The Hidden Luna Queen 2

With a low growl, Xaden abruptly vanished from my side and took a woeful Maggie into the kitchen. I watched, helpless and worried that he wouldn't scold her too harshly for this. She hadn't known about my tarnished relationship with my father... I'd never thought

to tell her about it because I never would've thought he'd come here.

Until he did.

"So..." Father mumbled, jolting me back to reality as he settled into an armchair. "You two have become close, I see."

Ah... this was just like the last time we spoke. Another test, so he could determine if I was spilling all of our secrets to the crown. The only difference was, back then, I'd had nothing to hide.

Now, it took everything in me to keep him from finding out what a rotten liar I was.

"He takes care of me," I said softly, keeping my voice steady as I reluctantly sat on a loveseat across from him. "But he's a busy alpha. I hardly see him between all the work he does."

"Busy or not, it's astonishing to witness," Father said with an innocent hum. His tone was polite, but I could clearly hear the sharp bite behind his words. "How different everything seems to be after only a month."

I wracked my brain, desperate for something to convince him that that wasn't the case, when he spoke up again.

"Has His Highness decided to forego giving you a proper wardrobe?" he questioned, his brow furrowed as he took me in. "And after all that talk of us mistreating you."

I then realized with sinking dread that I was still wearing the clothes from my visit with Doctor Meadows.

Shit.

Xaden and I, wearing casual attire... that's too domestic for Father to believe my lie.

I smoothed my hands over my thighs, not-so-subtly wiping them dry of sweat. "We were just with a doctor. In the capital," I hastily added, as if that was a crucial piece of information. "Not at the... palace." At that, his posture visibly shifted.

"The doctor?" he repeated, perking up. And, just like that, his rapt attention focused solely on me. "You don't look unwell." My skin crawled under the weight of his scrutinizing gaze. "N-No, it was for the baby." "What?" He scanned me carefully, from the corners of my face down to the expanse of my belly, which I felt the strongest urge to shield with my arms. "What's wrong with the child?"

The air around him intensified, growing thick with something that scratched at my throat, and it was like I couldn't breathe. Please visit Job n Ib.com and search the book title to read the entire book for free.This sort of behavior was so unusual for my normally closed-off father. He'd never taken an interest in my health or well-being before.

This is just like what happened yesterday... with Kenneth at the banquet...

And hearing Father talk about my baby twisted my stomach in ways I couldn't explain. He didn't deserve the privilege of even acknowledging him, after all he'd done to me.

He did not deserve to sound like he suddenly cared about either of us.

Not when I knew he didn't mean it.

I dug my fingers into my skin, unable to stop my trembling. "I-"

While I was distracted, a strong, familiar arm reached across my legs to cradle my left knee within the wide palm of its hand. I couldn't help but jump at the sudden contact.

Snapping my attention to my right, I finally registered Xaden seated beside me, completely unperturbed, his stone-cold gaze locked on my father. With his gentle yet firm grip on my knee, angling my body slightly in his direction and tucking me behind his shoulder, it was painfully obvious he had no plans to move anytime soon.

This protective gesture made his intentions known loud and clear... especially to my father, whose eyes immediately locked in on Xaden's hand.

And I knew, even without him saying a word, just how much the gesture displeased him.

"... If I may, Your Highness," Father slowly spoke up, "I'd like to speak to Maeve alo-"

"No," Xaden said, unwavering, the deadly calm in his voice enough to still make Father flinch. "Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of me."

It was quick, but Father's steely gaze flitted over me, cold and silent.

Oh... he didn't like that.

I swallowed a nervous lump in my throat. Any feeble attempt I made to pull away from Xaden went seemingly unnoticed or was simply ignored. And, still, I was trapped in this inner conflict of wanting to wrap myself in his protection, while also wanting to push him as far away as possible from my father's glare.