POV Odette
The fifth message arrived as I sat in Nina's kitchen, watching steam curl from a chipped teapot. Devon's words were clipped and careful: Negotiations proceeding. Territory boundaries under discussion. Will update soon.
"More reassuring bullshit?" Nina asked, not looking up from the vegetables she was chopping with unnecessary force.
"They're protecting me from the details," I said, setting the phone aside. "Both of them sending these sanitized updates like I'm made of glass."
"Maybe you are." Nina's knife paused against the cutting board. "Pregnant women carrying royal heirs while their husbands negotiate territory with their betrothed princes—that sounds pretty fragile to me."
Since Nathaniel's palm had warmed my belly in the Alpha house five days ago, the cramps had vanished completely.
The pup had settled, small and quiet, too young to cause trouble. I pressed my hand where his had been, remembering how the pain had simply stopped at his touch.
"You shouldn't have come back." Nina's words fell between us like stones dropped in still water. "I've been trying not to say it, but Odette, you shouldn't have come back."
"Nina—"
"No, listen to me." She turned, knife still in hand, her face hard with the kind of truth that only best friends dare speak. "Everything got worse after Devon went chasing after you, but you’ve already known that, seen that. The pack lost faith in him completely. The council practically celebrated when he left—said a weak Alpha abandoning his post for a barren Luna proved their point about succession."
"I'm not barren," I said quietly. "This pup proves that."
"This pup proves you could conceive with another Alpha, not with Devon." Nina's voice gentled slightly. "The pack will see it as confirmation that Devon's bloodline is weak. Mira will be spreading that theory to anyone who'll listen."
"Of course she will." I took a sip of tea, tasting bitterness beneath the honey. "And Celia? Jasmine?"
"Following Mira's lead like trained puppies. They watch the Alpha house constantly, waiting for you to collapse or flee or do something that gives them an opening." Nina resumed chopping, each strike of the knife punctuating her words. "The staff reports everything you do. How much you eat, when you sleep, who visits. They're circling like vultures."
"I'm sorry," I said, though the words felt hollow.
"For what? For discovering you're royalty? For meeting a father who actually gives a damn about you?" Nina's laugh was sharp. "For finding an Alpha who can actually give you children?"
"Nina—"
"I'm not sorry you left," she continued, her voice fierce. "I'm sorry you came back. This place is poison for you now, Odette. Even the name sounds wrong here. Syrena died the night Devon chose those three wives. Princess Odette doesn't belong in this pack."
"But I met my father because of all this," I said, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. "Magnus is good, Nina. Flawed and controlling, but genuinely good. He hid me to protect me, not to hurt me."
"And Nathaniel?" Nina's mouth curved into something sly. "The Royal Alpha you tamed in that hotel room?"
"I didn't tame anyone," I protested, heat rushing to my face.
"Please. The way you described that night—that man is thoroughly caught." She pointed the knife at me. "When do I get to meet this prince who has you glowing despite everything?"
My phone rang, Nathaniel's name lighting the screen. I answered before the second ring.
"Where are you?" His voice carried that particular tension that meant news waited behind restraint.
"Shouldn't a tracker of your caliber follow the scent?" I kept my tone light, teasing. "Or have your skills dulled in five days?"
"Your scent is everywhere in this pack now." The words held weight, possession and promise tangled together. "Every corner carries traces of you."
"I'm at Nina's. Third house on Maple, blue shutters, absolutely no protocol or ceremony anywhere."
"I'm coming." Simple, direct, inevitable. "Twenty minutes."
The line went dead. Nina stared at me with raised eyebrows.
"Twenty minutes," I said. "Your chance to see a royal Alpha up close."
"Should I curtsy? Bow? Offer him tea in our finest chipped china?"
"Just be yourself," I said. "He doesn't need more people treating him like untouchable royalty."
* * *
When the black SUV rolled to the curb exactly twenty minutes later, Nina and I were waiting on the porch. Two escort vehicles bracketed it, subtle but unmistakable protection. Nathaniel emerged with that controlled grace that turned simple movements into ceremony.
Nina's breath caught. "Holy Moon Goddess," she whispered, just for my ears. "He's astonishing. Take him and leave this place, Odette. Tonight."
Nathaniel approached with measured steps, his dark eyes taking in everything—the modest house, Nina's defensive stance, my position between them like a bridge between worlds.
"You must be Nina," he said, inclining his head with perfect courtesy. "Odette speaks highly of your friendship."
"And you must be the prince who's causing such delightful chaos in our little pack," Nina replied, her smile sharp but not unkind. "The council's been in emergency sessions since your arrival."
"Bureaucracy often struggles with change," Nathaniel said mildly, but his attention had already shifted to me. "We need to go."
"Where?" I asked, though something in his expression made my stomach tighten.
"We need to speak privately," he said. "Without witnesses or interruptions."
Nina pulled me into a fierce hug, her mouth near my ear. "If you leave with him permanently, I'll visit wherever you go. Weekly if needed."
"Promise?" I whispered back.
"Promise. And Odette?" She pulled back, meeting my eyes. "Remember you're a princess now. You don't have to accept whatever they've decided. You have power too."
I left her with a grateful smile and crossed the road to the drive. Nathaniel opened the passenger door. The interior smelled like leather and his particular scent. As the car slid into motion, I asked, "Where are we going?"
"The hotel," he said, and I knew immediately which one. "The same room, actually. The manager was quite accommodating."
"Why there?"
"Because it's neutral ground. Not Devon's territory, not your father's, not mine." His hands gripped the steering wheel with careful control. "And because what I need to tell you—what we need to discuss—requires absolute privacy."
The city unwound outside the windows, familiar streets made foreign by the weight of unspoken words. My stomach had settled, the pup quiet as if sensing the importance of what was coming, but apprehension built in its place like storm clouds gathering.
The hotel came into view, that same building where everything had changed with a stranger's touch.
Whatever waited in that room would not be easy. I could see it in the tension of his shoulders, the careful way he helped me from the car.
And yet for the first time in days, I felt prepared to hear it. Princess Odette was stronger than Luna Syrena had ever been, and whatever came next, I would face it with eyes wide open.