If it was in his power, Nicholas wanted to never be the cause of a family torn apart. “There he is!” an aged, masculine voice, seasoned with years of experience, exclaimed from afar as he descended the grand staircase. “The man of the hour!” He was a tall, broad-shouldered alpha who carried hims
MAEVE POV I needed a break. Just a little bit of time to myself to calm down and fully process everything that had happened today. Tonight’s banquet had taken an unexpected toll on me. First with that whole debacle involving Nicholas, then Xaden’s subsequent jealous rage—which he adamantly denie
I found it impossible to refuse such a request. With a slow, pensive swallow, I nodded, bracing myself against the tub for whatever I was about to hear. Xaden pushed his free hand through his hair. “My father…” he trailed off, gathering himself, “I believe I told you before that he believes we s
THIRD PERSON POV Four days ago, before the battle on the border… “You wanted to see me, Father?” Lucas asked, standing a short distance away from Alpha King Arlan’s desk. Admittedly, the summons had come as a little bit of a surprise. It was not too long ago when they’d had their conference re
Months prior, when it had become dangerously apparent that tensions with the bear shifters were quickly escalating, he had begun treaty negotiations with the nearby Vixen-Shifter Kingdom. There were many things at stake with this treaty in motion, but with Xaden firmly out of commission, they were b
XADEN POV Back to the present day, the morning following the banquet… Morning had finally come, bringing an end to that ridiculously long banquet, and I wasted no time in hurrying over to the palace training room. My body thrummed with pent-up tension, threatening to burst if left unattended. It
To her credit, Isabelle knew better than to dig herself into an even deeper hole than she already was in. She would do nothing that directly incriminated her, so she seemed to think it best to keep silent, albeit begrudgingly. That, I thought, was the smartest move she had made thus far. “For your
XADEN POV Before my mind could comprehend what was happening, my body hurled itself out of Lucas’s path of attack on its own accord. It took a couple of seconds to catch my breath from the sudden motion, eyes wide as I gazed at my brother, who was now, by all accounts, adequately peeved. His cle
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