Chapter 114

Nathan POV

A letter arrived in the mail one day, an official Royal correspondence.

A letter with Princess Claire’s own personal seal pressed into the wax sealing the envelope.

I could barely wait to open it.

But I had to, until Andy got home from school.

I made myself wait, knowing it was probably something he would want to see as well.

Things had been better between us lately. Interest in the events of the night he was kidnapped was still high, and we were still dealing with reporters and rumors, and poor Andy still had kids and teachers alike pestering him for information every single day.

But we were facing it, all of it, together.

And I was determined to keep our relationship strong.

We needed to be partners, if we wanted our plan to work.

Our plan to get Claire to marry me.

So I waited, feeling the weight of the letter tucked into my suit pocket, touching it throughout the day.

At long last the work day ended, and I hurried to pick Andy up from school.

“Andy, look what came in the mail today,” I said, as soon as we got home and walked into the house.

I pulled the letter out of my pocket and handed it to him. He touched the wax seal with his fingers.

“What is this?” he asked.

I touched my own finger to the image of a graceful lily pressed into the purple wax.

“It’s your mom’s own Royal seal. It means this letter is directly from her.”

His eyes lit up at the mention of his mother.

“It’s from Mom? What does it say??”

I chuckled, leading him back the hall and into the kitchen. “I don’t know yet. I wanted us to find out together.”

Once Andy was settled at the table with a snack, nearly bouncing in his seat with excitement, I slipped my finger under the wax seal and opened the letter.

And then I smiled.

“It’s an invitation! Your mother is asking us to spend the weekend with her at the palace.”

Andy’s smile was as bright as the sun. “She is?? We’re going, right?

“Please, please, please,” he begged, pulling on my arm.

I laughed. “Of course we’re going. This is just what we’ve been waiting for.”

Andy settled back in his seat, nodding wisely. “Yep, now we can start doing our plan.”

I smiled down at him as he dug into his snack.

I’d been thinking more and more about the “plan” Andy and I had, which was a very simple one.

Very simply, it was all about courting Claire.

A courtship that would eventually end in marriage, making Claire officially Andy’s mom.

It was a plan I now desperately wanted to make a reality.

I thought about Claire constantly, and missed her like I’d miss one of my own limbs.

But first I had to make amends with her, to try to make up for all the years of secrecy I’d forced her to deal with.

All the years I wouldn’t acknowledge her as my mate.

Or even let our own son know who she was.

It hurt my heart now, to think of what I’d forced her to go through.

But I was going to take this invitation as a good sign.

Maybe there was hope after all.

If I could just make my amends, and get Claire to forgive me, then I could actually begin to court her in earnest.

And then, finally, I could ask her to be my wife.

Catherine POV

I watched Claire finish writing her letter to Alpha Nathan, inviting him and their son to come here to the palace for a long weekend.

“Aren’t you worried about the rumors that will fly as a result of them staying here?” I asked.

We were in her private sitting room, so I knew I could speak on the subject without having to worry about who might be around to hear us.

We had to be very careful with the secret of Claire’s fated mate bond with the Alpha, and the fact that she was actually the mother of the Alpha’s son.

It could be very dangerous information, in the wrong hands.

Still…

“Do you think people will decide you and Nathan are officially courting each other?”

Finished writing, Claire warmed up a few pellets of purple wax to seal the letter, then carefully poured it onto the envelope.

“People are always going to gossip,” she said, taking off her Royal signet ring and pressing it into the quickly cooling wax to mark it with her Royal seal. “I can’t worry about every single rumor.

“This is simply a chance for Andy and I to spend time with each other. It would be odd if I didn’t invite Nathan as well, however.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

I’d been so curious about her relationship with the Alpha, especially after that awful night when Andy was taken.

They’d seemed to grow so much closer in the days that followed, always staying by Andy’s side.

“Are you not interested in having a relationship with Alpha Nathan at all anymore?”

Claire was quiet for a long moment, tapping the now sealed letter against her palm, thinking about her answer.

Then she shook her head.

“I have such a big mix of emotions when I think of Nathan. What’s between us has become so complicated…”

She trailed off again, as if still trying to find the right words.

Finally she sighed.

“I just don’t know, Catherine. I really don’t.”

I hid my surprise, trying to be as supportive of my cousin as I could. She’d been through so much lately.

But I struggled to understand why she wouldn’t be happy to have someone like Alpha Nathan by her side.

Throughout the weekend that Alpha Nathan and Andy stayed at the palace, I couldn’t help but study the dynamics of the small family whenever I had the chance.

Over the course of the three days that they were there, I saw many instances when they seemed like a real family, laughing and talking and relaxing together.

Over breakfast in the main dining room, having lunch out on one of the palace balconies, exploring the extensive gardens around the building.

Over and over again, I thought, What a lovely family they make.

But any time Alpha Nathan got too close to Claire, trying to take her hand or simply be near her, I watched her shy away.

As if she was afraid to touch him or be close to him.

Or as if she just didn’t want that.

I couldn’t come up with a good reason why she should be afraid to be close to him, so after careful observation I could only finally decide that my cousin truly didn’t want Alpha Nathan after all.

And it was such a shame.

Here was a strong, handsome Alpha, a confident leader of his pack and potentially the next Alpha President.

And he was so obviously trying his best to get close to Claire, in a very slow and respectful way.

He seemed like a good man, and a wonderful father.

Even despite their complicated history together, over the weekend it became more and more clear to me:

Claire was nuts for not jumping at a second chance with Alpha Nathan.