The Rejected Werewolf Princess

RYKER'S POV

There were times when I seriously doubted the sanity of the guards in the palace and today was one of those times because I found it absolutely insane that I needed to be called to handle something as miniscule as an innocent rogue. By the time we got to the border and I realized exactly what the problem was, I was just about ready to strangle someone to death. It was the kind of matter that didn’t take minutes to handle.

“Are they always like this?” Juan asked as we left and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“No, they're not, which is why I'm more annoyed about this,” we rode our horses at a fair pace. “I don’t know what th f**k they were thinking when they called me out for this. They are adults, they should know how to handle f*****g rogues.”

He laughed and comfortable silence settled over us. It remained that way for the next few minutes until Juan clearec his throat. I turned to him and noticed that there was something anxious in his gaze, as if something were plaguing him but he wouldn't say a word.

“Since when did you get shy, Juan?” I drawled. “Ask whatever it is that you want to ask. I will try to answer it to the best of my abilities.”

“Were you terrified?” he asked and my brows furrowed in confusion for a second. “When Camilla was pregnant, were you terrified? Is it normal to feel this way? I am happy, don’t get me wrong, I am f*****g elated but I cannot sleep or think, I don’t know how to do this, I don’t know if I will be able to do this, so were you scared?”

I wasn't sure how to answer that but I figured that honesty would be the best thing.

“When Camilla was pregnant the first time, I wasn’t there. We had an issue, there was some miscommunication and she left. When I found her again, Audrey was already a little grown but to answer your question, it was fucking terrifying. I didn’t know the first thing about being a father and I didn’t know if I would be good to her or not, my father was an asshole.”

He snorted. “You can say that part again.”

A small smile grew on my face. “When Aurora came, I was equally as terrified. I didn’t know how to handle an infant, I thought I was going to be crap about it."

“But you already had Audrey by then,” his brows were furrowed in confusion. “Why would you be scared if you already had Audrey?”

“Because the thought of having children in itself is terrifying and part of that is what shows that you are a great parent. The fact that you are scared of doing wrong by them, you are scared of hurting them, that is what makes you a good parent. The worry is what helps. I would like to say that the fear gets easier but I don’t think it does. The closer she gets to delivery, the worse it might actually be but you are going to be fine, Christine will be fine. You have an amazing support system and you will not have to be alone.”

“Essentially what you are saying is that if I f**k up, you'll bash my face in."

I reached out to tap him on the shoulder. “Exactly, now you get it” once I saw he smiled, I knew my work was done. “You

will both be great parents. Christine is an amazing person and you are amazing with our girls. I can only imagine how great you would be with your own.”

“Thank you,” he exhaled deeply. “Now can we get back as soon as possible? I need to-"

His words cut off when I felt a presence at the back of my mind. My wall was always up except for Camilla. She was the only one who had access to my mind at all times and the moment I felt her, I knew something was wrong. Her worry as palpable, it was so thick that it felt like I could almost reach out and grab it.

“Where are you?” she asked, her voiced laced with concern.

“On our way back, why? What happened? Are you okay?”

“l am okay,” she trailed off. “Does Juan know?”

“Camilla, baby, I am going to need you to get to the point and do it fast. What is the matter?”

“Christine passed out, she is with the physician. I don't know what happened. Damien accepted her rejection and sh seemed to be fine but then she had the wind knocked out of her and said she didn’t expect the pain. She was fine and then she passed out in my arms. I don’t know what happened.”

“We are on our way, just stay close to her and perhaps tell Riley to keep Damien away for now.”

I cut off the mind link and turned to Juan who was oblivious to the whole thing. They were not officially mated yet sc he couldn't feel it. I wasn’t sure how to tell him out here so instead, I cleared my throat.

“Something happened at the palace, Camilla needs us,” I said and without waiting for a question for him, I spurred my horse to go faster.

Juan had a million questions by the time we arrived at the palace but I didn’t know how to answer any of them. I couldn't have even if I wanted to. All I did was ask him to follow me and the moment we got to the front of the physician's office and he saw Camilla pacing, he knew that something was wrong.

“Where is she?” he asked but Camilla couldn't respond. She was biting her nails with worry. “What the hell happened to her, Camilla?”

I knew she wouldn't be able to speak so I explained everything she had told me. By the time I was done, he was furious. I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

“I will f*****g kill that bastard,” he snarled. “Couldn’t he just stay the hell away from her? What was he thinking? Wha the hell is his problem?”

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” I warned and Juan turned to me with an incredulous look. “Your pregnant mate is in that room. Do you really want to leave her to go pick a fight with Damien? He didn’t know this was going to happen, he thought he was doing everyone a favor so they could both move on. I get that you are upset but your main priority right now should be the girl in that bed and not anything else.”

I could see a war going on in his eyes but I knew he would do the right thing which was why when he cursed and stormed into the room, I wasn’t surprised. I simply took my eyes off him and focused on my mate who looked seconds away from falling apart. The moment I opened my arms, she rushed in and began to sob. I hated seeing her cry, it felt like with each tear, someone tightened a noose more and more around my heart. Still, I knew there was nothing I could do save for just holding her until she had finally calmed down.

“You told me to watch her,” she whispered and I pulled back from her to be sure I had heard correctly. “I was watching her. I don’t know what went wrong. She was fine and then she was not. I should have watched her better” “You brought her here and you called me. You did everything you could.”

“If I still had my powers, I could-" she began but I cut her off. I cupped her cheeks and placed my forehead against hers just letting her breathe with me until she was a lot calmer than she was.

“If you had your powers, I would have dragged you the hell out of here because I would be damned if I ever let you use them again,” I told her and her eyes widened. “She is not badly hurt, she is not dying. Christine will be fine, sometimes rejections take a lot out of you. She will be good. She is pregnant, her body just was not prepared for the stress that came with it.”

I could see her digesting my words and turning them over. I knew it wouldn't be enough to settle whatever guilt she had built up inside- nothing would until Christine was fine- but it was a start. I placed a lingering kiss on her forehead and when I looked up, I was shocked to see someone standing at the far wall. My heart jumped in my chest because I wasn't expecting anyone.

Camilla must have felt it because she turned to follow my line of sight and when she saw Marie, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Were you looking for me?”

“Yeah, I wanted to see you,” her answer sounded off slightly, it sounded more like a question. “Why are you both standing out here? Is everything okay?”

“Christine got hurt but it is fine, she will be okay soon,” I could tell that Camilla was trying to downplay the entire situation.

Marie just hummed and looked at the door to the physician's office. I expected her to ask a question or even feign worry for Christine. I looked through her eyes expecting something akin to concern or even sadness, but her eyes remained blank and expressionless.

“Well she is in there and you are out here so that means you can spare a few minutes, right?” she asked and I could tell Camilla was taken aback by how careless her words were. I wasn't sure if she just didn’t care or if she was doing i to get a rise out of Camilla.

I noticed Camilla about to snap back so I jumped in. “You're right, she can go with you. I'll stay here.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Camilla turned to me with wide eyes and I placed a lingering kiss on her forehead during which I spoke directly into her mind. “If you had lost your memory and Marie was your person, you would go with her. I'll keep you updated. Keep your guard up and be careful. There will be guards trailing you.”

I pulled back and watched the moment her mask slipped into place. She turned to Marie. “Let's go."