Chapter 8 His Former Mates

(Hilda)

He had leaned, pressed a brief, tender kiss to my lips before he left for the door.

Once he was gone, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The room felt strangely empty without him, and I tried to shake off the feeling of unease that settled over me. I needed to clear my head, to think about what had just happened between us.

Hours passed, and King Arlo’s servants came and went, bringing food and tending to the fire. They were efficient and polite, but there was an undercurrent of tension in their interactions with me. I couldn’t help but notice the way they avoided eye contact, the way their hands trembled slightly as they set things down.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I finally asked one of the servants, a middle-aged woman with a kind face, what was going on.

“Why do you all seem so… nervous?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light.

The woman glazed around as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned in closer. “It’s King Arlo,” she whispered, h