Chapter 76
Chapter 76
Chapter 76 I think we‘re lost.
“I said I’m going to be the next king.” William repeated with a bit of imitation in his voice at her lack of understanding. She understood what he said, she just couldn’t believe it. “I… don’t know what you’re saying. Prince Martin is the crown prince. He’s the next in line to be king.” Doris felt a bit of unease settle in her stomach when she saw the look on his face. As if what she said was only temporary and it was about time she learned that. William rolled his eyes and stood from the bed. His shirt was ripped wide open and she forced herself not to stare at the muscles on his chest—this was definitely not the time for that. “Prince Martin doesn’t know anything about how to properly rule a kingdom. He’s been groomed to be a carbon copy of my father and nothing else.” “You plan to take his place? How?” Doris asked, completely bewildered. This was why he came to the north? “I think he will have no choice but to hand the crown over.” William said simply and moved to get a new shirt. “I plan on uniting the kingdom with the rogues. Even Prince Martin isn’t foolish enough to stand in my way. And if he is, I can’t say I will feel sorry for whatever happens to him.” Doris swallowed. “What do you mean by that? He’s your brother.” William slipped off his ruined shirt and casually pulled on the new one. He looked over at her with a sort of lopsided smirk that screamed sinister intentions. “It’s politics, Doris. My brother and I have never seen each other as family. It’s always been a competition for the crown even when I was in the darkness and he didn’t suspect me.” “Are you saying you would… harm your own brother for the crown?” “Don’t sound so shocked. You’ve worked at the palace long enough to know how it goes. Luna Queen tried to have you blamed for a poisoning just to pin it all on me. It’s all a game.” William buttoned up his shirt and ran his fingers through his messy hair as he turned to her. “We’ll make history. Doris.” “We? I think you’re mistaken.” Doris took a small step back. William furrowed his brows as he if didn’t understand her words. Did he expect her to jump on him with joy? “I don’t want to help over throw Prince Martin.” His eyes darkened, it felt as the room dimmed with his mood as he took a step closer to her. She mirrored his steps with one back. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” “What? Of course not! I don’t want him to die or be forcefully overthrown.” Doris clenched her hands into fists. “Forgive me, but I’m not interested in politics. Especially when it hurts others.” “His plan to rule will match my father and whatever Luna Queen
wants. I wouldn’t let that happen.” “He’s still your brother,” Don’t you want a better life for yourself?” William shouted. Doris flinched at his voice. “Yes, and I’ve been working towards that every day since I came to the palace. A better life is freedom.” William opened his mouth to respond, and froze. She could see the realization behind his eyes as he took in her words and considered all the things she meant by them. It was the simple truth. She didn’t want to be held down by him and his politics. She wanted her freedom and she didn’t care if her inner wolf insisted he was her mate-she wanted her freedom. No man could tempt her enough to make her change her mind. No matter how handsome, no matter how much control he had over an entire kingdom. “Right.” William snarled and grabbed his jacket from the dresser, knocking over a glass pitcher in the process. He stared at her as if he didn’t care that he brought glass shattering to the floor beneath them. His boots cracked over each shard as he stepped closer. “I don’t need a pathetic maid to be at my side anyway.” 1 She watched him leave with tears burning the back of her eyes. They threatened to escape and name her as weak as she felt in that moment-but she did her best to hold them in while he slammed the door closed. Did he expect her to fall at his feet as all the women he’s had before had? Did he expect her to be another… pet for him to play with until he decided he was bored and sought out a new one? She was no one’s property. She was a person. He may think he owned her, but she had spent every day for the past five years trying to work against that. He would not unravel it for her now. She refused to stand at his side as something for him to toy with. He hadn’t mentioned Melody once this entire trip, as if she didn’t matter to him in the slightest. She would not be next on his list of conquests.cz Doris felt a strange pain in her heart. She rubbed her chest and winced at the strange feeling. It felt as if he wounded her with her words, as if her heart was close to breaking just at the thought of their fight. She’d never felt anything for another man before, she wouldn’t start now. Not with… him. Doris grabbed her jacket and treaded out into the snow to find a bit of fresh air and peace. “Why would you ever deny our mate like that?” Cordelia whispered inside her, a bit of rage wrapped around her words. Doris glanced around and saw several people near enough to hear her. She went off a back path and set out for some privacy before she dared to respond “If you knew me at all, you’d know that freedom matters more to me than a so called mate.” Doris whispered. She shoved her hands deep in her pockets to warm them and watched as her feet dipped in the thick snow. A bit of wind blew her hairContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
back away from her face, but she was too distracted to notice. Her mind was wild with the look of his face and the sound of his words trying to drag her down. “You should at least hear out his plan before you make judgements.” Cordelia hissed. Doris rolled her eyes at how shallow her wolf was being. She needed a bit more self respect. Doris only recently allowed herself a bit of her own on this journey. “He just admitted he would do whatever it takes to overthrow his own brother from the throne. I want nothing to do with that, or any future kingdom business. It won’t matter to us soon.” Doris swayed a little when the wind picked up. She held her ground and squinted her eyes. It was getting a bit more foggy than she expected. “Are you crazy? You only get one mate. You could travel the whole world and you would never be able to replace him, ever. You’ll only find men that are less than him.” Cordelia sounded angry in her mind, but Doris couldn’t bring herself to care. Life wasn’t about living for someone else, it was about living for herself. “I would much rather live for myself than a man. He would never be faithful to us, Cordelia. Even if I stayed for him. Once he lost interest in me, I would be swept aside like all of his past lovers were. Some of them even scrub toilets for the public just to survive.” Doris glanced around when she lost sight of the path she was on. Where was she? “You heard the story of his father. You know how wild he was for her and how he wanted no one else. William wouldn’t dare stray from us.” Cordelia insisted. Doris snorted. “You must not have been listening. He doesn’t want anything to do with a mate and he never has. He protects me and takes care of me, but at the end of the day I am just a silly maid to him. That is not what I want for my life. When we return to the palace, the king will hopefully have already signed the amnesty and we will be long gone before William even sets his plan in motion.” “You’re absolutely mad! You would dare leave your mate during a dangerous time in his life?”
“We don’t owe him anything! He stood there while his real lady almost killed me and only told her to do it in private next time. Don’t fool yourself just because you’re attached to his wolf!” Doris shouted. She quickly looked around to make sure she was alone. She quickly realized she was not only alone, but lost. She couldn’t see a foot in front of herself and the wind drowned out any noise she made. Her eyes started to water and sting with how harsh it grew. Doris wrapped her arms around herself. “L… I think we’re lost.”