POV: Caden

"Is she my Prince?" Edwards's questions. He is prepared to set up guards outside her parent's room.

Dammit. Growling I tear my hands from hers. Storming out of the door the little hope in my chest diminishes.

Ignoring the ruggedly dressed young man who bumped into me on my way out of her door, I head towards the last females door. Anger pulsing through my veins.

Only two more females. One of them has to be her. Being wrong would destroy me. I need her to calm me down. I need her in my strong arms. To feel her soft skin under my fingertips. My heart pumps in my chest. Tingles shoot down my fingers. The desire in my blood rises in hope of finally seeing her with my own two eyes. Dreaming about how she looks isn't enough anymore.

"Mother, father any news?" I beg slightly. She is giving me the run around on her birthday. This should be the easy part. Feeling my heart beat speed up, I await my mother's smooth calming voice.

"It's not her Caden. Her mate barged in the door minutes after we arrived."

Dammit!

"That means it has to be Claudia. Crystal had no effect on me and I believe her mate ran past me as I left her room." Snarling I feel Marcus pushing through. He isn't in high spirits. As of right now all he wants to do is throw her down on the ground and claim her as his in every way possible. There will be no doubt in our mind about her carrying our child by the next day.

"We will meet you there." My mother replies. I run towards Claudia's door before my mother stops talking.

"Jason!" I holler.

"She isn't here Caden." He said with worry.

"What?" No, it has to be her. There is no other female born on this date who lives in the castle. Her letters say she lives here. Did she lie?

"Her parents and brother are in the room that is it," he says annoyed. "As I am not a royal, no information is leaving their lips. If Claudia is your mate, they aren't revealing it."

Kicking the door down, I storm my way towards the middle aged man. "You will tell me where she is or else I will lock your wife and son down in the dungeon with the rogues." Picking him up by his throat I let Marcus show himself in my eyes. "If you think about lying I won't be held accountable for my actions."

               "Caden calm down. If this is your mate's father you do not want to hurt him. She will despise you if you do." Registering my mother's words I drop the older man to the floor.

               "Speak." I command. "This isn't the time to hide information about your daughter."

               "Your highness please do not hurt my family," begs the women hiding in the corner.

               "Come out to where I can see your face." Keeping my face calm I try not to rip these servants in half for denying me what is rightfully mine.

The shadows disappear and within seconds the air is pushed out of my lungs. "You!" Storming towards her I clasp her shirt. "She is your daughter?"

Fury builds up in my chest at her simple, but slow nod. "How dare you lie to me? She is the one who screamed in my room that day, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"How did she hide from me? I entered that room moments after her scream vibrated the walls," I demand with anger.

Her eyes burn holes into the carpet. I am her Prince dammit! "Give me the answer's I've been without for eight years." Could she have found a secret tunnel to my bedroom? Is that how she escaped?

"It was her choice, your highness." I can smell the fear flowing off her in waves. Does she believe I won't seek retribution for keeping my mate away? I don't give a damn if she is my mate's mother or not.

"It was her choice to lie to me? To hide for eight destructive years? Does she not realize what I went through not having her in my arms?" I snarl at them with hate.

Inching to choke the light out of her eyes. I seek strength from my father. His hand on my shoulder pulls me away from the middle aged women.

I can't hold onto Marcus for much longer. If I do not receive the answers my mind and heart desire I believe I might snap and the outcome will not be to Claudia's liking.

"Breathe son. She is afraid for her daughter's safety. A mother will die for her child, do not push her. We will find out where she is soon enough. Please for the sake of Claudia, calm down." My father's voice filters softly in my mind.

Taking a deep breath I force myself to listen to my father's words. He is of course right. I need to see this as finding out the answers I've craved for years. If I hurt her family I might as well be pushing her into another man's arms. Neither I nor Marcus liked that thought.

 "Do you know what you put her through? You lavished other females with your smiles and lips. My daughter would cry herself to sleep at night because of you." Glaring at me, she pushes away from me. "The only reason she survived these past years is because of her brother, Theo and Nik."

Taking a few stumbling steps back, I force the anger at bay. "So it's true. Nicolai knows she is my mate." It wasn't a question. He has been lying to me for years. My best friend stabbed me in the back. Kept my mate from me.

How could he do this to me? He told me to keep hope of finding her. Instead of standing by my side all these years he secretly courted her. Kept her concealed from my eyes.

Is he jealous? No it can't be that. Could it?

Does she secretly love him? She is eighteen now. If she choice to mate with him, it would be legal. Only Princes have to wait until the age of twenty-five to choose a second choice mate.

"Yes, he figured it out. She would stare at you behind curtains." She watched me? Why couldn't I feel her gaze on me? Shouldn't Marcus have felt it? "Longing to be the female in your arms."

"How long has he known?" The desire to know for how long my best friend has lied to me is hard to take.

"A few months after his mate was murdered he confronted her about it. She hasn't lied to him since the blood transfer and she wouldn't start."

"Blood transfer?" She was the one to give him blood? Why didn't he inform me of his discovery right then and there?

"Yes, the night his mate was murdered in front of his grief stricken eyes." I wasn't there that night, though I've heard it was a gruesome scene. By the time I returned from visiting several Alpha's he pretended as if he didn't see his own soul mate torn to pieces.

I've wanted to question him about that night. My father has stopped me every time.

"That female is Claudia?" Stumbling around I grip my hair. Tiny pieces are placed together. My speculations where coming true. Why didn't I glue the pieces together? Maybe if I had I would have found her years ago.

Nik never spoke of the female who gave him the blood transfer which saved his life. He didn't have to, Jason informed me of it during one of our meetings with my father.  We figured it was a sore subject and left it alone.

Normal wolves would comment suicide at the loss of their soul mate. That is if they met. Their bond had grown and without her there to give him comfort in his time of grief he should have ended his life. 

Instead he had a savior. Her name was lost to us. Patient confidentiality was applied to even the King. Nik didn't want anyone to know who she was. It should have been a clue to keep digging.

"She asked him to keep her secret." She stated. Gripping her

Blood bonds are extremely rare between non family members. Werewolves tend to not want a connection to another who isn't their mate. It is close enough to a soul mates bond. The difference is the love. If both wolves' mates are dead they have the choice of mating each other. They already have a bond as is.

"Where is she?" Right now I needed to find her. We will deal with Nik and his treason later. Once I have Claudia in my arms and away from that bastard.

"You're not going to like the answer," whimpering she tries to hide behind her husband and son.

"I don't give a shit lady. Where the hell is my mate?" Taking a step forward I stare her down. "I won't ask again. Where is Claudia?

She swallows before taking a deep breath before gazing up at her husband," she is currently at Nikolai's house."

"What?" Roaring, I feel multiple sets of hands holding me back from smashing my fist into these twisted people.

Out of the corner of my eye I see my father come stand next to me. "You let her stay with the man she has a blood bond with while she is in heat? Did you believe Nik would mate with Claudia and her bond with Caden would be null and void?"

Baring my teeth I try to get words out. The look on their faces would please me if I wasn't tremendously furious. Frightened out of their minds couldn't explain the fear they are experiencing.

"Caden take Jason, Edward, Derek, Zack and Spayder to Nikolai's house. I will inform Commander Chris to escort the traitor off his property once we arrive."

I was out the door as he uttered the last few words. As Nik's friend I've been to his house a few times. If only I had it watched.  Racing through the halls and down the stairs, we reach the forest.

Shifting into my midnight black wolf. Marcus took over instantly. He knew the way to the traitor's house by heart.

Has she spent the night at his house before? My mind brings up question after question. My spies informed me that Nik planned on mating his girlfriend.

"Do you believe she is the female your spies saw him with? The one he claimed he was planning on mating with?"

"I swear Jason, if your words are right, there will be one less werewolf in our world. And I won't feel guilt one bit for ending his life." I will relish in his blood if he so much as gazes passionately at her.

"It's been nearly an hour Caden. Do you believe he has the strength to stay away from her?" Damn Jason for speaking his mind.

My chest tightens at the thought I might be too late. Does she love him? And why in the hell does she believe I rejected her? Nik told me her mate rejected her because he fell in love with another.

Why would she believe I love another?

If I had control over my body I would have stopped dead in my tracks. It finally hits me what I've done. How stupid could I have been?

She believes I'm in love with Jessica. She is planning on mating with Nik because I couldn't keep it in my pants.

I hear Marcus howl to the moon with anguish. Did I lose us our soul mate?

It's all my fault she hid from me. I thought maybe just maybe she would show herself throughout the years. She had to have known I had to sleep with a female on my eighteen birthday otherwise Marcus would have gone on a killing spree. She did didn't she?

After that first female I should have slept in my own bed night after night. If I had she might have shown herself. I'm a royal screw up.

"You're finally understanding that it's all your fault. If she mates with another, I will torture you until the day we both die," Marcus growls slowly. "Once we have her in our arms, you will spoil her. Giving her all your time and attention. Eyes only for her. If we are lucky she may grace us with a kiss. One thing you will not do is push her. If you so much as force her into something she doesn't want, I will transform into wolf form and stay that way until she feels safe with us once more."

I knew Marcus to be speaking the truth. He would keep me in wolf form if I so much as raised my voice, held her wrongly or gazed at another female. Not that I would. Those days are behind me for good.

"Prince Caden the house is surrounded. I had men in the area. Do you want them to enter?" Commander Chris Togan interjects his thoughts into my head.

"No, do not enter. Wait until I've arrived. I am to enter with my four guards. You will enter with me. If he fights take him down. He is not to go near her. Do you hear me?" Nik and Chris are friends. I'm not the only one betrayed.

"Understood," he responds.

"Can your people tell where they are located in the house?" Please not in his bedroom. Digging his claws into the muddy ground Marcus pushes himself harder. We must get to her now. Every second we aren't pushing ourselves is a second closer to them mating. If it hasn't happened already.

Silence reaches me. Is he speaking to his men or does he know his answer will only anger me?

"Commander, do you know where they are in the house?" I growl infuriated. He knows not to mess with me right now. "I will not ask again."

"I'm sorry to inform you my Prince that they are both in the master bedroom," he answers.

Sucking in a breath I try to gain control over Marcus. We are livid that our friend is in the same room as our mate during her heat. "What is transpiring?"

"Shantell is up in the tree across from the traitor's bedroom. She can clearly see our Princess tied to the bed with ribbons. Her body thrashing about. She is whimpering from sexual frustration all the while cursing the traitor to end it for her," he clips out.

"Pray tell what that bastard is doing?" If he is near her, I will not hesitate to reach my hand into his warm chest and pull his beating heart out. Slowly.

"He is pacing back and forth in front of the bed. Shantell believes he is trying his hardest to stay away from her. He gives her water that is it." Disgust clearly rings in his voice.

Anger rushes through my chest. That should be me by her bedside. Not that I would be giving her water. No, I would be making her shout my name out in pleasure.

"He is sitting down in a chair across from the bed. It looks as if he is holding onto strings. Any minute now he is going to break and mate her. You need to hurry up my Prince." I could tell the urgency in his request.

I ignored his command as I ordered his men to open the front door for me. Running pass them into the house I quickly take the steps up the stairs.

If Nikolai thinks he is going to get away with hiding her, he is gravely mistaken.

Ramming the bedroom door I bare my sharp teeth at the man I want to savagely shred. All I see is blood dripping down his neck where I desire to sink my teeth in.

Slowly taking a step, I place my paw on the soft carpet. I ignore the thrashing to my left as I know if my eyes land on her naked form I will forget all about the revenge and turn to pleasure her exquisite body.

Snarling I force myself into his mind.

"How dare you!" Snapping my teeth I feel foam bubble up. Closing in on my pray I dig my paws into the ground and letting a deep howl vibrate my throat.

"You must speak to Claudia first Caden," he pleads with me.

"Don't." I snap. "Don't you dare call me by my first name. I am your Prince, you pathetic bastard."

"My Prince, please you must speak with Claudia. It wasn't my place to inform you of who she was," he states while keeping his ground. He doesn't stand a chance against me and he knows it.

"Who she was? Dammit she is my mate!" Charging I slam my head into his gut, knocking him to the floor. "You kept her a secret all these years. I confided in you and this is what I get in return?" Placing my paw on his chest I push down with small increments.

"I made a promise to my future Queen to keep her identity a secret. I couldn't and wouldn't break that promise." Wheezing he tries to force my paw off his chest. Instead I push harder, hearing a sickening crack.

Coughing up blood I relish in the pain he is feeling. This is only the beginning.

"I am your future King, any command I make out ranks hers. You had an obligation to me, not only as your Prince but as your friend." Lifting my paw off his chest, I lower my muzzle an inch above his face. "You will regret lying to me Traitor."

"She will hate you for hurting me." Sneering he spits in my face. "I would choose her over you any day. She wasn't the one who cheated on her mate. Claudia deserves better than you. Someone like me." Smirking he glances towards the bed.

"Stop staring at her. She is mine!" Roaring I lunge at his throat.

"Caden! Please don't hurt Nikolai."

Instantly stopping at the sound of my name from a sweet voice. I can't help but gaze towards the bed, where my beauty is sitting up. My mother silently untying her wrists.

Without thinking I quickly shift into my human form. Leaping at her, I softly push her down into the mattress. My body flush against the silk sheet on top of her smooth skin. "You my love have been a naughty little mate."

Calling Marcus to the front, I force her attractive face to the side. Without giving it another thought I pierce her silky smooth skin with my teeth. Claiming her as mine and only mine. 

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Chapter Questions: How isClaudia going to react?

what is Caden going to do next to her and Nik?

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