Chapter 108

MAEVE POV

My stomach twisted and churned as I stood, paralyzed, in the company of the one man I never wanted to see for the rest of my life. The man whose cold and unforgiving eyes haunted my dreams and whose falsely sweet voice made my skin crawl.

Why…?

Why is my father here?

The last time I saw him was the day Sarah was taken away. The same day he so kindly reminded me never to tell anyone the truth about who I was.

The truth that Xaden found out one day later during our visit with the psychic Orenda Gorre.

Oh no… Father knows.

He knows, and he’s going to take me away…

Father took a step towards me, and my heart plummeted.

Running on pure survival instinct, my hand flew out and grabbed onto the closest object I could reach—it might have been Xaden’s arm or a lamp… to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure. I just needed something, anything to hold onto in my desperate haste to put as much space between us as possible.

Because he was coming closer.

And closer.

Father was smiling, but nothing about it was kind and welcoming. He only wore such a smile around me when he wanted something from me. To lure me into a false state of trust.

“Maeve,” he said, extending his hand out to me. “It’s been—”

“Get out.”

The low, threatening growl in Xaden’s voice quickly grounded me back to reality.

My attention snapped to his figure—tall, broad, and absolutely menacing—as he moved to stand in front of me, shielding me from my father’s imploring gaze. The sudden view hindered me from seeing Xaden’s face, but the look my father wore as he found himself directly in his line of sight was…

Well, I could only imagine just how terrifying he might have appeared in that moment.

“Just who do you think you are—” Xaden spat, “coming to MY home, unannounced?”

“Y-Your Highness?” Maggie stammered, looking confused and a little frightened. In her hands rested a tray with small glasses of water, which she quickly put to the side, to be forgotten.

He then turned to her, radiating pure anger. “Maggie, I trust you’ll explain yourself.”

Immediately, I saw the color drain from her face, and the sight twisted my heart. “He—He said he was Miss Maeve’s father. The guards cleared him—”

“He’s not welcome here. Neither he nor his wife. I don’t give a damn if the guards cleared him or not.”

When Xaden’s attention again focused on him, Father froze, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m only here to visit my daughter. She’ll see me.” He peered around Xaden to lock eyes with me, and it was like I couldn’t breathe. “Won’t you—?”

“I swear, Burton,” Xaden growled, “if you don’t leave within the next five seconds—”

“N-No—!” I blurted out, squeezing Xaden’s arm in the hopes of stopping him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I registered the motion of him turning to me, his confused gaze boring into me questioningly. “Maeve?”

More than anything, I wanted to look at him, to seek his comfort as I had done many times before. But there was not a single force in the world that could have torn me away from my father standing before me, waiting. Because I knew what awaited me when I ever disobeyed him, and in that moment, there was only one thing I could think to do.

I needed to appease Father, so that I might never see him again.

… I knew that was a long shot, but it was something I yearned for. For Xaden, who did not deserve to get involved in my family drama. For my baby, who I was determined would never experience even a second of what I’d lived through.

And, most importantly, for myself… because I’d endured enough of his abuse to last me a million lifetimes.

“He can stay,” I answered softly, trying to stay strong despite the tremors in my hands. “It… it’s been a while since I’ve spoken with him.”

Xaden was not pleased, and I could feel his inner conflict as if it were my own—whether he should entertain my madness or follow his own conscience. Thankfully, he was quick to come to a decision.

“You get five minutes,” he said to Father, a clear warning. “Not a second longer.”

Father bowed. “Much obliged, Your Highness.”

With a low growl, Xaden abruptly vanished from my side and took a woeful Maggie into the kitchen. I watched, helpless and worried that he wouldn’t scold her too harshly for this. She hadn’t known about my tarnished relationship with my father… I’d never thought to tell her about it because I never would’ve thought he’d come here.

Until he did.

“So…” Father mumbled, jolting me back to reality as he settled into an armchair. “You two have become close, I see.”

Ah… this was just like the last time we spoke. Another test, so he could determine if I was spilling all of our secrets to the crown. The only difference was, back then, I’d had nothing to hide.

Now, it took everything in me to keep him from finding out what a rotten liar I was.

“He takes care of me,” I said softly, keeping my voice steady as I reluctantly sat on a loveseat across from him. “But he’s a busy alpha. I hardly see him between all the work he does.”

“Busy or not, it’s astonishing to witness,” Father said with an innocent hum. His tone was polite, but I could clearly hear the sharp bite behind his words. “How different everything seems to be after only a month.”

I wracked my brain, desperate for something to convince him that that wasn’t the case, when he spoke up again.

“Has His Highness decided to forego giving you a proper wardrobe?” he questioned, his brow furrowed as he took me in. “And after all that talk of us mistreating you.”

I then realized with sinking dread that I was still wearing the clothes from my visit with Doctor Meadows.

Shit.

Xaden and I, wearing casual attire… that’s too domestic for Father to believe my lie.

I smoothed my hands over my thighs, not-so-subtly wiping them dry of sweat. “We were just with a doctor. In the capital,” I hastily added, as if that was a crucial piece of information. “Not at the… palace.”

At that, his posture visibly shifted.

“The doctor?” he repeated, perking up. And, just like that, his rapt attention focused solely on me. “You don’t look unwell.”

My skin crawled under the weight of his scrutinizing gaze. “N-No, it was for the baby.”

“What?” He scanned me carefully, from the corners of my face down to the expanse of my belly, which I felt the strongest urge to shield with my arms. “What’s wrong with the child?”

The air around him intensified, growing thick with something that scratched at my throat, and it was like I couldn’t breathe. This sort of behavior was so unusual for my normally closed-off father. He’d never taken an interest in my health or well-being before.

This is just like what happened yesterday… with Kenneth at the banquet…

And hearing Father talk about my baby twisted my stomach in ways I couldn’t explain. He didn’t deserve the privilege of even acknowledging him, after all he’d done to me.

He did not deserve to sound like he suddenly cared about either of us.

Not when I knew he didn’t mean it.

I dug my fingers into my skin, unable to stop my trembling. “I—”

While I was distracted, a strong, familiar arm reached across my legs to cradle my left knee within the wide palm of its hand. I couldn’t help but jump at the sudden contact.

Snapping my attention to my right, I finally registered Xaden seated beside me, completely unperturbed, his stone-cold gaze locked on my father. With his gentle yet firm grip on my knee, angling my body slightly in his direction and tucking me behind his shoulder, it was painfully obvious he had no plans to move anytime soon.

This protective gesture made his intentions known loud and clear… especially to my father, whose eyes immediately locked in on Xaden’s hand.

And I knew, even without him saying a word, just how much the gesture displeased him.

“… If I may, Your Highness,” Father slowly spoke up, “I’d like to speak to Maeve alo—”

“No,” Xaden said, unwavering, the deadly calm in his voice enough to still make Father flinch. “Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of me.”

It was quick, but Father’s steely gaze flitted over me, cold and silent.

Oh… he didn’t like that.

I swallowed a nervous lump in my throat. Any feeble attempt I made to pull away from Xaden went seemingly unnoticed or was simply ignored. And, still, I was trapped in this inner conflict of wanting to wrap myself in his protection, while also wanting to push him as far away as possible from my father’s glare.

I… I didn’t know what to do anymore.

“W-What brings you here, Father?” I asked quietly, trying to divert the conversation.

His eyes widened innocently. “Is there something wrong with me wanting to see my daughter?”

“Cut the small talk, Burton,” Xaden spat impatiently. The warm, comforting touch of his hand on my knee, however, was in stark contrast to his harsh tone. “You came here to say something, so out with it.”

I still couldn’t wrap my mind around this sight. Father, who used to always seem so impervious and threatening, cowering and yielding to my fiancé, who always treated me like the most precious thing.

He was right. How different things seem to be after a month.

Once he realized there was no getting past Xaden, Father let out a tense sigh. “… Very well.” His mouth pressed together in a firm, pensive line before turning his attention back to me. “Maeve, I spoke with Kenneth. It seems you left quite an impression on him last night.”

I should’ve expected as much. They were acquaintances, after all.

“He surprised me,” I admitted, as if I owed some explanation for speaking with him. “I didn’t think I’d run into him at the banquet. He didn’t seem to recognize me at first, but he was… kind.”

“You were lucky,” he said, giving me a particular look. “Kenneth is not known for being kind or patient.”

I heard Xaden scoff beside me. “Do you have so little faith in Maeve’s abilities?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Kindly get on with it,” Xaden cut him off again, clearly reaching his limit. “What does Kenneth have to do with you coming here?”

Father swallowed. “There’s to be a dinner at his pack. Tonight at seven.” He looked at me for the next words that came out of his mouth. “I’d appreciate it if you could make the time for it.”

… What?

Dinner at Dawnguard Pride? I’d hardly spoken longer than… what, ten minutes with the man, and now I was being asked to dine at his home? And to be invited by Father, nonetheless.

I wasn’t sure how to feel.

“And before you ask—” Father interjected, seeming to sense my conflict, “it was all his idea. I’m merely passing the message along.”

“And why couldn’t he pass it along, himself?” Xaden questioned, and Father’s demeanor visibly shifted. “Why come all this way for such a measly matter?”

“He had prior commitments,” he answered. “And since Maeve is my daughter, he asked me to help him.” I caught the subtle motion of him spinning his watch around his wrist—was Xaden the reason he seemed so nervous? “I couldn’t refuse a request from a friend.”

There was something off about this. I just couldn’t place it.

And yet, while Xaden was in the middle of another back-and-forth with my father, I came to a decision.

“Alright. I’ll go.”

Xaden whirled around, wide-eyed. “What?”

“You will?” Father asked, uncharacteristically bright with hope.

Xaden, however, was quick to block him from my view, concern marring his handsome features as he squeezed my knee. “You don’t have to agree to this. Not if it’s something you don’t want to do.”

I shook my head. “No… I want to,” I said, even though it wasn’t exactly true.

This was not something I was looking forward to. This was something I needed to do. I knew very little about Kenneth and his intentions, but rather than keep him at arm’s length and worry about what awaited me, I had to face him head-on.

Because there was still an alpha on the loose.

An alpha that I needed to be wary of… who wanted me and my baby, according to the voice from my dreams.

I was fairly confident about the alphas I encountered in my everyday life, such as Xaden and his family. My father wanted nothing to do with the baby, so I figured I could clear him… but now that Kenneth was added to the mix, I needed to learn more about him.

If he was someone I could trust, then tonight would be his chance to prove himself to me.