Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 109: King Gene is Drunk

*Rose

“You’re so beautiful.”

Mark’s voice sounds hoarse and raspy as he tries to talk to me. He reaches over and caresses my cheek.

Neither of us have been awake for long. I opened my eyes first, a few minutes ago, and then watched as his eyelashes fluttered a few times, and now his blue eyes are locked on my face.

“How are you feeling?” I ask him, scooting toward him in bed so I can put my hand on his chest.

He coughs and tries to lift a hand to put it on top of mine, but he’s so weak still, he gives up, and his hand falls back onto the bed. “I’ve been better.”

I giggle, not because he’s clearly under the weather still but because he is so adorable. “I wanted to murder you for a few moments,” I admit.

His head moves up and down slightly, and I take it that that movement is supposed to be a nod. “I don’t blame you. If you thought I was choosing to have sex with that awful monster, you should be ready to rip my heart out. But I would never, ever go behind your back to sleep with another woman. I don’t want to sleep with another woman. Not now, not ever.”

I can’t help but pull myself over to kiss him. His lips are a bit cooler than normal, and they aren’t even a little damp. I assume it’s from all of the sweat making him lose fluid. The IV bag is gone.

Puzzling over its disappearance, I ask, “Did Dr. Pe–uh, the doctor–come back in?”

“Yes, you were asleep. She just took my IV out. She said my fluids were better,” he explains.

I glance at the clock and see we’ve been sleeping for about three hours. Or I have been, anyway. Apparently, he woke up at some earlier point.

“I don’t know about that. Your lips are so dry,” I tell him.

He awkwardly turns his head, and I see a glass of water on the nightstand next to him. I reach for it and bring it over to him, and he lifts his head slightly so I can put the straw to his mouth. He takes a long drink, and then I set the glass aside.

“Thank you,” he says, and I nod with a smile in return. “Are you okay? Are the babies okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. They’re fine. I just needed to rest a little. Too much excitement for one day,” I tell him, rubbing my abdomen.

“Good. I would hate to do anything to upset you or harm the babies.” I can see the concern on his face as his brow wrinkles.

“I know that.” I snuggle up next to him, careful to give him some room because I don’t want him to be in any discomfort.

“I love you so much, Rose.” He means it, and I know that even without the words.

“I love you, too.” I kiss him again, and this time it seems more like normal.

“I was just trying to do what the king wanted, to keep him happy. I didn’t think he would be so manipulative as to try to put me in that sort of a situation–again.”

Another laugh escapes me. “I know,” I reassure him.

“Where are the others?”

I am sure it’s killing him not to be out there with the other Alphas trying to handle the situation. Personally, I’m used to sitting back and letting them take care of everything. I wonder if that will continue even after I’m done being pregnant, but I’m sure it will.

“They went to meet with Adam and Shelby to see what to do about Gene and Barbara conspiring, I believe.” I think I’d heard that before I fell asleep.

A forlorn sigh escapes his lips. “I wish I could be there with them.”

“Me, too,” I agree. “But you need to get some more rest. She gave you a lot of whatever that drug was. I think they bungled that. I bet they didn’t mean to give you so much.”

Mark doesn’t say anything. I assume he’s just too tired. He rests his head back against mine, and his breathing evens out. I kiss his forehead and close my eyes, so glad he’s still mine–and no one else’s.

* * *

*Reece*

I have drawn the short stick…. I have to go talk to King Gene about this situation. I don’t want to go at all, but Tristan is still sulking about us not agreeing with his amazing plan to call in Morris, and Eli and Kelly are up to something.

Shelby and Adam have gone back to their room to allegedly talk over what Adam should say to Gene since he’s still pretending we don’t know that the king intends to kill Rose, and Mark is still recovering.

So that leaves me….

I knock on the king’s office door and wait for him to shout at me to come in. Rather than yelling, he actually opens the door for me, a glass holding three fingers of whisky in his grip, and it’s clear to me that he’s been drinking. A lot.

Maybe that will make this easier.

“May I come in, Alpha King?” I ask.

“Yes, yes.” He waves a hand and retreats to his desk. I close the door behind me and take a seat across from him. He’s so drunk, the amber-colored liquid splashes out of his glass as he drops into his chair. “What want you Reeceeee?”

I clear my throat, taking a moment to think about what he’s said and decipher it. “We were just wondering… if we had done something to upset you. It seems like you and Barbara were trying to do something harmful to Mark, something harmful to all of us, and we want you to know that we are loyal to the crown. We want what’s best for the kingdom.”

He laughs, and it’s so high pitched, it sounds like a little girl giggling as she pets a kitten. “You’re not loyal to meee!”

“I didn’t say we weren’t,” I reply. I didn’t say we were either.

He sets his glass down and leans forward onto his folded arms, his eyes glassed over, and his head dancing around like a cork bobbing on the ocean. “Listen, here, you Alpha Reeceee, you!” He points an unsteady finger at me. “I heard you guys! I know you guys are after my throne! I know it!”

“But… that’s why we’re here!” I argue. “We are here because one of us will take over after you. What we do with the kingdom after you’ve retired is not your affair, King Gene–and I say that with all due respect.” It doesn’t matter that all the respect he’s due is none.

“But you don’t wanna do what I wanna you to do,” he says. “You wanna have that nasty bitch Breeder as your Luna. And I don’t wanna let her do that. And I only want one king. Not fooouuur.” He holds up three fingers, looks at his hand, and then adds another one.

I shake my head. “That’s not what we want. We just want what’s best for the kingdom. And we need you to trust us. You chose us for a reason, after all.”

“I chooosed you because I thoughteded that you would be the bestestes. But you’re acting like little whiny baby giiirls!” He picks up his glass to take another drink and completely misses his mouth, the whisky splashing on his shoulder.

I guess it’s fair to say he has a drinking problem… he’s having a problem drinking.

“Okay, King Gene. I’m not going to argue with you.” I hold up my hands. “But the thing is, you’re going to be forced to make a choice here, soon enough. Either you can continue to trust us, and give us the liberty to do the appropriate planning for what needs to be done for the kingdom moving forward. Or… you can go ahead and let the only other Alpha who is strong enough to run things take over and see how that goes.”

His eyes bulge from his head. “Only other Alpha who what? Do what?”

“I think you heard me,” I assure him. “I know you’re concerned that we won’t continue to provide you with the protection you desire from our four packs, and I think it’s a legitimate fear. So what happens if we stand down, King Gene? What happens if this tiff between you and the four of us becomes so big that we leave you on your own?”

He shakes his head adamantly. “That won’t happen. It can’t happen. You are… in my kingdom. I am the boss of you.”

Again, I shrug at him. “Well, sometimes we can’t make the troops do what they don’t want to do, and they just run away from the battlefield!” I lift my arm and gesture as if I am shooing a bunch of warriors from the fight.

He swallows hard. “And if you won’t defend me… that means….”

I nod my head. He gets it now. “That means you’ll be overrun, and you’ll become a captured king. The prisoner of the one and only–”

He interrupts me, the fear in his eyes obvious. “Alpha Kane!”