While the conversation shifts to Gemma excitedly saying how I’ll need a new dress, but I am only half paying attention. I can’t help but wonder if the person Ronan was going to mention is the same woman I saw with Caspian in the garden those weeks ago. I’d figured the woman meant something to Capian but in the time we’ve been spending together, he never mentioned her, though why would he? If she were a past fling it wouldn’t make sense for him to talk about her. I know if it were me and I had a boyfriend before being whisked to Sedalia I wouldn’t mention him.

But if they were a thing, did that mean she would be at the ball too? I don’t think she’ll take too kindly to me showing up with Caspian.

“Panda!” 

“Huh?” I look at Gemma, who’s frowning at me. “I’m sorry, did you say something Gem?”

“Shopping tomorrow? What’s wrong? Someone try to poison you again?”

I glance over at Caspian, who gives me a small nod. “We’ll make a day of it.”

Letting out a small breath I stand, suddenly no longer having an appetite. At everyone’s questioning gaze I tell them that I’m tired and am going to bed early. 

My feet barely cross the threshold of the dining hall before my hand is grabbed and I am pulled to a stop.

“Why are you running?” Caspian questions and I find I don’t have an answer. Why am I running? Why is the thought of him having had a regular partner bothering me so much? I hate that this is bothering me so much. I’ve never been the jealous type. And we’re engaged. Something he at least seems to be okay with.

“I’m not.” I finally reply, attempting to pull my hand away.

Caspian looks wholly unconvinced, taking the lead and pulling me toward our room. He finally releases my hand once the door is shut. I linger near it, my hands betraying my nervousness. Caspian is watching me, arms crossed.

“Is this because of Eden?”

The name sends a rush of annoyance through me and I fight to quell it. “Eden?”

“The woman Ronan started to mention. She was my go-to for events, but that stopped the moment I learned we were to be engaged. Nothing has ever, or is happening between us.”

My voice is clipped as I say, “I never said you were.”

He crosses the room too quickly for me to react, backing me flush against the door. I keep my eyes stubbornly on my feet. “Look at me.” He sighs, and I refuse. “Pandora.” 

The way he calls my name has my eyes meeting his almost immediately. He’s never called me Pandora, and if the feeling in the pit of my stomach is anything to go by I don’t like the word coming from his lips.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“Jealous, then?”

“Of course not! What do I have to be jealous about?” I attempt to push past him, only to be stopped by a hand on my hip. The hands that were on his chest are now trapped between the two of us. Caspian grabs one in his hand.

“Pandora.” This time his voice is softer. It causes a different reaction in my stomach. One I’m not sure if I should like or not. I meet his eyes again and he chuckles when he sees the frown on my face. “I am not involved with Eden.”

“I know.” And I do know. I trust Caspian. He’s done absolutely nothing for me to think otherwise. 

I try to push past him again but he doesn’t budge. It isn’t until his lips are hovering just over mine that I realize he’s leaned down, and then he closes the gap between us. I freeze, my mind going blank. Caspian pulls away and I immediately duck my head.

He kissed me. He...kissed me. He-- “You kissed me.”

“Yes I suppose I did. I thought it would be okay for me to kiss my fiancée, especially when said fiancée is being jealous over nothing.”

“I’m not--!” When I look up it is to Caspian smiling at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. “It isn’t funny.” I grumble. He simply leans down, kissing me again. My heart is thumping against my chest. Never in my life have I reacted to a simple kiss like this, and quite frankly it’s embarrassing. 

“Still trying to run?” Caspian asks as I fight to get my hands free once more.

At my silence he takes my chin in his free hand, brushing a thumb against my lips. The action causes my struggle to falter. “I quite like jealous you. It tells me that you like me.”

“I thought that much was obvious!”

Now that I say it outloud, I realize it is painfully obvious. Suddenly everything makes so much sense. I groan, to which Caspian laughs. He now has his arm around my waist, pulling me against him and kissing me for a third time.

My bodyguard for the last several weeks has been an Elf named Riol. He apparently came with Caspian when he moved from Eiland. He’s nice enough, but pretty quiet and only gives minimal replies whenever I try to make conversation with him, which lately hasn’t been very often. He wears a mask as well, covering the lower half of his face. I’ve asked Caspian about it but he says Riol has worn it since they were young and never explained why.

Unfortunately, Riol has work elsewhere tonight, so a different guard will be with me at the Ball tonight. Even though Caspian will be around, there is no guarantee he will be able to be by my side the entire night and wants a Knight as a precaution.  I don’t know anything about him aside from the fact that his name is Titus and only recently joined the Guard.

Caspian enters the bedroom as I’m slipping my shoes on. When I don’t hear the door close I glance up to see he’s stopped in his tracks, staring at me. There is a smile on his face as he takes in my appearance, obviously pleased with the way I look.

In an effort to hide my embarrassment as his obvious approval of the dress Gemma forced me to buy I quickly walk over to him, pushing him out of the room. He takes my hand, bringing it to his lips. 

“You look beautiful, Dove.”

“Thank you. Can we go now?”

Caspian simply laughs, lacing his fingers through mine and leading the way.

Immediately upon arriving at Ronan's packhouse, we are led to our seats. Because I am the Crowned Princess we are seated next to the Alpha, whose name I learn is Leon Wells. His last name sounds familiar to me, though it takes me far too long to realize I recognize it from my family tree. My great-grandmother was a werewolf named Mei Wells, before she married Faelan VonMerlyn.

I wasn’t expecting to meet family, especially considering I’d only been told of my father’s side of the family since coming to Sedalia. Maybe this means I have other family members out there as well?

Leon seems excited to learn we’re family, even going as far as to give me a hug when I mention Mei to him. 

We spend the next hour or so with him telling me as much as he can remember about Mei, and before I know it the dancing has begun. Leon whisks his mate away with a smile, and to my dismay Caspian stands, holding a hand out to me.

“I don’t know any of these fancy dances,” I grumble. He laughs, taking my hand and pulling my reluctant form from my seat to the dance floor. My worries turn out to be for nothing, though, as Caspian turns out to be an amazing dancer and hides my flaws with ease. 

“You’re doing perfectly fine.” He says as he twirls me around. I’m pulled back against his chest, rolling my eyes.

“You’re doing perfectly fine. I’m sure I’ve stepped on your foot at least three times.” 

“That is quite alright. I will gladly endure you stepping on my foot a thousand times if it means getting to be with you like this.”

Unfortunately, Ronan cuts in, wanting to dance with me and my perfect dance partner obliges, taking a few steps back. “Don’t look so happy to see me. I’m not that bad of a dance partner.” Ronan pouts when he sees a similar look on my own face.

I look at him, smiling apologetically. “It’s not that. It’s just that I'm that bad of a dance partner. Caspian was making me look good.”

“Don’t worry, everyone here knows I’m a terrible dancer. We can look bad together.” Ronan laughs, bumping my forehead with his. 

I laugh as well, grinning at him. “Deal.”

As if sensing my separation from Caspian, or the good mood, the woman from the garden invades our happy bubble. Caspian’s smile immediately drops, and even Ronan’s hold on my tightens for just a moment.

The woman, who I am assuming is Eden, latches herself onto Caspian’s arm. A pang of annoyance settles in my chest. It only grows when a pout touches her lips. “Where have you been? I've been waiting for you!” 

Caspian pulls his arm away, taking a step away from her. He looks at me. “Dancing with my fiancee.”

Eden looks me up and down, disgust on her face before she turns back to Caspian, face pouty once again. The urge to punch her in the face is strong, and Ronan lets out a sharp breath, pulling me back half a step, perhaps in an attempt to keep me from doing just that.

“Come dance with me.” Her whine grates on my ears. 

Luckily, Gemma flounces over, locking arms with Caspian and pulling him towards her and effectively out of Eden’s hold. “Dance with me, Cas.”

“Gemma.” He agrees immediately, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her away.

Eden shoots me a glare before stalking away as well, and both Ronan and I relax. "I thought you were going to pounce on her." He chuckles.

"If Gemma hadn't come over I just might have."

During the dance with Ronan the unease I felt during the interaction with Eden doesn’t go away. In fact, it only grows worse. 

I can’t tell why, until Adrien Visconti cuts in, asking to dance with me. I meet Ronan’s eye, silently begging him to refuse but at the same time Gemma flounces over, wanting her mate back. Ronan has the good sense to look apologetic, but it doesn’t last as he takes Gemma into his arms.

Not seeing Caspian anywhere, and not wanting to look rude I take Adrien’s outstretched hand.

“I do believe this is our first time formally meeting.”

“I believe you’re right.” My voice is clipped, forcing a polite tone despite the fact that I would rather be anywhere but in his presence.

“No need to be nervous, Princess, I don’t bite.”

I hold in a shiver of disgust, praying my face isn’t betraying my desire to vomit. Not only is his voice rubbing me the wrong way, but his touch makes my skin crawl. His hold is much rougher than it needs to be, as if preventing me from running.

“So how has it been, adjusting to the royal life? If I remember correctly, you were raised as a commoner, yes?”

“I was raised human, yes.” 

“It cannot be easy, learning how to run a kingdom in such a short amount of time.”

This time I can’t keep the frown off my face. “It has been a bit stressful but I believe I am getting used to--”

“It makes more sense for someone more qualified to be on the throne, don’t you think?”

“What?”

His grip tightens painfully. “You should have stayed where you belong.”

Gemma seems to have a sixth sense, once more coming to my rescue, looping an arm through mine and pulling me away from Adrien. “Excuse us.” She says before leading me away. I can feel his eyes on me as we make our way outside. 

The moment the cool air touches me I take a deep breath, thanking Gemma for saving me for the second time that night.

“What was that all about?”

“I don’t know. I think he was threatening me. He told me I should have stayed where I belong.”

“That’s...scary. Almost as scary as your bodyguard, how long has he been following us?”

I glance behind us to see Titus has indeed followed us outside. He is scary looking, towering over the both of us. His face seems to be stuck in a permanent frown, and I’m sure he hasn’t spoken a word this whole night. “Riol had another job that needed his attention, so Titus is his replacement guard. I’ve only just met him tonight and he hasn’t said anything to me or Caspian.”

“Kinda overkill to have a bodyguard at a birthday party for a werewolf?”

“Talk to my fiance about that.” I’d had the exact argument with Caspian just yesterday but he refused to budge.

“It’s still so weird that you need a bodyguard at all.”

“We’re at a birthday party for a werewolf alpha. Literally nothing has been normal since we’ve come here. Also, did you know Leon is my cousin because I didn’t.”

Gemma looks at me, surprise on her face for a split second before she begins laughing. “Can you believe we’ve already been here almost two months? So much has changed so quickly.”

“Yeah. Who would have thought you’d be the first to settle down?”

We walk for a few more minutes, coming across what looks like a lake. Gemma says she likes to come here to swim, and I can see why. It is clear why she picked this particular spot. The water is clear giving a clear reflection of the moon above. It is also a secluded spot so she won’t have to worry about sharing with others.

We’re only at the lake for a few minutes when Ronan comes bounding towards us. He’s barely slowed to a stop before Gemma is being scooped into his arms. “Hey guys, Alpha Leon is getting ready to give a speech. Let’s head back to the packhouse.” 

She hits him on the shoulder, huffing at him. “Put me down, I can walk back with Panda.” 

Ronan pouts in response, earning a kiss from Gemma. He nuzzles against her neck with a whine. Finally he puts her down when I fake gag at their display of affection. After one more kiss he turns and heads back toward the packhouse.

Gemma and I begin walking back to the packhouse, but I notice pretty quickly a missing presence. I pause, turning in the direction we’d come from.

“What’s wrong, Love Dove?”

“Titus seems to have disappeared.”

“How can you tell?”

“I don’t know…” Even though he’d only been around me for the last few hours, I could feel his presence. Just like I can feel Riol watching over me. The fact that his presence, and such an imposing presence especially, has seemingly disappeared is a bit worrying. 

I take another step backward. Something latches onto my ankle the second I get within arms reach of the lake and I am being dragged into the water. I manage to take a deep breath before I am fully submerged.