Lorelei POV

My legs felt like lead as I forced myself to walk toward Kaelen, even though every part of me was screaming to turn around and run in the opposite direction.

I mean, this was practically suicide.

I walked past the frozen guards, past Hawke’s pale face, and past Chelsea’s fallen expression as I followed behind him.

We moved through the estate, up several flights of stairs, and past towering marble pillars and countless unfamiliar yet captivating sights. He didn’t say a single word or even glance in my direction.

And even though he was only walking at a normal pace, his long legs made it nearly impossible to keep up with him. I practically had to jog just to avoid being left behind.

It wasn’t until we reached a door that he finally stopped.

He pushed it open and stepped inside first.

My feet immediately slowed.

I fidgeted nervously with my fingers, unsure if I should go in and terrified of what would happen if I didn’t.

"Come in."

The order came so suddenly that it almost felt like he had read my mind.

I swallowed hard as anxiety climbed into my throat and forced my feet to move.

The moment I crossed the threshold, Kaelen reached back and shut the heavy door behind me.

The loud click startled me so badly that my entire body jumped, but he either didn’t notice or simply didn’t care.

Instead, he continued walking farther into the room.

When I finally managed to compose myself, I let my gaze wander around.

It was clearly an office.

A very large office.

In fact, it was bigger than Callista’s bedroom back home.

A massive bookshelf stretched across one wall, packed with so many books that it looked more like a private library.

A large map of the empire hung above a seating area filled with plush leather chairs. In one corner stood a globe made of dark wood, and the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire estate grounds.

He really did have good taste.

At the center of it all sat a massive desk.

And standing in front of it was Kaelen.

His gaze was fixed entirely on me while I had just spent the last minute admiring his office like a tourist.

How embarrassing.

I quickly lowered my head.

"You entered my chambers," he said without missing a beat, and the moment those words left his mouth, my heart immediately clenched.

"Yes," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "But I swear to the Moon Goddess I didn’t steal anything. I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I was tricked, and..."

"You slept with me."

The words made my breath catch in my throat.

My head snapped up before I could stop myself, and my gaze collided with his cold amber eyes.

So he really had known all along.

"I can explain," I said quickly, and he tilted his head slightly.

"Then come closer. I don’t like talking from across the room."

My breath hitched again, and for one terrifying second, my legs refused to cooperate.

But the way his amber eyes remained fixed on me made it clear that lingering by the door was a much worse idea.

I swallowed hard, untangled my fingers, and slowly started walking toward him.

Every step felt like I was willingly walking into the jaws of a predator.

I finally stopped a few feet from the desk, not daring to move any closer.

Kaelen didn’t move.

He remained leaning against the edge of the desk with his arms crossed over his chest.

When I stopped, his gaze drifted down to my trembling hands before slowly returning to my face.

The weight of his stare held me completely captive.

"I am listening," he murmured.

It took me a few seconds to find my voice.

Standing in front of the Alpha King, a man who could end my life with a single command, wasn’t exactly helping my ability to think.

Still, I forced myself to speak. I mean, maybe if he heard the truth, he would understand, and he might even help me get justice.

So I started from the beginning.

I told him about the maid who had tricked me.

I explained how I had only entered his chambers because I had been ordered to clean them.

I told him how he had walked in afterward, clearly drugged and not acting like himself.

I conveniently skipped over everything that happened after that, as my face was already hot enough without having to describe it out loud.

Instead, I explained how I had panicked and snuck out afterward.

When I finally finished, silence settled over the room once more.

Kaelen didn’t say a word.

He simply stood there, watching me, observing me like a hawk.

Then he took a step forward, and when that happened, every instinct in my body screamed at me to take one back.

But I somehow managed to stay where I was.

Slowly, he pushed away from the desk and began circling around me.

His footsteps were almost completely silent against the carpet.

I felt his gaze on me the entire time.

It burned against my skin as he moved behind me, and every muscle in my body tightened as I fought the urge to turn around and see what he was doing.

"Ella, isn’t it?" he asked from behind me, using my fake name. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I flinched and immediately turned around so I could face him instead.

"Yes," I replied, my voice coming out much smaller than I intended.

Then he stopped circling and stood in front of me again, his head tilting slightly to the side.

"Where are you from?"

That question made my brows furrow.

Why was he asking me any of this? What did that have to do with any of this?

"I’m from a small village..." I started, but the moment those amber eyes locked onto mine, every part of the script Mr. Hawke had drilled into my head vanished.

"How old are you?"

The next question cut me off before I could even finish the lie.

"Twenty," I blurted out.

My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs that I was genuinely afraid he could hear it in the silence of the room.

"Twenty," he repeated slowly, as though testing the word. "Your file says you’re twenty-three."

Was that what this was about?

My stomach dropped.

Was he testing me to see if I would slip up?

"It must have been a mistake," I said, trying my best to remain calm. "I’m twenty. I’ll be turning twenty-one in a few months."

"You are young," he said as his gaze lingered on me.

Then, after a brief pause, he added, "But you’re an adult, so I can work with that."

I stared at him, my brows knitting together even tighter.

Work with what?

The question burned at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask it.

"I’m going to be very straightforward with you," he said, taking a step back, probably noticing the confusion written all over my face.

My stomach twisted.

I didn’t know why, but something about the way he said that made me nervous.

"I want to sleep with you. Again."

I blinked.

For a moment, I didn’t fully process what he had just said.

Or maybe my brain simply refused to process it.

The words hung in the air between us for a few more seconds, and when they finally sank in, my mouth fell open and my eyes widened in absolute shock.

All coherent thought immediately abandoned me.

"W-What?"