Contract With The Alpha King by Brey Mitchylle

Chapter 68

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"Your Highness," Zach sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Elijah and Fiona had already turned around, trying to leave. How could Zach allow that to happen? "Why would you protect someone like her? Someone who's already broken, damaged goods. Are you really willing to risk everything for that?"

He felt Elise pinch his arm, but ignored it. Zach could no longer stop himself from asking questions that bothered him since. Fiona left the pack. Why her? Why the hell would he choose her?

Elijah halted mid-step, the subtle shift in his posture making Fiona glance up at him in concern. Slowly, he turned around, his calm expression still in place, but something in his eyes had changed. His normally gray eyes seemed darker, shadowed by an intensity that made the air around them feel suddenly thick.

Fiona could sense the ripple of unease that passed through the crowd as Elijah faced Zach again. Even Zach's stance faltered for a moment, his wolf instinctively reacting to the presence of the prince.

Elijah's eyes fixed on Zach, unblinking. "Repeat that," he said, his voice low and chilly. By now, even the older Alphas couldn't help but frown as they looked at Elijah's display.

Meanwhile, Zach's wolf stirred within him, the primal part of him recoiling under the prince's gaze. He took an involuntary step back, his body tense, trying to mask his reaction. But there was no hiding it-Elijah's authority seeped into every corner of the room, and Zach was suddenly very aware of how much power stood before him.

Elijah took a slow, measured step forward, closing the distance between them. "You said I'm risking everything for her." His words were deliberate, each one landing like a hammer strike. "What exactly am I risking, Mr. Yelchin?"

Zach's mouth opened, but no words came out immediately. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected Elijah to confront him so directly, so decisively. He thought the latter wouldn't do anything like that in front of the others, in front of the King. What the hell was this man thinking?

Fiona stood still, watching Elijah carefully. She knew he was giving Zach a chance to back down, but she also knew he wouldn't take it. Zach was too proud, too arrogant to admit he had overstepped.

Zach forced himself to meet Elijah's gaze, his wolf pushing against him to retreat. But his pride wouldn't let him back down. "I'm saying she doesn't belong here," Zach finally spat, trying to regain some ground. "You're a prince. You could have anyone, and yet you choose-" His words trailed off as if even he knew he was walking a dangerous line.

Elijah's eyes never wavered, never blinked. "You think Fiona doesn't belong here?" He took another step forward, forcing Zach to hold his ground, though the strain of it was evident in the tension of his jaw. "Who are you to decide that?"

breathing shallow. "She's not one of us anymore. She's a

expression hardened. "I see a lot of things, Mr. Yelchin," he said quietly, almost too quietly. Then he added, "I see someone clinging to a past that no longer exists. Someone who thinks that by tearing others down, they can make themselves feel bigger." He

as he opened it in front of Zach. Before anyone could react, he crushed the pouch in his hand, releasing a fine, powdery substance into the air. The powder mixed with the air around them, barely

to Zach, took a

his body convulsing as his lungs struggled against the foreign substance. His hands gripped his chest as he gasped for air, his wolf fighting against the sudden weakness that flooded through his

crowd watched intently, but it didn't take long for them to begin murmuring, their whispers mixing with

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Chapter 68

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kind of poison," Elijah said,

coughing intensified, his face growing red as he struggled to breathe. His eyes were wide with what looked like fear

themselves. Their wary eyes flicked toward Elijah. Only he would dare do something so bold! Suddenly, a figure broke from the

say anything more, he too breathed in the remnants of the powder, and his body stiffened,

quickly recovered and placed a steady hand

enough, Zach's violent coughing began to subside. Both Alpha Cris and Zach were breathing heavily but no longer convulsing. Lord Rosenthal straightened, his eyes blazing as he turned to Elijah. "What the hell were you thinking, bringing a poison like that into this place, Your Highness?" His tone was sharp,

because someone gave it to me," Elijah

grew louder, disbelief and

doesn't have the ability." Zach somehow managed

eyes narrowing slightly. "And yet, here you are, weakened by it, while she and I stand

though he had realized there was more to this than what appeared on the surface. Before he could gather his thoughts, Alpha Cris cut in. "Why the