Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #4)

30. Raine

30

Raine

My mouth drops to the floor when the door to my new room opens. It’s so much bigger than I thought it would be, and so much nicer too. Are we in the right place? We can’t be.

Nyx steps inside, letting the door slowly drift open behind him. “There is a full bathroom along with a tub if you wish to soak. Everything has been stocked, so you will find the basics in the linen closet just behind the door. I will admit, I wasn’t anticipating you coming so…lightly packed. So, forgive the bare essentials for the time being.”

I slowly creep inside, barely registering anything that he’s saying. All I can focus on is the fact that this room looks like it’s fit for a king. Or queen, I guess.

Scanning around the room, I don’t see any personal artifacts lying around, so this can’t be his room. There is a connecting door on the wall with a lock on the inside, farthest from where we are, and if I had to guess, I’d say his room is on the other side of it.

Why the hell is he letting me stay here alone?

“You’re…letting me stay here? By myself?” Why ?

“Why wouldn’t I?” He tilts his head slightly, and while his tone sounds neutral, there’s something underneath it that sounds almost accusatory.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Your Grace.”

He grimaces. “Nyx.”

My lips press together.

An uncomfortable silence settles over us, much like what happened outside and back at my packlands when he first retrieved me. Only this time, I’m stuck here alone with him with no one else around to break it up.

From experience, I know he won’t. He’ll stay stuck in this awkward tension until I fork up the courage to actually do it myself: probably another test.

“Um…” My fingers hurt from how hard I’m wringing them together. The motion of it catches his attention. His dark eyes focus intently on them and track the movement closely.

I wish I could run around outside to off-load some of this nervousness. Though, even if it sounded like he’d offered me the chance to stay outside, I doubt I’d be let loose enough to wander around his packlands unattended.

There’s no reason for him to suspect me of wanting to run away, however I’m still a guest here, a stranger. One that could very well be here in order to harm his pack.

“Sorry,” I finally say.

“For?”

I lift a shoulder to shrug. Honestly, I don’t know at this point. I’m too overwhelmed to put my thoughts into words to properly express myself, especially to someone like him, whose overbearing nature seems to suffocate the oxygen right out of this room simply by standing there.

A soft sigh leaves him. “If we are to get along during this… endeavor , I’d prefer it if you spoke your mind.”

“Are there others?” The words come tumbling out of my mouth before I can stop them.

He blinks slowly. “Others?”

Oh gods. I want to die of embarrassment.

Why the hell does my big mouth always work against me?

Suddenly, a smirk breaks across his face. “Ah. Other breeders, you mean.”

It takes a lot of effort to hold my gaze steady, even when I feel my face heat up once more. This isn’t the subject I wanted to be talking to him about, not when I could be asking him what he plans on doing about my pregnancy.

No, of course I had to go the route of trying to feel out who else he has warming his bed. Though, perhaps if I knew, it would give me time to come up with some way to get out of here. If he is distracted by other breeders, I’ll have less of his attention focused on me.

“Yes,” I mumble.

“None. You are the only one.”

Fuck.

“Oh.” Now what?

“Does that surprise you?” He tilts his head again, curious.

“No, Your Grace.”

Instantly, his expression darkens once more.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Instead of correcting me again, he turns and heads farther into the room and over to one of the large windows. Bright light spills into the room when he yanks the curtains apart, revealing windows that reach all the way up to the ceiling.

“There is a conservatory with a decent sized parterre attached to it. It’s private, so if you find yourself restless, you may visit it. Though, be careful of the large pond in the back. It will sneak up on you if you aren’t paying attention.”

“You’re letting me outside?” I ask, bewildered.

He turns to me, the light from outside of the window casting a dark shadow over him. Like this, I can see why those in the North consider him to be a viper, a cold-blooded and ruthless alpha king who kills for fun.

Because this is exactly how I imagined him looking: the alpha king who slaughtered an entire pack just to show that he could, not sparing any of them due to their alpha’s mistakes. A conqueror of the South, bleeding his influence into foreign territories by force until they had no other choice but to accept him as their king.

He swallows up a room with his energy simply by standing here, and I think that says a lot about who he is underneath whatever this mask is.

“Hm” is all he says as he steps away from the window.

I stay rooted to my spot when he strides over to me, eating up the distance between us in no time. When he stops in front of me, his hand reaches out to cup my face and hold it tight between his fingers.

He says nothing, only staring down at me with those black eyes that strike fear and wonder into my heart. I’m terrified of this male, but dying to know what lies beneath his carefully crafted facade.

Why choose someone like me when he could’ve had anyone else? It can’t be desperation. He’s a king.

Aiden, for as green of an alpha as he was, had a confidence about him that I could read with perfect clarity. He wasn’t an open book, but he showed himself to me as best as he could at the time.

But this male keeps me on my toes and constantly guessing.

“My baby…” I mumble, not able to finish my question. I can’t—not when I already know the answer.

His grip on my face softens slightly, along with his words. “We will deal with it later.”

“When?”

A trail of fire follows his thumb as he strokes it across my cheek. The gesture is so startling that I almost pull away on instinct. “Later.”

Then, he lets me go and steps around me to head out the door.

I suck in a breath I didn’t know I was holding and then slowly let it out.

What the hell was that?