Mating the Princess(Rated R)

Chapter 13

*Malakiy's POV*

I screwed up with her. I didn't need to be told twice. She wanted nothing to do with me, as I suspected. She was right. Choosing not to expose him made it seem like I was picking him over her.

How could I expect her not to be upset with me? I failed her. But if I turned him in that would be a death sentence for him. Her parents would not let him walk free.

She was already disappointed in me because of the "mating" conversation we had that morning, and then the OriginX revelation was just icing on the cake. She retreated into her bubble of safety.

Had we had not kissed or shared intimate moments, I would be relieved. That meant a return to the status quo. We survived temptation in the forests, and now we were back to normalcy. I could continue to guard Sera without fear of being exposed as her mate. But it was too late, I claimed her, and we shared deeply intimate moments. We would never be satisfied without one another ever again.

As much as she was hiding behind duty now, she would realize that she wouldn't be happy without me, but by then, it could be too late.

I spent the rest of my miserable day following her and Victor around. Funny, I had gotten such an aloof vibe from him when he first came to visit her. But after her little stunt at breakfast, he was following her around like a love-stricken puppy. I could tell that repulsed Sera a bit, but she would never say so.

He kept finding excuses to touch her or pull her in for a kiss. She, of course, pretended to like it. They rode to a lake that was within 3 miles of the castle grounds. I followed behind as a wolf, making sure they were safe. For someone who didn't leave the castle much, at least Seraphina knew how to ride a bike.

They made it to the lake. They strolled away and skipped rocks into the lake. Victor lifted her up and threatened to throw her in, and she pleaded with him to put her down.

He thought he was so debonaire, but if Victor looked past his self-inflated ego, he would see how uncomfortable she was. She rubbed her shoulders and laughed fakely. She took an unconscious step away from him. That he noticed and closed the gap between them. "Even with the newfound confidence, you can still be so timid. I love that. Come here." He hugged her.

She waited for him to pull away. They decided to go back to the woods.

"You want to explore in wolf form first?" He asked her once they reached the desired area. I almost growled in disapproval. I didn't know if Sera knew this, but wolves rarely showed themselves to someone of the opposite sex who wasn't their mate. It was a respect thing, really. By him asking that he was basically calling himself her mate.

She glanced at me and then at him, and then shook her head no. "I don't feel comfortable with him seeing me naked." She nodded her head in my direction. I was still in wolf form, so luckily, my expression was hidden.

"He can't take a break or something?" Victor chuckled. It seemed like for the first time, he was noticing my presence.

"Unfortunately, no. Malakiy's my protector." That and more, I muttered to myself.

"Don't worry, I'm here, I won't let the big bad wolves get you." He chuckled, grabbing Seraphina's head to pull her in for a kiss. When he pulled away, she laughed awkwardly once more. She seemed more embarrassed than anything. The revengeful look in her eyes this morning was replaced with discomfort.

I got up and trotted a safe distance away. I wanted to rip his arms off. If I had to watch Seraphina kiss that Original asshole any longer, I would end up doing something I would regret. How on Earth was I going to sit there and watch her marry that man? I either needed to resign as her bodyguard or convince Seraphina to tell her parents about us. And the first was simply not an option.