The Hidden Luna Queen 2

"I know it doesn't mean anything coming from me," I said with a calmness that surprised even me, "but I care about Xaden very much. He has saved me more times than I could ever begin to repay him for, even from my own family."

He remained silent. Almost eerily so. Still, I dared to keep going.

"I know I'm not what you envisioned for him... but as long as he fights for me, I will do the same for him. The last thing I would ever want to do is bring shame to him, or to any of you, because..." I hesitated, flooding with hot embarrassment once it kicked in just how much I was opening up to the king, who, to my bewilderment, was still listening, "all I want is to belong in a family."

At that, he scoffed with a not-so-subtle roll of his eyes.

"You care about Xaden," I continued softly. "I know you do, and I'm sure he sees it, too... but there is a difference between being a king and being a father. So, I am asking on his behalf, if there is even the smallest chance you might put some faith in him. Let him show you just how amazing he is if you just... let him spread his wings and fly."

THIRD PERSON POV

Spread his wings? Fly?

A muscle twitched in Arlan's prominent jaw as he stared down at his son's apparent, soon-to-be mate, who was still frustratingly unwavering in her gaze.

"You" he muttered coldly, stiffly, "are quite bold for someone who has been here not even one month."

Her throat bobbed-one of her glaringly obvious nervous tics. "I-I only meant-"

"I must return to overseeing the preparations." A visibly exasperated Arlan cut her off with a raised hand, prompting her to stiffen from the abrupt interruption. "I am deciding to trust," he said pointedly, "that you will not overstay your welcome." An ever-so-subtle reminder that she was still very much merely a guest in his palace.

Her face melted into a faint red, nodding in weak agreement. His message had been received loud and clear.

And with a silent, feeble curtsy, Maeve left.

He watched carefully as her small frame eventually rounded the corner of the corridor, listening as the dainty clacks of her shoes against the marble tiles grew more and more quiet with each step until he could hear nothing.

In all of his life, Arlan had never been one that was so easily swayed.

Growing up a member of the alpha royal family, he'd had to learn to be as unyielding as the strongest of mountains, lest whatever power-hungry alphas that hid within his court sought to undermine him in any way.

And then there was this girl... this quiet, terribly unimpressive girl who was too demure for her own good... who unsettled Arlan to his core. Because despite his prior warnings, and despite his fervid attempts to frighten her into submission, she would not yield. This girl who entered the picture out of bloody nowhere, whose family Arlan had scarcely met before, whose pack he had never seen, and whose intentions he could not yet verify.

All because his son was too blinded by infatuation to let him interfere.

She was up to something. She had to be. No one ever held such power over his family like this before.

Cunning, yes. Dangerous... without question.

So why did he get the dreadful, sinking feeling that, after everything she'd just said, she had been nothing but genuine with him?

Arlan suddenly scoffed, and began his trek back to the courtyard.

To hell with all of this. It did not change the irrefutable fact that he knew to be true in his heart.

She was just a nobody. And it would take a lot more than pretty words to make her worthy of his son.

MAEVE POV

A couple of days had passed since my little chat with the alpha king, and I was not sure what to make of it.

Confrontation, I had expected from the get-go, along with heaps of intimidation, warnings, and threats and I certainly received just that. What I hadn't expected, however, was how easily he seemed to turn me away. Of all the qualities King Arlan was known and renowned for, patience and leniency were not among them.

If he had such a problem with me, why didn't he order me to leave and never return? Banish me, if that was what he wanted? Was there... even the slightest chance I was getting through to him?

"Well?" Xaden pressed with a questioning raise of his brow, cutting into my thoughts. He was seated on the loveseat in the drawing room beside me. Sunlight seeped into the room, bathing him in a beautiful, warm glow. “Have you decided?"

I huffed out a sigh, turning my attention back to the task at hand. Literally-in my hand. "I can't. Could you-?"

He cut me off with a laugh. "I can't pick for you. It has to be your decision."

Pouting, I scrolled through the camera roll of my phone for what felt like the hundredth time by that point, glancing helplessly over the many pictures we had taken that afternoon.

Thanks to the lunar banquet set to take place tomorrow evening, Queen Leonora had called and kindly informed me that she would be busy overseeing preparations with the king. With this sudden free time on my hands, I spent the first three of my days off busying myself where I could. Maggie was still reluctant to let me help with chores that were too... menial for a lady of my status-according to her, at least, which lessened my options.

Still, I managed to make due, either by reading or exploring the gardens. Sometimes, I caught myself glancing in the direction of the palace. Perhaps if I looked hard enough, I thought I might catch a glimpse of the banquet, but all attempts were feeble. I had no choice but to wait until the night of.

It wasn't until last night during dinner that Xaden surprised me with the news that he had managed to complete all of his pressing matters for the time being, which meant he could spend the day with me.

Alone and uninterrupted to do whatever we pleased, if that was what we so desired.

And oh, the opportunities that that idea inspired.

But, ultimately, I had asked him to help me properly customize the phone he'd gifted me.

Earlier, we had wandered the mansion grounds, taking in all the sights and giving me different options of what I might like for my lock-screen photo. In the end, I decided on a lovely shot of the back gardens, angled up towards the beams of sun rays peeking through the canopy of trees above. And for my home screen, an adorable selfie of Xaden holding me from behind while I tried to focus the camera on my blushing face.

The current issue at hand: choosing Xaden's contact picture... which turned out to be a more impossible task than I could've ever imagined.

"We've taken, what, thirty... fifty pictures over the last few minutes," I said, almost gaping, "and you look amazing in every single one of them. That shouldn't even be possible."

He pushed some fallen, dark hair out of his roguishly handsome face with a less-than-subtle smirk. “That's hardly my fault. I practically grew up surrounded by cameras. I can't help that they love me."

I melted with a giggle into the comfort of his body. "Handsome and humble. You really are the full package."

"It appears we've reached an impasse."

I let my head fall to the side in false contemplation. "An alpha's agreement, then," I said, holding out my hand. "We both pick the picture, but you get the final say."

The corners of his mouth twitched as he reached for my hand but didn't shake. Instead, he pulled my hand to his lips, pressing a sweet kiss to my knuckles. One, two... five small kisses over each knuckle.

Until his gaze flitted up to mine, molten green, and he simply said: "Not a chance." This man...

I still couldn't wrap my mind around how strange it was to see the same pair of eyes in such radically different people. Xaden, who treated me like the most precious thing, and then there was the king, who likely saw me as a thorn in his side.