Chapter 124

Claire POV

After Catherine stomped out of my room and I read through the newspaper, realizing what had upset her, I struggled with my own temper.

I was furious!

How dare Nathan encourage rumors of courting me, after I told him outright that I wanted to start slow!

Snatching up his letter, I marched over to my desk and sat down with some fresh paper, determined to give him a piece of my mind.

For days I’d been struggling to know what to say back to him after I received his deep, emotional letter.

It had been so moving, and so much what I’d been longing for during all the years we’d been together.

And yet, I didn’t know if it was what I wanted right now.

So much had happened between the Claire who lived to serve her mate and their child and the Claire who sat here now, a Royal Princess with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Figuring out how to put that all into words, without hurting or discouraging Nathan, had been frustrating, and it was what stopped me from answering his letter before today.

And now anger was layered on top of my other frustrations, making my hand shake as I picked up the pen.

Nathan,

I was deeply moved by your letter. Your words made my heart sing. All these years we’ve known each other, hearing you tell me that I am in your heart, that you love me, was all I ever wanted.

And yet…

I’ve struggled to know what to say in return.

I want to be just as open and honest, as vulnerable and direct, as you were.

And so I have to thank you for giving me the words I’d longed for.

And I have to tell you how much it has upset me to see in the newspaper that you’ve been telling reporters you’re courting me.

How could you do that??

I told you I want to go slow, that I need time to trust you - to trust us - again. But you’re telling the whole world that we’re together.

And we’re just not there yet.

I don’t know if we ever will be.

I paused after I wrote that. It hurt my heart to say it.

No matter what was currently going on between us, Nathan was still my mate, and I was still deeply tied to him.

After a moment I erased that last line.

Please, be more careful about what you say to the press about our relationship.

And be careful what you say to Andy.

I want what’s between us - whatever it is now, whatever it may be becoming - to remain between us.

Please.

Nathan POV

I stepped out of the house, ready to get into the car that would drive me to a neighboring pack, where I would participate in the first official debate with the other presidential candidates.

On impulse I stopped and stuck my hand in the mail box, not really expecting to find a letter from Claire.

When my fingers touched an envelope, I pulled it out, expecting to see a bill.

But my fingers tightened around the envelope as soon as I saw the handwriting.

It was Claire’s.

She’d finally written back!

Relief flooded through me. I had been so worried that I’d overstepped myself, that she didn’t want to hear from me in that way after all.

I’d been afraid she wouldn’t answer at all.

Tucking the letter into the breast pocket of my suit jacket, I walked to the waiting car with a lighter step than I had before.

I’d wait to read her letter, to sit with her words, later tonight, after the debate.

With Evan driving, I used the time during the ride into Sweet Valley pack territory to review my notes.

My campaign had gotten off track in the last few weeks, and I was eager to resume my campaign, even if I was a little nervous about getting back up to speed.

I reassured myself that I wasn’t the only one whose campaign had been disrupted by the rogue attacks and the chaos they caused across the realm.

Once we arrived, I entered the pack stage area, meeting and shaking hands with the other candidates. I was already on a first name basis with many of them, and respected most of my competition.

Except for one.

Gavin approached me with his hand held out and a big smile on his face.

“Alpha Nathan!” he said from a good distance away, loud enough for everyone around us to hear. “So glad you could make it!”

I stuck my hand out reluctantly to shake his, and was unsurprised when he squeezed as hard as he could, trying to force a wince out of me.

But I just stared at him coldly. And then I squeezed back.

And it was Gavin who winced.

It wasn’t very noticeable, but I’d been looking, and I saw it.

And I knew he knew I saw it.

“Glad you could make it, Alpha Gavin,” I said, once we let go. “I imagine you must be pretty nervous.

“This is your first time among real Alphas, isn’t it?”

“And I feel right at home,” he said. “Especially since Princess Claire has been kind enough to help me rehearse my talking points.”

I noticed several people watching, and refused to get into an argument in front of them.

“That was very kind of her indeed, to help such an inexperienced leader prepare,” I said, smiling slightly.

Then I gave him a slight nod and turned away as I added, “Best of luck, Alpha Gavin.

“You’re going to need it.”

But as it turned out, Gavin wasn’t the one who needed that luck.

I was.

From the moment Gavin opened his mouth to answer his first question to his closing remarks, he did nothing but try to derail my campaign.

And my reputation.

“In the Ice River pack, we handled the problem of our treacherous former Alpha directly. Unlike my competitor Alpha Nathan, who harbored the false princess Sabrina inside his own pack for…

“How long was it, Alpha? How long did Sabrina remain in your pack, plotting and planning?”

I answered through gritted teeth.

“Sabrina was exiled as soon as her actions came to light. I saw to that personally.”

“Did you really? Fascinating.”

He turned toward the audience. “It’s so hard to figure out what’s really been going on in the Silverfang pack these days. There seem to be so many different versions of the truth lately.”

Over and over, Gavin found a way to direct attention back toward me.

Negative attention.

“In closing, I’d like to remind the good citizens of the realm that an Alpha President should be an example of trust and transparency.

“And I don’t know about you, Alpha Nathan simply has far too many secrets for my comfort.”

I stood under the hot stage lights, trying to keep my face blank. While clutching the edges of the podium until I heard the wood creak.

By the end of the debate I was fuming.

And beneath that, I was curious.

“Evan,” I said to my Beta as he drove me home. “I’d like you to open an investigation on Alpha Gavin.”

“Understood, sir. Anything in particular I should be looking for?”

“Yes. I want to know why that man seems to personally hate me so much.”

Because one thing was clear: this wasn’t just about simple competition with Gavin. He hadn’t spent nearly as much time or energy talking down the other candidates on the stage.

No. For whatever reason, it was personal.

And I wanted to know why.

Once I was home and had checked on Andy, sleeping peacefully in his bed, I finally sat down to read Claire’s letter.

And cursed myself for being a fool.

I replayed the scene in the principal’s office, how I’d felt so happy to admit that I was indeed interested in courting Claire.

Then I remembered our conversation back at the palace, how she’d spelled out exactly what she needed. Time, patience.

She’d wanted to start as friends.

And I had immediately turned around and all but shouted to the world what my intentions were.

I moved too fast.

And I could read between the lines of the letter.

I understood that I had hurt Claire’s feelings.

I had really upset her.

And now I couldn’t help but wonder:

Had I ruined this precious second chance with my mate?