Maeve POV Back at that disaster of a party, I recalled him saying that he would be taking me to live with him, but he never specified a particular place. Surely he hadn’t meant the royal palace. Not the place where the Alpha King and his family resided. Oh, how I hoped he wasn’t the type of roya
Wordlessly, he squeezed back. His eyes shone with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint but I yearned to see more of. An awkward cough from the Prime Beta quickly put an end to that tender moment. However much I enjoyed seeing this soft side of the prince, public displays of affection were a foreign
I hesitated. “I… I don’t know.” She sighed with an impatient shake of her head. “That doesn’t give me anything to work with. I suppose I have no choice but to trust His Highness and make do.” Without wasting another moment, she shuffled me into a conservative, yet comfortable-looking bedroom, drap
Maeve POV Panicked, I took in as much of their faces as possible within a span of three seconds before quickly lowering my face from view. I didn’t want to believe someone connected to my family would be at Xaden’s mansion, but there was no doubt about it—Bella was here, along with her Alpha fathe
She leaned in close with a cheeky grin. “We both know you came here so you could gawk at his handsome face every day.” My face reddened with embarrassment. Calm down, I thought. She doesn’t know anything. She just wants to get under your skin. Maggie, apparently, was still stunned by the rev
Maeve POV “Your Highness!” Bella gasped, hastily pulling away from me. In her surprise, she dropped the crystal wine glass she’d been holding and it shattered into hundreds of little pieces upon impact. The room froze, falling so quiet that one might be able to hear a pin drop. No one knew what
Maeve POV Xaden’s body trembled with restrained rage as he carried me down a long hallway, past open gilded windows—where I could see the sun barely beginning to set—draped with red and gold-accented curtains, and paintings of what appeared to be royal portraits. He didn’t speak a word. Not even
He watched me through veiled eyes. And, squeezing his hand, I looked back at him with all of my heart and soul, hoping he could see and feel my sincerity, even if he couldn’t believe it. “I want to tell you everything… I want to be able to live without this heavy burden and just be free… but I-I c
When his eyes found mine, his expression softened. “Maeve,” he said, staring around my face, his eyes wandering to my hair and then back to my eyes. “You look different.” “It’s her natural look, Daddy,” Charlotte said proudly, giving me an encouraging smile from across the table. He studied me f
Maeve’s POV I was nervous as we headed towards the palace. We were having dinner with Xaden’s family, and this would be the first time seeing them since I was in the hospital. Xaden didn’t seem as worried as I was, but so far, good experiences at family dinners with the royals have been limited. I
“I was on your team!” He growled, nearly shaking the entire dungeon. “I didn’t want you to continue making a fool out of yourself. Do you have any idea how important our image is right now, and you fucked it up, Isabelle! I’m in the running to be the next Alpha King. These next few months are crucia
Maeve’s POV I hadn’t noticed Charlotte slipping out of the room, but as soon as I turned around, I realized she was no longer standing at the doorway. I peeked up at Xaden who stared down at me with such sincerity that it made my heart skip a beat. “You love me?” I asked him, my heart thudding v
“You won’t need to worry about her going after Xaden,” she continued softly. “I know that’s why you left. You should know that Xaden doesn’t want her. He never did. It’s you he wants, Maeve.” I blushed at her words. “I want him too,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t have left like that. I should have st
“I took another paternity test,” I blurted, without giving him much of a warning. “Because I left… I took another test. I was going to show you the results but…” “I know,” he said, cutting off my words before I could say anything more. I furrowed my brows. “You know?” I asked him, confused.
Maeve’s POV “You’ve been dying your hair this whole time?” Xaden asked, his eyes wide as he studied me. I felt hot in the face under their scrutiny, and I hated that they were all staring at me like this. I knew I should have told Xaden the truth about me, but I couldn’t find it in me to do it. Tr
Xaden hugged me even tighter and kissed the top of my head. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “She can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let that happen.” “What about Henry?” I asked. “He’s not going to be happy that his wife is in a dungeon. I’m assuming that’s where she is.” Xaden nodded. “That’s where
Maeve’s POV Once I was dressed, it was like a tornado of people flooding into the room. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the attention, but after a while, I started to relax. The first person who ran to me and wrapped her arms around me was Charlotte. She had tears in her eyes, and she hugged