Chapter 113

Alpha Gavin POV

For week after week, the realm was buzzing with nothing but rumors and gossip about Alpha Nathan’s son being abducted, just to be rescued and saved by Princess Claire.

Curious about the events myself, I had my Beta running his own investigation, digging up what really happened.

Because you could never tell what juicy little secrets might come up.

In the meantime, I decided I should use the situation to my advantage as best as I could.

So I sent word to Princess Claire as soon as I heard about the situation, offering my assistance in any form she needed it to take.

And once she returned to the Royal Court, resuming her duties, I made sure to call on her immediately.

“Princess,” I said when I arrived at the Royal court that day, greeting her with a warm smile.

I held out my hand for hers, then kissed the back of her hand softly, lingering over the touch.

And glancing around discretely to make sure as many people saw the moment as possible.

It wouldn’t be worth pretending to court the Princess and not have people notice, after all.

My goal was to have everyone talking about it.

And for it to drive Alpha Nathan to distraction.

“Alpha Gavin,” she said, flushing pleasantly at my touch. “Thank you so much for your offer of assistance. It meant so much to me.”

“Of course,” I said, smiling. “It would be my honor to help you any way I can.”

I left that meeting feeling very satisfied.

Not only was I in even better standing with the crown, I was also certain that plenty of people had noticed the special attention I was paying to Princess Claire.

The rumors would be spreading in no time.

And I hoped Alpha Nathan choked on them.

Nathan POV

I hurried up the steps of the Royal headquarters, eager to head inside. Not only because I had plenty of Silverfang business to attend to, but because Claire was going to be there.

And I couldn’t wait to see her.

Instead, I ran into Alpha Gavin just outside the door to the chambers.

“There you are, Alpha Nathan!” he said, his voice warm, a big smile on his face.

But his eyes were cold and watchful.

“Alpha Gavin,” I said with a nod. “It’s good to see you as well.”

“And your son? Has he fully recovered from his ordeal?”

It was difficult to shift my attention from thoughts of Claire to the man standing in front of me, but I made the effort. It was kind of him to ask about Andy.

Still, I couldn’t help looking over his shoulder, hoping to catch sight of Claire.

“He’s doing alright, thank you,” I said. “He’ll be even better once the press gets bored and moves on from the whole thing.”

Alpha Gavin chuckled. “Well, that won’t be any time soon. The press has found a pretty meaty bone to chew on with this whole ordeal.

“I was just talking about it with Princess Claire, in fact.”

My eyes flew back to his face. “Were you?”

“Oh yes,” he smiled. “We’ve been spending quite a lot of time together these past few weeks.

“She has so much weight on her shoulders, you know. She appreciates my support.”

I gave him a cool smile. “I’m sure she does. It’s nice of you to be her friend during this trying time.”

He returned my smile with a much wider one. “Oh, I like to think we’re well on our way to being more than friends. In fact…

“I think it’s safe to say our packs are going to be allied for quite some time to come. Maybe even more than allied.”

Frustrated at how long the conversation was dragging on, I began to think the other Alpha was stalling me for some reason.

“What are you getting at, Gavin?” I said, impatient now to just be done with him.

“What I’m getting at, Nathan, is the merging of our two packs. The Ice River and Royal packs becoming one.”

He watched my face, waiting to see my reaction. I kept my expression carefully blank, though his words were certainly a shock.

“I’ll admit, I’ve never been opposed to a political rather than a romantic marriage, especially if it’s with someone as powerful as the Princess.

“But I don’t think love is entirely out of the question. She’s a very kind and beautiful woman, after all.”

My hands clenched into fists, my knuckles straining with the force.

Gavin chuckled, obviously sensing despite my best efforts that he’d hit a nerve.

He knew what he was doing, damn it.

He was trying to provoke me into making some kind of a scene, possibly to then drag me through the dirt in the press.

I’d heard he could be a dirty fighter.

Now that we were opponents for the Alpha President position, I was realizing I needed to know more about the Ice River Alpha.

A lot more.

“Once I’m married to the Princess, sitting on the throne beside her,” he continued, “our two packs will officially merge. And I’ll be your superior, Alpha Nathan.

“Won’t that be interesting?”

I felt my lip begin to curl, a snarl forming in my throat.

I was about to lose the grip I was desperately trying to keep on my control.

Then Claire stepped out of the chambers, interrupting what was quickly becoming an increasingly tense exchange.

And she looked absolutely amazing.

It took everything I had not to go to her immediately, to put my arms around her and draw in her scent deeply.

“Oh, hello, Nathan,” she said.

I could tell she was being very careful to keep her face and voice neutral, since we were out in public.

“I didn’t know you’d be attending court today.”

Gavin and I took a step back from each other. But he continued to watch me from the side of his eye, a smug look on his face.

“Yes, I have some Silverfang business to attend to.”

“Of course. And I hope I’m not interrupting your conversation with Alpha Gavin?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Just a bit of a friendly debate, that’s all.”

But I continued to watch the other man, feeling a deep distrust.

And more and more dislike.

Doing my best to ignore him, I focused on Claire.

“But aside from business, I also wanted to invite you to lunch. Care to join me?”

Gavin jumped in before Claire could do more than open her mouth to respond.

“The Princess already has lunch plans, I’m afraid,” he said. “I’ve already made reservations at her favorite restaurant in the city.

“The Princess has agreed to be my date this afternoon.”

He stepped over to her, holding out his arm.

“I did already agree to go to lunch with Alpha Gavin,” she said, slipping her arm through his, a look of apology on her face. “Perhaps another time?”

With no other choice, I stepped to the side so they could pass by.

“Of course,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Enjoy your meal.”

And then I watched them walk away, feeling helpless and frustrated.

Was Alpha Gavin really officially courting Claire?

And, most importantly, was Claire letting him??