CHAPTER 277: _WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT THRONE ROOM

My eyes fluttered open as I groggily sat up, looking around me. But when I tried sitting up, I realised I was back on my bed.

Or, more accurately, Kaelos’ bed...

But how?

The last thing I remember doing was staring... Staring at that pond in the garden.

A cold shiver ran down my spine when I remembered that voice before everything went black. Ryker. It was definitely Ryker.

"Well, good morning, sunshine." Kaelos’ deep voice cut my thoughts short, forcing me to swerve my head to the walk-in closet at the other side of the room.

He had a bright smile on his face and wore a stylish crimson red suit with golden embroidery lacing the collars and a silver snarling wolf head crest etched on his chest pocket.

I blinked, glancing down and realising I was dressed in a white night gown. No matter how hard I tried to remember last night and how I ended up here... Nothing came through.

"Your maid, Caroline. She came to me and told me you were in the gardens." Kaelos continued speaking just then, walking up to the large mirror in the room and adjusting his suit there. "I tried reaching you through the mate bond but... Well, you were asleep. Lying on the ground like you were trying to reconnect with nature."

I sighed, rubbing my right hand down my face, my face heating up with embarrassment.

Suddenly, I heard him walking toward me and stiffened a bit when his warm hand touched my shoulder.

"Odessa..." His voice was soft as he sat beside me. "I know you’re stressing out."

I smiled wryly, turning my gaze to him. "Is it that obvious?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly... But you’re my mate. You might show other people a mask of calm but I see through it. You don’t have to hide what you’re feeling from me."

His hand trailed to my face, cupping it tenderly. "Understood?"

I blinked, my lips twitching slightly.

But then I nodded, plastering a smile on my face.

"And what about you?" I asked when he seemed like he was about to get up. "You promise not to keep anything? To let me feel your emotions?"

I still remembered how he had shut off his emotions from me last night before we saw the dead maid in his office.

Right after I told him about the nightmare with my parents.

It was... Suspicious. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and I was honestly exhausted living in uncertainty.

"Of course." Kaelos nodded in response to my question, smiling warmly as he held my hands in between his. "Of course. I’m sorry, last night was... Intense. I didn’t want to overwhelm you with what I felt."

I stared at him for a few seconds. He stared as well but eventually cleared his throat, getting up once again.

"Freshen up. We’ll be going to my throne room to talk to the Alpha Kings of the other continents."

My eyes widened as I adjusted my sitting position hurriedly, flinging the bed sheet aside and placing my legs outside the bed.

"Wait, they’re... They’re here?!"

Kaelos frowned, shaking his head. "No, no, they’re not. It’s a Zoom meeting. They want me to explain myself concerning the... Broadcast of what happened thirteen years ago."

His expression became solemn after he said that, his eyes distant.

There was a drawn-out, awkward silence, and I could feel the guilt building up inside him. Guilt, anger, frustration... But also sadness.

But that all dissipated almost as fast as it had come when a knock sounded on the door.

"Sir, they’re ready for the meeting," Layla called out from the other side of the door.

Kaelos and I glanced at each other before nodding.

Let’s get this over with...

.

.

’Alright, I’ll be catching you up with each Alpha King once we step inside there.’ Kaelos spoke to me through the mate bond once Layla and I got in front of the throne room door.

I wore a crimson red velvet gown with sleeves that flared like flames at the base and a slit on both sides of my legs that reached just a little above my knees for easier movement.

But also just because I wanted to seem hot.

And it worked.

’Do you plan to start a war looking like that, my feisty mate?’ Kaelos asked teasingly, pressing his hand on my back as we finally stepped into the throne room.

I managed a smirk, my gaze landing on our thrones at the end of the large room.

’Maybe, dear husband.’

In front of the thrones was a large pillar with a large screen TV mounted on it. The white light shining on the thrones from the television was an indicator that it was turned on and the Alpha Kings were probably already live.

"How convenient of the Alpha King to still come late to a meeting that doubles as his trial." A deep voice spoke with enough snark to cause another ice age.

I swallowed hard as Kaelos and I finally ascended our thrones, sitting and then facing the large screen.

The screen was divided into six boxes, each one showing the live images of our... Guests.

"Alpha King Maddox." Kaelos nodded with acknowledgement, his gaze fixed on a section of the screen to the right where a burly man with a thick blonde beard was positioned. "So sorry for the lateness."

’He’s Australia’s Alpha King.’ Kaelos introduced him to me through the mind link. ’He doesn’t believe in formalities and rarely shows up for such meetings, even digitally...’

I blinked, trying hard to ignore the obvious scrutiny from the six faces on the screen.

One face stood out most because it didn’t belong to an Alpha King.

’Are female Alpha Kings a thing?’ I asked through the mind link, my gaze landing briefly on a gorgeous woman in the middle of the screen.

She had lush silver hair and sparkling emerald eyes, her right hand holding a white cup of tea. On her index finger was a ring with a beautiful purple gemstone that glistened like a star.

’No, they aren’t. That’s Luna Queen Janelle.’ Kaelos responded, his voice in the mind link filled with reverence. ’Luna Queen of Europe. I guess she’s filling in for her husband, Alpha King Thorian.’

Janelle was calm, her eyes skimming through the screens of the other Alpha Kings with silent judgment.

’I have a feeling we’ll like her.’ Sirena suddenly muttered in my head but I couldn’t smirk outwardly, my jaw tightening.

"Sorry, won’t cut it, Alpha King Kaelos." A muscular black man with silver grey hair spoke with a thick accent from another side of the screen, leaning closer on his desk.

Definitely the African Alpha King.

"... That throne you sit on was the same one you murdered your late father. A throne soiled in blood. We, the Alliance of Alpha Kings, demand penance."