Sean:

"Perfect Mate." Vik whispered in the back of my mind as I watched Rosette move about the room. She was getting ready for Dinner and I couldn't help but watch her flutter around. She was deciding between two dresses, while also making herself some coffee. I didn't approve of either. The red one is too tight and the black one is too short.

"Where does she get these clothes from?"

"Online. In town. Wherever Sky take mate."

Agh. Figures. I rolled my eyes while I heard Vik snicker in my head.

"Since when does Rosette drink so much coffee Vik?"

"Mate tired lately. Mate up late and wake up early."

I furrowed my brows. Why would she need to stay up late and wake up early?

I looked at the stack of files sitting on the table, piles of color coded files stacked up high.

Our meeting with Prince Eli was shocking to say the least. Asher informed us that King Decklynn was alive about 6 months ago. That means our assumption that his death lifted the curse was wrong. Just another thing to add to the list of discussion topics with our parents.

"Hey Kitten, are you sure you don't need to rest before my parents get here?"

She smiled as she downed half her coffee. "I'm fine Sean." She cracked a half smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

I frowned and crossed the room to stand in front of her. "Rosette, kitten, love of my life!-" She giggled as I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her up and spinning around. I pulled her in close and took a deep breath of that scent that I can't get enough of. "-Come on..." I pulled her to the bed. "...Let's cuddle, you can rest and-"

She pulled away from me quickly. "No!" She yelled out loud before clearing her throat and trying again. "No thank you Sean. I have to make sure we have our clothes picked out, I need to head downstairs to meet with Princess Jess and Lord Skyler soon. Don't worry, I'll make you a plate before I -"

I cut her off with a growl. "Stop Rose!" She glared at me. I tried to calm myself.

"Thanks VIK!"

"Vik just sad Sean. Vik miss old mate."

I took another quick breath in and out. "Just stop Rosette. What's going on with you? Vik said you're staying up late and waking up early..."

She crossed her arms and huffed. "What I do, on my own time, is none of your business. OR Vik's."

"Why would she say that Vik? We have to know what she's doing to protect her."

"Mate look so tired... And mad. Stop making her mad Sean."

Vik was right, She didn't look like the Rosette I knew just a few weeks ago.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Listen, Kitten, I'm sorry I yelled. I am..." I pulled her into me, she was stiff at first but melted into me after a time. "It's just that, I got this chance, this second chance to be here, with you. Vik can't seem to stay quiet or calm unless you're close..." I took a deep breath IN and OUT. "...I'm sorry Rosette..."

Rosette pushed me away a bit and looked into my eyes, tears threatened to spill over.

"Why did you yell Vik?! Now she's really sad."

"NO NO NO MATE! DON'T CRY! Hold her Sean!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up straighter, she cleared her throat, probably trying to keep herself from crying. "Sean... You- Vik-" She sighed again trying to get the words out. "Never mind." She plastered on another fake smile and ran hand down my face. "I'm happy you and Vik are here with me now, but, I also have duties to this kingdom and this pack ok?"

"Mate not telling us something. Why sean?"

"Not sure Vik."

I pulled her in close again. "As soon as all this over, I promise you I'll take you anywhere, we can do anything."

She giggled into my chest. "Anything?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

I laughed. "Anything Kitten." I leaned down to kiss her. Her soft lips against mine always made everything feel better.

When we pulled away from each other she smiled up at me before returning to her tasks.

"Yo Bro, Rosette is hiding something..." I said through the mind-link.

"Why would she hide anything from you? You're her mate. How can you protect her?" Eli replied.

Eli:

"I don't know. How's Luna doing?" Sean spoke up quickly.

I looked over at Jessica as she rummaged through my clothing, a blue tooth in her ear as she was rambling off tasks for the cooks. I smiled to myself watching her do her thing.

"She seems fine to me. Although her and Ember talk sometimes."

"Vik said Rosette is getting up early and staying up late..."

I could sense Sean's trepidation through the link. From what Ember has explained to me, Jess has been doing the same thing. I figured Luna and Princess duties are keeping her busy. 

"It's probably just her duties. Our mates have a lot to take on this Summer."

"You're probably right. See you at Dinner Alpha."

He cut off the link and my mind began to wonder. I tried to ignore my own questioning thoughts. I've been so busy lately, I wouldn't even know if Jessica was staying up late or getting up early.

"Mate just doing Princess stuff Eli. Protecting our brothers and sisters." Ember suddenly popped up.

"You're right Em."

He moved to the back of my mind with a content purr. I couldn't hide I was still questioning it all.

"ELI!" Jessica's frustrated tone shot through my thoughts. I looked up to see her right in front of me. She held up two shirts, one was white, the other was a light grey. "Which one?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

I chuckled. "I'm sorry Princess. I was lost in thought for a moment." I stared at the two shirts and pointed to the white one. She frowned a bit so I pointed to the grey one and she nodded her head in approval. I shook my head side to side while she fluttered about the room.

"Hey Jess..." I spoke up again. She stopped in her tracks and smirked at me.

"Sorry Bubba, but I truly have no more time feed your appetite..."

"No. That's not- well..." We both laughed while I walked up to her, pulling her tiny body against mine.

"Eli..." She tried to say firmly but failed as she was still giggling.

"What I was going to say..." I ran my hand down the side of her face. "...until you distracted me..." I grabbed her booty for good measure. "...what have you been working on lately?"

She stiffened in my arms for a moment. I noticed immediately, but she tried to hide it by burying herself in my chest. "Just Princess stuff, Luna Stuff, preparing for this dinner, you know, the FEMALE stuff..." She put an emphasis on "Female" as she spoke.

She quickly turned her back to me, and began packing her bags.

"Jessica." I said firmly. "I know you wish things could be different, but..."

She cut me off. "-This is how it's always been. I know, I know." She held up her hands and took a deep breath. "It's fine Eli. Maybe once things settle down a bit, we can talk more, ok?" She stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on my cheek. "You need to hurry with all this work you've got to do. Our parents will be here soon."

She waved goodbye as she walked out the bedroom door.

"Mate much smarter and stronger than Eli thinks."

"Now you decide to show up."

"Eli mad at Ember?" He whimpered.

"I needed to know what she's lying about Em."

Ember went quiet for a moment.

"Mate just worried about our pack, our people."

I furrowed my brows. Rosette's acting strange, so is Jess. Chances are Skyler is also a part of this too.

"Hey Ryan, How's Skyler doing?" I spoke through the mind-link.

Ryan:

"Skyler seems fine..." I said back through the mind link after closing the door to our room, sending Skyler on his way. "Why what's up Alpha?"

"I think Jess and Rosette might be doing something..."

"Something? Something like what?" I asked, genuinely curious. 

I know Skyler has been off lately, but I believe that has more to do with our training then it does anything else.

"Not sure. When I asked her what she's been up to, she went stiff for a moment, like she didn't want to answer."

I furrowed my brows together. "What did Ember say?"

"He says she's working hard to keep us safe."

I chuckled. "So even Ember is hiding something..."

I heard a growl through the mind-link which made me chuckle harder.

"Come on Ryan! You honestly think the girls behaving strangely has nothing to do with them hiding anything?"

"I'm sure it's nothing Prince Eli. Let's just get through this dinner and then we can question our mates."

"Very well Ryan, I'll see you in a bit."

He quickly cut off the mind link and I moved back to my desk to continue going through historical accounts of what happened to Princess Rena. Before I could tackle the current headache sitting on my desk, my curiosity got the best of me.

"Has Skyler been up early or going to bed late?" I asked Beckett.

"Yes."

I wasn't surprised by the answer but now I was curious. "Do you know why, Beck?"

"Mate do research for our pack."

I hummed in response. Why would Skyler and the girls do secret research?