Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 43 It‘s been torn apart

Doris slowly opened her eyes when the carriage stopped completely, Prince William had her gripped

tightly beneath him, it took her a moment to realize the carriage was on its side and they were laying

against the wall of the carriage. He held onto her as if she might break if he let go, she blinked away her

surprise The door was now above their heads, one of the guards ripped it open and Doris squinted up at

the light that shined in. Her skin started to burn from pain where Prince William held her. “Your-William,

are you alright?” The guard cleared his throat as he corrected himself. Prince William leaned back to look

at Doris, his eyes seemed to scan every inch of her before he pushed himself off her and helped her

stand. “We’re fine. What happened?” Prince William demanded. He gripped the side of the door and

pulled himself out. Doris frowned and tried to do the same. A second later, his hands reached down to

grab her waist and pull her out of the carriage as if she weighed nothing. “Oh! Thank you,” Doris gripped

his hands to steady herself as she carefully stepped off the carriage and into the snow. Prince William

only let go of her hand once she was safely on the ground. A flash of pain rushed through her side where

her bruising was the worst, she bit down on her lip to keep in her groan. His dark gaze immediately

turned to assess the scene before them. Their carriage laid sideways in a snowy ditch with one of its

wheels laying detached

she rarely came across the royal guard at the palace. Not that they seemed to want to introduce

themselves, she supposed. It would still be nice to know what to call them if she needed to “Alright, then

let’s eat.” Prince William tumed and the rest of the guards moved all at once as if they had been waiting

for his order. Several guards immediately went to push the carriage up right again while others made an

area for Prince William to rest. The rest of the guards stood watch as discreetly as they could manage

without looking like the guards they were. To Doris, it was impossible. They clearly had the demeanor of

guards rather than casual travelers. “Doris, if you could help me prepare some of the food to hand out, I

would be grateful.” A younger guard with a gentle face appeared at her side. Doris smiled and nodded

her head. “My name is Erik-” “Doris is to rest, not help you.” Prince William interrupted. She turned to see

him standing behind her with his gaze fixed on the guard. “If you’ve already forgotten, she just got out of

a crashed carriage.” “Of course, sir! I mean-William. Of course.” Erik bowed quickly to both of them. “I

apologize for suggesting otherwise. I wasn’t thinking.” Prince William only stared at him until he turned

and left as quickly as he could. “I could have helped -“Doris started, her words died in her throat when

their eyes met. “You should sit for a minute.” He said it more like a demand, she couldn’t help but frown.

Lately the tip of her tongue was desperate to snap back at him for once, but she always stopped herself

just before. Doris stilled when he suddenly reached out his hand to brush the snow from her hair. His

fingers

lingered for a moment before he finally dropped his hand back to his side as if it never happened. It

startled her enough that all of her thoughts vanished as well as anything she might have wanted to say. “I

—I’ll sit.” She breathed and went to rest on a log that had been recently cleared of snow. Her hand

ached, but she could hardly feel anything but the numb coldness that started to take over her body. At

least nothing else ended up broken. The clearing was quiet, she could hear the crunches in the snow

from those that stomped by but not much else. The air made her cheeks red and fingers almost blue.

She tucked her hands beneath her arms and watched her breath fog in the air. “How long have we been

traveling?” She asked. She could sense him behind her still, she didn’t have to turn to know he was

there. “Hours, it’s now mid day.” He said evenly. Doris quickly turned to look up at him. “I was asleep for

that long?” Prince William only lowered his chin in confirmation. Doris looked away and rubbed her

hands together while trying to keep her teeth from chattering. Her pain had subsided for the time being,

perhaps the cold was good for that if anything. She couldn’t wait to get back into the warm carriage and

out of the blustery wind. A soft weight fell on her shoulders after a moments silence. His black cloak

warmed the sides of her cheeks, she almost instantly nestled into the fabric in relief. When she turned to

thank him, he was already halfway across the clearing. She closed her eyes and held it tight around her

with a small sigh. The warmth was a luxury, she didn’t understand how he would ever give it up.

Perhaps he was warm blooded and didn’t need the extra warmth, but she doubted it in weather like this.

Why would he ever give it to her of all people? Erik came by to hand her a plate of dried fruit and bread.

“Thank you, Erik.” Doris smiled. “You’re welcome, Doris.” He said with a cheeky grin. “I hope the carriage

crash didn’t hurt you too badly.” “Oh, no. I thought it would but I don’t think I have a scratch on me.” “It’s

probably because of the hold William had on you, he must have taken most of the impact.” Erik glanced

to where Prince William stood, Doris followed his gaze and saw him watching them while in a

conversation with someone else. Erik cleared his throat. “Well, let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you—“ Erik waved and hurried away before she could say another word. Prince William had

taken most of the impact? That couldn’t be so, he didn’t look hurt in the slightest. Besides, why would he

ever risk himself to save her? Doris studied him across the clearing for any hint of injury, but he stood tall

and-normal. The other men that hovered around him barely came up to his shoulder, they looked at him

as if he was their god and they were desperate to please. Prince William’s eyes caught her staring, she

turned away and shoved more bread in her mouth to distract her thoughts. “William!” A guard came

racing through the snow as fast as it would allow him. Doris stood in concern he would pass out when

she saw how out of breath he was. Prince William pushed through the guards that surrounded him and

neared the one who seemed

close to fainting by the time he reached him, “What is it? Keep your voice down!” He hissed and grabbed

his shoulder roughly. “Th-the decoy.” The guard whispered, Doris leaned in a little to hear him. “The

decoy carriage has already been torn apart by the rogues.”

Her Unwanted Mate On The Thr