Chapter 50
“Christine, I need you to get her for me,” were the first words out of my mouth once I was able to calm my breathing.
Christine raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to smack me or yell at me or walk away- possibly all three. She heaved a heavy sigh as she leaned back a little to see what was happening. I did the same and it was still the same scene, Ryker was talking animatedly with Audrey but I could also see that he was looking around to see where she had come from.
I quickly hid beneath the pillar once more, “Please,” I begged, “Before he asks who her mother is and she mentions me. I’m not ready to see him. or tell him.”
Christine rolled her eyes but she walked into the garden without another word. I hid behind the pillar so that I was covered but I could still see and hear what was going on. As she walked towards the duo, Ryker lifted up his head and saw her.
He stood to his feet and gave her a small but respectful bow which Christine acknowledged with a small nod. She placed a hand on Audrey’s shoulder and I saw Ryker’s eyes narrow slightly as he took in the scene. “Audrey, I think you should go inside now.” Christine said with no room for arguments, “Everyone is waiting for you to eat.”
“I’m sorry,” her eyes fell, “I was just talking to my new friend. His name is Riley.”
Ryker chuckled under his breath, “My name is Ryker, little one.”
My heart warmed at the way he spoke to her and the wide smile she gave to him. She had barely met him but she was already enamored by him. Imagine if she knew he was her father, imagine if he knew that she was his daughter.
My wolf nudged me towards them, nudged me to tell him that was his child but I couldn’t. Not after everything that happened, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He doesn’t deserve that little girl, no matter how amazing she might be or how much he might seem to love her.
“Are you her mum?” Ryker asked suddenly and I saw Christine turn to him.
“No,” she said simply and didn’t offer up any more answers. Instead, she
turned to Audrey, “Go inside now, you shouldn’t be talking to strangers.”
Audrey bristled at the chiding but she knew that Christine was right. She might be young but she knows her status and I have tried to teach her to be careful because people are always trying to attack the palace and the royal family. I wouldn’t want her to wander into a situation that she shouldn’t be in just because of her curiosity.
She waved to Ryker and turned around to disappear into the palace. I waited until she was out of sight from everyone before I rushed towards. her and pulled her into my arms. She relaxed against me and hugged me back but I couldn’t help but realize how she probably doesn’t even know why I am holding her like she is about to let go.
I kept her next to me and watched Christine and Ryker. Christine had turned on her heels to make her way back in when Ryker stopped her. “I know I shouldn’t ask,” he began, “But I recognize you from the day I went looking for her. Is she okay?”
I was confused by his words because Christine never told me that she met him. I was under the assumption that she didn’t even know who he
was.
Camilla is fine if that is what you’re asking.” She answered and Ryker opened his mouth to ask something else but she cut him off, “If you want to know anything about her then you can wait until the meeting where
will see her. I cannot give out information on anyone in the royal family.”
you
“You’re right,” he took a step back, “My apologies, I just wanted to know that she was safe.”
“There is nowhere safer for her than here. I think you should let the guards lead you to your hotel or wherever it is that you are staying.” The jab was clear in her words and I saw Ryker’s expression as it settled. Without another word, Christine turned on her heels and walked right into the palace. Ryker stared at her retreating figure for a while but then he cleared his throat and walked away once a guard walked up to him. Audrey was still in my arms but she looked confused as to what was happening. As soon as Christine walked up to us I let her see all the questions I had in my eyes but she pointedly ignored me and turned towards Audrey.
“Do you want to have lunch now?” she go I’m starving.”
asked and Audrey nodded. “Let’s
Christine walked past me leaving me to follow behind her but she knew I was nowhere near done with my questions. Lunch might be a temporary distraction but believe me, I will get those answers out of her even if I have to lock her in my room to do it.
We made our way to the dining room where my mother was just finishing up. She ran her hands through Audrey’s locks softly but then she gazed at Christine and I and she must have felt the brewing tension and unanswered questions.
“Where was she?” mother asked
“In the gardens,” I answered not wanting to tell her the real truth and hoping she wouldn’t notice but she did.
She hummed in disbelief and looked at me with an expression that had me feeling like she could see inside me and see every decision and thought I had made. For a while I actually thought she could and that her powers were mind reading but I was disappointed, she just has very piercing eyes.
“Okay then,” she said finally and then without another word, she walked past me.
The three of us ate lunch together with Audrey doing most of the talking. She droned on about Ryker and how nice he was to her and how he picked the flower for her. I tried my best to keep a neutral standpoint as I listened to her but I wanted nothing more than to just ask her to stay as far away from him as possible and to never speak to him again.
A part of me wondered if I was being selfish. If I was punishing Audrey for her father’s mistakes by not letting them know each other. I wondered if I was being the villain in their story and if I was doing the wrong thing. I also wondered if my actions were unjustifiable. He may have cheated but he didn’t hurt his daughter. If anything, I know he will love Audrey with all his heart. Maybe I am doing the wrong thing. “Mummy,” I was snapped out of my thoughts by Audrey’s voice, “You’re not listening to me.”
“I am,” I forced a smile on my face, “What did you say?”
She went back to talking about Ryker and I noticed Christine staring at me. She had a look that told me she knew exactly what I was thinking of and I shot her a look that told her that we needed to talk.
After we all finished eating, I cleaned Audrey up and walked with her back to her room. I know her and I know that she will fall asleep within
thirty minutes. She cannot eat without taking a nap right after. She has been like that since she was a baby and I have found it very useful
because once she sleeps, I can go ahead and start planning my day and doing the things that I have to do.
Once she was carefully in her room, I had to sit with her and play dolls. It is the only way I’ll be able to get her to sleep. This time however, she added an extra doll and called it Ryker and made up a plot line about. Ryker saving the princess from a dragon. I played along even though my heart was pumping a mile a minute and the moment she yawned, I carefully plucked the dolls out of her hands and carried her into bed.
It didn’t take long after that for her to fall asleep. Within the next ten minutes I was out of her room and looking for Christine. I didn’t find Christine in her own room or the council room, I decided to check the library because I know it is her favorite place in the castle and I found her standing between the shelves browsing through the books.
She sensed me when I walked in, I saw her shoulders stiffen but she didn’t look up, not even when I was standing next to her. She kept on browsing books like she didn’t have a single care in the world and I knew she wasn’t going to make this easy.
“What did he mean by he recognized you?” I asked but she didn’t respond. “You never told me that you had met him.”
She still didn’t respond and I finally took the book out of her hand and turned her to face me. She had a resigned look on her face and she sighed as she took a seat in one of the empty chairs there. She gestured for me to sit opposite her and I did hoping it would spur her into
speaking.
“After you told the Queen that you didn’t want him to find you, she asked me to go back to the packs, to the exact spot where you found us,” she explained, “While I was there, he came around and he was asking of you. Obviously I told him I had never seen you before but he was adamant that he finds you.”
“He didn’t even care about you being a princess, he didn’t even mention it once. He just kept talking about how his mate was missing and he suspected she would come here first. He stayed there for a week hoping you would show up and at one point I almost told him the truth but the Queen came and she spoke to him. I don’t know what promises she made him but he left soon after. That is all there is to it.”
As I looked at her, I knew that was a lie. There was more to the story or at
least, more than she was letting on. There was something else hidden in her eyes and I searched them trying to figure it out for myself but it was like she had her emotions on a tight leash and I couldn’t read them.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked and she couldn’t meet my eyes. “Did he say something to you? Did he do something to you?”
“He wouldn’t dare,” a small smile grew on her l*ps as she spoke.
It isn’t pride or anything, Christine is one of the best fighters that I know and there isn’t a werewolf alive that I know who can best her except for our trainer, he is the palace’s official general and trainer. He is the fastest. and strongest wolf I have ever come across. I was honestly terrified of him the first time I met him.
“What aren’t you telling me Christine?”
She sighed and looked me deep in the eye, “I know you’re upset with him. and I know that he hurt you. But the man who came looking for you did not look like h could hurt a fly.”
“Are you saying I’m lying?”,
“No,” she said quickly and she looked offended that I would even suggest that. “What I am saying is that there has to be some kind of explanation to this. He is either an amazing liar or he truly made a single mistake and he wants to fix it. At the end of the day, it is your choice because you’re the one who is going to spend the rest of your life mated to him or not.”
