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I was incredibly grateful that, for once, she wasn’t resisting any of my efforts to tend to her. Was she finally understanding that she didn’t have to do everything on her own? That her life didn’t have to be one of pain and loneliness?
I knew I shouldn’t say anything - Iknewthat much, yet my mouth had to go and move on its own.
“This is how it’s supposed to be, you know,” I said softly. “It could be like this always.”
“Hey, I never said Ididn’twant this,” she murmured back, eyelids already beginning to droop with sleep. “I just can’t stand the thought of my mate getting hurt.”
Pride swelled a little in my chest at how easily she called me her mate. If I was in her position, I would've likely done the samething. After all, how many times had I given her sharp orders because I was worried about her being hurt?
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, when you wake up, I have something to tell you, all right?”
“What is it?”
I probably shouldn’t have said anything, as I saw that same sharp curiosity sparking behind her eyes, so I just chuckled. “Nothing urgent. Just family history. But for now, I just wanted to say that we both need each other, and other people need us to be together, too, so let’s stop fighting our destiny and embrace it together, okay?”
“Wait, why do other people need us to be together?”
“Because instead of wasting so much energy resisting our bond, we can bolster in. I’ll be a stronger captain, and you can be a stronger healer. It will benefit the whole fort, really.”
“It’ll make you a stronger captain?”
“I believe that down to my soul, yes. I was going to wait, but I suppose it was stupid of me to try. I’m not just a soldier, you see. I—”
A knock sounded from the door, and it was almost like a gunshot went off. I jolted, jumping to my feet, automatically rushing for my pants like a teenager just caught with his high school girlfriend. Ayla was already out of bed, scrambling for her clothes.
I'd no idea who’d be knocking at my personal quarters unless it was urgent, so I called for them to wait in my office as my mate and I hurriedly dressed. It didn’t take long, yet it felt like an utter eternity before we hurriedly rushed into my office to see a frazzled-looking Oren and none other than an unpleasant, familiar face.
“Uncle Graham?” I blurted, feeling like my stomach would plummet out of my body.
“Ah, there you are,” he said, stepping forward with all his bogus military medals pinned to his chest. He was an esteemed leader, but he hadn’t done anything for the people in any recent memory, and I hated him for it. “I’m surprised to find you in such a…” — he looked me up and down, no doubt taking in my chest, and Ayla’s own disheveled appearance — “…compromising position.”
“Uncle…” I started again, completely blindsided. It figured that I was more sideswiped by a relative showing up than an actual, nation-ending battle, but one of them was a lot more off-putting than the other.
“Enough. I don’t want to hear any excuses. I’m sure your parents won’t be pleased to hear that their precious Crown Prince Nikolai is fraternizing with a common she-wolf when he’s already spoken for, but that’s for you to deal with when you return to the palace.”
He said it.
He really just said it like it was nothing, outing my secret in front of Ayla.
Fuck.
Chapter 26
Ayla
Wait.
Wait,what?
One more time for good measure:WHAT?
I looked from Kai to his uncle and back again. I knew that it wasn’t really the time for me to speak, but before I could even think about it, my mouth was moving.
“You’reNikolai?!As inPrince Nikolai of DeLune?As in the fucking prince and heir apparent to the throne?”
My voice was shrill, but finding out your fated mate is royalty was a real shock to the system. So big of a shock, in fact, that it took me another couple seconds to realize that the man beside Kai just hinted that my mate, myfatedmate, was spoken for.
Oh no, no, no,no.I wasn't and would never be the other woman. Eyes wide, I looked to Kai, who definitely wasn’t happy.
