Page 82 of My Fated Alpha: The Royals

He repeated, “It is the law. I am a citizen of the kingdom of Chalys, and thus I am bound to obey its rules.”

Her eyes widened. “Chalys?” Everyone knew about the kingdom of Chalys, a place where people still followed Victorian customs, from their clothing to their mode of transportation. Instead of dresses, women wore corsets and gowns, and instead of jeans, men wore britches. There were no phones, no Internet, and instead of cars, people there still rode horses and carriages.

If not for its strict policies for accepting foreign tourists, Chalys could easily have been the number one tourist attraction in theworld. Instead, the kingdom remained a mystery to the outside world, with the way it clung to old traditions. But now that she knew vampires like Alexandru lived there? Its anti-technology ways made perfect sense. At least there was no way for people to ever take accidental photos of non-human creatures.

“I can see in your eyes you know the place.”

“Everyoneknows about Chalys.”

“Would you want to live in Chalys?”

She almost said yes until he added, “The people I’d entrust you to live there.”

Zari looked down at that, not wanting the vampire to realize how his words hurt. He really was in a hurry to get rid of her.

Alexandru was about to speak again when a voice in his mind said,My lord, the ride for the soul seer has arrived.

And so it had.

Zari was surprised when Alexandru suddenly took her hand. “What is it?”

“Your ride’s here,” he murmured as they started to walk.

Oh.

This was really it. He had rescued her for some reason, and now he was passing her off. She had so many questions in mind but she just couldn’t ask them. She was too busy feeling betrayed that he was giving her up to people she didn’t know.

Didn’t what happen between them matter to him? The question had her cringing. Technically,nothinghad really happened between them. It wasn’t as if he had taken her virginity.

In minutes, they had walked out of the clearing and she saw a huge black Jeep waiting for them. Alexandru dropped her hand, murmuring, “Wait here,” before walking ahead of her to talk to its driver.

This was really it. After this, who knew if she would ever see him again? And even if she didn’t, why should it matter? She should just focus on finding her parents and rebuilding her life. She should forget about ever finding out that not only humans existed in this world. That was the smartest thing to do.

“Zari? It’s time to go.”

She looked up at the words and found the vampire’s eyes hooded as he returned her gaze.

Slowly, she walked towards him and allowed Alexandru to assist her up the Jeep.

“Make sure you don’t forget about me,” he said teasingly, but his smile faded when she didn’t answer, didn’t even look at him. Her gaze remained at her tightly clenched hands on her lap. Another strange painful pang hit his chest, but he told himself it was nothing.

“Goodbye then, little pet.”

Still not looking at him, she muttered, “I’m not your little pet.”

The smile that curved on his lips didn’t reach his eyes. “I know.” He closed the door. As he started to walk away, he heard the driver starting the engine.

Master.

It took him a while to realize that he was hearing Zari’s thoughts.

Master. Master. Master.

She was muttering the word out loud, practicing the word over and over in a tear-choked voice.

Alexandru closed his eyes. God, what an idiot. Ridiculously proud, strong, brave,cuteidiot.

One moment, Zari was fighting back tears. The next moment, a strong gust of wind hit her, and the next thing she knew, she heard the door burst open and slam shut. When she blinked her eyes open, a shriek of surprise slipped past her lips at finding Alexandru sitting next to her.

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