Chapter 168

Chapter 168 A dangerous decision “Prince William!”

William’s hold tightened on Doris and woke her. She felt his warmth leave her the second he unwrapped himself from her. It almost made her beg him to come back and cover her entire body with his own.

William’s hair was a wild mess as he threw on a coat over his bare chest and tossed back the tent flap just enough so that she remained hidden from view.

“Luna Queen has sent this for you. One of her messengers left it this morning.”

William took the letter quickly. “Thanks.” He said before he closed the flap.

Doris scrambled out of bed and pulled on her thickest sweater before she met him across the room. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge her presence as he tore there the letter to get it open. A bit of sweat formed on his brow, the only sense of weakness he would let free.

“Dear Prince William,” he mumbled, “I’d like to have a private meeting with you before you send your army towards our own. I feel we can come to a mutual understanding and resolve this before it gets out of hand. Yours, The Luna Queen.”

William stared silently at the letter before he threw it in the fire that had grown dim. It flickered brighter but quickly grew out before it could catch any of the flames. “She’s too late, I already sent my army to theirs in the middle of the night.”

“So it’s started already?” Doris whispered. William moved around the room like his own fire as he got ready. It was almost hard to concentrate on anything when he looked that determined.

“Yes. They should already be aware that it’s started. I wonder if she sent it before or after.” William grumbled. “I would bet after just to try and mess with my head. She always wants to act like she has the upper hand.”

“She might have sent it after to mess with you, as you said. I wouldn’t trust her motives. You’re the only thing challenging her direct path to the throne and she knows that.” Doris said. She pulled on warm pants and boots. Out here, there was no use for beautiful dresses but she missed them anyway. For just a short time, she had gotten a taste of what it was like to wear a few.

“I don’t trust her, I never have. She wants to meet this afternoon by the frozen lakes.” William ran his fingers through his dark hair. “That’s one place that’s out of the way from all of this, but also too close to our camp here. T don’t want her to come here if I don’t show.”

“Are you going to meet her?” Doris asked.

“I don’t want to. But I know she won’t let it go if I don’t.”

“I could come with you—“.

“You will. I don’t want you out of my sight. Knowing Luna Queen, she might try to lure me away from here just to get the one thing I care about.”

William glanced out of the tent and called out to a guard nearby. She felt her mind drift away as he demanded a small group to ready themselves. A wave of dizziness passed by the time he focused back on her.

“Are you well?” He asked.

“I am.” Doris cleared her throat. “Just a bit hungry.”

“I will make sure you eat before we leave. I want to get there before she does in case she tries to get the higher ground.” William started to leave the tent before he paused. “The medic will be by tonight to check you. I asked her to do it late so we don’t pull too much attention.”

Doris let out a long breath. “Okay-yes, great.”

They left much earlier than Doris expected. Luna Queen didn’t want to meet until noon, but they were almost there with over an hour to spare. Doris felt she was lucky enough not to feel sick after eating as much as she did before they left. If only she knew someone that had been in her shoes before and knew how to handle her sickness. 1 Someone that wasn’t currently an enemy or estranged from her.

Her thoughts were so far away from her, she still hadn’t fully processed what it meant to have a life growing inside her-if that was even the case. She couldn’t see herself as a mother when she didn’t even feel fully grown herself. There was so much to learn and do that she hadn’t got the chance to yet. She wanted to be the best version of herself before any baby came out of her. 3 Part of her feared that there was no good version of herself. What if she was always an uncertain mess that everyone tried to step on? That was no way to live.

Doris gripped onto William as they rode down the small hill towards the frozen lakes. He only brought a handful of guards with them and left the rest back at the camp to make sure no one arrived there while they were gone. It would be so easy to step a trap to an empty camp and William made sure that they wouldn’t have the chance to.

It was eerily quiet. She didn’t know what to expect, but something about the silence made her stomach turn. “William.” She whispered.

“What is it?”

“Something feels off.” Doris looked around at the frozen trees that hid miles ahead of them. A shiver passed over her skin and almost made her bones stiffen. “I don’t know why, but it feels wrong to be here.”

“It will be fine. Just stay with me.” William said quietly, but he didn’t have to raise his voice at all for her to hear him here.

Doris opened her mouth to respond, but felt at a loss for words. She couldn’t describe what was wrong, but a feeling deep inside made her nervous. Why would she be nervous?

They slowed their steps and followed down a small path that ran along the frozen lake. Doris stared along the trees and didn’t see any sign of life beyond their own.

“We can stay here and a few others need to scope out the surroundings to see which direction they will come from. We don’t want to be unprepared.” William called to his guards.

Doris felt as if their voices were muffled to her ears. Her insides turned as if she was in danger but she saw nothing. Was she slowly going insane? She wasn’t sure.

“Take the path up-“

An arrow zipped past William and missed his head by inches. He pulled Doris off the horse with him faster than she could register and hid her behind a large rock. “William!”

“Stay here and do not move, do you understand me?” He demanded. Doris watched as one of his men had an arrow hit through his head. Quickly, she nodded.

William left her his cloak and headed back towards the eye of the beast. Arrows flew when he stepped out but not one harmed him. He didn’t run, he didn’t even try to shield himself from them. It was like he knew that they could never dare to touch him.

William shifted into his wolf and ran straight towards the flying arrows. His guards were close behind and Doris cringed at the sound of screams and wounded sequels that made her blood chill.

Her breath was so loud in her ears. She looked towards the trees but saw nothing. The screaming quickly died out and left her frightened when she didn’t see William.

Slowly, she stood to get a better look. She promised William she wouldn’t move, but that feeling was still throbbing inside her. Something was wrong.

A scream pierced the silence and she knew who it was instantly. William dragged Luna Queen out of the trees by her bloody arm and all she could do was scream for mercy. Not one of her men came out with her.

Doris quickly hurried to William and covered his wolf body with his cloak before he shifted back into himself. When he did, Luna Queen tried to stand but she was too slow. William grabbed her by her hair and forced her back to the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going?” William snarled. He dragged her to the middle of the frozen lake where Doris was too afraid to follow. “Here, I thought you wanted to have a normal conversation.”

“Let-Let go of me!” Luna Queen screamed. It was only then that Doris noticed how much blood covered her body. It was as if she had fallen in a pool of it. “You don’t understand!”

“Explain it to me, then.” William finally released her, but Doris knew that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Explain it to me before I drown you in this frozen water.”