Moon Born

Chapter 20

"Okay. Okay. If it's here, then let's go look around."

We started walking down a long, dark corridor before Phil stopped us.

"I do apologize, but that area is off-limits to guests."

"Oh." I furrowed my brow. The smell was down there.

Ashley turned toward the stairs. "Sorry."

I trailed behind her up the stairs to our room. Our dresses were hung up near the closet and our shoes were placed nicely on the floor. I sat next to Ashley as she flipped through a streaming service looking for a movie to watch.

Our food arrived just as she found the perfect movie. Some romcom about princes and princesses. We ate until we felt like we would burst and quickly fell asleep.

It was a surprisingly restful sleep.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of pounding from somewhere within the castle. I climbed out of bed, rubbing my eyes, and noticed that our dirty dishes were gone and the dresses were fluffed.

"Uh, was someone in the room this morning?" I asked Ashely.

She sat up, her hair wild and messy, and looked about. "Um, yeah. I think so. The plates are gone."

"Huh. They were really quiet."

"Yeah, they were." She looked around again. "What is that pounding?"

"No idea. That's what woke me up."

I climbed out of bed and walked to the windows, throwing open the drapes. The morning sun light streamed into the room. The sky was a beautiful pinkish purple. It looked like a painting.

"I think it's going to be a beautiful day," I said, pushing the window open.

The air was warm and smelled of honeysuckle mixed with lilac.

"Yeah, I could get used to living here," Ashley said, a smile plastered on her face.

"Did you get ahold of Alastair?" I asked.

"Yeah. I sent him a text. He's coming. Apparently, everyone of importance will be here tonight."

"Including the two shitheads? Awesome."

"Well, let's just hope that the prince finds his mate. I guess they're really pulling out the big guns for this one."

"If nobody likes this Savannah why are they forcing the mate then?"

"I guess she's the next high-ranking daughter available in Winter Lake."

I shook my head. "They should just let him be until he finds his mate. What if he ends up running into her later? He can't break the mate bond. That will kill them both."

Ashley shrugged her shoulders. "It's seriously messed up."

"What do we do?"

"About the forced mate?" she asked.

I nodded my head.

"I'm not sure, El. I mean, what can we do?"

"Find his mate? She has to be out there right? Obviously, it's not this horrid girl that they've found."

"Marsha really likes her?"

"Does she though?" I asked. "Or is she more concerned with the prince going feral?"

"Um, it could be that? Having a feral prince wouldn't be good."

"Has there ever been a feral royal before?"