Not too sure If I like this chapter. 

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Caden's POV

 Resting my head against the bed, I listen to the soft beeping noise of the heart rate monitor next to the bed. Darkness blanketed the room except for that tiny box. The tiny little zig zag line telling all to see that she is with the living.

The clock on the bedside table blinked twelve o'clock. Marking one more day of my sweet angel being in coma. One more day of not seeing her beautifully stunning eyes twinkling in the sunlight.

Each morning her family, including Theo came to visit her. They do not dare ask me to leave her side. As of her birthday I have more right to her as my soul-mate than they do for being blood related.

I allow them into my room on one condition, they never try to help her escape me again. I have a feeling she loves to run when she is scared of a certain outcome. Which includes me and other females.

I leave the side of her bed each day when my mother comes into the room demanding I take a shower. The shower last all of two minutes because I brush my teeth in the shower to cut back on time. Dressing quickly I race back in to see a tray next to the bed with dishes piled high of food. She has done that since the first day. I learned if I didn't listen to her, she would steal Claudia away from me. I choice to take care of myself in case my beauty woke up. We were already walking on egg shells. Giving her one more detail to hate isn't in the best case for me.

On the second day of her coma her brother aimed to rip my head clean off. Threatening my manhood if I dared to gaze at any female other than his sister. Knowing I had to prove myself not only to Claudia, but to her family as well I stood my ground with a level head. Straight out telling them I would kill myself if I cheat on her.

I do not believe they trusted my words.

As a young teenager I knew not what the word mate truly meant. The little shock I felt from her hand in mine all those years ago evaluates to not a damn thing now that I've held her in my arms. I've dreamt about how smooth her skin would feel as I trail my rough fingertips across her body.

I know it's not the time to think romantically about the beauty sleeping peacefully surrounded by my silk sheets, but I can't help it. My blood ignites with just a sliver of a thought.

"With time we will have her where we've desired her body to be. Underneath ours," Marcus grunts. He has been on edge ever since I physically forced him into the back of my mind. With the promise he gave Claudia broken, all he coveted was making me pay. I made him break his very first promise to his mate. Not a thing he will forgive lightly.

"With the way I'm heading, give us two years before she graces us with her delectable body. I've screwed up Marcus. Why would she want to touch my naked flesh when she knows others have tasted it? I fear she will run for the forest once we attempt at being intimate." Sitting on the edge of the bed I run my fingers through her silky smooth black hair.

There is a box of brown hair coloring in our bathroom for when she wakes up. Taylor informed me how she misses her natural color. I would have a hair artist come now and redo my sweets hair, but I feel as if it would be a bonding experience if I massage the crème into her hair myself. A tiny step towards her warming up to me being near her.

"She confessed to loving us Caden. Give her time to get accustomed to our way of life. Going from poor to filthy rich tends to shake up a few nerves. She is scared she will screw up and embarrass not only herself and family, but us. It's either you take baby steps or leap all in and take the chance of losing her." I feel his worry in my body. He is frighten I will intimidate her enough to run.

"Baby steps it is." Sighing I lean against the back of the chair. It will be three weeks tomorrow I've sat here and watched her sleep. The doctors explained how extensive her injuries were. Without Nikolai's blood transfer, she would have died. Three excruciating long days of donating blood, the slightest improvement had been noticed. Her wounds were sewn up once the internal damage had been fixed.

Throughout the whole ordeal my hands rubbed her feet in hopes it would calm her while she slept. I had a tiny bit of optimism that my touch soothed her. Even if it was her feet I rubbed, I didn't care.

I would be lying to myself if I didn't say our touch didn't pacify my racing mind. The warmth from her skin meant she was alive. I hadn't lost her. Not yet at least.

It took nearly six hours until she was whole once more. We gently moved her to a stretcher while three maids cleaned and changed the bedding and surrounding area. Once on the bed, I felt I could breathe easier. She would live another day. 

The drug that bastard injected her with is long gone. Each day a doctor would enter my sanctuary and take at least five vials of blood. Six days after the fight all they could find was her blood and a speck of Nikolai's. No traces of any unknown drug to separate the mate bond.

I knew in my heart the pull between us hadn't diminished. My father had second thoughts. He wanted to make absolutely sure.

On the tenth day he had all seven commanders enter and restrain me. I felt betrayed when the door opened and in walked not only my father, but the traitor. The smirk on his face had me shaking with pure repulsive anger.

My own flesh and blood forced me watch as my enemy laid down in my bed, fingers tracing delicate lines down her velvety skin. I can remember my body trembling to shift as he looked me dead in the eyes and firmly pressed his lips to hers. Four excruciating minutes he tested me. Nipping, licking and caressing what belonged solely to me.

My father told me later on that on the fifth minute I seceded in shifting. Before blindly attacking the enemy on top of my sleeping beauty four needles pierced my hairy body. Knocking me out instantly.

The anger I felt for him deep in my heart has officially vanished. At first I wanted to mash his head into the ground a few hundred times. Now, I know he did it to dissolve my fears of truly losing her. Within the first few days of her coma I feared the loss of our bond. I knew deep down that even if it evaporated I would desire her no less. She belonged to me with or without the bond.

Marcus and I dreaded her reaction. Would her heart yearn to be with us?

"What is clouding that mind of yours my dear boy?" Sighing I squint up at my stunning mother. Never a lock of hair out of place. Dark brown ringlets graced her face perfectly. Grassy green eyes held warmth and worry as she looked down on her only child. I knew she hadn't been sleeping well these past few years. As her only child I should have been an example, instead I sulked in my own pity.

"I was thinking about the bond. If it had disappeared, would she have stayed with me or gone to the traitor?" I believe no matter what he says, there will always be a pinch of doubt about his feelings for her.

"You believe because they share a blood bond she will love him more than you? In the end leaving to be with a man she has a connection too?" She hit it right on the dot. Gliding over to the bed she sits on the bed opposite me. "You have nothing to fear my dear. I've spoken with her mother these past few days. Your sweet mate here loves you more than you deserve." The small smirk on her lips informs me she doesn't mean it.

I knew she spoke the truth in that department. "Your right mother, she deserves a man who can care for her, love and cherish the small unsure smile she gives us."

"Stop doubting yourself Caden. Yes, you screwed up in the past. It's in the past. You both need to deal with the future if you want a life together. Once wakes up and feels up to it, take her on a date. Not to a fancy restaurant, no that won't do for Claudia. Maybe a walk through the foods to your secret spot."

Shaking my head at her I knew long ago I couldn't hide a damn thing from my mother. Chuckling I wipe my hand down my face. "You've known all these years haven't you?"

"Of course dear. I am your mother. We tend to know what our children are up to, even if they are trying to hide it from us." Softly chuckling she tends to Claudia. Wiping her sweaty forehead with a damp towel which made a home on the night stand in a bowl of water.

"After all these years mother, I shouldn't be surprised by your words. Though I am." Reaching forward I gently take my angels hand into mine. Brushing my thumb over her soft skin. "What shall I do once we are there? I fear I will screw up in front of her and she will dart away once more."

"Have a few guards carry picnic supplies ahead of you." Holding up her hand to stop me from interrupting, she continues to wipe Claudia's body down. Wash cloth baths have become a normal daily task. Either, my mother or hers has taken that on. No male is allowed in the room other than myself and I keep my eyes averted. "I know Nikolai treated her to picnic's to get away from the castle. He explained to me in detail how their food of choice was pizza or chinese."

"Won't she be thinking on her past picnics while we are on ours? I will utter complete nonsense if so. Maybe even threaten to harm him." I know she may be right, but I can't help but think of it ending in a disaster.

"Sweetheart, you know nothing about how a females mind works. For years she has thought endlessly on how you would take her out on your first date. Over analyzing the details. Fearing she would disappoint you as your mate, being a servant and all." Looking deeply at me she gives me her soft motherly smile. "All you need to do is try sweetheart. The two of you will be nervous enough of letting the other down as is. Be the charming man I know you are capable of being."

"I do not know if I am able of it mother. How am I supposed to look past the fact she kept herself hidden all these years? It's a constant thought in the back of my mind. Should I trust her not to leave me? Do I put guards on her twenty-four seven?"

"How is she supposed to look past your whore around Caden? You both need to look past your horrible mistakes and move on. Forgive her and prove yourself worthy of being a mate. Do not hover around her. Give the poor girl space, but not too much. I've heard how you distanced yourself from her before the attack."

"I had work to attend to mother. I-"

Pointing her finger at me, I shut up. I knew when I had lost a battle with her. "Do not lie to me Caden. You purposely kept her locked up in this room because you were scared to make a mistake. Why do you think she went to Nikolai?"

"She wouldn't tell me." The anger I felt surged through my veins when I found out from the traitor's roommate that my own mate had snuck down to see him. Without another word, I left my father's office to hunt down the technicians housed in the castle. Six cameras were placed inside his room. Claudia hasn't divulged how to enter the secret passageways and I knew if a camera were to be placed on the so called wall she walked through, word would get out and the tunnels would no longer be secret.

"She may have been a servant all her life, but that doesn't mean she loves being locked up with nothing to do Caden. She is a free spirt. Taylor and Theo have given me details on their nightly runs in the forest, games played inside their rooms and even their sleep overs. You had her locked up by herself. Yes, her mother came to see her, but it's not the same. She probably craved attention from her brothers and outsiders. I can guarantee you her fingers twitched to fiddle with new objects."

"That doesn't explain why she went to see him." Exasperated I stand up and begin to pace.

"Are you blind my dear boy?" I hear my father's voice bark behind me. "My eyes are wide open and I can clearly see the reason why she left this closed off room to visit her long time childhood friend." Quietly walking over he places his hands on the shoulders of his mate and wife. The keeper of his heart.

"You mean she dared to earn my wrath to visit her friend because she was lonely? That's it? That is the only reason?" Doubt clouded my mind. It couldn't be the only reason.

"Your eyes clearly show your doubt in this reasoning, son. Why?"

Stopping I stare at the two of them. "Don't you see it father? They went out on dates together. She spent the night at his house, by herself! How do you expect me to believe they shared no romantic feelings for each other?" My slightly raised voice doesn't faze my sleeping beauty.

"You have much to learn about Claudia, Caden. Firstly she isn't the type of female to string along a man, when she fully knows her heart belongs to another. Nikolai expressed they shared no feeling other than siblings. He is her older brother in all but blood."

"How can you trust him father? He's lied to the three of us for years. You practically proclaimed him your adoptive son and this is how he repays you?" I couldn't believe how easily they took his word for the truth.

"We've known him for years Caden. Yes, he kept a horrible secret hidden inside his mind. Does that give us the right to destroy his life? No it does not. After speaking with him for hours on end we understand where his loyalties lie."

"Not with us," I mumble.

"How wrong you are. We know he explained his reasoning to you once before Caden. Yes, Claudia wasn't officially a Princess at the time, but deep down he knew she would cave on her eighteen birthday if she hadn't already before that. When she confirmed herself as your true soul-mate he nearly ran out of the room before she threatened him with running. Afraid for you he kept her secret," my father sternly says. His hands massaging my mother's tense shoulders.

"Do you remember your twenty birthday ball?" My mother questions softly. Her eyes focused on Claudia's legs as she dries the dampness away.

"Of course. I remember each one. Wishing she would waltz through the ballroom doors wearing a light blue dress, her beauty far outshining it." Each birthday I would dress up with my finest attire in hopes of impressing her. Clearly it hadn't worked.

"Right before your father climbed the few steps to the stairs we had been standing a couple paces behind the three of you. I didn't' know it at the time, but now that I've thought about all the conversations I happened upon, I realized Nikolai was trying to warn you she was watching."

"What?" That brought shock to my body.

"He kept drilling into your head on how you would despise any male near her. He asked you how you would feel about another male caressing her beautiful naked flesh as his lips left little nips on her mouthwatering neck."

Snarling, I grip the back of the chair I had recently vacated. "Yes, I remember his taunting's. He loved to shove those images into my head on a daily basis."

"Do you not believe he was trying to tell you how she was feeling? How she felt every time you carted your curtain bedmate around the room on your arm?" My mother's harshness brought me up right.

"If he was it went right over my head."

"Clearly son. Think on this, if your father cheated on me, what do you believe I would do?" Shocked at her question, I pray my father never once crossed that unbreakable line.

"Father?" I gasp.

"You may have slept around son, but not I. My mother literally beat it into me how my own mate would despise me if I so much as undressed in front of another female." The coldness in his words told me I crossed the line in my questioning. Sagging my shoulders, I sit back down in my chair. Mother had finished cleaning, drying and dressing Claudia in one of my shirts and shorts.

"Caden answer my question."

"I believe you would have shunned him mother. Ignored him until he proved to you he wouldn't stray once more." As the words left my mouth, I realized that's all Claudia had been waiting for. To see if I would stay true to my own words. How could I have asked her to trust in me when clearly my actions proved otherwise? "I'm such an idiot."

Surrounding her delicate hand with my strong rough one, I smile down at her breath taking magnificence. I promised not only myself, but her as well that from this moment on, I would do everything in my power to demonstrate my love and faithfulness to her and her alone.

Leaning up I reach to lightly press my lips to her forehead when all of a sudden her body begins to thrash around. My hands along with my parents quickly hold her body firmly to the bed. Horror fills our hearts as the beeping noise of the heart rate monitor stops beeping.

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Authors Note: I hope you all liked this chapter.

Chapter Questions: What the heck just happened?

Will Caden finally cut the crap and treat he like she deserves?

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