"Chloe," Adrian said softly behind me.
I turned to him, a small frown forming on my face when I saw how serious he was. It was crazy to think that used to be all I ever saw in him. While he was the ever-serious Crown Prince in public, in private, he was all smiles. "Yea?"
He cleared his throat. "There's been a decision."
My heart sank. I instantly knew what he was talking about. "Leah?" My voice was nothing more than a whisper.
"She's going to be executed."
I stared at him; sure, I'd heard him wrong. "Executed?" I squeaked, my voice not working correctly.
Adrian nodded slowly, watching my face intently.
I stared back at him, completely lost. "I didn't think..." I trailed off.
Adrian wrapped me in a tight embrace. "Chloe, she kidnapped you, tortured you, and killed Loren
CadenI watched Chloe leave, leaning heavily on Prince Adrian’s arm. They looked very familiar, and I wondered briefly if I’d missed some key piece of information besides Chloe being Princess Harper. The door at the end of the hall closed behind them.I wanted her back. No, I needed her back. I might not have realized what a blessing Chloe was when we were mates, but I saw it now. She’d stood by her attacker’s side and held her hand until the very end. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do that if our roles were reversed.I royally fucked up. I should have never broken our mate bond. Maybe if I hadn’t, more people would be alive right now. I should have stood by her side because I knewher. I knew who Chloe was, and I’d willfully chosen blindness. I would not be making that error again.I waited until I was outside to call my fa
CadenChloe didn’t respond to my voicemail. She also didn’t respond to any of the texts I sent her, although I could see that she’d read them. That stung; I wasn’t going to lie. There’d been a time when she would have replied instantly. I’d thought it was borderline annoying at the time, but now I missed the closeness. I missed a lot of things about Chloe. That was the real problem; the farther away I got from my misplaced anger at her, the more I realized I fucked up. Because I had royally fucked up when I’d broken our bond.On the second day, with no response, I made the decision to go to King Charles himself. Not only was he King Alpha, but he was also Chloe’s father. I might not be able to force him to make her my mate again, but he could make her talk to me. That’s all I really wanted – a chance to plead my case before her. I knew she still loved me – she had to. Love didn’t just vanish like that. I knew I still loved he
AdrianI wasn't expecting a summons from my Father, and receiving one immediately put me on edge. A summons meant business, and more often than not, it was unpleasant. I couldn't ignore a summons, and he knew that.I entered his office without knocking. He was seated at his desk; however, his chair was turned to the window. I didn't think he was actually looking at anything out there."Sit," Father sighed, turning to me."No, thank you."He raised an eyebrow at this. I ignored him."I had a meeting this morning," Father said.I blinked in surprise. I was usually included in his meetings, especially now that my assentation to the throne was so near."And why wasn't I invited?""Well," Father paused. “I didn't know what he wanted to say, and I feared you might end the discussio
ChloeEven though I’d been given a room downstairs with the other maids, I spent every night wrapped in Adrian’s arms in his rooms. He’d gallantly offered to stay a night in my room, but I only had a twin bed, and while I enjoyed cuddling with him, it was a bit too close in my new bed. Luckily, it hadn’t been too hard to convince him that his king-sized bed was superior.I knew Adrian had had some sort of fight with his father because he’d found me afterward. While he’d only muttered about crazy old men, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to put together that he was speaking about the King. I had a feeling the conversation was about me, and I wasn’t looking to find out the details. The King’s rejection still stung, even if I understood it.“How do you feel about completing the marking ceremony?” Adrian asked as casually as one would ask abou
Chloe“You’ll be upstairs today, Chloe,” the head maid said, scanning her list. “The yellow and blue sitting rooms are yours.”I blinked at her in surprise. Since I’d been demoted to maid, I’d stayed out of the more public spaces in case someone recognized me. The yellow and blue sitting rooms were fairly busy spaces. “Alone?” I squeaked.She looked up and gave me a sharp look. “No. Since it’s your first day cleaning these two rooms, Hannah will be with you.”I nearly sighed in relief. Hannah was nice, even if I did think she chattered too much. I got it, though. If I was a talkative person, it’d be so hard to spend the workday alone.Once the head maid had given everyone their assignments, Hannah flounced over to me, a wide smile on her face. “Are you ready?”
ChloeI spent all night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. What I could do, though, was cry, and I cried until I had no tears left, and my pillow was soaked.I knew, deep in my heart, that Adrian deserved someone better than me to be his Queen Luna. I loved him so deeply that I’d ignored the glaringly obvious: we were from two different worlds.The closest I came to being royalty was having a dead stepfather who was a Beta in my old pack. He’d been a kind man, but he’d been unpolished, too. I came from a different life, and I’d be a fool to stick around and destroy everything by being a terrible Queen Luna.Not to mention, if we stayed together Adrian would have to constantly be explaining our relationship to everyone. He was expected to marry a polished woman who knew how to play the game, not a nobody like me.When the dawn broke, I kn
ChloeCaden and I spent the few hours between me barging in and Adrian’s arrival to plan out what we were going to do. I hated the idea of deceiving my mate, but I couldn’t think of any other way to make him leave me. He was far too forgiving where I was concerned, and I knew he’d look for any excuse not to leave me and break the bond.Unfortunately, since we’d done the marking ceremony, the only way to break our mate bond was to have one of us desire to break it with all our heart. It didn’t seem like a trick, except for the fact that the very last thing I wanted was to break the mate bond. I loved Adrian and always would. The only way to break the bond was to make him hate me enough to want to. The thought sickened me.Adrian arrived right at three. I didn’t know what his father had told him to get him here, but I had a sinking feeling from the angry banging on the do
AdrianI was a block away from the hotel when my anger finally faded enough for me to realize something wasn't adding up. I stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, nearly getting run over in the process by other pedestrians.Something wasn't right with Chloe's story, and I hadn't realized it initially because I'd been too shocked by Chloe admitting to having an affair with Caden. Or rekindling their relationship - whatever you wanted to call it. It felt like an affair to me, but I wasn’t about to argue the semantics.I turned on my heel and stormed back to the hotel, breezing past the front desk and back up to Caden's room. I banged on the door repeatedly, and after several moments, Chloe opened the door with a frown, still wearing Caden’s shirt. The sight made my stomach roll in disgust."Adrian?" Her voice was soft, and I could still see the fresh tear tracks stai
AdrianI knew Chloe was gone the moment she stepped outside of the city borders. Because we hadn’t broken the mate bond, I was still connected to her, although the clarity with which I felt her presence weakened the farther she traveled. I felt like I was losing a piece of myself, and I wondered for the first time if I should break the mate bond. We didn’t have to be together for one of us to do it.My father visited after dinner. I’d refused to go down, instead staying in my rooms. After my conversation with my brothers earlier, I was confused.“You didn’t come to eat,” Father said, joining me on the window seat I’d been sitting in for the last hour.“I know.”“Why?”“I wasn’t hungry,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed out the window at the gardens down belo
AdrianI was a block away from the hotel when my anger finally faded enough for me to realize something wasn't adding up. I stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, nearly getting run over in the process by other pedestrians.Something wasn't right with Chloe's story, and I hadn't realized it initially because I'd been too shocked by Chloe admitting to having an affair with Caden. Or rekindling their relationship - whatever you wanted to call it. It felt like an affair to me, but I wasn’t about to argue the semantics.I turned on my heel and stormed back to the hotel, breezing past the front desk and back up to Caden's room. I banged on the door repeatedly, and after several moments, Chloe opened the door with a frown, still wearing Caden’s shirt. The sight made my stomach roll in disgust."Adrian?" Her voice was soft, and I could still see the fresh tear tracks stai
ChloeCaden and I spent the few hours between me barging in and Adrian’s arrival to plan out what we were going to do. I hated the idea of deceiving my mate, but I couldn’t think of any other way to make him leave me. He was far too forgiving where I was concerned, and I knew he’d look for any excuse not to leave me and break the bond.Unfortunately, since we’d done the marking ceremony, the only way to break our mate bond was to have one of us desire to break it with all our heart. It didn’t seem like a trick, except for the fact that the very last thing I wanted was to break the mate bond. I loved Adrian and always would. The only way to break the bond was to make him hate me enough to want to. The thought sickened me.Adrian arrived right at three. I didn’t know what his father had told him to get him here, but I had a sinking feeling from the angry banging on the do
ChloeI spent all night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. What I could do, though, was cry, and I cried until I had no tears left, and my pillow was soaked.I knew, deep in my heart, that Adrian deserved someone better than me to be his Queen Luna. I loved him so deeply that I’d ignored the glaringly obvious: we were from two different worlds.The closest I came to being royalty was having a dead stepfather who was a Beta in my old pack. He’d been a kind man, but he’d been unpolished, too. I came from a different life, and I’d be a fool to stick around and destroy everything by being a terrible Queen Luna.Not to mention, if we stayed together Adrian would have to constantly be explaining our relationship to everyone. He was expected to marry a polished woman who knew how to play the game, not a nobody like me.When the dawn broke, I kn
Chloe“You’ll be upstairs today, Chloe,” the head maid said, scanning her list. “The yellow and blue sitting rooms are yours.”I blinked at her in surprise. Since I’d been demoted to maid, I’d stayed out of the more public spaces in case someone recognized me. The yellow and blue sitting rooms were fairly busy spaces. “Alone?” I squeaked.She looked up and gave me a sharp look. “No. Since it’s your first day cleaning these two rooms, Hannah will be with you.”I nearly sighed in relief. Hannah was nice, even if I did think she chattered too much. I got it, though. If I was a talkative person, it’d be so hard to spend the workday alone.Once the head maid had given everyone their assignments, Hannah flounced over to me, a wide smile on her face. “Are you ready?”
ChloeEven though I’d been given a room downstairs with the other maids, I spent every night wrapped in Adrian’s arms in his rooms. He’d gallantly offered to stay a night in my room, but I only had a twin bed, and while I enjoyed cuddling with him, it was a bit too close in my new bed. Luckily, it hadn’t been too hard to convince him that his king-sized bed was superior.I knew Adrian had had some sort of fight with his father because he’d found me afterward. While he’d only muttered about crazy old men, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to put together that he was speaking about the King. I had a feeling the conversation was about me, and I wasn’t looking to find out the details. The King’s rejection still stung, even if I understood it.“How do you feel about completing the marking ceremony?” Adrian asked as casually as one would ask abou
AdrianI wasn't expecting a summons from my Father, and receiving one immediately put me on edge. A summons meant business, and more often than not, it was unpleasant. I couldn't ignore a summons, and he knew that.I entered his office without knocking. He was seated at his desk; however, his chair was turned to the window. I didn't think he was actually looking at anything out there."Sit," Father sighed, turning to me."No, thank you."He raised an eyebrow at this. I ignored him."I had a meeting this morning," Father said.I blinked in surprise. I was usually included in his meetings, especially now that my assentation to the throne was so near."And why wasn't I invited?""Well," Father paused. “I didn't know what he wanted to say, and I feared you might end the discussio
CadenChloe didn’t respond to my voicemail. She also didn’t respond to any of the texts I sent her, although I could see that she’d read them. That stung; I wasn’t going to lie. There’d been a time when she would have replied instantly. I’d thought it was borderline annoying at the time, but now I missed the closeness. I missed a lot of things about Chloe. That was the real problem; the farther away I got from my misplaced anger at her, the more I realized I fucked up. Because I had royally fucked up when I’d broken our bond.On the second day, with no response, I made the decision to go to King Charles himself. Not only was he King Alpha, but he was also Chloe’s father. I might not be able to force him to make her my mate again, but he could make her talk to me. That’s all I really wanted – a chance to plead my case before her. I knew she still loved me – she had to. Love didn’t just vanish like that. I knew I still loved he
CadenI watched Chloe leave, leaning heavily on Prince Adrian’s arm. They looked very familiar, and I wondered briefly if I’d missed some key piece of information besides Chloe being Princess Harper. The door at the end of the hall closed behind them.I wanted her back. No, I needed her back. I might not have realized what a blessing Chloe was when we were mates, but I saw it now. She’d stood by her attacker’s side and held her hand until the very end. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do that if our roles were reversed.I royally fucked up. I should have never broken our mate bond. Maybe if I hadn’t, more people would be alive right now. I should have stood by her side because I knewher. I knew who Chloe was, and I’d willfully chosen blindness. I would not be making that error again.I waited until I was outside to call my fa