The Alpha King's Second Chance
highlight_author
Skylar Greene
highlight_reads
3,7M
highlight_chapters
30
Chapter 1
FREYA
I wake in an unfamiliar bed, my hands and feet chained to the posts with silver handcuffs. Looking down, I notice Iâm only in my bra and panties.
Where are my clothes? I wonder. And why am I tied up?
The bedroom door opens, and my mateâs brother walks in. âFinally, youâre awake. I was worried I gave you too much wolfsbane,â he says nonchalantly.
As the man leans forward, I wriggle as much as I can. My skin sizzles against the handcuffs, but I donât feel the pain. My thoughts are only on escaping him.
Then I hear an animalistic growl and see the door being broken down.
***
THREE MONTHS EARLIER
âFreyaâŠFreya, did you hear?â my best friend calls.
âDid I hear what, Penelope?â I ask as she bursts through my bedroom door, my godmother right behind her.
âMiss Penelope, Miss Freya was still getting her beauty rest,â the older woman reprimands, looking disgruntled.
Penelope just rolls her eyes, so I say soothingly, âItâs fine, Miss Greta.â I donât want to upset Miss Greta; after all, she helped my mom deliver me.
My mom⊠Oh, how I miss my mom.
Nope, not going to start my morning with sadness.
Penelope jumps on my bed, and Miss Greta lets out a huff before leaving my room. Once my godmother is gone, my best friend says, singsong, âThe prince is coming!â
I turn my head toward her, confused. I know she has a crush on my brothers, but theyâre already home. They havenât left.
Penelope rolls her eyes again, apparently understanding my thoughts. âNot your handsome brothers. Iâm talking about Prince Jasper. The brother of King Ezra.â
My eyes widen before I school my face again. King Ezra is known as a cold-hearted, ruthless man. Supposedly, heâs handsome, but no one ever gets close enough to him to find out. He keeps to himself unless thereâs a war, and we havenât had a war in yearsâthanks in large part to how quickly he kills anybody who even mentions the wrong thing around him.
Just thinking about him makes me shiver.
âHeâs looking for a wife,â Penelope says, bringing me out of my thoughts.
âA wife?â
She nods. âYes, Prince Jasper is looking for a wife. Itâs said that his brother, King Ezra, wants him to find a wife soon, but itâs hard to believe since everyone knows that the prince has many women. He doesnât seem like the type to settle down.â
Thatâs true. The prince is known as a man-whore, never sleeping with the same woman twice. But what Penelope doesnât knowâwhat no one in my kingdom knows besides me, my dad, and my brothersâis that the prince is also a werewolf.
Yup, you heard right. King Ezra and Prince Jasper are werewolves. My brothers and I are too, but no one outside our family knows.
There are four kingdoms: the human kingdom, werewolf kingdom, witch kingdom, and vampire kingdom. King Ezra is the ruler of the werewolf kingdom, and my dad, King Oscar, is the ruler of the human kingdom.
My dad is human, but my mom, Queen Flora, was a werewolf. Itâs unusual for werewolves to mate with humans, but my mom didnât care. When she met my dad, it was love at first sightâor so I was told. Iâve always wanted a love like theirsâŠor, well, like the one they had beforeâŠ
Nope, no sad thoughts, Freya.
Since the visiting rulers are werewolves, that means Prince Jasper is actually looking for his mate, not his wife. But Penelope doesnât know that.
I feel bad for Prince Jasperâs mate. Sheâll have to deal with all the rumors of him sleeping with other women. Sheâll probably even have to deal with those women herself.
We werewolves are meant to be with our matesâour soulmates, if you wish. Weâre not supposed to have multiple partners unless our mates die.
Sometimes, we are blessed with second-chance mates, but that rarely happens. Besides, I doubt the king is looking for a new mate; no one could thaw his cold heart.
âAre you listening to me?â Penelope asks, snapping her fingers in my face. âI swear, sometimes you are in your own little world.â
I push my friendâs hand away. âIâm listening. You are excited because the prince is coming and looking for a wife. You are hoping heâll choose you.â
Penelope gasps, and her face turns red. âI didnât say that last part, Freya.â
I laugh. âYou might not have said it, but you were definitely thinking it.â
She shakes her head. âYou know me so well. Yes, I am hoping to be his wife.â
Grinning, I get out of bed and go to the bathroom, where I put on a long, simple baby-blue dress that hugs my curves. I would probably be bullied for my curves if I werenât a princess, but I donât care. I got my curves from my mom, and I love them.
As I leave the bathroom, Penelope whistles. âI wish I had your figure, Freya. Iâm just a stick, but youâŠyou have boobs and a butt.â
I shake my head. âPenelope, youâre beautiful. I may have boobs and a butt, but my figure also makes me stick out around the other girls. Everyone wants to be slim.â
âIâd rather have your curves,â she mumbles.
Smiling sadly, I wrap my arm into hers and guide her out of my room, toward the kitchen. As usual, sheâll sit with me and my family for breakfast as the maids serve us.
Because while I called Penelope my âbest friend,â the truth is, sheâs the only one Iâve got.
***
Not long after Penelope and I sit down to eat, my brother Nicholas walks in with some girl on his arm. She glares at us before trying to sit down.
Nicholas notices. âYou can go home,â he says.
She looks shocked.
âYou can go home,â he repeats. When the girl doesnât respond, he continues, âDid you think I didnât see you glare at my sister? No one glares at her, so go home and lose my number.â
As she stomps away, ignored by Nicholas, my other brother, Lance, settles at the table too. Weâre tripletsâNicholas the eldest by two minutes, then Lance, then meâbut we look nothing alike. I look like Mom, and my brothers look like Dad.
We all turned eighteen last month, but none of us have found our mates. Nicholas has been enjoying his time with many women while Lance has a friends-with-benefits situation with some girl who isnât his mate. Iâm the only one whoâs actually waited.
âWhy did whatâs-her-face glare at you?â Lance asks.
I shrug. âDonât know, donât care. You both know that most girls donât like me.â
âHer name is Emma,â Penelope interrupts.
Nicholas turns his nose up. âOh, thatâs her name.â
I scoff. âYou donât know her name, but she was in your bed.â
He shrugs and begins stacking his plate with a bunch of food.
Penelope turns to me. âShe probably doesnât like you because you told her she could never get with your brother.â
I grimace. âI tell a lot of girls that. They all think theyâll make one of them settle down. Iâm just trying to help them, but they take it the wrong way.â
Just then, Dad walks in and goes to his chair. The maids bow. Once he is seated and his food is served, we all begin to eat.
After a minute, quiet except for the sound of silverware clattering and mouths chewing, Dad clears his throat. âPrince Jasper will be here today with some guests, and they will stay for a week. Martha has made up the guest hall for them. I expect you all to be on your best behavior.â
Dad gives my brothers a pointed stare, and they grumble but donât argue. We all eat the rest of our breakfast in silence, and then Dad sends us on our way.
***
Most nights, I let my wolf out in the forest that surrounds our kingdom. Itâs about the only time Iâm able to clear my mind. But during the days, Penelope and I take walks out here, and thatâs almost just as nice.
âDo you think the prince will like me?â my friend asks now. âDo you think heâs sexy? How about his brother?â
I havenât ever seen the prince, as far as I can recall, but I donât tell Penelope that. Iâm too distracted by my wolf.
âDo you think we will find our mate soon?â Lupa asks.
âI think so, Lupa. Well, I hope so anyway. If that dream from last night was any indication, we will find him soon.â
Just then, I hear a shriek.
As my gaze refocuses on my friend, I see that her yellow dress has a big coffee stain on itâand that my coffee cup is tilted toward her dress. âIâm so sorry, Penelope. I wasnât paying attention.â
Tears well in her eyes, but she says, sniffing, âItâs okay. I know you wouldnât do that on purpose. Itâs just⊠This is my favorite dress, and I wanted to look nice for the prince.â
Without replying, I grab Penelopeâs hand and lead her to the small river in the woods. I glance around, then command, âTake off your dress.â
She looks mortified.
âNo one is around,â I say. âTake it off, and Iâll wash out the stain. Itâs so hot that it will dry quickly.â
Penelope does what I requested, and after some scrubbing, I get the stain out. I then lay the dress on a rock in the sun, and we wait for it to dry.
After about thirty minutes, we hear a horn signaling that the guests have arrived. Penelope quickly puts her now-dry dress back on, and we rush to the front of my house, where everyone is waiting. I stop beside my dad and brothers just in time for four buff men to approach.
On my right, Penelope smiles hard at the handsome prince, who is tall and muscular with blond hair and brown eyes. He emits a powerful aura that would usually make my wolf bow in submission, but Lupa actually seems happy to see him.
Prince Jasper stops walking and turns his head toward me. As we make eye contact, Lupa screams, âMate!â in my head, and I almost smile.
Then I notice the look of disgust on his face. He looks like he hates me.
âMaid,â he whispers. I donât think anyone else heard him, and if I didnât have werewolf hearing, I wouldnât have heard him either.
Lupa whimpers, but I stand taller. âNone of that, Lupa. If he doesnât want us, then we donât want him.â
