The Hidden Luna Queen 2

I nodded, taking the materials. "I just have one question."

Maeve watched as my expression shifted from one of false confidence to total bewilderment. "What on earth does 'whisk' mean?"

She burst into laughter-a success in my book-and proceeded to give me detailed instructions on what to do. Following her guidance, I managed to put together an egg mixture and scramble it up on the stove. She prepared her apple pancake mixture on a separate pan, allowing us to cook alongside each other, with Maeve keeping a watchful eye over my progress.

There was something about this that felt wonderfully domestic.

No royal duties nor expectations. Just me and my mate preparing breakfast.

Before long, Maeve and I surrounded the counter, each with a plate full of apple-cinnamon pancakes and loaded eggs. Nothing had been burnt, thankfully, but what mattered was taste. With Maeve's encouragement, I took a cautious bite of the eggs I'd cooked. And, to my surprise, they tasted wonderful. The addition of cheese and bell peppers was a stroke of genius-a perfect complement to the savory flavor.

"It's... actually delicious," I murmured, surprised. I couldn't deny the tuft of pride that swelled in my chest with the realization that I hadn't ruined the food.

Maeve smiled at me, light twinkling in her blue eyes. "You're a natural," she complimented, scooping up another heaving forkful of eggs and taking a greedy bite. "They're the best I've ever eaten."

I knew she only said that to encourage me. Still, I found myself grinning alongside her.

Once she'd swallowed her food, I took my chance, leaning in and stealing a kiss-my personal favorite taste of anything in the entire world, mixed together with the flavors of our breakfast. The pleasant surprise written across her face as we pulled apart made my heart flutter with adoration.

"What was that for?" she asked, her cheeks turning pink.

I want to tell you, I thought, filled with yearning. But, no-another time.

"I just can't believe how lucky I am," I said, deliberately repeating mirroring my words from last night.

Still, Maeve lit up. Any sign of her previous distress was long gone as she gazed at me, looping her hands into the collar of my silk robe. "Me too," she murmured, pulling me in for another sweet taste.

Shortly after finishing breakfast, which had turned out pleasantly well- so much so, that I swore to myself to do this again with Maeve more often -I received a call from Royal Beta Samson, who alerted me to a summons made by my father.

There was no mention of what or why. Just that he expected to see Henry, Lucas, and I posthaste.

After getting dressed and giving Maeve a goodbye kiss, I left for the palace. It wasn't long before I stood before my father alongside my brothers.

What could he possibly have wanted the three of us for?

Father, however, wasted no time in getting to the point of his summons." I want you three to visit the border."

"The border, Father?" Lucas repeated.

"We cannot," Father enunciated, "under any circumstances, allow the events of that night to happen again. If those damn bear shifters somehow get it in their heads that they can try to strike a second time, they won't just stop at the border. They will make a push right for the heart of our kingdom."

That was something we could all agree on.

"Before you go-swing by the barracks and find Nicholas. You should take him with you."

A frown settled on my face before I fully could process the motion. I hadn't seen the man since the banquet, and I wasn't exactly eager to hasten our next meeting. If I was expected to go along with pretending that Maeve and I were not really together, then I needed adequate time and space away from the one who openly flirted with my mate in front of me.

I wasn't sure I could keep myself in check if I saw him again, otherwise. "Father, we've visited the border many times before," I protested. "This is something the three of us can do on our own."

Surely he had enough faith in us, as his very capable sons, to be able to do this without outside help.

Instead of agreeing with me, however, he cocked his head, feigning thoughtfulness. "If I recall correctly, none of you were there that night like he was. He can pinpoint what sections are the weakest and require more attention."

I resisted the urge to groan. He made a good point, and that frustrated me.

Henry shrugged. "As long as it gets the job done faster," he said. nonchalantly, already beginning to step away. "I'll go find him, then." And with a wave of approval from Father, he dismissed himself from the room.

As much as I wanted to protest further, to ensure I wouldn't have to work with him, I couldn't, in good conscience, do it. It was true that Nicholas was the only one of us who knew where our attentions would be needed the most.

I didn't want to work with him, but I had to. Anything to ensure Maeve could be protected.

As long as that priority was met, I would have no qualms. I could play nice if necessary.

It was up to him to not push my buttons.

XADEN POV

The journey from the royal palace to the border was substantial, but nothing we wolves couldn't handle.

It had been months since I last shifted, but it still felt like second nature to me. Running on all fours as the world whooshed past me in a beautiful blur of greens, feeling the wind brush through my thick, dark fur in long, cool strokes, enveloping and entangling my body deep within the lush scents of nature.

It was something I could never tire of.

After about an hour of navigating the woods that stretched beyond the walls of our kingdom, Nicholas's silver wolf barked and slowed to a stop, signaling my brothers and me to follow. We watched as he pawed at the ground, taking long and deep whiffs of the area before letting out a low grunt.

The area was clear.

Before long, our furs melted away, giving way to bare skin and normal tufts of hair, rendering us all stark naked after transforming. One of the quirks of being a shifter. Since it was established the area was completely safe, we quickly redressed ourselves into our everyday attire, packed into small satchels that had been tied around our waists.

"This is it," Nicholas said, taking a good look around once we all were fully dressed. "This is where we were ambushed."

Glancing around, I could see how that might have happened.

Right now, we were wedged deep in the heart of a forest that expanded into not only our territory but that of the bear shifters, too. Thick, bushy trees scattered across the horizon that made it virtually impossible to see more than fifty feet in front of you and, considering the attack happened in the dead of night, with the thick overhang of leaves and branches obscuring any significant light from peeking through, the chances of being able to spot anything, even with our excellent vision as wolves, were slim to none. Frankly, it was a miracle every one of those troops survived.

Henry was quick to take charge. "We'll cover more ground if we split up," he said, glancing between the three of us. "Let's rendezvous back here in thirty minutes, but alert everyone if or when you find something."

I was about ready to head off on my own until Lucas decided to speak up.

"We should probably split up into groups of two," he added, likely under the impression that he was being clever and helpful, but all I felt at that moment was pure disdain. "In case there's another ambush lying in wait deep in the forest."

Henry nodded. "Good idea. You, come with me. Xaden, you go with Nicholas."

I gritted my teeth. It seemed the Moon Goddess was in a mood to test me.

Still, I kept my mouth shut. I had decided I would play nice, and that was precisely what I would do... to a certain extent. And once we were all in agreement, we went our separate ways.

The search started off quiet enough, with my begrudging partner and I marking our scents along our side of the border and scanning our immediate surroundings for anything that might have been left behind by the enemy.

And then I heard Nicholas take a breath, as if he was preparing to say something. Immediately, I tensed up. If he wanted to talk about what happened at the banquet, I wanted none of it.

"Prince Xaden, if I may-"

I sped up, rushing deeper into the brush. I did not want to hear anything he had to offer right now.

Nicholas, however, would not let up.

"Your Highness," he beseeched, trailing closely behind me despite my blatant attempts to keep distance between us. "I only wanted to extend my most sincere apologies for my behavior at the banquet." I heard him swallow nervously. "My adrenaline hadn't yet recovered from what happened at the border and I... let it get the better of me."

I huffed a quiet, impatient breath. What a pathetic excuse. I knew exactly what adrenaline smelled like, and that was far from what he'd reeked of that day.

His alpha pheromones had gone wild in Maeve's stunning presence. Though whether it was done knowingly or not was beyond me.

But Nicholas was not going to stop in his desperate appeal, and I had no interest whatsoever in letting my brothers catch wind of what was going on.

This matter was to be kept between him and me, alone.

Reluctantly, I forced myself to slow down, which prompted him to follow. "What's there to apologize for?" I replied gruffly, keeping my eyes firmly locked on the forest surrounding us. “You were only speaking the truth."

"Be that as it may, I spoke out of turn. Even an alpha like me can admit to my faults."

Good, I thought. He's finally acknowledged that Maeve is strictly off-limits.

"Nicholas," I said, coming to a halt, to which he did, as well. "I do not wish to linger over such matters, but before we put this mess behind us once and for all, let this serve as a lesson to you."

Briskly, I swiveled around to face him, straightening myself tall and proud with every intention of looking down at him for what I was about to say. He seemed momentarily taken aback by the sudden motion but did not waver, deciding to meet my gaze head-on, albeit warily.

"Do not," I warned, slow and deliberate with my enunciation, "ever try to take things that don't belong to you. It will not end well."