Love and Chaos Series
The Alpha King’s Ugly Bride Chapter 43

The party, just as expected, was a simple one with a few guests present. This was less crowded than what Mia had gotten used to recently, but she was happy about the change. When she glanced at Xavier, she noticed he had a grumpy look on his face. It didn't

surprise her, Xavier wasn't a fan of people and he had the "hate them before they hate you" motto.

Xavier remained glued to the corner of the room after they stepped into alpha Zayn's house where the celebration took place. He was unwilling to move. No one among the present guest glanced at him and unless he beckoned to the servers, none dared came close. He had that terrifying aura, but Mia saw past it. She didn't want to push him, though. She knew she had used up all her anger-free trials of him.

She left him and tried to meet up with a few ladies she recognised from the maidens' council. Those she saw were pleased to see her, and she felt the same. She couldn't ignore the heated gaze of Xavier on her while she engaged with them. He looked like she had taken something from him and he wanted it back.

Alpha Zayn looked surprised to see the Queen, and she informed him of the king's presence as well. Despite inviting the royals, he never looked forward to their arrival. The look on the celebrants, Natalie's face when she saw her, said it all. Mia felt happy she had put it there.

"You know, if you let your walls down around people, you might find yourself a few friends," Mia said as she returned from Natalie, who hosted the party.

"I have friends!" he counters with a frown.

"Name two and Edward isn't your friend. He's your brother."

He glared at her and remains silent, coming up short.

"A king needs friends, allies, and those he can count on when trouble comes."

He emptied the cup of wine in his hand into his mouth. She couldn't tell if the scowl that came onto his face was from the alcohol or her words. "Did you read that from one of your books?" he c**k a brow at her.

She shrugged, "You want to borrow it? I don't mind, I've read them all."

"I once had friends," he said with a brief thought.

"What happened?"

"I became crowned prince and my attention drifted."

"Perhaps you need to get them back. And Natalie and alpha Zayn are now in your debt, my king. You can take on where I've left on." She bowed a little.

He reached for her and pulled her closer to himself by her waist so that her body pressed against his tightly.

The action took her by surprise. The touch of their bodies sent a spark through her and she shuddered in his arms. They were in public and this was an act, but it took her by surprise. This was the same feeling she had when he tried kissing her at the feast. "You don't have to fight my battles, my queen. They are mine to fight."

"And you're my king." she meant to say those words with a witty tone, but the touch of his hand, accompanied by the heat radiating off his body, took the wittiness. And she moaned the words out.

The effect he had on her felt surreal, and he knew it.

He glanced around before settling his gaze on her eyes, "When you say things like that, especially in a voice like that, I'm forced to reconsider our little arrangement, queen Mia." he murmured, his eyes dropping to her lips.

"What do you wish to reconsider about our arrangement, my king?" she asked, curious and eager to hear his next words.

He swallowed hard and his Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't say because they were interrupted.

"Alpha king, I'm so glad to have you here. You don't know how happy you've made this household."

Xavier groaned inwardly and dragged a sharp breath as he released Mia. His focus moved to Zayn, a member of the council of elders, and he summoned a smile to his face.

"Alpha Zayn, what can I say? My queen made a promise, and we had to keep it. It's a pleasure to be here. You've got a lovely home." Those words left his mouth faster than he expected.

Alpha Zayn could not believe his ears and his face held the proudest look. "My king, you're so kind. I hope you have been treated well!"

Xavier glanced at Mia, who encouraged him to keep going with her eyes. "They have. You know I don't always enjoy stepping out of the comfort of the Palace unless it's a necessity, but I'm glad I did today."

Alpha Zayn's face was burning red with much happiness.

"Oh, thank you, my king, you don't know how happy you've made me." he bowed his head and hurried his feet away from them. He went over to his wife and took her possessively by the waist and moved her to a corner to whisper something in her ears. "And one became two," Mia sang cheerfully from beside Xavier and he rolled his eyes.

They stepped out of Alpha Zayn's house and towards their carriage after the party ended, their hands entwined. The touch did things on the inside of them, but neither of them seemed ready to speak about it, and so they held their silence. The carriage brought them home and the alpha king helped her out carefully. He led her into the palace, their hands still entwined. The events of the night made her feel fuzzy, and she loved the feeling she got, even if it was for a little while. "I hope you're happy now," Xavier said, breaking the silence that had built around them for so long.

"Tell me you didn't enjoy the night and I shall apologise and we will never say it again."

"I didn't enjoy the night," he answered without hesitation.

"I will not apologise because I know that's a lie!" she protested, and she heard him laugh. A burst of rich and heartfelt laughter that made everything around her stop as she took in the moment.

Why did he have to be so perfect? Why did she have to want a man like him? She was seeing parts of him she didn't want to see, parts that would only make her heart beat for him. She knew these parts will be the death of her if they weren't tamed. "This isn't right." She groaned to herself. Her eyes fluttered and her head fell back as she let out a long exhale.

"What isn't?"

She cracked a brow to find his curious and intense gaze on her, flickering with emotions she couldn't quite understand. "I don't know, but I shouldn't feel this way."

A genuine smile came onto his face. "You're a being with many desires. You should feel this way. It's natural."

Nothing about wanting him felt natural.

"There should at least be a way to tame these desires, right?" she asked curiously.

"If they are carnal ones, then yes. You can fulfil them."

His reply sparked her interest and her amber eyes raced to meet his green ones. "Fulfil the desires," she repeated. The look on her face told him she didn't quite get what he was driving at.

There's a flicker of lust in his eyes, "Pleasure yourself?" he saw she did not know what he spoke about and his brow pulled together.

"You don't know what it is..." he trailed off. "You've never done that, have you?"

She nodded, smiling at the few guards around the palace who just greeted them before saying. "I didn't know it was a necessity..."

They stopped moving when they came to her door. "You are a woman, a very smart woman, and surely you've discovered something as you read all those books."

Her cheeks heat at his compliment. She knew stories of myth and legend dating back to a thousand years and also wars and conquest that had ever taken place in the kingdom, but this, she had no clue of. "I never took the time to learn those," she admitted. He gaped at her with mouth ajar. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"If you're kind enough to instruct me, perhaps I can take a thing or two. So, my king, how do I pleasure myself?"

His voice dropped a tempo, and he drew closer so his voice came as a breath on her skin. "By touching yourself. You don't always have to wait for your husband. He might be busy or tired or asleep. So you touch yourself, especially those parts that make you tingle and squirm and build up your nerves. They are good parts, like your nipples, neck and between your legs. Those parts are the greatest pleasure spot on a woman's body. So you touch yourself until you reach the height of pleasure and then you continue until you crash from it."