Chapter 138 YOU SHOULD’VE HIDDEN YOUR WEAKNESS

Chapter 138 YOU SHOULD’VE HIDDEN YOUR WEAKNESS
NARRATOR
They moved across the stage, spinning through lace and velvet.
Laughing, lost in their own world, just the two of them.
At least that’s how Isabella felt. She was hypnotized by those blue eyes staring at her like she was the only woman left on earth.
The music softened, and Kaden slowed, holding her hand as he brushed a soft kiss against her palm.
“You’re the most beautiful, most amazing woman in the world, and I’m the luckiest man alive to have you as my mate.” Isabella felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, butterflies fluttering all over her stomach.
Kaden leaned in, gripping the back of her neck like he owned it, and his lips found hers in a kiss loaded with hunger... and all the love that lived between them.
Their wolves brushed together, melding like one being.
Isabella clung to her Lycan prince, giving him her heart the same way Kaden gave her his.
Then, suddenly, a round of applause and howls erupted, making her jolt.
Kaden smiled against her lips and held her firmly by the waist, turning her toward the massive ruins, shaped like a coliseum, packed with people beneath the night sky.
Isabella’s eyes went wide, her cheeks turning crimson... she hadn’t realized there were so many people up there.
“You really thought I was going to hide you... not even for a second longer,” she heard Kaden’s low, rough voice as he lifted his hand in the middle of the roar.
It was a silent order, and everyone went quiet in an instant.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Royal Family Masquerade Party,” he announced, and excitement rippled through the crowd again.
It wasn’t just the important Academy members... the prince had private guests too.
Big shots... and the kind of guests every single girl was dying to catch.
“Before we celebrate the lifting of the restrictions and enjoy a pleasant night, I want to introduce the hostess of the party, my mate, Isabella... and my future princess.”
When he said that, Isa felt the subtle squeeze of his fingers against her bodice, and she tried to hide her shock as best she could.
Kaden was really going to say it. All of it.
She stared through the stage lights at faces full of disbelief and doubt.
Up until yesterday she’d been called Savannah, and everyone had humiliated her, almost like it was William’s order... so how was she suddenly the prince’s mate?
“I understand your confusion, and I won’t go into details because they’re secret matters of the royal family and private matters between us... but I will say this. The person called Savannah, who has been at the Academy lately, was only a double for my mate.”
He blurted out the first excuse that came to his mind. If they bought it or not, that was their problem, not his.
Murmurs rose, speculation catching fire, and Kaden knew they’d invent a thousand conspiracies he couldn’t care less about. But one thing had to be crystal clear.
No one was ever going to think he’d leave his real mate within Miska’s reach.
“Savannah covered her position while my female accompanied me on a mission, so you need to understand something. This woman you see here...” He pulled her tighter against his side, and his face turned ice-cold.
“Her name is Isabella Blackridge, and she is my real, true mate. Everything said in the past was to protect her, as you can understand... she’s the most precious thing to me.”
Kaden flashed a wolfish smile that didn’t bring relief. It brought a vicious kind of fear.
The message came through loud and clear: mess with her and you’re done.
Everyone already had their theories. With so many enemies, of course the royal family would use shields to protect the real pearl.
Miska and that Savannah girl, who probably swapped appearances with some spell, were just bait the prince used to keep his love hidden.
A lot of people knew he’d lost a girlfriend in tragic, unknown circumstances.
Now this girl would be kept in a glass case.
In the middle of the sudden chaos of gossip, a thunderous voice broke through.
“Long live the lovebird princes!” Isabella looked up to see William yelling from the lower stands.
She exhaled in relief when she spotted her traitor friends and Darius.
They’d all been in on the surprise.
“Long live them, long live them!” the chants echoed everywhere, and Isabella once again felt like she was dreaming.
From being nothing but the shadow of her twin sister... to being the princess every girl wanted to be.
She looked at Kaden at her side. He lowered his face, smiling down at her.
“See? You drop a tiny detail and they write the whole soap opera themselves,” Kaden said in her mind, laughing at their poor subjects.
“Poor people...” Isabella huffed, laughing, and Kaden lifted his hand to signal the DJ to put on something upbeat for the masquerade.
He took his blonde by the hand and led her toward their friends, but on the way Isabella tensed.
“He’s watching us from the crowd.”
“I know. Don’t be afraid. Just stick to the plan. You’ll never be completely alone with him.”
“I know. I trust you, my Lycan prince,” she said, kissing his shoulder and pretending to be relaxed when she really wasn’t.
She was right.
From the shadows under the arches, Leonardo watched the prince’s display of love, and his hatred was so intense not even the mask could hide it.
Kaden had no right to be happy.
Damn it, his meticulous plans were going to hell.
He wasn’t stupid. He felt that urgent pull in his gut, telling him he was at a critical point... and he couldn’t hesitate anymore.
Kaden had stopped asking for his formulas.
He’d experimented until he found one that was pretty damn powerful, and Leonardo confirmed it when the prince almost killed that girl... the fake Savannah?
Or no. Now she was called Isabella...
What the fuck was this palace bullshit?
So they swapped girls now?
Even better for him.
At least now he knew she mattered. He’d started to wonder if Savannah had really been discarded... because if she had, she wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near Kaden.
«Whoever she is, you should’ve kept her better hidden... because now I’m coming for her with a lot more certainty.»
Leonardo watched them like a stalker, waiting for his moment to nab that little miss innocent.
Soon his message was delivered, and he waited in the underground backstage tunnels that had been used during the festival celebration.
It hadn’t even been half an hour when he felt footsteps approaching.