Caught by the Mad Alpha King-Chapter 357: Cat trapped

Chris got changed under Killian’s supervision, and ’supervision’ was a generous word.

Killian loomed over both him and Dax while staff retrieved the ceremonial clothes with the expression of a thousand vengeful gods, as if the crown had come with a personal vendetta against wrinkled fabric and slow hands.

So Chris did it properly. He stood where he was told to stand, lifted his arms on cue, and endured the pins and clasps and the final checks like a good consort - queen, apparently - while Dax watched with the patient menace of a man waiting for his mate to be returned.

The moment Killian finally allowed it - allowed, as if Chris was a state document - Chris walked straight into the bedroom and threw himself onto the giant bed.

Tania was already there.

She had declared the bed her territory months ago, and despite Killian, Rowan, and half the palace staff trying to correct her ’habits,’ they had failed spectacularly. You did not negotiate with an albino tiger who believed she owned luxury.

Chris didn’t even fight it.

He sank into the mattress with a long exhale, and Tania immediately climbed over him like a smug, overgrown cat. Her weight settled across him with obscene confidence, and she pressed her face into his neck as if confirming he was still hers too.

Chris made a muffled sound somewhere between laughter and surrender.

"Yeah," he muttered, arm wrapping around her as far as it could. "I missed you too."

From the doorway, Killian’s voice came flat. "She is not a pillow."

Tania chuffed.

Chris didn’t move. "She disagrees."

Killian’s stare promised a lecture.

The lecture never happened, because the bathroom door opened.

Dax stepped out still damp from the shower, hair not fully dry, dressed in a white robe that looked like it had been fastened out of obligation rather than effort. The belt was tied, but barely, and the collar sat open enough to make "royal decorum" feel like a rumor.

He stopped in the doorway and took in the scene.

Chris half-buried in a mountain of sheets, Tania sprawled over him like she’d signed a deed, and Killian standing there like he was about to declare war on every living creature in the room.

Dax lifted a brow.

"Tania," he said mildly, like he was addressing an equal. "You’re bold."

The tiger responded by purring harder, an absurd, rumbling sound that vibrated through Chris’s chest like she was doing it on purpose.

Chris didn’t even pretend to be sorry. "She’s celebrating my coronation."

Dax’s mouth twitched. "By crushing you."

"By loving me," Chris corrected, voice muffled under fur and smug satisfaction. "It’s different."

Killian’s gaze flicked to Dax’s robe, and whatever patience he had left clearly died a quiet death.

"Your Majesty," Killian said, dangerously calm, "you are dripping on the carpet."

Dax glanced down at himself as if the concept of water was a personal attack. "Am I?"

"Yes."

Dax walked in anyway, unbothered, and shut the door behind him with the kind of casual confidence that said: ’this is my palace, my mate, my tiger, and my problem.’

He moved closer to the bed, eyes still on Tania’s full-body claim.

"Move," Dax told her, simple.

Tania did not move.

She blinked slowly at him with the unshakable arrogance of a creature that had never once believed rules applied to her.

Then she pressed her head harder into Chris’s neck and purred again, louder.

Chris made a noise that was half laugh, half suffering. "She’s asserting dominance."

Dax’s eyes narrowed. "Over my consort."

Chris’s tone went dry. "Over everyone."

Killian looked like he wanted to remind them both that the tiger was not part of protocol. He didn’t. He just stared at the ceiling like it might offer him strength.

Dax leaned closer, close enough that Chris could feel his heat even through Tania’s fur, and spoke right near Chris’s ear.

"You," Dax murmured, "are enabling her."

Chris didn’t deny it. He only turned his face slightly, smiling into Dax’s throat space like a man who’d already won. "I’m crowned. I’m allowed to be spoiled."

Dax’s hand slid to the edge of the mattress, fingers brushing Chris’s hip through the sheets, possessive but controlled, for now. "And what am I allowed to be?"

Chris blinked up at him, expression all innocence and audacity. "Grateful."

Dax huffed a quiet laugh.

Then he reached out and, without taking his eyes off Chris, scratched behind her ear with practiced familiarity.

The tiger immediately melted, still on top of Chris, still refusing to relocate, but visibly pleased.

Chris stared at Dax like he’d just witnessed treason. "You’re bribing her."

Dax’s grin turned lazy. "I know how to deal with feral cats."

Killian’s eyes narrowed. "That is not a cat." He said clearly ignoring the fact that Dax was referring to his mate and consort as a ’feral cat’ now.

Dax didn’t even glance at him. "In spirit, she is."

Tania purred like she agreed with Dax’s assessment and, in doing so, claimed Chris’s collarbone with even more commitment. Chris made a muffled, offended sound and went limp on principle.

"This is my life now," he muttered into fur.

Killian watched the scene like a man watching protocol die in real time. He took one slow breath, then another, as if he were counting to ten in multiple languages.

Then he remembered something, and the memory visibly worsened his mood.

"We have a few days," Killian said, flat. "A small window. And then you resume duty."

Chris didn’t move. "Yes, Killian."

Dax’s brows lifted slightly. "You sound like you’re giving a weather report."

"I am giving a warning," Killian corrected. His gaze flicked once to the barely-fastened robe and the way Dax was looking at Chris like he’d forgotten the existence of politics. Killian’s mouth tightened. "If you insist on... indulging, I would prefer the child-creating activities happen when I am not present."

Chris froze for half a second.

Then he made a noise that might have been a laugh, if it wasn’t also a choke. "Killian!"

Killian didn’t blink. "Your Grace."

Dax’s eyes gleamed with mild amusement. "You don’t want to be in the room."

"I do not," Killian said calmly. "I have survived wars, coups, and three budget seasons. I will not survive listening to either of you."

Chris tried to sit up. Tania refused. He flopped back down, defeated by tiger physics.

"This is harassment," Chris muttered.

Killian’s expression remained perfectly neutral. "It is governance."

Dax’s mouth twitched. "You’re dismissed."

Killian didn’t move. "I am not." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Dax finally glanced at him. "Killian."

Killian held his gaze like an immovable object. Then, as if conceding exactly one inch, he inclined his head.

"I will be outside," he said. "So that when you do something irresponsible, I can pretend I didn’t hear it and still keep the palace standing."

Chris groaned. "Please leave."

Killian turned with crisp efficiency and walked toward the door.

He got exactly two steps before it opened again.

Rowan entered like a man with a mission, a file, and a pulse in his throat.

"Your Majesty—" he started, urgent, then stopped dead.

Because the room contained: one king in a robe that was barely hanging on to dignity, one crowned consort pinned under an albino tiger like a hostage, and Killian standing there mid-exit with the expression of someone reconsidering all life choices.

Rowan blinked once.

Then he very quietly regretted every decision that had brought him to this door.