*Ciana*
I couldn’t believe I dozed off!
Theo said they would be leaving in two hours—were they already gone?
I ran to check on Warren. He wasn’t in his room. For a mont, my heart sank to the bottom and I thought they chose to leave without .
Thank Goddess, when I got to the foyer, Jake and a couple of guys were getting Warren loaded into a van. He was strapped on a gurney, still unconscious.
Aurora was there, saying goodbye to Warren. Her eyes were glassy with tears.
I walked over and was about to ask Aurora whether she would like to co with us to the palace, when I realized that Theo actually hadn’t extended the invitation for to go with him.
I watched Theo and Jake getting prepared to set off, and couldn’t help but decide to find out what was their plan.
“Do you have a plan on what to do now?” I asked, walking up beside Theo.
His face was drawn and distant again. The past 12 hours seed extrely long, and he’d been so obviously upset and emotional at what happened to Warren and what he was capable of.
For a few monts, he’d even let see that vulnerability.
Now, he was the sa old aloof Theo again.
“Yes, to a degree. We’ve made so arrangents in the palace,” Theo said.
“Okay,” I said softly, looking at the ground.
Theo’s ‘we’ only included himself and Jake, obviously. It didn’t sound like I was being included to return to the palace.
I couldn’t assu that I’d be welco to accompany them without an invitation, as the royal palace wasn’t my backyard. Now that I’d technically “dropped out” of the running for Theo’s potential bride, there was no reason soone like would have to go to the castle.
The palace wasn’t exactly open for anyone to co and go as they please.
But I wanted to. My heart ached with the desire to stay with Theo and to see Warren recover.
Theo wasn’t inviting , so I wasn’t sure if he’d be receptive to asking to tag along, because I might end up being more of a burden to him. He had a lot going on in his head with what he’d been through recently.
Then there was the promise I’d made to Lady Nita. I’d told her I would stay away from Theo and the palace if she helped him. She’d kept up her end of the deal. I couldn’t go back on mine.
Besides, and most importantly, I’d kissed Theo last night and he’d... he hadn’t ntioned anything about it.
At this point, I could no longer lie to myself.
Yes, I fell for the Dark Prince.
I wanted to be with him and be there for him. I wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone.
But what did he think about ?
Yes, he was protective of , I knew that, just like he cared about Maggie, Warren, and even Jake. But was there anything more than that?
“Ciana, you in there?” Jake asked, waving his fingers in front of my face.
“Y-yes, what?” I asked, snapping out of my trance.
“I’ve been calling you. You must have been thinking pretty deeply.”
“Oh, yeah... I just hope Warren gets the help he needs,” I forced a smile on my face and played it off like it wasn’t a big deal that they were leaving without .
But it was.
“Well, we’re headed back to the palace.”
I was extrely disappointed that Theo didn’t want to go with them. I could feel my face fall and I couldn’t maintain that earlier smile.
Oh well, I’d better bid them goodbye so that they could leave and get Warren the help he needed. As for myself, I was seriously considering tailing them secretly...
“You know, Brook is still there. She misses you a lot,” Jake added.
“I miss her too,” I admitted, sighing heavily. It felt like I hadn’t seen her for years.
“She’s been... well, she hasn’t been feeling all that well lately,” Jake said. He blushed suddenly, like he wasn’t supposed to know about Brook’s personal life.
I blinked a couple of tis and nudged his shoulder. “It is okay to care about her and worry about her.”
“I know. I just think she’d feel better getting a visit from you,” he added.
“I’d love to see her. I’m just—”
“Besides, we might need help with Prince Warren. He’ll need a lot of care, and who knows what the king will decide,” Jake cut off.
“I’ll go!” There was the invitation I was hoping for, and there was no way I’d let the opportunity pass.
“Great!” Jake lowered his voice as if he was worried that his Alpha would hear him. I glanced at Theo, who wasn’t paying attention, apparently.
The purpose of my trip was to see Brook and to help with Warren. As long as I wasn’t going back for Theo, Lady Nita couldn’t say I broke my promise, right?
I was a bit nervous when we got into the van. What would Theo say? What if he scolded and asked to stay behind? I would tell him that my friends needed , and it was none of his business.
With that in mind, I was ready to face his challenge.
However, other than freezing at the car door for a couple of seconds, he didn’t say anything or do anything else before sitting down next to . My eyes didn’t leave his face the entire ti, and I could have sworn I saw a hint of relief in his composed dark eyes.
So, he was okay with tagging along after all?
All of a sudden, I felt energetic and in a much lighter mood.
When the car started moving, I was sure that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of at this point, so I turned my attention to Warren.
He hadn’t changed at all since the night before. Still pale and unconscious. Periodically, I checked his pulse. Sotis, he was so still that I was afraid he wasn’t breathing anymore.
Theo hadn’t said anything to at all. He looked at Warren sotis and then looked out the window.
At first, I was simply happy to be with him, but after more than an hour, it was still dead quiet in the car. I felt the need to break the awkward silence.
“Do you think Warren will be alright?” I asked, even though in this case, we both had exactly the sa amount of information, and his answer wouldn’t be wiser than what I’d already know.
“Yes.”
“I hope so too.”
“Do you think King Sebastian will help?”
“No, but we’ll figure out a way to make him do it.”
“How?”
“Don’t know yet.”
Alright, I gotta say, conversation wasn’t Prince Theo’s forte.
“I haven’t seen Brook in so long,” I changed the topic casually.
Theo grunted in response.
“Jake said she’s been feeling a bit under the weather. He thinks seeing will help cheer her up. I’d like to be there for her,” I added.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that,” Theo said absently.
“And you know, I can help with Warren, too. It won’t be easy looking after him while you figure out what to do.”
Theo just nodded.
“So, you know, don’t send away. I’m going back to the palace to help two friends,” I reiterated.
Theo raised an eyebrow at but he didn’t say anything.
All right, I admitted it, sitting in awkward silence was probably way easier than trying to chat the crown prince up.
I was hoping to get a sense of what he was feeling about , but at this rate, I was simply happy that he didn’t outright reject .
***
When the car pulled through the majestic front gates, I felt it had been ages since I last set foot in the royal palace.
With Jake’s super efficiency, Warren was fully settled down in his room within twenty minutes, including proper security and dical support.
“Theo,” I noticed that he stood up and was walking toward the door. “Where are you going?”
He looked in the eye, “I’m going to see the king. I have my n here, they’ll only listen to you, so most people in the palace shouldn’t bother you. Take care of yourself and Warren.”
“Of course!” I nodded, “That’s the least I could do. Good luck!”
Jake smiled and followed Theo, “We need it! By the way, Brook should be here soon.”
I watched them walk away as I said a prayer to the Moon Goddess.
Sure enough, not long after that, Brook showed up.
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much!” she said happily.
“I missed you too,” I smiled, then imdiately noticed soone else was also here.
Brook whispered, “She insisted on coming. When she heard Prince Warren was ill, she lost it!”
As soon as Sophia saw Warren’s form laying in the bed, she bounced on the balls of her feet and let out a high-pitched cry, “Your Highness! Oh no, Prince Warren!”
“Miss, you’re not allowed in here!” One of Theo’s n said, blocking her at the door.
“I’m not allowed, and those unruly won are?” She pointed at us. “Let in!”
“Miss Ciana has special authorization from Prince Theo. If you continue this behavior, I’ll have to remove you from here by force.”
“Ciana!” Sophia shouted my na, and the guard grabbed her arm.
What did she want?
Brook tugged my sleeve, seemingly worried that I might get into an argunt with Sophia. “Ciana, just ignore her.”
I thought Sophia would flip out and start cursing, but she didn’t.
“Ciana, Let in... please.”
Brook and I exchanged a look, and we saw surprise on each other’s faces. Was this really Sophia?
I let out a heavy sigh and told the guard. “Hold on for a mont please.”
He followed my instructions imdiately and loosened his grip. She flung her arm free.
“Sophia, I can let you in, but I have a condition.”
“Humph!” She clenched her fists and was back to her proud and bratty self. “What do you want? Money, power, or resources? Ciana, really, how poor and pathetic your pack is that you need to take every possible opportunity to get a little benefit?”
I rolled my eyes. “My condition is—lower your voice!” Then I said to the guard, “Please let her in.”
“But Miss Ciana—”
I smiled at the guard assuredly. “Don’t worry, she is going to be fine.”
It appeared that Sophia was dumbfounded that I let her in that easily. She smattered, “That...that’s it?”
“Or do you prefer asking you to cut a large check? Look, I did this only because you’re really worried about Warren. The more people here to take care of him, the better. And, you’re welco.”
Sophia stared at for a mont. Then, without another word, she went to Warren’s side and took his hand.
Brook whispered, “You’re sure this is okay?”
I nodded. Sophia was simple to read. Whatever she liked or hated, she would tell you and show you. She was in love with Warren. I could tell that the worry and concern in her eyes were genuine.
If the king didn’t care about his children, he would at least care about the powerhouses backing them. Warren getting acquainted with the Alpha’s daughter of the Poni pack would only help him in the future.
We shifted our gazes from Warren and Brook pulled to the living room of Warren’s suite.
“Jake told about Prince Warren. Are you holding up okay?” she asked.
“I’m as good as can be. At this point, there is not much we can do.”
Brook nodded in understanding. “Other than Prince Warren, how has life been, you know, away from the palace?”
I had been expecting her to be a little less energetic, based on what Jake said about her feeling unwell. Maybe seeing was enough to make her feel a bit better.
“A lot has happened. I thought I’d just return to my pack and life would go back to normal but...”
I had no idea where to start with answering her question about my life. Too much had happened for to squeeze it all into one conversation.
“Tell , what’s been going on? I feel like I am sheltered here from all the good things. The palace is so quiet and boring sotis.” Brook rested her head on my shoulder.
“It was just chaotic. My parents were gone for a while and that caused so problems. Thank the Goddess Warren and Theo were there to help smooth things over. It was nice to go ho, even if it was just for a little while. I wish I could have stayed longer.”
“Why didn’t you?” Brook asked, her eyes big and curious.
“Um, because I was traveling with Warren.” I chose to keep things simple.
“So... you were traveling with Prince Warren. Did you ever confess to him?” she prodded, nudging with her elbow and winking at .
“Confess?” I asked, creasing my brow.
“You know, about your past with him. Did you confirm that he’s your secret boyfriend?” she asked, giggling still.
Sighing, I shook my head and looked at my lap. “It wasn’t him.”
“Oh,” Brook said, her joy fading slightly. “Sorry about that.”
“No, don’t be!” I didn’t want Brook to think I was upset about it. “Honestly, I was sowhat happy it wasn’t him.”
“Why?”
Why? I found myself not able to answer imdiately. I fell silent as Theo’s face popped into my mind when I thought of my past.
And when my stomach squird at the word “boyfriend”.
#
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