Adrian was making me nervous. He’d joined me on my walk in the gardens, but he’d been twitchy the entire time and unable to hold a conversation. Finally, I set us down on a bench away from the palace and cleared my throat. “Adrian.”
He glanced up with a frown. We were sitting side by side, but there was a noticeable gap between us. While I would have preferred to be pressed up against his side, I knew we needed to keep the distance in case anyone happened upon us. We were still keeping up the ruse that we weren’t mates, which meant I couldn’t act in the way I desired. Or he desired, but I knew he wanted to hold me as much as I wanted to be held. “Yes?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind, or am I supposed to just guess?”
He instantly deflated in front of my eyes, his shoulders s
ElizabethI didn’t understand why the hell Adrian wasn’t interested in me. I was the perfect woman to be the Queen Luna when he ascended to the throne. I was well-connected, well-educated, and well-liked. There was no reason for him to continue to reject me.At first, I’d thought he was simply playing hard to get, but over the years, it’d come to my attention that he fully intended to reject me. Me! I had men falling over themselves to try and be with me, and Prince Adrian continued to be a trial. Men.I hadn’t seen Adrian since we’d run into each other at the hospital, but I couldn’t stop thinking over our meeting. He’d been on edge – anyone with eyes could see that. But more importantly, he’d been there to see his Uncle.Byles was close to the family, but they saw each other all the time for dinners at the palace. There wou
ChloeAlexander, Knox, and I were in the middle of a heated game of rummy when my bedroom door flew open and bounced off the wall. I was almost certain there was a dent in the drywall now. All three of us stared at King Charles, confused by his violent entrance.He looked enraged. I exchanged a worried glance with the boys, unsure what to do. They’d had far more experience when their father was mad. I had none. He wasn’t really my father, though, I supposed. I pushed the thought away. I didn’t want to deal with the crippling debt I still felt.“You,” the King hissed, pointing at me.“Me?” I squeaked. I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly why the King was mad, and unfortunately, I didn’t know how to explain it away.“You knew,” he hissed.“Father,” Alexander tried. “
AdrianThree days after Father found out about Chloe, I approached him. “Father, can we speak?” I asked.He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “I can already tell that I’m not going to like what you have to say.”I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Even still, I need to speak to you in private. Can we go to your office?”With a grunt, Father rose from his chair and motioned with his arm. “Go ahead then. You know where it is.”It was a silent walk to his study. I closed the door behind us, cloaking the space in privacy. I knew, eventually, I’d have to tell my brothers, but I wasn’t ready to do so just yet.Father sat at his desk and said, “Go ahead.”I’d come up with an eloquent speech outlining what’d happened, but now that the mom
ChloeChloe – Please meet me in the office at 9 am.King CharlesI stared at the note in my hand for far longer than it took me to read it. My stomach dropped out of my body. King Charles hadn’t said a word to me since he’d found out I wasn’t his daughter. To be fair, I’d avoided every family meal and had been eating in Adrian’s room, away from, well, everyone.This note had arrived with my maid. The staff hadn’t been treating me any differently, but I also wasn’t sure they knew what had gone on. I assumed some must, but no one acted like anything changed. I was grateful for the false sense of normalcy.There was no way around this meeting. I glanced at the clock. It was only 8, which meant I had
Chloe"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
Chloe“You’re late,” Father clucked from his chair by the window.I rolled my eyes. “Barely, Father. I have a country to run, after all.”Father turned to me with a big smile. “I know. You and Adrian are doing an amazing job.”I softened at this and plopped down into the seat next to his. He already had my tea poured into my cup.We’d been meeting, just the two of us, at least once a week since I’d moved back to the palace with my husband and children. Slowly we’d built a real father-daughter bond, and I treasured having him in my life. I loved meeting with him and sharing my days.He looked preoccupied today. “What’s wrong?” I asked.He turned to me, his eyes sad. “Do you know what day it is?”I frowned, going through my mental calendar. I hadn’t missed an appointment, had I?“It’s your mother’s birthday,” Father said gently.I reared back in surprise. How could I have possibly forgotten that?“Don’t be too hard on yourself, sweetie,” Father said with a bittersweet smile. “Your mothe
Caden“You really need to get over her,” my Beta, Jared, said, sitting down next to me. “It’s been years, Caden.”I ignored him and downed the rest of my beer. When I was done, I finally spoke. “I fucked up the best part of my life, Jared, allow me to mourn it as I see fit.”“I’m not arguing with you on that point,” Jared said, signaling for a beer from the bartender. “I’m just saying that you have to accept at some point that you were the one who broke the mate bond with Chloe, which means that you are responsible for no longer being with her. I get it; it sucks. But she’s married and has a couple kids. She’s never coming back.”I stared morosely into my empty mug. “I’m scared that I’m never going to find my second chance mate. I want my Luna, Jared.”
Adrian“You know I don’t remember being Crown Prince as this exhausting,” I sighed, tearing off my tie.Chloe lounged in bed already, half asleep. She’d been in meetings all day and I knew she was exhausted. “I think being Crown Prince and being King Alpha are two different things, Adrian.”“Well, I’m tired.”Chloe shot me a sleepy smile. “Me too. Are you ready to come to bed yet, oh great one?”I chuckled. She’d started calling me that after I’d been crowned and while I normally would have balked at someone calling me that, with Chloe it was different. I knew she meant it only with love, not mocking at all. “I am ready.”I crawled into bed and collected Chloe in my arms. She felt so right pressed against me. If I wasn’t so tired I’d be all ov
KnoxI came home from my travels just long enough to watch Chloe and Adrian be crowned King and Queen. Over the last couple of years, I’d traveled to 43 countries and met more shifters than I’d ever imagined. Some were werewolves like me, but I also met leopard shifters and dragon shifters, entire cultures with their own legacies and rules. It was incredible, and I felt like I’d grown so much as a person since I’d left.“I guess I have to call you Your Highness now,” I laughed, patting Adrian on the back.He shot me a bright smile. He looks happier than he has in years. Alexander and I made the right choice; Adrian should have always been on the throne. It was never our place. “You can just call me Adrian.”“Not brother?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.He rolled his eyes. “That works too, I suppose.&r
Chloe"You don't usually ask to see me without the kids," I teased Alexander as I sat down next to him on the bench. We'd agreed to meet at our favorite spot in the gardens, one we’d frequented often in the years since Adrian, and I moved our family back here at Father’s request. He hadn’t really needed to convince us; we loved the idea of our children being raised with their grandfather and uncles."There's something I need to speak to you about," Alexander sighed, unusually serious. He seemed more and more serious as of recently and I worried about him. He seemed to be wearing thin."Is everything alright? Did Father's cancer return?" I knew he'd just had some routine scans done and no one had mentioned the outcome. Maybe they’d been keeping them from us on purpose?"No, nothing like that. No, it's something completely different." He closed his eyes for a moment as if he was gathering himself."I'm all ears," I said, leaning back. I was nervous about what he wanted to speak about.A
ChloeI debated for hours on whether or not I wanted to take the pregnancy test on my own or tell Adrian what I suspected. I’d been alone the first time with Charlie, and I’d been terrified, but things were different this time. I was married to my mate, and we lived in the Capital City near my father who doted on his grandson. In fact, both Alexander and Knox took their roles as uncles very seriously. I had a whole support system this time instead of just Caden.I almost told him I was going to take it but before I did I called Caden. He’d been around the first pregnancy, and I knew he’d give me good advice.“What’s up, Chloe?” Caden said when he answered the phone.“I think I might be pregnant,” I said in a rush.Caden was silent for several heartbeats. “Am I supposed to be happy or… supportive?”“Happy,” I laughed. “I’m happy about the idea. But I don’t know whether I want to take the test with or without Adrian.”“Oh,” Caden said, understanding. “I see. Well, there isn’t one right a
AdrianI had never been as nervous as I was standing at the altar waiting for Chloe to walk down the aisle.Alexander leaned over. I had chosen him as my best man, although I had been close between him and Knox. “You look like you're about to puke,” Alexander said.“Gee, thanks,” I said. In reality, I thought I was about to pass out.“Nerves?” Caden asked from beside Alexander. I had chosen him as one of my groomsmen as well. To my surprise, we actually got along really well, and I considered him a close friend now, not to mention an uncle to Charlie. He loved my son, and I couldn't stay mad at anyone who loved my son.“Don't worry if you pass out, I'll pour some water on you,” Knox offered.I ignored them and focused on trying to calm my breathing.The music for the bride started and we all turned towards the giant double doors, glancing over our 500 closest friends and family members that had been invited. The door swung open, and Father stepped out with Chloe on his arm. She was abs
ChloeI stared at the dress in the mirror, feeling absolutely helpless. “How many wedding dresses do I really have to try on?” I asked aloud.“Until you feel like a Princess,” the seamstress said. “Really, I don't remember any client being this difficult before.”“I'm sorry,” I sighed. “It's nothing with your design, though. It's absolutely beautiful. But ever since I gave birth to Charlie, I just don't feel comfortable in my skin anymore.”The seamstress gave me a sympathetic smile. “I understand,” she said. “I felt that way after the birth of all of my children. Don't get me wrong, I love them all very much, and I would do it 1000 times over if it meant I got to keep them. But it's hard adjusting to the new body you have as a mother.”“I just want my body to go back to the way it was before I gave birth,” I admitted. In fact, I hadn't admitted this to anyone, and it was a relief to get it off my chest.The seamstress tutted. “The sooner you get rid of that notion, the happier you'll
AdrianI really really didn't want to go see Elizabeth she had haunted my doorstep for years and the thought that I was about to enter her house was too much for me to bear.Unfortunately my wife had other ideas, and I couldn't tell her no.I didn't bother sending Elizabeth any warning that I was on my way. I didn't want her to get anything ready for me. With her, who knew what she would come up with.I knocked on her front door and when the Butler opened it his eyes widened in shock. “Prince Adrian. It's been a while.”“So it has. Is Elizabeth home?” I askedHe nodded slowly. “Are you sure you would like to see her?”“I would,” I confirmed.He led me into the drawing room and motioned towards the couch to sit down. “I'll go grab the lady.”The couches were made for style more than comfort and I was still shifting around trying to get comfortable when Elizabeth rushed into the room. It was clear that she had sprinted from whatever other part of the house she'd been in in order to get t