Chapter 3

Leah

King Lothaire Fenix, last of the Lycan Kings, has his eyes on me.

Crap.

I quickly lower my gaze and stare at the royal blue carpet, but I can feel his eyes piercing into me like sharp daggers.

My insides turn to water and my knees start to knock together. My heart hammers in my chest and blood rushes to my head, making me dizzy.

“Look at me girl,” the king commands and pushes his aura out across the room.

Unable to resist his command, I snap my head up to look into the eyes of the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. His silky, long white hair glimmers in the overhead lights, and the navy blue tailored suit fits his muscled body perfectly.

The girls gasp and fall to their knees, but I’m so captivated by the king’s light green, almost translucent eyes, that I can’t stop staring at him. I have seen photos of him, but they don’t do him any justice. He is a hundred times more impressive and handsome in person.

“Get in my office,” he snaps.

Shit.

Well. That’s it for me then. I mocked a rich girl, no doubt the daughter of some powerful Alpha.

I’m toast, and I can kiss the job goodbye.

“Now!” he says when I don’t immediately rush over to his side.

I remember who the man is. A cold, brutal, bloodthirsty king that doesn’t hesitate to kill his enemies. He’s known for his cruelty and explosive temper.

Bile pushes up in my throat, but I gather every bit of courage I have and unglue myself from the wall.

The girls titter among themselves, some giggling softly as I walk past them to the king’s office. “That’s what you get,” one of the pretty, well-dressed breeders says. “You should know your place.”

“Like you?” I ask. “On my knees?”

I walk past the girl and the king steps aside to allow me entry. The secretary scowls at me from the truly impressive oak desk where she just placed my envelope. “Thank you, Lucinda,” King Lothaire says. “You may go.”

She bows her head and exits the office, closing the door behind her.

The king marches past me and perches on the edge of his massive desk. He curls his long, elegant fingers around the edge of the desk and peers at me through a fringe of hair that flops over his brow. He picks up my envelope and pulls the contents out. “Leah Davenport?”

“Yu- yes king.”

He points to one of the big wingback chairs.

“You look dead on your feet. Sit down before you faint.”

My Goddess, that voice. It’s like smooth, hot chocolate on a cold day.

I swallow past the knot in my throat and the dull, painful ache in my stomach.

Without asking, he pours a glass of water and hands it to me. I hold the glass in my trembling hand, trying not to spill any of it. “You’ve come a long way,” he says as he starts to flip pages over.

He doesn’t look at me the same way his staff does. He doesn’t seem to notice my outdated clothes or scuffed shoes. In fact, he doesn’t show any kind of emotion at all. He’s stone-faced while he goes through my records.

He returns the report to the envelope and drops it on the desk before he pulls his laptop closer, and starts to tip-tap on the keyboard, abruptly stopping to read something. “Nineteen years old. Alpha Caleb Davenport’s daughter. Mother deceased. Sandra Davenport.”

He’s reading my application. I had to fill in my entire lineage, but I never knew any of my grandparents, and I refused to ask my father for the information.

“I remember now,” the king mutters. “Your application is incomplete.”

“Uh…yes, King. I don’t really know my family.”

“Hm,” he growls, and puts his laptop down. “It doesn’t matter.”

He crosses his arms over his large chest and stretches his long legs out in front of him. “So, Leah, why do you want to be my breeder?”

The switch is so abrupt that I find myself completely speechless for a moment. My immediate thought is to lie, but that won’t get me anywhere. He’s an ancient Lycan king. He’ll know right away if I’m dishonest.

I sigh and run my hand through my bushy hair. “I don’t really want to be anyone’s breeder.” I glance up at his stony face. “But I’m kind of desperate and…my brothers need this,” I say at last.

“Your brothers?”

“Yes. My father is-” I don’t want to tell him, I realise -“they can’t stay with him.”

To my surprise, the king merely nods. “So you want money?”

“Every breeder wants money, your majesty.”

His lips quiver. “No, not every breeder. Some are here for the power and status. It’s a high honour…being the king’s breeder.”

His gaze pierces through me until it feels as if he can see straight into my heart. “Not me," I say softly. "I just want a home for my brothers. Here. Away from my father.”

“Money will buy them a home.”

“But it won’t buy them a pack.”

To my surprise, the king gives me a soft smile. No one understands better than a wolf how important a pack is to our overall well being.

“Okay,” he says softly. “You understand the deal?”

I slowly let go of the air I’ve been holding onto. “Yes, your majesty.”

“We will not have sex,” he says.

That wasn’t in the list of rules, but I’m happy to hear it. I’ve been dreading the sex part.

“I have a consort. Our doctor will artificially inseminate you. Do you know how that works?”

“Yes, Sire.”

“You have no fanciful notions of becoming my queen or my permanent companion?”

I can certainly appreciate that King Lothaire is one handsome devil, but I have plans for my future, and that does not include becoming a king’s concubine. “No. None at all, your majesty.”

He gives me an approving little nod. “Job’s yours if you want it.”