[BL] Alpha, You've Got the Wrong Mate!

Chapter 247: 247 — He Calls It Love

”So you have finally returned,” a voice said as soon as Rihaan stepped inside the building.

He inhaled before turning, only to find his father seated on the couch in the main hall where tables and other furnishings stood.

It was the audience hall he personally ordered to have built because he couldn’t be bothered to lead guests through the endless hallways of his mansion. And that was also what his lover preferred when he asked him back in Danshin.

”I have nowhere else to go,” he replied, approaching his father.

The man narrowed his gaze in disbelief.

”You must have gone to dig up something on that man again.”

Rihaan didn’t answer, making it clear his father wasn’t wrong.

King Rudra slowly rose from his seat, his heavy cloak dragging across the polished floor.

His expression was unreadable, and his voice cold.

”Ever since I arrived, I’ve noticed. You have been disappearing too often. Running off without escorts. Did you think I wouldn’t see it?”

”I don’t need an escort,” Rihaan replied sharply. ”I can protect myself.”

”Do you think that’s the reason? I want them to watch you so you don’t do anything reckless.”

Rihaan stiffened. Of course. His father wasn’t worried for him. All he cared about was honour and reputation. The image he built before everyone was more precious to him than his own child.

His father let out a harsh sigh and turned away, pacing across the hall. ”Your stubbornness will be the death of us one day.”

Rihaan frowned.

”What are you talking about?”

”You!” the king barked, pointing a finger at the Crown Prince. ”Your behaviour. Your impulses. This marriage. This fixation with that man. You can’t be trusted anymore.”

Rihaan stepped forward.

”I am not a pawn on your chessboard. I am a human being, Father.”

”Hah. You are doing everything to jeopardize the alliance that came directly from the Empire!” The king’s voice echoed sharply through the hall.

”I will not risk my kingdom for your foolishness!”

Before Rihaan could react, the king snapped his fingers. The guards stationed near the pillars rushed into the hall instantly.

”Take the Crown Prince to his chambers. And make sure he cannot leave.”

Rihaan’s jaw clenched as two guards approached him cautiously, hands already reaching.

”You can’t be serious,” he scoffed, his voice low and his fury tightly controlled.

But his father simply folded his arms, gaze stern.

”Oh, I am. Very much. At least... until you come to your senses, you do not leave that room.”

”Father! I am a grown man. You can’t lock me up like some animal—” he paused, catching the grin on his father’s face.

”Really?” the elderly man raised an eyebrow.

Rihaan pressed his lips into a thin line, unable to argue.

The guards reached for his arms and he swatted them away immediately.

”I can go to my room on my own,” he said sharply, turning away without bothering to bow or bid his father farewell.

After all, why should he show respect to a man who didn’t care about his opinions or happiness—only his own ambition and gain?

Once he entered his room, the door slammed shut behind him. He heard the metallic clinking of locks being fastened—chains looped around the handles, the sound of steel scraping against steel to bar the door from the outside.

Rihaan let out a quiet, humorless laugh.

They really thought this could stop him?

He was a beastman. He didn’t need anyone’s permission or help to leave this place. Breaking down a wooden door was as effortless as brushing aside a glass window.

Yet, he crumbled onto the floor, collapsing onto the cold marble tiles.

”Even if you lock me away, do you think you can control my heart, Father?” he murmured, tears welling in his eyes. He had never felt this helpless. Even if he ran away, he had no idea where Arav was.

Perhaps he was hiding.

What if Father threatened him?

Rihaan’s fingers curled into a tight fist, anxiety twisting in his chest. His lips trembled at the mere thought of what could have happened to that man.

Maybe I should just go along with this nonsense. What if they hurt him because I refuse?

He took a heavy, shaky breath. The room suddenly felt too small, the walls closing in on him as if they would crush his ribs together. The fear he tried so hard to bury finally crawled to the surface.

Arav was the one person he could never let go of. The only one he ever loved. And he never hid it from anyone. So why was the king doing this to him?

”AHHHHH!” Rihaan growled, slamming his fist onto the floor.

”No,” he whispered hoarsely, forcing the panic back down his throat. ”I won’t let him be dragged into this.”

He shut his eyes tight, as if trying to escape for a moment. This place was a nightmare—perhaps, in his dreams, he would see the man he cherished so much.

Once his eyes closed, his mind replayed the memories engraved in his heart—Arav standing before him with that same look of defiance, that stubborn confidence that always frightened him. A man who was never afraid of anyone. Not even a king.

But if they hurt him because of this marriage... he wouldn’t be able to forgive anyone. He had sworn to Arav that he would fight the world for their love. However, this time...

Rihaan let out a broken laugh.

He hated the thought of marrying Crown Prince Soren. He despised the alliance. He despised being treated like a pawn.

But the idea of Arav being harmed because of his choices terrified him more than any cage.

He dragged himself up on his knees and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

”I have to get out of here,” he whispered.

It wasn’t an escape from this marriage. It wasn’t an escape from his father.

He didn’t want to run away.

He wanted to find him.

Arav.

But he forced himself to stop for a moment. His instincts screamed at him to break the door. To tear the chains apart. To run into the cold night and search every forest until he found him, cross every border and ocean.

But logic slipped in between the panic.

If the king had already done something to Arav, then running blindly would only lead him straight into danger.

”That man doesn’t care who stands in his way. If someone ruins his plans, he will eliminate them...”

He closed his eyes and let the silence settle.

”I need to think,” he whispered.

Rihaan stood again, but this time his legs didn’t collapse.

He looked at the door. He could break it anytime he wanted. However, for now, he stayed.

Because there was another fear he couldn’t shake.

What if leaving right now meant losing Arav forever?

”But... Will he forgive me for betraying him, and getting engaged when I told him I wouldn’t?...” He bit his lips, slamming his fist against the wall.

***

Soren was reviewing the last stack of documents for the engagement banquet when a timid knock sounded at his door.

”Enter,” he said without looking up.

A servant stepped inside, clutching a small wooden box in both hands. His breathing was uneven, as if he had rushed across the palace corridors without stopping.

”I have successfully delivered the gifts that His Majesty asked me to take to the Danshin Crown Prince,” the servant reported. ”When I returned earlier, I saw...”

He hesitated.

Soren finally looked up.

”You saw what?” He raised an eyebrow. ”Hurry up. I don’t have time for this.”

The servant swallowed hard.

”His Highness Prince Rihaan was outside his mansion.”

”Alone?” Soren asked quietly.

”Yes, Your Imperial Highness. It was very late. Nearly midnight. He seemed to be returning from the forest. He looked... injured.”

Soren’s eyes narrowed.

”That shouldn’t be possible,” he murmured.

Even though their marriage was a political cage, the King of Danshin—whose arrival was reported to him as soon as he crossed the border—would never allow his eldest son to wander unguarded. Not this close to the engagement.

Unless something had gone wrong.

”So you mean to say... he didn’t have any guards with him?” Soren asked.

”No, Your Highness. Not a single one.”

That made Soren freeze completely. Rihaan wasn’t reckless—not without a reason. The man was cold, proud, difficult, stubborn—yes. But reckless? Certainly not.

”Where is he now?” Soren demanded, voice sharp.

”When I asked, the King dismissed it. However, I heard from a relative who works there that Prince Rihaan was locked in his chambers. By the order of his father.”

Locked inside? Why?

Soren’s pulse sharpened—something was off. Very off.

”You may leave,” he said, waving the servant away.

Once the door closed, he stared out the window. The sky wasn’t dark, but heavy gray clouds hovered overhead, casting a dull gloom over the palace grounds.

He couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with Rihaan.

”He calls it love... but all I see is foolishness,” he sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Love didn’t make people act like this, did it?

Most nobles, even if they fell for someone outside their marriage, simply divorced their spouse—or took the other as a concubine. Just like... the Emperor. It was perfectly natural.

Soren had even told Rihaan that he wouldn’t mind if Rihaan took that person as a mistress.

So why was he stubbornly refusing?