnesses, I had to maintain proper decorum.

The queen’s grip on my shoulder tightened as I stepped back. “Serena,” I gave her a pointed look. Then and there, I realized, I just used her name for the first time since we met. It felt good on my tongue, but unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to mull over it. Hale was already upon us.

“I’ll be close,” I continued.

She nodded and smiled towards the dark lord as if her fear wasn’t present at all.