Trapped with the Alpha King

The deliverance was supposed to happen tonight after dinner. That had been their plan once Althea confirmed whether there was any demonic or unclean spirit inside Kael’s body.

They intended to invite Kael and the other contestants to dine with them, then quietly ask everyone else to leave afterward so Kael could remain behind. That was when they would begin the deliverance. It was meant to be their first operation.

Originally, it would have been Gavriel and Osman performing the deliverance with Althea guiding them. But Gavriel had already refused to let his wife become physically involved. Unfortunately for him, Althea was stubborn.

They had already begun forming a small group of gifted individuals who could see and sense demonic and unclean spirits.

In the future, this group would assist during deliverance rites under Gavriel’s lead together with Althea. However, the members were still undergoing training and screening. Elior himself would arrive in two days to personally guide them.

Gavriel’s expression darkened the moment he noticed Kael’s eyes beginning to change.

“He’s manifesting,” Osman muttered beside him.

Without hesitation, Osman signaled the remaining guards to secure the throne hall outside.

“Everyone out. Right now,” he ordered.

The guards immediately obeyed.

Gavriel was about to step forward, but Althea subtly signaled for him not to move. The restraint frustrated him.

Elior had left them detailed scriptures explaining how to deal with demonic and unclean spirits once they began to manifest. The signs were already there. Althea had been right. Even he could now see how Kael’s eyes were slowly turning pitch black.

It took all of Gavriel’s patience not to interfere. He knew his wife was capable of handling this, yet his protective instincts rose sharply when he saw Kael’s grip tighten around Althea’s hand.

That was when Gavriel finally moved forward and shoved Kael away from her.

“Gavriel,” Althea groaned in protest, but he immediately pulled her behind him and growled,

“You’re pregnant, and I will handle this. I told you I will handle it. You just stay back and watch from the sidelines.”

“Remember that you are pregnant,” he repeated firmly.

A distorted sound escaped Kael’s throat as he slowly pushed himself back to his feet.

“See how he’s controlling you?” Kael grunted in a deep, unnatural voice.

This time his eyes had turned completely pitch black. His movements were no longer human. His body twisted unnaturally as if something inside him was forcing his bones to bend the wrong way. The cracking sounds echoed across the throne hall as he moved forward with a slow, serpentine motion.

“I waited for this day patiently, Althea,” Kael continued, his voice layered with something dark and possessive. “To save you from this man. He is not meant for you. I know you’re only staying because you feel threatened... so come to me now.”

His lips stretched into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

“I will save you from him. I will treat you better. I will even accept your unborn child as my own.”

Althea closed her eyes. The demonic spirit was deeply bonded to Kael now. It whispered constantly into his mind, twisting his thoughts and poisoning his will until he could no longer hear anything else.

She reached for Gavriel’s hand and held it tightly.

“I can’t convince him anymore,” she said quietly. “You’ll have to fight him now using the light within you. Call upon the three angels so you won’t harm his physical body... only the demonic spirit clinging to his soul.”

“I will try,” Gavriel grunted as he stepped forward and shifted into a fighting stance.

Osman immediately handed him his sword, still sheathed.

“Release her and let her go! Give her back to me!” Kael roared as he suddenly lunged forward.

Althea instinctively stepped back while Osman moved in front of her, positioning himself between her, the King and Kael, ready to block him if he tried to get any closer.

She forced herself to stay still and watch. Gavriel’s sword... Lionel was there. Though the blade remained sheathed, a flame of holy light ignited along it, burning steadily as the angel’s presence settled around Gavriel.

Meanwhile, Althea noticed that Xyriel and Dariel were simply standing nearby, watching in silence as they casually spoke with her own angel, Aurus, as if the unfolding confrontation was not something urgent.

Then the three angels seemed to notice her questioning gaze.

They gave her slightly awkward smiles.

“Don’t worry,” Xyriel said casually. “Lionel’s light is enough for him to defeat that demonic spirit. It isn’t a high principality. Lionel alone is more than enough.”

Right. Althea almost forgot that even demonic spirits followed a hierarchy of their own.

Gavriel’s spiritual strength was still a work in progress, so he was not yet able to see his guardian angels.

For now, Althea served as the bridge between him and the spiritual realm.

She had been gifted with the ability to see them, but once Gavriel’s spiritual strength reached a certain level, he would also be able to see demonic spirits and angels and interact with them the same way she could.

But that would take time.

Gavriel still had much to work on within himself, especially when it came to controlling certain emotions... like anger and even jealousy.

Althea bit her lower lip as she watched Gavriel fight Kael. The demonic spirit inside him continued to whisper twisted nonsense into his mind.

“We can win against the king. Take Althea because she’s yours. You knew her first. You belong together, and she loves you. Don’t let her go. Don’t let this king take her from you. If you do, you’ll only prove how weak you are. You’ve always longed for her... will you really just stand there and watch another man claim her? No. You should be the one beside her. Kill the king, and this will all be over. She’ll be yours.”

That was how they worked.

These demonic spirits always fed their prey with poisonous thoughts, slowly twisting truth into obsession and desire into possession.

They searched for openings through human weakness... grief, greed, jealousy, longing, and other dark emotions that slowly eroded the heart. Once they found a door, they forced their way in and refused to let go. They fed on those weaknesses, growing stronger each time their host listened to their whispers.