Page 113 of The Alpha King’s Hidden Mute Mate

I pulled over a chair and sat.

Looking at him like this, my chest felt stuffed with cotton.

This asshole.

Five years ago, he hurt me. Five years later, he took a knife for me.

What the hell did he want?

I reached out, hesitated, then lightly touched his fingers. They were cool, with that faint warmth sick people have. My fingers traced up along his knuckles, stopping at his wrist—I could feel his pulse, steady but weak.

Alive.

He was alive.

That realization made my eyes sting. I yanked my hand back, swiped at my eyes, and cursed myself a thousand times.

Get it together, Mia. He just took a knife for you. That doesn't mean anything. It doesn't erase what he did.

But that voice—that damn stubborn voice in my head—whispered: But he was willing to die for you.

I didn't answer that voice.

I just sat there, watching him sleep, until the sky outside started turning pale.

Zane woke up the next afternoon.

I was sitting in the chair by his bed, holding a book—actually, I hadn't read a single word, just needed something for my hands to do. When I heard a soft groan from the bed, I looked up to meet those gray-blue eyes.

They were still unfocused, like he'd just been dragged up from deep sleep. He blinked, his gaze sharpening on my face, then his lips curved into a weak smile.

"You're still here," he said, voice rough as sandpaper on wood.

"Where else would I be?" I closed the book and leaned back. "You think I'd run off while you were unconscious?"

"Honestly—I worried about it for a second there."

I rolled my eyes. "Save it. You haven't finished paying your debt yet. I'm not letting you die that easily."

He laughed, but it turned into a cough—jarring his chest wound, his face crumpling, a suppressed groan escaping.

"Serves you right." But I still stood up, poured water, and held it to his lips.

He drank a few sips, then lay back, looking at me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable.

"Leah?"

"Dead... fell off the cliff. The guards found her body."

He was quiet for a few seconds. "And—Elder Alden."

I froze. "What?"

"I saw Edmund's report on the side table earlier. They found evidence," he said, voice weak but clear. "Leah could only drug you because she had Alden's help. And—he also bribed that maid Aila five years ago to frame you, gave you those poisoned flower seeds, told Leah you were pregnant... and at the end, sent someone to murder your family—"

He paused, breathing deep.

"The disaster that destroyed your family. He did it."