Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189: 0189

Lorelei POV

"And then she told me my enemies are closer than I think," I blurted out a few minutes later.

Darius and I were now sitting alone at a wrought-iron table in the garden, and I had been rambling nonstop about Nala’s unsettling parting words. I was so distracted by everything she had said that I barely noticed the amused half-smile slowly tugging at Darius’s lips.

I suddenly stopped talking and narrowed my eyes at him. "What is it? What’s so funny?"

Darius casually shrugged, resting his elbows on the table. "I just find it entertaining when you get this serious. You always get this little crease right here."

He leaned forward and pressed a warm finger between my eyebrows.

"Right there."

My brows immediately knitted together even more, which only made him chuckle.

I pulled back with an annoyed huff. "This isn’t supposed to be funny, Darius!"

"It isn’t," he admitted, although the amusement was still obvious in his eyes.

"What if there are still spies in the estate?" I asked, lowering my voice.

"There are," he replied simply.

My eyes widened.

Wait... what?

"There are?"

Darius nodded, his expression finally becoming serious. "Why do you think Kaelen publicly claimed you as the Lady of this empire? It wasn’t just because he wanted everyone to know you’re his woman. He needed our enemies to think twice before trying anything with you."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Even Chelsea, the maid who schemed against you, was working as a spy for the Council. Remember when you were drugged at the bar? She was the one who leaked your location."

Hearing that, a cold wave of dread washed over me, draining the color from my face. How much had she really hated me to go to such lengths?

"Kaelen..." I swallowed hard. "Kaelen didn’t tell me any of this."

Darius let out a quiet sigh, his expression softening when he noticed how shaken I was.

"I’m sure he planned to," he said gently. "You two only just got back together. He probably didn’t want to dump even more things on you and make you worry."

Hearing that eased the tight knot of betrayal that had been sitting in my chest. Of course Kaelen hadn’t told me yet.

We had barely gotten back together, and considering how much had already happened, I couldn’t exactly blame him for not wanting to throw another problem onto my plate.

Thankfully, the conversation soon shifted to something less terrifying.

Darius started explaining all the responsibilities that would now fall under me as the Lady of the Empire, and I quickly realized just how much I had gotten myself into. There were household accounts, security clearances for the inner-estate staff, foreign guests, imperial charities, and what felt like an endless list of other things I had never even heard of before.

By the time he finished, I was staring at him like he had just handed me an entire empire and told me to figure it out by Monday.

"Don’t look so terrified," Darius said with a small chuckle. "I’m sure Kaelen won’t let you work yourself into the ground."

Just hearing Kaelen’s name immediately brought a small smile to my lips.

Of course he wouldn’t.

"Here," Darius said, suddenly breaking me out of my thoughts.

He reached down beside his chair and pulled out a sleek black box before sliding it across the stone table toward me. "Kaelen asked me to give you this."

I frowned at the box, completely confused.

"What is it?"

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