I despised that I recognized the landscape around us. It was as familiar as Max, and his warm presence, and his deep, kind voice. It hurt. Everything about this caused my heart to ache, because this was how it was supposed to be. And it was all robbed from me.
Goddess, this was a horrible experience.
I was slightly worried Max was lying to me and he'd take me back to my family home instead of wherever Dante was, but my fears were soothed when we pulled up in front of a large building. Someone came around the car and opened the door for Max, taking his keys, and we all got out.
I walked over to Max, a little confused. He responded by pushing me towards the doors. "Paparazzi. Go."
My eyebrows raised, just as I saw two black vans pull up behind where Max's car had been. I wasted no time rushing into the hotel, sliding between the weird circulating door and pushing my way in. I was so focused on the odd door that I didn't even look where I was going and ran straight into someone.
"Shit!" The man muttered as I collided right into him.
I squeaked slightly, almost falling backwards, and his arms grabbed mine to steady me.
"I'm sorry." I muttered, and noticed his arms didn't leave me.
"Are you alright, darlin'?" He asked. He had a warm accent I had never heard before. His warm hands, still on me.
I stepped back out of his hold, nodding. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"Stop apologizin'." His accent was very thick, and hard to ignore. "It's a pleasure to run into anyone as gorgeous as you."
My eyes widened. The man truly was handsome, yes, and I'm sure in any other incidence—meaning not being mated to the prince and not being terrified of any sort of relationship—he would be seen as a desirable man. Not as desirable or handsome as Dante, but certainly attractive.
"Uh, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I'm sorry I ran into you." I looked around the tall blond, but saw only a busy lobby, with people scurrying all over. I had no clue where Dante was, and I wasn't about to run into a sea of more strangers to find him. Where was Max?
"I'm sure giving me your number will fix all that up." He said, his voice warm.
"Huh?" I shook my head, focusing back on the man, and not on everything else. "What number?"
He laughed. "Alright, alright. Maybe just your Snap then? Or instagram?"
My eyebrows rose even higher. "What?" I glanced behind me to see bright flashes from outside the door, but still no Max. Goddess, I had this man talking to me in a foreign language and I was all alone.
"Are you alright, love?"
"Uh, yea." I couldn't go back outside, and I didn't want to go any further into the mess that was this hotel. And I had no clue where to find Dante.
"What's your name?"
"Me?" I asked, letting my eyebrows drop back down.
He nodded, laughing. "Yes. I'm Clay Turner."
"I, um—" was too focused on how to get out of this horrible situation in that I'm alone and confused and with a man who wants to talk to me.
"Princess!" Venice yelled, her hand in her fathers as she jumped up. "You should've been there for the pictures!" She giggled. I noticed Max had one dark eyebrow raised at me, but he said nothing.
Oh, no. I very much realized that I was still very close to this man, Clay, and this probably looked absolutely wrong to Max. Shoot.
Immediately stepping away from him, I grimaced. "Once again, really sorry I ran into you."
"Anytime, Princess. I'll be keepin' a lookout for you," He said with a smirk, before walking out of the hotel.
My jaw unhinged slightly, completely confused as to what had just happened.
"Who was that?" Max asked, his eyebrow still raised in suspicion.
"I don't know, I ran into him—"
"And now you smell of him. Rather strongly. Probably because you're still unmated." He commented.
My eyes widened. "Like, really noticeably?" Goddess, this was not what I wanted. Damn the paparazzi.
Max nodded. "If Dante doesn't say anything about it, it's because he's plotting to kill that dude. Just saying."
My eyes widened even more but Max started walking towards the elevators, so I followed. When all three of us got into an empty elevator, I let out a sigh.
"What's a Snapchat?" I asked, and Max's jaw dropped with an amused expression.
"Did he ask for yours?"
I nodded. Max let out a bellowing laugh.
"You're kidding!"
I rolled my eyes. "Never mind, then."
"No, no, that's such a horrible move. It's like a messaging app, you send pictures to your friends and post things, it's, uh, social media. Yeah. Only douches ask for it though. That's why it's funny." He explained.
"Oh." I replied.
"Did he say anything else?"
I shrugged, not wanting to reveal much else, like the fact that I also didn't know what an Instagram was, or where his accent was from.
"You're lying. But I'll just leave it up to Dante to get that information."
I turned my head to look at him. "It's not that important. I don't know how to fix his scent on me, though."
Max wrinkled his nose. "I hate to say it, but the only way to do that is to replace it with Dante's. I'm sure he'll be more than completely on board, though. Ugh." He shivered.
The elevator dinged to a stop, and we walked out into a beige hallway, with few to none doors. We came to the end of the hallway, with a large set of double doors in front of us. Max knocked.
"I told you it'd be boujee," He said to me, before the door was opened to reveal Dante on the phone. He put up a finger and walked back into the room, probably to finish his call.
I felt a tug on my hand. "Hey, Florence." Venice said, in the loudest whisper I've ever heard. "I've never seen the castle. Can we go?"
My eyes widened, and I leaned over to answer her. "Like, now?" I asked, completely confused.
She shook her head. "No, silly, it's almost Christmas! But later. Can we go?"
"I'm sure you can someday." I whispered back. Hopefully, Dante will have rejected me by then and this whole mess-up will be resolved.
"But I want to go with you."
I only nodded in response as I heard Dante set down his phone on the table.
"Why do you smell like another man?" He immediately questioned, looking over to me. His voice was non-hostile, like always, but his eyes pierced me with a certain danger to them, darkening. And I knew Dante well enough to know that emotion in his eyes was not directed at me, but rather at Clay.
My mouth went dry, and I could only cringe, refusing to look into Dante's swirled depths of blue and green. "Uh, I..."
Thank Goddess for Max. "She ran into some dude in the lobby. He hit on her. She didn't seem to understand that he was hitting on her."
I offered Dante an apologetic look. "I don't know if he was really hitting on me, but I was focused on everything else and—"
Max interjected again. "She was too preoccupied to realize he had asked for her Snapchat." Goddess, now he was trying to get me in trouble.
Dante's eyebrow rose. "And he touched you, too."
"I ran into him hard and he grabbed my arms. It wasn't anything else."
"I'm sure that's true, but that doesn't mean I like the fact that you smell like anyone else other than me."
I sighed. "I'm sorry, it wasn't anything more than him steadying me. Really."
Dante nodded, but his eyes never lightened back to normal.
Max once again brought himself into the conversation, and I was thankful for the break in tensions. "I don't know what you two expected to happen now."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean bringing back my missing sister and dropping all these bombs and then, what? Do you two leave again? Florence doesn't want to come back home."
I stood up straight, noticing how Max's and Dante's eyes were focused on me. "I don't. And I won't." And I can't. But the two boys would only fight me on that, so I omitted it.
Dante raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the table and running his thumb over his chin. His muscular arms were completely visible through his shirt. Stop looking. "I can't drag Florence there. Not after I practically dragged her here."
Max frowned. "So you just leave now? Again?"
My shoulders dropped. Again. "Don't make me do this, Max." Because then I'd have to try and make them all understand why I didn't belong here, and would anything ever get better? Truly, even after we got everything with Batilda sorted out and she'd be completely dead and gone, would I ever live, and not just hurt?
"Do what? It sounds like you're already set on disappearing again."
"Stop saying again like I chose any of this." I snapped.
"You're choosing this, now, though. What happened then wasn't you, but this is."
I shook my head. "So what if this is my choice? I'm not going back."
"Why? What's given you the idea that you don't belong back home?"
Dante, surprisingly, interjected in my defense. "That's a loaded question. You're not going to like the answer, she's won't like giving it, and no one is going to like where this is going."
Max raised an eyebrow at Dante. He didn't look too happy. "So you're going to help her and keep her from her family? Can't have her find somewhere better for her than the castle, huh?"
My eyes widened, but I didn't interrupt.
Dante turned to Max, his face hard and serious. "That's a dangerous accusation, Max. I want her to be happy, and unless she's ready to go, bringing her back home will only upset Florence."
Max shook his head. "Bullshit. How do you know until you try?"
"I very much understand that as her brother, you'd like to think you know what's best for her. But Florence has made it clear she is not ready for that, and it'd be rather destructive to try."
Max laughed grimly. "What, the month you've been with her you've learned everything? You know more than me?"
"Hey, stop this." I said, but neither heard me.
Dante didn't look as hostile as Max, but that didn't mean I was any less worried of him getting angrier. "What I know is that you should drop this before it gets out of hand."
"No, really. Being her mate must make you feel like you know everything and anything, right? She's gotten closer to you in the past month than she ever did with us?" Max stepped closer to Dante, who's blue green eyes flashed.
"Stop. Seriously." I tried. Max was getting angry, and Dante—maybe because he was an alpha—wasn't having his disrespect.
Once again, I was ignored. Dante spoke again. "Understand who you're speaking to, Max. I'm not going to tolerate this emotional bullshit. She's here. That should be enough for you right now."
Max let out a loud laugh. "That's right, high and mighty Prince, I forgot my place. Of course I'll let you make all the choices for my fucking sister, since you run the world. Keep her to yourself, since her family doesn't mean anything."
Dante, in his credit, was still very calm. Visibly ticked off, but calm and collected. He wasn't screaming, or making any attempt to be hostile towards Max. My brother, however, could not be given the same description.
"While I admire your compliments, you need to get your head out of your ass and cool down."
"Dante," I started, and Venice stepped closer to me. Both boys ignored me, again.
"I think it's time you leave, Max." Dante added, his face hard as steel.
"So you can keep her locked up in your castle and to yourself?" Max sneered.
Now, this comment made Dante much angrier than before, and he neared Max, almost chest to chest.
"Max, stop this." I tried again.
No response.
"How fucking dare you. Leave, Maxwell."
"Let her come home. She belongs with us, not you and your—"
"My what? Say it." Dante growled.
I had to do something. Fast. On instinct, I lunged for the vase on the table next to Venice and I, and threw it at the boys. It hit Max's shoulder and shattered all over, soil and ceramic flying. Both boys turned to look at me.
"This, right here, is exactly why I didn't want this. Any of this." I shook my head at the two of them. "Does it make you feel better that Venice was here for all of that, too?"
Their anger seemed to vanish rather quickly, but I wasn't done. This is proof that I don't belong back with my family, and that I don't belong with Dante, and most of all, that doing this today was a huge mistake.
"Max, go home. And don't mention anything about me to anyone. I don't need any more repeats of this." I ran a hand through my hair, noticing Venice staring up at me.
Max stepped away from Dante and towards me hesitantly, but I held up a hand. "Go." I briefly looked at Dante, who sighed.
"Florence, shit, I'm s—"
I walked to the door to the right of the foyer room and closed it behind me, completely annoyed and upset. I clicked the lock shut, and flopped onto the yellow bed in the room.