Hidden Away

Eighteen: Attempt on the King

"Stop," I cut him off before he burst a blood vessel. Levi has been stressing out about the ceremony more than I have and I could tell it was getting to him more than it should. "She's not getting crowned with me."

The look on his face made me question whether he was relieved or more stressed than he was two seconds ago. "She has to. We cannot function without a Queen, Bennett. You know that."

"She doesn't know who I really am, and by the look of things, she doesn't want to stay with me. I'm not forcing her to stay here, let alone force her to rule an entire species." I wasn't half way done with the first page out of the many that were sprawled out on the desk, but abandoned them anyway.

"Fine, I'll give her time, but she has to do it either way. Who is this girl anyway?"

"Norah Bloodmoon."

Levi raised an eyebrow at me. "Norah Bloodmoon? The Norah Bloodmoon? You mean the same Norah Bloodmoon that has been missing for seventeen years who was just reunited with her family? That Norah Bloodmoon?" They way Levi was acting was concerning me. He's usually serious and proper. It's rare that I ever see him freaking out like this.

"Yes, that's her, and she told me herself that she could never stay here with me and leave her family after she just got back to them. So whether you— or anyone else likes it or not, she isn't staying until she's good and ready." I could tell my wolf present. He was getting overly defensive of her.

"Okay," Levi let out a breath, not wanting to argue over the subject any longer. "When are you going to reveal who you really are to her? She should at least know that."

"She's bound to recognize me at the ceremony, but I was planning on asking her to be my date for it."

"I was planning to asked her aswell," Levi mumbled under his breath. He most likely thought that I wouldn't hear him, but I did, and so did my wolf. He growled and Levi sensed it because he quickly added to it. "Before I found out she was your mate." He cleared his throat before reaching for a glass of water that I didn't know was there. I watched as he took a sip before setting the glass down by him so he would be able to reach for it easily if he ever needed more.

"I guess you still can." I didn't miss the faint smile that was placed on his lips before he bowed his head and got back to work. "But. . ."

"But?" He glanced at me before looking back down again.

"You have to help me break it to her," I told him. There was no way in hell I could do it alone and have to see her mad at me without some moral support.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Levi's words lingered in the air as they awaited my response. The gears in my head turned, trying to formulate a plan.

"I know," I broke the silence after moments of thinking. I didn't have a one hundred percent fool-proof plan, but I didn't think I'd need one. It wasn't like I was planing to commit mass murder without trying to get caught. "We'll both ask her to be our date. She'll probably already know who I truly am by the time we arrive to the party. You'll ask her to dance, and then I'll take your place and explain everything. Easy, right?"

"Right," Levi said hesitantly. He didn't think it was a good plan at all. "What if she's stubborn and refuses to talk to you? You won't be able to explain it and she'll stay mad."

"I'm trying not to look at it from the things that could go wrong perspective, brother. Everything will be fine."

"If you say so."

End of flashback
Norah

"So that was your master plan?" I asked teasingly, making him laugh. I took a sip of my wine and so did Bennett. We were now standing by my family's assigned table, watching as couples danced around the dance floor.