AroraI didn’t want to go to the castle. I didn’t want to discuss whatever it was that the royals felt needed discussing. I had work to do around the house. Our roof was starting to leak and since mom and I couldn’t afford to pay for someone to fix it, I was planning on climbing up there myself.“Lady Irina, welcome to our home.” The new queen greeted my mother with a huge smile, and it almost looked as though the girl was just about to hug my mom when I noted the king taking her hand.“Thank you, your majesty. It is an honour to be here.” Mom gushed and I rolled my eyes.“And you must be Arora. It is a pleasure to meet you.” King Noah smiled, but it looked a little strained and I nearly laughed out loud. Fake! The lot of them! Not a single one would know what sincerity really was, even if it smacked them in the damn face.“I am pleased to meet you both.” I curtsied and purposefully didn’t refer to their titles, waiting for them to throw me out of the castle, but nobody would do me th
Arora“We don’t need your charity now! We needed it when you all turned your backs on us.” I spat at them, but my voice almost became a whisper as I ran out of steam. I had been fighting a fight I didn’t understand for most of my life.A fight that wasn’t even mine. A fight against an invisible enemy that wasn’t allowed to show his face because the people in front of me deemed it so. It was simply astounding that they even thought I would consider making peace with them, never mind accepting one of them as my mate!“Arora.” Bernard took a step forward, and I took a step back, making him stop in his tracks. “I’m not asking you to accept me right away. My family is not going to hold this above your head. This is not some kind of bribe to convince you of anything. It is the only way we can think of to start fixing what was done to you and your mother.”“Arora, please.” Mother looked at me with tears in her eyes. Before my father was caught out, they had a wonderful life. My parents lived
Arora“How long has it been like this?” Bernard looked furious and I shrugged.“Like this?” I pointed at the roof, pretending to think. “This probably happened some time this morning. It wasn’t that bad before.” I shrugged again, trying my best not to make a big deal out of it. I knew that the longer they hung around, the less chance there was of me getting up there today. I didn’t want them there, but I knew I had to grit and bear it. For now. For my mother’s sake.“Wait a minute! Is this what you wanted to fix? Were you supposed to be up there when all of this caved in?” Bernard frowned, but I could see concern and anger burning in his eyes. The man was smarter than I thought. I had hoped I had been vague enough.“Yes, she was, your highness. Ever since her father…” My mom spoke up when I didn’t say a word, but her voice trailed off for a moment before she regained her composure. “Arora has been trying her best to fix whatever she could with the limited resources we have.” All eyes
BernardI was so angry that I really wanted to tell my family where to get off, but I held it all back. I can’t ruin this for Arora and her mother now. One wrong word, not that I thought Noah was like that, but one wrong word could mess this all up.I just couldn’t believe that none of us so much as checked on them once. None of us, me included, ever asked if they were okay. They were just the Dutchess and her daughter that nobody talked about until the day I figured out Arora was my mate.I rolled my eyes when I heard someone saying that they just slipped through the cracks. Nothing in our kingdom just slipped through the cracks! Ever! Except for Arora and her mother. They really did slip through the cracks. My family worked so hard to hide the secret that everyone forgot about the innocent victims.We had to change! I would make sure we changed.AroraI looked at myself in the mirror and noted how old my dress looked as I caught sight of the omega’s uniform. My dress was completely
HelenaThe poor girl was probably suffering from a major case of whiplash, and it was all my fault. Okay, maybe not all of it, but it was mostly my fault. If I hadn’t brought it up, my family would probably only have realized it later on and not made such a huge fuss.We would have moved Arora and her mother into the castle the same way we did with all the royals and that would have been the end of it. Instead, I made a fuss and now the entire family was making a fuss, and it had become clear that Arora didn’t like it.She tried her best to hide her feelings, but she was failing miserably. She was a strong female. Like all the women in my family. She was the perfect mate for my son and I couldn’t have done a better job even if I had picked his mate myself.I just wished I could go back and do things differently, but what was done was done, and now I have to try and do better. Back when Arora’s father was sentenced, all we could think about was the threat to our kingdom and our people.
AroraThe ladies found me nose deep in the plans for the house that Bernard was showing me. He found the original plans in the castle library and even the original paint colour for each room was listed. I felt excited for the first time in a long time as I showed my mother the plans.It made staying at the castle worthwhile. The prospect that the house would be restored to its original beauty was enough for me. I didn’t like that they were paying for it, but I kept telling myself that if they didn’t do what they did, the house would not have been in such a state to begin with.I agreed to join the ladies for the last leg of the shopping and I even had a bit of fun which I would never admit out loud. By the time we returned to the castle, both my mother and I had new wardrobes. As I walked into my room after the long day, I found the omega busy replacing my old clothes with the new ones and nearly had a heart attack.“You don’t throw a pot out just because the handle is broken.” I frow
BernardIt broke my heart. I could feel the pain she was trying to hide through our mate bond and I wondered if that pain would ever heal. It felt deep, which meant someone, probably her father, had let her down. It was the only thing that made sense.The problem was that she would have been too small at the time her father was captured. There was no way he could have made her any promises she would have remembered. It made me wonder who else could have broken her heart so badly that she literally didn’t trust anybody.I didn’t want to push further. My body was screaming to touch her, but my heart told me if I wanted to make sure we ended up together, I had to take it slow. I had to take it very slow, or she would run and would never be able to catch her.Arora“So, what does a prince do to keep him out of trouble?” I changed the subject and could see the relief in his eyes as he smiled.“That all depends on what your number is.” He laughed, and I noted that his laughter filled his ey
AroraI woke up feeling hopeful, which was very strange. Everything I had been going through since that moment Bernard declared me his mate had been very strange. I felt as if I was walking a tightrope, and one slip would cost me my life while still seeing this wondrous world around me that just wanted me to get off.The thought did occur that if I chose to stay with Bernard, I would never live in my old home again, which was probably what was holding me back. I didn’t want to leave my home. It was my home. I knew my mother wouldn’t be bothered either way, but I didn’t want to leave.I had spent my entire life trying to keep that building from falling apart. Almost as if I tried to keep my father’s reputation from falling apart. At that moment, I realized that was exactly what I was trying to do. By keeping the house safe, I wasn’t just taking care of my mother. I was holding onto a memory of my father that never existed!“Prince Bernard said you should wear something comfortable.” Th