Chapter 123

Catherine POV

I sat at the breakfast table set up on the balcony of my rooms at the palace, working my way through a stack of newspapers as I finished my tea.

I had been paying even more attention to the news than usual lately.

I told myself it was to stay informed on what was going on throughout the realm.

There were a lot of things happening, after all.

The Royal pack was focusing on recovering and rebuilding after the rogue attacks destroyed so many villages and towns.

The packs whose leaders were convicted of conspiring together with Sabrina were all dealing with their own internal struggles.

Many had exiled or even executed their former leaders, and were now dealing with putting new Alphas and Lunas in place.

And the race for the Alpha Presidency was about to go into full swing, with candidates from all over the realm resuming their efforts to win the most votes.

All of that was important, and I really did want to stay informed on new developments.

But one name caught my eye more than any other. And the hunt for that one name kept me reading article after article, page after page.

Alpha Nathan of the Silverfang pack.

I’d had the chance to speak with him on several occasions after poor Andy was so brutally attacked by my cousin.

And each time I found myself becoming more and more fascinated with him.

He was, by all accounts, a strong Alpha, dedicated to the care and protection of his pack.

The love and kindness I saw him give to his son, his clear devotion to the boy, touched my heart as well.

So I began to keep tabs on what he was up to in the news.

There were certainly plenty of articles about him:

Alpha Nathan and Sabrina.

Alpha Nathan and his presidential campaign.

Alpha Nathan and his son.

Alpha Nathan and Princess Claire.

The last one made me grit my teeth.

There was so much speculation in the papers about their true relationship. And yet Claire continued to drag her feet, refusing to confirm that she was interested in him.

Even though he was making it perfectly clear that he was interested in her.

It was so confusing!

I couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t jump at the chance to have a man like Alpha Nathan in her life.

Rolling my eyes, I finished one paper and picked up the latest edition of The Star.

The headline proclaimed:

Alpha Gavin to Court Princess Claire!

What??

Reading quickly, I scanned the interview Alpha Gavin gave.

His digs at Alpha Nathan were so obvious, and so annoying!

And then, at the end, how he so casually and boldly proclaimed that he intended to court Claire…

My hands fisted around the edges of the newspaper. I was getting more and more angry.

Finally I folded up the paper in disgust and stood up.

This was too much. This was the last straw.

I needed to know what was really going on.

I marched through the palace to Claire’s suite, knocking on the door roughly before opening it myself and barging in.

Claire came out of her room, half dressed, clearly in the middle of getting ready for the day.

“Claire! We need to talk.”

Concerned, my cousin hurried forward.

“What is it, Catherine? Are you okay?”

I put my hands on my hips, still holding the paper in one hand.

“You know what, I’m not. I’ve been reading the papers every day, watching the news, seeing your name and Alpha Nathan’s come up over and over again.

“And I keep getting more and more confused about what you’re playing at with him. And now this!”

I tossed the paper down onto the coffee table, pointing at the bold headline.

“Alpha Gavin is courting you as well??

“Just what are you trying to prove, encouraging two men to court you at the same time, Claire?”

But Claire only laughed like I had told a joke.

“Alpha Gavin, courting me? What a silly thing to say! Honestly, I don’t know how some of these rumors get started.”

She turned back into her room to finish dressing, leaving me standing there stunned.

She hadn’t even denied it!

I flopped down onto the couch, and my eyes fell onto a piece of paper half covered by the newspaper I threw down.

Picking it up, I realized it was a letter to Claire.

From Alpha Nathan!

Unable to stop myself, I read the entire thing, a full confession of love and devotion.

And I felt a rage building inside of me.

“Honestly, Catherine,” Claire said, coming out of her room now fully dressed. “I haven’t acknowledged or encouraged either of -

“What are you doing?”

She stopped, seeing me with the letter in my hands.

I stood up slowly, my temper dangerously high.

“No, Claire. What are you doing??”

I held up the letter.

“Alpha Nathan is spilling out his guts in this letter! Have you even answered him?”

Claire frowned. “I haven’t, no. I just don’t know what to say.”

She looked at me, studying my face.

“Catherine, why are you so upset? I promise, I’ll answer Nathan’s letter as soon as I know what I want to say in return.

“And I promise you, I’m definitely not courting him or Gavin. Where did you even get that idea?”

I took a deep breath, realizing with a shock just how close I was to fully losing my temper.

Not that I believed what Claire had just said, when she was so obviously encouraging Alpha Gavin’s attention. All while leading Alpha Nathan along.

What kind of person was my cousin? I’d thought she was sweet and kind, but now I was beginning to wonder…

Did she even deserve a man like Alpha Nathan?

I realized that I didn’t think she did.

Especially not if she was encouraging some new young Alpha like Gavin at the same time.

No, Claire didn’t deserve Nathan at all.

Claire POV

Catherine tossed down Nathan’s letter and stormed out of my room, leaving just as quickly and abruptly as she entered.

Leaving me completely confused about what just happened.

She burst in, demanding to know why I was allowing myself to be courted by Nathan and Gavin, when I wasn’t being courted by either.

I hadn’t made up my mind about what to say to Nathan, or what to do about our situation.

And I certainly had no idea what she was talking about where Gavin was concerned.

Where had that idea come from?

Feeling totally mystified, I picked Nathan’s letter and carefully smoothed it out. I’d been reading it again last night, after carrying it in my pocket all day.

Again.

I carried it with me everywhere.

Then I picked up the newspaper Catherine had left behind, wondering if it would help me figure out what caused her to be so upset.

And it didn’t take me long to figure that out.

The front page article was an interview with Alpha Gavin, in which he declared that he intended to court me.

And the very next article was a report on Nathan, who was saying basically the same thing, according to Silverfang sources.

Infuriated, I tossed the paper aside.

How dare they!

Both of them!

Who did they think they were, to publicly declare something like this without even speaking to me??