Chapter 131

Caleb follows Tristan to an empty gym. The guards already sparred in here earlier and now it sits empty. If Caleb didn’t know Tristan as well as he did, he might suspect that Tristan led him back here so they can continue their fight.

But Caleb does know Tristan, so he knows Tristan only brought him back here so they can talk – which means Caleb needs to calm down.

Shifting in front of an entire was probably not the wisest choice for Caleb, but in his state, he’d been unable to think clearly enough to care. With Tristan’s interference, he’s beginning to realize he shouldn’t fight his own guards.

Especially when they are already beginning to distrust him.

They stop in the center of the room, and then Tristan turns to look at Caleb, wearing his typical faux-bored expression. He’s waiting for the truth.

“I offered Harper a gift of her choosing in exchange for her saving my life,” Caleb says. With his wolf pushed back, he can speak much more easily than he could when he was near his shift. “At first, she denied needing the gift, but now she’s asked something of me.”

“She wants to be free,” Tristan says.

Caleb narrows his eyes at Tristan. He hadn’t suspected that Tristan might be the one that Harper might be seeking to marry…

No. Caleb shakes his head. That’s the paranoia’s influence. He knows them both too well to believe that.

“Her face when she stood beside you while you were on your date with Annabelle told a story,” Tristan says. “She hadn’t looked that unhappy since she was first brought here.”

Caleb didn’t notice her unhappiness during his date. He’d been too focused on trying to determine if Annabelle was worthy to stand beside him at his throne. The pressure from his parents made him singularly focused in that regard.

He could kick himself now, for not seeing the discomfort in Harper. Maybe he could have found a way to resolve this before she made her request.

Too late now.

“She needs to fall in line,” Caleb grumbles. “She must know what she asks is impossible.”

“Harper isn’t like the other women in your harem,” Tristan says. “She’s opened her heart to you, and in doing so, has opened herself up to be hurt by you. Every time you flirt with another, she feels it.”

“And you could see that on her face?” Caleb asks, just to be sure.

“Yes,” Tristan says. “All you have to do to see it is look at her.” Tristan shrugs. “She’s jealous, King Caleb.”

“Jealous?” Caleb doesn’t truly understand. The girls could be petty over each other, but Harper has never been like that. She’s never seemed to care how much money or gifts he’s lavished on anyone else.

“She doesn’t want to share you,” Tristan says.

She did say something like that, now that Caleb remembers, thinking clearer. She wants a mate who will share special moments and celebrations with her. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s second or replacement.

Perhaps the warning signs were there, Caleb just didn’t see them.

To keep Harper, Caleb has to be try to be more understanding. If only he could find some compromise to keep the both of them happy.

Oh! That could work.

“Harper will no longer need to attend my dates with Annabelle,” Caleb says. “In fact, I believe we should keep the two entirely separate. If they do not see each other, they will not think of one another.”

“My King,” Tristan says, and Caleb can already tell just from his tone that he’s about to disagree. “This seems like only a temporary solution. It might even be worse for Harper to not be there. Her imagination will surely run wild…”

“Harper will adjust,” Caleb says. “She will have to, as I fully intend to make Annabelle my wife.”

Tristan stares at Caleb for a long moment, like he is waiting for something else. When Caleb doesn’t say anything more – what’s left to say? – Tristan sighs and glances away. “That is your decision, my king.”

“Annabelle is a fine woman and would make a good queen,” Caleb says.

“Of course,” Tristan says.

Annoyance swells within Caleb. Even with as many times as Caleb scolds him, Tristan ever speaks his mind with Caleb. But he’s clearly holding back now.

Not that it matters. Caleb has made his decision, and that is all there is.

He is so determined that, later that day, during a lunch date with Annabelle, Caleb proposes.

“Annabelle. Would you care to be my wife?”

Annabelle’s smiles stretches so wide, it must hurt her cheeks. “Yes, my King. That would be wonderful.”

He should tell her that if she’s going to be his queen, she should start addressing him by his first name, but he doesn’t. The thought of her being so informal with him doesn’t sit quite right.

Though he doesn’t mind when Harper does it.

He’s sure by the time the engagement is through, he will feel differently.

News of the engagement spreads through the palace like wildfire, with whispers flittering between the servants and the guards. Eventually the harem girls overhear.

Bethany rushes straight to me as I’m walking down the hallway, returning from the dining room where I ate lunch.

“Caleb’s getting married,” she says. “He proposed only an hour ago.”

I really wish I didn’t eat anything, because now it’s threatening to return up my throat.

Swallowing it down again, I nod, and continue walking back to my room.

“Did you hear me?” Bethany asks, hurrying along beside me. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you alright? You’re pale.”

“I’m fine,” I say, though even those two little words sound hurt.

Truthfully, I’m not fine, but I vowed I wouldn’t cry over Caleb anymore and I’m holding myself to that.

Once we are back in the safety of my room, I turn to Bethany. “I need a suitcase.”

Her eyes go wide. “A suitcase? Why?”

“If he proposed, that must mean that he is accepting my request. I imagine I will be gone from this place by nightfall.”

Bethany’s face starts to fall. “You will?”

I hate to leave her here. “I will see if I can bring you with me,” I say. “A woman needs her handmaiden, after all.”

Bethany perks at that. “The suitcases are kept in storage. I’ll return with two.”

With that, Bethany turns and hurries out of the room.

In her absence, I start to decide what I will be taking with me. I won’t be taking everything. I have no need for some of the finer things, like the gowns or the flashy jewelry. But I will take the simpler, more comfortable dresses and clothing.

Gathering up a few outfits, I haul them out into the main room and drop them on my bed.

“What’s this?” Caleb asks.

I jump, not having heard him come in.

“I’m packing,” I tell him. There’s no sense hiding it, not when he’s likely come here to tell me to leave.

Turning toward him, I brace myself by reminding myself this is what I want. I don’t want to have to watch Caleb and Annabelle act like a loving couple for the rest of my life, while I hang around on the side.

I’d rather leave.

“Where are you going?” he asks me, walking closer.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I say.

“And you think I will authorize a trip like this?” he asks. He stops two feet in front of me.

“It’s not a trip,” I say, confused. “I’m leaving.”

Caleb’s face twists in anger. “You are not leaving.”

“But –”

In a flash, Caleb closes the distance. Grabbing me roughly by the shoulders, he insists, “You are not going anywhere, Harper. You will always be mine.”