Chapter 132

Xaden’s POV

“Xaden, I need to speak with you for a moment,” my father said as he intercepted me before I was able to leave for the day. I hadn’t seen Maeve all day and I was itching to return home and spend a little time with her.

I sighed and turned to my father.

“Yeah, sure,” I said to him as I followed him to his office.

I said hello to the guards that were stationed outside his door before walking through the door and shutting it behind me.

My father sat at his desk and for a moment, he didn’t say anything. He turned to his computer and started to type something; it was as if he had forgotten that I was there.

“Is it something important, Father? If not, I need to get home to—”

“I need you to spend some time with Princess Mia,” he cut in, stopping my words.

I furrowed my brows.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked him.

“Just until the wedding,” he murmured, meeting my eyes. “Show her around… treat her like a pristine guest. Act as if our kingdom depends on it because it does. If she isn’t happy, then none of us are happy. It’s your duty to make sure she’s satisfied. Do I make myself clear?”

“Why is it my duty?” I asked, shaking my head. “Lucas is the one marrying her.”

“Yes, well, apparently Lucas said some stuff that upset her earlier and now she doesn’t want to speak with him. I think it’s better if we keep them apart until it’s time for them to marry,” he explained. “I just need to figure out how to patch things up between them. In the meantime, keep her busy and happy.”

“That doesn’t make any sense…”

“It doesn’t have to make sense, it’s an order and you will do as I ask,” he told me, his tone hardening as his eyes narrowed. “Understood?”

I stared at him in disbelief. The last thing I wanted to do was entertain a princess, but I guess I couldn’t say no to him.

“Okay,” I finally said after a short pause. “But this better not get between my relationship with Maeve…”

“It only will if you allow it,” he said, focusing his attention back on his computer. “You can leave now.”

I stared at him for a moment longer before sighing. I turned and walked out of the office. I said goodbye to the guards as I made my way towards the front door.

“Prince Xaden?” A familiar voice said from behind me.

I paused, trying hard not to groan in aggravation. I turned to see Emily, Mia’s handmaiden walking towards me.

“Hello, Emily,” I said with a polite smile.

she returned the smile.

“Were you leaving?” She asked, glancing behind me at the door.

I nodded.

“I was,” I confirmed.

“Oh, would you be able to see Mia before you leave? She’s in the parlor. She was hoping to have some words with you.”

I glanced at the time; it was getting late, and Maeve would be wondering where I was. But I couldn’t exactly say no to the princess, especially with my new duty, so I nodded.

“Of course,” I said to her.

Emily looked pleased and led me down the hallway until we reached the parlor doors. She opened them and stepped inside. Seated on the loveseat was a young woman about Maeve’s age and she wore a pretty red dress that left no mystery of what lay beneath. Her long brown hair was curled around her shoulders and fell delicately down her back. Her eyes were shining with mischief and yet they looked so familiar.

When she saw me entering the room, the corner of her plump lips tipped upward into a smile.

“Xaden,” she breathed. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Likewise, Princess,” I said, bowing to her.

“Do you not recognize me?” She asked, blinking at me in surprise.

I lifted my gaze to study her for a moment. Of course, I recognized her from magazines, and I had done a bit of research on her when it was me who was supposed to marry her, but other than that—

Realization dawned on me when her smile grew, and her eyes became impossibly big.

“You’re the maid I met earlier,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

She chuckled and bit her lower lip.

“Guilty,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I don’t understand…” I said, glancing at Emily before returning my attention to Mia. “You’re the princess?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I am the princess. I was only pretending to be a maid so I could go around and explore the palace without being pestered. It was childish of me, but I got what I was looking for.”

“And what exactly were you looking for?” I asked her, my brows pinched together.

“The truth,” she murmured. “I wanted to know the truth.”

“And what truth did you find?”

“Your brother is a manchild who speaks very ill of those he doesn’t know,” she bluntly stated, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m not sure he’s the right one for me after all.”

I was stunned by her words; if she didn’t marry Lucas, then that would mean the union wouldn’t happen. Going back on this contract could mean a war. Father was right to worry about this. I just hoped he had a plan to fix things between them.

“I’m sure there was a misunderstanding,” I said, trying to get her to see reason.

She rolled her eyes.

“I heard him with my own two ears,” she told me, shaking her head. “There was no misunderstanding.”

Another thought occurred to me, and I sighed.

“You were the one who dumped the food on him,” I said softly; it wasn’t a question, but she answered me anyway.

“I was,” she murmured. “He deserved it after what he said about me.”

“I’m sure he did,” I murmured in return. “Can I convince you to give him another chance?”

She bit her lower lip as she examined me; she searched me from head to toe.

“I was told that you and I would spend some more time together,” she said thoughtfully, leaning back on the couch. “Will that still continue to happen?”

“My father thinks it would be a good idea if you and Lucas had some space for the time being. So, yes,” I answered. “I’ll spend some time with you and make sure you are cared for to the best of my ability.”

Her smile grew.

“Excellent,” she said, patting the couch beside her. “Emily, be a dear and grab us some tea. I’d like to speak with my new friend alone for a moment.”

“Of course,” Emily said, a smile lighting up her face as she turned and hurried away.

I sighed; at this rate, I would never get home to my mate. I just hoped she would understand. I took my seat beside Mia, being careful to keep some distance between us.

“If we are going to spend time together, I’d like to know all about you, Xaden. Tell me everything I don’t already know.”

“That’s difficult,” I told her. “I’m not sure what you don’t know already.”

“Tell me the truth,” she said, leaning in closer to me. “The internet is filled with rumors… I would personally know. Tell me what’s true and what’s not.”

“I’m afraid I’m quite boring,” I admitted. “There’s not much to tell.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she chuckled. She put her hand on my shoulder and grinned at me. “You don’t seem very boring to me. I’d like to know every single detail about you. I can’t possibly consider you a friend if I don’t know you, right?”

I obtained a bit more distance, making her arm fall away from me.

“I suppose you are correct,” I told her.

“Good,” she said thoughtfully. “So, tell me about you.”

We spoke for the next several hours.

I told her about meeting my mate and that was the reason I wasn’t marrying her; I told her of my duties as a prince and what was expected of me. I started to tell her about my favorite hobbies, and I listened while she told me about hers.

At one point, Emily returned with our tea and then she left again, giving us some privacy to talk further upon Mia’s request. I learned more about Mia than I anticipated, and she learned way too much about me in return. She was good at reading people, and she seemed rather understanding at times.

She was easy to talk to though and I found myself enjoying the conversation. I could tell she would not only make a good sister-in-law, but also a good friend. During most of the conversation, I kept telling myself that Maeve would like her as well and that maybe one day they would become friends.

After a long while of talking, there was a knock on the parlor door. People didn’t usually knock on that door, so found it unusual. But I invited them in any way, surprised when Emily walked into the room.

“Mia, we should get you ready for the day. You have that meeting with the King and some other Alpha today,” Emily shocked me by saying.

“Today?” I asked her. I glanced at the clock and gasped when I saw what time it was. “It’s morning?!”

I spent the entire night with Mia, talking! Where had the time gone?!

Maeve was going to kill me!

“I suppose we lost track of time,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. She stood to her feet, and I followed her movements, still in shock that I had been here all night and I hadn’t called Maeve.

I grabbed my phone which seemed to have fallen out of my pocket and onto the couch. When I went to check it, I frowned.

It was dead…

“It was so nice speaking with you,” Mia said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be back later, right? You told me earlier that you’d show me the capital today. You’ll be my escort still, right?”

I numbly nodded. My mind was elsewhere and hardly heard what she was saying.

She smiled widely before she surprised me by wrapping her arms around me. The embrace was weird; she rubbed her body against mine as if she were rubbing her scent all over me. I shimmed out of her hold, not liking her touch. My wolf was aggravated as well and it took a lot not to growl at her.

I knew it would cause an issue with my father if I had.

Mia frowned at me as I took a step away from her, gaining distance. I needed to get out of here and back to Maeve. I just hoped she wasn’t too upset when I returned home.

“It was just a hug, Xaden,” Mia said, reading the expression on my face. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Uh, yeah…” I said, once again, barely listening. “I need to be leaving now. I’ll be back later.”

She nodded and then she threw her long hair over her shoulder as she winked at me.

“I’ll see you later,” she said, wiggling her fingers at me.

I quickly rushed out of the parlor and out of the palace without looking back.

By the time I reached home, it was mid-morning. My heart was hammering; I knew Maeve was going to be upset that I hadn’t returned home. When I neared the mansion, I could feel her anxiety and pain and it made my wolf whimper in despair. We had caused her to feel like this and now we were about to face the music.

When I walked into the mansion, I froze when I saw a very angry and teary-eyed Maeve standing at the bottom of the stairs.

The moment she saw me walking through the door, her eyes went red.

She was furious.