|chapter 9|

|chapter 9|
|Talitha|

I don’t move an inch. 

I can't. 

Not when my mind still struggles to comprehend what Ty just revealed to me. Not when the word Alpha King still claws at the edge of my mind, leaving me frozen, hollow. I can hardly breathe as the stranger—no, the Alpha King and supposedly, my second mate—stares me down with those eyes that burn hotter than fire; eyes that strip me bare and make my lie feel like the noose around my own neck.

It cannot be. It couldn’t possibly be true that I would be mated to two different men, one of whom is an Alpha King. It isn’t true—

“Talitha!” A voice suddenly cuts through the thick air, interrupting my thoughts.

I turn just in time to see Mother Elvyra sweep into the clearing, her robes flowing in the evening breeze, her presence instantly steadying and grounding me. Behind her, I notice that a crowd has gathered—more townspeople than the original few who’d been tending the fields earlier—all of whom immediately kneel low at the attention of the Alpha King, their heads bowed in reverence.

Tyler hadn’t lied. This stranger claiming to be my mate really is the Alpha King.

My stomach twists with unease.

When Mother Elvyra comes close enough, I stumble the remaining distance towards her as though I am a child once more, seeking shelter beneath her shadow. “Mother,” I breathe, my voice raw and desperate. “Please help…” I clutch at her sleeve, heart hammering in my chest.

She lays a firm hand upon my shoulder, drawing my gaze to hers. Her eyes, calm and unshaken as always, search mine. “Child, what has happened? Erna and Julie came running to me in great alarm, crying out that a man did threaten harm upon their parents. What troubles you so?” She asks softly, though her attention soon shifts, and I watch as she, too, bows her head low to the man looming like a thundercloud behind me. “Your Grace, forgive us, for we hadn’t expected your arrival until the morrow. The magistrate will be here shortly, but on his behalf, I would like to welcome you to our humble town, Sire.”

My horror deepens as her words become the final blow which leaves me no room for doubt about this man truly being the Alpha King—as though Tyler’s earlier proclamation and the entire town bending the knee before him were not proof enough.

But to my chagrin, the King doesn’t respond to Mother Elvyra's greeting. And when I turn to face him, standing behind Mother now, I find his stare fixed solely on me, as though he cannot—will not—look anywhere else. The air around him crackles with suppressed rage, with the sharp scent of bloodlust that even the villagers appear to sense. Mothers clutch their children close, men keep their heads bowed, no one daring to so much as breathe too loudly.

Then Mother Elvyra, ever discerning, sweeps her gaze between the Alpha King and me. I know she can sense it: the heaviness in the air, the dangerous thread strung taut between us.

“Dear, what has transpired here?” she asks softly again, her tone meant for me alone.

My mouth immediately dries. My lips part, falter, and yet I force myself to let the words out, each one scraping my throat raw. “He… he claims I am his m-mate.”

For the first time in all the years I have known her, Mother’s composure falters. Her eyes widen as her head snaps toward me, her breath catching ever so slightly. Then, swiftly, her mask returns, though I can still see through it; she is shaken.

Grasping the weight of the situation, Mother turns to the King, bowing her head low before him as she mutters, “Your Majesty, perhaps this is a matter best discussed in the chapel, where cooler heads may prevail. Surely, this is not a spectacle for—”

The Alpha King cuts her off, his voice booming across the fields, silencing even the wind, while his gaze remains locked on me, dark and searing. “There shall be no chapel and no delay. This man—” his gaze cuts to Tyler, who kneels quaking still in the dirt, “—shall be executed before all, for having dared to steal what belongs to me.”

Gasps ripple through the crowd and my stomach drops so violently that I nearly retch. My lips part yet the only word that manages to escape comes out weak and strangled. “W-What?”

“No!” The cry comes not from me, but from Eunice, who pushes her way through the throng, no doubt having returned to the chapel upon word of the Alpha King’s untimely arrival. Her face is ashen with terror, her cheeks glistening with tears as she throws herself at the King’s feet, kowtowing beside a still stricken Tyler. “Please, Your Majesty, it cannot be true. My husband has stolen nothing! He would never—”

“Silence.” The King’s voice cracks like thunder, sharp and inexorable. His stare pins Eunice in place. “That man sought to steal from me the most sacred gift of all—my fated mate, as by Talitha’s own words, he is her husband. Unless your kin is steeped in polygamy, one of you weaves falsehoods before me. So, do you yet dare brand me a liar, woman?”

A collective murmur rises like a wave from the townspeople, crashing against me on every side. My knees nearly buckle beneath the weight of it while my skin prickles under dozens of eyes that now turn toward me, questions unspoken but loud in their silence, with Eunice's gaze ringing the loudest. I shrink back, pressing myself further behind Mother Elvyra, and wishing I could dissolve into the earth. Once again, I unintentionally meet the Alpha King’s unwavering, unfaltering gaze; it shackles me, heavy with vengeance and something else I cannot name.

“High King,” Mother Elvyra interjects quickly, her voice calm though her brow furrows slightly. “Surely a grave error lies here. Tyler has naught to do with your fated, nor is there any polygamy amongst the people of Eldwyn. As Eunice herself has confirmed it—she is his true and lawful wife, his one and only.”

“Very well then,” the King declares, his voice edged with command, “If lies have been spoken, let the very tongue that wove them be the one to unravel them. Speak now, Talitha, and make plain the truth before everyone here.” 

The Alpha King’s words appear to cast a merciless beacon of light upon me because at once, the gathered people turn my way, fastening their eyes on me, the weight of it heavy and suffocating. My bottom lip quivers, my heart hammering against my ribs as though it would burst for I know I cannot escape this—not his fury, not the truth and definitely not the ruin I have brought upon myself.

However, I still try one last time to appeal to the King. “Please…” My voice cracks, hardly above a whisper. “Stop this.”

Alas, his expression does not soften. “If you refuse to speak, then I shall act,” he growls, every word akin to a lash upon my flesh. “The execution shall proceed as I have commanded.”

“No!” The protest bursts from me, jagged and desperate. My shoulders slump, my spirit sagging in defeat. “I–I’ll speak. I’ll tell you everything.”

The crowd shifts restlessly, yet none dares to speak, each soul holding their breath in anticipation while my lungs burn as I draw in a ragged breath before forcing the truth past my shaking lips. “Tyler is neither my husband nor do I share a family with him. It was all a lie.” My voice trembles, but I press on despite the shame squeezing at my throat. “I’d only spoken in fear because I did not understand what was happening. One moment you were but a stranger, and the next you were… claiming me. It was too much for me to bear, so I panicked. I was wrong.”

I blink quickly as tears sting my eyes, blurring my vision, but then Mother Elvyra’s hand slips into mine, steady, warm, and grounding as I clutch it tightly, drawing what little courage I can muster from her silent strength.

“I did not know who you were, Your Highness,” I whisper. “I had no notion that you were the Alpha King. The children do not belong to me either—they are Eunice’s and Tyler is her husband, not mine. I never meant…” My voice falters, my chest heaving. “I never meant for matters to spiral so far. It was not my intention to bring harm or peril upon anyone.”

A heavy silence follows my explanation as the townsfolk watch, breathless and still. My stomach knots further in guilt at the sight of Eunice clutching both Simon and a trembling Tyler close, her face pale and tear-streaked, yet the Alpha King remains eerily still, his jaw clenched while his gaze remains unmoving from me. When at last he speaks, the air itself seems to bristle.

“I should order that he be whipped twenty lashes as punishment for your falsehoods,” he says, his voice cold and merciless. “For not only did you lie, but you sought to make a fool of me. And no one makes a fool of the Alpha King.”

A horrified cry escapes Eunice. “Mercy, Your Majesty, please!”

Before she can beg any further, I step forward, my body trembling but my voice ringing clear. “If anyone is to be punished, it should be me, Sire. The lies were mine and Tyler was merely dragged into them. Spare him, please. If you must mete out punishment, let it fall upon me alone.”

The field goes deathly quiet at my words, as though even the grass dares not whisper. The King studies me, those molten eyes burning straight through my skull, and weighing my words, my courage… or foolishness. I can’t tell which. My pulse thrashes wildly, my knees threaten to buckle, but I keep my gaze fixed on him because I know if I look away, I’ll shatter.

At last, he exhales—slow, and controlled, yet laced with something dangerous.

“All this trouble,” he murmurs, “all this chaos born of your lies. Born because you dare to try to reject me, little mate.” His tone sends a cold tremor down my spine, and I brace myself, waiting for his orders—for the guards to seize me, for the flogging post to be erected, and for the judgment to fall upon me like an axe.

Yet instead…

“But I shall show mercy today, and no punishment shall be dealt on anyone.”

My eyes widen, and all around us, the crowd murmurs their relief—soft gasps and prayers whispered under shaky breaths. My shoulders slump with the force of my exhale, and I nearly collapse with relief myself. I open my mouth, a thank-you ready on my tongue, but apparently, the Alpha King is not done yet.

“On one condition,” he says, replacing the relief in the air with distress once again. The murmurs die down, and my heart climbs into my throat, my hold tightening around Mother Elvyra’s as the Alpha King steps forward, his presence swallowing all the space between us and overwhelming me despite my hiding behind Mother. “You will gather your belongings at once and prepare for our departure. At proper nightfall, we return to my kingdom.”