Page 26 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

The thought of that alone makes my lips curl into a faint grin at the corners of my mouth. I think about the look in his eyes when he stopped by the other day. There was something about the way he stared at me that made my heart swell with a feeling I’m still too afraid to label.

The sound of his soothing voice echoes at the back of my mind, a constant reminder that he’s not my enemy.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not here to hurt you.” My smile broadens at the mere thought of those words.

The most shocking thing he did was asking for my permission before releasing his pheromones. He could’ve just done so without seeking my consent. Yet, he chose to involve me first.

That gesture only proved one thing to me: King Sinth, unlike everyone else I’ve come across, doesn’t see me as a useless thing. He sees me as a person—a living, breathing person with a mind and a will. That’s more than anyone has ever seen me as.

My cheeks flush, my fingers tucking red hair strands behind my ear. I keep myself distracted with the thoughts of King Sinth, wondering why he hasn’t come visiting again. Maybe it’s a good thing that he hasn’t come down here yet. I don’t feel like I look presentable to him.

I honestly don’t know why, but I don’t want him seeing me like this—dirty and unkempt.

I’m still deep in my own head when I hear approaching footsteps. I raise my head, and my heart skips a beat. I’m immediately torn within myself. A part of me thinks it’s him—King Sinth—and is elated that he’s finally come.

However, another part of me is afraid of him seeing me in this horrible state of mine.

When I find out that it’s just the guards, I’m both relieved and disappointed at the same time. There are two young women with the guards, dressed in loose black and white fabrics. One’s tall and lanky, with hazel-brown eyes and short dark hair.

The other is shorter, older—maybe in her mid-forties—almost twice the age of the lanky woman. Her hair is covered up with a scarf wound around her head. She’s quite portly, with ice-cold eyes and a flat expression.

I rise to my feet as the guard steps forward and unlocks my cells. The clanking sound of metal echoes off the walls as he opens the barred door.

I shift my gaze between the two women and the guard, unsure of what’s happening.

“Come on out,” the short woman says to me. Although her voice is flat and sharp, it’s still very polite.

I hesitate for a moment.

“We’re moving you from the dungeon,” she adds.

My mind goes straight to King Sinth. This is definitely the work of his hand. I waste no further time leaving my cell and joining them on the other side.

They lead me out of the dungeon and take me to a room that’s twice the size of my father’s house. There’s a four-poster bed adorned with clean white sheets at the center of the room.

Golden candle stands hang on the high walls, their flickering flames casting warm across the space. The floor, polished to a shine, is cool beneath my bare feet. And with every step I take, I leave blackened footprints behind.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have them cleaned up,” the older woman says like she just read my mind.

We stop at the center of the room, and the woman says to me, “Take off your clothes.”

“Huh?” My eyebrows arch in an instant.

The younger one chuckles quietly, her head lowered. “What she means is that it’s time to take a proper bath.”

“Oh.” I rub the back of my neck with one hand. “Um…I think I can manage.”

“We know you can,” she adds.

I smell a ‘but’ coming.

“But it’s our job,” she explains. “We were given specific instructions to bathe you ourselves.”

My brows knit together, forming faint creases between them. “I’m not a child. I can bathe myself.”

“Kings’ orders,” says the older woman.

There’s no way I’m winning this argument, obviously. I’ll just have to do as I’m told regardless of how uncomfortable that process is going to be.