16

Sixteen
My mouth was wide open in shock at what Rafe had just said. Had he just asked them to release me? He didn’t want me punished?
The guards quickly stepped away from me. The confusion on their faces was evident. If the situation wasn’t so tense, I would have laughed and childishly stuck my tongue out at them. But right now, all I could think of was how I was in trouble. The Alpha was known for his ruthlessness if you crossed him. I knew without a doubt that I was in trouble.
“Follow me.” Rafe said, his voice hard as kryptonite. My heart pounded in my chest like a drum, the beat matching the hollow thud of my footsteps as I followed Rafe through the corridors of the palace.
I wanted to ask where he was taking me but the fear that gripped me was too heavy for me to confront him. Thankfully, Kelly and the other girls were not in sight. Maybe they had been ask to return to their rooms after the whole thing had happened. The air was thick with tension, and I could feel it coiling around me like a snake, constricting my breath and making my movements stiff. I knew I was in trouble, but I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement mixed with the fear that coursed through my veins.
Rafe was known for his temper, and I had just broken his mother’s precious portrait by mistake. It was an heirloom, passed down from generation to generation, and now it lay shattered on the floor of the grand hall, fragments of glass reflecting the fury in Rafe’s eyes. He hadn’t said a word after he ordered me to follow him, he had just turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving me to follow in his wake.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come. I had been in this position before, standing before my family whenever they wanted to punish me for something I hadn’t done or something I had done by mistake. But never had I faced someone like Rafe. His very presence was enough to make my knees tremble.
We entered the chamber together, Rafe leading the way as I followed closely behind. The door closed with a resounding click, sealing us in the room together. For a moment, it was quiet, save for the crackling of the fire. Then, without looking at me, Rafe spoke.
“You broke my mother’s portrait.” His voice was low and measured, but I could hear the anger simmering just below the surface.
I swallowed hard, mustering up the courage to meet his gaze. “I-I’m sorry,” I stammered. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to-”
Rafe held up a hand, silencing me. “I don’t care about your intentions. The fact remains that you destroyed something of great value to me. I never forgive such actions. Do you understand?!” He almost yelled as he finally faced me. I froze at the fiery look in his eyes.
There was a long pause as I scrambled to find the right words to say. I knew that an apology alone would not be enough to appease him, but I also knew that any other course of action would only make things worse. Finally, I took a deep breath and spoke.
“What do you want me to do? to um… earn your forgiveness..”
Rafe considered my question for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. Then, his expression cleared, and he gave me a rueful smile.
“I want you to join me.”
I blinked, puzzled by his response. “Join you? How?”
Then he started moving closer to me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body and smell the musky scent of his cologne. “I want you to share my bed. You will be the first out of the candidates to be intimate with me.”
The words hung in the air between us, heavy with the meaning and consequence. I felt my heart skip a beat, and I tried to process what he was saying. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Rafe was asking me to sleep with him. As my punishment. If I agreed, I would definitely have more chances than the rest of the ladies. After all, the competition was for the best breeder to be his Luna. But It also meant giving myself to him completely, body and soul. He didn’t care if I wanted to or not. He was the king. The Alpha. He must be obeyed. I swallowed hard.
I knew I should refuse, should walk away from this dangerous game he was playing with me before I got burnt in his wild fire. But there was something about Rafe, something magnetic and irresistible, that made me want to stay. I couldn’t deny the fact that I was attracted to him. Even though I shouldn’t. We stared at each other silently, the air between us so thick that I could almost taste it.
Slowly, almost against my will, I nodded. “Yes.”
Rafe’s eyes darkened with desire, and he moved even more closer into me so that my breasts were touching his chest. I couldn’t breathe for even a split second. I was too aware of everything that was him. His smell, his heat, his breath fanning my face. If i leaned in slightly, our lips would touch.
“Are you sure this is what you want, Kitten?” His voice was a whisper across my cheek. I frowned at the pet name.
“Why are you asking me if you have already made up your mind my king..?” I asked in a whisper that matched his. He towered over me by several feet but I looked up at him, making sure my eyes were almost at the same level with his.
“I just don’t know what it is about you that draws me in, I don’t know why I picked you first on that day. Amongst all the other ladies, the moment I saw you, I had the unexplainable urge to pick you. To have you. Why?”
He suddenly grabbed my arms and pushed me till I backed the wall behind me, caving me in between him and the wall. “Tell me why I am drawn to you. Who are you??”
“I am Freya Hadid my king.”
“I know! Freya Hadid. why do you occupy my thoughts and disturb my sleep at night? why?!”
“How do you expect me to have the answer to tha–”
Rafe crashed his lips onto mine before I could manage to finish my sentence. I froze in shock as the impact of his lips on mine hit me. Rafe was kissing me. The Alpha was kissing me. The electricity that shot within ever corner of my body was more than that of a lightning bolt.
Before I could stop myself, I found my hand sinking into his dark silky hair, my other palm placed on his chest as I kissed him back. He bit my lower lip lightly, making me open my mouth in a gasp, giving him the chance to stroke his tongue against mine in the most sensual way possible.
We kissed like it was our last breath and we needed one another to sustain our breath. Wild and desperate. I moaned as I felt his hand snake through my waist and cup my bottom. No man had ever touched me this way and this was the most exciting feeling, Our bodies flush against one another. There was no single space in between. Nothing else existed at that moment. Not Kelly. Not the competition. The whole world paled and faded into nothing.
And then he raised his head and broke the kiss abruptly. We stared at each other in shock, neither of us moving from where we stood. My hands on his chest, his on my waist.
Then he stepped back. His eyes closed so tightly I thought something had pricked him. “The beast in me wants you badly right now, Freya. It would be better if you leave now that I can still control it” He said under gritted teeth.
“I..”
“Leave now Freya!”
I jumped and walked out of his room with my head held down. The moment i entered the hall way, I took in a deep breath, my heart still racing because of what had just happened.
I couldn’t believe I had just been kissed by the Alpha king.
****