The Alpha Prince and His Bride

Book 2 Chapter 6

~EDEN~

I gasped as I shivered against his strong hold. I closed my eyes and tried to memorize what it felt like to have him this close to me.

I somehow knew that James meant every single word he'd just said. My beautiful mate wouldn't sit by and let another man touch me and it warmed my heart just as much as it frightened me. I felt his fingers trace my closed eyelids, down my nose and straight to my parted lips. I felt a jolt of shock through my body at such a simple touch. It didn't matter that it was simple, all that mattered to my body was that he was the one doing it. His fingers travelled to my neck but paused there. I heard his sharp intake of breath which forced me to open my eyes.

His shocked gaze was definitely on my neck and the look I saw there frightened me. He tilted my face gently to the side, his gaze lethal. I could sense the immediate drastic change in his mood.

I now understood what he was looking at. He must have seen the dragon tattoo on my neck where his mark for me should have been.

What was he thinking? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Did they do this to you?" He growled.

"James," I whispered.

"Did. They. Do. This. To. You?" He repeated, much slower this time.

"Y-yes but—," my eyes widened when he didn't wait for me to finish.

Before I had a chance to react he had already shifted into his wolf. My heart ached at his wolf's cry. I could hear the pain and unhappiness that shattered my heart into a million pieces.

I needed to get back to the council before he did anything crazy. I was not ready for a fight, none of us were. I didn't want to put the people I cared about in trouble, I didn't want to lose my family. I understood that I couldn't rip my dress however, it would look too suspicious to the council as well as Hunter. I quickly hurried out of it and shifted into my wolf. I picked the soft material up with my mouth and raced towards the palace.

When I arrived I wasted no time in shifting back and changing back into the dress. So far, I couldn't hear any sort of commotion happening which meant that was at least a good sign.

I hurried inside where I found Isabella waiting at the entrance for me. "Did James come here?" I asked without a second thought.

Her eyes were wide with worry. "Our brothers heard his howl and they cornered him in the woods. Austin and Lucy just left with Lucas, they plan on forcing James to go back home with them. They may have to use force, extreme force to keep him down."

My eyes grew watery at her words. This was for the best, I had to keep telling myself those words to keep myself from running off to his side. This was the only way to protect him from himself and away from the dangers that came with the council.

I stiffened as I saw the prosecutor heading our way. "You two," he hissed. "Come with me."

Isabella glanced at me with worried eyes.

Did they find out something? I prayed that they didn't.

I could feel my heartbeat increase with each step that we took closer to the room the prosecutor had just entered.

Hunter was the first person that I saw, to my surprise his eyes were on Isabella once more. Something felt extremely off about the way he looked at her, was I missing something?

"The wedding is set to take place in three weeks." The prosecutor announced suddenly, catching my attention.

My eyes widened and it was difficult to hide my unhappiness at the dreaded news. I didn't want it to be that soon. I didn't want to marry Hunter, I needed time to adjust to all of this. I felt Isabella grip my hand as she squeezed gently on it. It's something that we've always done for the other when we needed support. And support was something you always needed when dealing with the council. They always did something to catch you off guard.

"Why so soon?" I asked before I could stop myself. I knew that the men in the room would be pissed that I'd asked such a question. However, I couldn't help myself.

Hunter took slow steps in my direction, he didn't stop until there was only a little distance between us. "Is there something that I should know?" He asked. "Like perhaps, a mate that I need to find out about and maybe get rid off?"

I felt my heart drop at his question. It was hard to keep a straight face after he'd made such a threat. The more he looked at me, the more I believed that he already knew about James. This could be his way of making sure that I followed through with the wedding without making a fuss.

"No." I said as I lowered my gaze. "There is nothing that you need to know. We will have the wedding three weeks from now as you wish."

He nodded and turned to the prosecutor. "Is that good for you?"

He laughed without any emotion. "Of course it is, whatever you wish we shall do, that was never a question."

"Am," Isabella cut in. "My sister and I were speaking and there is something that we wish to ask for."

My gaze snapped to hers in confusion, I didn't remember us discussing anything like that.

What was Isabella up to?

"What is it?" Hunter asked, his penetrating gaze directly on her.

"We would like to visit our other sister Lucy, she's married to Prince Austin Lance Vinci and we barely get any time to see her. We thought that this would be good for Eden, since she may not be able to do these things after she's married to you."

The prosecutor reached forward and gripped Isabella's arm roughly. "What nonsense is this Isabella? You're not at liberty to request such a thing and you know it."

Hunter's eyes were strained on the prosecutor's hand still gripping onto Isabella. There was anger in the depths of it that totally surprised me once more.

"Let the girl go." He said smoothly, however his angry gaze and tightened knuckles gave away how he really felt. "There is nothing wrong with her request, in fact I think that it may be a good idea."

I stared at Hunter with wide, uncomprehending eyes, unsure of what just happened.

I was even more surprised at this response. As far as I knew, Hunter would never agree to something like this unless there was some ulterior motive.

What exactly could he achieve by Isabella and I visiting Lucy?

Even the prosecutor seemed completely baffled by his response. "But—,"

Hunter raised his hand to stop him from speaking. "There's nothing to discuss. Let the women visit their sister. I see nothing wrong with that request."

The prosecutor looked pissed at his words but still managed to nod his head. It was clear that they were willing to go the extra mile to keep Hunter as one of their most prized clients.

"Alright," Hunter spoke again. "I guess that's all for today. My men and I have other important matters to deal with, enough time has already been wasted."

By other important matters we all understood what he meant. More killing. Hunter was known to be a dangerous killer, that was his job and he was good at it.

I shivered at just the thought of being married to a man like that.

Now that I was allowed to visit Lucy, things wouldn't be easy. James would be there, how would I ever be able to resist him?

...................................

~Hunter~

I pulled at my bottom lip as images of Isabella Cross flashed across my mind. I grabbed a drink from my personal bar and filled the cup till it overflowed. I downed the whole thing in one go, it was the only thing that helped to clear my head.

I forced myself to change the direction of my thoughts. My soon to be wife was the woman I should be thinking about. After all, there were certain things about her that bothered me. I'd chosen her because I felt absolutely nothing where she was concerned. However, something was off and I think it had something to do with her mate.

I'd had my men spy on her years before, I'd seen pictures. She'd looked clean in the past, clean in that she didn't have a mate. But now her sad eyes said otherwise. Her bright smile had been dampened greatly.

The council had promised that there would be no problems where her mate was concerned. I hated to be double crossed. The growl I'd heard today must have been from her mate, her eyes alone gave it away. I leaned back on my chair and stared at the ceiling.

If I wanted everything to go smoothly I would have no choice but to get rid of him. The problem came with the fact that I didn't know who he was. Which was why I'd agreed for her to leave the council for a week to visit her sister. She would surely try to meet him there, if she didn't then he would.

I'll have my men follow them and keep a close watch on her. Once I knew who my enemy was I would understand how much force was needed to strike.

I refilled the cup and twirled the ice with my finger.

Something told me this one was about to be interesting. . .