A knock on my bedroom door made me stop and turn around to look at it.
It took me only a couple of strides to reach and open it, revealing a frantic-looking Gabrielle.
"What's going on, April? Is everything okay? Are you okay? Did they find out?" She bombarded me with questions all at once as she marched inside my room.
"Calm down, Gabrielle, please," I pleaded.
I was nervous, so her being like that didn't help.
"Okay, sorry. But you're okay, right?" she asked as she sat down on my mattress.
I sighed deeply. "I'm fine, but I don't know if everything else will be," I replied.
Gabrielle said nothing as she continued staring at me in anticipation, waiting for me to continue.
I took in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and spoke quickly.
"I found my mate."
Gabrielle gasped loudly, and I could imagine her expression without me opening my eyes.
"You....you...you what?" she stuttered before asking.
I opened my eyes and looked at her before repeating, "I found my mate."
Gabrielle then started squealing and jumping around. She came and hugged me tight, her happiness filling the room.
"Congratulations, April!" she yelled in my ear. Thank god for the soundproof walls; otherwise, the whole country would've heard her.
I hummed in response which made her pull back from the hug and look at me in confusion.
"You're not happy about it?" she asked curiously.
"I...I don't know," I mumbled.
"What do you mean you don't know? You found your mate! You're supposed to be happy!"
"I know, but—"
Before I got to continue, I was cut short by her gasping.
"D-did he reject you?" she asked in a pained voice like she was the one getting rejected.
I shook my head frantically. "No, no. He doesn't even know of my existence yet."
Her face contorted into that of confusion once again.
"How come?" she asked.
"I masked my scent before entering the room, and he wasn't looking in my direction," I explained.
Gabrielle only answered with an "oh."
"I, of course, didn't approach or go talk to him. I can't. I'm on a mission currently, and he'll be my weakness. I don't want him to get hurt because of me," I whispered the last part sadly.
Gabrielle hugged me once again and gently patted my head.
"It's okay. It's not like this mission of yours will take forever. You'll be together soon," she cooed softly, and I only nodded as I buried my face in her shoulder for comfort.
"Aren't you at least going to tell me who he is?" she asked after a couple of silent minutes.
"Prince Lucian Bendtner," I replied, but my voice came out muffled.
However, from Gabrielle's loud gasp and her pushing me slightly away, I was sure that she heard me clearly.
"Come again? Prince Lucian? As in the Prince of Werewolves, Prince Lucian?" she asked in disbelief, to which I only nodded.
"Damn," she mumbled more to herself, but I couldn't agree less.
"So? What now? What are you going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know, really. I guess I'll have to keep hiding until it's the right time," I replied with a sigh.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, making us look up.
"April, it's me, Hugh," Hugh said from behind the door.
I went and opened the door for him. He walked in and stood beside Gabrielle, who kept moving her gaze from him to me then back to him again.
I sighed. He has to know either way.
"Hugh, I found my mate," I stated as I looked anywhere but him.
"What?" he yelled. His reaction wasn't surprising.
"It's Prince Lucian," Gabrielle filed in.
"What?" Hugh yelled again, his eyes wider than anything I'd seen before.
"He...did he acknowledge you?" he asked in a softer tone, but his surprise was still evident.
I shook my head. "I had my scent masked, remember? And he wasn't looking my way," I replied.
Hugh looked like he was debating something but kept silent for a moment.
"Are you going to tell him?" he asked, uncertainty lacing his voice.
"No! And no one should ever know about this," I said, to which they both nodded their heads.
"Of course," Hugh murmured.
'April!' Uncle Adam's voice roared in my head through the mind link.
'Y-yes, Alpha,' I answered back quickly.
'Where the hell are you? Where's the food?' he growled angrily.
'S-sorry. I'll be right there,' I answered before he cut off the link.
"I have to go," I stated as I made my way out of the room.
"Take care, April," Gabrielle yelled behind me, and I only hummed in response.
I finished preparing a tray full of food for the trio in Uncle Adam's office.
My whole body was shaking with nervousness, and I could feel unwanted electricity run wild in my nerves.
I decided to keep my hair down as it was for it to hide my face and put my hoodie back on.
Please, don't let him notice me.
I prayed inwardly as I approached the office door, and just as I was about to balance the tray on one hand to use the other to open the door, my mate's scent covered the air around me like a blanket, and his voice filled my ears like there was no other sound but his.
"Do you need help with that?" he asked in a husky voice as he stood inches behind me.
My heart was racing faster than lightning, and I could feel it try to escape my chest.
"Er...I...I....um..." I stuttered, but this time, uncontrollably.
I took in a deep breath. I could do it.
"N-no, thank you, sir. I'll be fine," I replied with a stronger voice.
I kept my head lowered so as not to make eye contact with him.
"It looks heavy on you, and as a gentleman, I can't let you carry it," he said in a playful tone, and I could hear the smirk playing on his lips.
Oh, Lord. He was having fun, and I was dying from anticipation and nervousness—what a situation.
He didn't wait for my response and attempted to grab the tray from my hand, but I was faster than him and pulled it away.
"I have to go," I said almost too quickly as I took the tray and opened the door to the office.
I could feel his gaze on me, and his eyebrows were probably furrowed in confusion at my actions.
My eyes met those of Uncle Adam as I entered the room, notifying me of the death glare he was directing towards me.
I was in for a beating after they left. I was sure of it.
I couldn't care less, though. All that occupied my mind was a certain male standing behind me.
I could feel his gaze on me, and Rose was begging me to go jump in his arms. She wasn't helping with my situation whatsoever.
"What are you doing standing out there, Lucian? Come in. Don't be shy," King Kristoff said as he and Uncle Adam chuckled.
Of course, Uncle Adam was only laughing to compliment the king. It was obvious that he didn't like their presence much.
"Ah...yes, I'm coming," Lucian answered.
I felt him slowly approach as I continued to ignore him and place the plates on the table in front of the sofa.
He sat on the sofa closest to my crouched position. I have to be extra careful because only one touch and the sparks would shoot up both our bodies, and he'd know for sure.
"It's too bad what happened to Alpha Fields and his mate seven years ago," I heard Lucian state.
His mentioning my parents made me halt what I was doing.
"Ah...yes. Terrible indeed," Uncle Adam muttered under his breath.
"And what about their daughter? Did she die too?" Lucian asked, making me shut my eyes tightly and clench my fists.
"Er....y-yes. She couldn't bear the fact that she was the cause of her parent's death, so she died from suicide," I heard Uncle Adam reply in a shaky voice.
My head quickly snapped to his, my eyes wide in disbelief.
Dead? He's spreading rumors that I died? Why? So that he could keep his alpha position?
'Maybe we should just put him on our kill list and get it over with,' Rose growled in my head, all thoughts of Lucian gone for a moment.
Uncle Adam didn't dare look at me, and I could see the cold sweat breaking on his forehead.
If I weren't on this revenge mission, I would've said the truth right then and there. But he doesn't know that, and I honestly loved his nervous expression right now.
"Ah, too bad," King Kristoff whispered.
"Let's just forget about this for now and concentrate on what's important. We have a killer on the loose, and it doesn't matter if the killed wolves were rogues or not. It's still killing," the king continued, changing the mood.
However, I couldn't stop wondering why Lucian brought that up? Why so suddenly did he want to talk about it?
I finished placing all the plates on the table before taking the empty tray and standing up.
"Would you like me to get anything else, Alpha?" I asked in a lowered tone.
"No. Just go get us some beer, and then go finish the rest of your chores," he replied.
I nodded before quickly leaving the room like I was on fire.
I went to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of cold water.
My heart didn't stop beating crazily, and my breaths were ragged like I had just run a marathon.
Oh god! What could I do? He couldn't know!
I couldn't think straight at all.
"Hugh. I think it's time to go give the Rosewood Pack a visit," I stated.
"So soon? I thought you were going to talk to Alpha Adam first," he replied into the earpiece.
"No, plans changed. I need to get out of here," I replied.
"Sure. You can come by, and I'll provide you with the weapons and all the information that you need."
"Okay," I whispered.
I just hoped that Lucian was gone by the time I came back.