Chapter 45 They were heard nearby
Prince William stayed silent for hours, Doris didn’t bother to try and start another conversation. She was
starting to get used to his mood swings and she didn’t want to feed into another one that might blow up
into something more. He kept glancing out the small window every ten minutes to make sure all was in
order, but something uneasy settled in Doris. It was too quiet. The air felt thick and normally she would
be glad of the silence-but for some reason it only felt off. Doris wondered if William had felt it too. He
hadn’t tried to sleep once, instead he seemed more alert than ever. She couldn’t help but worry that he
was running on little to no sleep for almost two days. How much longer could he last before exhaustion
took him over? “William-“ Doris said hesitantly. He dropped the curtain and turned to face her. His eyes
were a little red and his hair was an absolute mess in the way that she found looked handsome on him.
She shook those thoughts away and cleared her throat.“ Perhaps it might be a good idea—“ The
carriage came to a sudden halt that slid Doris out of her seat and right into his waiting arms. They both
stilled as they strained to listen for any voices or movement, he silently seated her beside him and
opened the curtain an inch to peer outside. Doris tried to calm her breath, afraid to make even the
smallest sounds incase a rogue was nearby to hear it. A loud thud hit the side of the carriage and shook
the inside. William opened the curtain wider to see a crazed man hanging off the side of the carriage,
Doris gasped. Was this a rogue? He bared his teeth at William and let his bloodied fingers stain
everything he touched. “I can smell you in there, prince. Come out to play.” The guards were quick to pull
him off, she flinched when she heard one of them shriek. William forced the door open and closed it
quickly behind him so she couldn’t follow. Doris quickly scooted over to open the curtain and see what
was happening. The man stood in rags outside the carriage with his hands coated in blood up to his
elbows. Everything about him blended in with the snow, if she hadn’t seen the blood, she might have
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmissed him entirely. He had long, white hair and eyes almost as light as the ground beneath him. When
he smiled, she saw his sharp teeth poke out of his gums as if he were about to rip apart everyone around
him. William stood in front of the carriage door as if he was guarding it, though she knew it only looked
that way from where she was seated. “You know I could smell your royal blood for miles, prince.” The
man taunted and licked his teeth. The guards surrounded him as if he was in the center of a circle. “All
alone out here, I see. Where’s your pack?” William lifted his chin. He refused to let his gaze leave the
deranged man for even a second. A trail of blood dripped from the man though he didn’t look injured.
Doris’s eyes followed it to see it led to a guard by the carriage-his head laid several feet away from his
body. She covered her mouth and closed the curtain a little more so the man wouldn’t see her. His eyes
seemed to find her anyway. A smirk fell
across his face when he saw the curtain move.” They’re near enough, don’t you worry.” He took a step
closer with his eyes still fixed on the carriage. He inhaled deeply, “Who’s that in there? Do I smell a girl?”
William took a step forward, she couldn’t see his face but his voice sounded deadly when he spoke
“Take one more step and I’ll rip your eyes from your skull before I shatter your nose for even seeking her
out.” “I seem to have hit a nerve.” The man grinned. “She must be something—“
Doris blinked and Prince William was on him. He grabbed him by the throat just as the man raised his
claws to strike him. William’s shirt came away at the top, she saw his blood drip in the snow from where
he must have been scratched. Doris quickly closed the curtain when she saw William start to rip out the
man’s throat. His screams died instantly and she didn’t think she would ever forget the horrible sound.
Doris sat with her knees to her chest in the corner of the carriage. She wasn’t sure how many minutes
had passed until William had finally come back inside. The blood was cleaned from his hands and his
coat covered any trace of a scar, but she knew there must have been one. He didn’t look at her once as
the carriage started to move again. Only when they stopped a few hours later did he finally say
something. “We’re going to stop to rest for the night. There’s a creak near the edge of camp if you need
to clean up, but don’t stray too far.” He spoke with his eyes out the window as if he were already far from
the carriage. Once he was done, he stepped out without another word and didn’t bother to look back to
see
if she would follow. The moon was bright in the sky above her, she held the cloak tighter around her as
she gazed at the stars and stepped out of the carriage carefully. If her fear wasn’t trying to control her
thoughts, she would have appreciated how beautiful the night was. Doris sighed and turned back to the
clearing. Several tents had already been set up between the trees, there were so many she doubted it
was possible for anyone to see their camp when it was this dark. They didn’t even dare to light a fire
despite how freezing it was. It would be worse to wake up in a blood bath because a rogue pack had
found them rather than simply suffer through the cold. Erik was the only guard she knew the name of, he
busied himself with setting up a few chairs for other guards to rest. “Excuse me.” She spoke quietly as
she crunched her boots in the snow to reach him. He turned and offered a tired smile. “Do you know
where I am supposed to sleep for the night?” “Oh-” He glanced over his shoulder to the larger tent
behind them. Clearly that one was meant for the prince. “William requested you stay with him.” Doris felt
her cheeks immediately redden, she took a small step back. “Surely he was mistaken.” “No, I wasn’t.”
His deep voice interrupted. He stood with the flap of his tent wide opened and half of his shirt already
unbuttoned as if he’d been in the middle of changing. His hair was a mess and a bit of dark scruff
appeared on his jaw from not shaving. Her eyes lingered on the red mark across his chest before she
quickly looked away, “You’ll be staying with me.” “I—are you sure? I don’t mind staying out here.”
Doris glanced at Erik but he was already gone. Prince William blew out a breath of frustration. “I need
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmyou to be in here tonight. I might need… tea or something. Just get in here.” He snapped, she could tell it
was hard for him to keep his voice low. Doris reluctantly followed him inside. There was a makeshift bed
on the floor and clothes scattered in the corner with bloodied rags but not much else besides a plate of
food. She turned to find him completely shirtless and picking at the mark on his chest. Doris quickly
stepped forward to grab his hand.” Don’t do that, you’ll make it worse.” She said with a blush. She hoped
he would think it was due to the freezing weather. She picked through the pile of clothes and managed to
find something that looked like a rag to clean his wound with water. He stilled as she neared him, his
eyes watched her silently but he didn’t say a word as she carefully cleaned away the blood and dirt. It
was closed for the most part, she assumed that was thanks to the wolf inside him but if he kept picking at
it-it would open as new. “There.” Doris said softly as she looked over the scratch and tried not to let her
gaze lower to take in the rest of him. “It shouldn’t bleed again if you leave it.” His blue eyes were calm
when she looked up at him. There was no storm or anger beneath the sea in his eyes. Just a steady
ocean. “Thank you.” He said, for a second she swore she imagined it. He moved to put on a thick
sweater before he laid in the bed. Doris dropped the rag in the pile and nervously slid her cloak off. “Do
you need me to get you anything?” “No.” He grumbled with his eyes already closed.”
Lay down.” Doris looked around for an area for her to lay that wouldn’t be too close to him. His hand shot
out and gripped her wrist to pull her onto the blankets next to him. “Oh-” “Shh.” He demanded. Doris laid
still with her eyes wide opened. Why did he want her in here if he didn’t need anything? Her bones
struggled to relax for eternity until she heard the soft sounds of his breath against her ear. Her body
wanted to curl up against his warmth and fight the cold chill but she forced herself to make do with the
blankets around them. She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until William had roughly shook her
awake the next morning. “Get up, quickly. My guards have spotted someone nearby.”
Her Unwanted Mate On The Thr