Doris POV
I wasn’t sure at what point I ended up falling asleep. Prince William fell asleep fairly quickly. He wouldn’t release me all night; he kept his arm tightly wrapped around me and kept my head on his chest as he slept in the same position all night.
My body was trembling as fear overtook me, but then he fell asleep, and I lay there confused as to what his game was. Why would he want me to sleep with him? He didn’t even attempt to have sex with me.
I assumed he wanted me in his chambers to fulfill some maid duties, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. Every time I offered to do something he would tell me no or do it himself. It was strange that he wanted me to join him in having tea last night, but I tried not to overthink his intentions until I knew for sure what he was planning on doing with me.
When he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his bed, I thought he was going to try to have his way with me once again. I wouldn’t have been able to stop him this time; I was so weak and in so much pain around my body, that it would have been easy for him to get what he wanted. I wouldn’t be able to struggle as much.
But he didn’t.
He just wanted me to sleep. He fell asleep quickly. His light snores sounding my ear. My face was pressed against the warmth of his chest; breathing in his musky scent that filled my body with so much warmth. He breathed lightly as he slept, so he hardly moved, but I could hear the rapid beating of his heart within his chest.
Not before long, I started feeling tired as well; I knew there was no use in trying to break free from him. My body didn’t want to break free anyway; it was tired of fighting and struggling; it just wanted to relax for a little while.
I gave in. I sighed and allowed myself to relax to where I was able to fall asleep.
I woke up to the sounds of knocking on his chamber doors. I lifted my head and noticed the sun has hardly risen so it must have been very early in the morning. He groaned as he released me.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and slid out of his bed, making my way over to his door. I couldn’t imagine who would have the nerve to disturb the prince so early in the morn…
“Your majesty?” I said, cutting my thoughts short as I curtsied.
Alpha King Charles stood before me, staring at me with confusion on his face. He glanced around the room for a moment before his eyes landed on William who was just waking up, eventually, his eyes landed back on me.
I could tell he wanted to ask me why I was in William’s chamber, to which I had the same question.
“Doris,” he said my name like he had said it a million times before.
I couldn’t help but be taken aback at the fact that he even knew my name in the first place; perhaps it was because of everything going on, that he felt the need to learn and remember my name. I must have looked pathetic in his eyes.
He read the expression on my face, and he gave me a soft smile.
“I make it a point to know the names of all my servants,” Alpha King Charles said, answering my unspoken question.
I breathed out a bit relieved that it wasn’t because of my current reputation around the palace.
“I’m actually glad you’re here,” he said as he stepped into the room.
I felt my breath getting caught in my throat; I hid my hands behind my back so he wouldn’t see them trembling.
“I wanted to apologize for my son Jack’s behavior the other day. I would have never allowed him to cause you injuries without knowing if you were guilty or not,” he said, bowing his head slightly to me.
I exhaled and felt my features reddening. He actually seemed apologetic, and my heart tugged at his kind words.
“Thank you, your majesty,” I said, curtsying. “It’s quite alright. I’m recovering well.”
“I can see that,” he said with a faint smile.
“What do you want, father?” William asked, standing up from his bed with his arms folded across his chest.
“I came to find out when you were leaving for the North,” Alpha King Charles said, looking over at William.
“Around nightfall,” William answered.
Charles sighed and he looked almost worried for a moment.
“I wish you wouldn’t go,” Charles breathed as he gazed over at William. “You know how dangerous the North is for this family. The moment those rogue packs spot you and catch your scent, they will stop at nothing to make sure you die.”
“You honestly think Jack will stop if I don’t do this? Father, we need to find out who poisoned that soup and prove Doris to be innocent. Cara and Jack will stop at nothing until they get the answers they seek. Look at what he had already done to her…” his voice trailed off as he caught my eyes.
I felt my face flaring with redness and my breath, once again, got caught in my throat.
Could Beth have been right? Was he doing this for me?
That still didn’t make sense in my mind when I thought about it, but he seemed to be defending me.
William cleared his throat and pulled his eyes away from me to address his father.
“If they could do this to a maid without a second thought, without even knowing if she’s innocent or not, there’s no telling what else they are capable of doing,” William said, his voice lowering but the threats still lingered in his tone.
Alpha King Charles went to sit on the sofa across the room; William followed in pursuit to join him. I found that to be the opportunity to serve them some tea as they continued speaking.
“Well, if you must leave, I’ll send some of the best guards to accompany you,” Charles said as he sipped his tea slowly. “But please try to be careful.”
“I don’t go down without a fight,” William said with a sly smile.
Charles looked over at me and I straightened my stance to give him a pleasant smile in return.
“I hear you will be cleared soon to return to the library, per orders of Mr. Carson,” Alpha King Charles said, addressing me.
My cheeks flushed and I nodded my head once.
“Yes, your majesty. I’m excited to get back there,” I said slowly, relieved that my voice didn’t give away my nerves.
I was startled by the slamming sound of William’s teacup as he threw it on the table and shot to his feet.
“Since when the King cared about a maid’s job? Did Martin request for her to return to the library?” William asked, anger flashing through his eyes, and it made me visibly shudder.
Alpha King Charles stared up at him confused; he looked between the two of us for a moment before his eyes landed on William.
“Not to my knowledge,” Alpha King Charles said, keeping his tone low and even. “But why would that matter?”
“He only wants her there so he can stare at her and fantasize what fucking her would be like,” William snapped.
I gasped loudly at his words and took a step away from him; what was going on? Why did William care that much about what Martin thought of me? Why did this matter to him?
Even if that were true, which it certainly was not, it wouldn’t be any of William’s business. I felt the embarrassment seeping through my expression, and I could hardly look at either of them. I stared down at my feet and sucked in a sharp breath as they continued talking.
“Your brother is married to Lady Grace. I highly doubt he’s fantasizing about a maid,” Charles said, still oddly calm.
William scoffed.
“Whatever,” William muttered. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Doris is coming with me to the North.”