To Love My Alpha King

Chapter 16

~ 9 years ago ~

“You disobedient weakling! Where did you take her body? I told you to let her hang!” his father screamed.

Kohl had given Isoldi a final resting place despite that his father had said he was forbidden to do so. He wasn’t going to share the location with anyone, also not with the King. He would never tell.

“Fine,” his father said. “Maybe the hole will make you change your mind.”

Half an hour later, Kohl found himself standing in a deep hole in the ground. It was narrow, dark and moist, and smelled of piss and crap, coming from former tortured ones that had been in there before Kohl was dropped into it.

Kohl, however, knew his father would never let him stay in the hole for long since he couldn’t train this way and his next battle shall take place in a few weeks. A battle he knew his father wanted him to win.

~

It was the sixth day today.

Three times a day, a bucket of food and some water was lowered in the hole and that was the only time he saw people. Further, it was just him and the rats and bugs. It was hot during the day and cold at night. It was too narrow to lie down, so he had to sleep half-standing without any blankets.

He just had to endure it. He wouldn’t break for his father. The prince spent his days plotting revenge. The 13-year-old boy was planning to kill both of his parents, and now, he had whole days to plan that out in peace.

When the king found out his son wouldn’t break this time, he had him beaten with the whip. But young Kohl didn’t care about the pain of the whip anymore. He was numb to it. He never told his father a word. Isoldi’s resting place stayed only for him to know...

~ Present time ~

“You want water?”

“No.”

Arya wondered if she was being punished for her earlier thoughts? She thought about imprisoning her husband and breaking the bond just a few minutes before the accident happened. Maybe it was a sign from above. Kohl had saved her, maybe she needed to be the one to save Kohl in return.

The alpha got out of bed and walked to the burning candle and lit up a few other ones. “Ok, Arya?” Kohl sighed.

Arya sat up. With wet, burning, and tired eyes, she looked at her mate.

“You can’t sleep now anyway. Let’s talk then.” Kohl pulled the chairs back and sat on one of them.

Arya dragged herself out of bed. Her body was in pain because her clothes had made friction burns in her armpits when she had hung over the cliff. It burned when she moved her arms.

She sat on the chair, opposite Kohl. In the meantime, she had stopped sobbing and dried her eyes, trying to analyze the scent that came from Kohl. There seemed to be a lot of different emotions, maybe there was even a hint of fear.

“Sorry, for crying like a baby, but I’m just a bit in shock I guess,” Arya said, opening the conversation.

“It’s ok. Death can be scary when it looks you in the eyes.”