"I would rather we didn't," he mumbled.
She ignored him and kept her eyes locked on me.
"He acts tough, but he's not as tough as he may seem. Underneath that hard exterior, is a small boy that lost his mother had a young age," Lady Katherine began.
William groaned, but he didn't interrupt her.
"His mother was Alpha King Charles' fated mate and when she died it destroyed him. He was never able to hold love like hers and he stopped trying. Poor William had lost his mother and didn't have a mother figure in his life. Prince Martin and Prince Jack both had Luna Queen Cara to provide unconditional motherly love. Prince Daniel also had his mother for a while. William was the only one left out. That is until I came into his life and gave him the motherly love, he craved..."
I looked over at William, he was still staring at the fire, sadness crossing his face as the remembered the time of his mother's death and how alone he must have felt.
My heart ached for him.
Lady Katherine looked over at William and gave him a soft smile as they met eyes.
"Alpha King Charles sees a lot of his fated mate in William I believe. It made it hard for Alpha King Charles to love William as he should..."
"So, he neglected him as a child?" I blurted; William flinched at my words, and I wished I could take them back instantly. "I'm so sor..."
"No need to apologize. You may speak as you wish here. Don't let William frighten you. As I said, he's not as tough as he seems," she said, winking with a small smile. "But yes. Alpha King Charles neglected William. The memory of his fated mate was too great, and he wanted to rid of anything that reminded him of her. Including William. But of course, William was still his son and he still loved him in his own way."
"He had a shitty way of showing it," William muttered as he took a sip of his tea.
"But William was and is the light of my life. I loved him from the moment I saw him. I raised him as my own when the other mistresses refused," Lady Katherine explained.
I breathed out as I looked over at William again. He must have been so sad as a young child; being neglected by his father after the loss of his mother.
"I'm sorry that happened to you," I breathed to him.
He met my eyes for a moment and for once, I didn't feel the intensity of his stare and my body didn't feel as though he was drilling into me. His eyes were calm and the colors of an ocean. It sent a calm wave of warmth through my body.
"What about your brothers? Did you get along with them growing up?" I heard myself asking.
"My brother Martin and I were complete opposites. Being the oldest, he's the Crown Prince, so he was always being pampered and catered to 24/7. He lived life so seriously and always followed behind my father closely. I guess considering he was raised to be the next in line for Alpha King, he would have to take that role seriously," William said rolling his eyes.
"But we never really bonded or hung out or anything. Jack was always following closely behind Luna Queen Cara; she wanted to keep him safe above all. It's no surprise that we never got along growing up or now for that matter. He acted like he already owned the palace and everyone in it by the time he was 10 years old. He always made sure that I remembered what happened to my mother and that his was still alive."
William paused as he processed his own words.
It seemed that Jack was rotten even as a child; I shuddered at the thought. I wanted to reach out and take William's hand, but I thought against it. It was nice seeing a softer side to him and I felt oddly comfortable sitting beside him. Like I could finally relax and breathe which was an unusual and yet comforting feeling.
"And Prince Daniel?" I asked, thinking of my new friend at the palace.
"Daniel was always nice to me in theory. We didn't hang out or bond; I think he heard how the others felt about me and kept his distance. But he was always such a happy kid. No tragedies ever struck him, and I think a part of me resented him for that."
"Wow," I breathed, staring down at my lap. "It must have been lonely..."
He was silent for a moment.
"They treated me like the black sheep of the family. They saw how my father treated me and they went off that. My father wouldn't even give me territory because he found me irresponsible. Which is one of the greatest shames a prince could suffer. They expected nothing from me, so I gave them nothing. I started becoming exactly what they expected."
I couldn't believe that William was shunned by his entire family like that. I looked over at Lady Katherine who was watching him with sadness in her eyes. I suddenly felt grateful that she was there to care for him. But what a lonely life for Prince William to live.
Lady Katherine looked back at me and sighed.
"I think with everything that happened growing up, is the reason he hates the idea of the fated mate and falling in love."
My eyes widened.
He hated the idea of a fated mate?
That didn't make sense because of Melody. I thought back to the night he marked me, and he kept calling me his mate. Then that night in the hallway when he called me his mate again. I felt my cheeks flushing at the thought.
I hadn't been hiding my mark and he's been around me often enough to where I had wondered if he had seen my mark. Perhaps the night he tried to have his way with me in his chambers. My hair was up at the time, and he was on top of me. Or perhaps when I slept in his bed last night.
"He doesn't like talking about it though," Lady Katherine said, pulling her eyes from me to look at William.
His face reddened and he stared down at his lap. He sighed, sounding defeated as he turned his blue gaze back to me, filling me with that familiar warmth I felt earlier.
"Love made my father weak. It changed him..." he said to me. "He lost her, and it destroyed him."
"Love doesn't make you weak," I told him gently. "It gives you strength..."
"No," he said, still meeting my eyes. "He can't even look at me without thinking of her. It caused him to hate me. He's weak. He's cowardly."
"William..." Lady Katherine said, trying to calm him as his voice trembled.
I had never seen him like this before and I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hug him.
"I think it's impossible for me to find love. I'm not worthy of it..." he breathed.
"That's just silly," I told him, trying to brighten my features and the aura around us. "Everyone is worthy of love. Including you, your majesty."
He scoffed and turned his gaze downward.
"Women only want me for their own gain. They like me for how I look and the power I hold," he muttered.
"Not all women," I protested, folding my arms across his chest.
"All women," he said back.
"Then you are looking for women in the wrong place," I told him. He met my eyes once more and I could feel my heart beating heavily against my chest; for a moment, my breathing got caught in my throat. I recovered quickly though. "Sometimes love is worth the risk."
His eyes grew stormy as he continued staring at me; it looked as if he wanted to say a thousand things, but there was something that was preventing him from doing that. My mind went back to the night he marked me; the pain that he caused me and the fear that was brought upon me as he claimed me as his.
But I would never be his. I couldn't be his. I was just a maid and as nice as it was sitting with him and getting to know him and meeting his mother, I knew it couldn't go further than this. My priority has always been to leave the castle with my freedom.
I couldn't let this blind me.
Lady Katherine chuckled lightly as I pulled my gaze away from William, breaking our unspoken connection.
"We need to leave," William said, standing to his feet.
I stood with him and smiled down at Lady Katherine who looked sad by our departure.
"Already?" She nearly cried as she stood to her feet as well. She hugged William tightly. "Okay, but please be careful, my son. I love you so much."
"I love you too," he said gently as he hugged her back.
I couldn't help but smile at his openness with his mother. She pulled away from him and turned to me.
"I'm so glad I got to meet you, Doris," she said as she wrapped me in a hug as well.
William looked almost uncomfortable at the sight, but he said nothing.
"Please be patient with him," she whispered into my ear.
I blushed as we pulled away; I wasn't sure what that meant but I wasn't about to ask in front of William.
I followed William outside and as he closed the door behind him, his hardened expression was back on his face. A chill went down my spine as he stared at me.
"I had the palace pack some clothing for you for when we go to the North. I have some things to do before we leave but I need you to check on our supplies and meet me in the stables within the hour," he ordered.
I nodded.
He started walking toward the carriage but then stopped for a moment.
"Oh, and Doris?"
I felt my body stiffen as he turned to look at me.
"Don't keep me waiting."